Michael Joe Armijo's Blog, page 33

Learning Never Ends

…that crazy quilt of a writer’s life;  warm enough, though it never quite covers the toes.--Andrew Sean Greer, LESS, a novel
It was fun spending time in New Mexico with mom and Ashley last week.  I'm working on a scrap book to include everything I have from that trip as a sort of a memoir book.  I already miss mom and Ashley.  I laughed at a letter Ashley wrote a few days later:

Dear Uncle Mike,
Can you please send my jacket and Grandma’s jacket to me?  She forgot it when she was ironing.  Thanks.  And Thank you for inviting us.
Love, Ashley
P.S.  Thank you for reminding me about my bathing suit.
And Dorothy Rua wrote with her latest scoop using an inviting scene of a picnic table under a shady tree.   It arrived the day after I returned from New Mexico.
8-25-93
Dear Michael,
If the mailman hasn’t delivered a card it only means I haven’t had a moment for myself.  It doesn’t mean you haven’t been on my mind.  You have.  You may even be in my thoughts more often than usual.
Would you like to join me for a relaxing glass of wine, sitting on one of these white chairs within the shad of an accommodating tree?   Listening to the slow moving stream nearby and catching up on what’s what.  Not quite as wonderful a setting as a white sandy beach with crashing waves, but it’d be great to visit with each other.
Speaking of visits, really wish I/we could have driven down the last weekend we spoke.  Alan’s step-dad party must have been a lot of fun.  I had dinner with Rosemarie that evening and she was definitely game.  She even gave me a tongue thrashing because I still haven’t come up with a way to work out a trip for us to go to Southern California.  I told her she just doesn’t want to ben an “old lady” when she finally gets to meet you guys!  Ha-ha!  Hell, I don’t blame her.  I’d like to have some energy/estrogen left in me if I hit the road for some fun!
Daily life goes on.  Family life remains stable and very busy.  Work continues to take up most of my time.  My manager’s position was eliminated and they moved him to fill another position in Foster City.  Officially, he’s still our manager but he really doesn’t have time for our department anymore.  I love not having him around; however, all of his regular job duties were dumped on me in addition to my own load.  I gave my two cents and he redistributed some of my regular work and (after much pressure) got me more money.  I like his work better than mine, but until I can get rid of more of my regular stuff I rarely get home before 8pm.
I haven’t had much luck findin a better place to spend my days and so far, most salaries are even worse so I have to win the LOTTO.  Or move to a quiet island and live off of the coconuts and the sea.  I hope you’d rent a canoe and visit me.  Miss you.
Love,
Dorothy
P.S.  Send me a card from Santa Fe and enjoy your trip.
I was busy getting back to the grind of work at CHARLES SCHWAB & CO.  Work had built-up and more new accounts were being opened this week.  It’s fun seeing the new faces. 
By the end of the week I received a sweet letter from Barbara Reynolds in Berkeley.   Her .15 cent stamp had the imprint ‘Learning Never Ends’ and I so loved seeing those three words.  It doesn’t end.  This is a very good thing.  It keeps my mind sharp.  I feel I am on this continuing adventure of non-stop learning. 

Barbara wrote:
31 August 1993
Dear Michael,
I love your EXERCISE STICKER.  Thanks.  That was sweet of you.  You are so thoughtful.  I appreciated your letter.  Wow!  London!  Gosh, I’d thought you’ve been to London before but this is GREAT!  And yes, you will get to theaters and museums.  I wish I could suggest everything I think you would like to see…so many museums.  The Victoria and Albert and The British Museum.  Theaters are so alive there (at least they were).  And I always make it back to Covent Garden and SoHo and the parks/gardens.
The condo thing is slow and discouraging at times but today is the full moon so just a wee bit intense.  I know thins will change and cooperate with me.  I still find it entertaining to go to Open Homes…so revealing.
Your movies list fits my interest and I do plan on seeing them all.  Las week I saw THE WEDDING BANQUET (which you must-see).  And ROAD SCHOLAR was one I really enjoyed.  My movie list is long now and I recently purchase my first VCR so have been checking out movies at the Berkeley Library regularly.  I wanted ROMAN HOLIDAY and DAYS OF HEAVEN and a film about Australia.
With this year getting wild beyond belief for me I’ve begun a series of journals—partly thanks to you.  I was finding just too many chaotic thoughts buzzing about my brain.  So…a moment of clarity showed me.  Yes, a journal is a good idea.  I remember how you were almost religious about your journal.  Every day and I believe it helpd you to feel good.  So I am on that road.  I also have a promise to myself to exercise every day after some PBS show discussed ‘The Quality of Movement’.
I am glad you mom is getting around.  I got a bit of Old Reality everyday from this job but next the vacation is coming.  Hoorah!  I will spend some time in Forestville…and relax!
I’m off for good nights and rest.  Later.
Love,
Barbara
And next week my adventure to New York City with Alan begins.  I can’t wait for that egg and bacon on a roll.  Yum-Yum.  There’s nothing like being in New York with a true “New Yorker”.  Alan is the one.  He is so direct and tells it like it should be.
It was his belief that you could talk your way into or out of anything and that if you were persistent enough, in the end people would just give in.
--Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone

CASA DE ARMIJO

She had loved to warble on about what she called her “sojourn” in New Mexico—wide horizons, empty skies, spiritual clarity. -–Donna Tartt, THE GOLDFINCH

