Happy Halloween Birthday, My Son

This is the day.

I have documented it before, the strange story of how my Halloween Baby came to be. If you never read it, it is HERE.

Unless something changes, this will be the last one celebrated here in Saugus.

Everything is counting down to July 16th, so I am sure there will be more mentions of "The Last" whatever.

His friends from EcoCar decided to celebrate here at home and so we invited my Magic "Son" to attend, also.

It ended up that they had no firm plans for dinner and so the "Rents" were given the job of choosing some places to eat and to (of course) pick up the tab.

It ended up being a lovely dinner at "The Backwoods Inn"

Not cheap, but with their holiday decorations and costumes, it was definitely festive.

After dinner, they went to the market and bought a "Chocolate Flan Cake".

That is what you see in the photo.

Happy 27th Birthday, my son.

Your Mother loves you.

A Lighthouse And A Boat

My Water Post For Today.

Oklahoma, just before sunset, on our last night in the city.

This is Lake Hefner, which is a man made body of water in the North West quadrant of Oklahoma City.

We just happened to choose that area, because it looked clean and safe and not far from the airport.

Not to be confused with our choice for the last evening in NYC...Far Rockaway (well,it was close to the airport). :-)

I wanted to see this lake and so we chose a restaurant by the lighthouse.

A major win all around.

The boat was just the icing on the cake.

I hope you enjoy.

My 49th Order From Abundant Harvest Organics

It has been quite a month, produce wise.

We got a box just one week before our trip to the east and midwest, so I spent the last weekend cooking some things and freezing them.

The rest, amazingly, we got through.

So here we are and another box came our way.

Here's what I got.

6 Bartlett Pears

1 Cucumber

1 Eggplant

3 Hot Peppers

A bunch of Kale

A head of Lettuce

1 Red Onion

3 Pomegranates

3 Popcorn

A bunch of Sage

3 Summer Squash

2 Sweet Potatoes

I am so happy to get 3 (the photo had one of them hiding under the paper) pomegranates. I think jelly is on my agenda...if not cranberries and pomegranates.

Happiness is a cucumber, an eggplant, a red onion and 3 ears of popcorn!

The other stuff will be added to things and get eaten.

See you next time.

The Spirit Is Still Here, But It's Getting A Tiny Bit Blue

We won the first game of the World Series, but have dropped the next 2.

It is getting just a little bit blue here in LA.

We have not given up hope, but our pitching is definitely hurting right this minute.

What is good, is that both teams had very good years and so the best is definitely battling the best.

We still get a second chance, with Clayton Kershaw and if he can bring it back to LA, we might have a chance.

On that note, may the best team win...Go Dodgers!

The 13th Annual Dr. Lewis B. O'Donnell Media Summit

I have attended several Oz Media Summits over the past 6 years.

2 in person and several from my office in Burbank.

I was not sure I would be able to see it, since it has been pretty busy at work, but I came in about 9 minutes in. Just in time for the start of the session, which is: Facts, Fiction, Politics and the News.

Panelists included Steven Portnoy, CBS News Radio's White House correspondent and formerly with WSYR-AM, WIXT-TV and WSTM-TV in Syracuse

Kristin Donnelly, NBC News' White House producer and formerly with WTVH-TV in Syracuse

Bob Lonsberry, WSYR-AM radio host and conservative political commentator

and

SUNY Oswego alumna Trudy Perkins, class of 1993, deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat.

First off, look at those connections to the Upstate NY and Oswego area. Yes folks, we are all over the Country, making Oswego proud of us.

The Moderator was Benita Zahn, who is an Oswego Grad from around my era. She works in the Albany area and did a great job starting off the panel and then adding in the audience questions.

The conversation was civil, a real gem in a time when so many have to deal with cries of "Fake News" and hatred of things like The Failing NY Times. As a matter of fact, several of the panelists have been attacked by The White House (as a matter of fact, the last 2 administrations), so yes, a local perspective of a very National (if not worldwide) issue.

It once again proves how important that Journalism/Communications/Broadcast degree is. We are the gatekeepers of information and we need to vet it correctly and get it out there, to the public.

We are more important than ever.

The 46th State

While we were in the downtown area of Oklahoma City, we could see their state capitol off to the east.

After we were finished with the Federal Building, we drove over to see it.

What we could not tell from the highway, was the fact that the capitol is currently being worked on and there were people working on it, on a Sunday.

We parked and walked around it, anyway.

The first thing that I noticed is the fact that they are really into proclaiming the fact that they were the 46th State added to the United States.

Who knew?

The statue up at the top of the dome (both were added to the building in 2002) is called The Guardian.

It depicts an Indian warrior guarding the building and State.

"Haney’s colossal statue "The Guardian" stands prominently atop the Oklahoma State Capitol dome where it was lifted on June 7, 2002. The 17 feet tall statue holds a staff that reaches 22 feet into the sky. This monumental project was completed in ten months and demanded 4,000 pounds of bronze, which was cast in 50 sections."

