songbird's crazy world

Welcome to my Halloween party.  Let's have some fun! Let's start with the "Monster Mash". How about a little "Twilight Zone"? Time to do some ghost busting. It's not a Halloween party without the Divine Miss M. And finally ...

Our society has always been fascinated with the weird, the creepy, the occult. Halloween has me thinking about creepy shows I watched as a kid. My introduction to the supernatural genre came from 1960’s television.  Fantasy, horror, and camp. My favorite show of the time, my introduction to the genre, was Bewitched.    It turned the scary -- witches and witchcraft -- into the mundane and ordinary.    Samantha Stevens was a typical suburban housewife, who also happened to be a witch. The humor came from her zany relatives, from spells gone awry, and from Samantha's need to hide her supernatural status from ordinary mortals.   The show ran from 1964-1971, but lives on forever in reruns. Two other  shows that premiered in 1964 expertly combined horror and camp into a sitcom format.     The Addams Family, based on drawings Charles Addams did for The New Yorker,  focused on the weird extended family of Gomez and Morticia...

Horrible storm out there today, they say we will get gale force winds and buckets of rain. It’s never a good time for that type of storm. But today of all days? Five years ago today were were hunkered down and riding out Superstorm Sandy. It was a horrible, horrible time for the region.  We’re still dealing with the devastation. A friend who has been trying to get her house rebuilt for five long years has finally made the hard decision to walk away. Today’s storm is supposed to be just an ordinary storm.  But still, it’s bringing back unhappy memories.

I’m always on the lookout for a good Italian restaurant. And the Lucky Duck fits the bill.  (Yes, I know, very punny,) It’s a casual spot,  very cozy — brick walls and dark wood paneling, and a huge mirror to make the place look larger. Staff is friendly and eager to please, and very knowledgeable about the menu. The wine list is very limited, but we were satisfied with our White Zinfandel. The bread basket contained Italian bread and garlicky flat bread.  A good sign. Our appetizer?  Fried calamari was tender and flavorful, served with a spicy marinara — the sauce had a nice zing, but the level of spice was not overwhelming.  Very shareable portion size. He had the veal Marsala, tender veal in a rich wine sauce, served with green beans and a side of rigatoni marinara.  I ordered the eggplant parm:  thin slices of eggplant, breaded and fried, topped with but not buried by mozzarella cheese, also accompanied by rigatoni. I seldom order...

#skywatchfriday

Yesterday, while I was driving to work, I was listening to Scott Shannon on the radio.  And he was talking about the World Series.  I'm not really paying much attention to the Series this year, there's no New York team in the competition. I'm not rooting for either of the contenders. But then Scott started talking about when he first came to New York city, and he was fortunate to be given two tickets to Game six of the 1986 World Series, October 25, 1986. Scott's tickets were way out, in left field.  but to be anywhere at Shea that night.... You know what happened in Game Six, after all. Baseball magic.  The kind of magic that just doesn't happen in other sports. The Red Sox led the series 3-2, and were poised to win their first World Series title in 68 years.  They scored twice in the top of the 10th inning, and the champagne was cooling in the visiting team locker room. In the bottom of the 10th, the wee hours of October 26 actually... Back...

As always, Joyce has some interesting questions. 1. What's surprised you most about your life or life in general?  Where I wound up is far different from where I expected to be. 2.  Sweet potato fries, sweet potato casserole, a baked sweet potato, a bowl of butternut squash soup, a caramel apple or a slice of pumpkin pie...you have to order one thing on this list right now. Which one do you go for? The casserole sounds very nice right about now. 3. What's a famous book set in your home state? Have you read it? On a scale of 1-5 ( 5 is fantastic ) how many stars does it rate? I live in New York, kind of hard to narrow it down.  So I will go with my father's favorite, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.  It was set in the neighborhood where he grew up. 4. There are 60 days until Christmas...have you started your shopping? How do you stay organized for the holidays? I'm Jewish, so Christmas isn't a big deal for me.  And no, I haven't started sho...

