So I was editing the previous entry about Tobias Wolff, Raymond Carver and Tess Gallagher and their time at Syracuse University.

In it, I had referenced "Moon Crossing Bridge," Gallagher's amazing volume of love poems and lamentations to her deceased husband Raymond Carver.

It had been a favorite of mine and I was pretty sure that, even in the confusion and emotional chaos of closing up the house on Mooney Avenue and moving here to the city's west side after my wife's passing, I had still managed to keep a paperback copy in one of my bookcases.

Anyway, I was fact-checking something about Gallagher's book online and happened to notice several ads for copies on sale, including a hardbound volume for $100. And I remember thinking that, even though I love the book, I'd never spend a hundred bucks just to own a hardbound copy.

But now I wanted to be sure that my "cheap" paperback copy was still in the house.

So I looked in the tall bookcase by my office door and, after navigating the haphazard filing system I use for my books, I discovered that I had, in fact, not one but two copies!

Not only that, but of them one was hardbound! Upon seeing it, I recalled finding it at a second-hand bookstore on James Street in the old Eastwood neighborhood where my wife and I had lived for over 30 years before she passed away.

I also remembered paying maybe $4-5 at the time and thinking it was a bargain because the book was in mint condition.

(As a side note, it still is. In mint condition.)

But the kicker was that on the cover was an oval-shaped, orange sticker which said "Autographed Copy!" And, sure enough, on the title page, was hastily scrawled, in black ink, "Tess Gallagher 4/30/92."

So maybe there's some magic left in The 'Cuse after all.

Maybe it resides in our memory of the lives that we've lived, in our hopes and dreams for the lives that we're living, or maybe it's sitting on a forgotten shelf/ of a tall bookcase/ just inside/ our office door...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
1.20.2025

There were repair orders--ROs, we used to call them--scattered on the ground, in the bushes, and even a page or two in an overhanging tree.

I stood there, for a moment, just looking at them. Then, I picked one up from the ground near my feet.

I confirmed that it was an automotive repair order, like the ones used in the shops where I'd worked, in Syracuse and Houston, some fifty years ago.

But the one I'd picked up was only the heavier bottom copy, the one the mechanic took with him, and kept out on the shop floor, while he did the work.

The top copies, the lighter paper ones with carbon paper in between, were missing, having been raggedly torn off instead of along the perforations, as intended.

Walking a few more steps, I came to what looked like a makeshift desk. On it were a phone, which appeared to be a landline, and next to that, more ROs.

Looking at the one on top, I noticed hand-written notes which I assumed were being taken over the phone before being abruptly cut off in mid-sentence.

Aside from the obvious disarray, it was reminiscent of the outdoor repair shops that I'd been so amazed to see when I first moved to Houston, in the dead of winter, from the frigid northeast.

Now, as I surveyed the scene in front of me, I was suddenly aware of several figures standing near me, men in gray, nondescript uniforms observing me and the chaos around us.

They didn't say anything, but I somehow understood that they wanted to know what I was thinking, what I might be intending to do.

I considered that, for a moment, and then just said, "I think I'm gonna gather up these papers and put them on the desk.

Then maybe put a weight on top of them so that if someone comes back for them, they'll mostly be where they belong."

Beyond that, I thought, there was really nothing else to be done. Because, if it's not your life, you can only do so much.

The gray men said nothing in response, and that's where the dream ended...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
12.30.2024

And my first entry is, "'Brothers in Blues' (2023)--Kirby Warnock," a reminder to order that and another documentary on the life of Stevie Ray Vaughan from Amazon...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
12.18.2024

In the late fall,
before I'd ride,

I used to check
for moisture

on the nearby
streets and roads.

For, you know,
my own safety

and the upkeep
of my bike.

Now, there's
ice and snow

where I used to ride
and questions

about the body
which has,

until these
recent days,

carried me
through life...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
12.5.2024 

Well, for me, anyway. The 2024 outdoor biking season.Yeah, my last "B" for "Bicycle" entry in my BP Log, where I keep track of this, was made on 11.20.24. After that, they're all "T" for (indoor) "Trainer" entries.

And yesterday I stripped off all of the removable accessories, like lights, horn, trunk bag, and mirror, and carried De Zwaan outside and loaded her into the Subie for the trip into town to the Mello Velo Bike Shop.

There, I checked her in for the "Deluxe Tuneup" which includes an overall inspection, any necessary adjustments, repacking of wheel and bottom bracket bearings, etc.

And then I drove home. And wondered, as I contemplated the empty space where she usually sits in my dining room, if that "B for Bicycle" entry on 11.20.24 might turn out to be my last. For always.

Because, not to be overly dramatic about it, the next appointment I have to schedule is for a cardiac ablation to hopefully control the arrhythmias which, for the past year, have not been fully controlled by medication.

Because, at my age, ya just never know.

Sorry for the downer and really do hope that everyone has a great day...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
11.26.2024

Late morning was my cardiology appointment, so I didn't get to do my outdoor fitness ride until early afternoon.

