List #5: 12 Things I'm Either Trying for the First Time or Returning to After a Long While in 2024
I'm 53. Set in my ways like my ways were long-ago-dried concrete. I love my life, and I'm used to what I do. It's not to say I am in a strict routine... every day can be a little different, but it's with well worn things like "seeing friends," "watching bands play," "engaging in silly discussions," "watching bad sports teams," "shtupping the missus," or "blogging at Gheorghe." Some more than others.
So what am I toying with adding to the repertoire this year?
So far the comments have been mostly positive, or not terribly negative. Worth keeping it going.
2. Yoga.
Elaine had a 2023 New Year's Resolution to do yoga most days a week for 30 days. She did it all year long, loves it, and is still rolling. She almost always does hot yoga. Like really hot, from what it sounds like. It may kill me, but I've liked the yoga we've done at home so maybe I'll get hot. Maybe I won't die.
3. Drinking coffee.
So if I haven't for all my adult life, why would I?
Well, truth be told, I always enjoyed an Irish coffee. And in recent weeks, I've had a couple of medium roast cups with extra cream. No sugar. Pretty good! (It's missing the Jamo, but I guess that's best on weekdays.)
4. Improv.
There's a comedy troupe/theater a few blocks away. Been meaning to try it out for a while. Recently a woman I know did the 6-week Improv class and enjoyed it immensely. I figure if she can, then this old class clown oughta dust off the comedy boots. Right? I'm signed up for a one-off class next week as a starter.
5. Standup comedy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's a huuuuuge difference between taking an improv class and getting on a stage to do standup. So yeah, I may chicken out. but I've been working on a little material like I might. We are friends with a couple of folks who do it regularly. Mayyybe....
6. Going to Red Rocks for a show.
It's on my list. I've been to lost of venues around the country and beyond. It's time. I've even been there during the day when you can come and go (and exercise, which I did not). I gotta go. August features back to back nights with The Head and the Heart one show and the Revivalists and Spoon the next. Perchance...
7. Bonobos Extra Stretch Travel Jeans
I've been a Levi's guy forever. And ever. And then I read something about a different approach. And then I moved in with someone who chuckles at and challenges my fashion. She gave me Bonobos for Christmas. (In blue. Baby steps.) Z was right. Not bad.
8. Learning to play piano.
I know how to play guitar, ever since I was 28 and got lessons. I mean, I know a little, and baby I can guess the rest. I play quite badly, as Dave and Rootsy can attest. But I can play. I have played mandolin and bajo ukulele on songs I recorded. And drums. And keys. All pretty much faking it all the way, a note here and there, a chord here and there, a beat here and there.
But piano would be a nice thing to learn at my advanced age. My grandfather played his Steinway grand by ear. It was so much fun. We have a stand-up that's on the first floor. My daughters never really take to it through the years. I think it'd be nice for someone to play it.
9. Screenwriting.
We discuss this here from time to time. Dave and I wrote a trio of movie scripts in 1998-2002. He read all the books, taught me what I needed to know, and we used now-archaic technology to so-write remotely. Our last one we co-wrote when he was in Syria.
Our former beach now mountain buddy Bruce is writing a script based on Squeeze, and I have been his mentor. You know, the guy who couldn't get a screenplay made. Doesn't matter -- creative outlets are too few and far between. Let's do this. His incorporates a lot of the band Squeeze into it, and it's great to see his passion. It makes me want to do much more. We shall see...
10. Less drinking and more working out.
Guess how much I weigh? I'm in lousy shape. I need to follow some of the lessons you all have taught herein and get my poundage back down to appropriate. I've been working out a bit this year. Needs... more work...
Drinking really works against that. And I do love it. The social component of it thrills me. But it makes every tomorrow harder. Phew. One to grow on.
11. Another tattoo.
I last got inked on in April 1997. Aspen, CO. Dave got one as well. They were Seuss-themed. Good fun.
Seems like that's enough time to find my essence and go back for #6.
12. Getting hitched.
I don't love the "whatever I did before" thoughts and chatter, much as I have it coming. I just know one thing: You only need one chance to get it right. For the first time. I love her and our life together. And it's time.
Here's to new adventures and more lists ahead of me!
List #3: 12 Outcomes of My Sports Rooting Interests Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Losing, Because That's What Every Team I Root For Does
It's become a Day 12 classic to review the sporting teams for whom I cheer and how bad they've been for yet another year. (That's lyrical.) 2023 was impressively more of the same. Let's dig in!
1. Washington Commanders. Oh how I root, root, root for the home team. If they don't win, it's the same. But they won their first 2 games! They were 3-3, then 4-5, then lost 8 straight. Whooooooa. I took the missus to the Bears game at FedEx for her birthday. (I mean, the Bears were 0-4.) Washington went down 27-3 by halftime. Lost 40-20. Next year I'll just take her to Applebee's and leave her there for that kind of disappointment.