Mom and Ashley arrived.  They flew from Oakland to stay in Los Angeles for a couple of days.   Ashley and Carrie had some play time.  We all went to the beach one day, too.  It was simply Southern California fun.  
It was also nice knowing that mom, Ashley and I had a new journey ahead with the New Mexico adventurous exploration.  Before we knew it our departure from LAX arrived on Friday night, August 20th.   We flew out around 6pm, arriving in Albuquerque at around 9:30pm.
August 20th:
I went to the HERTZ counter and ended up with a red-orange mustang.  It was nice since I was familiar with driving that car—even though I was driving a Celica now.   We drove out to Downtown Albuquerque on to 2ndStreet and Copper St to the La Posada de Albuquerque Hotel.  
We unpacked and settled in our room.  Ashley vanished periodically and I was running around the hotel trying to find her.  She was playing on the elevator and I scolded her.  I was so worried.  What if she had been kidnapped?   I had visions of JOHN WALSH and his son who was abducted in 1981 at a SEARS store in Hollywood, Florida.  I scolded Ashley and she started to cry. 
Then I hugged her and said, “It’s only because I love you.” 

That was a very dramatic moment for me but I chose to erase it and just move on to  having a pleasurable vacation.  We visited the Old Town area and it was fun to see the CASA DE ARMIJO inscription there.   We also saw that LUCERO (mom’s side) was one of the early settlor families from Spain on a beautiful mural. 
I liked the coziness of the La Posada de Albuquerque Hotel.  It was a little bit like going back-in-time.  The old wooden banister for the staircase is not something I see every day.  I loved the look of it. 
August 21st
We decide to have breakfast anywhere but at the hotel.  We found a sweet, local place called THE CATALINA.  It was perfect for our cravings.  I learned that Madonna was in New Mexico last year (1992) and that she ate at this very place.  I’m not sure if that is absolutely true but why would they make it up.  I know a lot of on-location filming is done here in NM.   It is said that the State of NM makes it easy for Hollywood to film here. I read three interesting timely  gossip articles in the local Albuquerque Journal newspaper:CLAUDIA SCHIFFER Super Model:  Model Caught Sunbathing
Pictures of supermodel Claudia Schiffer don't come cheap, but $10 Million?  Schiffer's New York agency told a German newspaper it will sue an Italian magazine for printing photos of Schiffer sunbathing topless."I was on the boat with mamma, my sister, Carolin, and singer, Peter Gabriel," the 22-year old German model said.  "We anchored off the coast and wanted to get some sun."LONI ANDERSON:  Actress wants $75,000 a Month Loni Anderson wants Burt Reynolds to pay her $75,000 a month and give her custody of their adopted son.  Neither showed up for their first court hearing Thursday, where divorce attorneys filed stacks of documents with cross0-accusations of deceit.  Another document submitted was a prenuptial agreement listing Reynold's pre-marriage net worth at $15.6Million.  Anderson's assets at $1.1 Million. LAWSUIT ON THE CHEAP "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" host, Robin Leach, sued THE GLOBE tabloid for $60 Million, claiming it invaded his privacy in a story that called him a sex-crazed cheapskate.The lawsuit filed Thursday concerns a May 11th story that ran under the headline ROBIN LEACH CAUGHT IN SEX PHOTO SCANDAL!  Secret Court Papers Bare Swinging Lifestyle He Hides From the World.  The story called Leach "randy" and a "tightwad".  
After breakfast mom, Ashley and I walked over to the NM Museum of Natural History.   After that we went over to the American International Rattlesnake Museum.   Who knew there was such a thing?  And yes…rattlesnakes were there (but luckily inside glass boxes). 
By noon we checked out of the La Posada and we drove around an area known as the ARMIJO VILLAGE and in and around the University of New Mexico.  We also stopped over to mom’s cousins’ house in Albuquerque.  Her name is Mabel Chavez.  She was welcoming and it was fun to see a local home (even if her place was pretty messy).   It’s funny how people accumulate so much clutter.  
By 2pm we were on the road via the Turquoise Trail and drove by small towns of Golden and Madrid.  Yes, there is a Madrid in New Mexico (as well as Spain).   My mom reminisced about how she would go to fiestas and dances in Madrid from her hometown of Cerrillos.   We got out in Madrid and checked out a few shops.  I bought a few cards.
We continued on to Cerrillos.  It was mom’s hometown.  We walked in through the cemetery.
I said, “I think this is the real American International Rattlesnake Museum!” 
Fortunately, we didn’t see any rattlesnakes in the cemetery but it seemed like a likely home for them.  There are so many gravestones with familial names.  Mom even recognized family members that she knew.  It was quite amazing to see.  There was a mass at 7PM at the local St. Francis Cathedral but we didn’t wait to go.   We continued on to dinner in Santa Fe and checked out the Indian Market in the Santa Fe Plaza.  Mom had family artists there, selling their hard work creations of fine arts.  We relaxed at our new pad:  the HOTEL SANTA FE.  It was an upgrade from the La Posada in Albuquerque. 

August 22nd  This hotel was much nicer so we chose to have breakfast here.   We enjoyed it by the pool.  Ashley even dived in for a brief swim.  

We looked up my dad’s half-sister, (Aunt Esther Garcia) and we went to visit her house in Santa Fe.  Her son, Jimmy Garcia, was there.  He’s a strange one (still living with his mother at the age of 39).  His has long hair, no job.  He has a daughter (Sabryna Garcia) but his one-time wife (Dolores Angel) never panned out very well.  


