Sunday, May 29, 2011

Post Script

I have heard enough Death Cab for Cutie this weekend to last a lifetime.  Much like Foo Fighters a few weeks back they have dominated Alt Nation the better part of 4 weeks.  To promote their latest effort I sat through many, many tracks the past few days.  As with every trip to the Poconos there was plenty of car time.  And much like Death Cab's first single, I was very much a tourist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkk5wViJo-I.   For the record I cannot stand that song.   But like Black Keys "Tighten Up" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpaPBCBjSVc  I give it the benefit of the doubt because the video is so darn neat.  Here, Death Cab has created the first ever scripted, live video.  A total gimick and totally unnecessary.  I dig it anyway.  They thought of it first and backed it up with entertaining art.  Last I checked the closest art I created was starting a serious debate over how fair 3rd grade softball is.

They win.  Not that I am keeping score.  But now that you mention it...  how the hell can Ben Gibbard be married to Zooey Deschanel??  He is as geeky looking and awkward as I am.  And she is so darn cute.  Put (500) Days of Summer or even the dreadful Yes Man in front of me and watch as rationalize it as essential as GoodFellas.  And please don't confuse her with her sister from Bones.   Hell she even sang the "Cotton, the look, the fell,  the fabric of our lives" jingle.  Super hot.  And Gibbard goes all alt rock star on us and marries her.  Fail.  How does one do this rock star thing again?  Oh right, one must first possess musical ability.

Back to my tourist ways.  Funny as we took the trip to Bushkill Falls on Friday how I continue to take things for granted.  As the signs for the attraction became more obvious and my daughter was aware we were close her excitement was palpable.  "Is this really the Poconos?  I thought that was just a made up place." she said sheepishly.  We passed resorts and weird animal farms/make-shift zoos.  Volunteer fireman collected money with their hats.  Good, old fashioned American stuff.  Even drove by the resort we held our 8th grade retreat.  I remembered vividly the terribly inappropriate things I did at that retreat.  A good Catholic boy no less.

Then the Falls themself.  And it could not have played out better.  Easy, but scenic trails.  Climbing and walking, seeing and smiling.  The majestic Falls providing some cool relief on a sweltering day.  Pictures taken capturing a most successful, albeit cliched Jersey boy in the woods.  And now the little Jersey girl has a greater sense of nature and what good it can provide.  And like many things, I too have taken that for granted.

And I could go on and on about the goodness of family.  This weekend provided huge glimpses of how for the most part I am surrounded by people who genuinely care for others.  Mother in laws babysitting.  Children and grandchildren rallying for an ill loved one.  Group dinners and go-cart races.  Prepping for milestone birthday parties and for the most part, smiling, laughing.

And I could go on about how Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has the highest per capita of adults riding dirt bikes.  Or how I saw a man in his 50s walking Wyoming Ave wearing a battle helmet.  Maybe I could devote an entire post to ending up at Aurants in Duryea.  This restaurant is separate from the rest.  Get the joke?  No rest in restaurants.  I struggle to define that as either supremely cool or off the charts queer.

Either way the place, food and staff were very nice.  Good food and a nice pint.  Better yet they have the cool jukebox that lets you override what some lame-o wasted 10 bucks on.  As I asked the bartender if his machine had that feature "Wonderful Tonight" came on from Clapton.  Seriously?  Can I ask that a few songs never be paid for at public taverns.  Others include "Brown Eyed Girl", "Free Bird," "Stairway to Heaven."  The list goes on forever.

Imagine my glee when I jolted the subdued dinner crowd with Eels, and The National.  A few came back in to combat it, but they are no match for the "Play Next" feature.  I will spend the extra coin to prevent Peter Çetera or Roy Orbison.  It almost becomes a challenge after a while.  I see you making your way back from Table 10.  Save your money.  Tonight I am rockin the mike.  As we established earlier I can't play a lick...  but I will out spend you to play them.

The real beauty of Aurants is I think my wife was there years ago with her paramour.  I had never been in the building but she was having deja vu all again.  A little ironic and somehow super funny to me.

That wasn't the highlight either.  Neither was the entire Middleswarth BBQ Weekender bag I consumed over 2 days.  Or the box of Krimpets that accompanied them.

Why is it these products cannot travel 100 miles??  Although it is probably good they cannot.  I would probably be 3 bills by now.  And don't get me started on Morris County's inability to secure a Wegman's Supermarket.

I also find it compelling I am a bit unnerved/scared walking the streets of Wilkes-Barre.  Yet I walk in and around NYC without any fears.  Not good.

Back home, the coaches softball game and bbq were a treat as always.  I will ignore that some lucky clown robbed me at the wall with a Willie Mays circus catch.  Overall a fun time had by all.  I might try to throw that last line in every post from now on.  Thinking of going all high school newspaper on you.

The one thing that matters is surrounding me.  Settling in to a poorly made animated movie and healthy snacks.  We prepare to entertain guests tomorrow and hope for good things ahead, like most of us.  And for a moment there is optimism.

I indeed celebrate and admire our soldiers this weekend.  I also think fondly of my past, and at times memorialize it.  Some of that s&^* be crazy.  But it has brought me to this place...  to this moment.

And it might very well be getting better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t43VgJ4U9_Q  Brilliant


2 comments:

  1. Two Death Cab for Cutie songs played over and over by accident at a gathering at my house a few weeks ago. By the time I noticed and got up to deal with the ipod, they had played about 4 times. Now I can't stand them. We don't have a Wegman's either and I'm getting jealous of everyone who has one nearby.

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  2. As I sit here and type.. then hit the Delete button repeatedly.. I am still struggling how to find the right words.. but once again.. there may be no right way. Thank you. Thank you for being able to see things the way my eyes do. Glad you made it in :)

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