Review:
The veteran author hits pay dirt with this luminous novel based on the experiences
of her Chippewa grandfather. The year is 1953 and a lunatic senator has decided
to dispossess the Chippewa Indians from their adopted homeland in North Dakota.
The book is a beautifully written treatise on the modern Native experience. Erdrich
has configured wonderful truth- based fictional world populated with an endless
array of compelling characters. We find a hodgepodge of personal stories and complex
relationships set in the cultural context of the Chippewa- and explores themes
of love and death with both lightness and gravity. It also asks the very specific
question of how the American government consistently can abandon treaties with
the Native American population, made in good faith, “for as long as the grasses
shall grow and the rivers shall run”. Good question.
“Men are proof that women can take a joke” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Louise
Erdrich “The Night Watchman”
“Eventually, all that one has learned will have to be forgotten” …………………………………………………………………… Ramana Maharshi
“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” ………………………………………………………………Carl Sandburg
It’s been one of those weeks where life takes a
major turn, yet the days go on, the sun rises and sets as if your world did not
change on its axis…………. Tessa and Jake welcomed baby Parker Maxwell to our
crazy as shit world on Thursday night……and a sense of incomparable beauty
emerged from the wasteland of the Plague years. Nanna and Papi now have FOUR
Apples of our Eyes (where does that come from?) ……our fourth granddaughter in
four years- and getting close to our own hoops team-class of 2038…. how cool is
this? All are home and well…and we look forward to our first visit end of next
week…. little Parker is said to resemble Papi….so I guess she is an old Jewish
man?
What else is there really to say……well, if you really
want to know…. I guess maybe I can conjure up a few thoughts.
Spent last Sunday beginning our recovery from weeklong
The Band Visit……cleanup was a can of corn with the last ones standing, Nave and
Zoo pitching in…Sunday night we took them out for their shared birthday dinner….to
Ludlow and the Hometown Hostel……for a Creekside Tented extravaganza…. then down
to the lawn by the school and the huge cannon, to listen to Vermont mainstays, Gypsy
Reel…. a comfortable end to a non-stop week. Steve and Sue left Monday morning and
we began our recovery in earnest
After the absolute mountain beauty of last week,
it turned nasty hot all week…. hot enough to have our five nights a year in which
we decry no AC…. which provided an excuse for some floating in the majesty of
the uber- clean POND……that somehow became a thing of beauty over the mysterious
winter……added heat bonus…. the grass slowed down from growing for the first
time in months
Made a trip up to Middlebury midweek to see the new
version of The Shaman, and get structure restored, then a quick visit to the dispensary
and to see Mama Corleone at wonderful Costello’s’ Italian deli…we had The Don
Barzini….
Had to make a trip over to Rod and Claudine’s
Mt. Hollywood studios to overdub my lead vocals from our recording session the
week before…since they mysteriously disappeared……blessing in disguise…just me
in the studio with whisky and headphones…. singing along with the previously
laid down band tracks….
Since The Queen was tied up with gad flying most
of the week, Lucy and I had a few lunch and walk adventures…making a day of grave
exploring on Friday…..though- lunch is pretty
complicated these days in these parts…..two places in Ludlow closed for no apparent
reason, two others with lines out the door….so settled for takeout sandwich from
the Café at Delight (get it?)…which is no simple task…they have hired a post-remedial
young woman to answer the phone …it took me three calls to get my sandwich
order in…when I got there , I saw the ticket she wrote for the order, which
said “Edge Salut on Weet”……seems like the
labor shortage must be real…..
Saturday turned out to be our outing day this
week….after a quick visit to see the Dumpmaster and the local Goat, who did the
Vermont two-step with Lucy for 20 minutes and tried to butt my nose and other parts….we
put our Ronald Reagan masks on to surreptitiously cross the border to the land
of Live Free or Die (Vermont is more of
a Live and Let Live place)….and made our way to the charm of the 300th
anniversary celebration of the Acworth (NH) Meeting House…complete with dinner on
the ground….got in a few walks and spent the day alternating between driving
rain and bountiful sunshine…winding up in the river town of Bellow Falls for a
stroll and a trip to the Dari-Joy (400 flavors of ice cream on the same corner
for 80 years)
And, that, my friends, is about all she wrote…. it’s a drop dead gorgeous day here on The Mount……the weather has broken to late summer splendor, leaves are begging to change, Lucy is lounging in the un, Saffron is staring longingly out the window, ruminating on how to repeat her overnight escape….and a drive/walk/ country lunch awaits…..FOUR Granddaughters!…who would had thunk it?…….
