Designer

……………..Since it’s the end of the summer I thought I’d tell some summertime stories…….Jac and I rented a house on Fire Island for quite a few years………For those of you who don’t know….Fire island is a 32 mile long strip of land, and one half mile wide off the coast of Long Island on the Atlantic Ocean….It is a barrier island in the Great South Bay, and over the years has protected Long Island from massive erosion…It is know for it’s miles of peaceful pristine beaches, with fine sand, which are some of the best in the world!….It’s also know for its’ centuries old maritime forests where deer abound….It has a laid back vibe during the day, and a vibrant scene at night…..You have to take a ferry to get there……There are no cars, and we had our little red wagon hitched up by the dock so we could haul our bags and groceries to the house on the beach, which was at the far end of the community…The house was a beauty….Very modern with a beautiful pool on the beach…..There are many different communities along the island, 17 in all….all on the beach, separated by a few miles of empty dunes, trees and underbrush……..We always took a long lease until February 15th……We actually loved it best after Labor Day when most renters were gone…..The weather was still perfect, and cool enough in the evening to start up our wood burning stove…..The beaches were empty and we always took a week off from work to be there by ourselves…taking long walks….We decided to give it up after the house was literally picked up and moved to the mainland after one terrible hurricane when many houses were destroyed………….Those years on Fire Island were……….the best of times.

………………………Now this is a Holiday everyone can celebrate and be happy for!!!!…….For all the people that work everyday to keep this country moving!…..Happy Labor Day!

………………..Last night I invited my friend and trainer of 21 years, and his girlfriend, Veronica, to come over for the inauguration of the firepit…….There was an orange moon, and it was the perfect evening for an outdoors fire. We had red wine, and listened to wonderful music…….mostly Chris Botti. The tide was coming in so the water looked beautiful……Times like this, around a fire, are all about conversation, and I enjoyed learning about Veronica…….It was a perfect night.

……………….If you don’t know EVA, or have never heard of her…..allow me to introduce you to this…..”SONGBIRD”………Eva Cassidy is by far one of my very favorite singers of all time!!! She has a VERY diverse repertoire of music, which I love. However, she refused to be pigeonholed into one category of music, so she had a difficult time with record companies who didn’t know how to brand her…….She sang…..jazz….blues….folk….gospel and pop….all magnificently…..She unfortunately produced few albums, but all that she did make are SUPERB!!!!……I love them all and listen to them all the time……One of my favorites is called “SONGBIRD”…….The songs on the album are “FIELDS OF GOLD”…”WADE IN THE WATER”…”AUTUMN LEAVES”…”WAYFARING STRANGER”….”PEOPLE GET READY”….”OH, HAD I A GOLDEN THREAD”…an incredible rendition of “OVER THE RAINBOW”, and two that always remind me of Jac…..”TIME IS A HEALER”….and……I KNOW YOU BY HEART”………Her music, her VOICE transcends, and she has gotten me through some tough times…….Ava, at the age of 33 developed melanoma that spread to her bones and she passed away in 1996……but….she left us so many riches with her music!….Her music became more popular after her death. I hope she knows in Heaven how much she is loved……..If you don’t know Eva….if you haven’t heard her incredible voice……listen to her……….she’s just wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

………………..Last night I went to see…..OPPENHEIMER…….Movies like this are very rare these days! ……The director, Christopher Nolan did a brilliant job of bringing this man’s story to the big screen. I could easily understand why actors love working with him…..He brings out the best in them!…..and this cast was SUPERB!!……Start with Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer…BRILLIANT……then add Robert Downey Jr….BRILLIANT….I think it was his best work since he played Charlie Chaplain, and I would be willing to bet he would agree!….Matt Damon….Emily Blunt….Florence Pugh…..Rami Malek…..Josh Hartnett….Casey Affleck….and Jack Quaid [meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s son], all fantastic…..plus MANY many more brilliant performances that made up this stellar cast…..Some were so good they will be taken for granted……For sure it’s a long movie, but I was NEVER bored or fidgety….One medium sized bag of popcorn and a large diet coke did the trick!….I was shocked that there were only FOUR of us in the theater for the 6pm show, and when we left there were very very few people in the lobby…….I think there will be many award nominations for this film including Best Picture, Best Director, and for Cillian Murphy as best actor……It would not surprise if Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for best supporting actor……So many performances deserve accolades!…….This is a movie that should not be missed! I learned so much about the man and the times he lived in!….It’s a MASTER CLASS IN HISTORY!!……..More than a FIVE STAR MOVIE!