November 2023 - Page 6 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Good times, bad times

The bast team to go from 100+ losses to winning the World Series two years later was the 1969 Mets

While there are a lot of pretty average days, pretty standard, some are noteworthy. Per the song, “Good times, bad times, you know I had my share.”

Wed, Nov 1: We had a dearth of trick-or-treaters the night before. Remarkably, I ate no candy.

I received a call from the younger of my two sisters. Then, my daughter rang me up, asking my opinion about something, which admittedly pleases me no end.

I have this project to work on, which I need to complete for monetary reasons. But it required a larger block of time than I had left, so I called a good friend from church instead.

Then, I took the bus downtown to the all-day reading of William Kennedy’s Albany-based novel Ironweed. It is the 40th anniversary of the book, which was made into a 1987 film starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. True confession: I’ve never read the book, although I tried about 35 years ago. Nor have I seen the film, made in Albany.

Regardless

Yet I signed up to read one of the five-minute segments and promoted the event at a book review. I have long thought that it takes a while to become an Albanian, maybe 30 years. Perhaps I was trying to read it too soon. Also, I signed up for a 3:55 slot, so I showed up to the Albany Distilling Co. Bar and Bottle Shop, maker of Ironweed whiskey, at 75 Livingston Ave. at 3:15.

The event was running late, so I got to hear over an hour of the book before I read, including a couple of people I know. Each reader was to sign their segment of the reading text. Two people, one an organizer, told me, that I read particularly well, which was nice to hear.

Then, at 7 pm, the event moved from the pub around the corner to the Capital Rep theater, where the last of the celebrity readers completed the book, the last of whom was the 95-year-old William Kennedy. It was an extraordinary Albany event.

I took the bus home and watched Game 5 of the World Series. While both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers were only two years from 100-loss seasons, I was rooting for the Rangers, who won, because they’ve never won the Series, going back to when they were the second Washington Senators; the first Senators had moved to Minnesota.

BTW, I watched it recorded on the DVR. Baseball and football are way better, and faster when one can fast-forward through instant replay, manager/coach challenges, and commercials. This was a glorious day.

Lost day

Thurs, Nov 2: I had an allergist appointment, but I couldn’t find my wallet. I’d looked in all of the usual places. My wife took me to the doctor’s office in Corporate (frickin’) Woods. I learned my doctor is retiring, which made me sad because it takes a while to break in a medical professional.

With no bus returning downtown for a few hours, I took an Uber home. I called CDTA to see if my bus had retrieved my wallet; no. Then, I called two of my credit card companies to put a freeze on my account.

Earlier, my website provider, DreamHost had their site go down, but it was back online. Yet my site was still not available. I wanted to contact their support, but I was not able to. I COULD have requested a callback, but that would have cost $9.95. This ticked me off.

Instead, I went to CDTA and got a new bus pass. On the way home, I stopped for a sandwich. I got a notification from my Jetpack software that my site was up after six hours offline.

After trying to catch up with my email, eating dinner, and taking out the garbage, I went to church for the dress rehearsal of Lux Aeterna. This was the first time the two participating choirs and the orchestra, some 90 people, had practiced together. From my previous experience, this can be rough musically, and this was no exception, though it got better as the evening progressed.

This was a pretty sucky day and emotionally exhausting, though the woman at CDTA was quite nice.

Finally

Fri, Nov 3: I canceled my debit card and then did various chores. After the University Chamber Singers performed the first half of the First Friday program, it was time for the Lux Aeterna, which was an intense experience. It seemed to go well, from the audience’s reaction. And it was a pretty full house.

After my wife and I went home, I decided to scour the bedroom floor one more time. No wallet on the carpet, but I found it in a cylindrical item in which I had never put my wallet before.

Crisis over. This was a day of relief.

PS: There were several photos of folks at the Were You Seen segment of the Times Union for the October 21 Albany Public Library Centennial Celebration, presented by The Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library. It went live two days later.