There were other statues of Native American's (Including "As Long As The Waters Flow") around the grounds and circular monuments on the ground, telling important dates and occurrences in Oklahoma's history. In addition, there is an oil field under the capitol and working oil derricks on the property. Being a California resident, this did not particularly impress me...but hey.

Sorry we could not get in, but worth the look around.

Riding The Subway In NYC

Dodgers win Game #1 of the World Series...Now back to your regular post of the day. :-)

While we were in NYC, we decided to get rid of our rental car and move onto the NYC Metro Subway System.

Once we were at JFK Airport, it allowed us to access the "A" train.

We were at a hotel that was right next to the Beach 44th Street Station in Far Rockaway, so we knew we would have a ride home...or so I thought.

I picked up a subway map, while I was in the station and since I saw that the train we were on going into the city was an express, I noted to myself to double check the train going back to Far Rockaway.

Our Metro Card is always a pain to swipe through the turnstiles (nice to know that some things never seem to change). We did finally get them to work and I heard from Yahoo, that they may move to TAP Cards.

On our way home, the train that pulled up was another express train.

Being that we got on from JFK, I checked that subway map I had and if I went by the little dots, my dot was black at Beach 44th and showed as a local stop and not an express stop. Uh, oh.

There was not much I could do at this point, but I did see what stations were missed by the train and checked if it was a white or black dot.

Once we moved out of Brooklyn, we began stopping at the black dots, including Aqueduct Racetrack.

I felt better, so we stayed on the train past JFK and had no further problems.

Better subway maps, better signage in stations and get rid of that Metro Card!

The Meyerowitz Stories

My Husband and I have been watching this movie, as it has been screened at award shows and finally is available on Netflex.

Last week it came to our local "Art House" theater in North Hollywood and so we decided to make a trip down to the Valley, to see it.

We had heard from a friend, that she only lasted an hour into the movie, but we figured we were not watching on Netflix and instead paid good money to see it in a theater, so we would stick it out.

I was correct in that assumption.

What amazed me was the fact that I know these people, I married one who is of the Tribe and after the movie, I had to interact with a few of his family and my thought was exactly that. Same dysfunction In Real Life.

I had a lot of trouble hearing what Dustin Hoffman was saying, the words were rapid fire at times, but I guess it was worth my seeing.

I don't give it an 7.7 like Rotten Tomatoes did, but maybe a 6.

Two Views Of Belmont Lake State Park (2017)

My Water Post For Today.

We did not have too many days together, but one of the days, we decided to pick up some lunch and have a picnic on the lake at Belmont Lake State Park.

My Sister and her Husband are very lucky, because it is only about 3 exits from their home.

We sat and ate at a picnic table and as we were talking, we see a bride and her wedding party coming over to our area, so we beat feet to another part of the lake.

Thankfully, I had already taken a few photos of the lake from the picnic table and if you put both of these together, they give you the entire view from our vantage point.

Fall was just beginning, which surprised me. I expected it to be in full color in NY.

Oh well, it looked great, anyway.

I hope you enjoy.

A Second Chance At The 2nd Arrangement

When Walter Becker died, Steely Dan made Youtube take down all the fan shot concert footage. I am not sure if mine is still there, I should probably check it out. :-)

One of the many videos that we lost, was The 2nd Arrangement, which I saw performed at the Beacon Theater, back in 2011. It is not a great video, but it does show off a song that we never heard Donald and Walter actually perform, until that night. Before that, it sat in Steely Dan lore...the one that got away, via erasure by a studio tech.

It is up again, but I don't know for how long and so I did 5 screen grabs from the video and I decided to post them here.

Here is the link, if it makes it past today. 2nd Arrangement

The Los Angeles Dodgers Are Going To The World Series!

As it ended up, we needed one more run than the one that I saw happen in the first inning.

But we didn't need much more than that. The run we got in the second inning was the winning run, but Enrique Hernandez definitely made the game fun.

No nail biting for us Dodger fans, 9 runs were his and quickly made a potentially tight game, into a rout.

The city finally has its day to celebrate, after a 29 year drought.

THIS TEAM is going to The World Series!

And Jesus Wept

As we left the area of the 903 gate, we saw this other memorial.

It is not officially part of the OKC Bombing Memorial, but is a memorial built by a nearby Catholic Church, which basically was destroyed in the bombing. By the way, there is a second church over by the 901 gate.

Here is the official description of the significance of the memorial.

Saint Joseph Old Cathedral, the oldest parish in Oklahoma City, was significantly damaged during the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building, and the Parish House for the church was demolished at that time. The Church has erected a memorial on this site. Several steps lead up to the statue. A black granite wall to the west has niches in it for prayer candles, representing the 168 victims. Standing on the steps at various heights are black granite pillars. The significance of these is not "officially" stated but many believe they represent the 19 children killed in the bombing.

The statue of Jesus stands on a black granite base about 18 inches high. Atop this is a stone base about 8 inches high. A white stone statue of Jesus, with His head bowed, stands with His back to the memorial, and His right hand over his face. The words "And Jesus Wept" are engraved on the granite base. The statue was erected by the Church and dedicated on the third anniversary of the bombing.

