Waiting for the conference to get started here. Gorgeous morning, so I took a little walk.
Look what my terrace overlooks! You can’t see it from up above in my suite, because it is directly underneath it!
A beautiful park, a walking trail and a little pond!! And ducks!!
Okay. More later…🙋♀️
Good morning, gang! Happy Sunday!!
It’s 6:30AM here in North Carolina and here is a slightly different view of the full moon from my terrace just now!
The hotel doesn’t start serving breakfast until 8AM, so I’m just hanging out, getting a slow and easy start, and thinking about life.
And here’s something I remembered! I think I posted something to the blog on Thursday, about not being able to remember the name of the record store in Times Square, where I used to buy records all the time when I lived on W.45th Street.
Anyway— it was Disc-O-Mat!
“Disc•O•Mat in Times Square (located around 44th Street and Broadway) was a legendary, gritty New York City record store that served as a cultural hub for vinyl buyers, new wave, disco, and early hip-hop fans in the 1980s.”
🎉🎉🎉
I bought so many records there. Plus, records still only cost about $4 back then.
📓📚📄
I am really looking forward to this morning’s lecture, gang. Updates on the James ossuary! I cannot wait.
I think it’s still too soon to post about the things we went over yesterday. I think I have to wait until James Tabor makes it public. But I can at least say it was some more exciting news about certain ossuaries still in Talpiot (outside Jerusalem).
☕️☕️☕️
I’m going to jump in the shower now and then head down to the restaurant for the breakfast buffet!
But before I go, I want to share this thought.
At 6AM Friday morning— my mom was still asleep and I was already in the kitchen, feeding the cats.
I stepped out onto my kitchen porch to collect the food bowls from Tiki and Rasha, and in the darkness, a man’s voice calls out, “Good morning!”
It startled me a little. It was too dark to see anything. And the voice called out again.
This time I saw that it was the older gentleman across the road. He was on his front porch, waving his arms around so that I could see him.☺️
I called back to him, “Good morning!” And then he hurried over to me in the dark. Across his wet grass, across the road, up on to my curb in the dark —
I saw that he was barefoot! “Your feet must be freezing,” I said.
But he wanted to make sure we were still having our lunch date when I get back from the conference!
“October 1st?” he said.
And I happily agreed. October 1st. He was very excited.
And I keep thinking about how he ran across the wet lawn and across the road, barefoot, in the dark, just to make sure we were still having lunch.
It keeps making me smile.
What a nice man.
Okay! I’ll probably be back here at the break!
Meanwhile, enjoy your Sunday!!
Thanks for visiting! 🥐☕️☺️
Here’s the view looking down into the lobby from the hallway outside my suite!
I’m on the 3rd floor. That cute little fireplace seating area is on the 2nd floor.
And here’s the view outside the windows directly opposite that view of the lobby.
Can you see the swimming pool?
On the terrace just now, having my coffee. 8AM.!!
Last evening was very interesting, gang.
The lecture was about recent archeological updates on John the Baptist’s cave. Unfortunately, I was very tired from my trip and had been up since 5AM .
But the more interesting part—
After I had checked in (and posted photos of my unexpectedly huge suite to my blog!), I checked in at the conference room, got my badge and the printed materials for the conference.
Then I introduced myself to Dr. James Tabor! Finally. Yay!
We all had a 2-hr break for dinner before the conference actually got started. James Tabor walked with me to the hotel restaurant and we chatted like we’d known each other forever, but then he was meeting with 2 men who were already at the bar.
I somehow managed to start chatting with a group who were sitting at a round hightop table (they were wearing their badges, so I knew they were part of the conference).
Long story short, they left their table and, taking their drinks with them, sat down at a much larger table so that we could all have dinner together!
If you’re new to the blog — I have struggled my entire life with borderline autism. This makes it extremely difficult for me to feel comfortable around strangers (and that is putting it mildly, trust me).