But just to show that some people read the print version of the paper, a few of the pictures, including one of Dr. Leonard Slade and me, appeared in the November 5 paper. Several people saw it before I did,

Sunday Stealing: alphabetical

Manic Depression

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Stealing. The moderator doesn’t remember where she stole this, so I dubbed it as alphabetical.

A – Ambition: To be useful. I suppose that’s why I became a librarian. But it shows up in other ways. We had the First Friday concert at our church, and I helped people find the second-floor bathrooms. Someone asked if I were the pastor; I laughed.

B – Birthday: March 7. When I was working, I would take off the day. If my birthday were on Saturday, I’d take off the Friday before. And I’d take off Monday if my birthday was on Sunday.

C – Computer: A Microsoft Surface laptop I bought from a former SBDC colleague after my previous one fell from a table and became essentially unusable.

D – Dream: I dream a lot. I thought after MLK was killed in 1968, the progress that had started with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act would have taken hold better. But after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Right Act about a decade ago, attempts to disenfranchise people have grown.

E – Exercise: Primarily walking to the grocery store. My left knee is often in pain – including as I write this – so it’s limited.

Manga

F – Favorite Food: Grapes are great, especially for hydration. I like eggs, and usually, I prefer them when someone else makes them. And chicken. The chicken and the egg. There are lots of things I’d eat if I weren’t concerned about cholesterol and my weight. Bacon every day. There’s a packet of Golden Oreos on my kitchen counter I’m bringing to a meeting this week, but I’ve had none (so far).

G – Garden: Whatever gardening takes place is done by my wife, and she’s busy with work of late.

H – Hobby: Probably genealogy, though I haven’t had sufficient time to pursue it this autumn.

I – Idol: If I have one, it’s former Chief Justice Earl Warren or folksinger Pete Seeger.

J – Job: Retired business librarian for the New York Small Business Development Center; I was there for 26 years and eight months (1992-2019). The next longest job was working at FantaCo, a comic book/publisher/mail order/convention entity, for eight years and six months (1980-1988).

K – Kids: One, who I’ve written about in this blog every month on the 26th since May 2005.

L – Location: There was a question on a recent episode of Celebrity JEOPARDY in the category Demonyms, which are words that refer to a native or a resident of a specific place. “It’s how you might refer to a resident of Tirana, a capital city near the Adriatic coast–or to a resident of NY’s state capital.” I’m in the latter category.

M – Military: I received a Conscientious Objector status in 1972, and no one born in my year was drafted in 1973.

N – Name or Nickname: ROG

O – Optimist or Pessimist: Yes.

That darn cat

P – Pets: Two cats. One is demented. Midnight freaked out when he went to the vet nine years ago. The new vet was convinced that if we slipped him a sedative the night before and the morning of a visit, she could control him. Nope. She determined, “Your cat is crazy.” We knew this.

Q – Quote: From the comic book Saga of the Swamp Thing #22: “We left you the BEST part. We left you the HUMANITY. Try not to LOSE it.” (Alan Moore)

R – Reads: In the past few years, a bunch about race and racism. The New Jim Crow, The Color of Law, and How To Be An Antiracist.

S – School: Daniel S. Dickinson, Binghamton, NY, K-9. Binghamton Central High School, 10-12. SUNY New Paltz, B.A. in political science (1977). SUNY Albany: dropped out of a master’s in Public Administration program and went to work at the aforementioned comic book store (1980). Then SUNY Albany, Master’s in Library Science (1992).

Somewhere else

T – Travel: I’ve visited 32 US states, most recently Nevada. I’ve only been to Canada, Mexico, Barbados, and, this year, France.

U – Unfulfilled ambition: To visit the remaining 18 states and go at least to Ireland.

V – Vacation spot: Lake Placid, NY, which I went to for at least two work conferences

W – Wardrobe: Casual if at all possible.

