Spirit Journey & Manatees - Part 2

We deplaned and as I walked down the jet way at the Tampa Airport my ears were still not clear. But as I entered the airport and saw my honey waiting for me with open arms, I just fell into them. Sean hugged me warmly and I felt a bit better. I hugged his brother Phil too. Then they began to ask about my trip and I was having trouble hearing them. Sean looked at me and said that I didn’t look well. I smiled gamely and said that I felt I would recover on the beach far better than in the snow. Phil knew the airport pretty well, so we followed him to the elevators and down to the parking garage. Sean carried my Ixspa bag. We got to Phil’s caddy, threw my bag into the trunk and took off.

I had last been to the Tampa and St. Petersburg area in 1985 and my, had it grown since then. As we drove along heading south on route 75 I could not believe the new buildings and increased highway traffic. When we got off of 75 onto local roads, there were so many new condominiums! It was as if they had paved and built up on every available square inch of Florida, except of course for the golf courses and beaches. There were so many stop lights and it seemed like it took forever to get onto Estero Island. Young and tan people in swimsuits were hanging out everywhere as if it was spring break; but it was only February. I felt so white and sickly pale sitting in the air conditioned car coughing and feeling like death warmed over.

Finally we reached Phil’s condo which was about 5 stories tall and shaped like a “u”. Phil’s unit was on the third storey. In the middle of the “u” were a swimming pool and Jacuzzi and it opened to a stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico. Woohoo! Now we were talking. Vacation here I come. So I trudged up the flights of stairs to Phil’s condo and once let in, collapsed on my bed dead to the world.

They let me sleep until dinner time. I awoke, groggy and stuffed up and not really feeling like doing much. We had dinner at some fish place where all you could get was battered fried fish, which I don’t like. Though, they both assured me that they had eaten well all week.

The next morning, I awoke early feeling a bit better and Phil was up. I accompanied him for his morning constitutional walk on the beach. The sand was hard and white as we strode across it; him going for time and me looking for shells. It was too cold to go in the water. When we got back to the condo, Sean was up. We went to a local chain restaurant where Phil could get a senior citizen’s discount. Man, that place was cheap. But, you can’t really fuck up breakfast. The hot aromatic coffee was most welcome. Sean and I spent the rest of the day in and around Fort Myers.

Sean and I rented a sit on top Kayak for two and paddled around the local estuaries. He kept telling me to look out for dolphins as he and Phil had seen them swimming along side the small power boat they had rented to explore this very area. I really wanted to see them, but we never did.

The ever elusive dolphin.

We visited a place called dog beach and I wished we had brought our dog. I became very tired and crapped out and Sean had to paddle the whole way back. I felt so guilty that I wasn’t paddling, but Sean said that he was fine with it. I love him so much sometimes. By the time we got back to the kayak rental place and to the caddy, I was all in. I fell asleep in the back seat on the way back to the condo. The back seat of a Cadillac is very comfortable, actually all the seats are, just in case you were wondering. Sean woke me up and I could barely walk up to the stairs to our place. I begged off dinner and I think they brought me something, but I was so out of it that I don’t remember. The next day we were going to drive via Alligator Alley to Key Largo.

Prime Time Paradox

A prime time paradox will occur on Tuesday, September 19th at 10 PM, a trifecta of hunkyness if you will. All three of these shows will air at the same time. Our choices will be:

Emmy winning prime grade A beefcake Chris Meloni on Law & Order SVU on NBC (oh god and he can act too?)


or, the ever sexy Julian McMahon (and cutie Mario Lopez) on Nip/Tuck on FX (nudity alert!)


or, the king of muscle men, brawny Franky G, whom I would love to see much more of (eg: not in a suit - he makes me so hot) in Smith premiering on CBS.



What will you be watching?

I Have Clivia

If you want to know what it is go here.

Friday Fantasy - First Threesome

Photo courtesy of Alex

"Uh, guys. This is supposed to be a BBG threesome. I am the girl. Could I possibly squeeze in there?"

"Mmmmmmmm. Hmmmmm. Ohhhhhhh. Ummmmm."

