Tags
carnegie hall, chappaqua, continental can co., jan, romance, s.
Enemy of order
Is not entropy as strong as growth?
Why is down-going evil?
Impartial god opens new venues
There is no blame
A sacred new world won't run from shadows
Will pray for light
It is up to us and no other
Karma is conscience remembered
Wake up and die right.
s. wrote this on the eve of his first day at work at continental can co..he had made a deep vow that he would keep this job for two years.
realizing that his sphere of influence was limited to waifs, hoydens and tramps like himeself, s. had written his father asking for help in finding a job.
bob had given him the phone numbers of three classmates from law school at north western. john simons was one of them. he was vice-president of continental can co., the largest container company in the world, with over 500 plants.
so there he was in the systems department coding in accounts receivable a college graduate job while attending the ninth grade in night high school. it was an easy job and s. graduated to the last row next to the head of the department. that meant that he could read a book in his drawer when his business work was done.
every now and then mr. simons invited him to the top floor of the continental can building on third ave.. this was a sumptuous office with maids dressed in black and white traditional french maid outfits; the pretty little 'ballerinas' with white lace aprons served the top executives coffee or tea and cocktails whenever required.
and they would chat over coffee and crumpits for a good twenty minutes about this and that. eventually, s. was invited to the house in chappaqua, westchester, where he met charlotte, 'jack''s wife and their children. mostly, he would stay the night or over the weekend. in other words s. was 'adopted' again.
it gets a little horatio algerish now with charlotte telling a sad story about her daughter jan who had married an architect from Cameroon. she lived there only a couple of years, got pregnant and suffered the untimely loss of her husband to an airplane crash.
jan was flying back home and would arrive soon. would s. kind of take her under his wing and comfort and entertain her? that was the gist of charlotte's request . of course, more than delighted, sight unseen. and when s. saw her for the first time he was even more thanking his lucky stars because she was beautiful.
self-portrait by jan herself.
so jan and s. became fast friends and enjoyed each other's company enormously, and it must have distracted jan from her loss just as charlotte had hoped.
so here was s., once again squiring a lady with a strangers baby in her womb.
school was four hours a night though and five nights a week so s. only spent the weekends at chappaqua. jan told s. that her father had dropped a hint that his liquor cabinent was showing a little wear and tear from these weekends. s. just laughed knowing that they could certainly afford as much tia maria and courvoisier that he could drink.
but when s. asked jan to marry him and she said no he wanted to know why not. she simply said because she thought he drank too much. he was surprised and hurt because he didn't think he was so bad. it seemed normal to drink as much as he did. s. had not crossed the 'line' yet and the only personality change was that he just became more entertaining and funny. as a matter of fact, he didn't even appear to be tipsy and never lost his balance or the ability to control the alcohol. you could say 'he could hold his liquor'.
meanwhile, back at the can company s. was taking advantage of his protected position as a protoge' of the vice-president and racked up the company's all time record of latenesses and absences. and the company had been in business for a hundred years almost. when his boss, george safer, had moved on to a higher position, his second in command, steve something or other, screwed up his courage and fired him. s. did not quite achieve his goal of keeping a job for two years as he had vowed he would do. he was short by six months.
but he remained on good terms with jan and the simons's.
the house was on several very private acres. it was quite a sylvan paradise for skinny dipping in the pool and playing badminton or crocette.
once on the fourth of july they were all invited to donald smiley's private island in the long island sound. mr. smiley, another classmate of s.'s father was president of macys. it was a gala party with motor boats ferrying the guests from the shore to watch what you might call the first "macys fourth of july fireworks show".
the island was designed like a ship and the top floor called the "crow's nest" was the master bedroom. s. and jan laid in bed and watched the fireworks through the bedroom's picture window with a magnum of "dom perignon" and a silver platter of french hors d'ouevres.
another time they were invited to a concert at carnegie hall by virgil day, a third friend of s.'s father and a good friend still of jack simons. it was a 'black tie' occasion.
the princess of sweden was served champagne in the neighboring box. this stirred our powerful host, vice-president of general electric to disappear for bit. about ten minutes later two ushers served champagne to his guests. s. caught the eye of the princess and hoisted his glass to toast the lovely princess. she smiled happily and raised her glass in response. naturally, this was a high point in the life of this vagabond artist.
Anonymous writes:ah yes. i, too, have lived through some elegant catastrophes. love you Scott.
