Category: Uncategorized

  • Three Days of Rain (Unedited)

    The news sure did make a big deal of the Nor’easter that we got up here this weekend. I’m not making light of the people who did lose power, and experienced flooding. For those of us in Upper Manhattan, Harlem especially, it was just rain, for three days. And it wasn’t a heavy downpour of rain. More like a steady drizzle, with occasional light rain. The wind, on the other hand, was gusty, with an added howl for character.

    What I would have enjoyed was to stay inside while the storm raged around us. Wasn’t that lucky, though. No, this was the weekend that I had to go out in it; to run the errands, drop the kid off, pick the kid up, get dinner, get school supplies, buy the last-minute school clothes, and of course walk the dog.

    I was damp for three days.

    With everything going on, I didn’t have the ability to enjoy the best part of a constant rain storm; which is to lay in bed and listen to it. Maybe read a book, possibly take a nap, but I just wanted to be lazy and listen to it come falling down and ping/prattle off my fire escape.

    Early Autumn rain is moody, and low key dramatic. It needs to be appreciated and valued for the sulky atmosphere it creates.

  • The Day Went Sideways

    But for a good reason.

    Enjoy your weekend.

    Talk to you on Monday.

  • I’m back from fishin’ (Unedited)

    In reality, I was traveling to Texas to visit my family, especially my father. See, back on Labor Day, while my dad was staying with my brother and his family, my father had an angina episode. Though scary as all hell, it wasn’t a heart attack, and he is fine. He’ll have some follow ups with his doctor and cardiologist, but on the whole, he’s fine. I was staying with him for the week, to make sure that he took it easy and recovered. Besides, I like spending time with my dad. And I got to see my whole Texas family, so considering what had happened, it actually was a pretty good trip.

    Before the trip, it was awful. I got a call from my brother saying that Dad was having chest pains and they were taking him to the hospital. My brothers and sisters-in-law did a great job of keeping me and my family in the loop on what was going on, but being 1,500 miles away, all that it created in me was a feeling of powerlessness. Cheering on from afar, but knowing there was nothing I could do other than get on a plane.

    Funny how there are still instances and situations that I can find myself in that just smack me down to feeling like a helpless child.

    Though I told myself no to go there, not to think those thoughts; I did. I thought of living in a world without my father. To exist orphaned, no parents, lost and adrift. So what if I am middle aged? My folks are supposed to be here forever.

    But I already lost my mother. It will be six years this October. I can feel the gloom building in me as I get closer to that date. It’s not as bad as it was. I’m healing, learning to remember all the things that made her a wonder mom, and all the quirky weird stuff that she did that made her uniquely our mother.

    Just not ready to lose my father.

    And I haven’t, for which I am thankful. Still got some more time to make him laugh.

  • Gone Fishin’

    Be back next week

  • ODDS and ENDS: Unexpected Conversation with My Kid, Other People’s Stuff, and Tottenham

    (It’s just another day)

    I tried to explain the “Juice Era” of baseball to my daughter this morning. Talk about a subject that I never thought I would have to get into with her. It all started when she asked me what I thought was the most important position in baseball, pitcher, followed by catcher. Then I told her some stories about Pudge Rodriguez, the greatest catcher of all time, and how I got to watch him play back in Texas. With all I was saying, I mentioned the “Juice Era” and that lead her to asking questions about cheating and players using steroids. You know, normal breakfast conversations.

    We might drive up the Hudson Valley this weekend and take a look at antique stores. It is Labor Day weekend, and getting out of the City seems like a good idea. Sometimes when we head up the Hudson with no real plan to do anything, that’s when we wander into some old antique store that is just crammed full of stuff. Most of it is pretty cool, and a little more expensive than we are willing to spend. But now and then, we do come across a gem of an odd piece of something. We have a wall mounted thermometer from Maine that’s in our kitchen, and the last time we headed out, my wife found some odd drawings of cats. I’m curious to find old vinyl to mount on the wall, and the wife would like a large piece of art to put up in the living room. It’s like treasure hunting for us.

    If they lose this weekend, Lord help us all. #COYS