Fast food sushi! This chain, originally from Britain, offers a variety of sushi in a counter service restaurant. You can choose a prepared platter, or opt for sushi by the piece.  Salads, including seaweed salad, are available as well.  I opted to buy separate pieces, and thoroughly enjoyed choosing each piece.  The fish is fresh and tasty.  I loved the spicy mayo, but soy sauce in a foil packet was a turn off. There are hot food offerings as well, including chicken teriyaki — a substantial portion of chicken served over thick Japanese noodles instead of rice. The dining area is clean and bright, but a bit small.  Staff was friendly and efficient. I think I’ve found a new lunch spot.

I used to work in NYC.  I don’t anymore, I work on Long Island, just ten minutes from home. I don’t miss the commute.  But I do miss being in the city. So when business took me into Manhattan on a recent Friday, I was happy to go. My business meeting was in the Times Square area.  Lots of tourists in the area, enjoying the sites and snapping selfies.  Costumed characters trying to make a living by posing for pictures with the tourists.  Street peddlers selling “pashmina” scarves and designer-knockoff handbags.  Hawkers trying to convince tourists to ride a double decker tour bus or visit Madam Toussard’s.  Street musicians playing classical violin, jazz sax, even steel drums. Pushcarts selling hot dogs, or felafel, or chicken biryani. It’s a walking city.  I forget sometimes how easy it is to meet, or exceed, my step goal while just getting from point A to point B, I thought about getting lunch from a pushcart, but instead opted for lunc...

Photography is art.  Like painting or sculpture, the creative images produced by a photographer enrich our world and our understanding of the human condition. I have recently discovered the works of a photographer named Hugh Kretschmer.  His images are surreal and intriguing. His works are all copyrighted, so I’ll just have to give you a link to my favorite image:   Reformed Liar It’s a fascinating image.  A mask, hanging on a wall.  The face is all innocence, except for the long nose,  like Pinnochio.  The owner of the mask has abandoned his lying ways, showing his true face to the world. Here’s how it was created:   popular photography

Lesson of the day:  don’t try to help someone who refuses to listen. Yes, I know I’m being a bit vague... But when a lawyer gives you free legal advice, even if you don’t take it, the response should be “Thank you for your concern.” It should NOT be “I deleted all her comments from my blog because I’m tired of the negativity.” Lord help him if those chickens come home to roost. I’m sure he will find a way to blame me.

#skywatchfriday

So, as I mentioned, my father passed away two years ago this month. In Jewish tradition, the anniversary of a loved one's death is called a yartzeit . As in, my father's yartzeit is in October. My father's yartzeit is the day after a joyous holiday, Simchat Torah . (Yes, it's calculated according to the Hebrew calendar, not the secular calendar.) Very easy to remember. There are two traditions associated with observing the anniversary of a loved one's death. The first takes place at home --  lighting a yartzeit lamp.  If you go to the kosher foods section of the supermarket, you will see votive candles, glass tumblers filled with about 3 ounces of wax, that are designed to burn for 24 hours.  Those are yartzeit lamps.  There is no special ritual, you simply light the canlde and medidate on your loved one's life. The second tradition takes place in the synagogue, with the recitation of the Kaddish. Kaddish is one of the prayers that requires a minyan ...

My father has been on my mind lately.  Maybe it's because  he passed away two years ago this month. I remember when we were planning the funeral, the funeral director asked if we wanted military honors.  And we said yes, of course we did. At age 18, my father did what every able-bodied man of his generation did: he entered military service, donned the uniform of his country, and proudly served.  It wasn't his choice to join the Army, he did so at the behest of the draft board, but he served willingly, and with honor. And 70 years later, the United States Army sent an honor guard to his funeral.  Two soldiers, in full dress uniform, who took the flag that draped my father's coffin and carefully folded it, then presented that flag to my mother, along with the condolences of the President of the United States and a grateful nation. Proud tears rolled down my cheeks. My heart goes out to the young widow, whose husband died in the service of our country, wh...

I didn’t get down to the beach for the breast cancer walk.  But I did manage a visit on my own. Saw three friends: A bit of autumn color: And the changing dunes: Interesting incursion of the sea, this “creek” runs parallel to the shoreline: Pigeons on the lawn. Whoops, I startled them! That was close: And away they flew.

