The Eleanorian

precious

these days, when most people think of precious, they think of the dangling rope in the dark well leading to the kidnapped girl and the poodle and Jodie Foster rescuing her from the transgender villain. for me, "precious" are the words we last hear from the people we love. they are all our words and more. i was listening to my mom's last words to me this morning. every word is precious. i don't mean to compare them to a poodle. but yes, the poodle, in silence in the lambs, a movie my mother refused to see, was called precious. and my mom's last words, about how i should call her immediately, were precious. if you can, call your mom. i love my mom. i wish i could call her today.

NJ's highways are not Virginia's

That's right folks. Riding the Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway, particularly in Northern Jersey, is like breathing in large molecules the size of mac trucks. It is not like riding the meadows or near the mountains of Virginia. Alligators prowl in the shape of Volvos. You fill in the blanks, I'll skip the tolls.

Have not been feeling well...

Have had this cough in my chest that sounds melodic when I walk up stairs. I got these anti-mucous pills--generic ones from CVS--and they seem to be getting rid of the problem. My doctor believes this is a virus that needs to go away on its own. But it's been using my bod as hotel for a month now. I mean it was there for three weeks and liked the Levine anatomy so much it returned just this week as the weather went schizophrenic. Happy April.

The dictator is back

in action--and I don't mean the Fuhrer. I refer to that canine who lives with me. Every morning she wakes me up and depressively stares at me till I take her out. And then she gets all neurotic about where she needs to poop and pee. You'd think I was walking Queen Elizabeth (who at least has been known to practice democracy).

Finally...

I only have 5 boxes to unpack. I'm in my new studio in old Southwest Roanoke, and I'm now on the dishes. Soon I'll be off plastic. It shall be a relief. Listening to soul music now while I unpack my essence. Cheers, Eleanor.

Thanksgiving at my house

in NJ is like a bunch of border collies getting together and fighting over one piece of meat. Hopefully we will have an electric knife this year. If I don't speak with y'all, happy holiday. Cheers, Eleanor.

For the record...

I don't have bursitis. It's osteoarthritis--in the knee. Sometimes it's difficult to stand up, but that is probably more of a weight issue than a permanent issue. Weight is so proportional to one's health. To inspire weight reduction, I went to the local Subway today. I had recently been going to Wendy's and Burger King (not a fan of McDonald's)--and realized that the cholesterol levels will rise with regard to the supersizing. You've all seen that documentary about that person who eats in McD's and gains all that weight? Well, Wendy's and Burger King, while they may have better burgers than McD's, are nonetheless cholesterol factories. Subway is less cholesterol but of course the ultimate solution would be to make your own salads from your own garden before the deer eat your veggies. Now that I live in the country/city, this is not such a foreign concept. My neighbor, for example, grows cucumbers and after he washes them off, I eat them voraciously. They are delicious right out of the garden. And certainly a hell of a lot better for your weight.

Turning 45....

Feels different, I suppose, than 54. When I was 20, I had bursitis. I have it again. This time I am off to the knee doctor, and hopefully we shall resolve this mishap. I have been reading, watching movies, and spending some time with certain members of my family. Spending time with your family, well, it's like spending time with certain regions of your body. I mean this in the purely metaphorical sense: friends are family and family are friends and we are all, to some extent, holding hands in an extended region. So thanks again for spending 45 seconds with me. Please see below x-ray of bursitis:

Didn't Pass Driving Test

I didn't pass my driver's test because I need to practice the following: blind spots, passing in a lane, and not speeding 30 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone. Of course this may seem simple to you folk who have been driving since you were 16; whereas I've been taking subways and buses forever. I like subways and buses but they don't come as frequently in Roanoke. Well, alas, my doggy wants to pee, and I only have to walk to the backyard. My friend Arden is helping me and I'm going to practice and in a few weeks utilize the esoterica of blind spots, driving 30 miles an hour and pass mac trucks in a lane without any great fears. But please pray for me, even if you are agnostic. No atheists in a foxhole nor are there many on the interstate.

September 11

When I got up that morning five years ago, I was wearing a black suit. I never wear black suits. And I walked quietly to the train station, and not until I got beneath the earth did I hear that the buildings were attacked. There were all types of people running around and chaos and doors opening and shutting in the subway station. We were all trying to get from each other a little bit of information.

I then went to Pt Authority where I encountered more craziness and security guards and was told that my bus would not be transporting me to Jersey (where my job was located). My friend Clinton frantically called and told me to get the hell out of the Pt Authority because that, too, might be blown up.

I proceeded to walk to my house--scared to death that the buildings had fallen on my lab retriever mix. I remember walking all the way from 42nd Street to Little Italy (ten blocks away from World Trade Center) and witnessed the buildings come down. I also watched the smoke rise from what buildings were left.

My dog Henry was okay, but the smoke and chaos lasted months afterward.

Then America turned satanic. Remember how the Japanese were thrown in internment camps after Pearl Harbor was bombed? Similarly, many Arab Americans were whisked away. Even people who "resembled Arabs" were accosted, vandalized, beat up and killed.

9/11 occurred because an extremist group bombed the World Trade Center and Pentagon and probably almost a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. As we all know, it only takes a few assholes to ruin a party.

I mourn those who perished in 9/11 and probably will have lung problems in a few years (breathing in the smoke--did you see last night's 60 Minutes? Don't tell my mother).

I also mourn the extremists in every group and hope that they perish somehow--but doesn't that make me one of them? May they find some peace within themselves before they destroy other innocent lives.