songbird's crazy world

So I graduated from high school 40 years ago.  Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been that long, and sometimes high school seems as remote as the Fall of Rome. So I joined a Facebook page dedicated to the class of 1978 from my high school.  There were almost 900 of us in the graduating class, only a fraction of which are on Facebook. I won't be going to the reunion in September -- we have tickets for a concert that night -- but I did want to see what everyone is up to these days. And someone started a conversation about our classmates who have died.  And the list is long.  Way too long. Sigh...

Drew and I got married 31 years ago today.  I would never have imagined how things turned out, that we’d get divorced after 7 years of marriage, and that we’d find ourselves in a dating relationship again after such a nasty divorce.  But here we are. He’s having a medical procedure today, and it involves anesthesia, so I have to drive him back and forth.  The doctors all assume I’m his wife, and we don’t disabuse them of that notion. When the procedure is over, he’ll be starving because he wasn’t allowed to eat.  So we’ll probably head over to the diner.  Long Island has the best diners. Yesterday I had a business meeting in the city, just a few blocks from Becca’s office, so of course I treated my daughter to lunch.  And Jen was dying for a cupcake, so I stopped at the famed Magnolia Bakery (there’s one in Penn Station now) on my way home. Though I didn’t buy one for myself,  I’m watching what I eat these days.  Far too many of my friends...

Drew DVR'd last Saturday's Mets game.  Seems the two of us were on TV.  The camera panned to the seats behind the Dogdgers dugout many times during the game, and on at least 6 of those occasions, the viewers could see Drew and me enjoying the game. Tonight we're going to another Ducks game.  Yes, we do love baseball. Drew doesn't bring his baseball mitt to the games anymore.  I guess that once you catch a foul ball and fulfill your childhood dream, you don't need to try to catch another ball. Even with me eating like a pig at Citi Filed the other day, I still managed to lose weight this week.  I guess all that walking paid off.   I plan to go back to the beach and walk again this coming weekend.  I have to use my beach pass at least 7 times this summer to break even on the cost, and I've already used it four times.  So I think I'm ahead of the game. And Drew got his pool pass for the community pool, so my first swim of the summer is...

Outfit of the day:  jeans, my “Cooperstown” t-shirt ( the one with the Mets logo on the front and the names of all the Mets who’ve made it to the Hall of Fame on the back) and my Mike Piazza Jersey. It’s been cloudy and cool all day, and rain is likely this evening, so my sweatshirt and rain poncho  are packed in my tote bag. The drive is familiar.  We get off the highway at Flushing Meadow, Drive through the park to the lot on Roosevelt Avenue.  NYPD  won’t let us walk across the street, so we climb the steps to the elevated, then climb down on the other side of the street.  Welcome to Citi Field.   We walk past the Home Run Apple (a relic of the late, lamented Shea Stadium), past the line of fans waiting to enter via the main rotunda. Our tickets allow us to use the Seaver Gate.  Bag search, metal detectors,and then we are inside. Today’s giveaway: You can actually make the Apple pop up, just like it does when one o...

We were supposed to see a concert in NYC last night — “The Monkees - the Mike and Mickey Show” - but the show was postponed until January because Mike Nesmith took ill.   So instead we drove down to Jones Beach and took a walk, then picked up some Hawaiian take-out and came home to watch the Mets game. Our friends L and E went to Westbury Music Fair last night to see the “Happy Together” tour — featuring the Turtles and several other bands from the 1960’s.  They were supposed to see The Monkees with us, but when the show got cancelled, they bought tickets for the Turtles.  Funny thing is, they originally had tickets for the Turtles, but sold those tickets when they bought the tickets for The Monkees. Tonight we are headed to Citi Field for a Mets game.  You know we love baseball. Still trying to figure out when to have the 4th of July barbecue.  The holiday is on a Wednesday this year, which wreaks havoc on our schedule. Drew had a little visitor to his yard. Th...

#skywatchfriday

This week's questins from Joyce: 1. Summer is upon us this week in the Northern hemisphere. Tell us three things on your summer bucket list. -- a backyard barbecue.  Drew always hosts a few of these events in his yard.  He cancelled this year's Memorial Day weekend  event, so I'm looking forward to the 4th of July. --swimming.  I spent a lot of time at the pool when I was growing up, and I've always loved the water.  --a boat ride.  I live on an island, after all, so being out on the water is somethng I can easily arrange.  2. Something fun you used to do as a kid in the summertime? My father was a teacher, and later a school principal.  when I was growing up, he'd take a summer job at a day camp.  As a result, my sisters and I spent a lot of time at day camp.  Activities included swimming, sports, arts and crafts, music and dance, nature hikes, horseback rides....  3. Rootop or backyard? Why? I'm ...

