Brethren and Sistren (look it up!): Alert: No website access for Blog this week; Domain expired- working on renewal….Bummer……..
“We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to untie”……………………………………………………………………….Michael Ondaatje
“ Often I am still listening when the song is over”………………………………………………………………………………….Marquis Jean Francois de Saint Laurent
“You cannot be rid of problems without abandoning illusions”……………………………………………………………..Nisargadatta Maharaj
“My my, hey hey…rock and roll is here to stay”………………………………………………………………………………………Neil Young
I always wanted to be a Blue-Hair- Our personal British – On-Demand – Hairstylist came to the house right before we left for the hurricane, and insisted that I try a Blue coloring in my hair, which she thankfully did lightly….good preparation for going to the land of blue-hairs…mostly washed out now….but apparently more blue coming next visit, if I don’t escape to a Marriott……..
Colors….Colors…Colors- The autumnal spectacle has begun in earnest…after our return from the tropics to the chill of the Mount… we have had a spectacular week with days in the 70s to low 80s and nights in the 30s and 40s….which has turned the hills into a burgeoning wonderland…and…oh….the Moonlight in Vermont….
The Counter Culture lives- Made a run down to Brattleboro on Tuesday for a meeting with a Casey colleague for half a day…met at The Super-Fresh-Organic- Mindfulness- Tantric Café….where nothing remotely related to animals is allowed (except for the roaming canines)….the town looks like a lost movie set from 1968 with people chanting mantras in the street….and an ever present allure of tie-dye and patchouli…and you know what wafting….
Car repair in the mountains- you go up a winding dirt road to find the car wizard-walrus, who grunts instructions at you….and has you park your car in the woods…until he sees fit to fix everything on it and call you to come get it the hell off his property….customer service…
Take another little piece of my heart ,now baby- after my return from Brattleboro on Tuesday, washed up and headed back out for another trek up I-91……up to Lebanon, NH (crossing the border under cover of dark) and it’s 150 year old Opera House for Jenn’s birthday soiree…stopping at the Wicked Awesome Bar-B-que in White River Junction, where I compensated and balanced out the Super Fresh Tantric experience…..then on to see the original Broadway touring company production of “An Evening with Janice Joplin”….WHOA…..off the charts…cycling my day with another retro visit to the lost days of the late 60s….the Opry was filled with a bunch of former back –to- the- land -communers who have now become Town Select Board members (this is a typical evolution in Vermont), and drive Outbacks…but the show, ….shockingly dead on…the woman who played Janice was a tour de force and an almost – doppelganger….and has been so good on Broadway that she has been touring Europe for the past year with The Original Big Brother and the Holding Company….nine piece band-with a horn section, four amazing soulful AF.-AM. backup singers….and blew off the roof from the jubilee…Hey, Hey, Hey…..Ba…Ba…Ba…Bobby McGee
On the road AGAIN- Back out on the road on Wednesday…this time for the beautific and beatific run up the splendid Route 100 for an overnight at the Waterbury Marriott…replete with napping, internet catching up, a little joggin’ thru the hills and the traditional Thai dinner experience….all from my Super Titanium executive suite upgrade overlooking the mountains (all this whilst The Queen labored away at The Inn, filling the accumulated mélange of storage containers)….then Thursday on to my monthly Governors council for Children meeting, which I have managed to not attend even once thus far this year…but amazingly remain a member in good standing (hard to find willing folks, I guess). The meeting is at the state office complex, with security that would make the Pentagon weep….which is quite ironic since there is zero security to enter our statehouse (only a bunch of easily replaceable legislators)…..not so bad though compared to across the border, where the folks chant “Live free or Die”…
The Vinegar Rules- never, ever believed I would live in a house that perpetually and redolently smelled of Vinegar……which is to The Queen what Windex is to the Greeks……
Burger hunting in Vermont- Friday night, Jenn went to some witchy-woman meeting in town, so I made plans to hang with the ailing Jewish Fish Monger. He had decided he craved a burger (medical MJ influence)…and despite the allure of all the local, grass-fed, homegrown, free-range, tantric alternatives…..he wanted to try the newly opened Five Guys in Rutland. First we went to an art opening at the local art center (Magnifico 1896 Victorian with multiple turrets) for the new show profiling the art and culture of the 60s in Rutland and Vermont (is this the theme for the week or is it just me?)..…amazing show….fully engulfed with what it was like to move to Vermont from the cities in the day, and take up the Freak Flag….after that, took TJM for his first ever Five Guys experience (this for someone who is generally a food snob)…..the result of which you can imagine….and I might add, that this outlet is worse than any previous experience with this austere chain that I have had…don’t imagine that we will be going back…..came home and ate…
It’s that time of year- Hit out first foliage event of the season on Saturday- The Chester Fall Foliage Festival (a top ten New England event)….magnificent low 80s sunny fall day…with tchotchkes abounding and peepers plentiful….as someone we overheard said…”we came, we walked, we bought”….Lucy was the toast of the town (WHAT kind of dog is THAT?)…what a day for a stroll…..I might add that the vendors at Vermont festivals take the prize for being the most friendly of anywhere I’ve been….even for non- buyers. Picked up some sandwiches at the legendary Lisai Market and found the green in Proctorsville for picnic lunch….then back to the ranch for once a year cleaning of the vehicles….we have somehow become car junk accumulators in our declining years…
And, that, my friends, is all she wrote…….
Au Revoir,
Monsieur Ferlin’