Hi Scott. Glad you are having fun and enjoying where you now live. Its been a couple of years since you needed help, and it was a pleasure to be able to help you. Take care.
thank you kim, i'll always remember your generosity that time. i really appreciated it. :happy:anonymous ron, i knew it was you when i saw the words "elegant catastrophes". still, i could be wrong. it could be anyone i know. why don't you sign your name?
yw
It is a maturing experience, dealing with the egotistical human nature that one encounters while developing one's own chart to navigate the vagaries of the upper echelons on the seascape of global enterprises. :coffee: :happy:
It's great! She is very fabulous, she is very beautiful:)
kent… nice sentence, kind of rolls off the tongue. thank you for commenting.
katya, moj droog, welcome back and thanks for reading. :happy:
I'm here,Scott, i will forever with you;) π :up: :love:
Scott, it is true that Jan is beautiful. It is also true that I seem to be missing out not having a glass of champagne at the symphony concert. I'll have to talk with them about that. :p
Halloween – Comments and Graphics!
Very Happy Halloween to you, Scott.
Originally posted by FIFINELEB:
you scared me. :yikes:
Originally posted by edwardpiercy:
just remember "money talks" π
'a' highpoint, yes. not has high as being able to write about it like that, however. bravo!
many thanks moon. onward and upward. :up:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, to you and yours Scott. Stay healthy, happy and safe.
Happy Halloween Scott:http://my.opera.com/SqueakeyCat/blog/happy-halloween-to-all-my-opera-friends
happy halloween kent and kim. :happy:
If you don't write your memoirs in publishable form, Scott, I am going to be disappointed. You have crammed more living into one lifetime than most people would do in two lifetimes. Write a book. If you haven't already. Get it published. I'll buy it.
ha thanks linda. i will. just give me time. still have a long way to go. :happy: thanks for the support. :heart:
Uh, Scott, not to bring up age, but don't you think you might ought to at least make a start???? I hate to bring it to your attention—-but, but, you ain't a teenager no more.
very amusing linda but didn't you know i am going to live forever?but since you ask. i am putting it all together already. i am collectin hard copy from the blog, i have journals i am typing also. and finally, i wrote six legal pads full of tiny handwriting as an autobiography. that was when i did the jaime paintings in my new york studio in pearl river; just before my wife set me free.then ensued two years taking care of my father and eight years of homelessvagrancy. so you see, there's a lot to do. and it's a back burner project, in fact. the book of stories is my main thrust right now. that is, working on silk screen illustrations for that until november 2012. unless i win the lottery and can afford a studio for oil painting, my greatest love and obsession, i will buckle down and finish the story of my life. "the river and i" (copyright 2010, hungryeyegraphics.com).and when it's published, you will be on the list for a complimentary copy.
And I shall treasure it Scott. Just don't wait too long—you may live forever, but not sure I have that much time left.
that's a horse of a different color linda. i will consider stepping up the pace then. :happy:
Thank you.
yvw. i'm dancing as fast as i can now. burning the candle at both ends, cutting back on playground time and deficit spending, doubling efforts, compressing eating time,curtailing nap time, dropping entertainment entirely,showering alternate days, letting farmville slide…. :faint:
:p :wait:
I also want a copy, Scott. π
o.k. kiran. :happy:
I'd be more than happy to pay for a copy… π
Me, too
you guys are great. thanks for the feedback. :happy:
Me three! π
i'd better get busy and concentrate on the "river and i". we never can know how much time we have. i will put it on the second front burner on medium high. π
good. same day i thought it, same day i did it. :cool:i'm going to speed up the posts now for a while. i'm aiming to get through the next tne years by christmas. :yikes:
good. same day i thought it, same day i did it. :cool:i'm going to speed up the posts now for a while. i'm aiming to get through the next ten years by christmas. :yikes:
:):)
:eyes: Try publishing it online Sir Scott.
isn't that what i am doing now?
Errt i meant publish your book online, selling online. Like my book π
oh. maybe. π
π
Are you going to do the artwork for the cover? If you publish it as a book book?