Final Record: 4-13, last place
2. New York Mets. As Timmy chronicled, the Mets not only could have been contenders in 2023, they
were Vegas favorites. And then... it all broke down. Old guys looked decrepit, young guys looked lost. Veterans traded. Manager fired. Team rebuilt. I gave my nephew a Mets Verlander jersey shirt for Christmas 2022. I hope he actually wore it before he gave it to Goodwill. Stink.
Final Record: 75-87, 4th place
3. William & Mary Men's Basketball. Ah, the Fighting Wrens. The miles-long legacy of losing has entered a new, weird, post-Shaver era of crud. Add in the portal problems that a team of WandM's stature bring... oy. Lost our last game of the season, 94-46. Stank.
Final Record: 13-20, 8th place
4. William & Mary Football. We were ranked 5th preseason! We finished tied for 6th... in the conference. After a 4-0 start, the Tribe dropped 5 of 7. Stunk.
Final Record: 6-5, 6th place
5. University of South Carolina Football. Now here's some real football -- the SEC! After a banner 2022 (beat Tennessee and Clemson!), the Gamecocks were poised to make some moves. Downward, as it turned out. I went to the Florida game; the Cocks were up 10 with 5:00 to play, and the Willy B was rocking. They lost, 41-39. Eh. at least I got to hang with Mark and Greg and Marls.
Final Record: 5-7, 4th place in the East, no bowl
6. University of South Carolina Women's Basketball. At least we can count on Dawn Staley and Gamecocks hoops, right? Well... despite an amazing season, when the hopes are this high, nothing less than the mountaintop feels right. The ladies lost to Iowa in the semis, who lost to LSU in the finals. Bummer.
Final Record: 36-1
7. Washington Wizards. If there's one forever terrible team, it's the Wiz. Les Boulez. I started rooting for the Bullets when I moved to Arlington in November 1993. Since then, they have a 41.6% winning percentage overall. Only seven (7) of 31 seasons have seen them sport a year-end winning percentage north of .500. Seven! Finished first in their division once. Once! For two-thirds of that time, the division has only had 5 teams. Come on. Never made it past the semis. In a generation-plus. Egads. They are currently perched at 9-37 in perhaps the 15th rebuild of the last 31 years.
Final Record: 35-47, 4th place
8. Washington Capitals. I am a part-time hockey/Caps fan, but enjoyed when they were great. Especially their Stanley Cup run and the parade afterwards.
Final Record: 35-37-10, 6th place
8b. Norfolk Admirals. Fun to attend. A win would be nice.
Final Record: 21-46-5
9. US Rugby. The Rugby World Cup was held in France. Big doings. Exciting. Couldn't wait to see how we'd do. The US did not qualify.
Final Record: N/A
10. Scotland Rugby. We went to Edinburgh! As you know! Scotland v Ireland! Super fun, no matter what. But let's get a win!
Final Result: Ireland 22, Scotland 7
11. Leicester City FC. Did I mention I finally starting rooting for a Premier League team?? Leicester, for obvious reasons. Yes! Oh... I guess I'm not longer rooting for a Premier League team.
Final Record: 9W, 7D, 22L, Fucking relegated
Pretty terrible. Up and down, top to bottom terrible.
And it would all drive me deep into sports depression and malaise... except for 2 amazing things!
Number one... Daniel Snyder sold the Washington Commanders!!! Unreal. The deep exhale cannot be overstated. He has taken us to Hell for 25 years. It finally happened.
rob gave me one of these
Also...
12. Norfolk Tides. Hallelujah part 2. The AAA Tides were the Mets' farm team for 37 years, but now they're part of the Orioles organization, which for some years has been a curse. With the O's ascending against all expectation over the last couple of years, though, so did the Tides. I attended 7 games last year, several businessperson's specials and a few night games to include playoff games. Super exciting for just a few bucks. (plus beers.)
List #2: 12 Places I Visited in 2023... and My Favorite Movie That Was Filmed in Each
Ah, to reminisce about last year... now that we're nearly into February! Well, in 2023 I was graced with the privilege of a bit of travel, both domestic and abroad. I saw the world, and the world saw me. One of us was impressed.
To have walked the streets with familiar backdrops to fine cinema! And lowbrow comedies! How does it all synch up?
Here are a dozen of the places I journeyed last year, as paired with the corresponding film location, ordered from least favorite movie to most beloved.
[Note: I have never seen Nights in Rodanthe, which is apparently pretty much the only movie filmed in the Outer Banks. A shame, since Dave and I wrote a screenplay 22 years ago that was set in Kill Devil Hills. Called Kill Devil Hills. Still available for you would-be filmmakers!]
