Coronavirus Days 34 & 35 & 36 – Flashbacks

Stacey found the breaded pork chops I cooked tonight a little dry. She did agree she might have one for lunch tomorrow. We all have sacrifices to make these days.

Stacey had a new printer delivered to the house. Since technically I’m a manager in an IT department and computers are my livelihood, I let Stacey install it herself. She’s very handy. I cooked and did a bit of cleaning in the kitchen while she took to the task. All I’ll say is that my plan with the printer did not go so well. We are talking again now, a day later.

I’d never be accused of being a glass half full guy. But I will say that another of the upsides recently is hearing from some good friends I hadn’t heard from in years. I even called a couple back. I heard from Dave Mulry, our neighbor back in Galway, this week too. Dave rooted out some Polaroid moments from his time here. Here we are in 1994 with the hungover horrors top of the World Trade Center. I was terrified of heights.

It was around that time my brother Mark gave New York a shot too. Having a Manhattan address for thirty years I’ve accommodated a lot of strays at one time or another . One of my many fond memories of that time is losing Mark from a late night binge at the Dublin House Pub on the Upper West Side. My brother does like to wander. Mark arrived back at my 76th and Columbus brownstone apartment early that Sunday morning drenched, covered in mud and weeds. He’d rolled off a log he’d fallen asleep on in Central Park and woken up in the boating pond. It was probably the only touristy thing Mark did on his trip.

Mark tried employment here. He got fired from his Cauldwell deli job because he couldn’t master the ham slicing. Those NJ residents like their meat handled properly. Mark decided NYC was not for him after a few short summer weeks and headed home to Ireland.

I’m getting very used to this WFH. I have not gone out past our house and garden now in 9 days. I’m reminded how fortunate I am here with my elaborate man cave. I installed a 10 ‘ screen and projection system a decade back in my leather furnished sanctuary. I decided on brown leather because I do find leather wears in, not out. Alongside my thousands of movies I have a full size pool table and a full bar, neither used by myself in years but they get mileage. This all looking out across the Catskills and the sunset.

My good buddy Jen Brancato commented on my recent bathroom product trauma and reminded me of my special hair gel.

It was not too many years ago I visited SF for my sister in law Kir’s wedding (my favorite of Stacey’s sisters). I behaved like an adult that trip for a change and stayed sober. While bathroom prepping for the wedding ceremony that Friday I noticed my hair product felt a bit off. I discovered then that my oft used travel container of gel was actually a dispenser of vaginal lube. I had used this container on many short trips away in the past. It did give my hair a lovely silky sheen but not a lot of hold. With no other option I used it for the wedding anyway. I couldn’t help but run my fingers between my wavy lockes through out that day.

I have kept that lube in my bathroom cabinet as a reminder of why I should never drink again and hey, you never know when it might come in handy.

My very good friend of a dozen years from film class, Mary Hanlon, gets a great kick out of my childhood photograph perched here in our Ancramdale living room. She asked if I’d forward her a copy. It’s a summer filled beach snapshot of myself and my brother Mark from our early life back in Galway. Mary wanted to share it with her parents.

The photograph is a reminder of one of my happiest childhood moments. Mummy and Daddy took my brother and myself to Grattan Road beach. They buried the two of us up to our necks in the sand and left us to the approaching tide. He was two, I was three. Mark was not at all perturbed. I was older and wiser and recognized that our watery doom was incoming. I watched helplessly as crabs and sand fleas gathered to observe our briny demise as the waves drew closer. Dear old Daddy, snuck around to capture some wonderful Kodak memories while Mummy held on to the towels , buckets and egg salad sandwiches. The happy moment was eventually getting dug out by our parents.

I haven’t been right since.

Binge Remembering!

Memento – Christopher Nolan’s second movie is told in reverse in 15 minute increments. That is the duration our main character, Leonard, can remember any details for. His condition is due to traumatic memory loss – it’s a movie run with it. Leonard is trying to figure who raped and murdered his wife. The less Leonard knows, the more you know. This ones a wild trip.

The other Christopher Nolan exercise in recall is Inception. DiCaprio plays a high end thief who steals information from the subconscious of his targets. Inception is a big movie with a big cast and big ideas. The innovative, world upside down, special effects are meaningful , not just sensational. And it has a climax that’s an obvious homage to Bond (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service). I got to hear Hans Zimmer perform the closing piece Time in Radio City a couple of years back, a memento moment for my memory bank.

In The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje , four characters lives intersect around the hospital holding a severely burnt and dying English msn with no recollection of his name. The story takes place in a villa during the last days of the Italian campaign in WWII. Man, have I oversimplified the plot on this one. The book won the 1992 Booker Award, the movie won the 1997 Oscar for Best Picture.

I know you didn’t like it when we watched it in on Lazerdisk Maria, but I still think it’s great. You might say it’s a slow burn. Number 55 on the BFI list,

There was a time that Geena Davis was destined to be a giant star. The Long Kiss Goodnight was supposed to be a launch. Some bad guys turn up to kill small town mother and school teacher Davis and she makes mince meat of them. Realizing she has no recollection of her past, she hires a detective, Samuel Jackson, to track her past. It bombed in its day but is a thoroughly entertaining big budget watch.

I expect you’ve all seen The Bourne Identity. This is the movie that redefined action movies in the 2000’s – took them back to good old fashioned stunts and choreography. The first in raged is a masterpiece, the others are all worth watching, if not as tight. The original Robert Ludlum novel is a dated fun read .

We watched Knives Out tonight. It’s a light, easy going throwback to those star filled who dunnits from the 70’s. It’s a grand unimposing way to pass a couple of hours. Daniel Craig, very non Bond, leads a superb ensemble.