I've decided to run down to Carnegie Hall tonight to try and get a ticket to see Sangam: Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain, & Eric Harland. By the time I had heard of the event, which is part of the JVC Jazz Festival and should be a memorable experience, the only seats they had were in the very back...and I just don't do seats in the very back. So, even though I don't believe in luck...around 7:45pm Eastern Standard, cross your fingers, toss pepper or say a prayer that someone will have a seat for me, way up front.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Luck Wanted
I've decided to run down to Carnegie Hall tonight to try and get a ticket to see Sangam: Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain, & Eric Harland. By the time I had heard of the event, which is part of the JVC Jazz Festival and should be a memorable experience, the only seats they had were in the very back...and I just don't do seats in the very back. So, even though I don't believe in luck...around 7:45pm Eastern Standard, cross your fingers, toss pepper or say a prayer that someone will have a seat for me, way up front.
Santa Cruz Boardwalk Photo Booth
Me with roommate & her friend. I loved that black leather jacket, it was eventually stolen from the front seat of my unlocked '64 Dodge Dart.
If found. please return.
Quote
"Finally Beiderbecke took out a silver cornet. He put it to his lips and blew a phrase. The sound came out like a girl saying 'yes'."
-- Eddie Condon
The Second City
David's from Chicago, my parents met there, and, before being born in New York City, I was actually conceived there. My father was also a founding member of The Second City Theatre Company. Here's a picture of Annie pointing out her grandpa's name in front of the club last summer.
I wish they could have known each other.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Weight of It
My husband David was a fat kid. The kind of kid that was teased mercilessly at school and who, to this day, remembers every harsh and cruel word that was inflicted upon him because of the size of his body. I’ve heard too many of his sad stories not to feel compelled to send a letter to Annie’s school today concerning the systematic weighing of children. But don’t feel bad for Dave, even before he blossomed into the hunk he is today, he still had a way with the ladies. Proof of it here at a visit to the Playboy Club in Chicago.
Janet Aravena
Principal
P.S. 187
June 21, 2006
Dear Ms. Aravena,
My daughter Annie Kosh came home Tuesday and shared some disturbing information. She said that the children in her class had their height checked and their weight taken and that the scale was in full view of all the kids in the class. The women who took the information told each child the results in a voice that could be heard by others. Annie said that it made several kids uncomfortable and one, in particular, who was relentlessly teased by his classmates, was left in tears. Annie is a “normal” weight, that is, when she stands on a scale, the number is “acceptable.” However, this is not true for all children, and as you know, the stigma attached to being overweight can be deeply painful, damaging a child’s self-esteem for years to come. In lieu of that, a child’s height and weight should be taken discreetly and with respect. I urge you to make sure that this happens in the future. I'm certain you'd agree, P.S. 187 should not only be a place that educates, it should also be a place where the privacy, dignity and psychological well-being of all your students are fiercely protected.
Sincerely,
Katie Bowen-Kosh
Student: Annie Kosh Class 3-309
Quote
"Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth." - Katherine Mansfield
Quote
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."
--Mark Twain
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
On High
One piece of music that is so deserving of being replayed, revisited and rediscovered, is “My Favorite Things” by John Coltrane-McCoy Tyner on piano, recorded October 21, 1960.It’s on my car stereo as I drive through the city, the volume higher than it should be, but not high enough. It’s before sunset-the light makes its way over the buildings and lands forcefully across the architecture of Fifth Avenue.
The music reaches in and grabs at joy, brings it to the surface, and everything everywhere is just the way it should be. Faces smile on street corners, and I can’t help but laugh. At the absurdity of my sorrow, and at the understanding I am on a ride-in this moment, in this music, and I let it take me because I have no other choice.
That glorious New York sun climbs further still-over rooftops as if to say it hasn’t forgotten us, hidden in this city cocoon. The piano slams and my smile bursts. My hands on the wheel, I move forward but have no control. The music blends with the sunlight and the tears come.
The sadness and the bliss, and the desire to touch it all at once. I want to swallow it, climb it, inside that horn-rough, smooth, raw, hollow, thick and screaming. Like silk and gravel in a space with no net, but with an abundance of faith.
The song and the city are the same-not a man, not a voice, not an expression or interpretation. It’s an awakening and a rest-a ferocious kiss and a gentle touch. It speaks like rain and like rocks, and it is a language I know, because I wrote it myself.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Funked Up
As challenging as it is, I am committed to keeping Oakley on a diet that resembles that of a horse in the wild. The majority of owners in the U.S. regularly bombard their horses with a "De-worming" substance to prevent parasites, but unfortunately the stuff is toxic, and in my opinion it weakens the body's natural ability to fight disease. My alternative of choice is an herbal de-wormer, the main ingredients being clove and garlic. This is Oakley's reaction following a dose of the nasty stuff. Sorry Oak, but Mama knows best.
