November 26, 2019 (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

Arrived at snowy Santa Fe 2p or so, 4.5 hour drive, not bad in length or road conditions. Stephen was home and waiting and I grabbed my grip and went inside his and Robert's charming home located along the quaint, narrow street of Alto. Stephen lit a fire, putting their brand new fireplace thru its paces (worked great!). Soon I was snacking and sipping on el vino, all the while chatting away wth Stephen (who has many virtues, not the least of which is a good listener!). Robert arrived a short time later and we did more of all of the above until a previously arranged dinner date had us heading out the door to the local bar & grill. There, I met a very nice elderly couple, old friends of Bobby and Stephen, Sam and Kathy.

I had been told before hand that Sam was a Hollywood guy and I had half-heartedly resisted joining the party because of my extreme distaste for any and all things "showbiz" (I fully confess that I am a casualty of that particular industry). Background may provide context, set the stage as it were for the dynamic at hand, the thing I was trying to avoid, and it goes as follows: Sam had been a Hollywood agent for 50 years (he's presently 95 years young!) and had rubbed many shoulders with many a Hollywood titan and legend (talk about being in the business!). I had spent 20+ years on movie sets in various departments, but primarily the camera department for the majority of my "career". We were two people who knew how movies are made. Me, regarding movies as smoke and mirrors vs Sam (who I thought for sure) was a guy who probably got a hard-on with the glitz and the glamour and all the phony rest. I thought I sort of knew what I would be in for, and I imagined (and I did not have to imagine very hard), it would probably be a wholly unpleasant experience. Why? Showbiz folks (and this can include me!), at their worse, can be insufferable, shallow, self-absorbed, and heartily afflicted with a severe sense of self-import.

But NOT always, and certainly not everyone (a good deal of former colleagues of mine have matching disdain for showbiz).

Of course (and this never fails!) I was more or less completely wrong! As it turned out, Sam was a shining exemption to the abridged list of foibles listed above. He was genuinely a great guy! Refreshingly, he was NOT a self absorbed blowhard. He was the opposite of that. In fact, how someone who had had an extremely successful carreer for five decades could be such a nice person (Ripley's, Believe it or Not!) was hard to fathom. He was a great story teller, good listener and hopelessly agreeable (and a mind sharp as a tack, too). I humbly completely contradicted my-own-self and we spent the entire time trading stories, sharing anecdotes, trivia and all the rest that comes when two people who had been in the "business" for a long time start talking (you never really get it out of your system). Overall, this encounter with "strangers" (my default for anyone I don't know), proved to be a textbook outlier and wholly positive experience (it helped that Sam had been on the set of "Treasure of Sierra Madre" :) A classic and one of my very favorite pictures.

An anecdote was generated during the evening by the way, and it has to do with the following:

Me, me, me, of course --- and me not being star struck. I've had ample chances. Never.

Two words spring to mind concerning "celeberties": Ho, and Hum.

But... since we're on the topic, lemme wax un-poetic.

Among the spectrum of "artists" I can muster admiration for are singer/songwriters (Dylan, Neil Young, and Lucinda Williams for example). Actors (people who recite memorized lines while playing pretend - some do this very, very well I admit - THIS (acting) is ho-hum territory (according to me). On the other other hand if I could go back, backtrack, and contradict some, I admire writers! Especially (well, lately) the Russian writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky for example. If I were to select a living, contemporary writer that I dig, Junot Diaz (The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) would be as good a choice as any. This admiration is always done at a distance and internally. I would never want to actually talk to Juno Diaz because my natural tendency is avoid talking to anyone. I ramble dear reader while attempting a segue an intro to what happened during the previous mentioned fab dinner with Robert, Stephen, Kathy and Sam.

We had arrived early at the trendy eatery, discussed the particulars with the Ma”tre D', and were guided to our table. While crossing the dining area, I saw, and made casual, brief, eye-contact with an elderly white haired gentleman who was sitting quite alone at a table. A martini shaped cocktail glass, which we later learned was a Manhattan, sat directly across the genteel gentleman. When he looked at me, it was not with a blank, ephemeral glancing lock of the eyes between strangers. It was, in fact (and strictly in my subjective opinion) a look of someone who would have welcomed a little interaction with someone. Anyone. As I said, this is only a guess. When we arrived at our table, the Ma”tre D' informed us that the old gentleman we had just passed was none other than the renowned American writer Cormack McCarthy (No Country For Old Men, The Road, Blood Meridian). The Ma”tre D' was in a sharing mood. He volunteered that Mr. McCarthy frequented the restaurant several times a week. Always alone, always partaking of the same cocktail. His visits, he added, were always long, somewhere in the six hour range.

END ANECTDOTE!

