Jorge's Blog

We were walking east to 5th Ave from Columbus Circle on the left side of Central Park.

The night was just starting, as the Sun had just gone down for a couple of hours, and there was some heat in the air,

and the summer night felt good enough for a walk.

And as my wife and I strolled the Central Park sidewalk, we heard a sound from across the street.

It was a piano, and I told her, lets go in there.

The place from where the music came was a bar/restuarant; On the outside they have the name in neon lights, just as many places do to get attention.

The name was strange, Les Tuileris, but the piano man was good.

We sat a couple of tables away from the window that looked out to the park, and the view was espectacular.

I order a Bloody Mary, and Mikki a Margarita; The piano player kept playing other customers requests, and he did.

As I was looking out the window and the horses with the tourists riding

For old times sake I asked the piano man to play 'As Times Goes By', a song I like.

He played it as good as any piano player can play it; Just for us; This one time.

A child was born today, and kids come into this world all the time.

But this is one is special, it was born to my daughter Athena.

She named the girl Persephone (Pur-sef-hu-nee); It rhymes with Stephanie.

Her grandma, my wife, is calling her Percy, "her name is to long" she says.

I'm ok with it; It's Greek, like her mom's.

So maybe this is a new thing, mythology names for the kids in the family.

And to keep alive great names from the past. 

So welcome to the world kid.

You got some love you don't know about coming your way!

Reggie came to pick me up a few minutes after 9PM; And I said to him, "Let's stop at the gas station in town and get a pack of beers, before we head back to Memphis".

Ok, he said, and started to drive out from the parking lot, towards the town.

The town is just a couple of miles away from the BMW facility I was visiting, and Reggie drove to it.

He stopped at the gas station just before highway I-55 and I got out to buy some beer.

The attendant was taking care of a customer when I walked in, and I waited my turn, until she was done.

I asked her, "Can I have a six pack of Buds, please"?

 "This is dry a county", she said.

"Maybe I brought you some luck with me today, it rained a lot during the day and all around here is wet"

She told me "No, I'm not talking about the weather, the sale of alcohol is against the law inside the whole county"

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather after that; I walked out of the store and Reggie asked me when I got into the car what happened?

And I told him "Even when it rains, this place is still dry", he looked at me surprised and started to drive towards Memphis.

What did you do for fun when you were a kid? How is it different from what you see kids doing now?
Submitted by jaklumen.

After school was over at about 2pm, we went to get dress to go to the beach.

It was five of us in the group, and we went to the pier to dive for young Conch and Scallops and Clams, and most of the time we eat what we caught on the spot; We usually stayed for 4 hours or just before sundown.

It was a great time.

As far as nights out go, this one was short.

Too short for Mikki, too short for my mother in law, and, maybe for Athena too.

This happened several years ago, but it lingers in my head as one of those things that made a difference in my life.

But it was too long for me, the night: I remember looking down from the balcony at the lit dancing floor below me, a Bloody Mary in one hand, and a cigarette on the other;

The Palladium floor was full of people having a good time, Mikki included; I had just left her to get a drink, and then went over to the balcony.

Earlier in the day we had made plans to take Athena, our only child, who was just a few months old to her Grandma place in Bensonhurst, in Brooklyn.

So that we could have some time, alone, again.

We took the #7  train to 42nd St and Broadway at about 6pm, made the transfer to the B, and got to Mom's place by 7pm; As Grandma's go, she was happy to have Athena to care for; She had some grandkids already from her other daughter, but the first one from Mikki.

And we left her there, with Grandma, with enough milk, and pamper's, until we would come to pick her up, the next day; Mikki and I went back to take the subway to Manhattan, to have a good time.

We got to old theater near Madison Ave, and the crowd was long, trying to get in; We got in.

Mikki, ordered a Tom Collins at the bar, and I ordered a Bloody Mary.

And then we danced for a while, hard, too hard, to sweat as we did.

So I went to the bar again, got me a Bloody Mary, and walked up to the balcony, after getting my drink.

Mikki kept dancing; She loves to dance.

And I saw her from the balcony having a good time; And I thought about my child.

Was she having a good time?; And I thought she was not.

She was not around her parents.

So, I told Mikki, let's go home.

