Review: Well written, gripping novel that
takes place over 25 years. Set in London and the south of France, the story of family
whose lives are taken over by a cult like figure and eventually imprisoned in their
own house. The story nicely pulls together the narrative of the teen children
who escaped the horrors and the baby left behind. Not as depressing as it
sounds, short chapter and a very quick, quality read. Started pretty slow, and I
almost gave up, but eventually gathered a very nice rhythm.
“But every so often something shatters like ice
and we are in the river of our existence. We are aware.” ………………………………………………….
Louise Erdrich
“It’s all a passing show…. Just watch it.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Anagarika
Munindra- Ji
“Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground.
Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down” ………………………………………………………Neil Young
Wienie, Wienie Quarantinie,
Up the mountain, green-green scenery,
Big brown bear, at front door preening,
Inn’s a mess, we can’t stop cleaning,
Pandemic blues, the streets are teeming,
Houses, houses…fate careening,
Wienie, Wienie, Quarantinie.
Last two weeks a blur….too much even to Blog
last Sunday………whirlwind of leaving the heartland…..Last supper with kids an
Bebe filled with tears….saying goodbye to our lifeline after months of time together….and
then ….The House (the old one)…trying to get it ready to sell without being
there…..final burst of cleaning, fixing, removing all evince of rodents…..end
of months of updating and purifying……and keep our fingers crossed……naturally,
as soon as we left, got two offers as we were driving away…..so now IN Contractus…….with
any luck will be down to two houses by end of July….and then, really time to say
our goodbyes, which we have studiously avoided through constant work back at the
farm, regular hot tubbing and doing laundry….but the soul must have its rest…and
the end is not in sight….
Leaving the new abode tuned out more emotional
than expected….maybe it is just that it has been the Corona safety zone for months…our
own castle and moat from the storm…..but it is also a lot easier to get ready
to leave a 40 year old house than a 175 year old house….bet on that…….In our curbside
pickups last week at grocery and Walmart, kept count of people wearing masks
inside the stores and it hit a bit less than 30%…which is frightening….too
much too soon…..greed Trumps safety….think there’s gonna be hell to pay…..
We had last bursts of social discourse before we
left…more than in months….had Zoom cocktails with Phil et Maux (a first for
us), socially distanced drinks on the deck with our realtor and fiancé, hands
off cookout with The Nave and Suba an a garage side visit from our King of lawn
mowing neighbor, Roger, across the street…who left us with reams of wipes, sanitizers
and gloves for our journey (medical supply business)…plus he turned to be the
community Yenta, regaling us with tidbits of choice gossip for folks from each
house in the neighborhood………………..
The leaving and the drive east were uneventful, which is a first……very, very hot drive days, but newly fixed AC worked and Lucy slept for nine straight hours…no doubt in preparation for her patrolling duties on the Mount. We bit the bullet and stayed at our usual Marriott in Binghamton, which astoundingly is following a policy of five days between guests in each room…. with contact-less check in and outside entry to our condo like unit…seemed pretty safe…. ardent readers will remember this as the place of the fiery explosion last year when Stu tried to boil water on the stovetop where Jenn had placed the fridge shelf she had taken out. Though the room has gotten over the smell …. hey still had not replaced the missing shelf whish we surreptitiously took with us to avoid hellfire and brimstone…
Had the good fortune to run into local radio station
somewhere in the middle- of – nowhere NY….and learned that the next day was the
start of “speed week” in New York…..which fortunately I understood did not mean
you could speed without penalty….the next day the patrol was out in abundance,
trying to match their 24,000 tickets issued during last years “Speed Week”….but
we were ready for them and arrived without citation for the first time in many
years…also had a chance to hear Governor Cuomo’s daily Corona briefing…..WOW……it’s
like a sermon from the mount….can we just all decide to have him be our fearless
leader?….