The meal was okay. So was the wine. The company was splendid. We said our goodbye's to Sam and Kath and headed back home. There, without fanfare, we put an end to the evening, largely motivated by fatigue. Driven to the bed at the 9 o'clock hour or thereabouts, the sandman was was awaiting at the ready in our respected bedrooms, right there, next to the bed. He did not miss.

November 27

Next morning, up bright and early, slept well, plenty warm (most excellent blankets make all the difference!). As soon as Bobby was ready, we headed straight to Downtown Subscription, THE ultimate Santa Fe Coffee shop, popular both for its quality coffee and pastry, and for it's sky high see-and-be-seen quotient (if one is an eves-dropping mood, celebrity name dropping ((and occasional celebrity sightings!)) can be overheard and witnessed all the time). On that that day Robert "Bob" Redford did not waltz in. Instead, I met several of Robert's many "regular" friends (he and Stephen have been going to Santa Fe for nearly 30 years!), drank coffee, Marveled at the heavy/steady snowfall, worked on this website and surfed the interwebs. Time flew by as it always does when you're utterly relaxed and enjoying oneself.

When we returned home, a very nice mother/daughter team were there, Katie and Jeanne, in the the kitchen along with Stephen. They were very busily (and expertly) making ravioli from scratch. Thanksgiving was tomorrow. The ravioli (and they were preparing many varieties) were to be Robert's and Stephen's contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner they were to attend. Robert, Jeanne and me retreated to the living room, next to the fireplace, and got to work emptying bottles of wine of their contents while knoshing on this and that. Chatting commenced. Jeanne was sweet, kind, friendly and engaging, and Robert was his wonderful, intelligent, irreverent* self (*off-the-wall asides are a family trait we are all afflicted with). I was happy to be there. We were making merry. Samples of cooked ravioli were brought to us by Stephen and Katie and everyone agreed that that they were both deliciously sublime (there was at least one original combination of ingredients that everyone agreed was smashing). We kept the good times rolling until Katie decided they should depart soon as the snowfall was still coming down pretty good. Katie was right to be concerned. The inches piled up. After Katie and Jeanne left we kept the good times going for a little longer, then it was time for bed. I was to travel to Albuquerque tomorrow to have Thanksgiving with a friend. Travel weather conditions was a topic we touched on last, but only in passing. We'd deal with it tomorrow.

November 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

Upon rousing, and right away, the subject was the weather. It had snowed all night, was still falling when we looked outside. The white stuff was piled up high. It was beautiful, classic winter wonderland imagery, post card stuff. Altho it's just one hour to Albuquerque, where I was going to today, the falling snow and accumulating ice had us concerned about driving conditions. There is a very steep section that is quite dangerous when snow and freezing ice becomes a factor. Dangerous - as in they close the highway and turn people back. You apply the breaks going down this section and you don't stop until you come to a stop (and the breaks have nothing to do with it). Robert suggested we go to the coffee shop and talk to the old timers, get some travel advice, perhaps wait the snowfall out. It was still coming down, waxing and waning, but never stopping. We checked online, and the road was only classified as "drive with caution" Not closed, not dangerous - but the third category - take it damn easy category. I decided to go for it.

Said my goodbyes, told Robert "I'll see you on the way back" and walked out of the surprisingly busy coffee shop (even on Thanksgiving). I pulled out of the parking lot very slowly and crept along the snow covered, icy streets. There were very few cars out, but people (even a jogger!) were out and about in bunches, on snowy walks, walking the dog, chucking snowballs, building snowmen. I even saw a guy on a bike! As I crept along, I could feel the slippery road underneath my wheels. My vans dashboard light lit up. An amber icon of a van slipping and sliding was flashing. I came to a stop sign and the van, altho I was being extremely conservative with my speed, began to slide (I was going maybe 5 mph). It eventualy came to a gradual halt, just past the stop sign. I took a breath. I drove on, even slower, grateful for the sparse traffic. But I was still plenty tense and wondering if I was making a mistake by leaving now.

A very short while later, when I was getting closer to the main road, the road that would take me to the highway, I came to stop light and very, very gently eased to a stop. As I patiently waited for the the red light to turn to green, I saw out of the corner of my left eye, a car SLIDE past me, sideways, only a few feet from my stationary van. It came to a icy stop in the middle of the road ahead of me. Apparently, it had been coming up behind me a little too fast, had swerved in order to not rear end me, and barely missed the back of my brand new (old) van. Thankfully I had not been looking into my rear view or I might have screamed like Faye Wray when she first set eyes on Kong. The light turned green but the small white compact that had barely missed me remained where it had come to an icy stop. I flahed my lights, giving them the go ahead, but the tiny car just stayed there. They were, I supposed, too rattled to move. I was rattled too!