Notable People: Nicola
Walker, Sanjeev Baskar, Peter Egan, Created by: Chris Lang
Title: Unforgotten
Review:
Unusual BBC crime drama set in London focused on a special police unit that
solves very old, cold cases. Walker (Last Tango in Halifax) is brilliant as the
team plagued by conscience about the effects unsolved cases have on those left
behind. The cast is wonderful. Each season’s new story arc is complex and totally
believable. Atypical of crime shows as there is not much actual criminal activity
or violence as the cold case team methodically identifies and tracks down
suspects from 30-40-year-old cases. Walker’s relationship and interaction with
her elderly father (Egan) is riveting and the level of compassion evidenced
extraordinary. Early seasons are now on Netflix and the last season just finished
on PBS. The show will not continue further, but is a well worth the time commitment.
Direction and dialog are flawless.
“Where are the men that I used to sport with” ……………………………………………………………………………David Bromberg
“Oh, what a lucky man…. he was” ……………………………………………………………………Emerson, Lake and Palmer
“Long may you run, long may…you run. Although
these changes have come” …………………………………………………………. Neil Young
The week that was……music in the mountains……………….
THE POND was FULL…. the tractor got fixed……and after two weeks of rain, the
sun came out on Monday and stayed out all week, with mostly perfect blue skies,
low humidity and cool mountain nights……with stars abounding…….and….an astounding
amount of music was made with much love….
The Nave and Zoo drove through all day rain on Sunday
and arrived safe and sound though a bit washed out. Then, like a miracle, the
sun came out Monday morning (after two weeks of rain) and stayed out the entire
week. Monday was acclamation day culminating in late dinner on TV trays, ala
Ozzie and Harriet, in front of the Olympics- especially the woman’s beach volleyball.
My assumption is that those outfits are still worn for aero-dynamic purposes? Nave
and I hit Folk club on Monday night -the first of six straight days of music.
Unlike past years, there was not much outdoors activity
for the boys, since we had a bunch of old man injuries going on…. but The Queen
and Zoo spent the week kayaking and Zoo got in 36 holes at Okemo, with a bunch
of New York types.
The rest of the boys arrived on Tuesday and the
games began. Joined by four local friends, and the majesty of Fiddler Bob, we
got in a couple of practices the next few nights along with the requisite chaotic
family dinners. Full house reimagined!
The show on Thursday at the town Green was one for
the ages ……. nine of us huddled around the tiny bandstand….and set records for attendance
and an extraordinary tip jar of almost $400. Late pizza dinner was followed by
the most intense laughing jag (more later) that lasted almost a half hour….….
with Feel spouting liquids out of every orifice and yours truly bowled over
with rib cramps.
Friday, we got to the studio at the ungodly hour
of 10:30…and spent about three hours laying down three original cuts with a real
live recording engineer. Stay tuned for seeing that in your inbox after it gets
mixed. Friday night was fried chicken and the Beatles cover band at Jackson Gore,
where the sun set and the temps went down 20 degrees (us in t-shirts and
shorts) and the Fab Four wannabes lost power during Roll Over Beethoven…which
to their credit, they picked up exactly where they left off when the power came
back on.
Friday night featured the loss of Saffron, who discovered
there is a world outside the house, when the front door latch (an 1850s era
type) was left open for the umpteenth time (needed a tutorial apparently). The Queen
rose at 4:30 and together with Gracie May, lured her back in…cold, covered in
dew…and totally traumatized…did not see her for the next two days.
Saturday was perfect for the Tie-Dye fest, with
a smallish, but very enthusiastic crowd. Amazing Mike and bride Cheryl, played
a set with Fiddler Bob…then the expanded Bunty played a set with the full entourage
(Nine of us, sometimes ten) …….and finished the day with the requisite campfire.
