songbird's crazy world

 Well, the Long Island Railroad workers went on strike Saturday morning,  Thousands of riders  lost their transportation into the city. Fortunately I don’t rely on the railroad these days, The timing was awful — the Mets and Yankees are playing a Subway Series at Citi Field.  A lot of Mets fans use the railroad to get to the ballpark.The Mets arranged for shuttle buses for the Long Island fans … although, to be honest, it’s probably Yankees fans on those shuttles…the Mets can’t win for losing … This was the fourth time in history the LIRR experienced a strike — the other strikes were in 1980 (coinciding with a NYC Transit strike),  1987 and 1994.   The 1980 strike didn’t affect me, I was away at college.  The 1994 strike didn’t affect me, I was living in Queens and taking the subway to work,  But in January 1987 I was living on Long Island and commuting to Manhattan, a regular rider of the LIRR.  So, for the duration of the strike — 11 days —...

  Fun, Fun, Fun Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Fun, Fun, Fun (1964) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) This song is about a girl who borrows her father's Ford Thunderbird. When is the last time you drove someone else's car? February 2025.  I drove Drew’s car.  He had a medical procedure and couldn’t drive, and my car was in the shop. I hate driving his car. 2) The teen in question is well known for ability to drive "like an ace." If we were to ask your high school classmates what...

 Stupid cat tricks, part one.   We have sliding glass doors that lead from the sun room to the patio.  We also have screen doors. In nice weather, we leave the glass doors open.  Shadow likes to sit by the open door. On Tuesday Drew was watching tv in the living room when he heard a crash from the sun room.  He ran into the sun room … Shadow had knocked the screen door off its track.  She was sitting by the door, clearly ready to pounce on whatever hapless creature was on the patio. She loves to watch the birds … Stupid cat tricks, part two.  The sun room and the living room are separated by a set of French doors.  I was home alone Tuesday night (Drew was at rehearsal).  I closed the doors between the rooms.  Later, when Drew came home and sat down in the living room to watch TV, he saw two eyes staring at him from the other side of the French doors … I accidentally locked Shadow in the sun room …. Well, I did say I wanted a cat with per...

 The news from Long Island … there was a sinkhole today on the Long Island Expressway!  Westbound lanes, exit 49. Guess where I get onto the Expressway when I go home?  Yep, I get on at exit 49 and drive westbound … had to find an alternate route tonight, At least I wasn’t commuting home from the city, a fire shut down penn Station, and Long Islanders tryin* to get home had to find other ways… …just a small taste of the chaos we are anticipating if the railroad goes on strike Saturday.  It will be a disaster.  I’m so happy I don’t work in the city anymore. Though I do hate paying for gas these days,  I drive a hybrid, so a tank of gas lasts a long time, but still…

 Interesting clue on Jeopardy! Tuesday night …  … have I mentioned that Drew is doing Yeoman of the Guard  this year? Around here, libraries and public schools like to offer all sorts of adult education classes.  About ten years ago I took a few yoga classes, and really liked it.  But I had to stop taking yoga because of my knee … I tried to do a warrior two and my right knee buckled.  Turns out I have arthritis in both knees.  But with weight loss, medical treatment and physical therapy, my knees are a lot better.   And I miss the practice,  So when I found out that the parks department is offering summer classes … twelve weeks of yoga from May through August …an hour-long class once a week …and senior citizens (like me) get a 50% discount … starting on Tuesday I’ll be doing mountain pose and downward dog … If I can handle the summer program, I can continue the practice in the fall, the high school offers a yoga class.  And if it’s too ...

 We saw The Devil Wears Prada 2  Saturday night.  Not as good as the original, but a fun movie.  Coming attractions included several movies we want to see, including Toy Story 5, the new Spiderman movie, and Practical Magic 2. My daughters are on vacation together with their respective significant others, I didn’t see them for Mother’s Day.  But we went out to dinner before they left, and they sent me a Mother’s Day cake from my favorite gluten free bakery.  Strawberry shortcake, lots of whipped cream.  I sat down to eat a slice when I felt a paw on my hand … yes, Shadow does like whipped cream, how did you know? And yes, I know cats aren’t supposed to eat dairy (cats are lactose intolerant), but I give her only a very small amount, just a taste.   And Drew took me out to brunch, to a very nice place called  Post Office Cafe .  Nice buffet.  I had eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit … Afterwards I hook a walk in our neighborhood.  I’m...