I pushed on. Slowly. I eased onto the highway, which only had one lane open, and drove like the little old lady from you know where. The highway was not plowed. Only previous tire traffic had exposed the blacktop.

It was a solid 90 minute, white knuckle drive.

It got better when I finally got to Albuquerque. When I arrived at my friends house, it had started to snow again - in earnest. It snowed the rest of that day, and all evening. All was good by then. Inisde Chiquita's apartment, I was on grape liquids and warm.

December 14

It's only a one hour drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. I'd been texting with my brother Robert who was waiting for me at his and my (and everyone's!) favorite coffee shop, Downtown Subscription. When I arrived he was about to leave on lunch date and I just settled right in and got to work on this website. Good coffee, good wifi, I was very pleased to be there. 90 minutes later Robert was back and we worked till it was time to go home. Robert and Stephen had a Christmas party function they were more or less required to attend. At home, before they left, we chatted, noshed and sipped on red, soooo plesant. Then they got dressed real quick and headed out the door. I stayed home and kept the fireplace stocked. Strange, but starting a fire and keeping it going gives me pleasure. I turned on my iTunes, listened to my playlist, drank liberally, and enjoyed the solitude. Around 9p or so, Robert and Stephen returned. They told me about their evening, I wanted to know all about it.

Under the most ordinary conditions I'm a motor mouth. I talk too much. Alcohol exacerbates my mouth mania. So the more I drank the more I talked. I told Robert and Stephen all kinds of stuff. Personal stuff. Frivilous stuff. From the borderline sublime to the positively ridiculous. Stephen's eyelids were were growing heavy, heavy, heavier. Robert's too. They made for the bedroom and their final toilets before bed. I stayed up, baby sat the fireplace, emptied my glass and called it it night sometime before midnight. The spare bedroom's terrific! I slept warmly and soundly.

December 15

Another warm, sound and comfortable sleep had me up and at 'em right in time with the iPhone alarm. Stephen was already dripping some coffee and I had a quick cup before Robert and me headed to DTSub. It was a Sunday and the super-duper popular coffee shop was jamming. We always sit next to each other but today we sat apart, grabbing the first empty spots we could snag. Rocked along all morning, working on this here site, people watching, and coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Early afternoon we wandered back to the house for a little lunch and it was terrific. Stephen had made some excellent homemade lentil soup. Cheese and crackers on the side, hit the spot on the coolish afternoon nicely. Stephen bundled up and disappeared outside. Shortly thereafter, the unmistakable sounds of a rake in action could be heard. I went outside and decided to pitch in. Stephen had already filled three bags of rakings, primarily droppings from the locust tree: leaves, and a boatload of seed pods. I took over the rake, the big one, and later the hand rake. We filled another bag and when Stephen delared he was all done, I kept going and nearly filled a 5th bag. I went inside and relaxed/recovered. The dry climate had parched my throat some. And I guess I was a bit worn out from the traveling, late nights and wine swilling cuz I decided I ought to nap some. Went into the warm, welcoming spare, removed my shoes, went supine, shut my eyes.

Oh, about 90 minutes or so later I heard voices and Robert and Stephen's company had arrived. It was the same delightful mother/daughter team I had met before during my first pass thru SF, Jeanne and Kathy. They were all going out to dinner. I was graciously invited but politely declined. When they left, I poured myself a glass of red, sliced some cheese, filled half a plate with chicharrones, sat down to relax alone. Robert told me to start a fire if I wanted, which I did. Funny, but I really enjoy getting a nice fire going in the fireplace. The paper, the kindling, the stacking of the wood just right to get the best air flow. And once a fire is started, the challenge of keeping it going so the actural big pieces of wood start burning (the thicker the log, the harder this is to accomplish). But I kept at it, kept the flame going. One really thick log never did catch but it sure wasn't for trying. Several times I had to open the door and let the smoke out.

Big fire, nice and warm. Had my iTunes on all the time. Did serious organge blaze gazing, hypnotizing, nice Cabernet topping my glass, very relaxed. Very.

Lateron I heard voices outside. Stephen and Robert had returned and I opend the door and let them into their own house. We reviewed things, the day, the dinner, tomorrow. I requested another day stay (granted). I told them my plans. I'd leave Tuesday morning, back to Albuquerque for a single night stay with Chiquita. On Wednesday morning, I'd head to Fort Davis to vist my longtime friend Vicky for a couple of days before heading home to Austin.

They hit the hay and a short time later, I hit the hay. .