12. Columbia, SC - The Waterboy (1998)
Visited my girls at the original USC a few times last year. Always a blast. But I never could stand the one-joke pony of Bobby Boucher.
Down East
11. Boothbay Harbor, ME - Little Children (2006)
Went to see my mom and stepdad in Vacationland. The Pine Tree State. Down East. And the site where some of this adaptation of a Tom Perrotta novel was shot. My trip was more memorable.
10. Delray Beach, FL - Body Heat (1981)
Went to see my dad and stepmom in the Sunshine State. The Alligator State. Or, as Patton Oswalt quipped in the ridiculous bit below... well, just listen to it. (Not at work.) Jimmy Buffett's Frank took his gal Lola this movie called Body Heat, she said, "The Junior Mints were mushy and the sex was neat." Decent song. Decent movie. Kathleen Turner's sexiest work.
9. Saratoga Springs, NY - The Other Guys (2010)
I thought this film would be lousy. It totally surprised me - way better than expected. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and Steve Coogan and good, solid, silly comedy. I'd see it again. I thought this town... well, I didn't know what to expect when I went to my cousin's wedding in November. It was a fun town I'd like to see again. During race season.
8. New Orleans, LA - The Big Easy (1986)
My favorite American town. Got to visit twice in '23, once for work, and once because I have a super sweet missus who likes Jason Isbell's music. I'll be back in '24, Good lord willin' and the levees hold. This film is good fun with the right NOLA flair. Lots of people can't get past Dennis Quaid and his Hollywood Cajun (awww, chere). I can.
7. Chicago, IL - Next of Kin (1989)
Great town, even in January. Saw Bulls/Warriors. Curry! Green! Thompson! LaVine! Vučević! Great film, even though I haven't seen it in many years. Swayze! Neeson! Hunt! Paxton! Stiller! I need to go find that movie.
Name the album cover
6. Barcelona, Spain - The Bourne Identity (2002)
This is a film I have seen many times, and I'm still a sucker for it. This is a town that I have been to once, last spring to see my daughter... and must get back there when I can. Holy cow, what a cool place.
5. Washington, DC - No Way Out (1987)
I always love getting back to the nation's capital, especially my old haunts downtown. And I still enjoy flipping this movie on -- it's got excellent shots of 1980's downtown DC, including a crazy scene on the Whitehurst Freeway. And a bit of a twist, nyet?
4. Edinburgh, Scotland - Trainspotting (1996)
A Baker Street's dozen (Gerry Rafferty is Scottish!) of us took Scotland by storm last March for a Six Nations rugby match. 'Twas glorious. The Scots were wonderful, as always, even if Renton told us they were all colonized by English wankers. Such a fine film, with a soundtrack worth puppin' on anon. Such a perfect day...
3. Austin, TX - Dazed and Confused (1993)
Catch me on a different day, and this movie could notch the top spot. It's just right, well beyond Wooderson and O'Bannion. Slater, Donnie, and Mitchy Mitchy Mitchy good, Darla, Carl, and Clint bad. Yes. Austin, Texas was all new to me, but it was good fun, great brisket, and as for music... we're talkin' some fuckin' muscle. I'd like to get back there again soon.
2. Providence, RI - Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Catch me on many days, and this movie was in the top spot. I enjoyed the camaraderie I've derived from it with rob and others even more than the film. Meanwhile, Prov-town crossed my radar due to a deposition the missus had there, so I put 2 and 2 together and tagged along. Great town! A New England treasure these days, as opposed to its mobbed-up grime of a generation ago. I'm talking about a little place called... Providence.
1. Amagansett, NY - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Meet me in Montauk. My uncle spends his summer days up there, and he and my aunt hosted a family reunion in July. Antics ensued, as they always do. Like me being publicly weighed, challenged against my beefy young cousin. Despite that, there isn't a moment from the weekend or a member of the family I'd like to forget. Speaking of which, this is probably my favorite movie of all time. I saw it in the theater in Georgetown 20 years ago, and I distinctly remember thinking, "I hope this isn't the end. I hope there's more. I love this fucking thing."
Here's to a dozen more places to go, many more people to meet, and film locations to coincide.
List #1: 12 Episodes of Television to Stream and How to Stream Them (Today)
I've read more than a couple articles lately about the "state of television" and how it's changed considerably since... 2001? Boy, does that make me feel just ancient. Think about how TV was in 1983!
Yes, it's a whole new world out there for you living room escapists. New Netflix series come out every hour on the hour now, and anything you catch live or nearly live on (wave the cane) cable or (seem hip but you're not really a cable-cutter) YouTube TV can be streamed separately soon thereafter. It's all there for you, just waiting with the kimono open for all to see.