"Yeah, if one of you could just move a wee little bit I could..."

"Ohhhhhh. Yeahhhhh. Uhhhhhhhh. Mmmmmmmm."

"Maybe I'll just sit over here."

Bookfield, Betrayal - Part 7

When I awoke, covered with sweat, I realized that the dream was reality. I hurried to the shower to wash away my feelings. I felt a little better. I put on my only other pair of jeans and a fresh tee shirt. Mary and Chris got up and I said, “Good morning.” They replied, and I left to go selling.

I rode my bike slowly southwest to where I had left off. I was in no hurry to begin selling yet. Being upset would not help my sales, and I decided to stop at a diner for breakfast. I had forgotten that I missed dinner last night. I knew that there was a home style cooking place at Five Points that had great food. It would be a real treat to stop for breakfast.

The diner was in a brick building with large square windows on the corner. All but one of the street corners at Five Points were less than 90 degrees, and the brick building’s corner was at whatever acute angle that was. The windows of the diner jutted out from the building. I sat at a yellow Formica booth between these windows to watch the traffic go by.

I ordered a stack of pancakes and coffee from the waitress. I forgot to ask her to hold the grits, but otherwise, my buttermilk pancakes were great. I put my nose over the steaming cup of coffee and thought about what might happen when I called Robbie at noon.

Staying out one night couldn’t be as big a deal as what Mary was doing. Actually I was still struggling with why it was a problem at all. Besides, I had apologized to Mary. Certainly, as a guy, Robbie would understand staying out one night. Regardless of what Robbie would say, I knew that I had to be compliant and accede to his wishes to avoid being fired. But, I hardly thought it would come to that.

I finished my pancakes, and paid the bill. I rode through my territory stopping at each house to sell books. I smiled at every Mrs. Jones and extolled the value of my books. I entered houses and left them. All the while, I worried about calling Robbie at noon. It was a rare thing for me to hope time would stand still in the bookfield.

Before I knew it, it was noon. I rode to a nearby drug store that had a telephone booth outside. I went inside the booth and closed the Plexiglas door, even though it was quite hot and the booth was not ventilated. I took a deep breath and dialed Robbie’s number in Nashville.

“Hello.” It was Robbie who had answered on the first ring.

“Hi Robbie. It’s Sue. You asked that I call you at noon.”

“Sue. YOU’RE JUST FUCKING AROUND ON THE BOOKFIELD!!!” he yelled at the top of his voice. “You’re out there to sell books! How dare you spend a night away from your roommates? Did you think of Mary? Had you considered her feelings? You guys were supposed to be in this together, and then you abandon her to get laid? Give me any reason to keep you out there even another day!”

I just let his insulting and angry words run past me right after the word ‘fucking’. I had to remain in control of myself to get through this without exploding into a rage. I tried to focus on my goal of not getting my ass fired.

“I’ve already apologized to Mary.”

I stopped talking to see if saying this helped any.

“You have?” It seemed to take a little wind out of his sails.

“Yes. I apologized to her as soon as I saw her, before she told me you had called. I also apologized to Chris. I promised both of them that it would not happen again.” I very carefully brought up no other issues, and made no excuses either.

“Well it’s a good thing that you did or you would have been out of there! When is your delivery week?” I was glad that he changed the subject.

“The week after next. I sell the rest of this week and all next week. My last week will be delivery.”

“That’s a lot of books to deliver in a week, Sue. Mary’s going to deliver for two weeks. Have you arranged for someone to drive you during delivery?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, Sue you better hustle your buns and find somebody or you’re not going to make it.”

“I will Robbie. Don’t worry.”

“Okay. Now keep your mind on Mrs. Jones. Bye.”

He hung up. I slammed the phone down on the receiver. “That fucking, goddamned, sexist pig, asshole!” I said aloud. Who the fuck was he with his sexist fucking remarks, and his rapist fucking sales managers, to accuse me of fucking around on the bookfield? I toyed with the idea of putting my fist through the glass of the phone booth. My breathing became heavy as hate derived adrenaline surged through me and clouded all rational thought from my mind. How dare he?

