"Ring ring" Oh the phone! Who's calling me? Oh it's me!

Today I received two calls from...me! I wonder what I wanted? My name and number both appeared on the little screen. I didn't leave myself a message. What a jerk. Anyway in other news the Red Sox won the World Series again and it is great in a sporting sense for sports bragging rights to other cities. Since 2001 the various Boston sports teams have won eleven championships. If you were a sports fan around here it's been quite a run, but on to other things.

A headline that made national news was the killing in a prison in California of Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. Now of course I knew who he was but that's about it. He was the head guy of the "Winter Hill gang" Winter Hill is a part of the city Somerville, that borders my city, south of here bordering Boston. Somerville is a small but densely populated city of a bit over 4 square miles. Population of 81,560 or over 18,000 per square mile. I just included that to satisfy my own curiosity. The 16th most densely populated city in the country. Anyway I worked part time in a supermarket, the Winter Hill Star Market, which closed in 2007. It was right across the street from a club called Pal Joeys which was the hangout of the Winter Hill Gang of mobsters. It used to be run by Whitey Bulger. Well eventually it was taken over someone called Howie Winters. It was the early 70's I can't remember exactly what year it was. I was in my early 20's. I worked in the deli.  Here's a shot of the store.

  Now across the street, to the right, was the night club Pal Joeys, now a bakery.

Now I include this shot of the inside of the closed store for nostalgic reason as I spent 9 years in the deli.

And now back to our story. On one particular night I was scheduled until midnight. It was about 10 p.m. This guy came to the counter.
"May I help you sir?"
He was very soft spoken. "Yes I'd like to order a party platter."
"Sure." I replied, "When would you like it?"
"Now."
I gave him the company speech, "I'm sorry sir we require 24 hours notice on party platter orders."
He didn't look happy. "You mean I can't have one now?!"
"I'm sorry sir but that's the company policy."
He stood there for several seconds and then said, "I'll be right back."
Maybe a couple minutes later the evening manager came rushing down like he was shot out of a cannon.
"Whatever he wants! Make him a platter!" So I made a platter. The customer was back in about 45 minutes. I gave him the platter. He was very polite to me.
A while later the evening manager came down to the deli.
"Do you know who that was?"
"No." I replied.
He then explained that it was Howie Winter and the whole mob connection deal. Who knows what Mr. Winter said to him when he initially left the counter  and went up front but Kenny was  acting nervous and very upset.

On Monday night I was at my friend Dave's house watching some stupid movie basically so we could fun of it. Now as we cracked wise, though it certainly wasn't like the Algonquin Nights of the Round Table, we were amusing ourselves the subject turned to names. We both wondered why certain names had a second version that wasn't anything like the original name. Namely how do you get Jack from John? Bill from William? I once worked with a woman whose name was Margret but she was called Peggy. These are some of heady topics that we get into.

Ok I've droned on long enough and as I always end it,
I'm outta here.

 

It is exciting!

Around here things are exciting. I mean there's the World Series and the area is abuzz with excitement. Now I won't be going to the game but I'm sure almost any television set in the area will be watching the game. About 10 years Arlene and I took a tour of Fenway Park. Here are 4 pictures that I took back then.

 

The company that I worked for had a store quite close to the park and it was quite chaotic when there was a game but it was fun and exciting. Oddly enough it was much easier going home on the day of a game because everybody was heading into the city not out of it. Still if the game ended around the end of your shift you weren't going anywhere for a while. This was back in the 80's. The Sox had good teams but they hadn't won the big one until the 2000's. These two teams set up the east coast, west coast scenario. Just another way of selling the whole deal.  Still it's only sports and I don't take it all that serious. 

 

If I had a machine gun I would shoot my phone. It has been ringing the whole day. All the calls have not been for me, they have been for my vote or my money. The phone, at least for me, has gone from a tremendous convenience to a major annoyance. Some days are worse than others

Alright that's enough whining, I'm outta her.

Go Sox!   