Arrival back at The Inn was as expected…only worse……………. after being gone for two extra months….had phone troubles, usual infestations, grass two feet high in places, no hot water, broken dishwasher and multiple leaks…..oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam….something tidy and small, with a housekeeping staff and just one of them, please….needless to say, we have been at it for days, and starting to feel a smidgen on top of the chaos…..Friday brought an onslaught of our local peeps…who we had to hold at bay with stun guns…..Jewish Pig Farmer an Ms. JPF showed Friday night to bring us dinner and stayed ten feet way…but it went downhill from there….the Masseuse in the Trailer burst into the house with arms wide open foe hugging , before I made her, at gunpoint, go get her mask and stay at the threshold……then an endless stream…… we tried shouting about our two week Quarantinie requirement (which may be lifted this week be Herr Guvnor) with only moderate success…….Our local grocery, Hannaford, offers on line ordering and pickup, but no curbside (Boo!)…so yours truly entered a store for the first time in over 3 moths, with my Hazmat suit on….vey impressed with over 90% of shoppers wearing masks…….clearly very low incidence in these parts and getting better quickly, but also getting ready to re-open in earnest…and we know what happens when that happens……
Very uncertain about the whole thing about Race is
like in the mountains, since everyone is white…and we have no TV, so cutoff from
the 24-hour mind bend of protests and police rioting, which is a relief and somewhat
unsettling both…….
Woke Saturday morning to the wafting through the
window sounds of Bob Marley, which signaled the return of the Jamaicans down
the hill……Lucy immediately joined them for the day……and we had to tie her down when
the aromas of roasted goat began to drift up the in the evening….while The Queen
hauled endless wheelbarrows of grass clippings in circles around the yard, I rolled
down the mount to Wallingford and picked up dinner at Sal’s’…which we ate on
the porch in barely 50 degree weather……an adjustment to be back to 70 degree
(if lucky and not this weekend) days and 40 degree nights….
The Yard is a mess, the house is overwhelming, The
Queen is running round (unkempt/ uncut hair flying in the wind…we have neither had
a cut in three mints, and reverting to late 70s-early 80s dos) in circles with
a jug of vinegar in one hand and her phone in the other to listening to a
podcast on why vaccines are bad, ….But…The
Pond…..can you say PRISTINE?
Gotta get tromping through the weeds and ticks
and try to get the old machines up and running and stop water from flowing in various
house orifices……………. River deep…Mountain High…
Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend…the official start to the Bizarro summer…. drove over to babysit Bebe yesterday and every restaurant parking lots were full, traffic was huge, and the parks we overflowing with cars and people…. guess we’re officially back to normal now…. are we nuts or what………we are preparing to flee to the mountain remoteness in the next few weeks…before The Apocalypse…and it is or constitutional right to not give a shit about anyone else….do you feel me?
So- really, what is there to say…. we eat, we
drink, we sleep, we work on both houses, we pay the bills, make a few calls to
stay in touch, binge watch serial TV, mow one yard, then mow the other yard, paint,
prime, stain, fix things…. then start over…breaks to be Nana and Papi a few times
a week…and that’s all she wrote…………………
Esoteric fact of the week…the passing of Ken
Osmond…. the infamous Eddie “you look lovely today, Mrs. Beaver” Haskell……you
have to be of an age for this one…
Feelin fine, the world’s all mine,
Early mornin’ chills, I still can get my thrills.
That woman’s Baa-aa-aad…. The Best I ever had.
I’m gonna get me to the graveyard on time…now,
I write poems, but none of them rhyme …. now.
No more side roads, I’ll go on the main line…now,
Can’t you tell that I’m feelin’ just fine…wow,
wow, wow, wow…………………………………………………………….” Ten to One” ……………………….1976, Columbus,
Ohio
Match The Quotes Time-
“I saw the best minds of my generation
destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging
themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix….”
“The truth is more important than the facts
“I think most people would understand what I would think about the current
American President’s handling of the Pandemic, but it’s probably better
sometimes not to say it.”
