Summer is a Comin' In . . .

. . . So are more lakes, ponds and puddles; as well as turtles and geese. It has rained for 39 days and 39 nights and one begins to wonder if Noah junior is progressing well with Ark II. On the upside, Prospect Park has never been so green and verdant.

Music Matters

Having joined the growing percentage of the world's population being recently un-employed, I have been experiencing some re-adjustments. Now I suddenly find myself sleeping when it's dark and waking when it gets light. Daytime activities aside, I have found myself free to participate in some social endeavors in the evening hours. On June 8, I participated in the Slow Jam at Paddy O'Reillys, playing guitar and singing with twenty-something like-minded people. In the picture one can see Deborah Monlux far left on the fiddle, Gary on guitar, Sue on banjo and Rob on guitar in the foreground. Behind them are two mandolin players and a dobro player.


Then on the next Thursday, I got to see the legendary Danny Kalb playing at Jalopy with his bass player, Bob Jones, and drummer Mark Ambrosino. Danny was amazing. His (electrified) acoustic guitar carried instrumental solos and rhythmic accompaniment to his raspy blues vocals. Bob Jones sang bits of harmony on 30 Years and Who Put a Ring, and finished off several numbers by bowing his bass. Danny pleased us with some of the old favorites like Baby Please Don't Go, Alberta and Jesus Met the Woman at the Well. But also mixed in some really great tunes I had not heard before. Another audience member suggested that the song Got to Get Goin' Again sounded like a very autobiographical sentiment for where Danny is now. There were times when Kalb's bluesy improvisations on the upper strings almost flew off into another world, but his wonderful rhythmic thumping and running base strings always brought us back to the Blues that we can't help but love.



Danny was joined by young guitar wizard, Randy Johnson, for 3 tunes including Good Morning Blues and an incredible instrumental version of Lullabye of Birdland. Kalb finished his set with Big Bill Broonzy's Hey, Hey. But the audience wanted an encore, and Danny satisfied with the sweetest jazz/Blues instrumental on guitar.

KL's Sonoran Bobcat

Got fauna? I guess . . .

found a picture of a bobcat . . . not quite the mountain lion, but far different than a pigeon.

April 19th . . .

. . . was a big day!
I registered as a participant in the Run As One 4 Mile Race in Central Park. My friend, Joe, talked me into it against my better judgment, as I had a big "reunion" event later in the day. But the Run As One race is to benefit and increase awareness of Lung Cancer. It was this cause which motivated me. I ran for Janet Ward, who died from Lung Cancer before she had a chance to play the part of her life. There are thousands more like her, and little is known about the causes of this particular cancer.

Here is Joe at the starting corral:


Here I am before the race:

I came in 7,450th! But I ran the entire 4 miles.

So a few hours later, I went to see Exit the King. Nan and I had talked about going months ago, and she ultimately got the tickets (great seats—thanks Nan). But after the tickets were bought, I had the idea to invite all the people from the Shade Company that produced the play back in 1971, and then made a 35mm film of it in 1972. So I did. All of them responded! Patricia was in Dubai, Hal was in a production of La Cage aux Folles in Charleston, Toni was in Yale directing an Italian opera, and Justine couldn't make it. But three of us—half the cast—did show up at the same performance. It was great! Geoffrey Rush was wild and funny, Susan Sarandon was very good, but Andrea Martin almost stole the show as Juliette. Michael Moody, who played the guard in the Shade film came with his son. He was a old friend of Andrea's so he talked to her after the show. She was really interested in seeing our film, so a DVD was sent to her yesterday. Diane Quaid, who played Marguerite, came all the way from Woods Hole despite a very busy schedule. And after the play, we all went to Pietrasanta for drinks and dinner.

Harbingers of Spring

The first harbinger is the cormorant who visits Prospect Lake early in the spring each year.

Next, is the brilliant yellow of the forsythia:





Then, more yellow appears as the daffodils rise up with all their strength and delicacy:



White has been introduced, and the plum tree in front of my building provides an impressionistic cloud of white when it bursts into bloom:



Overnight there is an explosion of pink right at the entrance to the park:

Breathing

On election day, I stood in line at the polling center with a woman who was close to a nervous breakdown. She was so agitated about the vote. She poured out her anxieties after brazenly asking if I was voting for the new savior. She hugged me after she voted. There was a general feeling that we could all exhale finally in the days after the election. Those who were talking about moving to Canada if Obama did not win, were ecstatic, floating on a cloud of optimism and renewed hope. Even two weeks post-election, when I went jogging in Prospect park, the beautiful fall colors could not have been the only reason I saw smiles and good will on the faces of every person I passed. . . . There has been further cause for abated breath in recent weeks as we face economic realities that represent greater obstacles than most of us thought possible. Nevertheless, we continue to go through our daily patterns while watching +400 points and -400 points corresponding to the rotation of the earth on its axis—if nothing else. Let us continue to breathe . . . in and out, with presence. If you would take a break from your daily habits, and like to see some more fall colors, visit Autumn in the Park.

Agua Caliente

Having heard no protests, I present a most unusual view of the desert. On the northeastern edge of the Tucson valley is the natural springs called Agua Caliente. In my years growing up in Tucson and then while in graduate school at the U of A, I had not been aware of this fount. I found out about it from KL's Sonoran Blog. So I visited it myself.

To see a SlideShow of images from Agua Caliente, click Here.

We are governed by our associations. For someone growing up in the New York area this juxtaposition of natural flowing water, water fowl and lakes(!) with desert and rocky mountains may seem to just fit their imagination. But for someone who knows the dryness of the desert, the hardness of caliche, this is unexpected and thus more wondrous.