Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill, Wiltshire. About 5,000 years old and no one knows who built it or why. They do know how—with chalk blocks formed with deer antlers and moose shoulder blades—incredible. Archeologists calculate it took 18 million man-hours to create. We climbed to the top and looked around-pretty cool. When we go back to the car park Kerry wanted to take a picture of a lovely Alfa-Romero and instead of ‘pressing the button’ inadvertently opened the camera and exposed all the film. I yelled at her and then we both felt bad. The End.

Private Dancer

From the recent copy of "The Word". File under 'why didn't I think of that?' Perhaps it would give me something to do on Friday nights.

Monkey Attack!

...a tale, told by an idiot, signifying...nothing...but monkeys...

We stay in an old gatehouse near Bath and the proprietor is very kind and spends a lot of time talking to me about where we are going etc on our UK trip. Since my traveling companions are an 11 and 12 year old, the itinerary has to be somewhat kid friendly, so I tell him we’re going to drive through Longleat Animal Park. He becomes very specific at this point and said, ‘do not drive into the monkey enclosure’. So, OK. We get there and drive through the place, the kids like it, and then we get to the gate of the monkey enclosure, which is plastered with all these warnings and disclaimers. I figure, hey, we’re on vacation and they’re just monkeys, what could they possibly do? So, we go in, the monkeys all rush to the car and jump on and I’m thinking they’re friendly little buggers. As we're watching the monkeys one jumps on the hood, removes the little plastic device that directs windshield wash water and pops it into his mouth! The little ******* are eating the car! I’m thinking, oh no, it’s a rental! The kids start screaming and I pop the car into gear and screech out of there. Once we were safe, got out to inspect the damage: 3/8” deep tooth marks on all the high-impact (and hard) plastic pieces of the car, some were chewed up completely and everything removable was gone.

Apparently, monkeys, even small ones, are not to be trifled with. Some just have to learn the hard way...a wise person out there invented rental insurance for people just like me--thank you.

Andrew Wyeth

‘Christina’s World’ was completed in 1948 and hangs in the MOMA in New York. I have a copy hanging in my office and I’m repeatedly fascinated by the way this painting captures an essence. So much is said, but so much is also left to the imagination...in short, a wonderful painting by one of the greats of the last century.

LA Story

Nobody (guys that is) likes a chick-flick, since most are mediocre and not really worth watching. I’m no exception. To be fair, most movies are mediocre, just ‘product’ and not film. But, every so often, a romance comes along that hits the mark, and when it’s good, it’s the best! LA Story is one such film. Up there with the likes of ‘A Room With a View’, ‘Moonstruck’, and the BBC version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, it is one great movie.