I was supposed to go to the breast cancer walk at Jones Beach yesterday.   I woke up in pain.  I hate sciatica.  I could barely move. I feel terrible. I expected to post photos showing a sea of pink today.   Instead... I went back to the Halloween house, this time in the afternoon. I found out the house is owned by ...get this ... a taxidermist.  He’s got a shingle out, and it’s not part of the holiday decor.   But the decor is ... interesting. The green thing on the roof .... And the yard:

So...it's time to talk about a weighty issue.  Specifically, my weight.  From March 2015 until October 2016, I lost a significant amount of weight, 75 pounds. I felt a lot better, I was a lot more active.   And then, even though I had a lot more weight to lose, my weight loss efforts stalled.  I guess I got a bit sloppy about monitoring what I ate.  First it was vacation, then the holidays, then my birthday... I figured that as long as I was maintaining my weight, I was OK. And then I hurt my knee.... And in the last few weeks, I've started to gain a bit of weight, and I am not happy.  And the holidays are approaching. Well, I can't use my knee as an excuse anymore.    I started physical therapy this week.  It involves a lot of stretching my legs.  But the therapist also had me doing exercises -- squats, heel lifts, toe lifts.  And then he had me use an exercise machine.  A seated elliptical.  ...

Well, we've had a couple of days of cool, autmnal weather, but it's supposed to get warm again this week.  Climate change is real, folks. Jen is settling into her new job.  She loves the office environment. She's still exploring other career options, still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.  She's got plenty of time to explore ---neither she nor her boyfriend (he's a full time student) are ready to settle down. Becca is excited about her new job.  She gave notice to her current employer, and she will start the new job November 1.  She's moving towards what she wants to do with her career.  She's also talking about taking a few business classes at one of the CUNY schools -- cheap tuition and interesting academic offerings on the graduate level. Things are still crazy busy at my office.  I'm thinking this may be a permanent condition.  Busy is good.  Busy is job security. Tomorrow is the breast cancer walk, an...

What is that behind the tree????   The harvest moon, of course. #skywatchfriday

The alert popped up on my Google calendar this morning: say Yizkor . Yizkor is a memorial prayer, said on certain Jewish holidays, in memory of deceased loved ones. You're expected to say the prayer for a parent, a sibling, a spouse, or a child.  You may say the prayer for other deceased relatives, for Jewish martyrs, etc., but it's not required.  When you say the prayer, you use the Yiddish or Hebrew name of the deceased, and the name of the deceased's father.  There's a superstition that if your parents are still alive, you should not be in the sanctuary when the prayer is said.  For many years I left the sanctuary when it was time for Yizkor; but more recently, when the Rabbi encouraged everyone to stay, I did. And then, two years ago, I became someone who was expected to say Yizkor . Sometimes it seems like my father has been gone from us forever, sometimes I come home expecting to see him there.  So now I say Yizkor for my father: May the...

Joyce has done it again. 1. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your sense of direction? 1=can't find my way out of a paper bag and 10=if I've been somewhere once I can find it blindfolded ten years later. When was the last time you looked at/used a map you could hold in your hand?  (phones don't count!)  back east, down south, out west, up north Choose one of these directional expressions and tell us why you chose it. I can't remember the last time I used a paper map.  Waze is our friend. "Out west" comes to mind because this morning the news was dominated by California wild fire. 2. Did you do more talking or listening yesterday? Is that typical? Describe your yesterday in one word. Listening, I think.  I was receiving reports from various people. 3. Time, money, water-power-resources, opportunity...which one on the list are you most guilty of wasting? What might you do to change that? Time.  Definitely time.  Get rid of my iPad .... 4....

Halloween is coming.

It's funny how different pieces of family history get handed down, or not... My father was the youngest of five children, and the only boy.  His sisters married young and had children right away; he became an uncle at the age of 8.  My father, on the other hand, didn't marry until he was 32 years old.  I was born the day after his 33rd birthday.  I have 11 first cousins, all of whom are older than me.  Some even have children my age.  Most of my first cousins remember our grandparents, can tell stories about them.  I cannot, my paternal grandparent died before I was born.  There are huge chunks of our family history that I simply do not know. And yet... I knew something they didn't know. My grandparents grew up in the same shtetl, a small village in the Ukraine, outside of Kiev.  My grandfather immigrated to America in 1907, and sent for my grandmother in 1909.  They were married shortly after her arrival.  My grandpa...