What do you want to watch?
Sure, you can watch a new series -- scan through Rotten Tomatoes or listen to a relative tell you what they just binged their way through. (Nota Bene: mind the trepidation with that latter methodology. I am still... still... STILL taking heat for my fervent to quite fervent recommendation of the film 12 Monkeys, which I had recently seen in the theater. In 1995.
12 Monkeys!!! Day 12!!! Have one!!!
Anywho... given that you can watch just about anything, please keep that in kind. Most any movie or television awaits you. Choose more wisely. And like Travis Kelce, go deep. Deep into the archives of cinéma du screen grand et petite.
You can watch the finest television shows ever recorded. Or some that are simply unique moments in TV history. Or just fun for me to remember! Think about it. But where to begin, Whitney?
How about 12 episodes with my stamp of approval?
Giddyup. In no order.
1. Miami Vice - "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" - Season 2, Episode 4, October 18, 1985
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
Bad-assed story of a cop named Hank from years back who put his all into the job, got beaten by a messed up system and completely lost his shit. He's back in town and Crockett and Tubbs have to deal with his antics. Bruce McGill, whom you know formally as Daniel Simpson "D-" Day (whereabouts unknown), plays the cracked up cop to a T, and the story gets thicker and dicier as it goes on. Watch it. A gripper.
2. Taxi - "Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey" - Season 2, Episode 3, September 25, 1979
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
The entire episode is worthy and a hoot. Danny DeVito's curmudgeonly Louie DePalma enjoys a goofball when the good Reverend Jim sneaks it in his coffee. Hoodtop songs ensue. And the scene from the DMV when Jim can't figure out what a certain traffic light means... well, I can't tell you how many times I have watched this one on repeat. Just. So. Brilliant. Watch it. (It's often unavailable, so watch it now before it's gone.)
3. The Twilight Zone - "Time Enough At Last" - Season 1, Episode 8, November 20, 1959
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
Check out Burgess Meredith pre-Mickey, pre-Penguin. He's an odd bookworm guy. He's Dave. He just wants time to read. And then gets it. Watch it. Whoa.
4. The Young Ones - "Bambi" - Season 2, Episode 1, May 8, 1984
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV for $2
Swerving out of classic TV to cult classic idiocy, if you have any itch for farcically destructive British comedy and/or early 80's Brit-rock but haven't watched The Young Ones, treat yo self. Enter with zero expectations except for a wild ride. See Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, and others before they were anyone to watch. Make fun of Rik. And Neil. And Vyvyan. But never cool guy Mike. Watch it.
5. NewsRadio - "Complaint Box" - Season 3, Episode 14 - January 29, 1997
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV for $1
A highly underrated show, there are plenty of episodes that showcase the strong writing and the silly antics of post-KITH Dave Foley, pre-extreme Joe Rogan, preposterous Andy Dick, and, of course, the inimitable Phil Hartman as Bill McNeal. 2nd pick was "Movie Star" with James Caan. Watch them.
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show - "Chuckles Bites the Dust" - Season 6, Episode 7 - October 25, 1975
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
Ask anyone about the best episodes on TV history, this one comes up. It's a fantastic first glimpse of this star-studded cast (Judge Smails, Capt. Stubing, Lou Grant, and Betty White!) and the silliness of WJM-TV. I won't spoil the catch phrase of this episode, but it's a good one. Watch it.
7. The X-Files - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" - Season 3, Episode 4 - October 13, 1995
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
The X-Files episodes were divided down the middle -- the conspiracy theory myth arc ones that built a storyline over a decade, or the "Monster of the Week" ones that were standalone fun. I saw most every show 25 years ago, and I prefer the latter. This one, guest starring Peter Boyle as a psychic who could foresee people's demises, was a great one in the pure vein of this terrific show. A different episode that wholly goes against the X-Files grain for some Mulder & Scully fun was "Bad Blood." Watch them.
8. M*A*S*H - "Abyssinia, Henry" - Season 3, Episode 24 - March 18, 1975
Currently available on Hulu
A classic episode that fans of the show will know by name, this one occurred when actor McLean Stevenson thought maybe it was his building star power that helped make the show a hit, rather than vice versa. (He would later say what a mistake that was.) They wrote Henry Blake off, as they would Wayne Rogers' Trapper John directly after. As opposed to the Trapper saga, Hawkeye does get to say goodbye to Lt. Col. Henry Blake. They all do. It's bittersweet and must-see until the end. Watch it.
9. The Muppet Show - "Harry Belafonte" - Season 3, Episode 14 - February 19, 1979
Currently available on Disney+
Want to feel some utter loving joy? Want to see Harry Belafonte croon "Day-O" for the first time on television? Want to see muppet silliness, funny side stories, enjoyable songs, and just goodness abound from the Henson world? Watch it. (The John Cleese episode ain't bad, either.)
