I’m not an easy landlord–landlady, whatever. I asked Bone to put in the story he has up today because it’s my favorite of his stories. It’s very beautiful, and very telling. Southern story telling is a weakness of mine. But there’s nothing weak about this story.
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Alice wrote a line that totally cracked me up, though it shouldn’t have. Cervical cancer usually has no early symptoms. Merck has a vaccine. They say that it works best on girls before they are sexually active. How the hell would getting a vaccine make a girl sexually active?
She’s going to be or she’s not going to be, and only locking a girl in a room for life would cause many not to be. Yes I would have to include myself in that first category. My parents would have made sure that I got the vaccine for health reasons. The 60′s were just as scary if not more for parents as they knew nothing about drugs, and maybe really did wait until marriage, and I can say with certainty that my parents didn’t have many sexual partners.
It was my life and all they could do was hold their breath. Then they finally sighed.
This country is being taken over by radical right idiots who want The Constitution to be rewritten. Harry Reid has a petition to stop Frist from rewriting the Constitution with the Federal Gay Marriage Ban.
Not top of my agenda, either. What I mean by that is I think the whole movement to stop birth control and overturn Roe V Wade can kill people. So can many other things such as an illegal war….I remember when AIDS was called the Gay Man’s Disease. I remember what treatments were like. That’s gotten so much better. However, people can still be laid off and lose health insurance after being diagnosed. Health insurance is another issue that can overtly kill and/or bankrupt. So many problems in this country.
But the Constitution has always moved forward
To understand the 2000 Election better I took the relevant parts of the Constitution and the subsequent Amendments. I found it to be a fun exercise. Do admit that my idea of fun can be a bit different than most people. However I think a board game showing how The Constitution moves forward is an excellent idea, that I thought of.
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Riverside Park is a truly amazing place. When I lived on East 63rd would walk through Central Park to get to it. Now I live virtually across the street, and it’s pretty much the one pro for staying in New York–and my friends and family, but…
When I lived on 63rd Street, Trump was building in my neighborhood. I used to call the dust Trump dust and marvel at how he managed to have yellow dust certain times of the year. Well I didn’t know about pollen then. Only had a strange allergy to mold that comes out in rain. However, Riverdale’s something like 65% parkland. When I moved there I was very excited to have a terrace. That’s when I found out what yellow dust was and that I was allergic.
When I moved back to Manhattan I looked for an apartment way above the tree line. Mine faces brownstones from the living room, and the courtyard from the bedroom. Seemed perfect as my building doesn’t have trees in the courtyard and most appear to be fake.
For the first time yellow dust has invaded my apartment. Have to put on a mask and gloves to dust. Am getting new air conditioners and sadly will use them with the windows closed,. I love my cross vent. Both the living room and the bedroom have two large windows, and the bathrooms both have one, During the fall and early to mid spring, sometimes in summer, I get salt breezes from the Hudson It’s wonderful. Putting air conditioners in two windows both messes up the asthetics and the cross vent.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I felt officially weird. Even cancelled dinner plans at the Boat Basin in the park because I had no idea what was wrong. Truly thought I was suffering from some unknown illness that inhibited my ability to read the print while typing and to think. Actually was a bit scared.
Went downstairs this morning. Fernando the doorman could barely talk as he has a sinus infection caused by allergies. Fernando not being able to talk is a truly sad sight.
I walked out of the building, and immediately sneezed three times. Yes I’m a triple sneezer. My sister pointed out years ago that I say “achoo” when I sneeze. Have tried to do the “achoo” “ajew” “achoo” “ajew” from Annie Hall and usually can’t.
After three more triples I made it to the pharmacy where I think I bought every small thing of Puffs–so I can cover the entire bottom of my face. Began to sneeze as soon as I walked into the pharmacy. Now, it could have been me as I really wasn’t feeling well, but I’m pretty sure that at least a third of the people in the pharmacy were sneezing. Okay, told myself that it’s a pharmacy.
Went next door to FedEx, began sneezing, so did other people. Went to meet some friends at the Boat Basin for lunch, we all sneezed our way through lunch. Maybe those were just pity sneezes.
Couldn’t go into Fairway which is a great barometer of just about everything as the store is always so crowded and people bump into you, curse and demand an apology. You get used to it. Though Fairway looks dirty, its turn over rate is amazing, they have foods you can’t get elsewhere, and the lines are incredibly managed. But I just couldn’t do it. Felt like the biggest chore in the world.
Went into Citarella where I proceeded to buy tons of soup. Never drink juice, fruit, but they have fresh squeezed blood orange juice. It’s good. Have already drank half a quart. Their soups are excellent. We do have great soup in New York. Love diner pea soup, really good hot and sour soup and soup from Hale and Hearty.
Just seemed like every third person was sneezing. Haven’t sneezed since I came home, but I did take a long hot shower.
Had all kinds of horrible thoughts about how quickly the Avian Flu could pass through New York since many people didn’t have tissues or wipes. If you don’t want to carry tissues, alcohol wipes take no room, might not feel great but…
Then I began to think of all the ways people could put bio-hazardous into New York’s dust. Between pollen and construction dust, who would know?