“One day…it is like a miracle…it will just disappear”
“Book ‘em…Dan-O”
“Here and now, boys…. here and now”
Pipe
dreams and fantasy schemes, it never turns out quite the way it seems…The
faster you run, it’s just that much longer to go”
Review: Oh, my, my…this is a troublesome
book…as it should be. The true story of Lale Sokolov, who unwittingly became the
man who tattooed the numbers on everyone who came to this pit of hell from
1942- to 1945. Morris befriended him in the last years of his life (he did in
2006) In New Zealand and recorded his true story-told in novel from. This is
brutal…just brutal…but must reading in my boo. I swept through it in three
days-hard to read, hard to put down. Morris is not the worlds’ best writer, but
the story is so gripping, so compelling……how could this happen? It’s also, by
the way as story (like a million others) of indomitable will and extraordinary desire
to survive….and retain your soul and dignity in the process. OY!
Sloane with Papi glasses 5-10-20What is wrong with this picture?
Welcome to this Apocalyptic Post- Modern Sunday:
“When the cart stops, do you whip the cart or
the ox?” …………………………………………………………………………………. Huai- Jung
“I fix nothing, I let it go” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Jean-Paul
Sartre
“Ashes to ashes, dust into dust, Buildings will crumble, bridges
will rust. Mountains will disappear, rivers will dry
up. And so it goes with everything but love” ……………………………John
Denver
You would
think that with staying at home for the most part, there would be little to say…which
is probably true…but not really prohibitive for such as we….
Let’s get
back to it…. NOW……how many of you are going out to restaurant? A bar? a gym?………….maybe
a little overdue haircut or get the old nails done? Let’s all just go out and
see how quickly we can infect each other…. maybe take a rifle or a Swastika to
show what we are made of…. c’mon people now, smile on your brother………………
The Granddaughter
update- Quin-Lily turned three this past week….have not seen her in months but
we have our twice weekly portal….this week she evicted her parents from the
room, and in between bedtime stories asked Nana and Papi …”how was your day
today?”….three is interesting….littlest Baby Harper, is growing like a weed…not
seen her since week one…..Virus-strain!!!!!!!!!!!!!….Bebe Sloane continues to
be our lifeline (along with her parents) and this week we babysat while Tess and
Jake went on a contact-less date…she led us in circles for three hours…what an
age to watch the bloomin’….
How about
a little Obamagate? We count on the Moron-in- Chief for our daily dose of
laughter in hard times……. but seriously?
The
weekly drive in da country……………………..Headed east this week on an overcast and threatening
day (thunderstorm season in the heartland)….counted the % of people wearing masks
(going down)and the number of people with big tractors mowing their small yards
(going up)…and found a little trail to take a silent walk…..did the contactless
lunch stop , and watched the birds….Ohio has a subtle beauty in the coming of spring
and farm season…not quite like driving around in the Greens…..but you gotta get
out of the house once in a while…right?
Three
houses and counting…. we are total indentured (or maybe dentured?) slaves to our
houses…keeps us pretty busy during The Plague…….are pretty settled now in the
new abode….and spending a lot of time trying to make the old homestead more sellable…..this
week we had new carpet put in all the rooms from Guy The Capet Guy….who has poor
social distancing boundaries…so when we met with him we had to set up a card table
on the driveway and wear our masks and gloves….but it was CHEAP…even though we had
to spend two hours cleaning up after the mess they made. Yesterday we spent the
whole day painting and staining over at the homestead like a couple of 40 yard
olds…our yard boy canceled on us last minute ..so we had to do it selves…which led
to much moaning, creaking and drug taking…..The Queen got through the day by chanting
her own little Haiku as she brushed and rolled:
“Working-working
on old house,
We fight……then we get it done” ………………………………………………………Her
form is not great, but you get the idea…. partly brought on by yours truly getting
the old beast resurrected tractor (given last rites an ten year ago and ignored
since) stuck in the giant mud ruts in the soaked side yard…for the THIRD time
this week….and since we have to fucking social distance –could not ask for help…and
had to push it out ourselves…this left TQ a bit perturbed with moi (and very
muddy in sexy sort of way) …
Seems like
time to think in earnest about heading back to the Greens…. recently named best
state in old US of A in staying out of the way of The Plague….in Mt. holly, we
are social distanced by definition….