We looked back

Arlene and I were sitting around thinking about how much we missed the few days on the island. We always went before or after the tourist season. This passed year we went at the end of June very close to the 4th of July, and there were many more people. It just made us realize how quiet it was during the times we've gone. We looked at some pictures and watched a few video. Below was a video from Sept. 2013. Arlene was content to sit and read and I wandered around the exterior of the hotel and down a couple of side streets. It was a beautiful day and oh so quiet. It's no academy award winner.   



Here are a few of our favorite shots.

Sunrise at the end of Pequot Ave.

Sunset

Llama or alpaca, maybe it was edpaca. They were soft, gentle and really goofy looking.  

The Pequot Hotel in the evening.

I guess this was sort of a cheap excuse of a post but I just felt compelled to write something. As Arlene and I talked about things we remember we both had wistful smiles. The picture just above was one of those lovely evenings. A wonderful meal as we watched the sun go down over Oak Bluffs Harbor. 

In reality we are both very lucky to have this little gem of a place only two or three hours away. We'll give it another go next spring.

As I write this the Red Sox are on the verge of going to another World Series. They have been a lot of fun this year. Go Sox!
I'm outta here.  

"Fact - 5 out of 4 people have trouble understanding mathehatics." according to a M.I.T. study..

Disclaimer-Most of what is written below was done about a month ago.

Ok it has been a while since I've been here. It has been a very warm sometimes hot and humid summer. I suppose the best news of the summer so far is that one of Arlene's daughters got engaged. Her husband to be is a school teacher/magician. The couple flew out to California to visit some of Allison's relatives who were originally from around here. Then they flew to Las Vegas for a bit of what you do in Vegas plus they went to a magic show in one of the hotels. The magician performing there was a friend of Jim's. Long story short, while the magician was performing, he called Jim up on stage along with Alison, to help with a trick. Before you know it Jim drops to one knee a proposes to Allison.
 
In other news there have been a few shark sightings along the Massachusetts coast. Now I haven't taken a dip in the ocean in a few years ago when I did it on the Vineyard. I suppose that sounds really pompous but that's the truth and I only did it so I could say I went swimming on the island. However there have been several shark sightings and they all seemed to have been featured on the news. You don't screw around with sharks!  



Let's see what else is happening. So as I said it has been hot and humid around here not to mention some of the rainstorms we've had. As I write this particular sentence it is Aug. 14, at around 11pm. We had very heavy rainstorm this afternoon but aside from a couple of local problems it's been minor compared to what I saw concerning Pennsylvania. Some locales down there had it rough. 

It's been a year and eight months since I have been completely retired. I can see me entering my "You kids get off my lawn!" stage of life. Arlene has had some health issues but she is doing much better. My brother in law however has not been so lucky. He fell and hit his head and has been in a facility and it looks like he won't be going home anytime soon.

So now it's Sunday Oct. 14. Arlene and I are getting ready, well I'm ready anyway, to go out for an early supper at Raso's. Were going a bit early because of the sporting events that are happening this evening. Both the Red Sox and the Patriots are on national television tonight and I'm sure by 8 this evening the restaurant and bar will be packed. So now I will end this disjointed mess.
I'm outta here.


         

This is kinda disjointed

Ya know I don't blog the way I used to. By that I mean I don't jot down little thoughts. While I was still working somebody would  say something, funny, smart. thought provoking, stupid, ridiculous and so on. I'd make a note of it. The same stuff happened just in the daily passage of life. Now I have been completely retired from working. And I was lucky I worked for a company that went through many changes and owners over a 46  year span including the layoff of 700 people in the early 2000's. I sweated that one out but I still hung on to my job. I have been lucky in my life and at this point I have to accept how things turned out for me so far. I don't mean that in a negative way. I guess in this passed year I've finally realized how old I'm getting to be. I am in good health not that I work at it. I know I'm not breaking any new ground here. Everybody goes through this in some way shape or form.