I couldn’t even think of what he might have known from Chip and Gregg about my behavior with them. I couldn’t even entertain thoughts of his calling them to find out more about my sexual behavior on the bookfield. God only knows what they told him. I shut my mind to that, but outrage and humiliation over this insult was galloping across me like a stampede. There was no stopping it.

I felt that I could not go back to the Sanders’ and see Mary. I could have killed her right then for ratting on me. I sat in the sweltering heat and humidity of the phone booth. I felt that I would suffocate from my own anger, as well as the heat, if I stayed in there. I pushed open the hinged door and walked back out to my bike. I grasped its handle bars as if it was the only friend I had in the world. The fresher air helped me to think.

I had achieved my goal in the face of an incredible challenge. I had demonstrated ultimate control even though my comeuppance was far more unreasonable than I thought it would or should be. But, was it the right thing to do? Doubt tugged at me. Could I have stood up for myself with Robbie and still stayed on the bookfield? What if I had said, “How dare you.” and continued by telling him how his sales managers had behaved? Maybe he wouldn’t have believed me anyway. There seemed like there was no knowing if what I had done was the best way. But I was still on the bookfield and that was my goal.

Still on the bookfield, but feeling beyond being able to knock on a door was how I felt. I needed to have some revenge on Robbie for what he had said. That was when I thought of Evan. Mary was taking afternoons off for God knows how long and I was not allowed to spend even one night away from home. What if just this once, I took an afternoon off? I had always worked my 80 hour weeks dutifully all summer. Didn’t I deserve one afternoon off? I decided to let fate decide. If Evan was home, I would take the afternoon off, if not, I don’t know what. I couldn’t quite commit myself to working yet.

I returned to the phone booth and fumbled in my wallet for Evan’s number. I dialed it and Evan answered after only a few rings.

“Hello?”

“Hi there. How would you like some afternoon delight?” It was the name of a song popular that summer by the Starland Vocal Band. You know, ‘Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight, gonna grab some afternoon delight… sky rockets in flight, afternoon delight’.

“How fast can you get here?” He had instantly recognized my voice.

“Fifteen minutes.”

“See you then!”

I rode like the wind to get there. I delighted in seeing Evan’s motorcycle outside. I ditched my bike as he swung the screen door open for me. He was wearing royal blue nylon running shorts, and that was it. He began undressing me as we raced up the carpeted stairs to the bedroom. I was feeling aggressively desperate for physical loving; I wanted to fuck and be fucked hard. Evan was there for me in every way I needed.

Small Town News - Walgreens Pharmacy - Continued

Citizen Group Strategy Meeting

Our Citizens’ Group meets every now and then to direct the functioning of the group at large. Quite a lot of work goes into opposing applications to the P&Z and coordination is also required. The group has several ad hoc leaders: our member lawyer, Sean, the woman whose house we are at, and our retiree who has worked with historical preservation in Brooklyn Heights.

The Citizens’ Group held a quick strategy meeting about the Walgreens Pharmacy application at one of the member’s houses. The meeting was run by the member lawyer. He predicted that the P&Z would approve the Walgreens application (hardly a revelation) and then outlined our strategy going forward:

1. Appeal grounds: a) Town development plan not updated since 1992 (required every 10 years) – assigned to Sean

b) Finding that special permit will not lower property taxes – assigned to woman

2. Historic preservation angle

a) Contact the National Trust for Historical Preservation which works with pharmacies not to demolish historical buildings – assigned to retiree

b) State Environmental Protection Act now includes intervention to protect the public trust in historic structures. One of the members (Bobby) is doing this and has a pro bono lawyer. This person is automatically an appellant after approval.

c) Involve the State Attorney General (in an extreme case) – assigned to member lawyer

3. Interfere with the Land Swap by getting 20 signatures on a petition to call a town meeting. Vote down swap. – assigned to Sean or member lawyer

A question came up at our meeting. Many of the 200 to 300 members of the citizens’ group are looking for things to do to help. How can we get the message out for them to vote down the land swap? Cross that bridge when we come to it.