A song popped into my head the other day, an old memory.  Something my grandmother used to sing. She learned the song at a summer camp on the East End of Long Island. It must have been an adult camping experience,  my grandmother grew up in a small village in Poland, and immigrated to America as an adult. It was one of the few songs she'd sing in English, most of the time she would sing in Yiddish, her native tongue. But she had a wonderful time at the camp. And I think she could relate to the title character in the story that this song tells. I'd always thought it was a folk song.  Turns out, the song was written in 1907.  There have been several popular recordings of the song on the country charts.  And it's even made an appearance in a couple of John Wayne movies. But I also think of it as my grandmother's song. Found it on YouTube ...

It's the middle of October, but you wouldn't know it from the weather.  It feels like summer out there.  I'm not happy, I can't wear my new sweater dress until the cooler weather arrives. Though as far as fall foliage is concerned, we are officially in "some color".  We reach peak at the end of October or early in November. I love the autumn colors. Saw Blade Runner 2049  this afternoon. Great movie, true to the original.  Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford work well together.  We picked up Mexican food on the way home. Steak fajita tacos, tortilla chips, black beans and rice, yum. Still crazy busy at work. No rest for the weary. I guess that's a good thing.

From April 2016, the World Trade Center. #skywatchfriday

It's just a song, right?  Just a song on the radio.  I haven't heard it for awhile, but it's still familiar.  I know all the words, I start to sing along.  I'm enjoying myself. And then...the lightning bolt. I am listening to the "oldies" station.  Not the "adult contemporary" station.  And this song is from 1999. Yes, 1999 .  "Oldies" used to mean the 1950's (before I was born) and the 1960's.  Eventually the music from the 70's was added to the playlist.  And when the 50's disappeared and music from the 80's began to show up on the "oldies" station, well...ok, that's to be expected, I suppose.  But 1999? In 1999 my children were in elementary school.    The song I heard on the radio this morning was something that they listened to all the time.  I may still have the CD in the house somewhere.  When did I get so old that the music my children listened to has joined the ranks of "Oldies...

Nobody pays attention to library board votes, do they?  I mean, so long as the library is open regularly and there are books on the shelves, no one really cares. I mean, the only reason I even know who is on our library board is because a friend of mine served on the board for a number of years. No one pays attention at all. Until something controversial happens. Our  library board wants to tear down the existing building and replace it with a new, modern facility. Naysayers objected to the cost and the inconvenience during construction. Almost 2,000 voters showed up to vote on the issue.  That's twice as many people as voted in the most recent school board election. But there are 15,000 households in the district. So I guess it was important.  But not nearly important enough.  But still... We're getting a new library!  Yessss!!!!

Sad but true. And I am so tired of praying for  a city, of sending  my good thoughts to the victims. And I am beyond frustrated that we as a society can't get our collective act together to stop this insanity.

Remember back in May, I wrote about my right knee and my visit to an orthopedist? Well, things didn't go exactly as planned. I'd been experiencing pain in my right knee for months when I finally saw the doctor in May. He did a physical exam, took x-rays, and ordered an  MRI.   He told me that my best treatment option was a gel injection.  He told me that the gel would have to be special-ordered, that it would take some time.   In the interim, he gave me a topical cream to ease the pain. When the topical cream proved ineffective, he prescribed an oral anti inflammatory instead. The pill provided some relief ... In early July the specialty pharmacy called me.  The gel had arrived, but they could not dispense it because they were waiting for authorization from my insurance company. And the insurance company was waiting for information from my doctor. And that's when things started to go south. Part of it was my own fault, I guess, ...

Another new month, with new possibilities. This month I have committed to the  Ultimate Blog Challenge .  I'll be blogging every day this month.  I've done similar challenges in the past.  It's good discipline. And I need the discipline right now. Several aspects of my life are starting to get away from me lately, and I need to get things under control. Its going to be an interesting month, I'm sure. I've got a lot planned.   My office continues to be crazy busy.  I've got a few projects going for charity -- the breast cancer walk, an event at my synagogue, and I've just joined an interfaith council.  And with just over a month until Election Day, I'll be canvassing with my candidate several times. Social life is going to be moderately busy, too.  There are a few movies opening this month that are on our "must see" list.  And we have plans to visit a haunted house at the end of the month. Should be an interesting month.