Sometimes I like watching the news and watch all the drama that's going on locally and in the world  as if it's a form of entertainment.  And of course other times it's like, "Blah blah blah explosion blah blah blah dead blah blah blah cold blah blah blah Ooo that musta' hurt!" 

Being retired is a new way of life. It's not bad but it's different. As I write this I have witnessed the defeat of the hated New York Yankees by the hometown Boston Red Sox. You have to live around here to truly understand. So the Sox advance one more step to the World Series. Anyway as I was saying I am still adjusting to not working. I wish I could flit off to here, there but I guess that's just whining. Yeah that's whining.

Ok, all the above was written within the last week. As I write this particular paragraph It's Oct. 11, at about 5pm and I will be stopping to make some supper. I'm thinking of having chicken, broccoli, yellow squash with linguini. I really haven't had an ideal diet today. I was out earlier, running some errands and doing some food shopping. This is something I really dislike but you gotta eat. All those years working in a supermarket meant I didn't have to go food shopping because I was at a supermarket.

Anyway as I said somewhere in the above paragraph I haven't had an ideal diet today. After I came home from my errands I pioneered the banana and beer diet. Also, totally unrelated to my dietary habits, it's raining quite hard at the moment. And totally unrelated to the weather forecast, my friend and I were talking about things that we used to do. Ya know, old fart talk. We both grew up within walking distance of Tufts University. And both of us instantly brought up Jumbo the elephant. P.T. Barnum was one of the early benefactors to Tufts University and he donated some or all, I'm not sure, of his wild animals, stuffed of course. They were on display at the "P.T. Barnum Museum of Natural History". We both had seen Jumbo the Elephant, stuffed of course. There were other animals as well. It all went up in smoke in April 1975.

   

      

April 14, 1975

So ya know, "Voglio mangare." That's I want to eat, in Italian. I might have spelled it all wrong, but I do want to eat. Oh I have to shut up! 

I'm outtah here.

I got nuthin'

As I write this I am watching the Patriots game. More than likely I will not finish this tonight. It's big time sports around here as the Red Sox are awaiting a playoff series with the New York Yankees. That's always a big deal. Still as much as I enjoy sports it's only sports, like a movie or television show. I know other cities hate our local sports teams because the local teams have won 10 championships since 2002. Still it's only sports.

In other local news it seems that Dunkin' Donuts will be changing their name to jess plain Dunkin'. Now they are all over the place around here. Their coffee is alright but the donuts stink. Nothing but air, no substance. If I'm craving a donut, and it's been known to happen, I will go to a local ma and pa shop. The coffee is just as good and the donuts are superior. Then again they're only donuts. And calling yourself Dunkin' implies that you have something to dunk. You do! Donuts! They will spend all their time pushing all their various beverages. In the grand scheme of things it's really unimportant.

It's now the next morning and I feel like ranting about something but I don't think I will as I haven't had any coffee yet. It's another nice day. The leaves haven't really started to turn yet. I suppose it's because of all the rain we've had.

Alrighty then I've now had my coffee and I've thought of something to rant about. If I had a gun, and I don't, I'd shoot my phone. My landline. It just rings all day. My cell phone doesn't ring very often because it's only for my use and only family and Arlene have the number. I think all the fancy cell phones are fantastic items, however all I see are people walking down the street with their heads down, transfixed by their phones. Even worse are the people who are occupied by their phones while driving. Stopped at a light and waiting for the person in front of you to realize that they are behind the wheel of a car. Though I do get a bit of satisfaction when everyone in line behind them lean on their horns when the light changes!

I changed my header picture. I had a folder on my computer that had various pictures from the Vineyard. That's what we trendy people call it. Anyway I looked at them again and wished I was there. Arlene and I have so many wonderful memories particularly of the night that I took that picture. Actually that was 3 pictures stitched together. The temperature was quite comfortable and the food was wonderful! We couldn't make it back this Fall but we hope to visit again late in the Spring.

Anyway, I'm out of gas. I'm done and I'm outta here.

