My Other Passion

Every year there is a motorcycle show in NYC.  Every year I go.  I went today and had fun.

Part of the joy is running into friends, which always happens.  The other part is seeing new bikes.  This year, the star of the show are the new Indian motorcycles.  Indian was a marque that began in 1901 and sadly ended in 1953.  It was the primary competition in America to Harley-Davidson.  Indians, in my opinion, had lots more style, with distinctive valanced fenders and a lit-up Indian-head sculpture on the front wheel.

A large company named Polaris bought the right to the Indian name and built a new machine which looks like the old motorcycles but with modern technology.  They built a new engine which is getting rave reviews.  The bikes themselves are very handsome.  Today was my first time seeing one in the flesh and they're impressive.

Have you ever been on a motorcycle?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suspend Your Doubt

There are so few areas of fun fashion for men that, when I was young, I grabbed all of them.  For example, believe it or not, as a teenager I walked around with a pocket watch on a chain.  I thought it was coolly retro.  I'd whip my watch out, flip open the lid and check the time.  I needed to know the time most often when a pretty girl was around.

The Seventies were a great time for fashion because wild clothes were everywhere.  Every town had a record store and a hippie boutique.  You could blow your mind and dress any way you wanted.  I pushed the envelope for male attire and simply didn't care when people thought my gender-bending was improper.  A newspaper recently described the Seventies as "The Decade Men Stopped Being Men".

There were two pieces of clothing I wore that, in hindsight, seem silly.  Even absurd.  But I liked them then and I like them now.  Only now they're nearly impossible to find. 

Can you imagine what I'm talking about?  Can you guess what obscure old-fashioned clothing I adorned to the opprobrium of many and delight of a few?  Here they are...

1. Suspenders.  Yes, suspenders!  The over-the-shoulder straps that keep your pants from falling down.  In the Seventies, suspenders became briefly popular.  They came in bright colors, stripes and many designs.  Mine were always vivid and fun like these...

2. Vests.  Back then, vests also became briefly fashionable for men.  And not just plain vests but ones with color and funky designs.  Mine were always wild, unlike this tame example...

It amuses me greatly to see stylish young women today sport vests, like this gal...

Would you ever wear vests or suspenders?  Or a pocket watch?

We Have Begun Our Descent...

Whew... my trial is finally over.  I'm exhausted.

And I wonder what happened with you guys in the meantime.  Did Beth have her baby?  Did Sheila pull out her sparkly purple skirt?  Did Daphne wear her shaggy coat and leather pants?  What's the news in your world??

By the way, I saw a funny news story this morning.  Did you know you can commit a crime with lipstick?  A woman driving an expensive Mercedes was upset that someone parked too close to her car.  So she reached in her purse, pulled out her lipstick (cherry red) and wrote on the car's window "Learn How To Park!"  Police charged her with Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree.  I wonder if there's a special prison for beauty crimes.

Young Love

I've fallen in love twice in my life.  The first time, I was young (21).  The second time, I was older (42).  The experiences were very different.

Young love has wonderful aspects to it.  I was reminded of them tonight when I saw a 1995 film, "Before Sunrise".  The film covers the day two young people meet on a train, fall in love and spend an evening together walking around Vienna.  It stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.  There was a sequel nine years later ("Before Sunset") and another this year ("Before Midnight"). 

When you fall in love for the first time, it's euphoric.  You feel deeper emotions than you thought possible.  At times, you feel like your very life is at stake.  Everything is new and exciting.

My first love was an artist named Maura.  She was super-intelligent and unbelievably cute.  Her bright red hair and round cherubic face were irresistible.  Also, Maura was extremely unconventional and that appealed to me.  I was looking for someone to help me escape the Procrustean conformity of my upbringing.  I needed to grow and Maura's bohemian nature expanded my knowledge in many areas.  Maura taught me about art; she taught me how to cook; she taught me about feminism.

Maura had deep-seated needs and I filled them.  We fit each other like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.  Together, we grew up in important ways.  And shared experiences that I'll remember my whole life.

When you're young and in love, you do crazy things.  At least I did.  Maura and I spent the first seven years living apart as each of us stayed in different cities for our education.  We spent a lot of time on Amtrak.  Every time I put her on a train, as it took off, I'd run alongside it and wave.  And wave.  And keep running and waving until the train pulled out of the station.  I didn't care that bystanders thought I was nuts; I was in love.  I couldn't bear separating from her and tried to savor every second of being together.

Now, three decades later, I recall those events and feelings.  With fondness.  We should engage life in all its glory and pain.  I know I did.

Did you fall in love in your youth?  What was it like?

Ahead Of My Time

I just learned from Patti's blog that Pantone has chosen the top color for next year.  They call it "Radiant Orhid".  Whatever you call it, compare this color to the background of my blog and the hue you see most often in my clothes...

Yes!  It's mine!  My favorite color has finally hit the spotlight.  Next year, everyone will look like me.  Well... not exactly, but you get the point.

Would you wear this color?

Work/Life Balance

My blog has been completely silent this week.  There's a reason for that. 

I'm conducting a trial in federal court of a $12 million dollar environmental case.  While the litigation has been going on for over a decade, I was brought in at the last moment because the lead attorney had a stroke and they asked me to take his place.  The case involves twenty years of facts, hundreds of documentary exhibits, and multiple expert witnesses.  Mastering the complexity of all that takes a tremendous amount of effort.

The federal courthouse is situated in Brooklyn which means I need to get up ridiculously early to arrive in time; rush-hour in New York is brutal.  Later, after a full day of exhausting battle, I have to go to my office for an hour or two of more work before I finally return home.  I have no time or energy to blog.

Fortunately, the trial will only last two weeks.  After it's over, I hope to restore my life to normal.  I miss blogging and reading your blogs.  That leisure-activity sustains me emotionally.  Being deprived of it is almost painful.

Do you ever work too hard?  How do you manage?

Me On A Mug!

I was hugely honored last April when Anne drew an illustration of me.  She perfectly captured the spirit and joy I find in feminine attire.  I had Anne's artwork framed and it's on my wall at home.

Browsing through Facebook, I discovered Anne put her illustration of me and several other bloggers on a coffee mug.  How cool!  I instantly snapped one up.  You can get one for yourself here.

Immortalized in art!  I'm beaming.