Tag Archives: Rand + Lisa

I’m In Love

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Hey! I didn’t write yesterday. I was sort of cross eyed and painless but I wouldn’t say shitfaced. It was the end of a perfect day. The day started nicely enough, I was able to get up and get out and get some bagels.

Came home with the newspaper and the bagels and had some eggs. It made for a nice breakfast. Little did I know that it would be basically the only thing I would have eaten beside cake later on.

Seven pizzas came and went, Spanakopita (Chaz!), various salads, and cakes were all devoured. I’m not complaining. That’s why the food was there. I reckon there were about 50 people there. A few people wandered into Maxwells thinking the restaurant was open for brunch.

I generally caught them and showed them out and directed them to the Madison at 14th & Washington Street. Most of them were cool but one asshole walked away saying ‘go fuck yourself’. Me being me- couldn’t resist saying, ‘no, you go fuck yourself!’

What the hell… I had backup. Luckily the backup wasn’t needed and she wheeled himself away in her wheelchair. It was a great collection of family and friends. The cousins from South Jersey showed up, mostly.

Old friends of mine, former co-workers arrived too. These former co-workers are now good friends. Billie made it up from DC on the Mega Bus for the afternoon, then back to DC at 6:00PM.

Jim Mastro re-officiated the vows that were said originally on April Fool’s Day. . It was great to have so many friends and family witness. Unfortunately the original witnesses Chris Repella & Tom Winnick couldn’t make it due to unforeseen circumstances.

Lot’s of photos taken and even video. I have seen some of the photos but none of the videos. I’ve been trying for the past 24 hours to upload my pics, but my computer seems to be behaving quite oddly. I will have to get in touch with Rand on the computer front.

Deena Shoshkes & Jon Fried sang My Boyfriend for me… I sang along standing next to Bill. Then Lily & Tim from the Street Corner Mourners sang 2 songs, one of them seemed written or rewritten so it could be about me.

Awfully sweet.

I was compelled to take the straw hat off of Bill’s head and pass it around so people could donate some cash to the Street Corner Mourners. I did clear it with Jon & Deena beforehand. They were fine with it. It looked like a nice collection.

Bill sang Picture in a Frame by Tom Waits accompanied by Lois. I was going to sing that, having practiced it for two days beforehand. Instead I sang All My Loving by the Beatles which to my surprise most everyone joined in and sang along with me.

They jumped into a chorus too soon but I got them back on track.

It was actually the first time I played and sang in front of most of my friends and all of my family. After that, it was all a blur for me mainly. So much going on, so many friendly faces.

Juan arrived late but still welcomed and he jumped into the festivities with gusto. Bill’s cousin Elisa and her husband King also arrived looking fantastic. Elisa looked great in her new ‘do and King looked regal in a pink suit.

It ended basically when the World Cup ended.

Some of us made it over to Rand & Lisa’s apartment for an after party. Jane, Martha Griffin and Loren & Andrew joined Rand & Lisa, Bill and me and Lois. More drinks were consumed and some spicy hot cheese was served.

Today was a quieter day, spent down in Sandy Hook with Annemarie, followed by Ice Cream at Crazies in Rumson.

Two wonderful days. One spent with a lot of friends and family, the other spent with my dear sister Annemarie.

Still having difficulty uploading pics, even off of Facebook. Sorry!

I was able to get this one uploaded!

Crazy Rhythms

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Last night was a nice time. A bit low key. I walked over to Louise & Jerry’s. Hadn’t been there in about 5 years. Last time I was there I was with Rand and we had left McSwells and walked down to Louise & Jerry’s.

I think I was smoking a cigar which meant the last time I was there it was before the smoking ban went into effect in NJ. I was early it seemed. I walked in and sat at the bar, next to a guy named Keith who I used to know vaguely.

He was roommates with my friend Maurice’s brother Raul and also a DJ. He always was a bit flaky though. I saw him a few months ago on the sidewalk outside of Louise & Jerry’s and actually said hello to him, since he was looking right at me.

His response was to give me a look, like ‘Who the hell are you?’. He was a flake then and he’s a flake now. I sat and had myself a pint of Guinness.

Mike wasn’t around yet and so neither was my guitar. I looked around, not too many people. Keith had made a hasty exit so I didn’t mind that. I asked the bartender, Brian if there was music tonight. Apparently they seemed to be waiting until someone asked about music before they did anything.

At the far end of the bar, a flat screen TV showed the Yankees game. Closer to my end, the TV showed the Mets game. Mike eventually showed up, thanking me for letting him use my guitar and buying me pints for the rest of the night.

People started to come in and someone started playing guitar towards the back by the pool table. I wished they would have turned off the TV’s but they stayed on. Rand texted me, asking what was going on. He was on his way to the bar.

I went out and met him before Mike came on. Each person did a couple of songs, surrendering the mike to the next player. There were four guitarists total. When Brian the bartender heard that Mike was using my guitar he asked if I wanted to play as well. I begged off.

Rand and I sat at the bar while Mike played. He’s a pretty good guitarist and singer, sounding a bit like Tom Petty and Graham Parker and that’s not too shabby. Everyone else was singing in a folk manner, Mike was singing in a rock & roll manner making him stand out from the crowd.

The hat was passed, but it wasn’t in my direction and I wasn’t about to go chasing after it. Lisa eventually joined me and Rand and we all sat around listening to music and having some pints. The singers rotated every few songs and everyone was having a good time.

I headed to the men’s room and was surprised at how narrow it was. Apparently it’s always been narrow, it’s just that I’ve gotten a little bit wider since I was last there. Barely enough room to have your arms at your side for a proper pee.

Outside the men’s room there was a chap wearing a t shirt that said Paladins Track & Field. I asked him if he went to Paramus Catholic since the Paladins is the name of the sports teams from my high school. He said no, but his daughter is graduating from there in two weeks.

He asked how I knew about the Paladins and I explained that I went there. Before it went co-ed. It turned out that Rand’s high school when he was living in Florida was also the Paladins.

The guy’s name was Ken and he lives on Castle Point which is a very nice and quiet block in between most of Hoboken and Steven’s Tech. The whole thing ended around 10:45 and with 6 pints of Guinness I was feeling pretty good but knew it was time to go home.

Mike thanked me once again for the guitar and I thanked him for the Guinness. It all worked out quite nicely. Unfortunately the Guinness left me with a slight hangover today which matched the off white sky today.

the very narrow mens room.

the very narrow mens room.


A Starling and a Mourning Dove eating some stale bread

A Starling and a Mourning Dove eating some stale bread