But while having dinner with these 5 strangers — all around my age or a little older; 1 man from Texas; a married couple from Washington State; a married couple from Georgia. I suddenly realized that I felt totally, completely comfortable with them. I was at ease and we were all chatting about things like the Historical Jesus, the James ossuary, the Talpiot tombs.
It was such an incredible feeling — to feel how relaxed I was! That never happens to me, gang.
Normally, I put up a totally artificial barrier where strangers think I’m friendly but in reality I’m extremely tense and can’t wait to get away. I have been like this my entire life. Creating strategies for how best to survive being around strangers.
It was just such a beautiful feeling. After 66 years… I think that’s a large part of why I slept so great last night.
Okay. I’m gonna go get breakfast. The conference starts at 10AM.
I hope you’re having a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting! See ya later, gators!!🥰☕️🍳🧇🥐
Best hotel pillows, ever.
I slept great, gang. Had detailed and vivid dreams all night.
It’s Saturday morning, 5AM.
Here’s the view from my terrace!
I was not expecting a huge suite!!
I can’t believe I’m going to be in this huge place all by myself.
Oh!! And I have a terrace!!!
Okay, well. Both flights went great. No hitches at all. I’m gonna unpack and find other conference-goers so that we can celebrate a Shabbat dinner!!
Hope your day has been great, wherever you are in the world!
It’s such a gorgeous morning.
Waiting on the kitchen porch for my ride to the airport.
It’s starting to get cold at night now, so these flowers are almost leaving us.
And check out Rasha!
And ready to go!!
I’m checked in for my flight. My Uber is booked to take me to the hotel. And my girlfriend is driving me to the Columbus airport tomorrow morning…
Yes, sometime in the next few hours, my birth mom arrives to spend a magical weekend with my many cats!!
(I’m hoping that the above illustration is a reasonable facsimile of how splendidly it will go!) (Except that my mom is a little tiny bit older than she appears in the above illustration…)
I’m excited, gang.
And I’m really, really hoping her visit here goes well. She knows some of my cats quite well, but as loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, I had quite a bunch more cats thrust upon me since my mom was last here.
But they are really sweet, really loving (if often super frisky) cats. So we’ll see!
I’m also excited to just be packing a suitcase again, gang.
I’m taking a smaller, lightweight one, since I won’t be checking it and I’ll have to wheel it around with me for an hour in Detroit, and I’ll only be gone for the weekend.
It’s my favorite suitcase. I’ve had it for quite a few years now. I was going through the outside pockets of it this morning and found a postcard from the Empire Hotel in NYC — where I stayed in July 2025.
And I found 2 receipts: one, from a dinner I had with Sandra that same trip to NYC; and the other receipt was from a newsstand in LAX airport! From a trip I took to Los Angeles to work with Peitor Angell in December 2018!!
I loved finding those!! So I stuck them right back in the pocket, to find again some other time.
************
All righty.
I did have a splendid day yesterday. Mostly, my mood was just really good. Finally. It seems like I had some sort of turning point, energy-wise. Maybe it was the Equinox? I don’t know. But I feel a sense of relief, like I can finally move on from all the recent trauma.
I am indeed starting to get submissions for the M. Christian tribute anthology, so I’m thinking that I won’t really be doing any of my own writing until that project is complete. (The official deadline is next Thursday — a week from today — then my book signing is the following Saturday. After that, I’ll have to focus on editing everyone’s submissions.)
But whatever plays out, I’ll just flow with it.
Oh!
I loved this– Warren Ellis posted it this morning. It may seem a little down, but it had a really cool audio track that was extremely uplifting (plus I love F. Scott Fitzgerald). The 2 messages together captured how I’ve felt the last few weeks:
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And speaking of Warren Ellis–
A new selfie! Catnapping with adorable pups!
Although, on a sad note — the lead singer of Rose Tattoo, Angry Anderson, passed away on Monday:
Angry Anderson, Australian rock legend and Rose Tattoo frontman, dies aged 79
“Rose Tattoo frontman Angry Anderson has died just weeks after being admitted to a hospital in Germany during the Australian rock band’s European tour.
