La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I spoke with The Kid Brother Tuesday night. He called me and even successfully connected with video. He’s doing great and is clearly excited about my visit. We’ll see each other in 8 days. As he was hanging up the phone after his officious GOOD BYE, I said “Good-bye, Chief.” We could no longer see each other and I heard him mutter just like Perry White from the old Superman TV series, “I told him not to call me Chief!” He raises my blood pressure but he also raises my spirits.
Isabel is here. San Geraldo and I were out of bed early and had coffee and second breakfast at Mesón Salvador this morning. We felt loved and appreciated. Now we just want to go back to bed. (Note: Isabel just told me SG has gone back to bed.) So glad we don’t have to do any work for New Year’s Eve. Time for me to get my packing list together.
As for today’s final photo: When San Geraldo and I first met in 1981, and we were both very young, he was a workaholic. Most nights, we would meet after work at my favorite hangout, a cool and popular restaurant and bar called “Ken’s, By George” on Copley Square in Boston. I was there for happy hour most days and would enjoy the great piano bar. Melissa Etheridge even performed there briefly while she was a student at nearby Berkeley School of Music. My best friend, Brian, was the bar manager and it was my home away from home. I drank lunch there most days. I was not a workaholic and would arrive usually around 6 p.m. San Geraldo would get there when he could and we’d have a late dinner. We would sit in a booth; there were usually very few people still around. When dinner was done, SG’s eyes would start to close. I would beg, “Jerry, don’t fall asleep. Please, don’t fall asleep. Keep your eyes open.” Thud. He was out. I looked toward the bar to see Brian and the rest of the staff exchanging money. They took bets on how long SG would last. Then Brian would arrive with two gin and tonics, he’d slide in next to me, and we’d drink and chat until SG woke up to go home. Not much has changed.
Hablé con El Hermanito el martes por la noche. Me llamó e incluso se conectó exitosamente con el video. Le está yendo muy bien y está claramente entusiasmado con mi visita. Nos veremos en 8 días. Mientras colgaba el teléfono después de su oficioso ADIÓS, le dije: “Adiós, jefe”. Ya no podíamos vernos y lo escuché murmurar como Perry White de la antigua serie de televisión Superman: “¡Le dije que no me llamara Jefe!” Me eleva la presión sanguínea pero también me levanta el ánimo.
Isabel está aquí. Nos levantamos temprano y tomamos un café y un segundo desayuno en el Mesón Salvador esta mañana. Nos sentimos amados y apreciados. Ahora sólo queremos volver a la cama. (Nota: Isabel acaba de decirme que SG se ha vuelto a la cama). Me alegro mucho de que no tengamos que trabajar nada para la víspera de Año Nuevo. Es hora de que prepare mi lista de equipaje.
En cuanto a la foto final de hoy: cuando San Geraldo y yo nos conocimos en 1981, y ambos éramos muy jóvenes, él era un adicto al trabajo. La mayoría de las noches, nos reuníamos después del trabajo en mi lugar favorito, un restaurante y bar moderno y popular llamado “Ken’s, By George” en Copley Square en Boston. Estuve allí durante la hora feliz la mayoría de los días y disfruté del excelente piano bar. Melissa Etheridge incluso actuó allí brevemente mientras era estudiante en la cercana Escuela de Música de Berkeley. Mi mejor amigo, Brian, era el gerente del bar y era mi hogar lejos de casa. Almorcé allí la mayoría de los días. No era adicto al trabajo y normalmente llegaba alrededor de las 6 p.m. San Geraldo llegaría allí cuando pudiera y cenaríamos tarde. Nos sentábamos en una cabina; Por lo general, todavía había muy poca gente por allí. Cuando terminaba la cena, los ojos de SG empezaban a cerrarse. Yo le rogaba: “Jerry, no te duermas. Por favor, no te duermas. Mantén tus ojos abiertos.” Ruido sordo. Estaba fuera. Miré hacia la barra y vi a Brian y al resto del personal intercambiando dinero. Hicieron apuestas sobre cuánto duraría SG. Luego llegaba Brian con dos gin tonics, se sentaba a mi lado y bebíamos y charlábamos hasta que SG se despertaba para irse a casa. No ha cambiado mucho.
• San Geraldo, Castillo de Colchester en noviembre. Tuvo un segundo aliento y todos salimos a tomar un helado.
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Well, at least SG has always been consistent in his habits, lol!
Debra:
There is that!
Debra:
The reflux is already gone. Doesn’t take much but common sense on my part.
Two great stories … the KB and the SG!
Love those.
Bob:
Isn’t it nice to have muses?
Bob:
And the KB adores the SG. He calls him The Big Guy.
I honestly thought I’d watched the TV show “Superman” and remember those actors but not much more. I surely don’t remember “Don’t call me chief!” It was interesting to see the progression from black and white to color.
