Tag Archives: McSwells

The Weight

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A beautiful day today. Quite nice. Feels like spring, looks like spring, must be spring. I just got back from my office. I had two bags of papers that I’ve been meaning to shred. Bill had a shredder here but it’s now at his mother’s apartment, where he’s been sleeping and shredding his father’s papers. It’s just as well that it’s there, because if you feed his shredder more than three sheets of paper it invariably jams up. In my office is a heavy duty shredder. I noticed it the other day, after the company that shared our office space had several bags of papers to be destroyed.

I helped arrange that, but didn’t think until after the fact, of bringing in my own papers and having them sent out for shredding. So I carried what I figured to be forty pound of papers onto the bus, and then the subway. That was a smart move. The train was basically empty and the streets were filled with tourists, doing the things that tourists do, which is mainly aggravate me as I walk down the street., with their stopping and congregating right were I am walking. The nerve! It took about two hours to shred what I brought in and hopefully it was everything that I didn’t need anymore. Papers from Jane Street as well, they simply had to go. Birthday cards, note cards, receipts, prescriptions and things like that.

Got news from Annemarie about Frank. He’s still in the hospital, complications regarding his MRI and his heart valve. He’s in a bad way, but I think he should be able to get through it. But of course he has to apply himself and perhaps ween himself off whatever prescriptions were found in his drawer at home. That’s a whole nother story and not mine to tell. Bill phoned, he’s once again worried about his mother. She’s been at the stove, turning on the oven and then forgetting about it. Not good. I suggested turning off the gas to the stove but Bill doesn’t think that is doable. I think that it is.

I know if Julio were available, he would be able to do it. He’s supposed to be a father in a few days so I don’t think he’d be available anyhow. The baby is due on April 15th and that is some good news to look forward to. Tonight I have plans to meet up with Rand at McSwells for a few pints. Been awhile and there’s some catching up to do. That should be fun.

Presently watching Now, Voyager which was one of my mother’s favorite movies. My curiosity was piqued by a reenactment of a scene in The History Boys. I had never seen Now, Voyager before and it’s quite the melodrama. Bette Davis mother is a bitch!And they keep saying that Bette Davis’ character is fat and hairy, when she really isn’t. Well earlier in the movie, she has caterpillars on her forehead passing for eyebrows, but she isn’t fat. There’s a scene in the movie where she tells her mother that she lost 25 pounds, and her eyebrows are thinner. So I guess that’s where the weight was.

Kid Charlemagne

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Another wet day, this time, Friday. And what a day it’s been. More on that later of course. Last night, watched Scrubs again and again and again, Daily Show which was good, Colbert Report which was really good. Also featured REM who were surprisingly very good. I used to love them way back when. When you’d be able to have a drink with them after seeing them thisclose in the back room. The first time I saw REM I hated them though, now that I think of it. They were opening up for Gang of Four at the Ritz on 11th street. They were announced as ‘from Athens, GA…REM!’

No one knew who they were, but I thought they sucked. I just wasn’t into that jungle jangle music just then. A year later yeah, but that night I was more into the jagged guitars and funky rhythms of Gang of Four. I remember leaving my spot near the stage to wander around the club muttering that if they weren’t from Athens they wouldn’t be on stage that night. A year later REM was playing McSwells. I had never been there before, didn’t know Steve Fallon or anyone else. I had tickets to see Peter Gabriel at the Palladium that night and went with an old school pal, Kevin Wagner. We also worked together for a book company.

Peter Gabriel was touring for the Shock the Monkey album and put on an excellent show. Played close to 2 hours if I recall correctly. His last song, one of the most moving songs ever, Biko was amazing and went on for about 20 minutes, lot’s of call and response, pseudo African singing from the audience. I sang along with one eye on my watch. The show ended and Kevin and I ran over to my parked car and drove over to McSwells where there was a mob at the door. Steve Fallon was only letting certain people in and took a look at me and probably thought I looked like my brother Frank (who was inside already). Needless to say, Steve didn’t let me in.

Kevin and I drove back to Bergen County where we had a late dinner at the Saddle Brook Diner. Someone we both went to school with 2 years earlier stopped by our table but didn’t recognize me and I didn’t introduce myself. Kevin was a good guy. He and his sweetheart Ann, got married and moved to Florida. Kevin and I last communicated in 2000. He wasn’t going to our high school reunion. I went and regretted going.

Last night my brother Frank had a seizure during a visit to his neurologist. If there was a place to have a seizure, a neurologist’s office has to be one of the best places. Frank’s in Englewood Hospital and so far the doctors are saying it seemed to be from a scarring from last year’s stroke rather than another stroke. He may be home again tomorrow, Saturday, though right now he has a slight fever. We’ve all been hoping that Frank is making progress, so a seizure is a set back. We don’t really know the outcome of this event yet.

The video I posted a week or so ago of Jill Bolte Taylor talking about her stroke was inspirational, then again she is a brain scientist and had a lot of information and professionals and colleagues around her. Frank doesn’t have those resources, neither do a lot of people. I’m not begrudging Jill Bolte Taylor at all, like I said, she’s an inspiration. Hopefully Frank can get back to where he was pre-stroke. It took Jill Bolte Taylor about 10 years, so I guess Frank would be able to do it in 12.