Great idea lady Linda, I second that! π
mais oui, certainement ma petite. :happy:THE RIVER AND Iby scott cumming
Beautiful π
Hey,Scott. You are speaking French now. C'est une belle toile expressionniste. C'est un chΓ’teau fort dans le fond Γ gauche? Cela me fait penser Γ "La Dame du Lac" (The Lady of the Lake " by Walter Scott ) Bonne journΓ©e. π
Originally posted by I_ArtMan:
Well I'll be, the world really is small! I lived in the hamlet of Thiells in North, Rockland County New York and went to church in Pearl River. Little different in my case though, I set her free – moved to Bethel, Connecticut and then Norway. That was 1972 to 1990. WOW! :yes:
Originally posted by kentsopera:
it is indeed a small world. i loved pearl river. it is a perfect size for a town. π you set her free. that is horse of a different color. :happy:
I liked Pearl River too, Scott, it is a nice suburban town and not crowdedYep, that horses color falls into the 30% statistics of the set 'em free.Been-there-done-that twice, and now I am totally free, and glad to be!People change, and when they change for the worse and play the: domineering, I-want-it-my-way, manipulation, adult tantrum Games -Kent moves on, seen it all as a, now retired, Professional Engineer and managing director of I.T. in a Worldwide company. Although blessed with my Dad's patience, there is just so much crap a body will put-up-with over a sustained period of time. Take care Scott, stay healthy & happy!:) :coffee: π
good comment kent, just the right amount of invective.Originally posted by kentsopera:
that is at the bottom of the relationship problems i think. when people insist on control. well, i can't be controlled anyway; except by my own self with the full cognizance of when to let go and when to take hold. most of life is accidental. :coffee:
Thanksgiving – Comments and Graphics!
Kind regards as always to you.
The story was great, but I love your pictures better.:yes:
well, arne, that completely satisfies me because the painting is what i consider my forte'. i only write out of a sort of compulsion to explain myself, my life. thanks for commenting. :happy:
It's so good to read your blog and to remember how it started back in '04.. and to also remember how much we used to interact here and there and elsewhere over the years, dear bro Scott. now i sit up late reading and absorbing your words here… so much to see…so much to take in. one of your friends says here you better get on because she won't live for ever ..i'm paraphrasing her words of course … but since all the time i've known you it seems we have 'lived for ever 'and we will go on doing just that. i know it's mostly in our minds that we stop ageing – has to be just that, but it feels eternal – leastways that works for me and i suspect it's the same for you too. and in the process, the stasis, i mean, we can set down all we ever wanted to, all we ever felt like doing … and as i read your life unfolded here it feels so enriching to absorb all of this and to feel your 'essence' on this page, in this posting, of your story so far…for i am imbued with the richness of your narrative and by proxy i share your life through all of your words… and that sure feels good to me. live long and prosper my brother. scott π :up: :coffee: Loku in England … just a step away in my mind…
your words do not fall on dead ears my brittish brother. i really appreciate your ability to cut through the mustard and express the inexpressible which is love. and i return it to you with all my heart. plus a :coffee: oh if we were given our right to be free, how fast i would run to you to share this cup of cyber-coffee.:cool:
Originally posted by I_ArtMan:
oh my american brother… in this medium we may seem to be specks of light, motes floating through a galaxy of electrons, yet we touch, reach out, feel, share and in consequence we are unified in ways that are no less real than as if we are in the same space, the same room, sitting and having that coffee :coffee: together, sharing our thoughts and musing on that long road stretching back behind us, full of the many things we left as our marks along the way. and in front of us the road curves and we cannot see around that distant curve… we are here, at this moment, now, and reaching out in fraternal love and friendship and that is all that matters in the time allotted to us, as we progress along the road….:coffee: :coffee: :coffee:
well said and true. brotherhood is the affinity of minds agreeing that it is true that we live together in this world and have a valuable link; just as valuable as letters written between fellows of the past.i think that years from now, these cyber fibers will be collected and appreciated. that we were not all unaware of each other.
h.n.y.t.u. :love: :hat:
Hi Arne, Scott, and Loku. :DArne long time no see. π I have given up on writting my posts. They say an image is worth a thousand words, so the pictures I have uploaded in my albums will tell what I wanted to say. So I am not writting the posts that I had been saying I would write.
h.n.y.t.u. arne, may your days be filled with wonderful events.kyren,no need to apologize. i know you will write again when you feel the need to.by the way, i watched an indian movie last night that i got from netflix. it was really very inspiring. it was called the "rising". all about the freedom fighters in 1858. it made me think of you.
welcome friend arne. :happy:
:hi:
It made you think of me? Aww, thank you Scott. :heart: π
yvw π