P & Z Vote on Walgreens Pharmacy

A motion was made to approve the special permit at 7:10 pm, was seconded and the discussion was opened. The chair recused himself for health reasons and sat to watch while the acting Chair took the reins. Receipt of a petition to revisit the Land Swap deal at a town meeting was noted. Since the petition did not change the status of the swap, the meeting continued.

The Intervenor issues were addressed in a memo from the Zoning Enforcement Officer. (The intervenor himself, Bobby, was sitting in front of me, and I asked him if he had seen any memo and he said that he had not.) From the acting chair’s comments it was evident that she did not understand the point of the intervention and thought it was all a matter of taste rather than preserving something historic. She said, “How could we ever get anyone to agree to one design?”

Some of the public’s questions were answered but so superficially as to be insulting. Correspondence was mentioned, but many times it would be something like, “Oh and so and so wrote a letter but I don’t remember what it said.” Liability for accidents on the shared parking lot was a matter for the Selectmen and Turnpike Properties so not in the P&Z jurisdiction. The new town plan is 80% complete and only needs approval and the Greenways amendment is within 10 years so that is okay too. Many topics were just mentioned; not even answered. Oh, and by the way, 10,000 square feet is not a big box store, it has to be 60-70,000 square feet to be a big box store. The professor that came and spoke pro bono was not a resident and did not present a net impact.

The acting Chair’s tone was arrogant and dismissive. I was disgusted and left before the vote. I could see the way it was going to go.

The permit was approved unanimously with some small changes.

Our bright shiny new pharmacy!

Next…

The Land Swap meeting.

Spirit Journey & Manatees - Part 1

Sean and I decided to take a vacation in the Florida Keys in February 1999. Sean’s eldest brother Phil, from Chicago had a time share condo on Estero Beach. Sean was going to go there by himself, stay a few days with his brother then I would fly down to meet them. From there we would borrow Phil’s caddy and drive to the Keys. That was the plan.

Before Sean left, he was having trouble with his Audi Quattro’s brakes and dropped it off at the local service station. He then took a cab to the airport to fly to Tampa to meet Phil so that we would only have one car at the airport for our drive home. I was supposed to pick up his car from the station when it was fixed.

The next day, I went to work. I called the service station and they said that what the car needed was this special German hydraulic brake fluid that was $25 per can and they had put it in. I could come and pick it up any time. But it had started to snow really hard that afternoon, so I just drove the 27 miles home from work on the unplowed slippery roads and was glad to get home in one piece. It was not that the roads were such a problem for me, but the other drivers were a hazard.

The next day, there was lots of snow, about 6 inches, but I made it into work and back alright. But, now I felt like I was coming down with something. I really had to pick up Sean’s car. So, when I got home, I bundled up in a turtle neck, sweater, long underwear, jeans, hiking socks and snow boots, ski hat, gloves and jacket, and trudged the 1.5 miles through the snow to the service station to get Sean’s car. The station was closed, but they had left the key under the floor mat. I drove it home, but by the time I got there the brakes were already squishy. I called Sean and told him about the brakes. He called his friend Eric and asked him to come over the next morning, Saturday, to check on the car.

Eric, an all around really good guy, came over and looked at the car while it was running and I pressed on the brakes and he said that he could see the fluid pouring out of a hole in the system (and at $25 per can that is so not good). The all wheel drive Audi would be out of the picture until after our trip.

I would be driving my VW Golf GTI 16 Valve to the airport.

It wouldn’t be too bad since I had put Blizzak tires (they have sipes!) on it and the car handled pretty well in the ice and snow.

I packed so that I would be ready to go on Sunday. It was strange to be packing my swimsuit (Sean had already taken my fins, snorkel and wet suit) all the summer stuff when there was snow outside, but, exciting too. I still really wasn’t feeling well but decided that I would recover better on the beach than here in the freezing cold.

The next day, Sunday, the roads were clearer. I drove the 50 miles to the airport without incident, parked in the long term lot, took the shuttle to the airport, grabbed my one carryon bag and boarded my non-stop flight to Tampa. We took off and as we reached cruising altitude my sinuses became really painful. I was in agony. I ordered hot water from the drinks cart and swallowed as much as possible. It was the congestion. My sinuses were packed solid. I also had a deep hacking cough from post nasal drip. As we landed I could not clear my ears and could hardly hear anything. Yeah, you would want to see me when I arrived in Tampa; sick as a dog.