10. All in the Family - "Draft Dodger" - Season 7, Episode 15 - December 25, 1976
Currently available on Amazon Prime Video (free)
On Christmas Day in the 200th year of our nation's existence, CBS and AITF gave us a fierce, family-style look at Vietnam and the damage it did back home... Archie Bunker style. Everyone says watch the Sammy Davis episode, and you should, but this is a slow burn sitcom episode. Watch it.
Oh, but for the very best scene I can ever recall from any AITF, watch this!
11. Quantum Leap -"The Leap Home, Parts I & II" - Season 3, Episodes 1 / 2 - September 28 / October 5, 1990
Currently available on Peacock
Sam Beckett, scientist traveling through time and inhabiting bodies to try to right historical wrongs. Cool concept, well executed for its day. Rob and I enjoyed in our Williamsburg summers. But what if he leapt into his own body? Whoa. Great two-parter. Tear-jerker. Watch it.
12. Cheers - "Pick a Con Any Con" - Season 1, Episode 19 - February 24, 1983
Currently available on Hulu and Paramount+
What, you thought I wouldn't include Cheers? Come now. It's rather hard to pick my favorite episode of my favorite show of all time. For now, I'll go with this suggestion, though there are truly dozens. ("Thanksgiving Orphans is a close second.") Watch Coach get taken for a ride by a conniving would-be poker buddy with Harry Anderson to the rescue. Love it. Watch it now.
Bonus suggestion: Homicide: Life on the Street - "Subway" - Season 6, Episode 7 - December 5, 1997
Current NOT available - hopefully soon
My late great Baltimore-loving buddy Flynn always talked about this episode. A victim of a crime has to help the team solve a case. The crime was getting shoved in front of a subway train. Where he is stuck and will never escape alive. This one is a dandy and needs release (along with the others) from licensing hell.
There are plenty of additional episodes that I could have selected for this little exercise. I mean, there are old TV shows that are simply on all the time. Seinfeld ("The Marine Biologist"), Friends ("The One with the Embryos"), The Simpsons (Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment"), The Office ("Dinner Party"). So you've seen them all.
There are also old television shows I'd insist you watch every episode of: Arrested Development ("Afternoon Delight,"), The Wire ("Middle Ground,"), The Sopranos ("The Pine Barrens"), NYPD Blue's first season ("Rocking Robin"), Mad Men ("The Suitcase"), Parks and Recreation ("Flu Season" or "The Fight").
Other individual finalists included Brooklyn Nine-Nine ("The Box") WKRP in Cincinnati (you know "Turkeys Away" but I give you "In Concert," a very different episode), Barney Miller ("Hash"), Family Ties ("Help Wanted"), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (the Dave-touted "Charlie Works" and the Wade Boggs episode), and the final Newhart.
Which ones are your all-time favorites?
Anyway, there's a sea of old stuff out there to accompany your new-fangled, shiny new objects. Quite a few are too dated and don't hold up. But when you uncover an old gem, it's good fun. Enjoy.
Okay, it's time. I've bemoaned before how much more difficult it is to come up with 12 of something I enjoy that need celebrating Gheorghe-style... or that I want to recommend... or that I can even think of... than it is to, say, think of two books to recommend. (Okay, well, it's nearly as difficult.)
And yet I accept this mantle, fool that I must be. What a mantle piece I am.
Well, December came and went, as it did in 2022. Snow fell. Elves worked. People drank with the reckless abandon that comes with the vicious combo of holiday cheer and the knowledge that Dry January looms. (At least I did. Phew.) Santa came through. As did Hannukah Harry and other substitutes for hard religion.
Gheorghemas... sat still at Day 11. Kudos to the gheorghies for fine work in Gmas 2023. Whatever mild mockery I took, more was deserved.
So here I sit, broken hearted. Or at least stumped for 12 things. Sorry!
Broadway Joe has your 12 right here
Nah, just kidding. F that.
I've got 12... TWELVE... XII... lists of 12 things for Day 12! Just for you, gheorghies.
Yes, it's true. 12 lists. Some will demonstrate considerate thought on the part of the author. Some will be... uh... slight. (Hey, Marls only had 9 predictions to list and more than one was a repeat of last year!)
Oh, all 12 will be here before you know it! Stay tuned. Check back later today! They'll be here before Groundhog Eve or my name's not... whatever it is today.
rob's The Things We'd Carry post posits "I'm not one to spend a lot of money on cars or fancy watches or other ostentatious trappings of success." If you read my posts you know I like cars and watches so color me ostentatious. And I posit that fancy watches can hold memories just like the stuff in rob's post. For example, go to 6:15 in this interview with Alton Brown. Or this clip from Pulp Fiction.