A tourist in my own town

Well I wasn't really in my own town. My friend Dave called me up and asked if I would like to go to Harvard Square which is about 4 miles from here. It's full of many funky shops and places to eat and the Harvard Coop, short for the Harvard Cooperative Society. It's basically a book store filled with all kinds of Harvard paraphernalia, clothes and at one time just about the best record store around these parts. The records are gone yet there are still record stores selling vinyl and cd's. This is where I came to buy records back in the day and certain substances on the Cambridge Common which is right across the street from one of the entrances to the school. You must remember I am a child of the 60's and 70's.

It was a beautiful day and being Saturday the place was crowded. It was also packed with tourist. Many people taking pictures. I also drove through there to work everyday from 2000 till 2011. However I started work at 6a.m. so it was not a problem and going home at 2 or 2:30 wasn't a big problem. I did take some pictures but you had to be quick because someone would walk in front of you or a bunch of cars would drive by. Now there aren't many and trying to frame a shot was not easy. I could not get all the shots that I wanted to.

    

The picture below is from the Cambridge Common.

 

And the worst picture. It's blurry.


Then we had lunch at Mr. Bartley's Gourmet Burgers. Now the burger were good but Dave was raving about this place and I felt like saying, "Dave it's a burger. Calm down." They didn't have beer so I had an ice tea which was fine until I tried to drink it with by sucking on the spoon in the glass instead of the straw. At least I didn't distinguish myself as a man of the world as I did at Raso's last week when I intended to ask for a glass of cabernet instead of asking for a glass of camembert. I suppose that comes from years of working with imported cheeses in the deli.

It was a tiny place and it was packed. I didn't take any pictures in there so I got a couple from the web.

 

And apparently they have had several celebrities eat there. Johnny Cash and Al Pacino and to my left was a sign that the lead singer for Led Zepplin ate there as well. They said he was very nice.

 

 

So that's it my friends. It's late and I am a bit bleary eyed. I will come visiting around tomorrow. I am outta here. 

Our favorite local restaurant Raso's

Ok lets try this again. I tried to post this last night at about 12:30 and promptly deleted it. There is a local show called Phantom Gourmet where the host goes to various Boston area restaurants. I wouldn't call it a review program because I've never heard the host say anything negative.

Raso's is owned by either a retired or still active local police officer. We learned about this place through Arlene's daughter who has worked for the local government and now teaches in the school system. We've been fans since our first visit. The owner Richie always goes out of his way to say hi when he's there and the staff is very friendly always saying hello. Then there's the food. This is not just a spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, kind of place, though you can certainly have those if you want. There's a wide array of pasta dishes. One of my favorites is linguini in clam sauce and the steaks are every bit as good as they look in the video.   

So I will see if Arlene would like to go there today but we have to hit it fairly early because of the Patriot's game tonight. If they win I suppose the place will be jumping. Now it's time to see what's going on in the blogger world and I am outta here.

Testing...testing...

Ok this is my second attempt at producing this particular entry. I've screwed up, forgetting how to insert a video on my blog. I began writing only to be suddenly informed by Google that I wasn't signed in and having every thing I had written disappear. Over the last several months I have started 5 or 6 blogs and never finishing any of them. I guess I just ran out of blogging gas after about 10 years of blogging.

Anyway all is well here. It has been a hot and humid summer and I am looking forward to the fall. Of course I will soon be complaining about the cold. Still I couldn't live in a hot climate. Then there is watching what has happened with Florence. We've had hurricanes around here but it was never the disaster that those folks have had to live through. We will get what is left of Florence on Tuesday meaning a lot of rain. 

I don't know if this story made national news but about 20 or 25 miles north of here they had their own disaster. Three cities were rocked by gas explosions. Around 50 homes were destroyed and about 8600 homes have to be inspected as some people were told they could go back to their houses. They still won't have any gas service and I think electric service has been turned back on for some. These kind of situations are eye openers as we have gas service here and it makes you think, this kind of thing can happen anywhere. 

