C # 1

Asa Nisi Masa is an Italian stripper who found reason in his cereal bowl.

complications

this machine conintues to sputter on & off. so it may keep going for a while yet.

I did order a new one. it's supposd to arrive in "3-5 days." but then I got an e from Dell saying it'll be deliverd on the 8th. I'll be out of town that week. how do you say "shit" in geek?

farewell Kairouan

my window on the world is closing.

this computer is abt to expire. so I'm going to order a new one. I have no idea how long all of this will take. if I can get the current model to keep on keeping on you may still hear from me in the coming days. but until the new one is in place I have no assurance I'll be in touch with the universe.

is there enuf Antica Dolceria Bonajuto to tide me over?

Marianna Bassham

College of Santa Fe has a wonderful summer program. the "new works series" brings playwrights to campus with professional actors to test work-in-progress thru staged readings.

the final produciton for this summer was today. Israel Horovitz returnd to direct a grouping of short plays under the umbrella "6 Hotels." it was a heady afternoon. but there was a special element to this show.

an actress came out who lookd familiar. when I checkd the program it sd Marianna Bassham. since she lokd so much like my old Kent friend Carlyn Bassham I had this feeling she had to be one of Carlyn & Ben's daughters. but I hadn't seen them since they were children. so after the show I askd Marianna if she was who I thot she was.

it was lovely to see that she has turnd out to be both an attractive young woman & a fine actress.

my yoyo life

we all have ups & downs. this seems to be my down cycle. you know some of my sorrows. others don't seem big enuf to dump here but have producd bruising.

now my computer isn't starting up properly. don't know if I did something or it's simply beginning a death rattle. I'll wait to see what happens over the weekend but if I suddenly become silent here it'll be yet another circumstance outside of my control.

planh on manifest destiny's child

all those professors on summer break. jumping out of their speedos & into chapters on intent. reminds me of something Cuppa Meringue once told me:

eat yr heart out. Sordello in a bordello moand "let the poem be. I just wanna lick."

pickd myself up

waterd the apricot tree. the sound/sight of water trickling down those lovely branches is always a joy. then inside I took big bold green leaves of Lenny D'Agostino's basil & wrappd them around cherry tomatoes. the smell/taste another joy. then sips of Arizona Green Tea. now I'll make a shrimp salad & watch a movie.

too cranky to write

some
big things
burdening me &
too
many niggles
to list here

change in Cleveland

during my Ohio visit I learnd some things from the Plain Dealer.

good news: Great Lakes Theater Festival in sinking nearly $15 million into renovating the Hanna Theater. I first went to this institution in 1960. the adviser to my high school paper   Margaret Mahaffey   had a subsciption for the season & cdn't go to the national touring company of "West Side Story" starring Larry Kert in his original role of Tony. she gave me her ticket. it was one of the memorable theater experiences of my life. over the decades I saw tred those boards such greats as Geraldine Page   Julie Harris   Cyril Ritchard   Carolyn Jones   Morris Carnovsky. my last visit was disappointing. the rows of seats had been removd to make a cabaret atmosphere. I'm so happy Great Lakes is restoring the house to its glory.



bad news: Bookstore on West 25th is closing. Mike O'Brien's happily clutterd store is down the street from the venerable West Side Market. a trip to one seemd incomplete without a trip to the other.

Marilyn

in my dreams

Tom Mahl Reminds Me

squirrel tail on antenna
parallel with Winckles St.
as Dad races
from Garford School
to home
Tom on one running board
me on the other
glee on our faces

the Mahls

the long backyard of the house on Winckles abuts the backyard of the Mahl house which faces Prospect. Earl workd for the post office. he & his wife Helen had 8 kids. the oldest was Tom. we enterd kindergarten together at Garford School. later he went to Catholic schools but we'd see each other from time to time at Kent State (where one of Tom's English profs was David Meredith).

the next oldest was Patty. here's one of my favorite photos from chldhood. I presume the sled is my Silver Streak which I still have. that's me in the back   Tom in the middle   Patty in front.



a few years ago the Mahl progeny put out a cookbook Dinner at 410: Mom's Favorite Recipes. among the ingredients for egg noodles: "3 1/2 doz. eggs, separated (need yolks only: give whites to Helen Gildzen)." & indeed I remember not so long ago Tom brought over a jar of egg whites. his father was making noodles (his mother died last year).

Tom became a history professor   photographer   writer (Desparate Deception). he lives in his grandparents' old house on East Broad. Patty married Lawrence Kamba & lives outside Washington DC.

just before I left Elyria Patty made a surprise visit to "one of my favorite people" -- my mother. Patty & her husband were overnighting on a drive from Chantilly VA to Chicago. I mentiond to her the sled photo.

my cousin Sal took this picture of us:



I fear the reason Mom looks a bit dour is because she was only hours away from her regular saturday appointment with the hairdresser & probably wasn't happy abt being photographd pre-do.

cousin Bobby

Robert Nolan has nearly a dozen classic cars. on fri nite he was going to a nearby car show & stoppd by Mom's with his 1955 Ford Fairlane.



when I was a boy we calld guys like Bobby "fuzzy dicers."

breezeway

I had 2 goals for this week's trip to Elyria.

first   go thru probate & finish up Dad's paperwork.

second   redesign the breezeway.

I was able to accomplish almost both. except for 2 small tasks I'm finishd with the filing & calling & account-changing involvd in a death.

for the second here's a picture cousin Sal took of me in the breezeway just before I left this morning:



the area between the house & garage. when I was a boy it was a summer room. we had a couch that opend into a bed & when it became sultry I loved sleeping there. some years ago my parents began storing "stuff" there & it soon become an unsightly junk room. almost as soon as I arrivd I began substracting "stuff" from the space until it was nearly bare. then I rippd out the old carpet & cleand. next came new carpet. finally I got some handsome suede pillows at Bed Bath & Beyond which matchd the carpeting. by this morning it had returnd to being a pleasant & usable room which I hope brings Mom great joy this ummer.

off-line this week

while visiting Mom

Warhol polaroids

Kent State is the latest institution to receive a gift from the Warhol Museum.

my first

Father's Day without Father

historic handshake

Carol Grace Marcus & Oona O'Neill went to boarding school together.

Marcus married playwright William Saroyan in 1943 & gave birth later that year to future poet Aram Saroyan. she was one of many who claimd to be the model for Capote's Holly Golighty. she met Walter Matthau while they were appearing in a Broadway play together. they were later married.

her classmate & friend was the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. she married Charlie Chaplin. among their children was actress Geraldine Chaplin.

in Beverly Hills in 1990 I took this photo of Geraldine's reunion with her mother's dear friend.

Tim Russert (1950-2008)

didn't always agree with him but when I was in political-junkie mode I'd enjoy listening to him.

how odd this fall's election nite will be without him & that little hand-written board he'd keep changing.

Iowa

my heart is with the flood victims