This is my 1965 Omega Seamaster Chronograph, reference 143.646. It's a special watch, if you're into watches, because it has a 321 movement, the same movement in the Omega Speedmasters worn by the Apollo 11 astronauts, which is also known as the Moonwatch. The only movement certified for use on the moon! It's sort of like an air-cooled flat-six, if that means anything to you.
Aesthetically, I love the domed crystal, small (by modern standards) size, and the way the 3-6-9 markers are cut away by the chronograph registers. I like to imagine some apprentice who was too junior to be allowed to touch a dial, let alone a movement, cropping them with giant shears so that they fit perfectly with the subdials. There's a whole online fetish around cropped numerals, if you're into that.
It's also a special watch because my father received it as a high school graduation present from our Mitsu Bacsi (or our Uncle Nick for you Muricans). Mitsu Bacsi wasn't really our uncle, he was my grandfather's best friend but we called him Bacsi anyway because Hungarians like to appropriate people into their family, it's a cultural thing. Mitsu's wife was Swiss and during a trip back to her motherland they got watches for all the zfamily. I think this was a much cheaper proposition in the 1960s than it is today. The Seamaster originally came on a beads of rice bracelet but it pulled the (copious) hair on my father's wrist so he threw it out (they now sell for hundreds of dollars) and wore it daily for about 20 years until he did some business with Seiko and wound up with one of their watches. He pulled the Seamaster out of a drawer another 20 years later, had it serviced in Switzerland, and gave it to me for my 31st birthday. I wore it daily for about 10 years until I realized that it's a relatively valuable (maybe $5k-$6k) and elderly timepiece, and got some newer watches to wear daily. It's now a special occasion type of thing, or I wear it if I feel like I need a little extra oomph to get something done--I have Dad and Mitsu Bacsi with me while I negotiate with some jerk or interview for a job.
Dedicated GTB readers will recall the story of Mike's watch. Mike mentioned giving the watch to zson, but eventually all those involved agreed that it made more sense for Shirley to have the cash than for my half-man-half-monkey son to have a $150,000 watch. So I bought this Tudor Black Bay 36 that I will give zson at some point.
Tudor is a Rolex affiliate, sort of the Chevrolet to Rolex's Cadillac, so it follows the spirit of Mike's intent. The size, handset, and dial color are all great, the ETA movement is reliable and easy to service, and it's an automatic so you don't have to wind it, just wear it. I wear it regularly so it will have a few dings when I hand it over.
To commemorate leaving a miserable job, I bought myself a Sinn 756 Diapal. It's a chronograph that also tracks time in two time zones. It isn't a proper GMT, the second hour hand is based on 12 hours, but if you work with people in another country (which I've done) and wanted to time things like the number of hours you've been on the record in a deposition (which I've done) and you want a durable travel watch that can do both things, this is your huckleberry.
Sinn is a German company with a reputation for rugged tool watches but they don't have much name recognition in the US. The 756 features a modified Valjoux 7750 movement so it has some Swiss engineering, but its design and materials are very Germanic--the German navy makes submarines using the same steel that Sinn uses for their watches. It's not super wide, 40 mm, but it's stupidly thick at 14 mm. It wears well but it doesn't like to stay under your cuff so it's prominent. I'm giving this one to zdaughter someday because a girl named Esme should have an oversized watch from her father.
You may think that mechanical watches are frivolous and wasteful, and I see where you're coming from. But I promise you that your kids and grandkids aren't going to cherish your Apple Watch or Casio G-Shock. Hopefully mine will rely on these when they need a little extra oomph as I have with the Seamaster. I'm taking them with me.
rob had a lot of photos in his bag of holding. I'm not into them. It rarely occurs to me to photograph something other than food and zcats. That said, almost all of the art in zhome is photographs taken by my other Hungarian fugazi uncle, Bela Bacsi. His brother married my grandfather's sister, which makes us absolutely nothing.
But he was a righteous dude and a nominally famous photographer. This interview involves a photo he took in Chicago for Life Magazine. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait. I have that same photo in my dining room and it's important to me for several reasons.
First, it's a damn good photo. Many people have commented on it, it's striking in person and gives off a strong communal vibe. The details are great. At most two of the chairs are the same. Everyone holds their knife Euro-style. It's hard to see below, but the three boys at the bottom of the image are sharing two chairs. The baby is mischievous.
Second, Bela Bacsi provided me with tons of support, encouragement, and wisdom when I was getting divorced and I will always be grateful to and fond of him. He was married a few times himself, being an accomplished stickman in his youth and a sly dog in his dotage, and he always took it upon himself to wingman me with the waitress whenever we went to lunch. "He's a lawyer, very successful! You should give him your phone number!"