Quote
"The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing."
--Oscar Wilde
Letter From the Road 1990
Here's a letter my father sent me from the set of, "What About Bob?" Initially he had a pretty big part, but later the movie was restructured in a way that unfortunately left most of his scenes on the cutting room floor. In the letter he talks about Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Reiner driving up from L.A. to San Francisco in the 1960s to see him perform with the improvisation company, The Committee. Click to read, if you can. (His handwriting was slightly wild.) And yes, you read it right, "Puppy toes..." just one of several creative nicknames.
Make My Day
The other day Annie walked in and saw this picture on my desk. She held it up to me and said, "Where did you go today?" I said, "What do you mean?" She said, "Where did you go today and take this picture?" I grabbed her and gave her a big hug. Although it's not a great photo, and I do look slightly haggard, it was taken in Spain...20 years ago. Works for me.
Uncomfortable Love
David and I are brushing our teeth together, David is bent over the sink.
Me: "Do you love me so much you can't stand it?
David: "I do."
Me: "Then why are you standing?"
David: "I'm not, I'm leaning. And my legs hurt."
Quote
“Sometimes only one person is missing and the whole world seems depopulated.”-- Alphonse de Lamartine
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Happy Father's Day
An Untitled Poem by David Kosh, December 1997Annie, Annie,
Girl on fire,
Voice volume rising higher and higher.
All we want, us, Mom and Dad,
All we desire,
Is peace on earth,
The baby to tire.
Just a little snooze, a snore,
A deep, deep sigh,
Anything besides that awful cry!
Sleep, baby, sleep,
Let us, Mom and Dad,
Fall
In a heap,
Upon the bed,
Nearly dead,
Eyes so red,
With weariness and love.
Love, love, love,
Annie, Annie, Turtle Dove.
Kvetch and moan and poop and pee,
You are ours and yours are we.
Perfect angel, devil, too,
Jesus Christ, man, do we love you!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Today, 1928
She is my mother, my friend and my gentle guide.
Happy Birthday Mom, thank you...thank you...thank you.
Quote
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. ...no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.”--Paulo Coelho
Postcard From an Atheist 1991
Here's a postcard my father sent to David when my parents were out in L.A. for a couple of months.
"...Mom and I think about you and Kate, and we love you, and if it were possible, we would pray for you..."
Today, 1932
June 16th 1932, Mae West leaves New York for California to make her first film, Night After Night. West had become a hit stage actress, famous for her racy roles in controversial productions. In 1927, she spent 10 days in jail for obscenity, after the court condemned the scandalous content of "Sex," a Broadway play about a gigolo that she wrote, produced, and directed. West became one of the most highly paid women in Hollywood.
Dwell
New Yorkers, including myself, like to see how other New Yorkers live, so here's a peek into one room in my friend Marcia's apartment. She lives two buidlings down and I just love spending time there.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Quote
“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.”
--Henri Nouwen
Lisa
Punk Love
When I was eighteen, I went to see The Police in concert at The Variety Arts Theatre in Los Angeles. I was standing next to a hard core, but very attractive punk rocker--blonde spiked hair, tattoos, leather, the whole nine yards. After the second song, we looked at each other and started kissing. We kissed throughout the entire show and never said a word.
When the concert ended we both smiled, turned, and went our separate ways. It was sweet.
This is not him in the photo, but it may as well be.
Secret...
One night, when I was a little girl, it snowed in San Francisco. All the kids in the neighborhood ran outside to play but it frightened me so I stayed in my room.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Happy Birthday Doc Cheatham
I'll never forget waking up on Sunday mornings to go see Doc play his horn at Sweet Basil on Seventh Avenue South and Bleecker Street. Pure joy.
1987
This picture was taken in Santa Cruz in the back yard of a house I shared with two friends (not pictured). I think we were having a party of some sort, and I think it was right before I went to join Aaron in Mexico. That's me in the middle (I've since lost the chubby cheeks), the child in front of me is Molly Tabler, a daughter of friends. I don't recall the names or faces of the others but I do, however, remember the Hawaiian shorts I was wearing. They belonged to my roommate Caroline and oh how I coveted them.
Saturday Night
My nephew Jack spent the night with us on Saturday, so, instead of getting a babysitter for date night, David & I decided to take the kids along. Not very romantic, but it was fun. Click on pictures to see them.
Annie & Jack on the 181st Street station escalator. (We're at the tip of Manhattan so it's a long way down to get to the train.)
Buddy, can you spare a Game Boy?
Annie & Jack on the 181st Street station escalator. (We're at the tip of Manhattan so it's a long way down to get to the train.)
Buddy, can you spare a Game Boy?
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