“Does anybody really know what time it is; does anybody
really care” ……………………………………………………………………. Robert Lamm (Chicago Transit Authority)
“He gets up in the morning, slaving
for bread, sir / So that every mouth can be fed………Ah, Ah, Ah…The
Israelites” ………………. Desmond Dekker
“While I am busy with little things, I am not required to do
greater things” …………………………………………………………………………………Sir Francis De Sales
Happy Mother’s Day to all, for whom the Foo shits. Since I can’t
really even fathom what day it is anymore, it is difficult to conjure a Blog about
the past week…. what should I say? …………………got up…took a shit……let Lucy out…let
Lucy in…. checked my e-mail…. made an English muffin…. had another small shit…made
a few calls……hung some pictures…. searched for missing items The Queen has hidden
in her baskets………talked to the realtor…..took a nap…read a book…mowed the yard
to keep up with the neighbors’ four times a week mowing…took a faux shit(just
gas)….Blah, Blah, Blah….you got the point..
So, what to do? How about The Blogs’ TOP FIVE Coronaesque
Good, Bad and Ugly??????????…. Yes, Yes…. please Ferlin’…tell us about the TG,
TB&TU
THE GOOD (editors’ license to name six)
No Schedule to conform to
Netflix, Prime TV, PBS, HBO, Showtime
Having TWO HOUSES to work on to keep us busy (not to mention a third
to keep track of)
Family time-seeing Bebe Sloane (and her parents) 2- times week ……Max
being here for seven weeks
Zoomin’
The surprising and virtuous leadership of Cuomo, DeWine, Newsom, Whitmer…and
all the Governors who have stepped up to fill The Void
THE BAD (even more editors’ license)
No Schedule to conform to
No Sports…not even Pro Bowling to watch
Little Income
Not seeing Quin-Lily and New Baby Harper (and their parents) …and Max
going home
No GYM
Waiting for on line orders to get here (Amazon excepted)
Losing John Prine
THE UGLY
The pathetic leadership from the White House and all its Talking Heads
All The M
“ME” people- buying all the TP and disinfectant wipes, gun carrying twats
demanding their personal freedoms
All forms of HazMat Gear
24/7….and I mean 24/7 for months …… with your loved one
Had a birthday last week…. presents from friends
and family keep dribbling in as the efficiency of the beleaguered mail systems will
allow…. Jennifer yesterday received an overdue package and gave me a poster (which
we spend 2-3 hours fighting about where to put up) that probably says it all
about RELATIONSHIPS in the Time of Corona:
In spite of ourselves…………We’ll end up a’ sittin’ on a rainbow
Against all odds…………Honey, we’re
the big door prize
We’re gonna spite our noses……………Right
off of our faces
There won’t be nothin’ but big old hearts…………Dancin’ in our eyes.
That’s all she wrote (“Dear John-
please send my saddle home”)…………………………….Stay Safe
Right now…. where is your nature?” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Zen
Koan
“A permanent state of transition is man’s most noble
condition” ………………………………………………………………Juan Ramon Jimenez
Who’s makin’ love to your old lady…. while you
are out makin’ love?” ………………………………………………………. Johnnie Taylor
In honor of the recent Passover (quite late as usual)
…an extremely lapsed (maybe even disappeared) Jew, offers Ten (maybe twelve) questions
for this Sunday’s sermon. Answers below you can match to the question:
Should we be reopening our states amidst the Virus concerns?
What do you do when you have 244 pieces of art to hang in your new house
and can’t agree on any of it?
What is it like to have dozens of masked people go through your house
and tell you everything they don’t like about it?
Is it safer to go back to Vermont during The Plague or stay put in
Ohio?
What kind of role model is Mr. Pence when he refuses to wear a mask in
a major medical facility that requires anyone entering to wear one?
What does one do on their birthday during Quarantine?
What does Lucy do when she is freed up from her new fenced home and gets
to go nuts back at the old homestead?
How cute are toddler granddaughters?
What happens when you can’t get a haircut for months?
Should you wear a mask to go to the toilet?
Is Zoom better than Sex?
Why is this year different than all other years?
Answers…or not….
See the “Dirty Girl” picture
Such a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your loved one(s)
Why not? Only 233K more people projected to die by the end of June as
a result
Tell them to F___ Off
Blow up your TV throw away your paper, Go to the
country, build you a home, Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches, Try an’
find Jesus on your own
It will mess up
his hair, for Chrissakes.