In between, the magic emerged as many slowly gathered, one by one, in a circle,
and sang spirituals, with our choirmaster, Johnny 99…. a simply perfect moment.
Most of the boys were up and out this morning before 7….…. but Nave and Zoo are
staying over and we got the mess mostly cleaned up in the bright and hot morning
sun.
I could go on for hours, but there are a lot of pictures
to tell the story, story. I would be remiss to not note that it is hard to believe
how seven of us co-existed in the house for almost a week………guess that’s what
happens when the long standing family re-unites (the miscpachah). And……The Queen….
did it all-all week long…orchestrating every dinner and the whole Festival
things……she gets the MVP……again. Oh, what a lucky an …. he was.
I would be even more remiss to not provide some
of the more astute comments that eked out over the course of the week:
“Up next…. the Burl Ives songbook”
“Is that someone talking at my head”
“I gotta go spread my bed”
“Stu…. I suffer for your art”
“How yellow does it have to be (to finally
flush)?”
“My lungs are containing flammables”
“When your partner asks you to do something (a “bid”)
…. you gotta accept at least 7 of 10 times”
“My pronoun is Thou”
And, finally, the story of the week: Man walks into
a club with an octopus. Says to bartender, “I bet my octopus can play any of the
instruments lined up on your stage”. Bet is taken. Barkeep wheels out the piano,
and Octopus plays a sonnet from Brahms. The man asks for his bet money…….
barkeep says…not quite yet…. brings out a trombone. Octopus plays Dixieland
jazz. Man says where is my money…. barkeep says just one more, and comes out of
storeroom with a set of bagpipes. Octopus starts checking it out all over the various
parts. Barkeep says “what is the problem with him”. Man says “no problem….he’s
just trying to get her pajamas off so he can F__k her”……REALLY……It may be that
you had to have been here….
And that’s ‘all she wrote…..Dear John…just send
my saddle home…
“The mimosa and the weeping willows. Beautiful strong nature. It takes me a long time to fall asleep”……………………………………………………Albert Camus
“Be like a mirror, or mountain lake, that reflects whatever passes before it” ……………………………………………………………………………………Eckhart Tolle
“Lesson One: I give up”……………………..Zen Proverb
Is anyone watching these Olympics??????????
Twenty –three K new cases in Florida yesterday….is
the sunshine state a third world country……………this is like holocaust denying,
no?……….Vermont had a surge of 12 cases last week…. where would you rather
be?…….
And, the waters shall come………The Greens are
having the most rainfall summer in over 50 years……. get daily texts from the
weather mongers about flash flooding…. the rivers and streams are swollen to
over flow……even when the rain stops, you can hear the sound of rushing water
(and, drip, drip, drip) all around……hoping it is not a harbinger of the return
of the last tropical storm to destroy Vermont….
Mount Holly Daze came and went last Sunday, with
the sun coming out to shine over the Star Lake Algae……had a good schvitz plying
the massive grill for three plus hours, whilst the folk tugged of war, and the
band played on….
The Queen, aka Jenn Appleseed, is in the daily
process of obliterating the property tree line…. she has discovered the
chainsaw……removing all kinds of old growth trees and stumps to plant her
pilfered pines and arborvitaes………she spent one whole day out in thunderstorms cuttin’,
diggin’ up and plantin’…. arrived back in looking like a drowned kitty……mountain
makeover?……..
Vermont music….is like nowhere else…..headed over a few ranges on Thursday to check out a little live in the meadow…….over to Middletown Springs (where people once went to take the waters)…..for a little postmodern Celtic swing from a young troupe of hipsters…..the band set up in front of an abandoned train car…sun setting behind them….pizza wafting out of the portable bake overs…..and dozens of Birkenstock shorn lads and lasses…..just about perfect…..snuck in a stop on the drive home at the West Rutland snack bar for fresh whole bellies and hand cut fries….Papi’s night out…..A friend of mine from folk club had offered to drive over together, (a car?…with another non-related human?) when I discovered he is not vaxxed (hard to find one of those here in the Greens)…..so declined petri dish of car ride there and back….is this the new conundrum of our times?