Third, I did a piece of legal work for Bela around this photo. zwoman and I went to dinner at a higher-end chain restaurant in NYC. They recently renamed a few of their flagship locations, and along with the check they included a postcard announcing the renaming. The front of the postcard was this photo (I'm telling you it's a damn good photo) so I called Bela the next day and congratulated him on getting this bit of work. It turns out they didn't license the image, they just used it, and Bela Bacsi was ripshit to put it mildly. We worked out a deal with the restaurant (they were stunned that an 88-year-old Hungarian guy had spies on the ground and I shamed them mercilessly) and I refused to take any money for the work, despite Bela Bacsi's protestations. But I do have a copy of that photo. It goes in the bag. You can find his photos and books online if you want something for your wall or shelf (or your bag).
That's really all I need to keep. I have a few other important items (things zkids made for me, a photocopy of my grandmother's handwritten manuscript about her life from 1929-1945, my grandparents' license plates from the 1940s and 1950s) but they aren't as interesting to write about (except for the manuscript, which I cannot summarize) so I'll travel light with three watches and a picture. I probably don't even need a bottomless bag.
OBX Dave never got his own WCSAGD, largely because I don't know enough about him to pick something right on the nose. I have ideas given his life at the beach, but I don't want to screw up something so important.
I can, however, find him a regional, attainable car. Thank god for Al Gore and the internet.
Much like Joe Biden and TR, I love Corvettes and I've written about them multiple times. OBX Dave is an American man living in the southeast so he probably likes Corvettes too. Lucky for him, there's a 1987 Corvette convertible for sale in Moyock. Unfortunately for him, the owner had it painted with Line X and added a bunch of Batman logos to it.
For the uninitiated, Line X is stuff you use to paint the bed of your pickup truck to keep it from getting damaged when stuff bounces around in there. I have never, ever, seen it used to paint anything else, let alone a sports car. But I guess it's a cheap alternative to matte paint and it's likely plentiful in the OBX--I dredged this up from Craigslist because all of the local car dealers only have pickups in stock. Anyway, the C4 is a fantastic car with clean lines, 240 horsepower, 345 (!) pound-feet of torque, and plentiful parts. If you can chisel the Line X, remove the Batman stuff, and replace the wheel spikes with proper lug nuts you'll have a gem of a beach car (fiberglass won't rust in salty air).
Before you chisel off the Line X, chisel the seller down by telling him it will cost you $10k to straighten this thing out and no one wants it in this condition so he won't do any better than your $5k offer. I suspect the seller is a salty dog, and an old one at that, given his statement "No Texting or emails will be answered. A good old fashioned telephone call with a real human on the other end will be the first to buy this when they see and drive it."
Maybe this is a little too Mad Max for OBX Dave. No problem! Here's a 1964 Triumph Spitfire in Moyock! Moyock hooks you up!
Perhaps I should have used quotation marks around 1964 Triumph Spitfire though, here's a quote from the listing:
The tub is in great condition. The floors were replaced. No rust. Nice interior. All gauges work. Paint is old with scratches and dents. Engine and trans are from a 1975 Spitfire. Differential is from a a GT6 with 3.27 gears so cruising on the highway is comfortable. 70 mph at 3400 RPM. Weber 32/36 carb and manifold with a powermaster tubular exhaust manifold. GT6 front springs cut down to lower suspension. Heavy duty sway bar. Wire wheels with good tires. NOS soft top that fits well.
Mr. KQ, Marls, and anyone else who's been around an old British car knows the first few statements smell fishy. The tub is in great condition? No rust? Impossible--I suspect that's why the floors were replaced and there's more rust lurking somewhere. All gauges work? Also impossible--the gauges probably didn't work when new, let along 60 years later. And that last line? A new old stock top that fits well? Again, the new new stock top didn't fit 60 years ago.
It only gets better with important components like the entire powertrain coming from at least two other cars and a front suspension "cut down" from a donor car. Luckily it has that heavy duty sway bar though.
But it's green over tan and I'm a sucker for that. And it's British, and the hood hinges forward, and it has antique plates and wire wheels, and the way the line of the door dips down right before the hips jag up ... what's not to love? You can definitely take it to the beach in this car, just make sure you have Uber on your phone and a AAA membership.
Fine, fine, you're saying "c'mon zman, you can do better than this!" I can. This 1997 Porsche Boxster is for sale in Nags Head for $8,900. The seller had the IMS bearing replaced so OBX Dave can drive it forever, worry-free. That work cost about $2k by itself, just ask to see the receipt to be sure it was done. Have your local service station do a pre-purchase inspection (that's maybe $50-$75) so you can get it on a lift and see what's going on underneath, and/or ask to talk to the guy who's been doing the work on it recently to verify it isn't a time bomb. I would totally take a punt on this 986 if I lived locally.
