Guilty as Sin by Taylor Swift - Song of the Day

 

I am too old to be a Taylor Swift fan, but this song is right on the mark.  It is a shame that the legal process takes so long.  I'm hoping for guilty verdicts in Washington, D.C., Georgia, and Florida.  More important, I hope that voters use common sense and don't make a convicted felon President.

Encounters with Bob Dylan

 Yesterday I viewed a video of my Bob Dylan friend Phil Hale being interviewed by Jim Salvucci.  Near the end of the one-hour video, Phil mentioned meeting Dylan in a restaurant in London in the early 1990s.  I went to my bookshelf and retrieved a book where others documented meeting Dylan face-to-face.

Below is a video of someone meeting Dylan and getting his autograph.  I was surprised to see him walking alone.  This must have been in the early 1970s before John Lennon was killed by a crazed fan.   I assume that if Dylan goes out in public, he has several security guards.

Bill Walton talks about Bob Dylan

 

Bill Walton was known as a fan of the Grateful Dead.  If you listen here, he certainly knew a lot about Bob Dylan.  RIP, Bill.

Street Wars: Have E-Bikes Made New York City a ‘Nightmare’? by Dodai Stewart in the New York Times

 I am inviting followers of Bruce's Journal to read this timely article in the New York Times.  I have discussed this issue a few times in this journal.  It does harm the quality of life in NYC.  I am aghast of the lack of courtesy of e-bike and traditional bicycle riders likely to be adults whether they just want to get from point A to point B faster or are riding recreationally.  On Union Street between 28th Avenue and 31st Road there is a very wide sidewalk by retail businesses.  Cyclists regularly ignore the bike path just a few feet away and endanger pedestrians.  Out of habit, I walk far to the right so cyclists can pass me.  You can't hear them when they come from behind.  I am not aware of statistics of accidents with cyclists, pedestrians, and automobiles.

Ms. Stewart did an excellent job of stating the problem but did not offer solutions.  But are there solutions?

• There cannot be a police officer on every street monitoring this.
• I suggest that e-bikes over a certain size be registered with the DMV.  It would take an act of the legislature to do this.  That will not happen.
• E-bikes used for deliveries should be labeled with the name of the business.  That will not happen,

I suggest everyone use their eyes and ears and watch out.

Mazel Tov - The Mets End Their Losing Streak by Beating the Giants 4-3 on a Walk-Off Hit by Omar Narvaez

 

Things have been tough for the Mets lately as they performed poorly all season and entered this game with a five-game losing streak.  Going into the ninth inning the Mets had only one run and four hits.  At this point, the Mets scored just three runs in the previous 18 innings. Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez opened with singles and Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases. Nimmo and pinch-runner Starling Marte scored on a double by Harrison Bader.  Brett Baty was intentionally walked before Narváez, who entered after catcher Tomás Nido was pinch hit for in the eighth and singled on an 0-1 pitch.  It was the Mets' fifth walk-off win of the season.

The announced attendance was 41,016, the highest in all the games we attended this season.  The team was giving out a Hello Kitty Light up Bow Bobblehead doll.  Over the years we collected numerous bobbleheads and don't need another.  Years ago everyone attending got one, but now it is limited to the first 15,000 at the gates.  Thus, one must arrive two hours before the game and wait in line to get one.

I just can't understand why during the game people want to wait in line to get food and miss much of the game.  If I buy food I'll do it before the game starts.

Box Score

Mets Lose 7-2 in 10 Innings to the Giants as Edwin Diaz Blows Another Save

The Mets have lost five games in a row and 10 out of the last 12.  Starting pitcher Luis Severino held the Giants to one run and two hits in seven innings.  Home runs by Starlin Marte and Brett Baty gave the Mets and 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning.  Closer Edwin Diaz was brought in to close the door on the Giants, but he failed. Wilmer Flores singled on Díaz’s first pitch. Ryan McKenna pinch-ran for Flores and stole second with one out before Lamonte Wade singled to right to tie the game.  That was Diaz's fourth blown save.

Mike Yastrzemski capped a five-run 10th inning with a three-run triple as the Giants earned a 7-2 win over the skidding Mets.

We usually don't go to Saturday games, but we picked this game after one of the games in our plan was rained out earlier this season.  I picked the wrong game.

Game Recap

 

For Bob Dylan's 83rd Birthday - Dirt Road Blues

 

Dirt Road Blues was a cut on Time Out of Mind released in 1997.  I guess that on his birthday he will be walking on a dirt road near his home.  I always liked the guitar riff.  At age 83 Dylan is still touring.  There is a line in the song that is very relevant.