What happened to him?  I had a photo of him from St. Anthony’s School and his little boy image had surely changed.  I guess if one takes the wrong path or forms the wrong friendships a lot of derailment in life can happen.  One needs a purpose.  He certainly has not found his...yet.

We also went to see two of mom’s cousins:  Nea and Josie Romero (who happen to be sisters who—in fact—married two Romero brothers).  Nea and Josie’s maiden names were ARMIJO!  Wild fact since my mom married an Armijo.  It just so happens that my mom’s Aunt Justa married Diego Armijo.  Nea and Josie are two of their daughters.  They live right next door to each other in Santa Fe, so it was an easy ‘kill two birds with one stone’ visit.   They were so nice.  Nea’s voice as so scratchy and distinguished.   Ashley and I got a kick out of that. 
We shopped a bit in Santa Fe.  I couldn’t believe there was a WOOLWORTH store in the Plaza area.  We lounged a bit more at the HOTEL SANTA FE, then hit the high road to Taos.
We stopped in Dixon, NM where we spontaneously found the La Chiripada Winery.  We browsed the gift shop and took the wine price list. 

Our next stop was a Bed and Breakfast Inn called HACIENDA DEL SOL in Taos.  It was quaint.  We explored the Taos vicinity and did a bit of looking into the whereabouts of Mary Trujillo (a friend/relative of mom’s but we had no luck with that).  And we were tired from the journey, so we enjoyed the hotel and grabbed a bite at a local restaurant.  Taos is much smaller than Santa Fe but it has its own charm and such beautiful skies.

I remember about a decade or so ago my Uncle (and Godfather) E. Joe Armijo and his wife, my Aunt Lela, and their kids moved from Fremont to Taos.  My Aunt Lela couldn't take the transition.
"It was like going back in time," she said.
I can understand why she said that.  I found it charming but I could only see myself there for 3 or 4 day weekend myself.  And just imagine...it has a more of a life pulse than when she went there.  My dad wanted to retire in New Mexico.   Sadly, that day never came--however, he lived a good life (even if it was shortened at just 52 years of age).  I miss dad and our Alameda "Casa De Armijo" days.

August 23rd 
We found the perfect place for breakfast in the morning:  MICHAEL’S KITCHEN.
After breakfast we packed-up and realized there wasn’t much more to do in Taos so we headed back to Santa Fe at around 1pm, knowing we had one last night there at a place called INN ON THE ALAMEDA.   I figured it would be fun to stay there since we are from Alameda, California.  Ha-ha.   We checked-in to INN ON THE ALAMEDA at around 3pm.   We walked into town for dinner.   
I asked mom, “I don’t know what it is but I feel so ‘at home’ here.”Mom agreed.   I think Ashley had decided she had seen enough though.  Ha-ha.  And then, of course, I added, "Mom...I'm just glad you moved to California."

August 24 We checked-out of the INN ON THE ALAMEDA, leaving by 10am.  I returned the car at the Albuquerque Airport at around 11:30am.  We had time to browse shops and grab a bite at the airport as our flight back to Los Angeles was departing at 1pm.   We’d arrive at around 3pm and Alan was to pick us up.  All seemed to work out beautifully.   What a fun Southwestern trip!
It was his custom of a Sunday, when his meal was over, to sit close by the fire, a volume of some dry divinity on his reading desk, until the clock of the neighboring church rang out the hour of twelve, when he would go soberly and gratefully to bed. --Robert Louis Stevenson, THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

Room 500

The Arts:  Looking at pictures, listening to music were right to use ‘to interpret life to us, to console us, to sustain us’. -Kingsley Amis, THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER



Oh my!  Next week will be the arrival of mom and Ashley and the long-awaited trip to New Mexico.  I already have my FROMMER’s guide as I’ve been researching places to go and eat.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.   My favorite parts will be the spontaneous events that one never knows will happen.
Already is Alan anticipating my departure as he gave me a cool postcard of a photo taken by infamous photographer, Bruce Weber, in 1986 of the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio:  Eduardo and Bruno in Room 500:
Michael,
I wouldn’t mind being in that room with you but how about Room 4139 at the HILTON NYC in 1993?  I could go for more time spent in the room.  We have tickets for a SLOW THURSDAY night.  I’ll try to rent a car for Saturday for a day trip.  Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday…no interruptions please.  Winer and relaxation after the dinner at the Plaza.Love You,
Alan

(45 months…we need to celebrate 8/20/93).


The NM trip is relatively short.  Ashley, mom and I will arrive the Friday night of August 20th.  I’m sure Ashley will be exhausted and sleep well.  Then the worry is her energy the next day.

“Okay, let’s go, Uncle Mike!”  
Ha-ha…it’ll be fun to explore.  I’m ready for this adventure.  To feel the familial feeling in NM is worth it.