And we went to pick Athena in the middle of the night; And we took the trains to go there, to Brooklyn, and then back to Long Island City, to our place, in Queens.

After that night, we took Athena with us everywhere we went.

We have not dance much since then, Mikki and I.

Athena is grown now, and with children of her own.

The Palladium is gone, and the dancing floor too!

As times go, that was as good a night as any I will ever have.

Athena never saw the Palladium, she would have loved the scene.

She was too young then, and the place is gone now.

Maybe she will find a place of her own to dance, if she is like her Mom.

.

That is all we get, one mother, and that is enough to satisfy a life lived under an umbrella of love

only we, under it, know, how protective it is.

Mine is gone, and has been for a while, but it does not diminish my love and the way I always felt for her.

If you have yours, still, say I love you, to her, every chance you get.

When tomorrow comes, you never know if yesterday was the last time you said, to Mom, I Love You.

So as the song says, "For all we know, we may never meet again".

And if tomorrow never comes, you know, you said good bye, with an "I Love You Mom".

To all of you who have one, still, have a good time.

Have a Happy Mother's Day to all..

I went to the beach today, alone.

And while there were a lot of people around me,

They were not with me.

The grandkids would make it better

But they are not here

If only they were near

We would have the best fun

And get tanned by the Sun.

Together.

The forecast said it was going to be windy, and cold, maybe some rain too.

It did not rain, and all else was true, but there were no clouds around to spoil a day on the beach.

Got to the beach around 9am, and it was empty; Not because is a bad place, it was just early, in the morning.

I picked a place next to the dunes, to park my car,and did.

Then I took out the chair, and the cooler, and the book and the beach umbrella.

So next to the car, I laid my beach towel, and I put my sandals at the end, on the left side.

Opened a Bud, and laid down, on my blanket to let the Sun do it's thing.

Stayed long enough to tan; Long enough to see the tide come in.

I like the ocean, but don't like to go into it.

Too old for it now,!!!

Woke up this morning, and the air smelled like manure!   

Strange I thought, have not been near any farms in a while, nor do I live around one now; The smell though, brought back memories of a night out in New York City, with my wife, Mikki.

That night, we had dinner at Ernei's, a nice big cavernous restaurant in the upper 70's, on Broadway; And after dinner, we walked towards Columbus Circle and Central Park.

It was a nice summer day, and the temperaturte was not too hot for a good walk; Near the park I spotted a Liqour Store, I told Mikki to wait for me, and went to the store; When I opened the door, it made a gingly sound, I went to the counter and asked the clerk, who was wearing a monogramed shirt with the name Peter on it, ", Peter can I have a bottle of Brut Champagne, please?", and he said to me "My name is Sebastian, this is my brother's shirt, who lend it to me because I haven't done laundry".   

 And I said "Ok, Sebastian, can I have a bottle of Brut champagne?", and he said "Yeah!, no problem";

"Do you have cups?, if you do, can you give me a couple" I asked, "Got it" he said.

He gave me my stuff and the bill, I paid the bill, on my way out I said to Sebastian, "laundry, my boy,laundry", and walked out to my wife, waiting for me across in the park.

There she was, standing, her back resting on a tree, with a leg up on the bench near her.   

She look so good in jeans and boots, and the light of the hour, made her looked more beautiful.

And we sat down on the bench, to see the horse carriages taking tourist around the park.

So we sat there, in the park, drinking Champagne, when the Sun was going down, and the horses going by. 

The young girl, that I picked to be my woman a long time ago, is in pain today.

She will need gallbladder surgery to relieve her, of her discomfort.

The woman that has been such a rock of strenght, energy and vitality in my life, is in pain, and walking around in slow gingerly steps because of it; How does she do it?.

Today, is Saturday, and she keeps coming, in that slow walk of hers because of her condition, to my room, to ask me, if I'm ok?.

And I say yeah, but is not true, I just want her to tell me to drive her to the hospital, and for the pain she feels to go away.

Hard-headed as she is, and has always been, (wouldn't be with me if she wasn't) she say's, she knows when the time is right for her to go to the hospital.

Is not now.

Of all the girls I met, and all the women, I picked her.

We are still here, together, after all these years.

I just hope she will poke her head to the door of my room, and say, I can't stand this pain anymore!

Soon, I hope, because I too, can't stand her pain, anymore.

I