An inscription reads: "AND JESUS WEPT / John 11 / On April 19, 1995 at 9:02AM, a bomb exploded just a few hundred feet east of here. In that instant and the ensuing calamity, 168 people were known to be killed. Devastation covered this area. The parish house which stood on this corner was demolished and Saint Joseph Old Cathedral was severely damaged.

In the Sacred Scriptures, Jesus is seen as weeping over Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed. He wept for those whose lives would be lost. In the shortest verse of the Bible, Jesus weeps over the death of his friend Lazarus. Here we depict that same Jesus weeping and turning away from the bombing destruction. He stands facing the niches in our granite wall that represent each of the victims of the bombing.

Yes, the watchful eye of God is always on His People. The compassion of Christ is always waiting for His people. These were His people who died in the bombing but now can live with Him who said "I am the resurrection. I am the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he die, will live forever." We believe in Jesus and trust that His merciful grace has brought our brothers and sisters, victims of this tragedy, to life everlasting.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen." [Signed: Eusebius J. Beltran]

"Dedicated April 19, 1998 / Most Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran / Archbishop of Oklahoma City / Reverend Louis J. Lamb / Pastor of Saint Joseph Old Cathedral / Design: David Meyer and Meyer Architects / Construction: Nachert Constructors, Inc."

Oklahoma City National Memorial

I know I am doing the two Memorials we visited out of order, but since I showed off the OKC Federal Building yesterday, I thought I would finish the job today.

Sunday was our only real tourist day in Oklahoma City and I definitely wanted to visit the Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing, while I was there.

Back when it happened, I had written a check and gave it to my company, which they sent over to OETA (our sister station in Oklahoma). We were all just horrified at the time, not knowing that just a few short years later we would witness something even more massive.

The station sent our checks back to us, saying that no one from OETA was involved and so they had no use for the money.

I was hurt and never forgot this situation and so I wanted to pay my respects to those whose death moved me so much in 1995.

We parked about a few feet from the memorial and walked in. The actual museum was closed til noon and so we skipped that.

Trust me, what we saw outside, was plenty depressing.

For those who don't remember, Timothy McVeigh filled a rental truck with fertilizer and explosives and parked it right in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The reason he chose that building was the fact that it was an easy get-away to the Highway and that someone who was part of the Waco TX siege had an office there, among other places. He had actually scoped out other Federal Buildings, before choosing this one.

The truck had two ignition fuses, a 2 minute one and a 5 minute one, to give him time to get away. He wanted it to go off right at the time of the Waco TX fire that burnt the Branch Davidian Compound and ended the siege, exactly 2 years earlier.

You can read the entire story of not only the bombing, but the fact that he got caught within 90 minutes of the explosion...HERE.

Onward to some of what we saw.

2 walls on the east and south side of the building survived the bombing and so they give definition to the area on those sides. They are by the portal called the 901 gate. That gate signified the world 1 minute before the bombing. They have a reflecting pool between the 901 gate and the 903 gate, which basically covers the footprint of the Federal Building. The 903 Gate signifies the world after the bombing. That is what you see in photograph number one.

On the south side of the memorial are 168 chairs, one for each person who was killed on that day. There are 9 rows, signifying the 9 floors of the building. There are 19 little chairs, which are reminders that 19 little children were in the Daycare on the second floor of the building. You see a few of them in the second photo. The larger ones may have been the adults in the daycare center.

All the way at the end of the rows of chairs are 5 chairs in a line alone and separate from the others. They are the poor people who were walking by the building at exactly 902AM. Wrong place, wrong time.

There is also a large semicircular wall that surrounds the Survivor Tree from this bombing. As I mentioned before, we seem to attract Survivor Trees, I guess.

At night the chairs light up and it must be quite a sight to see them all glowing. The baby chairs seem to attract people who add coins to the seat on the chair. Sort of like the Jewish custom of putting a stone on a cemetery grave.

The whole memorial is something that I will never forget.

Diwali (2017)

Last year was the first time that I heard of Diwali.

My hairdresser and my former hairdresser both wished each other a Happy Diwali and I was like, "what is that?"

I may not have had time to look it up last year, but this year, I did.

Diwali celebrates the Hindu belief that Good will always triumph over Evil.

Now I don't know about you, but I think that message is something I like.

So I lit a few candles at work and took a photo.

My non-Hindu celebration of a meaningful holiday from a culture that I am learning about.

The New OKC Federal Building

Before I get into the Murrah Federal Building OKC Bombing, I thought I would show off something that we happened to park next to.

This is the "New" Federal Building, which was built across the street from the old one.

The first thing I noticed about this building, is the fact that the building is not 9 stories tall and, as a matter of fact, the bottom of the building seems to be a parking area.

What I didn't know is that the back side of the building is an open area, which you can see, HERE.

The architect for the project, Ross Barney + Jankowski, set new standards for Federal buildings, so that nothing like the OKC Bombing could happen again.

"The new Oklahoma City Federal Building had the design objective to create a space that was secure but open to reflect our democracy."

I found it of interest and wish I had known about the back side of the building.