Barbara Reynolds sent a cool costume design for Harlequin from 1922, an artsy card by a Russian named Kasian Goleizovsky b. 1892 d. 1970:
12 August 1993
Mike,
Have you been as busy as I feel?  It is hard to find time to breathe.  I am wanting to move into a condo before Winter.  I got a bid in now, so hopefully soon.  I will advise with an address change.
I am still enjoying working with Joan Lyons…but again it is too busy at work.  I am getting more fit at the Y and I got to the DeYoung Museum last week to see TEOTIHUCAN, City of the Gods with Alice.  I also had a talk this week by two Budapest Goddesses in the workplace with Jennifer Peterson.  I talked to Kelly M. in San Diego a few weeks ago.  I hope all is very well.
Oh yes, I finally got a VCR and saw my DINNER WITH ANDRE.   It seems different now…but very enjoyable.
With Love,
Barbara
Nor must I delay too long to bring my writing to an end; for if my narrative has hitherto escaped destruction, it has been by a combination of great prudence and great good luck.
Robert Louis Stevenson,
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A Cactus Flower

Informal dress means standard trousers with a sea island cotton shirt in white or dark blue, black casuals or sandals. –THE BOOK OF BOND by Lt. Col. William Tanner
The countdown begins as I anticipate that trip to New Mexico with mom and Ashley to New Mexico.  I already have the hotel reservations and the itinerary for Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos.  I’m very excited.  We will also visit mom’s old hometown known as Cerrillos, NM.  There’s a little antique shop there that has been in business for 30 years known as THE WHAT NOT SHOP.  Maybe I’ll find some fun knick-knacks there.   I am looking forward to that drive along the Turquoise Trail.
There is such history in the Southwest.  I have even learned of interesting history from my mom’s hometown. 
Cerrillos was once seriously considered as the capitol on NM.  The mining district is one of the oldest and most marked of the old Spanish Mineral Developments in the territory. 

Turquoise mined in Cerrillos found its way to the crown jewels of SPAIN.   The town was host to many famous people like Theodore Roosevelt, Lew Wallace and Thomas A Edison.
Twenty-one saloons and four hotels were busy in Cerrillos in the 1800s.
Native American Indians worked the nearby Cerrillos mines before the coming of the white men.  Many millions in gold were taken from the place mines in the 1800s.  Rich deposits of lead, zine and silver were mined at the Mina del Tiro, the oldest ore mine in the USA. 
Ashley wrote me again.  I like that she is taking time to read, write letters and do things during the summer.  She’ll really enjoy the Southwestern trip soon.  She even showed off her artistic ability of ‘A CACTUS FLOWER’.  I love it so much!  She mentioned new outfits.  I guess I must figure out what I’m going to wear as well…something informal but dressy.
August 10, 1993
Dear Uncle Mike,
How are you?  I’m fine.
I miss you a lot.  I am still saving money.  I have $43.30.
Here is a picture of a cactus flower.  Is it good? 
I just finished a book called MYSTERY AT LILAC INN. 
I got three new outfits for L.A.
Camping was fun.  We got to go swimming every day.
How is Carrie, Lauren and Alan? 
I woke up at 4:30AM!  So, I should be tired.
Well, that’s all.  Bye.  Love, Ashley
P.S.  I LOVE YOU

The plan is for mom and Ashley to arrive to Marina Del Rey.  Ashley will spend a little time with Carrie.  I’ll drive them around in my white Celica.  Then mom, Ashley and I will depart via LAX to Albuquerque on Friday, August 20th at around 6pm and arrive in NM around 9:30pm where I will get the Hertz rental car and drive to downtown Albuquerque where we will stay at LA POSADA DE ALBUQUERQUE Hotel.  We will be right near the Old Town.  Exciting!  I’m ready to explore during this adventure.
“You stay too much indoors,” said the lawyer, “You should be out, whipping up the circulation.”
--Robert Louis Stevenson,
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A Summer Letter

Sometimes, unexpectedly, grief pounded over me in waves that left me gasping; and when the waves washed back, I found myself looking out over a brackish wreck which was illumined in a light so lucid, so heartsick and empty, that I could hardly remember that the world had ever been anything but dead.

--Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch, Pulitzer-Prize Winning novel
Alan sent me a series of ten postcards from The Church of the Holy Sepluchre in JERUSALEM.  I saw the words ‘Holy Sepluchre’ and thought of my Dad who is buried at the ‘Holy Sepluchre’ cemetery in Hayward, CA.  I decided to send the collection of cards to my mom.  I thought she’d appreciate it (and maybe it will encourage her to write to me on one of those cards, Ha-ha).  Odd how two words (Holy Sepluchre) can make one feel unexpected grief.
It’s the end of July and I was in the mood to send ‘A Summer Letter’ to Paloma in the South of France.  And so, here is what was on my mind as I wrote these words:
July 30, 1993
Dear Paloma,
Thank you for your recent card.  I have been lazy and busy—just like you!  I have even been doing my 90-minute aerobics tape for the last six days in a row!  Hurrah!
Alan went on a tour to ISRAEL from July 3rd to July 15th.  Then he and his two daughters, mom and stepdad all went to PARIS from July 15th to July 20th.  They had a great time.  Now I want to go to France again.  Boo Hoo!  By just hearing about all your visitors it makes me envious.  Oh well, on August 20thI’ll be flying to Albuquerque, New Mexico and on to Santa Fe, NM and Taos, NM with my mom.  That should be fun.  My niece, Ashley, is going, too. 
Then, I am going to New York City again from September 1stto September 6th.  I’m looking forward to that also.
I have heard of that French Restaurant in Berkeley called CHEZ PANISSE.  I’ve always wanted to go but I have never been there.  I guess I should go the next time I am in the Bay Area, right?
Did I tell you we gave my grandmother (my mom’s mom) a surprise 80th Birthday Party?  She was so surprised.  It was so much fun.  Her Birthday was on July 10th(born in 1913). 
There is not much else to tell you except that I have been working (as usual) and seeing movies (as usual) and eating and simply being happy.   I look forward to going out to a nice dinner with you again.  Till the next time…

