Bad news

Bad news to report. Bunny died; she was 70. We went to Westchester yesterday for the wake. Linda is taking it reasonably well, but its been hell for her. Bunny has esophageal cancer for the last to years and has been up and down for a while. Finally she succumbed. Gregory and Jimmy went Thursday night, but the rest of the gang, except for Peter who couldn’t come, went on Friday. Audrey and I took Metro North and got a ride back with Liz and Vinny, and Joe and Mariko came from Tuckahoe.

Funny but we were talking about the kids. Emiko is graduating too and going to U of Maryland because it has a Japanese program there. She was recruited by person running the cheerleading squad (they apparently have a football team there). Mariko is mortified — oh! you feminists. (You know I found out that Mariko was a cheerleader in an earlier life.) Well, Joe pointed out that the study program she selected was very competitive to get into and the kids gets As. So now it’s the kid’s turn to torment the parent as we did ours by our incomprehensible selections. Erica now has decided, after flirting with the West Coast, to go to the New School for the theater after a year’s break during which she will work at a theater company her professor runs and go to Europe. So we thought that she run from Audrey, but she’s still in the same City, although I think she will live in the dorm.

Joe asked after you and was fascinated by the fact that you are now in Mexico, particularly in the part where you are now with the little Spanish you have. I told him that you progressing on that front. He says he still pictures you when he met you, a platinum blond, wisp of a thing in a jump suit. I have an early image, captured in that Christmas card you sent, but not that early an image. Well, we are all older now.

Vinny and Liz drove us home. They have a satellite navigation system and it really works well. Door to Door. I bought Liz a book at the flea market “The Story of Canada,” a grammar school text on the history of the place. She loved it; it really got her radical dander up: The white man coming, the black robes, etc. She’s doing well, working as an editor on Yahoo clips of 60 Minute stories. Vinny is retired, and loving it, but he may do some freelance work with a camera, maybe for websites.

Audrey is going through a bit of a time. Her nonprofit has not received funds. Since it was a response to 9/11, it’s no surprise, but it did try to transition to developing programs to help disaster workers in a more general sense. Anyway, she needs to start looking for a job. Five people were already laid off. This is not good.

Well, that’s my report.

PS We saw Gregory for his birthday. Denise, I, Audrey and Liz. He and Peter just got back from a visit to Lou and Dorothy in California. They had a great time. I gave Gregory the Oyster book and on the Sheapkspear Riots in NYC. Had you heard of them? — New Book that I got at the Strand.

By the way, Regina says she has another bag of books for you. I don’t know when you’ll get them though.

Dann, I and 80 year old Dominik are planning a trip to Ireland in July, but more on that next time.

Thanksgiving

Well, the time is getting close, and Barbara and I are excited. I‘ve taken your request for books to heart and you’ll get a bunch. You’ll have all of the ones I’ve been saving from my stash of recent readings, plus some of those you requested. I’m trying to complete my reading of a Karen Armstrong’s “Short History of Islam” and a history of “Greenwich Village from 1910 to 1960,” which is Hugh (600 pages) and interesting – John Reed, Mable Dodge, Gene O’Neill, the Provincetown Players, et al. I also went to the Strand twice and rummaged through their $1.00 book stacks, and got you a dozen more, a mixed bag of biographies, histories, etc. Susan on her recent Thanksgiving visit to New York contributed three of her cold war escapist trash, which she had read when she visited last, and I traded your paperback “D’Vinci Code” and “Angles and Demons” for three books from my building’s laundry room. There is also going to be an office used book sale to help defray the costs of the Christmas party with books running about $1.00, so I’ll see what I can pick up there. Thank goodness Barbara will be with me to help lug the stuff. Well have four suitcases, two of which will have your stuff on the way in, and all the loot we buy in Tonola on the way out.

We’re planning a day at Cosco for the coffee, cheese, ginger jam, lemon curd, and other sundries. So if you think of anything else, let me know. The early arrival is starting to worry Barbara, but I’m not concerned. She wanted to stay at the airport until the next day, but I don’t know that that’s feasible even. I just hope they have a regular taxi stand at the airport; it should be ok from there. The map I think is pretty easy to read. We should however have a backup plan in case I can’t find your house. Perhaps meet at a specific hotel lobby the next day if we don’t arrive as scheduled in the early morning hours on 12/23/06. I need to try that phone number of yours, which I will do this week. If anything comes up on the day of travel, I’ll email immediately, so keep checking it. Read the rest of this entry »