Death

As I feared.  Cousin Ruth's husband Artie died today (or maybe yesterday).  I have to say I always loved Cousin Ellen best.  She was closest to me in age, only 10 years older than I was, always tasked with taking care of me when I was sent to Scranton, or to the farm in the summer, always singing and laughing..  But I always admired Ruth most.  She was the  oldest of the cousins, and the only one of the cousins who escaped Scranton - as soon as she could, she told me, after one too many cosmopolitans at her grandson's bar mitzvah.  And she and Artie were the intellectuals of the family.  Ruth must be 93 now, Artie several years older.  (The two "boys", Kurt and Eric, died a number of years ago.) ..... 

Dreams

I have always thought dreams were important, but have never been able to remember them (and have never managed to make it through Freud's book on dreams either).  But recently, my inability to sleep has gotten out of hand, and it was recommended to me to try Melatonin.  I did, and, indeed, it helps me sleep, but at the expense of having these incredibly schizoid dreams, many of which I do remember (or, at least, snippets of them.  I have always had vague recollections of the "you can't get there from here" dreams (I understand most people have them).  But last night.......I was someplace that seemed like India - people everywhere, tugging at you - and I had left the hotel, whose name I didn't know, without a map (in real life, I have never, and would never, do this).  Needless to say, I couldn't get back, and having wandered into and out of several strange buildings, and down several winding hills, I woke up (too early, of course) and didn't dare close my eyes again.

Don't worry - I won't subject you to any more of these - its like listening to other people's acid trips in the old days - but this was so immediate and so strange and it's still early...and I still don't know what it means.

On another note, I have just finished reading another Martha Grimes mystery, Winds of Change.  I always read a book's dedication if there is one, to see if I can relate it to the book itself.  It is not always obvious.  In this case, it was, very much so.  The book was dedicated to the author's brother, who had died the year before the book's publication.  And the protagonist, Jury, loses a cousin in the early pages of the book.  He himself is an orphan, and this (distant) cousin was the repository of childhood memories, albeit different from his own, his last link to the past......as are my distant cousins, mentioned in my last post. (I tried to contact both, as I said I would do, but have heard back from neither.  Both, I know, are distracted by other, closer, family matters, but I am fretting more than I usually do - I am not usually a fretter (hence my dream, I guess...).

On a more normal, less gruesome note,  I went for a walk and sushi dinner with friend John

...as usual, had a great time.  It is great walking with John - I just have to ask a question; he talks, and I don't have to get winded by walking and talking at the same time!!!

The next day, when I was out walking by myself (by the way, I am listening to Robert Cato's The Path to Power, the first of three books comprising his biography - what a fabulous writer - and reader) when John rode by on his bike, looking every bit the triathalete he is) , and he joined me after his ride (and mutual showers) for a beer on the patio to watch the sunset.  Not such a bad life.  John is a good friend and neighbor; he looks after me, and I am lucky to have him. 

Ho Hum

Not too much going on, but don't want to let the time get away from me....

Walks, rain or shine...

Its odd.  When you are young, you don't think about it.  Now, with age creeping up (or some would say, already here) I am grateful each and every time - really, it is true - that I can still walk reasonably briskly, and unencumbered.  Well, I always have been a glass half full kind of person.

I am grateful for long-time friends too.  Had lunch with former colleague and friend Mickey and her husband Bill....

.....and aside from great conversation, they introduced me to a new (to me) pho place which can legitimately be considered in my neighborhood.  The broth was yummy - and it's a lot cleaner than our usual joint. 

Went to the first chamber music concert from the Vancouver Recital Society for this season with friend Jack.  We can both remember when the VRS started 40 years ago!!!  It was an interesting concert, with five pieces - none of which I had ever heard - for various combinations of two violins and a piano.  Charming, but considering that there were only blue hairs in the audience - really, I don't think there was a soul under 60 but for the performers - I wonder if this music will be around for the next generation?

Still enjoying bridge three times a week, but wish I were improving at somewhat more than a snail's pace...

What else?  Oh, reading What with Jack providing me with old New Yorkers and John providing me with the Economist, I am well up to date on what's new in Kansas City.....For books, well, I finished the autobiography (at least the 700 plus pages that comprise part 1) of Isaac Asimov, In Memory Yet Green.  Considering I am not a science fiction reader - the only Asimov I have read is his work on Shakespeare - it was surprisingly interesting.  Jewish boy emigrates from a stetl in Russia to Brooklyn in the 20's - I mean, the setting itself held me for at least 400 pages...  And a novel (Rose Tremain's The Gustav Sonata), a mystery (Martha Grimes, The Old Wine Shades), and a thriller (Craig Russell's The Devil's Aspect):  all good reads, none Giller prize material even if they were new, which they are not.

I don't do premonitions, as a rule, but I am feeling very much like I should be in contact with my elderly cousins back East.  I will let you know the results of my attempts to reach out in my next post....

Summer to Winter, without an Intervening Fall

The rains have come early this year.  It has been monsooning since I last wrote - as much rain in one five day period as is usual in the whole month of September.  I don't mind the rain, it is the unceasing grey that makes me tired.  Oh, well.  That is why I go to the desert.....

There has been a little excitement.  I walk for a few hours each evening (it is not power walking, I assure you, but it is something).  I got home one evening to discover my neighbors clustered around my building and the fire alarm screeching...

Friends Ross and Lesley were camping it up, so I knew it couldn't be too serious...