Love You, Michael
P.S.  Don’t you love that GRACE KELLY stamp?
A couple of days later I received ‘A Summer Letter’ from my niece, Ashley.  It was a beautifully handwritten letter.  I love it when she writes to me.  I had to laugh out loud when she mentioned that card game, I taught her called ‘steal the pile’.   I am looking forward to exploring New Mexico soon with her and mom.
July 31, 1993
9:33PMDear Uncle Mike,

How are you?  I am fine.  I miss you.  Today I went to the library and got six books called SIXTH GRADE SECRETS, THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL (Hardy Boys), THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW, SKY PHANTOM (Nancy Drew), WITCH TREE SYMBOL (Nancy Drew)( and MATILDA. 
Today we went swimming.  Grandma did not call that day.
Thank you for the recent dollar.
Guess what?  My Grandma and Leigh are playing STEAL THE PILE!  Remember?  
I will be extra good this summer.  I promise.
Here is a bookmark I made.  Do you like reading?  Your Loving Niece,

Ashley
“It’s so heartbreaking and unnecessary how we lose things.   I guess that anything we manage to save from history is a miracle.”
-Donna Tartt, THE GOLDFINCH, Pulitzer-Prize winning novel

It's What Life Is About

I begin to reflect more seriously than ever before on the issues and possibilities of my double existence. –Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


Four more cards from Alan this week.  It’s becoming quite fun to open the mailbox and find his words waiting for me after work.  Three were postmarked from PARIS.  The other was in an envelope, dated July 20th:


The Monaco Postcard
Michael,
We’re LUCKY.  We drove safely.  Remember that great meal and the lousy casino and how ‘good and skinny’ we looked?  It all comes back to YOU when I’m here:  GALLERIES LAFAYETTE, the crowds, the wine and bread, the romance, the love, the memories which I’ll always cherish.  It’s what life is about.
Love ME, Alan.


The Paris Café Postcard


Michael,
Those two seats at the neighborhood Brasserie are waiting for YOU and ME.  As you remember, Paris Is just perfect for YOU and ME.  Without you it’s empty and without romance which I miss.  It’s a ‘growth stage’ sort of thing. 


500 Steps to the Top of Notre Dame was great; tomorrow the castles.


I hope you’re ready to go somewhere with me.
Love,
Alan


The Artfully Picasso Postcard



Michael,
Remember when? 


Oh how I would love to find a Tossa De Mar Card…


-Paris Dinner at La Boccador:  EXCELLENT
-Notre Dame: GREAT
-Louvre:  KIDS WERE TIRED
-Picasso Museum:  Barcelona is better.
-Discovered a new TEA ROOM
-Chocolate Croissants, ham on French Bread, espresso, bakeries, food-food-food!
-Avenue St. Michel:  Waiting for you
-I Love You.
I Love You,  Alan

L’Homme (Man Looking in Mirror), 1990 Card by Rob Lang


July 20, 1993
Michael,

This is what I was imagining on all of my flights home.  I wasn’t disappointed.
You look better than him.  There is so much to say…but most important:
Happy Anniversary #44.
I forgot to give you this present.
I Love You,
Alan


It’s a summer day and I want to be wanted more than anything in the world.
--Frank O’Hara

It's Changed The World

We can remain at some distance from every character in a work of literature and still identify with the work itself, inhabit it as a part of reality.---Kingsley Amis, THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER
Wow!  Alan sent me a collection of about of about five different postcards from ISRAEL today.   I believe he is heading to France thereafter, so I’m hoping for some Paris cards soon.  Here are the cool cards and words he sent this week:


This is a summary of ISRAEL:
1.       Lauren – Evan ‘first love’ forever as they cried parting.
2.       Susan and Gary Leo, hugging good-bye at a kibbutz as she left for POLAND.
3.       Food = HORRIBLE!  Only two good meals.
4.       ART…two paintings and a sculpture
5.       Holy Wall is very spiritual, impossible to describe
6.       Black Sea is therapeutic
7.       Blue Bus/Red Bus and all of the Tech Group…will describe later. 
Alan




Michael,
Soldiers are carrying their guns even when off-duty.  Yesterday, we passed two bomb scares and platoons of soldiers all about 12-18 years old.  War and Army is an accepted way of life.  I finally took a nap today but without my gun.
Tonight is a barbeque and music.
Lauren’s Bat Mitzvah was beautiful and she did GREAT.
Love,
Alan






This is the last night.
ISRAEL in a word: The Wailing Wall and What it Means.
Historic sights that are difficult to comprehend.
Being Jewish and the pride you feel when being here.
The safety is the cities while at eh same time the accepted fact of death by the armed forces.
Love,
Alan






This memorial is the most touching and effective exhibit you can imagine.   When you walk in, you see all of these pictures and points of light reflected off of hundreds of mirros with a reading of names of children that were killed one-by-one.  Do you know how many Jews were wiped-out by Hilter in each of Europe’s countries?  It’s changed the world.
Love,
Alan






Michael,
This is located behind the walled city on the Jewish side.  You can see the Roman Columns that were excavated.  The history is mind-boggling. 

