Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snow Sticking on Cape Cod!

I see that the Friday storm left 6 to 8 inches of snow on the Cape which is a lot of snow for the narrow land.I have it from a local expert that it was a very nice storm and no wolves were seen making their way up the cape.I recall being in Provincetown one winter weekend when old man winter really delivered a storm and the harbor was quite beautiful in snow.Another year I stayed with friends in the Hyannis area and the night before New Years Eve we went to P-Town for dinner.Napis it was but on the way we stopped at Pond Rd. Beach in North Truro and watched from the bluff bayside as the winter sun set on Provincetown then went to the Surf Club and played pool before dinner.I wish I had photos of that night.

Beech Forest-CC Natl.Seashore by Sally Rose

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Old Pal

I was on the bus today coming back from Trader Joe's when we stopped at a light and I saw this old guy come out of a store who looked familiar.Then it dawned on me he used to shop at a grocery store I did under the mall that moved out several years ago.I recalled him because he was dressed like always.Plaid Pants,White Loafers and a loudly colored Rayon Golf Shirt.But what stood out in my mind was the last time I saw him and a like dressed friend in the now closed grocery store.In the grocery cart was a case of Fleet Enemas,A quart of Jack Daniels,A quart of Beefeater Gin,a tub of sour cream and a jar of Peanut Butter.They may have been buying more but that's what I saw and it stuck with me.I was thinking Geez what the heck kind of things are these two old dudes up to? So it was interesting today to see he's still around.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Winter has yet to blow in

Another great day of rain and low clouds.I love it!!.There was even snow falling in Malibu today though it did not stick.But all day the interstates north to San Fran and east to Las Vegas are shut down due to snow in the mountain passes.I started the F.Scott stories last night and read till nearly 3 a.m..I'd forgotten how much I really liked them in my younger days.L.A. is supposed to reach about 39 tonight downtown which is chilly and great reading weather under the covers.I hope we get a lot of rain this winter.It's really funny to watch folks around here put on gloves and down jackets when it gets down around 50.Bunch of Wimps........

Monday, December 15, 2008

It Never Rains in CA.

Just loved today.It got to around 60 and rained hard off and on from last night through this Eve.Plus more rain on the way this week and next!Even though an L.A. rain storm is a wimp to anyhting from back east I'll take what I can get.A good night to read Chandler and his rainy L.A. night descriptions.Come to think of it I read all the Chandler at once and it has to be a good twenty years or more.I might just have to dig through the shelves cause I know they are here someplace.I love this time of year cause one never knows when you open the door if a surprise box is going to be there.Today I almost fell over a big Omaha Steaks styrofoam cooler.Last week it was two boxes from Amazon.My best hallway story happened years ago when my old roomie from the beach Charlie was in town staying with me and I think my friend Jeff from Florida.Charlie had borrowed my bike the day before and rode it all over Venice and he complained on waking up how sore he was from riding all the day before.I was between girlfriends then and as we are leaving my Apt. Charlie says very loudly"Man my Butt is killing me!" and as we head down the stairs there is my older neighbor Eve giving me a look and I felt like saying"I'm not Gay,not that there's anything wrong with that".Finally I saw the hat lady saturday at the grocery store for the first time in a few months.Of all things she had a paperbag hat with a big black vinyl band around it.I told her it wasn't very X-massy and she said"This is my mood right now"I told her I hoped to see her wearing something with little X-Mass ornaments on it and Candy Cane earrings next time I saw her.She laughed and said she could do that.

Friday, December 12, 2008

X-Mass Fun

I've lacked anything to say of late but today was one of those days where things just kept eventing.I started out going to the local drugstore to get some drugs then mailed a box of Trader Joe's goodies to my friends in Pittsford.The freakin shipping cost almost as much as the contents.Then it being near noon I walked down to the newstand picked up a copy of the Friday NYTimes and then ducked into Subway for a Tuna Sub.Sitting at my little table paper and sub in hand I looked up to see this guy who looked oddly familiar to me entering and it was as he was walking back out with his sub it dawned on me it was Lenny of Lenny and Squiggy fame.My celeb siting done I walked up to the bank then crossed the street to the mall.Took a quick look at the puppies in the puppy store then headed down to B&N.On the way you cross Westwood Blvd. three floors up on a wide enclosed walkway so I sat down in a comfy chair to look out upon the west side of L.A. when I noticed a few feet awawy from me a X-Mass tree made out of Pointsettias.It was really cool.I counted 13 levels top to bottom.I bought a copy of the Collected short stories of F.Scott Fitzgerald as I haven't read them since college and this upcoming Benjamin Button film brought the book to mind again.I took the bus home and leaving the bus I came upon the school kids at Saint Timothy going from school to church.This brought back a flood of memories of my Catholic School days and as I'm all awash in the good old days what appeared to be second or third graders followed up the students into church dressed as Mary,Joesph,Angels,Sheperds and Wisemen.It was so cute I almost went into to watch but figured a lone middle aged man carrying a book of Fitzgeralds stories wearing a well worn Red Sox hat might seem a bit "odd".A Happy Full Cold Moon to you all.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Florida Room at Pine Bank

More on Pine Bank

The property has about 5 acres going up the hillside and has a barn way up by the road.My late friend Anns parents built it around 1960 and her two brothers had houses at one point up the hill since sold and one brother bought a summer place across the lake that is much bigger but doesn't have the memories.Right after High School Ann's parents bought the big modern house above their property,floor to ceiling great room windows for the five acres from the Iniv of Rochester.That house was the kids house and we had many a great Toga party there not to mention all night charades.They sold off that house years ago but kept the land and when the brothers built their houses they put in wooden walkways connecting each with the lake front cottage all over that hillside complete with night lighting.In between the cottage and the guesthouse in the second pic is a deck with hotub and thecottage has a great Fla. room on front thats hard to see.

More Pine Bank

Remembrance of Things Past

I put up the Pine Bank shot because it is the latest in a series of places lost.Pine Bank was put up for sale by my friends brother in law recently.It was our hangout on Canandaigua lake from high school and well beyond and if I had the 1.5 mill asking price I'd buy it in a minute.It led me to think of some of my favorite places also gone to me forever.The two houses I grew up in.My old Fraternity House in Brookline,Mass now a sort of private home.The Surf Club in Provincetown now a restaurant instead of the best dingy dive bar on the East Coast.My friends house in Indialantic,FL. where I spent several great holiday seasons,My Uncles Hunting Camp in Canisteo etc.It's mostly part of growing up and older but losing places we love can be as hard as losing people we love.The Frat house really grates on me.I had visions of going back for alumni weekends to visit but never got the chance as Brookline gave us the boot.Pinebank was a place in later years where we went to relax.It was sort of off by itself but right on the lake and a place one did not ever want to leave once you got there.As we grow older memories of places instead of the actual places seem to take over.

Pine Bank