songbird's crazy world

So ... Tuesday night's railroad accident.  It was bad.  Very bad.  Horrific. It involved two trains and a vehicle.There were "only" three fatalities, the driver and passengers in the vehicle.  Luckily, the injuries among the train crews and train passengers were relatively minor. The accident happened at the School Street grade crossing, about half a mile east of the Westbury railroad station. According to witnesses, the driver tried to "beat the gate", i.e., he entered the tracks while the crossing gates were down and the lights were flashing.  The vehicle was hit by an eastbound train that had just left the Westbury station.  The train t-boned the vehicle and pushed it inot the path of an oncoming westbound train. The westbound train, headed to NYC, was not scheduled to stop at Westbury, so it was traveling at full speed.  The westbound train hit the vehicle full force.  The vehicle became wedged between the two trains, and bur...

Terri   always comes up with interesting questions.  This week she focused on National Strawberry Day: NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY We continue with February’s heart-shaped and red theme by observing National Strawberry Day on February 27. These juicy, sweet berries can brighten up any dish and are delicious all on their own. There are a few different stories behind the origin of the name. The more widely accepted version is that the berries would drop off the leaves and become “strewn” about the plant. Overtime “strewn-berries” became “strawberries”. There was a time (and some gardeners still do this today) when strawberry beds were mulched with straw, insulating the plants over the winter, keeping weeds at bay during the growing season and making them easier to harvest. Another sweet story tells of English children stringing the berries on grass straws and selling the “straw berries” in their neighborhoods. Not only are they delicious, but they are also fragrant. One ...

This accident was bad.very bad.  The train not only derailed, it plowed into the platform at Westbury.  The conductor on my train told me he heard there were 3 fatalities. He also said “no buses”. Oy. So I called Drew, and hecame to Mineola. And then he reminded me of a night, way back in 1986.  I was on my way home from work that night, too, when I got stranded in Mineola after a train hit a pedestrian.  Drew came to my rescue that night, too.

Normally I walk out of the office at 5 PM, but tonight I stayed late to finish up something I was working on.  I left the office about 5:30. Penn Station seemed unusually crowded when I arrived. It turns out service had been suspended on the Babylon branch for about two hours because a train hit a person who was on the tracks west of Freeport.  Those are elevated tracks, pedestrians are not usually on the tracks. Service had been restored, with minor delays, just before I got to the station. I don’t normally ride the Babylon branch, so the delays on that branch are not my problem. Little did I realize ... Later this evening, a train hit a vehicleat a grade crossing, and the train derailed.  As I write this post, there is no service through Westbury in either direction.  Both the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches of the railroad travel throug Westbury. I take the Ronkonkoma train. I am sitting on a train right now, we are stuck in Mineola....

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you already know:  I'm a fan of The Monkees.  I was 6 years old in 1966, the year the band was created, I was part of the target audience for that TV show, Four young men -- Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork -- were chosen to play parts in a TV show, but eventually became a real band. I've seen the band in concert many times. I saw all four Monkees perform at a concert in the 1980's.  I've seen:  Mickey, Peter and Davy; Mickey and Peter; and Mickey, Mike and Peter. We have tickets for a show next month with Mickey and Mike. I cried the day Davy Jones died . And I cried again on Thursday, when I heard that Peter Tork passed away. Here's a photo I took at a concert  in 2016 -- Peter performing in front of a projection of the group in its heyday.  It's not a great photo, but still ... So today's Music Monday is dedicated to The Monkees, and will highlight Peter's contrib...

Mint does not look like a typical Indian restaurant.  Instead, the decor is sleek, minimalist, modern.   We visited on a Sunday night in January.   We were seated upstairs -- adjacent to the (closed) rooftop bar -- because of a private party in the main dining area, but service was nevertheless attentive and accommodating.  The menu contains Chinese and Thai as well as Indian dishes. the menu notes which dishes are considered "spicy", which are vegetarian, gluten free, etc. We opted for Indian dishes -- Drums of Heaven  (a chicken drumstick appetizer that had a slightly spicy brown  sauce), lamb pasanda (cooked in a mild cashew sauce), shrimp tikka masala (cooked in a fenugreek flavored tomato sauce) and garlic naan.  The dishes were served "family style"; it was more than enough food for the two of us. The dishes were flavorful but not overly spicy, the sauces very rich and satisfying. We also ordered Thai fried rice  -- i...

The woods behind my house -- you can't really see the sky because of the fog.... #skywatchfriday

We were given a gift card to a place we'd never been before.  We perused the eclectic menu and the expansive wine and beer list, and headed to  The Lake House . This beautiful restaurant serves New American cuisine on the shores of the Great South Bay.  The restaurant has large windows that offer expansive views of the bay; in summer they feature outdoor dining on the deck. We went on weeknight in the dead of winter, and were able to enjoy the building's two fireplaces. I ordered a glass of prosecco and he ordered a cocktail from the bar.  The waiter brought hot dinner rolls, and then a little surprise from the chef:  a single shrimp, topped with a spicy sauce, sitting on a bed of guacamole, garnished with a slice of cucumber.  We knew then that we were going to have a great dining experience. I ordered the roasted harvest vegetable soup -- smooth, subtly seasoned, and accompanied by a small portion of Gruyere grilled cheese.  He had the litt...

this week's questions from Terri 1.  Have you ever had a special pet in your life?  Will you tell us about it? All pets are special.  But Molly was more than special.  Molly was a beagle, sweet but stupid.  There were times I wanted to kill her because of her ability to escape the house (one time I chased her all around the block until she finally ran home) and her love of digging (she destroyed my couch). Molly earned her place in doggie heaven when Jen was born.  She would sleep under Jen's crib when Jen was napping.  And when Jen was learning to stand, she'd grab Molly's ears and use Molly as leverage.  And the dog just stared at me and sighed.     2.  Did you grow up with pets in your home?  What did it teach you? When I was growing up I had a poodle named Pepi and a cat named Cinders.  I learned so many things from those two: responsibility, kindness, compassion, and, yes, even how ot grieve. ...