X – X-tra facts about me: I can’t really write or clean house unless I’m listening to music. Presently on the CD player: the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a greatest hits collection. The song Manic Depression ALMOST led me to yesterday’s Wordle, which was MANIA.

Y – Years online: For work, it was probably 1994. I had AOL back when you needed those shiny discs to access email.

Z – Zodiac sign: Pisces, the best one.

Most awarded songs #15

no relation

The finale of the most awarded songs #15. In honor of that, I’ll note some of the awards they got. RS is Rolling Stone 500, RIAA is Recording Industry of America, NPR is National Public Radio 100, BMI is Broadcast Music Inc, and RNN is the National Recording Registry.

10. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction– The Rolling Stones, #1 pop for four weeks pop, #19 RB only #3 in the UK in 1965. RS #2, RIAA #161, NRR. One of the most familiar hooks in all of pop music.

9. Blue Suede Shoes – Carl Perkins, #2 pop for four weeks, but #1 in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Chicago; #2 RB for four weeks, #3 country in 1956. RS #95, RIAA #78, NPR, NRR. A serious car accident prevented Carl from fully capitalizing on this hit.

8. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green, #1 pop, #1 RB for nine weeks in 1972. RS #60, RIAA #145, NPR, NRR. Despite what I might have joked in the past, Al’s NOT my cousin, to my knowledge.

Timeless

7. What’s Love Got To Do With It – Tina Turner, #1 pop for three weeks, #2 for five weeks in 1984; Grammys for record and song of the year and pop female vocal; RS #316, RIAA #38, ASCAP #8. A return to form. Tina “was 44 when the song hit number one, at the time making her the oldest female solo artist to place a number-one single on the US Hot 100.”

6. Mack The Knife – Bobby Darin, #1 pop for nine weeks, #6 RB in 1959; Grammy record of the year, RS #255, RIAA #15, NPR, NRR. This is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera. It was translated into English in the 1930s. But the best-known translation was by Marc Blitzstein in 1954, which Darin adapted.

5. Oh, Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison, #1 for three weeks pop in 1964, #4 UK, RS #24, RIAA #43, BMI #26, NPR, NRR. The song was used in a 1990 film and a 2018 Broadway musical.

Posthumous

4. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding (pictured), #1 for four weeks pop, #1 for three weeks RB in 1968; Grammy RB song, RB male vocal; RS #26, RIAA #22, BMI #6, NPR. My wife and I were at Capital Rep seeing a musical about Janis Joplin some years ago, and I noted that Me and Bobby McGee was the second posthumous single to top the charts in the US. Dock was the first one.

3. My Girl – The Temptations, #1 pop, #1 for six weeks RB in 1965; RS #88, RIAA #45, ASCAP #2, NRR, NPR. Smokey Robinson and Ronald White of the Miracles wrote this. Smokey was inspired by his wife, Claudette Rogers Robinson, who was also in the group. This was the first of four #1 pop hits by the Temptations.

2. Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley And His Comets, #1 pop for eight weeks, #1 for nine weeks UK, #3 for two weeks RB in 1955; RS #159, RIAA #12, ASCAP #86, NPR, NRR. Though it was released in 1954, it didn’t become an iconic hit until it was included in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle.

1. Respect – Aretha Franklin, #1 for two weeks pop, #1 for eight weeks RB in 1967; Grammy RB record, RB female vocal; RS #5, RIAA #4, NRR, NPR. QoS and her sisters rearranged the song Otis Redding had written and recorded, and turned it into an empowerment anthem.

Famous people I’ve met, posthumous edition

Springboks

Oddly, I found the exercise of noting 70 people in my life who have passed therapeutic. So, I figured I’d list some famous people I’ve met who have since died.

Rod Serling: When you grew up in Binghamton, NY, in the early 1960s, Serling, born in the Syracuse area but grew up on the West Side of the Parlor City, was a big deal. The Twilight Zone television series was chockful of Binghamtonian references, from a rundown bus station to a carousel, which looked much like Recreation Park’s merry-go-round.

