songbird's crazy world

This story began 3 weeks ago, when my dad was rushed to the ER.  Four days in one hospital, then transferred to a second hospital.  Eight days in hospital number 2, and then to rehab.  He's weak, he's debilitated, he's despondent.  There are a myriad of problems.  Resolve one issue and another condition pops up.  Bottom line, he's 85 years old. We -- my whole crazy mixed up family -- are spending so much time here, seeing to his comfort, trying to cheer him. I came here straight from work tonight, got off the train and drove straight here.  He was sleeping.  I stayed anyhow.  He woke up a short time later.  His mood is more upbeat today, the doctor solved one of his problems.  It's so hard.  

Live with cats and you will never be bored.  Lately I've been watching thr interaction between Redford and Mr. Kitty.  When Redford first joined our household, Daisy was clearly the alpha cat.   Both boys were very much under her paw, she kept them both in line. We lost Daisy last fall, and the relationship between the boys has changed.  They interact a lot -- whatever is in the other's food dish is clearly better than what is in one's own, wherever the other has curled up for a nap is clearly the best sleeping place in the entire house.  Mr. Kitty was not afraid to swat at Redford with his paw, and so he has become the dominant cat.  Lately he's taken to chasing Redford around the house and swatting at him.  Yesterday he managed to trap Redford in a corner, but Redford is good at escaping. It's funny how they react to humans the same way.  It what used to be a rare occurrence but has become more common since my dad was hospitalized, there ...

It's Friday night, the movie opened today, so in what has become a pattern we arrived at the movie theater early and stood on line waiting to go inside. Friends waiting to see Men In Black 3 tend to discuss upcoming movies like Batman and and make stupid jokes about Alien and Star Trek . I got to show off my Dunkin' Donuts app, the alien I captured on my tablet. I'd seen the first two movies many times, and fully expected to enjoy this one as well. I was not disappointed. Will Smith's Agent J has to travel back to 1969, where he meets up with a younger version of Agent K -- Josh Brolin doing his Tommy Lee Jones impression. This being NYC in 1969, the New York Mets, Apollo 11 and even Andy Warhol figure into the plot. I'm old enough to remember that era, and it seemed realistic to me. Griffin reminded me of Robin Williams as Mork, just as innocent but not as frenetic. Loved the movie. We ended up at Red Robin for dinner. Ironically the chain was fou...

It's matinee day, during Fleet Week, and our show has a 7:30 curtain. So we decided to forego our usual sit-down pre-theater dinner in favor of fast food. This is not your typical Burger King. Located on 7th Avenue and 41st Street, where the fashion district meets the theater district, it's a Whopper Bar. Don't expect a full menu. All they serve are Whoppers. But with a difference, of course. Toppings such as guacamole, jalapenos and bourbon sauce are offered. I had bacon and swiss on my Whopper. Drew ordered the meat lover's Whopper, which included bacon and pepperoni. Fries are thick cut and nicely salted. They have a liquor license, I think the choices are limited to beers. Better than the average Burger King. The show tonight? Newsies. I'd never seen the Disney movie from the 80's, but clearly many audience members are fans groupies. The audience was very into the show. I had no preconceived ideas about the show, but found myself being dr...

. . . And a star to steer her by.  Saw this ship this morning.  It's Fleet Week in NYC and the talk ships are here to honor the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

We had a beautiful day for graduation, warm and sunny.  Jen's entourage met up at the school.  We sat on the quad, behind the graduates, so it was hard to see the podium. But we did manage to get a few pictures and some video of the proceedings. Seeing my child in cap and gown, hearing her name called as she received her degree . . .how fast she has grown up!  I was in tears. Afterwards we headed back to Jen's house, where she and her housemates had planned a party. We enjoyed burgers and hot dogs and fried chicken, salads and fruit and cheese.  Later there was a champagne toast and cake, of course. My parents watched the graduation over the web, my sister H brought the computer to dad's hospital room. And on Monday Jen came to the hospital wearing her mortarboard so that her grandpa could see the graduate.

Story to follow

So the plan was for a whole group of us to come up to Rhode Island to celebrate Jen's graduation. The graduation ceremony is set for May 20 at 12:30, and Jen and her housemates plan a barbeque at their house afterwards. The group consisted of me, Drew, Rebecca, my parents, my three sisters and our good friend J and her 3 kids -- her sons and my daughters think of each other as cousins. Later Becca asked if she could bring a girlfriend. Plan was to drive up Saturday, attend festivities Sunday and drive home Sunday night. There are only two hotels near the university. Both required a two-night stay, prepaid. It didn't make sense. So I booked a block of rooms in Warwick, a 30 minute drive from the school. Well, J decided not to come up Saturday night. She and her boys are driving up Sunday morning and driving home Sunday night -- her son M is at a sweet 16 tonight. Then my mother decided that it would be too much for my father to drive home Sunday night after the par...

I find myself here frequently. Drew and I stopped here Monday night. He had a bacon cheeseburger deluxe -- huge burger plated with two large onion rings, served with lettuce, tomato, fries, cole slaw and a pickle. The slaw here tends to be fresh and sweet. I had chicken souvlaki. Grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion on pita, served with fries. You get two containers of tzatsiki with the sandwich -- you can smell the garlic as soon as you open the container. Yum! Back again tonight -- you know Becca is home from school when you see me getting take out from this diner. This time I was the one getting the bacon cheeseburger. Becca had a t-bone steak, which comes with mashed potatoes, corn and a side salad with their famous Greek dressing. No kidding, they make their own dressing, bottke it and sell it. Home with my daughter eating take out . . .how sweet to sit alone with her and just talk . . .