S & M Sunday

Photo from the Pretty Boys Club

"Don't look so frightened boy. I'm not done with you yet. We haven't even started to play."

"Please, please don't hurt me any more."

"That's right you'll beg and then you'll beg some more."

Gentle readers please help me continue this scenario...

REVISED:

"That's right boy. One more move and you get this honey squirted all over you. Now roll over and let me see what you've got for us to play with. Hmmmm. Wow! Very nice."

(Honey squirts and dribbles all over boy.)

"Now how are we going to clean up this mess?"

Friday Fantasy - Quentin

I have this sort of thing for Quentin Elias.

Bookfield, Betrayal - Part 6

Evan looked a bit worried as I left that morning on my bicycle. I was elated. Finally I had a boyfriend that seemed really nice. Every minute that we were together was heavenly and exciting. As soon as I could get Mary to accept him, and meet him, she would see for herself that this was okay.

The day on the bookfield sped by. All I could think about was how I would explain my absence the night before to Mary. I was sure that she would understand.

I rolled home at about nine o’clock in the evening. I stashed my bike on the sun porch and carried my sales case inside. Mary was sitting on the top of the stairs crying. When she looked up and saw me she came down to the center hallway to meet me.

She seemed bursting to tell me something, but I felt that I had to speak my apology first, since I assumed that my staying over at Evan’s was what had upset her.

“Mary I’m really, really, sorry about last night.” I looked at her face to see if the apology had made any impact, but now she broke into sobs. I continued, thinking that she was just touched by my apology. “I stayed over because of bad planning, and if you want, it will never happen again. I plan to apologize to Chris too. I’m so sorry if what I did has upset you. Let me know what I can do to make it up to you.”

I felt good about apologizing. After all, Mary and I had been through a lot together. If I put myself in her shoes, maybe I would have felt abandoned if my roommate did not come home. But Mary seemed still more upset when my apology was finished. She staggered back a few steps and sat back down on the stairs.

“Sue, stop. I’ve got to tell you something. Please sit down.”

Now I was really concerned. Mary’s level of emotion was comparable to when she was hit by that car. I sat on my sales case opposite from her. “Okay, tell me what the problem is.” I went into my listening mode.

“It’s kind of a long story. I don’t know why, but it is really easy for me to sell books. I can sell for four or five hours a day and I’ve sold plenty. It’s just so easy. Too easy.” She continued to sob at his point.

“You mean that you’re sales so far have come from just half days? How can you sell so much? Do you get a good deposit?”

“Sue, I’ve been selling in the projects.”

This statement hit me like a ton of bricks. “Mary, how could you? It’s so dangerous!”

“I’m only there during the day, but, Sue, I can sell to almost every house if I like. That’s why my territory is lasting better than yours and I have enough to share with Chris. I’m making half of the calls that you do every day. You’re right about the deposits. I’m only collecting deposits at one in ten houses I sell to. I’m assuming that I won’t be able to deliver to some of the houses because they didn’t put a deposit down, but you’ve seen my sales at the meetings. I’m one of the best sales people this year.”

She was right about that. She was doing really well. “Mary, what has this got to do with last night?”

“Well, since I don’t need to sell all day, I come home to the Sanders’. I love them, they are so sweet and they’ve been really good to me. I have dinner here almost every night. Sometimes I come home and take a nap.”

A nap? My face could not hide what a bombshell this was. My mouth opened and my brows crinkled together in astonishment. How could straight as an arrow, clean living Mary be doing this?

“I lived every day fearing that you or Chris would come home early, find me here, and discover my secret. Neither of you ever have. I have lived with such guilt. I can’t believe that you never suspected.”

I never had. I had trusted that we were both out in the bookfield selling all day. She certainly had me fooled. The only tip off to all of this was that I remembered that she was always home before me.

“Mary, why are you telling me all this now?”