My own dear man can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.
Love your sunrise pictures. It’s so nice of you to get up early to take them for us!
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
The Kid Brother often muddles Get Smart and Superman with the chiefs.
Ms. Moon:
I’d guess there were few (to none) episodes without a “Don’t call me chief!” I think it was KB’s favorite part of the show.
This is a long relationship! And Jerry has worked and cooked and slept consistently throughout? He knows how to live.. very cool guy.
Anon:
He IS a very cool guy… and very entertaining.
Anon:
I think he’s a keeper.
Dave also falls asleep very readily. It used to exasperate me but I’ve gotten used to it!
Steve:
I’ve always found it funny. We used to regularly go to a friend’s place in Boston for dinner. SG always fell asleep. The friend finally asked me why SG found him so boring. (He was SG’s friend first.) I explained. We then closed the shutters to the kitchen pass-thru and drank in the kitchen while we washed dishes and he slept.
That seems like a rather uncomfortable way to sleep. San Geraldo must have been pretty tired.
Kirk:
I don’t know how he does it. And, yes, he was pretty tired.
Beautiful skies and a funny story. I have a BIL who can sleep standing up. It’s actually a nice thing to be able to take refreshing catnaps, so good for SG!
Kelly:
He’s a strong believer in cat naps. But I don’t know how he sleeps in some of those positions. If I’m sitting and my head drops, it wakes me up.
LOVE this! SG’s sleeping patterns do sound a tad familiar.
KB must have loved ‘Get Smart’ back in the day!
Happy packing.
Jim:
KB adores Get Smart and gets the two “chiefs” routines mixed up all the time. “I told you not to tell me that!”
I can’t wait to read about your adventures with KB next week! I just adore him.
Jennifer
Jennifer:
I hope to entertain. He knows all about you. He would love you and your dogs. He loves tropical fish. He loves Marco, too. I show him pictures.
Awwww, bless! I, too, am familar with the “other-half-falling-asleep-and-snoring-in-a-chair” shenaninigans, usually when we’ve not long settled in to watch telly. Hey ho. He’s the “early bird” and I’m the “night owl”, so he has to deal with the “othe-half-surfacing-sometime-in-the-afternoon” business on weekends and days off as well… Jx
Jon:
I have a number of photos of SG falling asleep at events. A real party animal.
Why Ken’s, By George? Was it next to a statue of someone named George, or was it designed by someone named George? I’m tired all the time. SG and I would get along very well.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
Upstairs was Ken’s Deli, a very popular spot in the Back Bay. George was Ken’s brother-in-law and business partner. SG has always needed his siesta.
Regardless he is a dear.
Urspo:
He is. And he gives me so much to talk about.
The last time I saw your blog post I spoke almost no Spanish but I’ve been learning for a roughly 6 months now. I work at a paint store so we get a lot of Hispanic contractors.
Obviously I haven’t heard a lot of Spanish from Spain. The Spanish from American countries varies on how easy it is to hear. I can definitely read it easier than I can hear it. Most of the Latin countries talk so fast it’s hard to catch a lot of things
Adam:
Andalusian Spanish can be difficult to follow. The local dialects actually drop consonants and vowels — kind of like New York City Street Dialect. It can be entertaining. Great that you’re learning. It stimulates the brain AND obviously it’s good for your work. I hope my Spanish blog can help! (Great to see you here!)
I’m mostly using Duolingo but I found your Spanish fairly easy to read minus what I didn’t know.
Adam (Neko Random):
I enjoyed Duolingo. For Spain Spanish, I moved on to Babel. It was good but I had fun with Duolingo. Now I just speak and write as often as I can. I wish I had a good Spanish friend who had the time for at least a weekly coffee and Spanish conversation one-on-one, as opposed to the social gatherings we have where I don’t learn as much.
Everyone needs their rest, one way or another. I never drank lunch.
David:
Sadly, I drank quite a lot of my lunches through my late 20s and early 30s. Not a good way to live.
Thought you would like the Amsterdam equivalent of your people in Spain – https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMZGVqaWFiv-UjRKaz2fTevRp7scXFMqhDKJFqund1mPrrX1JsQlfJKKakdM_QKAE8XDbkKUQ8hQ6jjCuf9FweOh6tvostFduFeFJ8wxktN5Ws8rmdG0orkjDABM3w8orkYVZa9yGh2psmYbdh_K6yiLXKsxxxMc_bxD9Jcw7o1DcQRL4_e477uPanNI/s3373/naamloos-1.jpg
sillygirl:
That coat!!! Give me mismatched plaids, stripes, and patterns any day.
I’m so glad to know that you’ll be visiting Chuck soon 🙂
Judy C:
A week from now, we’ll have spent our first day together. And he’s got plans!