Thursday was our weekly day out….and followed up
on a tip…. down through Londonderry and over to the hamlet of Wyndham……to The Fourth
Corner Foundation…. another post-apocalypse, roadside attraction of master gardens
and hobbit-like architectural wonders……THIS is a hidden gem….50 years of creating
gardens and putting up very strange edifices……and…it was…. all ours, since no
one knows this place exists…. Forgive the obsessive picture taking of flowers…though
in fairness I only included about a third of the ones I took……Monet could have
lived here……
On the way home, we hit the Verizon store for
our bi-weekly visit to see if they can get Papi’s phone to work (not) and then
on to Wallingford, where every place we tried to get dinner would not let us in….the
worker shortage in Vermont restaurants is astounding….it is almost impossible to
find a place to eat without a reservation…even in the smallest dives….is this
our ultimate penance….shunned to an endless loop of snack bar dining ?……though
“snack bars” in the Greens are a whole other species….
Luckily, none of the above applies to Chinese, who
appear to have their own unending labor force……so down the hill we went last
night to stock up on groceries (is it possible to spend less than $100 at the
grocery anymore?) and a trip to the
magic of East for fine Asian dining…week complete……
The Flatlanders are coming……The Flatlanders
are coming…. today marks the first arrival of the Bunty Station boys for our annual
week of Vermont music……Ohio arrivals starting tonight….and, even Prodigal
Brother, Feel, arriving in a few days from Jersey……Music on the Green show on
Thursday and the 20th (or so) Annual Tie-Dye Fest later this weekend
with a recording session thrown in at legendary Mt. Hollywood Studios……our 43rd
year of hacking away for a number of us……tune em’ up, Danno….
The tractor is still in the shop…….so it may be
line- up- the- push- mowers again this week to get Festival ready……
The POND is PEAKING……and…. the phones are occasionally
ringing for three to five minutes of uninterrupted service before the calls
drop………another week on The Mount….
Saw our first changing leaves last night on way
home……summer phasing out in the Greens??!!??
Teach your children well…………Stay Safe…. Be in
touch……
Notable People: Adrien
Dunbar, Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Created by: Jed Mercurio
Title: Line of Duty
Review:
Extremely well done BBC production about London-based police Anti-Corruption
unit (AC-12). Each of the six seasons was a totally new story arc with wonderful
lead guest stars like Kelly MacDonald (Boardwalk Empire) and Keeley Hawes
(Bodyguard, The Durrells). The three mainstays: Dunbar, Compston and McClure
are all superior actors and the ensemble woks really well. The last season
(six) gripped you from the first moment and never let go. Rumors suggest
another season in a year or so. Most popular
show on British telley for last six months. Thanks to Brother Feel for the excellent
rec.
Review:
This is a completely compelling novel about two women searching for justice in
post war(two) France. The historical context centers around the true story of “The
Alice Network”- a mostly unknown network of Female allied spies during the first
world war- which is an absolutely extraordinary story of heroism, bravery and composure
under the direst of circumstances. The book flashes back and forth between the
two world wars and to 1947 when the older woman (an “Alice” from the first war)
and the younger woman (searching for her beloved and lost childhood cousin in post
war France) hook up for a momentous road trip across the continent to find the
Nazi collaborator that holds the key to both their mysteries. Well rooted in historical
facts and enticing with its characters, this boo lacks some polish in writing style,
but is still mesmerizing.
“It’s not doubt, but certainty that drives one mad”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………Friedrich Nietzsche
“Kind woman…. don’t leave me lonely tonight” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Richie Furay
“Soon I will find the right words…. they will be
very simple” …………………………………………………………………………………………………Jack Kerouac
It’s another Tequila Sunrise…. dark, damp Sunday
morn on the Mount……been a lot of those in last three weeks……with intermittent
glorious days of 70 degree no-humidity sunshine…. feels a bit like Oregon living…when
the sun comes out, it is time to go…go…. go…
The deluge has been GOOD for The Pond- whose cup
runneth over……and maybe the most pristine it has ever been….no algae, no
scummy….no nuthin’……where did it all go? …. Took a dip for first time after grueling
mowing (more on that later) yesterday….and it was P_E_R_F_E_C_T………
We are up to one and half working phones……which apparently
is par for the course in the mountains…. but not all that much fun….