In 1970, I, as president of the student government, was given the honor of introducing Serling at a schoolwide assembly. Rod had been the student government leader thirty years earlier.

His favorite teacher, Helen Foley, who was namechecked in a TZ episode, wrote me a too-long introduction that mentioned him being a paratrooper in World War II.

While briefly mortified then, I understood why he came out on stage during my introduction. After the assembly, he spoke to La Foley’s last-period public speaking class, which I got permission to attend. Rod smoked incessantly in the classroom. The coffin nails killed him five years later at 50; fame doesn’t immunize one from disease.

Earl Warren: My Constitutional hero., as recently noted. I never did figure out how my SUNY New Paltz professor, Ron Steinberg, managed to arrange for his class of about 15 students to meet a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

A former Weaver

Pete Seeger: Reading my diary, I noticed I had seen Pete sing at least thrice in the autumn of 1972, including twice in one day. I estimate that I’d seen him perform at least 30 times.

When the Springboks rugby team from apartheid South Africa was scheduled to play at Bleeker Stadium in Albany in September 1981, with the approval of long-time mayor Erastus Corning II, there was a call for protests. I was at the demonstration, along with over a thousand others.

There might have been an even larger response, except it was POURING. But Pete was there, and we were standing outside the stadium getting soaked, umbrellas notwithstanding, while discussing the moral necessity to respond to racism and other evils.

Ed Dague: My favorite newsperson in the Albany market. Somewhere in the attic, I have the transcript of an April 1994 11 p.m. news broadcast on WNYT-TV, Channel 13, that I got to watch being broadcast while near the set.

Back when he had a mustache

Alex Trebek: My sense of the JEOPARDY host was that he enjoyed the show’s rhythm in the Los Angeles area—two or three shows, a meal break, then three or two more episodes.

When I saw him at the Wang Theater in Boston in September 1998, I sensed he was uncomfortable doing a series of interviews with the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and other media outlets. I got to watch him a lot because there was a lot of waiting around.

He was explicitly annoyed with not getting into our hotel, the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, quickly that first evening because of a Bill Clinton fundraiser, which followed a massive demonstration both against Clinton and against special prosecutor Ken Starr, who had put out explicit information online regarding the President and Monica Lewinsky. I don’t know if his irritation was political/cultural – he tended to be rather conservative – or merely the inconvenience.

Regardless, I’m disappointed I don’t have a photo with him because he was doing the bunny-ears thing with his fingers behind my back, which I saw on a monitor.

Día de los Muertos

All Souls Day

Día de los Muertos is Part Two of 70 who have passed, which began yesterday.

Please come to hear a special choir concert on November 3 at 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 362 State Street, Albany, NY. The choir will sing Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, a 30-minute work with orchestra.

Margaret Lia: The den mother of my Cub Scout troop and mom of one of my best friends in elementary school and junior high.

Darby Penney: She wanted to save the world. Very occasionally, I tried to help.

Bonnie Deschane: She would clean our house some weekends. She was less good at the cleaning thing and better at the friend thing.

Robert Yates: My mother’s youngest first cousin; he was only seven years older than I was. Though we saw him only twice a year when I was growing up – I was in Binghamton, he was in Queens, NYC – he was the closest thing to an older sibling I had.

Paul Peca: Our sixth-grade teacher let us, even encouraged us to disagree with him. He supported Barry Goldwater for President and agreed with the US dropping the bomb on Hiroshima.

Comic books

Phil Seuling: Seagate was FantaCo’s primary comic book distributor, and he and Jonni Levas were Seagate. I went to a couple of his lavish parties in Brooklyn. Phil lived large.

Freda Gardner: I didn’t know that the nice older lady at church was a legend in the Presbyterian Church USA. Her wise counsel was invaluable when she and I were on pastor Glenn’s congregational team to aid him in his doctoral quest.

