A Few Words From Monkette

Hi folks. I'm taking over writing the blog for a day or two. The only thing that this photo has to do with what I'm going to say is that it was shot inside of Vivette's Ultimate Hair Design and I won't let anybody but Vivette get anywhere near Al's hair. It's also a pretty cool shot of me, don't ya think?

Anyway, Al has been a bit under the weather the last few days and he got a bit behind with his writing. He will get caught up I'm sure. Yeah, he went to see his buddy Doctor Larry Katz. Larry told us that Al is good to go for another thirty years at least. His heart, lungs, blood pressure, etc. are all just fine (but he said my blood pressure was dangerously low!).

Some of you probably already know that Al will be showing some of his photographs in a group exhibit opening July 12th. The gallery has another show opening on June 27th, and we need to show our support of any gallery that shows photography on a regular basis. Here's the announcement:

Hello Everyone,
Now, Suyu has rootz!
Suyu Cultural Affairs invite you to be a part of our newest Gallery Opening # 7 at rootz our gallery of art and photography.
Sculptures, Photography, Paint, Installations, music, dance, 16 artists, 10 countries. Everything in one place, can you believe it? . We need your moral support- it is the only way to make a change. Come join us for a night of art appreciation, good company, two beautiful live performances with Teresa Wangeman (dance chorography, with a group of 4 girls) and Marydena (Peruvian singer of neo-classical andean music). Ah!, some food and wine.
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
Same place same time, hope to see you there !
Address:
12399 west dixie hwy
north miami
fl 33161

Thanks. Al and I are looking forward to seeing you there!

When I Still Had Hair...

Cool looking hair! It reminds me of Jimi Hendrix's afro. I have to start ignoring Claudia's "You look like a damned street person!" as she dials Vivette's shop, then tells me to "go right over there now! She has time for you!"

I guess that's what happens, though, when a guy stays friendly with his ex-wife and his former girlfriend, the two of them are best friends with one another, and one of them owns a beauty salon.

Then for the next few days just about everybody who knows me (other than the two ex's), young and old, male and female (and the usual variations of those) pipes up with a "Why'd you cut your hair?" "It was looking so cool!" "It really suited your personality!" "I didn't recognize you!" "You oughta grow it back!" And the cycle starts all over again. I remind myself of Dawn's remark last year "If a guy has that much hair at your age he should flaunt it!"

Oh well, I was standing behind the city's portable stage as they were setting up for a concert. I was expecting that some of the musicians would be sporting a bit of hair, and they did. It brought back good memories of a lot of outdoor rock and jazz concerts over the years. On the down side, hair or no hair, I was unlikely to have any cute young chicks flirting with me, and with the Police Station only a couple hundred feet away I doubted that I'd be smelling the pungent odor of smoldering ganga. Damn!

Love Hurts ~ Learning To Hate

I met that woman standing in the center of the photograph seventeen years ago. I was 48, alone, and I'd placed a personal ad in The Miami Herald. This was a few years before the internet took over the dating scene. She answered the ad and we got together a few days later. We dated for about a year, then I moved into her house. I got along fine with her younger son. We both loved to fish.

The older one was a bit of a problem though, with the underlying feeling that if his mom and I weren't living together she'd go back with his dad. This persisted long after he'd remarried. I put up with it, though, figuring that the boy would soon be off to college. It didn't happen. Then after ten years of what I thought was a pretty damned good relationship, out of the blue she asked me to move out.

But she wouldn't let go. She'd call me every morning to find out how I was. She'd remind me when I needed a haircut. She wanted to go out to dinner every Saturday night, although she insisted on paying her own way. Her brother, who is my accountant, kept telling me to "hang in there, she still loves you". Well I still loved her. And her now adult sons were still living in her house. After five years I finally asked her to come and live at my house. The answer was no.

A psychiatrist friend of mine told me that the only way I could get past loving her was to learn to hate her. I stopped seeing her, talking to her, dropping by her shop, everything. Still, it's not easy learning how to hate somebody. A year or so went by. In all that time I hadn't had a decent haircut. I'd grown a beard and let my hair grow for about six months. My ex wife, still a good friend of mine as well as best friends with the former girlfriend told me that I "look like a street person", her way of translating from her native German a phrase meaning "homeless bum". She called and made the appointment.

There was a lot of trepidation as I went to her salon. We didn't kiss and embrace at the door like we once did. We exchanged a few pleasantries about our kids. I got a fantastic haircut and she trimmed my beard. For the next few days I felt depressed but I can't seem to hate her. I knew at that point that I still loved her. I haven't seen or spoken with her since.