Day #3 - A Song That Reminds You of Summer

Off the top of my head Summertime from George Gershwin's American Opera - "Porgy and Bess". (Which is actually my favorite Opera - well the only Opera that I like, I don't tend to like Opera. It's among the few music styles that doesn't quite work for me.)

This has an interesting history for me - which most songs don't, in that it makes me think of my friend, Richard Walker. He died in 1990 of leukemia. We were very close in college. We met doing coffee house - he'd sing, and I read poetry. We were very popular performers. And I also shared the stage with him - when I ended up getting cast in my first and only musical performance. They cast everyone who auditioned. It should be noted that I can't sing. And while I can dance - I can't do it in orchestration with others. So lip-synched my way through it, and was put in the back. (I'd auditioned for a lark - and in the hopes that I would not be cast. My Modern Dance Instructor talked us into doing it.) Anyhow, long story short - the first time I ever heard Gershwin's magical Summertime - was when Richard and another woman sang it, while I lip-synched in the chorus. Richard also sung "It Ain't Necessarily So". (Everyone in the cast but Richard and the other woman was white, Richard and the other woman were black.)

The song is sung by a down on her luck fisherman's wife in the Carolinas during the turn of the century. The song is in of itself a lie - a song of hope in the midst of despair. So I find it fitting for these lazy days in summer that share more than a little in common with those by-gone days of lore.

The version I chose, and there are many - is by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, because Armstrong's voice reminds me of Richard Walker's. (Richard was better looking and I miss him still.) I did however flirt with Nina Simon's take on the song. But I'm saving Nina for another song, much much later in the program.

Watch on YouTube

( the rest below the cut )

Day #143

Is it Day 143 or 142? I feel like I might be skipping over numbers now?



Two days after the storm devastated much of the NYC area and the Northeast, I took a walk through Greenwood Cemetery. (Apparently half the state had no power, prompting our erstwhile Governor to declare yet another State of Emergency and investigate the power providers, Con Ed and PSEG for their epic failure to safely address the problem in a prompt manner.) A lot of trees down in the neighborhood, or broken branches. The storm did a real number on our Willow trees, although they are still intact. Greenwood was closed Tuesday and Wednesday because of the storm. But mostly open today, with just a few areas blocked off.

So yes, the pictures in this post are all recent and taken tonight. (In case you care, not that you do, but just in case.)

( broken tree under the cut - too painful to bear, which is why it is under the cut )

Poor trees. Shows that all living things can be destroyed at nature's whim.

Speaking of? After seeing not one but two videos of people who have been struggling to recover from COVID for about 130 days now, I talked myself out of visiting my brother's barn again.

Me: So I talked myself out of visiting my brother's barn again.
Mother: I hadn't realized you talked yourself into it?
Me: Oh I had. Then I saw not one but two videos of people who had it - and got scared. I cannot afford to get this virus. (I proceed to tell her a little of it.)
Mother: No, you really can't.
Me: I do wish the media would stop showing these -
Mother: It has to scare people to death - so they will behave themselves. Otherwise they'll go off irresponsibly and spread the virus. I feel guilty going to the grocery store - even though I am wearing a mask and social distancing.

I envy folks who can visit their family. Co-workers have. I can't. My parents are in complete lock down, even if we were willing to risk it and I was living down there - they won't let anyone in. And my brother's barn isn't something I think I can handle. I'm not as courageous as his friends are, apparently.

Also, people are stupid.

The C.D.C. has issued a formal warning about the dangers of drinking hand sanitizer after four people died and nearly a dozen others became ill after doing so. Some had consumed it for the alcohol content. It was not immediately clear if any of the people were trying to disinfect their bodies.





New York vs. the NRA

New York has a found a way to shut down the NRA that has zip to do with the Second Amendment or Guns. In fact the lovely thing about this - is that ironically the NRA considered re-registering their status as a non-profit company in another state, but got lazy and decided what the heck, we'll stay in NY. The NRA is a registered non-profit in the State of New York - which places it firmly under New York jurisdiction and accountable to New York's laws.

Apparently after a lengthy investigation - NY got enough evidence to file criminal charges against various members of the NRA, including the organization itself, for fraud, misuse of charitable funds, and bribery, among other things. The heads of the organization had been embezzling taking their members donations and using them to fund trips, further their own wealth, and comforts. Also to bribe officials.

Go here for the actual press release: Attorney General James Files a Lawsuit to Dissolve the NRA (And yes, she can do that. Worse - the lawsuit opens them up to civil suites and various tax infractions. They were operating as a non-profit.)

Mother gleefully told me about this during our lunch time chat. We talk two to three times a day over the phone. It breaks up the day. And keeps us bother going. She's struggling right now, because of my father - who is rather melancholy. (Gee, I wonder why? The poor man has Alzheimers, there's nothing to look forward to, and the pandemic has taken away the remaining stuff...he's about ready to give up on the whole kit and kaboodle.) She said, he told her this morning that they had to tell his sisters. "About what," my mother asked. "The funeral." Sigh.



Walking about the Cemetery today helped. It was cooler, in the upper 70s, with a nice breeze. And it cleared my head. I'd spent the morning wrangling with the Rail Yard folks, and the afternoon attempting to focus on environmental on-call work. We did a Microsoft Teams, which can't access my computer's camera or video for some reason, while Zoom can. "We're not permitted to use Zoom," the project team told me. Which I find amusing since everyone in education and in my church uses it. Fine by me, gives me an excuse not to be seen on video. I could look at their talking heads, and not have to show mine. Yippee. I do not photograph well.

The Cemetery kind of puts things into perspective. And I find myself letting go of things - such as anger, frustration, anxiety, and a sense of futility. It gives me hope. And I find myself praying that it will guide my father, and find a way to give him hope as well. (I think he needs a distraction from the news and the world - but I've no clue what.)

Last night's covenant group chat via Zoom, also helped in a way - we discussed Romans, and James in the New Testatment - it's Unitarians, so I would call this more of an analytical/intellectual discussion than an emotional/religious one. ( Read more... )

Today, I told my mother that what we had to do was be grateful for what we had. We were okay. So many aren't. Tonight, a four alarm fire broke out in my area - not near me, about twenty to thirty blocks to the Southeast, on Courtelyou - people raced out with just their clothes on their backs. There was substantial damage. My heart goes out to them. And I find I'm relieved that it's not me. I also told my mother that the only way to deal with this was to do it one day at a time. To stay in the moment, not look too far ahead or too far behind. And I found my granny's voice was once again inside my head - I hear her sometimes. The dead, those we care deeply for, are always with us, I think, in our thoughts, memories, and actions.

She told me, as she often did when she was alive...just be happy you got up this morning. And Tomorrow is another day. Deal with it when it comes. Until then? Enjoy this flower. This piece of chocolate. This great television show. Or the tweeting of a bird. Or a song. Today, I listened to Cher, then moved to Billie English, then to Hard Rock Guitar Solos, and then over to Joan Armatrading. Thankful for music and the ability to enjoy it.

There were these giant sunflowers that I passed on my walk home. So I thought I'd take a picture of one, with the lovely evening sky...to share with all of you. I hope you take some comfort in it, as I do.