“It gets worse. I never intended for you to find out. I told the Sanders that when I was home in the afternoon, if anyone called, to say I was out. But, they forgot that today. I came home at two and decided to take a nap. The phone rang, and Mr. Sanders, without even asking who it was told them that I was there. I know he didn’t mean to, I can’t blame him. I figured it was too late to keep up appearances, and I took the call. It was Robbie.” She collapsed into fits of tears again.

I gasped. What rotten luck for Robbie to call while Mary was home. But, even though she had been dishonest with me, I was still on her side. “Did you tell him that you just came home because you weren’t feeling well?”

“I tried something like that, but he knew! He knew I was lying. He knows everything!” With this she looked directly at me and exploded into gasping sobs.

“He knew everything? You mean that you admitted what you had just told me?” I couldn’t believe the weakness in this.

Her words continued in breathless gasps. “He told me that if I didn’t tell him everything he would fire me on the spot! I had to tell him. I had to tell him everything! He knows things.”

She looked at me as if I was supposed to understand something more here, but I didn’t get it. “What do you mean he knows ‘things’?”

“I told him that you stayed out all last night.”

“You what??? Why in the hell did you do that?”

“I had to! He was coming down so hard on me. I was carrying so much guilt. I had to confess, and I was angry that you didn’t come home.”

My head was spinning. Mary had told Robbie. I was furious at her. I needed to know a bit more before I expressed this anger. “What did Robbie say?”

“He wants you to call him tomorrow at noon.”

A rage towards Mary boiled up in my throat. Traitor! She had ratted on me to deflect the heat she was taking from Robbie. I bit my lip hard to keep from letting loose at her.

“Sue, I’m really sorry. Do you think you can ever forgive me for what I did?”

I couldn’t bring myself to even answer her. I had to think this out. My number one priority was to stay for the rest of the summer. I had stuck it out for so long; it was only a couple of weeks left until delivery. I did not want to jeopardize my goal of staying so close to the end. Slowly, I swallowed my anger which was like hot bile in my throat. I could not speak for some minutes while I sought to control it. Mary looked imploringly at me with reddened and swollen eyes. I had left myself open to this by staying out all night. It didn’t make what she had done right, but it was stupid of me. In my heart of hearts I knew that I could control my anger now, but I held no hope of ever being able to forgive Mary for what she had done. I decided to just do what I had to do to stay and finish the summer.

“Again, I’m sorry that I stayed out all night, Mary, and it will never happen again.” With that I got up, picked up my case and ran up the stairs past Mary. I tried not to notice the look of dismay on her face as I went past. When I reached the top I could still hear her crying.

Chris was in the room trying to look busy at the kitchenette sink. I’m sure she had heard about everything that went on. I put on as calm a face as possible and walked over to her.

“Chris, I just wanted to apologize for staying out all night last night. It will never happen again.”

“Thanks, but that’s okay Sue. I didn’t have a problem with it. I think it’s great that you met a nice guy.”

I acknowledged her reply with a nod, put down my case and headed out for dinner. Mary was now in the living room being comforted by the Sanders. I did not stop and headed for the door.

My bike rode easily without the sales case on it. I rolled down deserted but well lit streets. I wasn’t really hungry anymore. Recent events played over and over in my head. I was really hurt that Mary had betrayed me. How could she? All this time, I thought that we were friends. She was willing to sacrifice our trust to relieve the weight of her guilt and minimize her punishment. I never, ever would have done that to her. She was a filthy rat. The dry breeze swept past my tear stained face.

I thought about calling Evan, but I didn’t think it right to unload my problems on someone I had just met. I didn’t want to frighten him away with my problems, or even worse, appear weak and vulnerable to him. Besides, I really wanted that relationship to be fun and an escape from the bookfield.

I pedaled the bike as hard as I could; building up terrific speed. The hot breeze kept my face dry. Each time my legs pushed the pedals down I imagined using my pain as steam powering an engine. Each burst of steam flushed pain powered the bike. There was so much steam. I could power the pedals for miles and miles at this rate. I felt like collapsing into a shrieking rage. I pedaled more forcefully. I headed for a hill and stood on the pedals, pushing with all of my might, and topping the hill in record time. I rolled to the bottom, and rode up the hill again and again. My thighs burned with exhaustion by the time I stopped. Exasperated and completely empty, I rode home.