Dad is still in the hospital.  In theory he will be able to come home tomorrow.  But  I heard what the doctors said and I am concerned. In theory he's supposed to come with us to Jen's graduation.  We plan to drive up to New England Saturday and attend graduation Sunday.  He really wants to be there.  Said he didn't want to ruin her graduation.  Also said he was amazed that he lived long enough to see a grandchild graduate from college. I am afraid he won't be well enough to make the trip. Last night I said to my mom "Plan A is that he recovers enough to make the trip.  But you need a Plan B." If you had been at the hospital with us this weekend, if you had seen what I saw, how debilitated he was, you'd probably agree with me . . .Plan B is very likely.  I don't want my father to literally kill himself trying to go to the graduation. I'm supposed to be happy now, I have a chikd about to graduate from college.  But part of me is very...

Go down to the basement, where you'll find a Chinese garden in full bloom - with a name like Orchid you expect floral decorations. Spacious, with lots of room between tables, this place is a little fancier than most Chinese restaurants, though we still felt comfortable in jeans. Tonight's dinner began with a pu pu platter - generous portions of spare ribs, spring rolls, steamed dumplings, shrimp balls and some sort of chicken concoction. I've had better dumplings, but the shrimp balls were absolutely amazing. Spare ribs were small but tasty. Spring roll was a little greasy, but who cares? Our group ordered several main courses: seafood nest (shrimp and scallops and vegetables in a white sauce), chicken with broccoli, beef in hoisin sauce and the house fried rice. All were expertly prepared. There was just enough food for the four of us. A hungrier group might want to order an additional dish. We didn't order dessert, although the ice cream here ...

1966 saw the premiere of three television shows that would become cult classics, three shows whose influence is still felt today. The first was Star Trek.   'Nuff said. The second?  The Monkees, of course.  A manufactured band in the mode of the Beatles, they turned out to be quite good . With musical talent and comedic timing, they developed their own style and dominated the airwaves, at least for a time. MTV credits them as the fathers of the modern music video. I cried when Davy Jones died. The last of the trilogy is Dark Shadows. An afternoon soap opera, a gothic melodrama that zoomed to popularity with the addition of the supernatural. Before the Twilight Saga , before Buffy the vampire slayer, before Harry Potter, we had Barnabas Collins, a tortured vampire who became an unlikely teen idol. We had Angelique the witch. We had a ghost named Quentin. We had time travel and parallel time. The show was unintentionally campy and comic at times, with...

. . .and time to see what Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have done to Dark Shadows.

My dad is 85 and has a myriad of illnesses and medical issues. This morning my mother had to bring him to the ER.  I just spoke to him.  He's feeling better and he may be able to go home tomorrow. But of course I am worried.

So my soon-to-be-college-graduate took her last exam yesterday.  Told me she'd be home last night.  I was expecting her around 10 PM or so. When she wasn't home by 11 I started to worry.  By 11:30 I was very worried.  At 11:45, just as I was about to call her, she walked in the door. Seems she stopped at a friend's house to use the bathroom.  Well, it is a long ride home from her school.  And she decided to hang out for a little while. But she does have a phone.  An iPhone, to be precise, with free calling nights and weekends as well as unlimited texting. Book smarts does not equal common sense.

The house we live in was built in 1968.  My parents are the original owners, we watched the house being built in the summer of 1968, and moved in that November. There was a lot of building going on back then, what had been a sleepy little community grew into a busy suburb. They say thst Levittown was built on potato fields.  My community was carved out of the woods. The elementary school around the corner from our house, where my sisters and I, and later my daughters, were all students. . .its mascot is a stag.  I am told that when the school was built in 1964, deer would come out of the woods and walk right up to the classroom windows.  Alas, the deer moved out when we moved in. But there are still remnants of the woodlands.  The houses on my side of the street were built on long, rectagular lots, and the rear portion of each lot was left in its natural state.  In 1968  our lot abutted undeveloped woodlands.  We were told that the State of N...

Jani is our neighborhood place, our go-to place when we want a sit-down dinner. I love the teapot collection -- glass display cases surround the room, showing off beautiful ceramic teapots. No two are alike. Your meal starts with crispy noodles, duck sauce and sinus- clearing mustard. Hot tea accompanies your meal, and my water glass was never left empty. Tonight we enjoyed steamed pork dumplings in a delicate sauce. Best dumplings I've had this side of Chinatown. Our staples here are crispy shrimp with walnuts (large fried shrimp in a sweet brown sauce) and Peking beef - chunks of meat in hoisin sauce wrapped in a delicate pancake (we refer to it as a Chinese burrito). And your choice of white or brown rice. The meal ends with fortune cookies, orange segments and chunks of pineapple. Love the fruit!

Fun movie.  Pure comic book, lots of action and some humor.  These guys aren't goody goody, they snipe at each other.  If you haven't seen the movie, make sure you stay through the credits -- all of the credits. And if you've seen the movie you'll understand my sudden craving for schwarma.

It was 1975, and I was 15 years old, and the biggest song on the radio was this incredibly romantic ballad called "Mandy" by an up and coming singer named Barry Manilow, and I was in love. And two years later, when I bought "Barry Manilow Live" (a double album!) . . .when Barry talked to the audience I felt like he was talking to me. All I wanted. . . What I really, really wanted . . . Was to go to a Barry Manilow concert. Alas, it was not to be. Last fall we heard that Barry was planning four concerts in Radio City Music Hall, and that the concerts would be in mid February. What a perfect Valentine to give to ourselves! Drew bought tickets for Sunday February 12 and we were both excited to go. And then in December Barry had hip surgery and wound up postponing a lot of his concerts. Our February 12 performance was moved to May 2. Our evening began in the Brooklyn USA Diner on West 43rd. We had enjoyed a meal here awhile back and fi...