.....sorry about the sideways view of the arriving firemen (my usual technical difficulties), but even at that angle, you can just feel the testosterone..

It was, of course, a false alarm, but at least we know the alarms work...

So, what else has happened?  Friend Jack and I went to the movies to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the latest Quentin Tarantino offering.  I am usually not a big fan, but Jack liked it well enough to see it twice, so I was willing to chance it.  It was actually great.  It is the Manson/Sharon Tate story with a different ending, full of subtle - and not so subtle - references to the Roman Polanski story and other Hollywood tales, and the violence was absolutely suitable.  The cinematography was great, with lots of cameos by actors old and young.  Can you tell I liked it?

Went for a walk and dinner at the White Spot (Canada's Denny's, without the racism) , with friend John...

(yes, it had stopped raining), and another night out with friend Deirdre at Romers, the local pub (and yes, I will try to get back in the habit of taking pictures....

Friend John (another one) visited from Palm Springs with new partner Tom (his former partner, my friend Jim), died last year - of smoking), and although I had met Tom before I left Palm Springs last season, this was a nice chance to get to know him better.  We went to dim sum at my local venue, The Flamingo, and dinner at my all time favourite, The Shanghai River.  In between, John cooked...

.....and Tom and I ate...

The boys wanted to go to Granville Island, and only for them would I do it.  The market displays are beautiful...

(Honestly, I edited these pictures, and rotated them.  What can I say?)  ....but there are just too many people.  Anyway, it was a short visit, but I enjoyed having them.

Jack and his friend Keltie and I went lunch at the Spaghetti Factory (where I hadn't been in decades and now have been twice in a week)...



and then to the National Theater Live performance of The Lehman Trilogy, about the rise and fall of Lehman Brothers (yes, that  Lehman Brothers), a new play by Sam Mendes about the rise and spectacular fall of same.  If you get a chance to see it, do; it is a wonderful play, and, at least if Wikipedia is to be believed, historically accurate.  As far as I'm concerned, Sam Mendes is one of the most talented directors around.

Finally, Jack, his daughter Julia and I went to Bard on the Beach and saw Coriolanus, the first time Bard has done this in its 26 year history.  And a good job they did of it too; I was glad to see that it was sold out, and has been throughout the run.  They had women in the major roles, and it worked very well.  It is truly amazing how relevant Shakespeare is lo these 400 years later.  I mean, what is not relevant about the pitfalls of rule of the rabble?

We had a light dinner after at Rocky Mountain Flatbread...

....and then home, to think it all over.....

A few books to report on, but it will have to wait.  Bed is calling.....  More anon.

The End of Summer

I should mention that the summer has been glorious in terms of weather - not too hot, not too cold, rain every ten days or so, Camelot-like, at night, no forest fires burning down the Province.  So, to remind you all, this is what I call home...


This is sunset from my patio...

....I'm living on the Fraser River (specifically, the north arm of the Fraser), definitely a working river - more pictures to come, no doubt....

......I live across from Mitchell Island, a working industrial island, so always something going on there too...

...and, for those of you who are just tuning in, this is where I live....

....the wall unit belonged to David's grandparents, the highchair was David's when he was a baby, and the dining room set was bought at a flea market in Sausalito, California in 1985, when David and I were just setting up house...

.....the tapestry over the fireplace was made by friend Barbara.  Couldn't afford it now - she is world famous.  Couldn't afford it 40 years ago either, for that matter, so traded it for mileage points (she wanted to take her family to Czechoslovakia, as it then was)...

....tucked away in the corner there is an old tube radio - David listed to the announcement about Pearl Harbor sitting in front of it when he was 7 years old....

.......the living room sofa is of slightly newer vintage, although not by much (1990 or so, so almost 30 years old)....

.......and my pride and joy, the spare bedroom, with Murphy bed......

.....that too is old, having been transported in the last two moves.

...the library (aka my bedroom)..

....this is, alas, all that remains of a much larger library, but the best I can manage in an apartment...

The tapestry over my bed is a copy of Fragonard's Girl Reading.  I did it in the 70's (when I could still see)...

.....my patio.....

Finally, the kitchen, the only modern thing in the place.  It is actually quite spacious, for apartment living, and certainly all that I require.  (Note the absence of a television.  I haven't had one for more than a decade, and don't miss it a bit.)

The path along the river runs in front of my patio, so going for my daily constitutional is just a question of stepping out my patio door...

So there you have it.

Since last we spoke, I have played in a regional bridge tournament with partner Alex, and, on the holiday Monday, with the remainder of our team for Swiss teams.  We had a bit of success, and a lot of fun.

Only one other outing to report.  Friend Jack and I went to the movies and dinner.  The movie was Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.  I am not usually a Quentin Tarantino fan, but Jack liked it so well he was willing to see it a second time, and that was good enough for me.  Indeed, I loved it.  It was an alternate telling of the Charles Manson story - I like this ending much better - and, for a change, all the violence was warranted.  On top of that, the visuals - 1960's Hollywood - the soundtrack, costumes, actors (Brad Pitt, Leonard DiCaprio, and loads of others old and young) were all stellar.  Two thumbs up!

Dinner was at the Spaghetti Factory close by.  I haven't been there for a million years, and the food hasn't gotten any better.  However, it is adequate, served promptly, reasonably inexpensive (as much as anything can be inexpensive in Canada), and in good quantity.  And the company was great.  So, all in all, a lovely afternoon. 

A few more movie outings coming up, so, more anon...