Willie Nelson's birthday today

When we put on a CD while we eat dinner, Lee makes the choice.  He keeps up on musicians' birthdays so he pick Along the Borderline by Willie Nelson.  A few years (2004) ago he picked Nashville as our vacation destination.  In 2003 we visited Graceland in Memphis.

The Yankees won today 17-6

Even though I am a big Mets fan twice a year I go to Yankee Stadium.  Today the Bronx Bombers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 17-6.  Yankee starter Randy Johnson did not have one of his best outings, but he had enough run support.  There were 4 home runs, 2 by Johnny Damon, one by Jason Giambi and the lst by Jorge Posada.  The Yankees scored at least one run in every inning.  I just read that the only other time that the Yankees did that was in 1939 when they defeted the St. Lous Browns 14-1.

 

Rainy Day Dylan Radio Show #1

It was raining quite steadily this morning.  I got on the web and did my surfing to some of the Bob Dylan folders.  I had known for sometime that Bob Dylan was going to be the DJ for a new show on XM Satellite radio.  I have been grappling for sometime over whether I should subscribe to XM.  Since Radio@aol offers the music channels of XM, I've decided not to subscribe.  The only thing I am missing is the portability.  I have to listen on my computer.  Anyway, I knew that the show was to premier on Wendesday May 3rd at 10 AM.  Somebody gave a link to http://www.expectingrain.org  which gave a link to a preview of Dylan's first radio show.  I recorded it and burned a CD of it.  For more information on this show, you can go to http://www.xmradio.com/bobdylan.  This first show featured songs about the weather.  Dylan was the DJ and didn't select any of his songs.

Karen's Birthday

Karen was born 6 years and one day after me.  We met in August 1980 so since April 1981 we have celebrated our birthdays together.  This morning we went out for breakfast at Uncle Bill's Diner in the neighborhood.  It was raining in the morning and early afternoon so we went to see The Sentenial at the multiplex.  The rain stopped for a while so I took Lee out to shoot baskets.  In the evening we went ou for diner at Ben's Deli in Bayside.

My 57th Birthday

Where have all these years gone?  I am 57 years old today.  I brought in a cheese cake to work today for everyone.  The big boss was not in so we did not have to hear him babble away for two hours.  In a way that was a birthday present.  Tomorrow is Karen's birthday.

The Mets are Hot! Hot! Hot!

This is by far the Mets best start in history winning 10 out of the first 12 games.  There are still 150 games to go and of course anything can happen.  Tonight Pedro Martinez beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 for his 200th career victory.  Carlos Delgado and Xavier Nady hit home runs for the Amazins.  Atlanta is the team that the Mets have to beat, but tonight Chipper Jones and Edgar Rentaria were out with injuries.  The big games will be June 27, 28, and 29th at Fenway.  If the Mets win all 3 games Pagebyrner will have to listen to the audio tapes of all librarian and faculty library committee meetings since he left NJIT.  If the Red Sox win all three games, I will grow a pony tail.  Anyway, its looks like an exciting season.

Johnny Cash Radio Special on WFUV

From 5 - 7 PM WFUV featured a two hour radio special featuring the music and biography of Johnny Cash.  Yes, Lee the big Johnny Cash fan in the family listened.  Earlier in the day we saw the movie Take the Lead with Antonio Banderas whos character volunteers to teach ballroom dancing in a tough school in NYC.  Since the main characters in the fim were high school students, it is obvious that this flick along with most others released these days are aimed at a young audience.  Back to work tomorrow. Ugh

Mets lost Today

We treked over to Shea Stadium for the second weekend in the row.  Since the $9 seats in the upper deck were sold out Karen bought the $25 seats in the Mezzanine.  The Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 with Steve Tracsel getting the loss.  Somebody was walking around taking digital photographs of fans saying that they were were free.  After the game they would be available on Mets.com.  It turned out that the pictures could not be downloaded and that we had to buy the picture for $15.  It shows the Slutsky family in our natural habitat.

Another Mini-Vacation

I took off Wednesday and Thursday from work for Passover.  Since NJIT is closed on Friday, it means that I have 5 days off.  Tonight we went to my sister Joyces' house in Dix Hills for the second seder.  Adam, Scott, Keith and Sasha the dog were there.  Also my mother was there.  Lee played basketball with Adam and played with Sasha.

First Appearance at Shea this season

It was sunny yet cool today, so the family treked to Shea for our first appearance of the season.  We waited on line and were pleasantly surprised to find out that the tickets were only $2 for Kids Weekend.  We were sitting in section 19 of the Mezzanine behind first base.  I bought my yearbook.  Now it is 45 yearbooks for 45 years of the Mets since 1962.  It was a pitchers duel between Tom Glavine and Dontrell Willis.  The Mets fell behind 2-0.  In the 7th inning DAvid Wright hit a triple to drive in 2 runs to tie the game.  With runners on first and third with no out in the ninth David Wright hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run.

Benchwarmers (movie)

It rained most of today so we went to the multiplex to see Benchwarmers, another baseball movie.  It seems that most movies are marked to people under 35.  It was kind of silly, but anything is better than sitting home.  Better weather tomorrow.  Should be this season's first trip to Shea.

Arguing over hypothetical issues

Who want to waste time and energy arguing over hypothetical issues.  Mr. Zimmerman has come to the rescue.  There is a Bob song for every occasion.  I hope the Red Sox fan the cat lover who regularly read this blog can read these lyrics and use their imagination.  Dylan has plenty of hair on his head and never wore it in a pony tail.

Dear landlord,
Please don't put a price on my soul.
My burden is heavy,
My dreams are beyond control.
When that steamboat whistle blows,
I'm gonna give you all I got to give,
And I do hope you receive it well,
Dependin' on the way you feel that you live.

Dear landlord,
Please heed these words that I speak.
I know you've suffered much,
But in this you are not so unique.
All of us, at times, we might work too hard
To have it too fast and too much,
And anyone can fill his life up
With things he can see but he just cannot touch.

Dear landlord,
Please don't dismiss my case.
I'm not about to argue,
I'm not about to move to no other place.
Now, each of us has his own special gift
And you know this was meant to be true,
And if you don't underestimate me,
I won't underestimate you.

Opening Day at Shea Today

Season 45 for the New York Mets started well today as the Amazins beat the Washington Nationals 3 to 2 with Tom Glavine the winning pitcher with Billy Wagner getting the save.  I have never been to an opening game at Shea.  Back in 1983 I had jury duty on opening day.  Since they let us out early, I tried to get tickets the day of the game, but it sold out as I was wating on line.  If the weather is nice this weekend, we'll go to our first game of the year.

Rockaway Beach then and now

Today we drove down to Rockaway Beach.  We parked at B 96th street and walked to the end of the boardwalk at B126th Street.  We usually take a ride out there a couple of times a year either before Memorial Day or after Labor Day before the beach crowds.  There seemed to be a lot of new buildings in the area.  There is a new housing development around B 98th Street where Rockaway Playland used to be.  Back in my high school days Roy and I would take the Q53 bus to B116th Street near where his grandmonther lived.  Back in the early 1960s my Aunt Rebecca and Uncle George had a summer bungalow at B 27th street where my parents took us.  We used to love playing in the arcades over there.  They have been gone for years.

Lee got his Mets Jacket Today

Was a little tired today so we stayed close to home.  Karen took Lee to Modells in downtown Flushing where she used his birthday gifts from his gradparents to buy a Mets jacket and a David Wright T-Shirt.  Earlier in the day we saw the movie Stay Alive.  Most movies these days are for kids.