up for it

Whenever the weather is nice, New Yorkers are out and about. Walking the streets or taking public transportation can be joy enough in the sunshine. They begin with trepidation, but soon begin enjoying the moment. They even speak with strangers!

   And by the by, I'm leaving all this in a week, headed for parts south and then west of the Mississippi. But that doesn't mean I don't love New York.

 

balloon man

 

"Oy've niver delivered bloons befo', " he said, in what I took at the time to be an Australian accent. "It's noyce—thir graduatin'!"

    What do you think this accent was? 

yikes!

Never a dull moment in the city that has been slumbering but is now awake. Can you find the building pictured below in the picture above? It gave me vertigo to see this couple. I have lived here for 44 years and never looked out my window and seen anyone out on that fire escape before.

   People are sick of hiding out indoors!

 

an outing

 

Did Ed pick the place to match his outfit? No, he picked the place because it's his local, and he likes the owner. And the waiter. And the fried goat cheese, and the bacon-surrounded dates. He told us all stories and bought us all lunch. Me and Chien-Chi and Barbara and Ralph. And then it was his naptime (4:00, since always). So Chien-Chi, who goes home to Austria on Friday, taxied him home, and Ralph figured out how to get us home by water. A long ferry ride for the price of a subway ride!

And even now, Ed is getting the staples out of his head and learning what chemo has in store for him. "I can feel it eating away," he says of the cancer.

aging bodies

Off I went to the opthamologist. Good news! My prescription has not changed in the past two years, and my cataracts are not much worse. Bad news: Need to see a retinal specialist to explain why my eyes are seeing a straight line of type as wavy. Off to another doc. So those are my b/w half moons above, with dips in the middle. The dips are VMT—vitreomacular tension. They come with aging. They either get better or they get worse. Check back in a while.

Then it was off to the cardiologist to investigate a heart murmur. After an EKG and an echocardiogram, the word was cholesterol buildup in a couple valves. It comes with aging. It either gets worse or it doesn't. Check back in a while.

 

famous edifices

As I go about NYC on my medical rounds, I have checked many famous buildings. The Chrysler Building, Grand Central, Empire State. I saw the new train station in the old Post Office Building, too, but did not get a good picture.
 

sunny days

The sun came out, and it finally got warm on Block Island, encouraging Isaac to go on the road hollering, "If you got lemons, make lemonade!" And they did. The fact that they accepted Venmo probably accounted for some of their success.

  Meanwhile In New York City, we were drinking fancy limeade at Playa Mama, a pseudo surfer taco place in the middle of Amsterdam Ave. A bunch of us ventured out to one of the first gatherings in a loooong time, Honey. That's Hope, Donna, Fanny, Barb and Kay,  journalists all. Oh, and Ryan, who is not old enough yet but is probably doomed. He and his friend had a lemonade stand in TriBeCa the other day. Also a big success. Everyone is just so happy to be out and about.

 

a visit with ed

Hard to believe that just a week before, Ed had his head screwed down (hence the bindi) and the back of his skull removed. He said the doctors told him that a large tumor popped out and splatted on the floor. This being Ed, the account may be exaggerated. Anyway it was a large, aggressive, malignant tumor. And it's out.

  He is going in to get the staples out this coming week, and I guess will find out at that point what they have planned for him in the way of chemo. 

   He is having difficulty with peripheral vision, which makes it hard to read and write and use his phone. Well, he has always been technically challenged. On the upside, he is sleeping better. He seems to be as smart as ever (i.e. more than most people I know, and most people I know are smart) and talks as fluently as ever. His laugh, when Chien-Chi and I visited him, is the same machine-gun version (some say typewriter) as ever. It was great to spend time together. Looking forward to some great parties and hearing those old stories again.

 

ready steady go

Hannah and Chris got the house ready, and we are open for business. The first tenant arrived this week, hopefully to better weather than Debby had. It was freezing, and we have no heat. Looks mighty spiff though. All pix by Hannah except the last: Mood music by Debby.

 

bye bye bi

 

There we go on the ferry. Chris took this picture from my bedroom window. Water pored through the portholes, and Debby feared for her life for the first 15 minutes. It was definitely a barf boat,  but neither one of us got seasick. The drive home in the pouring rain, splashing through rivers on the West Side Drive, was hair raising. But here we are, and all is well. Donna and Fanny greeted me with good food and good company. Debby corrected my parking error (loading zone), and I found a new spot. 

  And when I wake up in the morning, I don't remember where I am and expect to hear mouse voices saying, "Squeakeroo!" to let me know that they are coming into my room to play games on my phone.

what is the dog doing on the table?

Fighting with the fighting fish?

 

my ed

 Even now, they are opening Ed's skull to take out a tumor on his brain. "I feel like a soft boiled egg," he said. The funny bone has obviously survived. I am assuming the surgery will be a long one. They are saying that if all goes well he could be home by Monday. He says he will be needing a hat. I said he may need a smaller size.

 

island life

 Edie Blane's memoir of life on Block Island back in the day before indoor plumbing has finally come out. Those of us who have heard her stories have been anticipating this book. And now it's here! You can acquire a copy of Bound By Blue at Island Bound Bookstore. Perhaps Edie's favorite reader is of the type below. When I sent it to her she said, "This pic is priceless to me.  The book is doing just what I wanted:  Young folks reading about old B.I. and old me too."

getting there

 Almost ready for prime time.  Hannah and Chris hauled ass at Hannah's Hideaway yesterday, and it looks great. First renters next week. Meanwhile many health worries among our friends. More on that later.

the ferry comes in

It has been a steady stream of family and friends here on the Isle of Misfits. Erin and Flip and Madison moved into their new house. Johnny and Pam moved back to their house next door. Douglas comes and goes. Hannah and fam are here. Donna and Fanny came out as did Hannah's high school friend Mira. Chris's mom is here for her birthday, and Debby arrives tomorrow for hers. And I'm about to wrap it up and head for New York. Just as the weather gets nice! First beach day yesterday. And first rental a week from tomorrow.

 

kids roomz

Isaack's Room
 

Milla's Room

My Truck in Their Back Yard

This is not from my most recent trip to Providence with my sister, but the one prior. I have always loved the way kids' rooms look. The colors, how proud they are, the whole scene. There's a photographer who has kids all over the world arrange their favorite toys and then makes a portrait. I like the mess.

a happy day video

setting

Yesterday. I know you are probably sick of views from my windows, but

Front page of the Block Island Times.

An aerial view of the compound. Note pond in the shape of BI, created on purpose by Johnny.

we will survive

 

by Isaac

by Camilla

I've survived

so far

by Claudia

edie stars

 

That's my knockout friend Edie in the middle. She grew up on Block Island, and some of her wonderful reminiscences are in this youtube video. She was the first warden (mayor) of Block Island for years. She performed the marriage of Chris and Hannah. And her video debut appeared on her 93rd birthday last month. She is an amazing person, one of the few Block Islanders who was welcoming to outsiders regardless of race, religion or sexual preference. A book of her stories, Bound By Blue,  will appear shortly. I will post wen that becomes available.