“The 79-year-old singer spent 50 years in the music industry and also became a television presenter, charity worker and youth advocate.
“Rose Tattoo’s hits included ‘Bad Boy for Love’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw’ and ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’, while Anderson found solo success with the song ‘Suddenly’.”
And, from Warren’s selfie above — here’s this (1978):
RIP Angry Anderson
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And here’s this!
The Cars are taking requests!! What’s yours?? (Mine is probably still “My Best Friend’s Girl”.)
Okay– since you requested it! From 1978!!
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From Johnny Depp yesterday!
Another movie is on its way– “Day Drinker”! (More info is coming soon, but I know that Penelope Cruz is also in it.)
And just FYI — that is my least favorite Tarot Card (pictured above — The Devil), followed closely by The Tower…
But, oh! If you read Tarot Cards (I do), this woman in Australia has the very best site for reading them!!
I have used her website for about 20 years. Click on LEARN, then in the drop down menu: TAROT CARD MEANINGS
Her work is phenomenal.
*************
Okay!!
Most people probably know that London had a really hard time getting back to normal after WWII.
In fact, by 1966, still only the nouveau riche could afford outside plumbing!!
Keith, enjoying his nouveau riche lifestyle outside his legendary home, Redlands, with his pup in 1966!
And I loved this!
Keith doing what he does best!! Playing the guitar!! Smoking! Drinking! Wearing shades!! (1978)
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And I really, really did love this.
Keith with the Exile on Main St album cover art, 1972 (oh, and smoking):
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Okay, well, my Instagram feed yesterday was still jam-crammed full of birthday wishes for Nick Cave!!
So here are some more of those!!
Dinner? And smoking!
I loved this–
From Facebook!!
I had never seen this photo before. I love it!!
And one more!!
And that’s it probably — until September 22nd rolls around again (most likely in the wink of a fucking eye!!)!!
**************
Okay, yes.
I am going to quickly vacuum the house one more time before my mom and sister get here later —
Oh wait, I love this photo!!
This was from before I knew my mom. (I was raised by an adoptive family in Cleveland, and didn’t find my birth mom until I was 25.)
My birth mom and my 2 half-sisters and half-brother, on vacation, around 1970-ish. (The little tiny girl in the green pants is the one who’s driving my mom here today.) (Their dad, Sonny, is taking the photo.)
All righty.
Gonna get the vacuuming done and then pack my suitcase!!
Have a fantastic Thursday, wherever you are in the world, gang!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
*************
Let’s close with this!
A little music to pack suitcases by!!
I loved this album. It came out when I was already married to Chong and we lived in The Camelot Building, on the corner of W. 45th & 8th Ave. (I bought it in a record store that was just up the block from us, in Times Square. I bought all my records there back then, but I don’t remember the name of the store!)
Anyway.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ huge hit from 1981, “The Waiting”!! From their fantastic album, Hard Promises. Enjoy, gang!!
“The Waiting”
Oh baby, don’t it feel like heaven right now?
Don’t it feel like something from a dream?
Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this
Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again?
Baby, we know better than to try and pretend
Honey no one coulda ever told me ’bout this
I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Well yeah, I might have chased a couple women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I feel right now
Baby, you’re the only one that’s ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now
I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Oh, don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
Don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
I’ll be your bleedin’ heart, I’ll be your cryin’ fool
Don’t let this go too far, don’t let it get to you
Yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part
c – 1981 Tom Petty
Hi gang!
No real post for today but I should be able to do a regular post tomorrow before my mom arrives!
I leave for the airport early Friday morning and return home late afternoon on Monday — I will be making quick blog updates from my phone throughout the trip, so that should be fun!!
Meanwhile, have a great Wednesday, wherever you are in the world, and I’ll see ya tomorrow!!
Thanks for visiting. I love you, guys!!
🥰
