songbird's crazy world

 Until I read the news on Friday that he had passed away I’d never heard of Johnny Gaudreau.   I’m not really an NHL fan.  I mean, if you give me tickets to an Islanders game I’ll go, and I’ll enjoy it, but I really don’t know any of the players. And yet, who would not be affected?  Gaudreau was only 31.  He and his younger brother were biking in their hometown when they were struck and killed by an allegedly drunk driver.  They died the day before what was supposed to be their sister’s wedding,  Johnny leaves behind a wife and two young children. Beyond tragic.

  Morning Train 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!  Morning Train (1981)  Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this song, Sheena Easton sings about her lover, who takes a train to and from work each day. When is the last time you took public transportation? Where did you go? We took the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan, we met up with my daughter and her then-fiance (now husband) and his parents for brunch. 2) His workday begins at 9 and ends at 5. Do your days stick to a predictable schedule?  Definitely  3) In the evening s...

Interesting visitor on my Ring doorbell camera … Shadow was watching intently from the kitchen window. He came back the next day, brought some friends. We get lots of birds in this neighborhood, even more than we saw at our old house.   Maybe that’s because the streets here all have bird names: Flamingo, Blackbird, Sandpiper, Redwing, Kingfisher, Wigeon, Bobolink, Pelican, Swallow, Magpie, Chickadee, Grouse, Finch, Quail, Heron, Woodcock, Starling, Mockingbird, Falcon, Albatross, Gull, Snowbird, Woodpecker, Thrush.  A regular aviary.   No Robin, alas.  There’s a Robin Lane and a Sparrow Lane in an older part of Levittown. There’s another “aviary” nearby, with Condor, Loon, Oriole, Mallard, Wren, Cardinal, Lark, Crane and Raven. Scattered through various neighborhoods you’ll find Skylark, Blue Jay, Peacock, Owl, Hawk and Swan. Someone at the Levitt organization must have been a bird lover.

 Shadow loves her scratching post.   And then there’s Duchess, the new Grumpy Cat … Duchess has discovered the living room window.

Nassau County just enacted a “mask law”.  Under the new law, if you wear a mask in public to hide your identity, you can be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. The law has an exception for masks worn for medical necessity or religious purpose.  The law is being challenged in federal court (of course).  There was a story in Tuesday’s newspaper: an 18 year old man was arrested for violating the new mask law. He was dressed all in black, with  a heavy black ski mask.   He was also charged with weapons possession — he was carrying a 14 inch knife.   News article. He was arrested while walking through his neighborhood. He was arrested 2 1/2 blocks from my house. On the same street where the police were looking for the men who robbed the Louis Vuitton bag.  (Actually they robbed the man who carried the bag, but you know what I mean …) And people wonder why I bought those Ring cameras …

 So last month we moved .8 mile, which put us in a different neighborhood/zip code/municipality — we moved across the border from Hicksville to Levittown, from a neighborhood west of Newbridge Road (a major thoroughfare) to one east of Newbridge Road. Which means a new neighborhood to explore on my afternoon walk. So I get to see more Levitt houses.  They started out as cookie cutter, assembly line structures.   But over the years … well, people built out and up, and now no two houses are alike. The other day I found myself in front of a sad house.  There was a fire a few weeks ago.  No one was injured or killed, thank goodness, but the house is boarded up, empty… Will they repair the house?  Or will they do what a lot of folks around here are doing, and tear it down to build a McMansion?

You find the strangest things on a Ring camera feed 

 So I was looking at my Facebook memories the other day …. And there it was, an incident that happened 13 years ago, when Drew and I were vacationing in Disney World. We were standing on line for a ride (I think it was Soarin’) and a child, a young boy, was getting a bit wild, and accidentally kicked me. His mother told him to settle down, but she didn’t make him apologize to me.  She didn’t say anything to me either.   And then, another Facebook memory. Exactly three years later.  A group of us were at the New York Renaissance Faire.  A young boy, maybe 5 years old, kicked some rocks, and one rock hit me.  The boy’s mother told him to apologize to me.  He refused to do so.  So she apologized and told me ‘he’s been doing that all day.”  My thought?  Well of course he has, there are no consequences for his behavior. I can’t help but wonder what kind of teenagers those two boys have become.

 Drew and I have been going to the  New York Renaissance Faire  practically since its inception decades ago. (This year is the Faire’s 47th season.)  It’s a wonderful festival full of entertainment, Faire food, shopping, etc.  We went last weekend and had a marvelous time. Jon Norton, the Flaming Ginger.  Comedy, juggling and (of course) fire stunts, Cirque du Sewer, an act featuring cats and rats.  You may have seen them on America’s Got Talent.   One of her cats did not cooperate but chose to spend the entire performance hiding in the bushes.    Aaron Bonk, who uses whips. juggling and fire. (You may recall we saw him perform on the Celebrity Constellation during our December 2022 cruise.  Very different from his show at the Faire.) There are two running “stories” being played out at the Faire.  We are in “the Shire” on the day Queen Elizabeth and her Court visit.  And throughout the day you’ll see scenes from the Robin ...

 And the theme?  Songs about going back to school or childhood favorites                  

 When making breakfast today, please remember— slice the bagel , not your finger. Yeah, I did a number on my hand last week, but I’m healing nicely.

  Sh-boom 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 are today's questions! Saturday 9: Sh-Boom (1954) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) 70 years ago this month, the Crew Cuts were singing that life could be a dream. When you awaken, can you recall your dreams? No. 2) The lead singer refers to his girl as "darling," "sweetheart" and "baby." Have you used an affectionate endearment lately? If yes, who were you speaking to? Yes, I called my cat “sweetheart”. 3) Two members of this Canadian quartet are brothers, bo...