This is the last Will & Grace a program I was never into, but kind of relate to a bit too much to.
I think that the long weekend of rest I was planning to take from the winter of 05 to now has finally been forced upon me. But damn, I have all these new things to worry about.
Just saw the last Will & Grace. Made me happy but sad that they ended up with a happy ending, and my direct generation of Gay friends–all gone.
Some of the vibrancy left my life too early. It was much more colorful.
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Have always assumed that Jimmy Hoffa was buried in the Meadowlands, but much more importantly have stayed up nights wondering who or what Meadow Soprano was named for. Not nights, maybe two minutes, but.
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Am going to stop getting up at dawn to see if somehow Karl Rove was indicted. As I go to sleep late, Karl’s making me chronically sleep deprived. Know he wouldn’t be indicted at five AM, but hey, you just never know.
Oh my! All caught up and first to comment! Life is good indeed…
I am a multiple sneezer myself… those who know me know to wait before blessing me.
Allergies are awful… NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique) can help… Loverboy does those treatments and have been miraculous in my life… Go to their website, http://www.naet.com, and look for a physician up by zip code, preferable that they be acupuncturists….
Here’s to a clear and breath-friendly new day my dear Pia! Too bad you aren’t close or Loverboy would treat you…
Morning Pia,
I used to work for Rite-Aid and did the remodel on the one up on 109th. Every chance I got I would walk up to St. John’s. The thing I liked about Riverside Park, it that there was always parking on the Drive.
I have allergies down here in Florida, but in Conn. they were worse because of the cold and damp. Hot and damp is better.
Girls should be virgins for life. Maybe that should be an amemdment in the Constitution. I am a staunch supporter of womens rights, but check out my post today and the links to hazing. This does not make our cause easier.
As a WASP male I am well aware of the advantages I have. Working in the city, when ever I was in an ethnic area, people thought I was either immigration or narcotics. I could park in front of a crack house, and the dealers would move away. My point being, that if I was in a store doing work, everyone, and I mean everyone, would ignore the management and talk to me because I was the only white person within 20 blocks. Did I like it, no I hated being deferred to like some all knowing seer.
Banning gay marriage is simply a first step towards control of all marriages. Interracial marriges are still frowned upon by all groups, it was not too long ago when they were illegal.
I’ve been told I sound like a mouse when I sneeze… when my dad sneezes he sneezes “ohshit, ohshit”… seriously…
Hope you are not getting sick…
Pia… I swear, you are the only person other than me who might have actually done the looking up the amendments to understand the election bit…
Today the human genome project announced it had finally finished mapping human DNA. Quite a milestone, actually. It took them 16 years of non-stop intensive work. And they aren’t actually done – they are finishing the final sequence. Just think – being able to identify the source of certain diseases! People could end up living decades longer. Cool, huh? This was in England, of course. Were it here – the project would have been closed down years ago due to religious tampering! We seem to be moving two steps back for every single step forward. *sigh* Sometimes I get so discouraged.
And I understand about allergies! My hubby has always had them (he used to take the shots – but after a couple of years decided they weren’t really working). I have only recently developed some (watery, itchy eyes). Hubby’s the sneezer, though – sometimes 10 in a row! And he’s an ‘a-choo!’ person; I make some god-awful ‘ha-chump’ kinda sound. Everybody looks at me weird. I’m loud, too. I never could master a ‘lady-like’ sneeze!
I swear I had something worthwhile…but I am chuckling over Shayna’s description of how her dad sneezes.
Ukk allergies! I have to eliminate all diary and sugar to survive it.
Come July — it’s all about the ice-cream though!
This is my theory about the radical right/fanatical Christians: they want to force people into such a position as not being able to have sex outside the confines of government sanctioned, heterosexual marriages. Then they control “the gays” and send women back to the dark ages of being anchored to the unpredictability which comes with a lack of birth control and abortions.
I *really* try not to hate people because their opinions differ from my own, but the folks who want these restrictions? I f***ing HATE them with every cell in my body.
Well Pia, since you can’t pull of a snooze fest, I suppose a sneeze fest is the way to go.
Double sneezer here.
What percentage of people said “God bless you?” Or “You are soo good lookin’?”
HEY! I know you probably don’t remember me, but I used to read your blog back when I had my journal xblueangelx.blogcult.com. That site shut down and so now I am with Easyjournal.
Anyways, much love!
I like the board game idea a lot! Don’t give up those ideas too freely – some weasel may be working on a patent as we speak. I feel for ya on the AC thing – it’s terrible when the need to breathe gets in the way of aesthetics – I know I’d have to think twice…
Feel better, Pia.
Bless you. Bless you. Bless you.
I hope your sneezing has at least subsided some.
Maryland is pretty bad; there is this awful white covering on all the vehicles in the morning.I don’t remember it from past times.
I am leaving it to you to keep my ammendments
straight and let me know when that bastard daddy has been indicted.
Feel better.
Drat the pollen.
I fear an indictment will never occur.