Remember Hollywood on Water Street? Blogged about it  here  and  here . Last night I was watching Manifest .... Yes, these are photos from the set of   Manifest.

A law was made a distant moon ago here July and August cannot be too hot And there's a legal limit to the snow here in Camelot.... No, not Camelot .. .  on Sunday night we saw  Spamalot . Yes, Spamalot , Eric Idle's musical reworking of Monty Python and the Holy Grail .  Cheeky, irreverent, politically incorrect humor meets musical theater.  My evening did not start off well.  I left my cell phone in the restaurant where we ate dinner before the show (had to retrieve it the next day).  The janitor came in to clean the ladies room while I was in there:awkward.   I spilled white wine all over myself when I tripped over some electrical cords on the way to my seat. And some idiot could not wait for me to stand up, but literally climbed over me on the way to his seat. But I took some advice from Mr. Idle. (I think the  video is from the original Broadway production.)  That song was originally from Life of Brian .   ...

This week we are asked to use the words SMOKE, ALARM, BATTERY and CHARGE So let's start with the obvious, Deep Purple: And where there's smoke. In West Side Story , Maria sings about how "it's alarming how charming I feel": But we also have Batteries.....hmmm... I know we are celebrating Presidents' Day, but my mind went back to December, to the Twelve Pains of Christmas, and to the line "batteries not included". Charge was another difficult word.  An old TV show theme song, where a sneeze was mistaken for the word "charge", with comic results. . Or maybe this will work....they charge the people $1.50 to see trees... And now I am going to be a bit self indulgent and post a song outside of the stated theme: Well, that's the playlist for the week.  I think I'm really enjoying this blog hop.

The woods behind my house... #skywatchfriday

Well, it's Valentine's Day again.  Drew and I officially got engaged on Valentine's Day in 1986.  Ironically, our divorce became final ten years later, on February 14, 1996.  Since we've been back together, we try to remember that first occasion and not the second. And yes, our daughters think we are crazy. Jen and I are going to the gym tonight, a little mother-daughter bonding on the treadmill.  Her boyfriend has school tonight.  He's studying nursing, wants to be an RN.  Smart man. More aggravation with My Stupid Knee: the bureaucratic nonsense I have to endure so that the pharmacy ships my medication to my doctor knows no bounds.  What are they shipping, gold?  platinum?  diamonds?  Makes me roll my eyes. It's going to be a very full weekend.  Lots of plans.  We're seeing Spamalot  Sunday night, and we've got reservations at a couple of nice restaurants.  Then on Tuesday we're going to the accountant to...

Terri's questions this week: 1.  I think St. Valentine's Day is for everyone, whether you have a romantic love interest or not.  I received a Valentine card from my sister (thank you Patti!) - case in point.  It is all about LOVE, not just romantic love.  What are your traditions for celebrating Valentine's Day? Yes, the focus of the holiday does seem to be on romance, but when my daughters were little I used to give them cards and candy.  I don't have any real traditions.  My boyfriend likes to take me out for a  romantic dinner.   This year we decided to wait until the weekend, so tomorrow night I'll be at the gym with my older daughter; her boyfriend has classes tomorrow night, so we're making it a "girls' night"  of sorts. 2.  When you were in elementary school, did you decorate a shoe box and deliver those little valentines to all your classmates?   Perhaps in Sunday School? I don't remembe...

We’ll call him Jack, though that’s not his real name.  He’s a friend of a friend. He’s 63 years ol, but looks older.  Gray hair, gray beard, weathered face.still dresses like the “hippie” he was in his youth — jeans, boots, a t shirt from a classic rock band, a bandanna tied around his head.  You can just imagine him sharing a smoke with Jerry Garcia. He’s twice divorced, with grown kids from his first marriage , so he’s basically on his own. He supports himself with his Social  Security benefits and a low-paying job sweeping up and running errands. A few years ago he suffered a stroke, which as left him with significant cognitive impairment. Last year Jack ran into a bit of legal trouble.  He was summoned to jury duty, and one of his friends told him "You don't have to go, I'll take care of it."  She didn't "take care of it."  He got several additional notices from the Commissioner of Jurors, which he gave to his friend, who did noth...

For this week's blog hop, we're told to choose whatever songs we want. Since Thursday is Valentine's Day, I've chosen some love songs. Let's start with some Blondie: And move on to Freddy Mercury -- yes, I love Queen. How about some Styx? And let's finish it off with some Fleetwood Mac No, wait....let's do a bonus hit.  How about some Barbra?