Depends on the quality of your internet connection
A picture tells a thousand words
Tie up The Queen
and start hanging…
Not if there is someone
in there waving a gun and ranting about their freedom to choose
Good morning star shine……. The Earth says Hello…………
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple” ……………………………………………………………….
Oscar Wilde
“Let what comes come. Let what goes go. Find out
what remains.” ……………………………Ramara Maharshi
“You have got to shitting me!!!!!” ………………………………………………………………………………. Yours Truly
So what do you do when you are sitting in Central
Ohio under lock down, and it’s the time to return to The Inn at Scum Pond? And,
what do you do after six weeks of barely leaving the house? And, what do you
when it’s just one more cold and rainy April day in the Heartland?
I’d say…………………………………………… it’s time for………………………
some Bloggish……………………………NO?
First, and foremost, I hope you are all well-and staying safe. We are not aware of anyone we know having contracted the scourge…and hopefully it has stayed that way. Wear your masks, wash your hands, stay home as much as possible.
I am really out of practice with this, and not sure
anyone really (except maybe Sister Jane who has patiently waited months for a
sermon) wants to hear notes from the heartland…. but it is Sunday morning after
all…and I need something to do. So, a short starter update. Feeling a little
rusty…. and feeling a little anxious
(picture Beetlejuice) ………………………
We have not left the house, for the most part, for
six weeks….so I currently have The Queen tied up in the closet after being together
7/24 for 985 straight hours……
The Prodigal braved a flight to San Diego on
Thursday after being stranded here for seven weeks when the shit hit the fan
during his five-day visit for Tess’s birthday in early March…. now back home
and quarantined….
We get to see Tess, Jake and Bebe 2-3 times a
week…and that is our social contact…. the kids monitor us daily to ensure we have
not had other contacts …they are the Virus Police……Bebe has grown into a little
person (a mensch) …dashing around and creating picture opps at every turn in the
last few months…and can now say Nana and Papi…. we are all missing Max after
the most time together in a few decades……
Downside on grandkids is that we don’t get to
see our equally beloved Quin-Lily in Cleveland …we could be shot crossing the county
border….and our newest little angel, Harper……the scourge strikes again
Jen and I are recovering well after downing a quart
of Windex at our Leaders’ advice…. feeling very clean though…. The Greeks clearly
know their shit……………
As many of you know, just before everything
exploded we closed on a new house……great timing….and have spent the last two months
moving…finally moving in last weekend with the strong young(er) backs of Jake
and Max assisting
So…now have left the Farm…for the neighborhood…quit
the traumatic adjustment- one I had hoped to not make while still upright…. but
it is a nice house on a quiet cul-de-sac…with four floors mind you…and only a four-minute
drive to the old homestead…so we can go back and use the hot tub 2-3 times week….
we are getting pretty settled and I have recreated my office space circa 1990 (doubtless
causing some form of PTSD for my old colleagues who get this) ….
The Queen has totally organized the kitchen bathroom, bedrooms and basement (she is not allowed near my office) ….and I spend my days wandering around saying “Where is ____?” …. eventually I will be able to find the toilet paper, my shoes and my checkbook…. We have also been invaded by her newest passion……BASKETS……at last count we have 83 baskets of varying shapes and sizes in every closet, drawer and shelf…all color coordinated, mind you…hopefully, this too shall pass….
We now have three houses and no income…a unique opportunity
for self-reinvention…. until we can sell the old beast down the road….it may be
the worst time in history to sell a house…as in who wants to go to someone else’s
house for showing with the CRUD looming…. somehow, we had six showings this week…but
no takers…probably a result of a soaking wet basement and yard and occasional critters
roaming the walls and attic…but hopefully that too shall pass….