We went shopping on the Jewish side of the Walled City.
We then had a barbeque dinner with Israeli dancers.
Susan and Sam leave for POLAND tomorrow.
See you in a week.
Love,
Alan


I didn’t know my teeth could chatter—I could be cold—without it even being cold.
--Samantha Lucero,
LET THE DEVIL WEAR BLACK, a novel

Mind-Boggling

“Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and most remarkable race which has appeared in the world.”— Winston S. Churchill
July 8th:  Alan sent another card from Israel as did Gloria and Jack.  I loved seeing bits and pieces of their trip.   Unfortunately, I had to work; whereby, I couldn’t go.   It was also more of thing where I’m not so sure I would’ve been invited.  Who knows?   I’m just being hard on myself an wishing I was there.
Hi…
It’s a hectic trip.  On the go all of the time.  Interesting—but tiring.  The food leaves much to be desired, so we will probably come home…skinny? 
Lauren has a new boyfriend but don’t let her know I told you!
Love Always, Gloria and Jack
Michael,
This grotto is located on the Lebanon border with Israel.  We have to go there someday.  Pure relaxation in the ancient city of AKKO.  It’s beautiful.  Find out how much AMI (American Medical) was bought out for.  Dinner at the home of an Israeli family tonight was enlightening.
Love, A-
July 11th :  Two more postcards written by Alan on this day, especially for me…
Michael,
Jerusalem is like no other experience I’ve ever had.  It’s difficult to explain being at the most religious place in the world, feeling the way I do.  You must come back with me.  It’s over 5,000 years old and praying at the Holy Wall (Wall of 2nd Synagogue) is mystical, hopeful, energetic and magical to me. 
Food stinks. 
Next year in Jerusalem (?).
Love,
Alan
Michael,
This is a major business center on the Mediterranean Sea.  I love the fire red sunsets and the clarity of the FULL MOON.  The food and shopping are mediocre…but the sights and the people are impressive. 
The three largest cities in Israel are TEL AVIV, Jerusalem and Haifa.  The real estate market is quite strong and you get about 2.64 Schekls to a dollar.
Love,
Alan
P.S.  Only 12 more nights…When you receive this it will be less.
July 12th:  Three postcards written by Alan today and one postcard written for me by Alan’s mom, Gloria…
Michael,

I look better than him.  We stopped at the DEAD SEA.  I had a mud bath, a mineral bath and a massage.  It felt great and it put me totally in the mood.  You know the DEAD SEA has so much salt and minerals.  It even cures psoriasis.  It’s north going to the DEAD SEA…Love, Alan Michael,
You see the HOLY WALL.  It’s in the Jewish Quarter and it is the number one place to pray in the world.  I’ve been there three times so far and it feels great.  It’s an experience to remember.  Today , we go toward the Old City and I saw Jesus’ Tomb in Jerusalem.  The history is mind-boggling. Love You so so Much, ALAN Michael, Today we went to MASADA, a city high up in the mountains where the Romans killed hundreds of Jews.  Very exciting and HOT…it’s in the middle of the desert.  It was great talking to you and Art today.  I hope your three drinks didn’t lead to any good times for him. Enough of Carol and Herb… Love, Alan Hi, You really have to visit Jerusalem.  The history here looks like a “MOVIE SET” and you feel suspended in time.  Food is NOT good! Love Always, Gloria and Jack July 13th:   And to close the week…a beautiful postcard from Paloma in Agde, France… Dear Michael, Sorry I haven’t written in so long, but I’ve been so busy.  Last week, Lisa’s best-friend (when I was living in Berkeley) came to visit us for a few days (her name is Leyna).  Right now, Jean’s niece, (Jean was the owner of the Montessori School I worked for, remember?), Unmi and her boyfriend, Duane Foster (he is a pretty well-known painter, he says).  At least he sells his painting and does shows.  I like what he paints.  She is a chef so she is cooking us some great little dinners.  She is going to work at CHEZ PANISSE, the great restaurant in Berkeley.  They’re leaving on the 15th; then Alexandre’s cousin is coming; them my dad on the 20th; then Coco and her mom and her kids from the 10th of August to the 20th; then my brother…I’m dead! We took Unmi and Duane to LA TABLE D’EMILIE.  They liked it a lot. How are you?  It seems like I’m not the only lazy one at least!  Miss you. Love, Paloma "L'œuvre d'art, c'est une idée qu'on exagère." A work of art is an idea that someone exaggerates. -- André Gide















