and in between we had a blast!

Morning all! Yesterday it really began to look like Fall. We woke up with the city shrouded in a bank of fog. Day temperatures are still in the mid-eighties, nevertheless, Mother Nature has laid down her ‘season-is-a-changing’ gauntlet. My morning coffee is the one steady continuum.

Pieter’s arrival – was Saturday. Catching up, Lunch with friends (more below) and then dinner at our favorite pub, Gordo’s pub grill. And here was a first since post-surgery; Marcia joined! When your favorite eating joint beckons there is no refusing!

Saturday was a lot of ‘down memory lane’. Pieter is assembling a video memoir and had a long list of places – our family home upon arrival in the ‘Nati, Our family home in Madeira. His in-laws’ home in Indian Hill. And while at it, by request, the house where Sandy grew up. The little church where Pieter and Jeannie were married is now falling apart.

          

Lunch with Art Rozzi – President of Arthur Rozzi Pyrotechnics, Pieter, and I and one other friend had lunch together. These guys had ‘hung’ since high school and needed to reconnect. During their college days they went out West and ended up talking for an hour with Herb Alpert in his office at A&M Records. What a lot of you don’t know is that Pieter hitchhiked to California to meet Alpert, and that he and friends, twice over, drove me to Calvin College. Driving in some quite decrepit cars. Best of all, they remember those events as the best of times.

By the way, it’s Rozzi’s company which from the beginning (47-years) has enabled the WEBN Riverfront fireworks show which pulls ½ million to the river. No small feat! Be sure to crank the volume up and go full screen:

FC Cincinnati – had a game that evening and I grabbed a couple of seats, it was a great game. Then wandered around all the eateries, funky shops, parks, and pubs, in the Over the Rhine part of town. With both a soccer and baseball game, plus it being a Saturday evening, the place was hopping and a hub-bub of activity. I’ve attached the small movie Pieter made of the evening.

OTR Live – is a Black-owned night club and concert venue, having hosted national acts like Drake, Lil Wayne, and Young Jeezy (none of whom I’d ever seen). Our walk to the bus stop had us pass by the place. Although dark, it was early enough so that the five front door bouncers were waiting for the crowd and just hanging about. Pieter and I are friendly guys and so us two geezer types, tall white guys, got to talking with them.

     

Soon we were invited to ‘partake’ in some Tequila as it was being passed around. Inside a couple of young ladies were warming up and showed us their excellent ‘twerking’ technique; out of courtesy we each bought a Bourbon. Upon leaving the Security guys said their goodbyes and invited us back anytime. It was all most excellent!

An Algorithm –   4-way X 2 + 3-way X 2 + 2x-Coneys = 2-lunches for 2 brothers. Pieter just had to do it and I wasn’t about to complain. Cincinnati’s own Skyline Chili, both on Sunday and Monday. It’s not just an acquired taste, it’s a craving.

The Reds – On Sunday Pieter and I were walking the riverfront area and parks. In the background we would hear occasional crowd noise, curiously we walked towards Great American Ball Park, and found ourselves at the ticket office. We asked for a pair of half game tickets (it was the beginning of the 6^th).

Right after we got into the stadium the Reds came from behind to take the lead. Aside from being the final Home Game of the regular season, Joey Votto probably played his last game as a Red (after 17 seasons). And we won. Now, I ask, how good does it 

get?

Marcia is healing  — and this week has taken a major step by pointing out to me a new movie listings from her weekly Esquire Theater update. The Esquire is our town’s oldest operating historic and independent Art House Movie theater.

Tomorrow it’s a very cool single showing and we are making plans to go out to see the slapstick comedy of Harold Lloyd in ‘SAFETY LAST’. It’s the 100^th (1923) Anniversary of this Silent Film classic.

An iconic movie which will include LIVE piano accompaniment by music historian Matt Tolentino – and as explained; “this is how the film was meant to be seen”. The top three ‘genius’ actors of the Silent Movie era were Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd was the third. Should be fun.

The Esquire – On the subject of The Esquire, it has shown monthly, since 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and this week at midnight the iconic horror/comedy film is being shown again. Always suggested is to come in costume, be ready to spritz water (rain), but NO tossing toilet paper, toast, rice, or confetti. It’s a time warp.

Years ago I saw it and am ready to experience it again, sometime, but not this week.

Make it a great week. Stay healthy, stay happy, stay grateful, and may Peace prevail!

Love to all. Dirk