December 16

Stephen and Robert early risers, sotto-voce coming from the bedroom, then the kitchen, roused from deep sleep. Good morning! Robert left early for "the coffee shop", I had a quick cup with Stephen, decided I'd do some shopping before joining Robert. It was 20 degrees COLD outside. I warmed the van up real good before putting it in Drive and heading for the local Walmart.

EVERYTHING I was looking for I found straight away (the key is early shopping). The staff was friendly and helpful. I wanted to gift Robert and Stephen a small hand axe/hatchet and found a nice one at a great price. I bought Chiquita a DVD player for Christmas, also at a great price. I also picked up six bottle or red for the balance of my trip. Cheese, cold cuts and bacon completed my list. THEN, as I was leaving the sparse parking lot, I pulled into a convenient gas station and filled up. GPS directed me directly to Downton Sub where Robert was stationed in his spot, busily typing away. I got a large cup of the Mex roast (I'm on cup #3 this very moment, 11:51AM to be time-precise). So that makes me to date, and to the minute.

Stephen arrived 1p or so and he and Robert went to the same Asian restaurant they had been to the night before. They had described it to me last night in the best way an eatery can be described - Delicious! I like Asian food, just so you know, but shy away from it (carbs). Anyway, we agreed to meet back at the DtS later, and when they left, I retreated to the ATXBreeze van that was in the parking lot. There I had a very satisfying meal of cheese, salami, chicharrones and instant Taster's Choice coffee. So good was my lunch, that I had seconds. I sipped on cafe Numero Dos while I listend to some tunes on the iPhone. Meal settled sufficiently, I headed for the Plaza to behave like a tourist, and get a little walking in for a change (3 mile round trip aprox). I used my iPhone GPS to guide me and in 1.5 miles or so I came upon Santa Fe's main square. It was a square! My iPhone, whose battery is textbook moribund and especially succecptibe to the cold (it was 29 degrees), let me take two pictures before it got down below 10% and stopped working (when I left the van for the square 10 minutes earlier, it was at 88% charged!). So walked around some, and I must say, there really wasn't much to see except the monument and the plaque. I think I walked by the cathedral, whose facade was simple, but nice. All done sightseeing, I headed back to the coffee shop, sticking to the sunny side of the road whenever possible (breezy and cold). My iPhone was dead and so was my GPS but getting back required no guidance, it was easy, a straight line, just a little crooked. When I got back to the coffee shop parking lot, I stopped at my van and made myslef a steaming instant inside my Contigo travel mug. Took it into the coffee shop and set up shop. Robert had not returned.

And Bobby never did return. He got cold when he was out and about and had gone home to warm up alongside the fireplace. I stayed at DT nearly closing time, 5p, then drove to the charming house on Alto St where everything was nice and cozy. Robert was still working away on his laptop, Stephen was in the kitchen preparing dinner. And it was s terrific dinner! I partook and smashed my "no carb" edict to smithereens. Dunno if the main course had a name or not, but imagine the following: a toasted oval piece of on-the-chewy-side bread. Melted brie cheese on top, and portobello mushrooms on top of that. Garlic, pepper the seasoning and voila. Along with, was a fresh salad that contained tiny, thing slices of apples, a sweet sour cream dressing, and pistachios (I helped, having shelled an entire small bag of pistachios). Stephen and I had some red, Robert a tea, and every bit of it was positively delish.

All done, more spirts, stoked the fire and set about to relax. Stephen had been practicing his violin on and off throughout the evening and who doesn't love the melodious strains of an expertly played violin? I inquired about the piece he had been playing and he explained it was for music written to emulate the story of Don Quixote. We talked about lots of stuff till a long day nudged Robert and Stephen into bedtime mode. I stayed up a little longer, poured myself a short glass, and ate a few slices of cheddar. Then I headed for the spare bedroom. It was gonna be single degree cold tonight, and Stephen had thoughtfully spread another blanket on the bed. Sound sleep, many strange dreams about not just "home", but my house, the structure, specifically.

December 17

I was up first, got the kettle going, rounded up my stuff, leaving Santa Fe today. Stephen and Robert rose, showered, morning chatted, instant coffee for me, drip for Stephen. Suddenly, all my stuff was gathered by the door. Hugged Stephen goodbye, then Robert and me headed for Downtown Subscription for one last coffee and surfing. And here I am. I'll be leaving soon for one more night in Albuquerque, where my friend Chiquita is waiting for my arrival sometime before noon.

Sometime around 10:30 I gathered my stuff. Robert followed me outside and we hugged goodbye, snapped one or two selfies and waved goodbye. The Garming GPS abley and efficiently directed me toward 25 and that short stretch of highway that connects Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I had had, just the time before, an absolutely terrific time with my brother and his husband, Stephen. Marvelous fellows, extraordinay hosts, valued and loved family members :)