All of the lights were out and every one was asleep. I was glad. I didn’t want to see anyone’s faces. The kind faces of the Sanders would melt me, and I wanted to retain a stony resolve. Mary’s face would anger me more. I snuck into the room where Mary and Chris were asleep and laid on my bed, still in my clothes. My legs were still throbbing from my exertion. I slept, and dreamt of betrayal so wicked that it could not be true of anyone. Thank goodness it was only a dream.

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?

Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

This song was written by Bob Dylan in 1963 to protest political thinking and decision making at the time. It has since become an all time classic song of peace. When you think of all of the armed conflicts around the world, all of the dead from these conflicts, and all of the needless hate towards people for no particular reason. None of it makes any sense. When will it all end? As Bob Dylan says, "The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind."

This is the first song I think of when I hear about another conflict in the world.

Listen to it here.

Jason Robards Helps Me Smuggle - Conclusion

I awoke the next morning in the Grand Hotel in Rome refreshed and ready to go home. Then I remembered that I was going to smuggle those earrings through Customs. A bit of tension crept into my bones then. My Ixspa tennis bag was packed and after a cup of the delightful cappuccino from across the street, I checked out of the hotel and snagged a cab to the Leonardo da Vinci Airport.

Once there, I paid the cabbie and entered the airport. I had never been there during the day and it was a mob scene. I mean wall to wall people. And chaotic to boot. People were pushing and shoving so I held my carry on and shoulder bag as tight to my body as possible as I tried to locate check-in. Many men came up to me asking to allow me to let them help with my bag, etcetera. I allowed myself to be rude just to get the message across to all of them that I was not looking for help of any kind. After much pushing I was finally able to read a terminal sign as to where I had to go and then I had to push my way there. When I got close there were airport security/military men in uniforms with machine guns sort of guarding the perimeter of where I wanted to go. They were pushing people away with the muzzles of their guns. (Keep in mind that this was years before 9/11.) That was a bit scary. But, they lowered their guns to let me pass and it was less crowded beyond them.

I located my gate and got in line waiting for business class check-in. I was second in line and could hear the conversation ahead of me. The deep cultured voice projected as if theatrically trained and was instantly familiar. I knew who it was before I saw his face. When he was finished checking in, he turned and made a dramatic sweep with his arm and said, “It is you turn, my dear.” He offered a big smile and made eye contact.

“Um, thank you Sir.” I met his eyes and grinned back shyly.

He was dressed head to toe in a white linen suit and was accompanied by a sophisticated lady friend who acted like she has seen this show before. They strode away together.

My check-in went without a hitch. Then I proceeded to the Value Added Tax refund center. I had packed my bag with the Piero Guidi hand bag and wallet on top for this and for customs. I presented my sales receipts to the Tax agent and he refunded the tax I had paid when I bought the items in Rome by placing a credit on my credit card. Dr. D had brought the ties for Sean with him so that I could surprise Sean with them at Christmas. We would figure out who owed what to whom when we returned. Also, if Customs did want to see what I had declared all of it would be handy right on the top. The total of what I would be claiming was well under what was allowed per person before any duty needed to be paid, so I hoped no one would need to be going through my bag. Uh, now I was nervous again. Deep breaths. Better.

I thought about going to the Admiral’s Club, but I would have to fight my way through the chaotic masses again to get there. I preferred to wait closer to the boarding gate and shop at the little stores there. I was glad I did. Right away I spotted millefiore earrings. Just then I remembered friends back at work that I had not yet bought anything for. See, this is the way it happens. You see stuff you want to buy and think of someone to buy it for. I have always loved millefiore. Anything that is made of glass can be made with millefiore canes in it.

Bowls

Vases

Paperweights

But, I bought a set of red and green earrings to match my friend Magdalena’s auburn hair. It is a good thing I did, because Magdalena, Terry and I were all pretty tight, and Magdalena could have been jealous that I brought something for Terry and not for her, even though Terry asked for the medal. Friendships can be complicated like that.

