a collection begins

how wonderful that Montgomery Maxton used his request to me a couple of years ago to start a lovely collection. now I look forward to having him photograph me.

Richard Carlson (1912-2012)

today is the centennial of the actor from "Creature from the Black Lagoon."  this video taken at Hollywood & Vine isn't the best. I'm reading a poem from my last book.

lucky me

I have the best neighbors.  Rita & Phil took me out to dinner. it was an enchanting evening: great new restaurant (Tanti Luce) with superb food & an attentive staff.

moths

on the shuttle ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe the other day I was sitting in front. & the windshield was constantly being struck by moths. it was like a sci fi movie.


tonite they mysteriously are in the house. they are calld Miller moths. this isn't the first year I've had them. they last abt a week or so & when they somehow get inside it's infuriating.

(Photo by John Burroughs taken at Wayne Co Fairgrounds in Ohio)

Wooster Jam

readers:

John Burroughs / Shelley Chernin / AG / Andrew Rihn / Robert Miltner


host:

Daniel Gray-Kontar

back from Ohio

every time I visit Mom I try to accomplish one major project. this time it was the dismantling of Dad's old shed. before the weather turnd crap I spent an afternoon taking down the sides.  however I knew I cd never do the roof alone.  John Burroughs volunteerd to help.  not only did I take him up on it but he ended up doing the heavy work. (Mom & I both thank you John.)

3

Dick Clark Levon Helm Jonathan Frid

William Finley (1942-2012)

I saw him at the Performance Garage in 1968. on screen he is perhaps best known for playing the title role in "Phantom of the Paradise."  his last film was "The Black Dahlia."

Hollywood's favorite aunt

on screen everyone from Marion Davies to Deanna Durbin calld her auntie. she even playd Mark Twain's Aunt Polly more than once.  but the aunt that made Clara Blandick famous was Em of Kansas.

the actress was 81 when she killd herself 50 years ago today. Rick Castro -- whose Antebellum Gallery is within walking distance of where Blandick died -- askd me to write a poem for his blog to mark the anniversary.

preparing for my close-up

Fort Union

a salute to Bill E. Berger

dreamt

I had a little visit with Lois Wilson. that's the nice part abt dreams.

I've been blessd to have had some truly great friends in my life.  Billy is one of them.  today is his birthday but he sent me a present. 

I was born on Easter

in fact it's the latest the holiday ever comes.  happens once a century.  so I'll be long dead when it next occurs.

not being religious this holiday means little to me.  candy & sometimes a good meal.  my parents used to make Easter cheese from what seemd like hundreds of eggs.  a real treat I miss. & early in my Santa Fe years Bernique Longley had a famous Easter dinner. one of the other guests was always R. B. Sprague who had everyone crying with laughter when he did naughty things with his rabbit toy.  

Bernique's daughter pickd up the tradition after her death but that came to a close when Roger died.  this is the final dinner:

I have no plans for tomorrow.

I sleep well

but sometimes I wake an hour or so before usual.  I tend to get up & begin my day.  however there are times when I remain in bed listening to the music of the dark.  depending on the season the house may utter arias. it's its breathing. the most notes come from the nearby highway. regardless of the hour there are people on the move. there is a base line of tires on pavement. if I'm still in bed around 6 the first train rattles by.  it's a sound I love.  probably because it takes me back to childhood when train sounds were lullabies.


since much of the music of the dark is made by people I often wonder who they are & what propels them to navigate the darkness. I wonder if a homeless person is snoring in my arroyo. & I wonder if birdsong awakens animals.


& if i try hard enough sometimes I think I hear my blood circulating in my body.

the trouble

with donating to a charity is that they pester you forever for more.  & some sell yr number.


I rarely get phone calls.  but ALL the ones I've rec'd in the past week or so have been charities with their hands out.  I got so mad at my most recent caller that he apologizd & admittd that was the curse for "being a nice person."

Dan Luckenbill (1945-2012)

he was an important special collections librarian who died recently on his birthday. I especially remember the Paul Monette exhibition he curated.

Stathis Orphanos took this snapshot of me with Dan (on the left) & filmmaker Todd Hughes in West Hollywood a decade ago.

in high school

I took a test with the question "what's the greatest American play?"  we'd been taught that the answer was "Our Town."  so that's what I put down.  I didn't believe it then & still don't.


however there's a production here which features a cast of local theater heavyweights.  so I sat thru another interpretation of this dreary play.  there were some good performances but I don't need to ever see this again.