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































ook better than him.  We stopped at the DEAD SEA.  I had a mud bath, a mineral bath and a massage.  It felt great and it put me totally in the mood.  You know the DEAD SEA has so much salt and minerals.  It even cures psoriasis.  It’s north going to the DEAD SEA…Love, Alan
Michael,
You see the HOLY WALL.  It’s in the Jewish Quarter and it is the number one place to pray in the world.  I’ve been there three times so far and it feels great.  It’s an experience to remember.  Today , we go toward the Old City and I saw Jesus’ Tomb in Jerusalem.  The history is mind-boggling.
Love You so so Much, ALAN
Michael,
Today we went to MASADA, a city high up in the mountains where the Romans killed hundreds of Jews.  Very exciting and HOT…it’s in the middle of the desert. 
It was great talking to you and Art today.  I hope your three drinks didn’t lead to any good times for him.
Enough of Carol and Herb…
Love,
Alan
Hi,
You really have to visit Jerusalem.  The history here looks like a “MOVIE SET” and you feel suspended in time.  Food is NOT good!
Love Always,
Gloria and Jack
July 13th:   And to close the week…a beautiful postcard from Paloma in Agde, France…
Dear Michael,
Sorry I haven’t written in so long, but I’ve been so busy.  Last week, Lisa’s best-friend (when I was living in Berkeley) came to visit us for a few days (her name is Leyna). 
Right now, Jean’s niece, (Jean was the owner of the Montessori School I worked for, remember?), Unmi and her boyfriend, Duane Foster (he is a pretty well-known painter, he says).  At least he sells his painting and does shows.  I like what he paints.  She is a chef so she is cooking us some great little dinners.  She is going to work at CHEZ PANISSE, the great restaurant in Berkeley.  They’re leaving on the 15th; then Alexandre’s cousin is coming; them my dad on the 20th; then Coco and her mom and her kids from the 10th of August to the 20th; then my brother…I’m dead!
We took Unmi and Duane to LA TABLE D’EMILIE.  They liked it a lot.
How are you?  It seems like I’m not the only lazy one at least!  Miss you.
Love,
Paloma
"L'œuvre d'art, c'est une idée qu'on exagère."
A work of art is an idea that someone exaggerates.
- André Gide

Pretty Smile

I force a smile, feeling like somebody who’s never smiled before.  It hurts to smile.  I don’t want to. ---Samantha Lucero, Let The Devil Wear Black, a novel
Leave it to Paloma to remind me to see a movie on dinosaurs.  She also crafted a unique plant on her word processor for me to enhance her stationery.
Dear Michael,
See…I can make some nice drawings too!  That’s one of Jonathan’s favorite games now.  He loves to play with the computer.
Did I tell you we took him to see JURASSIC PARK?  He wanted to go.  Have you seen it?  He was pretty scared.  Well, in fact he spent half of the movie 2ith my hand on his eyes.  We don’t have the picture of a dinosaur in our computer.  Too bad!
So...you are planning to go to London.  You’ve already been, right?  What is that you like in London?  It’s going to be cold in February.  I like the States way better than England.  I often have English customers.  I don’t understand them as well as Americans.  In fact, last summer I even hired an English girl called Samantha.  Aren’t English people a little bit cold?  I know it’s kind of stupid to say that.  You’ve got everything everywhere.  In fact I’ve been to London four times and every time I had a great time (especially for shopping).  That was a long time ago.
I’m sending you three pictures we took last summer.  On two of them you can see me.  I’m sure you knew.  I’m with Unmi and Duane.  Remember I told you about them:  the Chef and the Painter from San Francisco.  And on the last one may be you will recognize Jonathan in the back on the left.  On his right you can see Gary which is Caroline’s son (one of her two sons, the older one.  You remember Caroline, right?  You went to her wedding and the two little ones are Giulia and Enzo (Coco’s children).  Coco is Caroline’s sister, remember?  Coco spent her holidays here with her mom and the three kids.  That was fun.  We all went to the beach which is right under our building (also with my mom and my brother, Edouard).  The picture was taken under our apartment.
Did I tell you that I have a motorcycle now?  I’m getting old and I don’t remember much.  I sometimes repeat myself (but we’re the same age, right?).  I’m just planning to use it at summertime to avoid traffic jams.  Jonathan is crazy about it.  He just lost one tooth in the front—that’s so funny.  I now call him “Pretty Smile”.  The other day a little girl bumped into him, he had a black eye.   Without his took and the black eye he really looked like he had just been boxing.  I am sure you’ve already lived things kike that with you nieces…maybe less now that you are in Los Angeles.  Don’t you miss them?
Well, I have to go now.  So..til next time!
Love, Paloma
Alan sent me a cool quad of postcards from his trip to Israel.  I’m wondering what course he plans to take at UCLA.  And I am really wondering what he plans to paint.
July 3, 1993
Michael,
Today:  1.  Walking town of walled city; history of Jerusalem.  2. Lunch at a View Restaurant = Excellent! 3. Tour of Yas Vashem, the memorial to the six million Jews exterminated in WWII.  4. Tour of Art Galleries (alone), Great!  I miss you.  I’ve decided to take a course at UCLA, get wealthy and start to paint.
Love, Alan
July 4, 1993
9:30PM  (2:30PM L.A. Time)
Michael,
Tel Aviv, ISRAEL looks like any cosmopolitan city.  We ate dinner and now all of us are going to the Main Street to walk and have a cappuccino.   It’s the equivalent of the 3rdStreet Promenade.
Love, Alan
The best card Alan sent me from Israel was a Black and White photograph by George Rodger of the Sahara in 1957 (the year my parents got married):

