Summer's Here!

It's 27 degrees out this morning, 37 degrees warmer than yesterday, a bit of a change.  I kind of liked it when it was so cold though I didn't really venture out side. Borland's SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS interestingly talked about the distinctive crunch of the snow when it gets really cold out and when Evie came in, she said how amazing the crunch of the snow was.  As usual, it's gray, not the amazing sunrise from yesterday morning, when the sky was clear, the air polar, the lake brilliant white.  Another day of sitting around, reading and watching TV, as I recuperate from my procedure.  I can start walking some on the treadmill on Thursday, and by the following Thursday I can resume all exercises.

Evie is off for the weekly shopping run...thank goodness I am staying home. She's hitting Bon Ton, Sam's, Wegman's and maybe Brigiotta's.  I am usually pretty good for two stops, but Bon Ton usually puts me over the top. I think it must be psychological because too much standing around as someone else shops puts me back in my childhood, as I sweated and became nauseous, as my mother shopped at a department store.  I am sure I was still bundled up in a winter coat and between that and the heat, I felt sick.  I still feel that way after more than a half hour or so at TJ's, especially if I am through looking at things.  Bizarre.

Reading Patty Smith's JUST KIDS, makes me want to wander the streets of New York, as she does in the late 60's, though it was more run down then, with large pockets of abandoned buildings and apartments, lots of street crime and drugs, much different from the affluent Manhattan of today.  It's amazing how poor she and Mapplethorpe were, rarely haven't enough money to feed themselves or pay for a room somewhere.  Somehow they managed to scrounge enough to get buy but forget visiting a doctor or going out to eat...a realistic picture that debunks the romance of the starving artist.  They were starving but the act of creation seemed to sustain them.  They ended up staying in the Chelsea Hotel, where they were able to meet fellow artists and this was the moment where both of their careers began to settle down.  This hotel is famous for the people who stayed there and they have tours of the rooms they used, artists like Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan.  It's still a functioning hotel, a block or so from Greenwich Village and relatively cheap, 140 for a double.  I have no idea what it's like inside  but I assume it's still bare boned and appeals to the young hungry for 60's memorabilia,