Dirt Road Blues

WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN

Gon’ walk down that dirt road, ’til someone lets me ride

Gon’ walk down that dirt road, ’til someone lets me ride

If I can’t find my baby, I’m gonna run away and hide

I been pacing around the room hoping maybe she’d come back

Pacing ’round the room hoping maybe she’d come back

Well, I been praying for salvation laying ’round in a one-room country shack

Gon’ walk down that dirt road until my eyes begin to bleed

Gon’ walk down that dirt road until my eyes begin to bleed

’Til there’s nothing left to see, ’til the chains have been shattered and I’ve been freed

I been lookin’ at my shadow, I been watching the colors up above

Lookin’ at my shadow, watching the colors up above

Rolling through the rain and hail, looking for the sunny side of love

Gon’ walk on down that dirt road ’til I’m right beside the sun

Gon’ walk on down until I’m right beside the sun

I’m gonna have to put up a barrier to keep myself away from everyone

Copyright © 1997 by Special Rider Music

Dylan rarely gives interviews and does not c communicate with his fans or scholars who study his works.

I Count My Blessings as I Don't Have to Cope with Commuting Delays to New Jersey

 

From 1992 to 2017 when I commuted from NYC to Newark from NYC I had to suffer through umpteen train delays.  I documented them on a separate commuting blog.  Sometimes the more things change, the more they remain the same.  Back then many delays were caused by downed wires.  This is what happened last night and this morning.  Amtrak is responsible for maintaining the right of way from NYC to Trenton, but NJ Transit trains are also affected. Why can't Amtrak get its act together after all these years?

Thank goodness, I am retired and don't have to cope with this.

Songs with the Same Title That are Almost Different - I Remember You - Frank Ifield and I'll Remember You Bob Dylan

 

Back in the day the late Bob Shannon on WCBS-FM had a feature "Songs with the same title that are different".  I just read that British singer  Frank Ifield passed away at age 86.  In the 1960s he had a hit called I Remember You.  Bob Dylan recorded I'll Remember You on his album Empire Burlesque.  The titles are almost different.

Tommy the Musical and the Nederlander Theater

 

Tommy, the rock opera, was originally an album released in 1969.  The rock opera was developed into other media, including a Seattle Opera production in 1971, an orchestral version by Lou Reizner in 1972, a film in 1975, and a Broadway musical in 1992.  The show I saw today was nominated for a Tony as Best Revival of a Musical.

The story of Tommy can be read in the Wikipedia entry.  After the show Lee and I went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Bicyclists Should Respect Pedestrians and Use Common Sense

 

I would like to add to an entry I wrote in November 2020 on bicycle safety November 2020 on bicycle safety.  Many bicyclists just don't know courtesy.  Yesterday I was walking along a narrow sidewalk and a bicycle just whizzed by me.  I yelled at home saying "You can say excuse me". but he didn't turn around.  This was an adult, not a kid.  A law in NYC states that anyone over 12 years old may not ride a bike on a sidewalk.  Obviously, it can not be enforced.  At times, I see adults riding bicycles in the garage area in my development.  They appear to be riding recreationally, not to get from point A to point B.  On Union Street in Flushing, there is a bike path but cyclists still ride on the sidewalk.  They rarely obey red lights and stop signs.

There is just nothing that can be done about this.  There cannot be a cop on every street.  I've read that the police have confiscated e-bikes that are ridden on sidewalks in downtown Flushing.

Talking Baseball at Caring Kind Today

 

CaringKind is New York City’s leading expert on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving.  Once a month I go with a group of members of the Casey Stengel Chapter of SABR to talk baseball with early-onset Alzheimer's patients.  This is part of SABR's Baseball Memories Project.

The Mets Beat the Braves 4-3 on a Brandon Nimmo Walk-Off Home Run

 

At the end of the seventh inning, the score was tied at 2-2. Marcell Ozuna's second tiebreaking single of the night gave the Braves a 3-2 lead in the eighth.  Jeff McNeil sparked a ninth-inning rally as he bunted for a single.  Tomas Nido then bunted him over to second.  I assumed that the Mets were playing for a tie.  Brandon Nimmo did not start the game since he had tweaked his intercostal -- a small but crucial midsection muscle -- in a loss to the Braves the day before.  He entered the game as a pinch runner in the seventh inning and then played left field.  When his turn to bat came up in the ninth with Nido on second, Nimmo hit a walk-off home run as seen above.

As the late Bob Murphy would say "Happy Recap".

Box Score

My Ways of Keeping Active in Retirement

 

I never dreamed of an active retirement, I actually planned for it before I made the life transition in 2018. It is hard to believe that it is over six years.  I was always interested in baseball, so I thought I would take this and other interests to a higher level.  I joined the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) and am now active in three endeavors:

1. Editing a newsletter for the local Casey Stengel Chapter
2. Indexing articles for the Baseball Index
3. Coordinating the fact-checking for the Games Project

I also attend more ball games now than I did before I retired.

