© Frank H. Jump
Jersey City Diversity or Culture Wars? Loews Jersey & Stanley Theatres – Journal Square, PAVONIA! Avenue
© Frank H. Jump
These two historic theatres are within a block of each other.
Himalayas On New Year's Day with Rosario, Vincenzo & Friends – Tuesday, January 1, 2008
© Frank H. Jump
On New Year’s Day, after flying in from Ft. Lauderdale from a vacation visiting my family, my niece called me up and said, “Hey Uncle Frank, let’s go out tonight!” So we did. We saw a large assemblage of brass and woodwind players with an occasional accordion, electric guitar and homemade zen percussion called Himalayas. Four words described their music and performance: Joyous, polyrhythmic, pandiatonic, cacophony. The quote on the bass drum: An injury to one is an injury to all.
Peace
PS: I guess the secret’s out now, so that is Rosa’s new boyfriend – DJ Mathieu Schreyer in the background. Not quiet comfortable seeing paparazzi shots of her on websites, but it goes with the territory. Rosa is a really smart young woman and I’m sure she can handle the limelight by now. I’m still the proud and sometimes overly concerned Uncle.
Kurt Vonnegut On Suicide
The Biome’s Blog posted a piece about “who we lost in 2007.” Vonnegut was the image chosen. I wrote:
Funny you chose Vonnegut [in context with my last posting]. I was a huge fan growing up in the 70’s. Oddly enough, I got to meet him in a very intimate setting, his daughter Lily’s third birthday party. An ex-friend Janet and I were all dressed up for a formal party, so I was wearing a tux and she a gown. Janet used to babysit for Kurt and Jill (Krementz). When we got to the party, everyone got really quiet because Janet and I looked so good. My old friend Lou Miano (Larry Kramer fashioned the character Lou Marino “Anthony Montano” [thanks Larry for the correction!] after him for his biting and bridge-burning novel Faggots) was there and there was that “what are you doing here?” exchange of glances and then comments. Lou worked for a major advertising agency before getting fired, and later sued [and won according to Larry] for age discrimination.
Well, as soon as he could, Kurt came over to introduce himself and because of the way Janet and I were dressed, he assumed we were an engaged item. Kurt was also two-sheets to the wind with a few clothes-pins missing. So he took me outside to give me the fatherly talk. He told me what a good girl Janet was and how I needed to treat her right. Then almost immediately he told me that he was thinking of committing suicide.¹ I turned and without blinking an eye I said – “Well, you’ve been writing about it for years and with your family history, why haven’t you done it already?” He lit up a cigarette and told me sometimes suicide takes time. Then he laughed and said, “I was just trying to see if you read my stuff.” We (Janet and I) left shortly afterwards.
¹ According to Wikipedia: Vonnegut reportedly smoked Pall Mall cigarettes, unfiltered, which he claimed is a “classy way to commit suicide.”