The rain has had us mowing 2-3 times a week since
we got back….which ……predictably, led to our lil’ ol’ tractor blowing up (again)
this week….no mas……drained out the oil to see status –and it was almost all gas….which
is generally a pretty bad sign….Joe the Mower guy came to get it yesterday….and…of
course…..I put in fresh oil, cleaned it up…and the fucker started right up and
ran like charm…..I hate the “mechanic thing” when it happens…..he took it away
just for good measure or to make me feel less woodchucky….
So…this week resulted in …. twice push mowing the
whole property……which I can tell is no country for old men……can I get a witness?
On the bright side…. The Queen’s newest obsession
is……. making little gardens around all the volcanic rocks in the yard…. which has
led to our newest ritual…. collecting cardboard……allegedly used to kill the grass
for the next lil’ garden…and cover the cardboard with clippings from the bagged
push mower……see the symmetry of it all?…..And bonus…a few more weeks of little
garden making…and there will be no need to mow at all…
Had our first dinner gatherings in two years
this week……first at the hobbit-home of The Erstwhile Russian Spy and The World’s
Greatest School Marm…. just the four of us, plus Bilbo and Frodo……then last
night were graced at the Manse by the Jewish Pig Farmer and the Empress of
Death…although we made the dinner, TJPF brought his ribs……he goes nowhere without
his ribs…almost always stopping on the way here to munch a few…. THIS feels a
wee bit normal…
I have re-entered the world of making live music
–returning to the Monday night folk club…to sit in a circle and drone for a few
hours…. though it lacks spontaneity (of any kind) …. still good to sit in a
room and expectorate with others……and after all, it is Vermont…. not crazed
Florida…. Also went to our first music on the Green in Mt. Holly on Thursday….
with local statue, Jeb…and his friends (that is their name) …. how cool is it
to see a community return to their green on a warm summer night?
Speaking of which, The Bunty Band will start arriving
for a week of music next Sunday……playin the Green, having the Tie- Dye fest
and hitting the studio for a short recording session……all, of course….TGLWATCDR…..c’mon
social media wonks, you can figure that
one out…..
Friday dawned a G_D day….so we hit the road….crossing
the border in good fog, to cover our tracks ….over to the place where everyone
is living free or dying (masks optional) hit the super duper State Liquor agency
(wildly cheap, no tax-of course-rather die than pay tax)…picked up a bag o’
booze for the coming festivities…..found a dirt road with Sasquatch tracks….and
on to the Grand Walmart in lovely (not) Claremont…..where they welcome Lucy to shop the lower shelves with open arms
(theirs, not hers)….muddled around Puerto Nuevo (Newport in mountain
slang) and found the reputedly worlds best
grinder shop ….not quite, but passable….hit the Ludlow Farmers Mah-ket on the way
home….gorgeous mid-summer late day sun wafting….a little music, a little meat,
a few veggies…day complete….
Made my first run to The Dump yesterday…. too busy
with phones and mowing until now….and The Dumpmaster could not conceal his glee
(I think that’s what it was) …. got the Walrus-hug and a mottle of questions about
The Queen…that involved her svelte figure, a 12 pack and a power outage…go
figure….
Today is the annual Mt. Holly Daze….so gotta get
a move on….to go man the sizzlin’…. which TQ had volunteered me for…. per chance
for the sun to emerge and cover the algae filled brilliance of Star Lake…. but
that is probably for next week’s edition….
So…another day gone deeper in debt….do you owe
your soul to the company store? Be
good, be careful, make it better world….
“Give me those Green country mountains; give me that Green country air” ………………………………………………………………MacGuffy Lane
“Having no destination, I am never lost” ………Ikkyu
“You have come to the shore- there are no instructions” ………………………………………………………Denise Levertov
Strange week, filled with various obsessions……. No pictures this week……. too obsessed……No real Mojo……just some randoms……
Who’ll stop the rain?………………………seven
of last nine days……may be the end of the world as we know it……………no climate change
here……
I’d love to see the Green, Green grass
of home……………………. mowed and whacked five times in two weeks….is this semi-retirement?……with
a fifty year old riding mower that will soon be likely seeking respite…..
