Hit or Miss

On the way to visit my mother today, I stopped by the local grocery store to pick up some cheese for her. The counterman handed me the cheese and said "Thank you miss."

I have to say it made my day. It's been a long time since anyone called me a "miss." I've been a "ma'am" for I don't know how long.

Why should I care what the deli man calls me? I don't know, but I can still be pleasantly surprised.

Thoughts on the Dave Clark Five

Last night we watched a PBS show The Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over. I was familiar with many of the songs, but heard a few I didn't know and learned some things about the band: for example--they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 18 times.

I remember watching their first appearance on Ed Sullivan. My sister and I and our friends (also sisters) Terri and Michele gathered around our TV set Sunday night. I don't remember DC5's performance at all. I do remember that Terri said "Imitation Beatles are better than no Beatles."

Is that what I thought? Probably. We were so into the Beatles then.The Rolling Stones barely registered.

DC5 was the first band I saw in concert. I had wanted to see Paul Revere and the Raiders but they canceled their tour. My dad got tickets for DC5 instead. It was a good concert.

I learned to appreciate DC5 years later, catching some tunes on the radio and finding more on youtube.

Music from the sixties is awesome.

What Could Have Been...

14 years ago Spike came to live with us.

We made it together for three months short of our 14th  anniversary. 

I've written about Spike many times. His tally of 147 post far exceeds all the other categories.

It's a bittersweet day. We're looking forward to sharing our lives with another beagle. But no one can replace Spike.

Spike, we love you and miss you.

Calf Pasture Beach

I hadn't been to Calf Pasture Beach in years, but have gone there twice in the past week. Last Wednesday was the nicest day of the year to date. I thought of walking down to Mathews Park (about four blocks away.) Instead, I drove down to the beach for a walk.  My thinking was similar to the thinking that led Jeff and me to Devil's Den. No dogs are ever allowed at Calf Pasture.

I like living in a coastal town. In New Jersey, I lived inland--about an hour from the beach. But as much as people trash New Jersey, it has beautiful beaches. Those in Connecticut can't compare. But it's still nice to walk along the water.

So nice I went back a week later and bought myself lunch.

I looked out at the water and thought of other beaches I had walked and this WPA mural.

Happy Half Way and Saint Patrick's Day

Jeff's working in downtown NYC, so we didn't go for our traditional Saint Patrick's Day lunch. Instead we met at Sedona Tap House around six. Sedona isn't Irish, but Jeff had seen a line around O'Neill's.  We don't want to go anywhere enough to wait in line.

We had a few beers--I started with an Irish stout--and toasted to 27.5 years.We shared Kobe sliders and spicy Thai shrimp. It was a nice, low-evening out.

What Went Wrong?

Jeff's got a short term gig in New York City. He gets up at 5:30 and heads to the railroad station around 6:30. I told him the other day that his NYC gig was a good influence by getting me out of bed early. Some mornings I've been very happy with all that I can accomplish by 9 or 10 AM.

But I haven't been getting enough sleep. Yesterday it caught up with me. I was tired all day. It didn't help that I spent the midday driving my mother back and forth to the doctor's (about two-and-a-half hours and 67 miles.) I hadn't been to the gym in four days and my lower back ached. By the time I got home, my stomach was off and I was chilled.

A short nap helped, but I didn't feel back to normal--I felt sluggish and fuzzy. I managed to sort laundry and cook dinner.  I got into bed around 10, confident a good-night's sleep would turn things around for me. No such luck; I was awake for several wee hours of the morning. Need to turn this around.

Another TCM Movie Night: On Dangerous Ground

We're still working our way slowly through our TCM films noir. For the most part, it's taken long because I want to pay attention to the films. Often I watch TV or movies while doing other things.

On Dangerous Ground stars Robert Ryan, Ida Lupino and Ward Bond. I didn't like it.

I couldn't root for any of the characters. Ryan is too violent and out-of-control even for his fellow cops. Lupino is covering for a murderer because he's her brother, Bond is a gun blazing father haphazardly looking for revenge, shooting at everything in sight.

The acting was good, but Lupino as a blind person bothered me. I'm no expert, but in other movies blind people knew their own surroundings. Lupino lurches from landmark to landmark, feeling her way across the room. Maybe that was the way films treated the blind in 1951.

The film's happy ending felt tacked on. Because it was. The TCM host explained that the original ending was too downbeat, and the studio required a new ending. 

I did enjoy Bernard Hermann's score.

Another Post on Not Posting

Two-and-a-half weeks since my last post. It 's not the longest time between posts, but it's too long for the way I'd like to manage this blog.

So I owe this blog a long post on procrastination, priorities and distractions.

I'll warm up to a long post.