July 5, 1993
Dear Michael,
I’m sitting on the bus listening to AS TEARS GO BY for the 20th time and thinking about you. 
This morning I went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea at 5:30AM.  The water was 80 degrees and beautiful.  We spent this morning in a museum which teaches Jewish History.  It had replicas of Old Synagogues from all over the world.  The weather is very HOT.  It is 12:50PM (5:50AM L.A. on Monday).  I’m missing you! 
Tel Aviv was like an Israeli Paris or Riviera City (not like Tossa De Mar, Spain though). 
As you know, the Jewish people are quite handsome.  You’d love the guys.  I’m having a great time but am also lonely.  I’ve spent my time with Gloria, Jack, Sam, Miriam and Susan.  I think Gary Leo is getting jealous but hopefully he’ll marry her!  I wish. 
I’ve lost two pounds in two days because the food is at best mediocre.  I’ve eaten a lot of salad and fruits.
So far—no stock tips.  Tonight we’re staying on a KIBBUTZ (near Syria).  The most amazing part of Tel Aviv is total absence of police or army.  It is a completely safe city with virtually no crime.  Kids stay out alone and are not afraid. 
Carrie and Lauren miss you and keep asking about you.
I hope you’re being good!
This card clearly shows Israel even though its not the desert and palm trees it is HOT.  You’d love the heat.  That’s all for now.  I’ll talk to you later.  By the way 2.60 shekl = $1.00 dollar and the hotel last night had CNN.
Love, Alan
July 6, 1993, 10:30PM
Michael,
It’s HOT…like Las Vegas or Palm Springs in the summer.  Today I
1.       Spent half of the day in Golan Heights, near Syria and learned History of the Israeli Wars
2.       Spent half of the day canoeing down the Jordan River
I’ll be easy tomorrow.  Only ‘14’ more days to go.  Love, Alan

And Alan’s mom, Gloria, also sent me a postcard from Israel.  How sweet is that?

July 6, 1993

Hi Sweetheart,
It’s so HOT here and it saps your energy.  We are having a History lesson on the History of the Jews in the Holy Land.  Today we went to runs that date back to 1500 B.C. 
Miss You,  Love, Gloria and Jack
Alan wrote a postcard to my mother, using the BUTTERFIELDS, West Hollywood postcard:
Dear Virginia,
CONGRATULATIONS on the closing of your townhouse.  I’ve enclosed some postcards from Jerusalem.  I think you’ll like them. 
See you in August.
Love, Alan
P.S.  I heard you liked GEOFFREY’s in Malibu and the coffee at IL FORNAIO in Venice.  I’m sure Michael has some more planned for August in Santa Fe.
I look forward to Alan’s return.  I miss his pretty smile.


Memories are forever.  Some memories are bolder than scars.
--Samantha Lucero, Let The Devil Wear Black, a novel

Toning-Up

…And then there was this pest of a girl.  He sighed.
Women were for recreation.  On a job, they got in the way and fogged things up with sex and hurt feelings and all the emotional baggage they carried around.  One had to look out for them and take care of them.
“Bitch,” said James Bond.
--The James Bond Dossier by Kingsley Amis
Funny how Alan wrote out this postcard for me this week, using a photo taken by renown photographer, Herb Ritts, in 1990 while in Mexico.   The image is of a gay couple that became famous on OPRAH back in 1989 (Bob Paris and Rod Jackson).  I still remember that Bob Paris was my age (born in 1959) and I thought he was always too bulky ‘big’…but such is the life of a bodybuilder.  
In the July 1989 issue of IRONMAN, Bob Paris came out in the media as a gay man. He was the world's first male professional athlete, in any sport, to come out in the media while still an active competitor in his sport.  The same year, Paris appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" discussing marriage and being gay. Oprah asked Paris, "Bob, why not just stay in the closet?" Paris explained how "you fall in love" and that it doesn't feel right to hide it. Paris and his former boyfriend, Rod Jackson, became symbols for gay marriage and advocated gay rights. Paris's career ended up suffering because he came out as gay; he claims his life was even threatened through mail and by phone.  Paris lost about 80% of his bookings and endorsements for bodybuilding.  He retired from bodybuilding in 1991.
After seven years of being together, Paris and Jackson split up. Paris admits that he kept trying to keep his relationship going even when he knew better; Paris felt that he would be giving gays a bad image if he and Jackson broke up.
In 2012, Paris explained on his website that he never wanted to be a "lifestyle bodybuilder." Paris enjoyed the discipline and focus bodybuilding engendered; he also simply just excelled at the sport.  To Paris, Bodybuilding allowed him to be artistic and a jock all at once, and also bodybuilding allowed him to exert his physical presence to the world in a way that demonstrated that he was a man. Today Paris is still active in fitness but not as serious as he once was. Paris believes exercise is part of having a more fulfilling life.  Paris saw himself more as a writer over anything else. However, Paris believes bodybuilding saved his life and structured him to be the man he is today. 
Today, Paris lives with his spouse, Brian LeFurgey, on an island near Vancouver, British Columbia. Together since 1996, Bob and Brian were legally married in British Columbia after the province equalized the marriage laws in 2003.
Paloma always told me, “Short men should never get into body building.”
I’m not short but I was always more into ‘toning-up’ versus ‘bulking-up’. 
Alan wrote on the back of the sexy postcard:

6/27
Michael,
I Love You.  This reminds me of a bathroom I know very well. 
Thanks for the cassette tape of music.
And especially FOR YU…there  is not song that has been written that I can describe how I really feel.  Maybe Leonard Cohen’s song comes closest.
Love,
Alan
I believe Alan was referring to the song by Leonard Cohen called I’M YOUR MAN.   I must listen to it again.   Ah, I must listen to more Leonard Cohen.  His lyrics are significant in many ways for various reasons.
“This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled.  But there are moments when we can... reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that's what I mean by 'Hallelujah’.”
--Leonard Cohen