After every showing we wait a day and go in with
our HazMat suits and a gallon container of wipes to prepare the house for the next
showing….and to do laundry…no washer/dryer in new house because we don’t want to
let anyone in to deliver them…. can you spell conundrum?……
So, this week I recorded (who loves Zoom?) two trainings
for the Caribbean folks in Dominica……which is better than nothing, but not quite
like being there…. quite the surreal experience having people do group exercises
when they are not allowed to congregate…I wore my gas masks through an entire training
and roped Jennifer into doing a series of role plays with me on supervising difficult
people…doubtless a PTSD experience for her……
We have removed
most of our stuff out of the old homestead, but left some big ticket items for “staging”…whatever
the hell that is…including our beloved sectional couch, where I had been spending
the majority of my time for the last month…so now both Lucy and I are clinically
depressed over nowhere to lay around….and Lucy is boycotting the fact that she now
lives with a fended in yard and can no long spend her days running after chipmunks
and squirrels on the back forty…but change is good….right?
Well… I said this would be short Ramble…and, as usual,
I lied…. but enough is enough….
Stay in touch, be well, keep up the fight, put up
a sign in your yard for Uncle Joe……change is good, right?
Your brother in arms,
Stu
PS- I cant figure out how to add pix to the blog on this new host site- so you have to look at the e-mail version for the few pics this week. Will try to get Max to help me figure out how to add media
Turned out room was right above all night Drunken Disco last night…almost moved…but late…and room offering had twin bed….and even more Motel Sixish… can you say earplugs..
Up at 6…at buffet when opened…got e-mails sent from last night…wolfed down bread, cheese, juice…taxi at 7… long, but very good training day…both sessions had folks dancing…..in weird space out at the airport….
Had first Caucasian in training…Brit UNICEF woman on assignment….who unbelievably knows our friends Alex and Faith in Mt. Holly…..and has been there…how many degrees?…
Traffic here unreal…more cars than people….agreed to have the locals give me a ride back (stupidly not spending unnecessary taxi fare)…turned out be another “Bus”….and had to go to capitol first…hour and a half getting back to the Den of Iniquity….
Finally, had a building meltdown at hotel front desk, when they said they could not print my boarding pass (American Airlines-can actually print one for first time after six LIAT flights).. and would have to go back to room, bring laptop down to WIFI zone, ..and send them and e-mail with my reservation….NOT…Papi and manager had talk at that point…and got escorted to super-secret private room with computer to TCOB….
Ate at Mexican “ala carte”….at least had table service….found a WIFI spot with light…and an outlet….and voila…..
One politically incorrect note for the night….even very attractive Carib women have ungodly butts sticking out…how does this happen?
Lounging and recovering tomorrow until late afternoon flight to the homeland….getting closer….Papi be home soon….
Hell might be a Caribbean all- inclusive resort full of drunk Americans and assorted others- getting their money’s worth on food and drink all day…but more on that later….
Did I mention that no one…I mean no one puts on their car AC in the Carib…..even if its 100 plus out…….
The SL airport at 6:30 am was an experience…almost got the anal cavity search….could not explain to them what the Netty pot was for (a bomb?)…
For a laid-back culture….the Eastern Caribbean, in general, has more rules than anywhere I’ve ever been…and except for the mini terminal near our house in Vermont, this is the smallest airport ever been to…
Cab drive from Antiqua airport to hotel on south end of island….as a maze of back country roads and major league ruts…and my guy was speedy….got to hotel early…room not ready….sat by beach and had a few pina coladas (all inclusive)….finally got into room, which is the equivalent f 70s Motel six (TV mounted on the ceiling)…and no WIFI in this building!!!..you all know how that makes Papi feel…they were going to move me at some point, but I said fuck it…and decided to be limited…but with a magnificent view….from 4th floor (tenement walk up quality) balcony…
Grounds are great…great background vistas…trying to figure out how to manage two days with a bunch of drunk Americans (some Italians, and British Ilse types)..who are hellbent on getting their monies worth..
Ocean is great…found the secret small quiet pool in the back with no one there…..trying to be strength based about the whole thing…
Got at least five bureaucratic emails today from the Wash. morons…I seriously doubt at this point I ma going to be willing to come back in January…you should see the shit they send me…and never say they fucked up …let me count the ways…
Gonna run out of battery/light at the remote bar I found on far end property..…trying to weasel my way into the “ala carte Italian “ to avoid the dreaded buffet (can you say cruise ship?
Gone from endless Christmas music to endless 50s….oh boy..