The city I live in was settled the same year as Boston, 1630. And as I was playing with my computer checking out various things about local history I found out that the street I went to high school, now condos, was on was part of what they called the highway to Boston which was established around 1630. That part of the street is residential and leads to the center of town. As you enter the square on the right hand corner is the former location of Simpsons Tavern where Jingle Bells was composed. I know I've mentioned that before, but it is still kind of neat to have that little historical tidbit locally. I walked passed the site and plaque every day on my way to high school and never paid attention to it. 

So Sunday morning I went out early. It was a beautiful sunny morning with very little traffic. I crudely taped my little camera to my dashboard and made, admittedly, what is a crappy little video. The first part was not part of the old highway but just a road I used to get to it. It's a lovely road with many beautiful homes ($$$) and I've always liked it. Once you go through the square you end up on another road that's not so picturesque. Auto dealerships, auto repair shops including a Jiffy Lube with J on their neon sign out so it looks like "iffy Lube". plumbing supply businesses etc. As you travel down this road you can see a bit of the Boston skyline but the sun was so bright that the distance view was washed out. But as I traveled down this road I went by our favorite local restaurant Raso's. You can get some really authentic Italian food there without having to go into Boston's North End (Boston's' little Italy). Ok this video is no academy award winner. It was something to do on a beautiful Sunday morning. 

  

 

 

 

So in other local news there have been several shark sightings two attacks, the last one being fatal. That occurred near the tip of Cape Cod. 

Well at this point I think I'll just hit the publish button and see what happens 

 

So that's about it for now. I have to get ready to go food shopping with Arlene. So for now, I am outta here.

 

 

Wonderful time, wonderful place.

Yes we went and we returned. It was hot! Still is. This is the latest in the spring/summer that we have traveled to the Vineyard and as I suspected there would be more people than there were when we went earlier in the season. Particularly coming up on the 4th of July. We did not go to the clay cliffs and I did not take any pictures though I had planned to. We stayed local to the hotel and downtown Oak Bluffs. I didn't get up early to watch the sun come up over the Atlantic. Now don't get me wrong, Arlene and I surely enjoyed our stay. What we noticed was the visitors from around the country and the world. We became particularly friendly with some folks from South Africa.

It was more difficult than usual to get around as there were many more cars. What was quite a sight was the line of traffic heading towards Cape Cod and the islands as we headed home. This definitely justified our decisions to go early and late in the season. I could not imagine going to Cape Cod or the islands in the middle of the summer. On Martha's Vineyard the population swells from 15,000 to over 100,000. No thanks.

Below is a video taken as you travel north towards Boston, of everybody else heading south. It's not my video but pretty much echo's what Arlene and I saw yesterday as we headed home. Once again, no thanks. I often wonder, apart from getting a new bridge, since the "Big Dig", if the traffic is any better than it used to be, or is a good chunk of it is now 90' underground in a new tunnel. Still it all does look better than it used to.

This video was taken somewhere on the mid-cape highway  and most of this mess is caused by the rotaries you have to negotiate to cross one of the bridges over the Cape Cod canal. It was almost like they tried to make this as difficult as possible.  



As I said I didn't take any pictures though I do like to go back and check out some of the ones taken in the past. Sunrise from the end of the street the hotel is on.

The colorful downtown in Oak Bluffs

 

 One of our favorite restaurants, particularly for breakfast.

So that was trip number 14 since 2010. As always we love the hotel we stay at. It is so wonderful to have the staff recognize us and greet us. From the gentleman who maintains the grounds to the ladies who clean the rooms and work in the kitchen. All of them are wonderful people who went out of their way to say hello to us. Everything about the place and the island has a special place in our hearts.

As I write this it is hot and humid around here as it seems to be around the country. I have to go to the supermarket for a few provisions. I really don't like to go there but you gotta eat. There's laundry to do as well as checking in with Arlene. So that's it for now my friends and...
I am outta here.