Finally, it was time to board. As usual, I was the first passenger on the plane. (Does that tell you anything about me?) First class was in the nose of the plane, and then there was the stewardess cabin, then business class, then economy. I had a window seat. A tall, middle aged beefy former military man took the seat next to me. He seemed amiable enough. The flight took off on schedule and we would be at JFK by 3 pm.

The in flight movie was Immortal Beloved. I had seen it and loved it. The military man had not. So upon my recommendation we watched it. The story is that Beethoven, played by Gary Oldman, was an abused child prone to ecstasy only when he wrote music such as his Ode to Joy. It was a very emotional movie and the military man even cried (though he tried to hide it). He thanked me for suggesting he watch the movie and said that he really enjoyed it.

Then, the cabin crew handed out the Customs forms for declaration of goods being brought into the US. My nerves started up again as I filled out the form from my receipts and determined that I owed zero dollars duty. I believe my hands began a fine nervous tremor. I felt like a criminal. What if I was discovered? What would I say? Would they arrest me? My mind just reeled with the awful possibilities.

Our landing gear dropped and I came back to reality. We landed safely at JFK and taxied to our jet way. I couldn’t wait to get off and face my fate. Everything and everybody seemed to be moving in slow motion. Not too many people got off the plane before me. I strode ahead at my New York speed with my Ixspa bag under my arm and there ‘he’ was again.

He was alone. So I strode up to him and said, “Hi. I know who you are, and I don’t was to bother you, but I wish you health and long life. I am a great fan.”

He smiled gently and replied, “Thank you my dear. You are too kind.”

I continued. “I have seen you in many movies and also had the pleasure recently of seeing you live in a play at the Yale Rep. I think it was a Eugene O’Neill play with Colleen Dewhurst. The title escapes me just now. But you were fabulous. You had such command of the stage, as if the part was written for you.”

“It must have been Moon for the Misbegotten.”

“Ah, yes. I believe it was. You were absolutely terrific in it. It was such a pleasure to see.”

“Again, my dear you are too kind.”

At this point we had reached kind of a dead end to the hall we were in. One could go right or left. I wasn’t sure where to go. So I asked, “Um, I’m not sure which way to go here.”

“Do you have bags to claim?”

“No.”

“Well, then see those Customs Agents standing right over there?” He pointed at some men standing at tables not far from us.

“Yes.”

“Well that is where you need to go my dear.”

“Thank you ever so much and it really was a pleasure meeting you.” We smiled at each other as we parted company. He stood his ground and waited for his lady friend while I walked over to meet my fate with the customs men.

They watched me as I approached giving me surlier looks with every step I took. When I got to them, one of them barked, “Who sent you here?”

I meekly replied, “Jason Robards did.” With that I turned and pointed to Mr. Robards who was still standing not far off from where I had left him.

The agents’ faces went blank and contritely they said, “Oh. Sorry. Right this way.” One grabbed my duty declaration and stamped it without a glance as they all but pushed me through customs in their haste to process me through. Next thing I knew, I was free and clear.

And that, gentle readers, is how Jason Robards helped me smuggle gold into the US.

Epilogue

I continued to exit the airport to meet my limo driver. I was the first passenger to get to the exit area. When I saw the man holding the sign with my name on it, I said, “You won’t believe who I just met on my flight!”

“Who?”

“Jason Robards!”

“Does he need a ride?”

Sunday Schemes & Dreams

Thanks to the Anonymator for the photo!

We spend so much time dreaming about the Caribbean that we have formed a scheme to be there all the time. We could retire there. You know, just choose an island, sell everything we own here, and move there to live for good. We wouldn't want to live where there could be hurricanes, so we are considering Curacao. In the coming weeks, hopefully with your help, I will be exploring this idea. In the meantime, any thoughts?

Friday Fantasy - Win Large Tony Logo Contest

To celebrate 2 years of blogging, Large Tony decided to run a logo contest. His logo, see above, was made available and readers were to use it to create (hopefully) clever images. Below is my entry:


I only won third place, but it was good enough to get a Large Tony tee shirt!!!Contest results here.

Hey Tony, congratulations on 2 years!