I've seen plenty of street musicians, but this guy was a bit ...different.

So  a couple of weeks ago we saw "Escape To Margaritaville" on Broadway. And right after we saw the show, Drew got an email from Sirius XM, advising him that he'd won two tickets to ..."Escape To Margaritaville" on Broadway. So we went again, and let the island vibe wash over us. The seats were better than the ones we'd paid for.  The pina coladas were just as good.   And then, as the cast was taking their bows.... Yes, the man himself, Jimmy Buffet took the stage.  (Horrible lighting, wish I’d gotten a better photo.) Yeah, he’s been known to do that occasionally.  He lives on Long Island, and when he’s not touring, he may show up... And last night he brought his friend Pit Bull with him. He sang “Margaritaville”.  The audience screamed with joy. Yeah, fun night!

Got up early this morning and drove down to Jones Beach.  I needed to do some walking.  I parked at Field 6 and walked to the West Bathhouse, and back again — about 2 miles.  It felt good. Read a couple of chapters of the Clinton/Patterson book. I think I’m going to like it.   We watched the Belmont Stakes, we saw Justify make history as the 13th Triple Crown winner.  Wow, what a horse. Dinner tonight at a Dominican restaurant where our waitress didn’t speak English, and my Spanish needs improvement.   The food was incredible.... our appetizer was queso frito, tostones, and chorizo.  Drew had oxtail stew, I had a dish composed of grilled chicken, ham and pineapple smothered in cheese.  Our meal came with rice and beans, of course. And we ended the evening watching the Mets play the Yankees at Citi Field.   Next month they’ll play at Yankee Stadium.   Saturday ....

#skywatchfriday

Guess where I was last week? The lake at Eisenhower, of course. I really love walking there. This goose (gander?) was all alone.  I was surprised, because geese usually hang out in groups.  Was he wounded, unable to fly?  Or ostracized by his flock? I found this guy sitting on  the coping (it's a man-made lake), just sunning himself. This little guy was sitting on the lawn, watching the people walk by. The ducks were enjoying the water. I usually don't take photos of people in the park, but i made an exception for this guy.  He showed up with hi s karaoke equipment and a playlist form the early 1970's (James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce) and put on a show.  And when I walked over to drop some money in his box, I realized he was fundraising for a charity.  So I doubled my donation.

Joyce  has a new set of questions: 1.Describe your 30's in one sentence. If you're not yet 30 tell us one thing you hope to accomplish once you hit that particular decade. My 30's were an emotional roller coaster, involving the birth of two children, a nasty divorce, moving inand out of several residences, and three job changes .  2. Is it harder for you to exercise or eat healthy? Both are difficult for me, but I'm trying hard to eat healthy and exercise.    3. June 7th is National VCR Day. Huh? Anyway this reminded me of something I saw on Facebook listing household items we no longer have and the VCR was on it. I couldn't put my hands on that list, but found another list here of 21 items we all had ten years ago, but which are now obsolete- bookshelves (WHAT!!???), drip coffee makers, alarm clocks, file cabinets, desktop computers, printers, printed phone books, answering machines, fax machines, paper shredders, a Rolodex, CD racks, C...

Becca was home for the weekend, and I drove her back to her apartment Sunday night. Took some interesting photos when I saw stuck in traffic on 34th Street. Yeah, it was raining.  The rain started after I dropped Becca at her apartment. Which made my ride home so much more interesting.

We went to our first Long Island Ducks game of the season Saturday night.  We go to 7-8 games every year.  It’s a fun night out, and a lot less expensive than going to Citi Field or another major league ballpark. We have our routine — get there early, before the gates open, so that we have time to walk around the concourse, pick up food, and take our seats before the national anthem is played. We sit in the upper deck, behind home plate.  Which gave to an excellent view of the drone. They experimented with the drone during the pregame festivities, but not during the game itself. It was kind of sad to see the pregame activity and not see Bud Harrelson.  Harrelson, a hero of the ‘69 Mets, is a part owner of the Ducks, and has always been on the field, in uniform, to support the team.  But Harrelson announced he’d be cutting back on appearances this year, as he is not well — he has Alzheimer’s. But do not fear, the torch has been passed.  Wally Backman — yes, ...