But it was truly worth waiting for--a bit chilly, but bright and clear and not so cold that I had to wear the heavy fleece.

And the ride was, well, just such a joyful thing that it's hard to even describe, hard to explain.

And when I got back, I found my two Donald Fagen books waiting for me. 

Whatta day! Hope yours was a great one too!

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
11.15.2024

Every so often, like a completely random thought, a few notes  of a song will float through my head.

Most times, unless there's the fragment of a lyric with it, I've no way to figure out what song it is. Because, with a lyric, we can always query the internet. Otherwise, nada.

(If I had perfect pitch, the ability to name a musical note upon hearing it, an internet query could be constructed around that. Alas, I don't. Nor does 96-plus percent of the human race.

Pete McHugh was one, of that less-than-4-percent, who actually did. He was a senior violin major when I was an incoming freshman at SUNY Fredonia. But to my roommates, who were freshman violin majors, he was already a god.

One of their stories was that Pete was walking off-campus with a friend, one day, when someone in a passing car beeped their horn.

The friend challenged Pete to say which two notes combined to make the sound of the horn. Pete said that there weren't two notes, but three, and proceeded to name them.

And thus a legend was born. At least among the campus fiddleheads, lol.)

Anyway, in this instance, I had either the fragment of a lyric or a vague recollection of the artist's name. Through which I arrived at "I.G.Y." (International Geophysical Year), by Steely Dan--a song-writing and performing duo consisting of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.

After listening to IGY on YouTube, I turned to that universal fount of all knowledge and wisdom, Wikipedia, and found that Fagen had published an autobiography titled "Eminent Hipsters," as well as producing a solo album, "Nightfly." And that, more recently, Peter Jones had published a biography, "Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen."

Since I had an appointment on the east side of town with my ENT doc, I decided to stop at the nearby Barnes & Noble to see if either of the books, or the CD, might be available.

The books weren't in stock, so I ordered them. Then the nice lady who was helping me suggested we look through the racks for the CD. And there it was! On sale!

So now I've gotta get my Blu-ray player hooked up so I can listen to Fagen's "Nightfly" album while I wait for my books to arrive.

Hope everyone has a good day...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
11.12.2024

It's been cold, some mornings, went down to 31-degrees overnight a day or so ago, but was back into the mid- to upper-40s this morning.

So I took the bike, stand, and bucket of tools outside before my ride and cleaned and lubed the chain and checked tire pressure.

(Cleaning and lubing the chain makes a noticeable difference, especially when I've let my maintenance routine slip a bit due to the colder weather.)

And I was rewarded with a really smooth, quiet ride afterwards--a really GOOD ride despite the chill and the dark overcast.

Having lived on the windward side of the Great Lakes my entire life, I know to be grateful for however many days we're able to push the outdoor riding season into November.

Because we know that IT is coming, and likely soon.

Hope everyone has a great day...

LPK
Dreamwidth/LJ
11.4.2024

After riding the bike, this AM, and confirming that the next several days are forecast to be clear and increasingly warm, I decided to go ahead and order the bag I'd been looking at for De Zwaan's rear rack, along with a horn to replace the wimpy little bell which has been less than effective at alerting pedestrians, etc.

As I was considering these options, it occurred to me that the bag which I use to carry spare inner tubes, tools, etc, has been on at least 5 different bikes since I first got it in the, what,1990s? And, because I was an all-weather rider back then, it's been subjected to a lot of abuse and looks it.

The selling point on the electric horn is that, at 120 decibels, it's been known to blow litte kids off of their tricycles and cause little old ladies to crash their walkers into utility poles. So, you know, there's the entertainment value to consider, as well as the practicality of it.

Just kidding about that, but I did go ahead and order both for overnight delivery. So keep your kids and grannies indoors, lol...

LPK
Dw/LJ
10.17.2024

We're now approaching the time of year, in the northeastern U.S., when the weather will be increasingly hostile to outdoor bicycling.

Over the past month, I suspect due to global climate change, I've only had to use the indoor trainer on two or three occasions. Even on some of the mostly wet and overcast days, I've been able to find times when the pavement has dried enough that I've been able to sneak in an outdoor ride.

But that window is obviously closing, with temperatures dropping, the winds picking up, and the cloudy days becoming more the norm. And so I've been trying to talk myself into accepting and adjusting to the impendng change.

Last week, I bought and installed a new seat for the trainer, one which matches the one on my current road bike and which I've found to be more comfortable than the one on the trainer.

For some reason, being able to glance at and touch a tangible like that, as I pass through the room, is both an incentive and an assurance that I can and will do what needs to be done in the coming days.

Anyway, that's my mindset this morning as I look out on the grey skies and wet pavement which has been forecast as our reality for at least the next couple of days.

Still, hoping that the times ahead will hold some brightness for us all, if only in our heads...

LPK
Dw/LJ
10.13.2024