I am more active in my Bob Dylan pursuits.  I started an online chat group that meets monthly and have taken two trips to Tulsa for a conference and to visit the Bob Dylan Center.

I do a lot more recreational reading than I did in the past.  If you see me on a park bench I will be reading, not staring out aimlessly into space.

The still have those crazy dreams about returning to work.  I can do without that.

Obscure Oldie of the Day - Down at Papa Joes by the Dixie Belles

 

I don't know why I thought of this song today.  I haven't heard it for years.  It reached #9 on the Billboard chart in 1963 and was played on WABC and WMCA back in the day.

The College Point Multiplex Will Close Permanently Today

On January 6, 2024, I reported in this journal about the demise of movie theaters in Queens.  Today is the last day for the College Point Multiplex.  Star Wars the Phantom Menace was the first movie I saw there in 1999 while Ghost Busters Frozen Empire was the last one I saw about a month ago.  I estimate that I saw 800-1000 movies there in its 25 years.  It was always nice to have a movie theater within walking distance of home, especially on a cold and rainy day when there was nothing else to do.

My major criticism is that they only featured the mass appeal movies that are appropriate for a younger audience.  Many Academy Award-winning films were never shown there.  Very often,  I had to travel to Manhattan or other parts of Queens to see an independent film that is suited for older adults.

Life goes on and in the future, I will have to go to Bayside or Fresh Meadows to see a movie.

 Noourulain Kawaja of NY1 reported on the closing of the theater.  A 30-year-old man she interviewed was heartbroken.  I had the pleasure of meeting her when she interviewed me for a story on the future of Whitestone Lanes.

I assume the theater owners will try to sell about 1000 seats in the 12 auditoriums in the complex.  Then the building will be torn down and replaced by a large warehouse.

 

Random Thoughts of the Day - May 6, 2024

On Saturday Lee and I drove from Flushing to Bayside to eat at Ben's Deli I saw five Amazon delivery vehicles.  My experience with deliveries from Amazon has usually been good, but I think they lost one of my deliveries.  I received an email stating it was delivered to my apartment.  I didn't get it.  I assume it was brought to the wrong apartment.  Hopefully, the neighbor who received it by mistake will bring it to my apartment. If not, I'll ask for a refund.

The dining room was almost empty when we went to Ben's on Saturday night at about 5 PM.  I hate to see that since as reported in this journal before so many Kosher Delis in Queens have closed over the years. If Ben's closes there will be none left.

My three SABR projects have kept me busy lately.

Tonight, I will juggle Jeopardy (regular show and Masters Tournament), the Knicks, and the Mets.  The post-season tournaments will last until June.  The more games they play, the more money they make.  Tickets at Madison Square Garden in the 200 level can cost $500.  There will always be a sellout.

 

There are Several Versions of Time is on My Side

 The Rolling Stones had the hit version of Time is on My Side in 1964, but there were other versions.  Kai Winding actually did the original.

I heard the Irma Thomas version several times years ago on WCBS-FM

Here is the hit version by the Rolling Stones

Irma Thomas joined the Rolling Stones at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

Mets 7 Cubs 6 in 11 Innings

I attended this afternoon's game as it was part of my 20-game plan.  It turned out to be Francisco Lindor to the rescue.  He left last night's game with flu-like symptoms and was not in the starting lineup.  The Mets fell behind 4-0 in the fifth inning.  Starting pitcher Adrian Houser was ineffective as he allowed those four runs with four hits and four walks.  The Mets got two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning but still trailed.  Lindor came in as a pinch-hitter for Joey Wendle and drove in two runs to make it 5-4. Two batters later Brandon Nimmo drove in the tieing run.  The score remained tied as the game went into extra innings.

The Cubs took the lead in the 11th with a double by Nick Madrigal.  In the bottom of the inning, Lindor came through again with a double plating the tieing and winning runs.

Duane Eddy Does Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice

 We found out yesterday that guitarist Duane Eddy passed away at age 86.  There is a detailed obituary in the New York Times that describes him as the guitarist who changed rock n roll.

He actually released an album called Duane Eddy Does Bob Dylan.  The only song that I found on YouTube was his version of Don't Think Twice.

For Judy Collins Birthday - Hard Lovin' Loser

 

Judy Collins has appeared several times in this journal.  I thought for her birthday I would post one of her lesser-known songs.  Hard Lovin' Loser was on her In My Life album released in 1967.  I vaguely remember that Murray the K played it when he was on WOR-FM.