a musical interlude by Charlie

That's Charles Castronovo, in case you don't know.  Nothing more needs to be said, just hit the play button and listen.

beach today, looking north-ish

Manhattan to the left, JFK airport farther out on the right.  Rough surf - there were surfers out earlier, but they were gone when we got there.  Water is very churned up, sort of greenish with foam riding on the waves.  The wind has been wicked, and the full moon makes the tide higher than normal.  Tide was starting to come in when we were out there. 

The "easy" way onto the beach is gone, it mostly washed out with the storms we've been having.  We'll have to find another route, since it seems noone is in a rush to rebuild the public access stairways, and I don't have the kind of money it takes to build my own.  Pablo was not happy going up the way we did; neither was I, for that matter.  I'm not into rock climbing.  Found a better way out, I guess we could use that to get in.  Better than the rocks.

I'm not much into the beach in the summer anyhow.  I like it better in winter, when all that's out there is me, my dog, and a couple of very hardy fishermen.  I'm not a huge fan of people having most of their clothes off in public, it hurts my artistic sensibilities.  Obese bennies are not artistically appealing.  My opinion.

looks who's hiding in my back yard

He's trying to pass himself off as one of the tulips, I think. 

See him in the lower left corner?

Sneaky little goldfinch.

I also hear my favorites outside now, the mockingbirds.  The bird with the most songs wins the girl.  What a concept!  The fact that they came back is a sign that maybe the huge holly trees across the street are going to survive.  They're like a bird-condo.

My lilac bush is just beginning to show some life.  I'm relieved, I love that bush.  I was afraid it might not come back, after Sandy.  I was so excited yesterday when I saw one in full bloom in the yard of Dyckman Farmhouse up in Inwood.   Probably my favorite flower/plant/bush/tree, whatever you want to call it.  Like the song says, are there lilac trees in the heart of town?  If you're in Inwood, the answer is yes.

The rose bushes are showing signs of life, too.  And the Gateway people announced that Sandy Hook will reopen on May 1!  So things are happening here, finally.

from the train Friday evening

speaking of having a song for every occasion....

I hope Steven Sondheim wouldn't be too perturbed if I mentioned that every morning as I valiantly try to match two black socks out of a bin of dozens (no two of which are actually alike), "Send in the Clowns" comes rushing to my head....isn't it rich?  Are we a pair?

Honestly, I try to suppress it, but there it is.  Send in the clowns, there ought to be clowns....don't bother, they're here.  Or at least, one is here.

And another one

This evening, racing for the 6.01 train, I was crossing 34th Street when a woman just in front of me skidded on a wet metal grating and fell in the street.  Without even thinking about it, I and another person helped her to her feet. 

What I don't understand is the ones who intentionally hurt people (or animals, for that matter).  I believe good is born into us.  To be not good, you have to be carefully taught. 

South Pacific, if you're wondering where that comes from. There's a song for everything.

So true, no matter the time and place

Mr. Rogers was right.  He's still right.  Look at my post from Sunday, look at yesterday in Boston.  No matter how bad it seems to be, there are still more good people than bad, and one of these days the good will win.

And maybe the world does break on purpose so we can have work to do.  I forget whose quote that was, but it's on my fridge.  Some commercial for something.  Sometimes even commercials are right, even if you can't remember what they were trying to sell.

Good things happen even in not so good places

About a week ago, of an evening, I was going from the office to the Met, to see Faust.  Hard for me to miss Faust, it's one of my favorite operas.  Anyhow, when I go from the office, I take the A train to 59th Street and walk the rest of the way up to Lincoln Center, maybe stopping to pick up a quick bite to eat along the way.

At 63rd Street, I saw something unusual.  A man of indefinite age, walking with a cane, had fallen in the street.  But that's not the unusual thing.  A group of maybe eight people, men and women, instantly gathered around the fallen man, guarding him from the onrushing traffic, which up there at that hour is mostly cabs, and helping, as a group, to get him back on his feet and onto the sidewalk.

I stopped for a moment to watch, amazed at how even in NYC people have compassion and are willing to stand out in traffic to keep someone from being run over, then help him to safety.

Too bad you don't ever read about this kind of incident in the papers.