So there you go, OBX Dave. Let me know which convertible you wind up with.
I confess that I've been guilty throughout my life of a certain degree of low-grade materialism. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on cars or fancy watches or other ostentatious trappings of success, but I've spent way too much on clothes, shoes, random art, and baseball hats. Man, do I have a lot of hats.
While in temporary financial limbo I've become significantly less materialistic. Would've been hard to be moreso, honestly. I haven't purchased anything material for myself that cost more than 30 bucks or so in over a year, save a pair of shoes I needed to coach soccer. I've learned what I can do without, and I've had a chance to think about things that matter to me. Which leads me to the idea of this post.
What if something happened that required you to get rid of almost all of your *stuff*. What would you keep? For the purpose of our exercise, you can have essentials (basic clothing, food, lodging, vehicle). You don't have to give up your pets (sorry, zman). Size and weight don't matter - assume you have a bag like Hermione did in the Deathly Hallows and you can carry anything. It's not an ascetic purity test, man - we're just flexing our intellect here. What non-essentials matter to you?
Marie Kondo might ask: what sparks joy? For me, it's more about what sparks memory.
As I started thinking about my own answers, I pretty quickly realized that there aren't that many things in my life that I couldn't or wouldn't want to live without, even things that I really enjoy, like my Gheorghe Muresan bobblehead or my seven (count 'em) different Boston Red Sox hats. If I'm being really honest, there's no *thing* I couldn't say goodbye to if pressed. But that really defeats the purpose of this post concept, so I will highlight some of the stuff that makes me really happy.
It won't really be a surprise to you that, with one exception, the things I'd want along with me for the ride are associated with my people. Many of them are framed pictures of family and friends, including these (while I could obviously just keep the digital versions, I think I want the physical, and the bag is limitless, after all):
Clockwise from upper left: my sister, grandfather, father, and me walking at my grandparents' New Hampshire farm (circa 1975); my youngest driving me at a sock hop at her elementary school (2011ish); me and my girls in Brewster, MA (2004); me and the girls in Myrtle Beach, SC (2015)
W&M Graduation 1992; My wedding, 1999
My then-fiancee/now-wife and me, Richmond, VA, late 1990s - note the Cowboy Cafe t-shirt
Back in the late 60s, my Mom knitted two sweaters for my Dad. I have them both to this day. One of them is fraying a bit around the collar, but the other is in pristine condition, and it's warm, comfortable, and stylish. I'll be taking both of them with me.
The sweater looks particularly dope under the flannel-lined wax trucker jacket I got from Huckberry a few years back. I owned it before Pedro Pascal made it famous in The Last of Us. It's badass - definitely coming along. Never know when you'll need proper gear with which to fight off mushroom zombies.
The good people at Lionsbridge gave everyone who attended the D.C. screening of More Than a Game a movie poster commemorating the film. It's framed and on the wall in my basement and it's going in the bag. I assume Shlara and the Teej have theirs prominently displayed. I've also got a poster from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics that I framed with tickets from most of the events I attended with FOG:TBs Young Old and Jay.
You've heard the story of the demise of my family's beach cottage on Cape Cod. There's a sort of happy coda. My aunt salvaged a large sign that hung on the front of the place that displayed its name, The Mooring (so named because my great-great grandfather's last name was Moore). She sent me the sign, which now proudly hangs in my office.
Semi-relatedly, in the sense that my aunt's son (my cousin, if you're a bit slow) and I have paddled the St. Croix River in northeastern Maine several times over the past decade. On one of those trips, I picked up a cool-to-me piece of driftwood at a campsite and tried my hand at spiffing it up with some sandpaper, danish oil, and wax. Came out pretty neat, if I say so myself. So well, in fact, that my wife lets me display it in our house.
After a soccer season several years ago, which turned out to be the final season of my daughter's travel soccer career, the team Mom had the kids sign jerseys and framed one each for me and the head coach. It's on the wall in my basement, and it makes me really happy.
We're down to the last thing I'd keep, and it's well in line with everything else I've selected. Turns out, as I suspected, most of the "stuff" I care about isn't so much stuff as tangible forms of memory. This one's unique. Before I got married (I think), Whit gave me a framed piece with photos of the front doors of each of the six, count 'em, six places he and I lived together. If those doors could talk. Actually, we're both probably glad they can't.
Alright, Gheorghies, ball's in your court. If we do this right, this concept will give us content for the next several months, and if I know myself, I'll think of several other things I'd want to hang onto. So get at it - what are you taking with you?
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