Into The Mystic…………………after a months long
search, located a mystical Shaman- Osteopath up in Middlebury, and made the
hour trek to see him…. pipe, classical music, dog in the treatment room…have had
one of these mystics in the Heartland, never thought I’d find another…. keepin’
the torso nubile…
Cheeseburger in Paradise…………it has become
hard to find restaurants open much these days in the mountains, with the COVID
induced worker shortage…. but had couple of jewels this week at local Paisanos
Deli (hidden in the bowels of a raunchy carryout in downtown Rutland)- and the Café
Provence bakery (in Brandon, on the way to The Mystic and the dispensary) …. (4A)
you can get it if you really want it…
I believe in you…………………the next to closest
local library, in Ludlow, allows you to order books on line….and they put it
out in a grocery bag for you to pick up whenever……. trust is a beautiful thing….
kind of the polar opposite of dealing with the postal service, the IRS, the
phone and cable behemoths……
Security, Yeah, Yeah……I want some security………………………how
many times have you gotten a response online that required sending you a security
code to your phone?……try dealing with that with no cell signal… and the requisite fifteen-minute expiration
time on the code……trust is a beautiful thing…
It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius…….
Farmers’ markets in Vermont are like a trip to Woodstock or The Haight……naked, children,
dogs abounding, patchouli in the air, hippie musicians….and a ton of Granola……it’s
another sign of the return to some normalcy here in the 90% Vax state….
I woulda followed all the way to the
graveyard……………………………………wandering the verdant mountain landscape, we come upon
another of the magical places that dot the Vermont mountain skyline…. rich with
terraced levels of beauty, mountains above-valley below…..stones gently asleep
in wonderfully precise formation….telling the stories of lives and times…..there
is such a beauty off a back road in Ludlow….who knew?
You’ve got a friend…….The queen went prowlin’
this week (takin’ a break from on line shopping, whacking and volunteering)to find the Woolley man, who
is the emperor of roads in our hamlet……and flirted enough to get him on our
side on the issue of the replacement of our little bridge which lead to the Manoir…..state
wants to update our backyard dirt path into a passable road, whilst they replace
the bridge….which would turn our driveway into a super highway…..but, no…..The
Bowbie says (9A) don’t worry, be happy…..he’ll nudge them to put in a temp replacement
bridge instead…..once again The Queen Greases the Bowbie…..
Get yourself a little piece of watermelon, put it in your mouth, it
tastes like heaven………bought a luscious watermelon this week at Hannaford….which
was left on the counter when after a day at home, it seemed to be a deflated melon…all squishy
and stuff…..TQ felt like she needed to keep it in order to show the grocery
bastards what they had done……woke this morning to three gallons of watermelon juice
all over the counter, the pantry floor and down into the basement….must have been
a juicy one in its prime….
Ring the bells-that still can ring……in four days we have switched from
Sprint to AT&T and on to Verizon……worse than used car shopping……and still
searching for a mountain dial tone…is it evil to want to have a flip phone?
If you’ve made it this far, there is now a bonus….A
QUIZ……Match the creator below with the numbered phrase or lyric above……winner gets four old cell phones with cords…
Carol King___
Etta James___
John Fogerty___
Leonard Cohen___
Halsey___
Bob Marley___
Eric Weisberg and Deliverance___
Merle Haggard____
Neil Young___
Hair____
Jimmy Buffett___
Van The Man___
Bobby McFerrin___
And that has got to be it………. Feliz Navidad………………………Ferlin’
Notable People: Kevin
Bacon, Aldis Hodge, Cathy Moriarity, Jill Hennesy, Lauren E. Banks Created by: Chuck Maclean
Title: City on a Hill
Review: Developed by Maclean, along with Boston cronies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, this 90s era series has “The Wire” ambitions, which fall short. Is it a gritty and well-made, and the role of a lifetime for Bacon, who provides distraction with his peacock strutting, just barely –this – side of- the law FBI agent routine. Cast is solid, captures the 90s really well and Hennesy shines in a very nuanced role. Very in depth look at the underside of Boston politics and policing. Surprisingly renewed for a third season, when it seemed it had probably run its course after season two. Classic line from boundary- less FBI agent Jackie Rohr (Bacon)- “In Boston we hate two things…..Racism.. and Blacks”.