Tim Ryan-Pepper: Music was our bond

Sinon O’Neil: Every time I saw him, he always cheered us with questions about current events joyfully. And he was a crafty card player.

Helen Foley: The Binghamton Central High School public speaking and drama teacher and Rod Serling’s mentor was also involved with theater with my father.

Stan Moore: When I was church shopping in 1982, he gave the sermon at Trinity UMC on June 13 that got me to come back. But I avoided his vicelike handshake.

Paul Crowder: The choir director when I joined the Trinity UMC choir after not singing for over a decade.

Samuel Walker: When items were discovered in the possession of my father’s mother’s father that a good Christian man presumably should not own, it rocked my mother’s theological underpinning.

Charlie Kite: a First Pres church member and a physician. He was particularly effusive when he knew he was dying,

Donna George: She tried to do good things but often wasn’t taken seriously. Beleaguered would be the term I’d used. We bonded over this.

Margaret Hannay was the epitome of hospitality and grace. She was also brilliant.

A force

Ken Screven: A great local journalist and a fellow Times Union blogger for a time.

Lillian Johnson: Before my time there, she was the associate pastor at Trinity UMC. We fought the good fight, getting the then-current pastor to change his ways.

Fred Goodall: the youth choir director at Trinity AME Zion for many years.

Arnold Berman: my mother’s Charlotte’s brother, genealogist of the Berman/Barosin tribe.

Ida Berman: Charlotte’s sister, who used to take me to New York City art galleries and museums. She was a fine photographer.

Alice Schrade: an older member of First Pres. We adored each other. We’d have great philosophical conversations about race, justice, and other topics.

Arlene Mahigian: When I joined the Trinity UMC choir, she adopted me. She would take my robe home to wash, though I didn’t ask her. She had a tremendous soprano voice.

Keith Barber: We kept crossing paths on CDTA buses for which he was a ride evaluator, in Bible study, where he was the purveyor of a specific text, and as a raconteur.

Richard Powell: my father-in-law. I loved going to minor league baseball games with him. His love for jazz and country music I didn’t appreciate until after he died when I inherited part of his CD collection.

Robert Pennock: a baritone in the Trinity UMC choir, he was wise regarding Methodist polity.

Keyboards

Marcheta Hamlin: the organist at Trinity AME Zion who tried to teach me piano. My wife met her and commented on how warm and wonderful she was.

Agatha Green: My paternal grandmother died when i was 11. I’ve since learned so much about her courage and character.

Fran Allee: She was an educator and cook at Trinity UMC. Several of us traveled to her cottage, about an hour away each summer.

Mike Attwell: My racquetball competitor long before I joined him in the First Pres choir.

Adenia Yates: my mother’s maternal aunt, a buffer between me and her sister. She and I watched JEOPARDY, played cards and SCRABBLE.

Pat Wilson: A friend of my father, with whom I talked theology extensively.

Gertrude Williams: My maternal grandmother was a superstitious and controlling person who attempted to pass it along to her grandchildren; my sister and Leslie bought into it, but baby sister Marcia rightly ignored her.

Charlotte Yates: the mother of four of my mother’s first cousins. She had a strong sense of politics and art.

Jim Kalas: I knew from both work and Trinity UMC.

McKinley Green: Thanks to Pop, I got on TV a lot as a kid.

FantaCo

Raoul Vezina: Ever since I became the de facto keeper of the FantaCo flame, Raou never goes away, even though he died in 1983.

Gladys Crowder: We were in two choirs together at Trinity UMC and First Pres.

Trudy Green: Increasingly, I suspect there was more there than my mom showed. She’s mentioned a lot on February 2 (the anniversary of her death), November 17 (her birthday), Mother’s Day.

Norman Nissen: racquetball partner, book suggestion-maker, best man at my last wedding.

Les Green: My dad was a really complicated guy. He shows up on Father’s Day, August 10 (the anniversary of his death), and September 25 (the day before his birthday).

I can quickly think of a dozen more, but I will let it be.