  May 11th  Kentucky Derby has long been hosted this month since 1875. This event has a long history of  traditions . Use some of the traditions or gallop with the ponies in your own direction sharing your song inspired picks this week. I live 14 miles from Belmont Park, home of the third leg of the Triple Crown. (The race will be in Saratoga this year, they’re renovating Belmont.) But I did visit Kentucky a few years ago, on a business trip to Lexington.  I had some free time, so I visited the Horse Park . I took a lot of photos  of the  horses.  So when you ask me about the Derby … First thing that came to mind. And then there’s this How about something from Broadway? And country music  And some video I shot The  Horse Park  was fun.

 Mildly amused to learn the Hicksville Public Library has two events today, a lecture by a local historian about Billy Joel’s life in Hicksville,  and a performance by a Billy Joel tribute band,

Like My Mother Does Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post  9  questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! Saturday 9: Like My Mother Does (2011) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this song, Lauren Alaina tells us she knows she's beautiful and strong because she sees herself as her mother does. Who in your life consistently sees the best in you? Drew.    2) She sings that her mother is her "rock." In this context, what do you think that means?    It means her mother will support her, that she can always rely on her mother    3) When Lauren performed this song...

 Shadow investigating Drew’s costumes Flashback to Duchess’s younger, more adventurous days. Shadow chose an interesting spot  And one of my favorites 

 Clouds over the ballpark  #skywatchfriday

 I stayed away from this park for a few weeks because of some … unsavory activities.  But it’s really a great park, and very safe. So, a walk.  Two laps around the lake.  And three ducks.

 So I saw the doctor who prescribes Wegovy, and he is pleased with my progress. I solved the problem with my other prescription.  The doctor sent it to the wrong pharmacy — there are two CVS stores in Hicksville — but at least I have my medication. And now I’ve got an issue with my orthopedist. Nothing too serious but I do need to follow up. Annoyed with my dentist. One of the reasons I chose this practice is that they had an office just five minutes from my house.  They just announced they’re closing that office, and now I’ll need to drive about. 35 minutes to their other office.  Sigh. Dinner last night … Drew wasn’t home, it was just me.  I bought a package of heat-and-serve chicken with fajita vegetables.  Not bad, but … The package said “four servings”.  Really?  More like two small servings, it would not have been enough for me and Drew, even with the yellow rice I added as a side. I’m hoping the pad Thai is better … I think this weekend I’m...

 So yesterday Drew and I grabbed some breakfast at  Thomas’s Ham & Eggery .  It’s a Long Island staple since 1946, one of the best breakfasts in the area.  And something interesting happened … one of Drew’s former students was sitting at the next table.  The young man graduated from high school 10 years ago.  He went to trade school and became a mechanic.  And he credits his teachers, including Drew, for making him realize that the real world isn’t like school and he had to be serious about his future.  It’s always nice to get positive feedback! I had a wonderful cheese omelette, home fries and Canadian bacon.  Way too much food on my plate, I brought half of it home to reheat for the next day’s breakfast. Funny how they used to say eggs were bad for you (cholesterol) but now they’re considered a healthy source of protein.  I’m trying to get more protein in my diet. Afterwards I took a walk in the neighborhood.   Couldn’t really...

Barry Manilow has been ill lately.  He had to cancel and reschedule all of his concert appearances.Another  artist showing his age.   I am a fanilow. Yes, I like Barry Manilow, and yes,  I've actually seen Barry Manilow perform live, once at Radio City, and then at his one-man show on Broadway. So today I am presenting some of my favorite Manilow songs. His first big hit, "Mandy", was actually a cover of a Scott English tune; English called the song "Brandy", but Manilow changed the name to avoid confusion with a song by The Looking Glass. And then there was "Could It Be Magic".  He'll often sing this one and "Mandy" as a medley. He paints quite a romantic picture: Then there was his "Very Strange Medley", songs he wrote or performed that you probably didn't know were his: Who writes the songs? Her name was Lola 

 I’m loving Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown … We are baseball fans.  We root for the hapless New York Mets.   Fortunately we also root for the Long Island Ducks, who play in the independent Atlantic League. And so last night we ventured to the ballpark in Central Islip for our first Ducks game of the season. It was 54° at game time.  Jeans and jackets weather. Coffee during the 5th inning. The Ducks played the Lexington Legends.  And Trevor Bauer was the starting pitcher for the Ducks! To quote Wikipedia: “Trevor Andrew Bauer  (born January 17, 1991) is an American professional  baseball pitcher  for the  Long Island Ducks  of the  Atlantic League of Professional Baseball . He has previously played in  Major League Baseball  (MLB) for the  Arizona Diamondbacks ,  Cleveland Indians ,  Cincinnati Reds , and  Los Angeles Dodgers . Bauer has also played in  Nippon Professional Baseball  (NPB) for t...