Footnote to my Rego Park Story

From Long Island Newsday, February 21, 1972

Over the 20 years of Bruce's Journal, there have been several entries about growing up in Rego Park.  I just remembered that in February 1972, there was a big fire on 63rd Drive that wiped out the local branch of the Queens Library and other stores on that block.  Back in the day, when I was a student at nearby P.S. 139, I was a regular patron of that library.

A few years later, a new library was constructed across the street, as seen below.

Back in 1972, there was a Shell station at that site where I first put gasoline into my new Chevy Nova that my parents purchased for me.

I just found out that this library, constructed in the 1970s, will soon close and be demolished.  A new state-of-the-art Rego Park branch will be constructed on that site, double the size of the current branch.  It will look like the photo below.

 

Happy 93rd Birthday to Petula Clark

 

Her birthday was yesterday.  In 2017, Karen, Lee, and I saw her perform at BB King's.  I dedicated I Couldn't Live Without Your Love to Karen twice.

• On Sounds of the Sixties with Brian Matthew on BBC2
• On Jack Sullivan's oldies show on WESU.

Sue - Another Bob Dylan Fan Extraordinaire

 

About two years ago, I wrote an entry about some extreme Bob Dylan enthusiasts.  I omitted one named Sue whom I follow on X with the handle @SueMyAssOff.  Above is a photo of the ticket stubs from Dylan concerts she has attended over the years.  This website lists the 359 Dylan concerts she attended since 1988. She attended 141concerts on the current Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour.  She lives in Canada and traveled around the world to see Dylan. Sue, I admire your great enthusiasm for Bob.  I think you should write a book about your travels.

Sue in Paris waiting for the concert to begin.

Happy 80th Birthday to Neil Young - We Are Both Old Men

 

At age 80 Neil Young is an old man and so am I at 76.

I Hate Politics

 

It is so sad that politics is a necessary evil in American society.  It has gotten from bad to worse.  The politicians do what is best for their party, not for the people who elected them.  There is a cold war between Democrats and Republicans.  The American public is the loser in this miserable war.  Let me make some comments:

• I cannot understand why 77 million people voted for a convicted felon who should have faced trial for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for taking classified government documents to his home.
• This president is ignoring the concept of separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our government.
• He abused the power of the presidency to pardon criminals.  He pardoned about 1600 people who stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the certification of the 2020 election.  He commutes the sentence of the asshole George Santos, who should have rotted in prison for the entire 7 years of his sentence.
• The tariffs that he imposed have created higher prices for all consumers
• The president used the judicial system to get back at his enemies who did not commit a crime.
• The entire population of the United States are losers in the government shutdown caused by the war between Democrats and Republicans.  I feel sorry for:
• People who rely on SNAP benefits.  I regularly see lines of people waiting for food, and others who scrounge piles of garbage looking for bottles and cans to redeem.
• Those who lost their jobs as a result of the shutdown
• Travelers who have been delayed because of a shortage of air traffic controllers.Commun
• Zohran Mandani fairly won the election for Mayor of New York City.  Let us not evaluate him until he takes office and succeeds or fails on his campaign promises.  It is unfair for the Republicans to label him as a Communist. The President should not deny funds to NYC since he disaaproves of the Mayor.

Alabama 103 St. John's 96 at Madison Square Garden

 

I got "sticker shock" when I saw that Knicks and Rangers tickets were over $200 for seats in the 200 level. Someone has to pay for the multi-million dollar salaries that the players make.  We decided to get tickets for the St. John's Red Storm, who were nationally ranked last season.

It was a close game, but the Crimson Tide of Alabama held on for a 103-96 victory.

Game Recap

For Joni Mitchell's 82nd Birthday - Big Yellow Taxi