The GOOD, The BAD and the (Really) UGLY

Okay, so here is a little known fact that I am willing to admit to you my cyber friends, I am a closet spaghetti-Western fan!  There, I said it.  My oh-so-patient wife doesn't share my guilty pleasure so I've hidden it even from her but I feel like I can finally share it with all 52 (official) of you.  Yes, I know full well that given the way the gossip trail flows it will spread like wildfire now.



(skip to to 1:02 to get to the "gossip" part)

Anyhoozle, one of my favorite parts of the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly  has to be the finale - Clinte Eastwood is such a badass!  The way that final scene plays out is almost like watching some kind of gunfighter ballet - especially starting at 1:41!  But just watch it for yourself!



Not that I'm advocating gun violence or anything but I just think that is a classic movie scene!

But on with what this blog is really about - Connor's Army news (and a little about me!)

As many of you might remember (if you've been following) this past Saturday, Peter Haughwout's art group Art Studio 85 (http://www.artstudio85.com/) had a combined showing with the art group Fresh (http://www.freshartlongisland.com/) to benefit Connor's Army.

 
There was a very nice turnout with some amazing art and a jaw-dropping performance by three brothers who call themselves The Michael Jazz Trio.  These three brothers are incredible musicians and they are aged 10, 15 and 17.  Once again, check them out here as they won Amateur Night at The Apollo;



Can you believe that?  And they are truly nice and humble in person - with everyone shouting accolades at them they were truly appreciative and humble.   Where has all of that gone in kids today?   Damn, I'm starting to sound like Paul Lynde and Maureen Stapleton ( I wonder if she was any relation to Jean?);

              (Enjoy the closed captioning for the hearing impaired)

So that, to go along with the theme of this post, would constitute some of the GOOD that happened this weekend.  That, on top of being able to be there for the boys' first little league game of the season (and yes, once again I am an "unofficial" coach for the team but I love helping instead of just watching on the sidelines). 

The only BAD part of the day was when I was "drafted" to be the umpire during hte inning when they had boys (instead of coaches) pitching.  I actually had to call a strike on William that was right across his strike zone and over the plate.  It was a beautiful pitch but he didn't swing at all and I had to call him out.  I felt like such an ass but I had to be impartial.  Of course, his very next time up at bat he hit an infield home run - he hit the ball to right field and just put his head down and didnt' stop running until he he slid into home plate!  So , we went back to the GOOD!

However another part of the BAD that happened over the weekend was that none of the artists (with the exception of Peter Haughwout, Jr.) managed to sell any artwork.  He sold it to Nada Marjanovich who is the publisher/editor of the Long Island Pulse!  That was really a great thing for him and for his budding career as an artist - so that was GOOD!

Of course, another GOOD thing about the event was that there was free wine for the attendees (okay, not the kids) but because I was planning to try to do a 50-mile ride with the AA group from the Huntington Bicycle Club the next day (that, for the record was BAD).

Now on to the UGLY.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures to document the sheer ugliness of it all.  Needless to say, even though I prepared for the ride by eating breakfast, not "really" drinking any wine the night before (okay, I had two small glasses), hydrating a ton (I even drank gatorade on the way home from the event), not drinking caffeine (maybe THAT was the problem) - I got dropped like an extremely BAD habit!

Now, it wasn't THIS UGLY;

I didn't sustain any broken bones and I didn't crash at all (at least not literally) but I should have knows it was going to be incredibly UGLY when I got up that morning and got the message that the Open level ride was cancelled.

Now you have to understand, the HBC open and AA groups have been riding all winter.  As we know from my previous posts, my current fitness level is in the toilet:



So I was already very wary of what would happen on the ride but I thought I might do okay.  However, when I got to the ride I saw a lot of the Open level riders there ready to roll on their carbon fiber bikes and their Dura Ace setups.  These are the Hammerheads - the gear grinding maniacs that sprint uphills in a way I only wish I could do right now.  And here they were, lined up for the AA ride. 

Now, according to our club ride description AA is 18-19 average MPH and Open is 20+ average MPH.  Well, I knew from the start that this was going to be a fast ride as we started out.  No rolling along for this group, we started out at 16mph from the parking lot.  Now usually that's not fast but the group then ramped it up quick.   When we hit the first hill I knew I was going to be in trouble as I was towards the back.  I wasn't at the end but I was back there.

The leaders then proceeded to hit every short, steep climb they could find.  Now, usually the route would not have been a problem to me - taken at my own pace.  But trying to hold on to the group just wore me out I wasn't ready for this.  To put it mildly, I SUCKED! and it was not pretty - it was downright UGLY!  So, about 17 miles in I finally told the ride leader I was bailing out and I limped my way home. 

On the way I came upon a group that was loping along at a constant 16 mph.   I embedded myself into their group for a while since they were going the same way I was going but then I realized that I couldn't keep up this pace - it was driving me crazy!  I mean, I just got my ass handed to me on a silver platter;

but I knew that I can't ride with the B+ group, that would just drive me insane and I would never get any better as a rider.

So here's the plan - RIDE MORE!  Stop this namby pamby excuse that its raining (as its going to do for the next three days) and just get out and ride!  The more I ride, the more my fitness level will increase and the more I'll be able to keep up with the big dogs!

In the meantime, I'm still looking for sponsors for the 2012 Connor's Army Cross Country Ride!  Although we have the set back for the Victory Ride, we are still looking for people to help us!  Now we're down to needing just over $5,000 so if you have any ideas PLEASE let us know and help us make those contacts!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one last little clip of what I wish I could do if I didn't have three kids, a wife, car payments, mortgage and more common sense than is good for me.  WARNING - THIS COULD BE UGLY (especially if you get motion sickness);

Stay well everyone and I WILL (not matter how UGLY it turns out) see you on the road!

And the Wheel of Fortune Turns Again

So in medieval philosphy The Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae, is a concept referring to the capricious nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna, who spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel - some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls. Fortune appears on all paintings as a woman, sometimes blindfolded, "puppeteering" a wheel.  Often she looks something like this;

Now this is not to be confused with the Pat Sajak show we all know and love (particularly since my wife Amy was once a major winner on the show);



No, we're referring to the entire idea of fate, of course with the addition of the entire blindfold issue, we might be tempted to confuse her with "Lady Justice";

Or, if you follow the headlines (particular as justice pertains to cyclists rights) as seems to be all too common today, this version;

But that's really not what this posting is all about (at least not yet).  What I want to share with you all is the capriciousness of fortune and this week it has come on so many different levels.

First of all, the downside of the turning wheel.  I know I've mentioned numerous times about my cycling accident in July (I Made God Laugh Today) and how I think it has effected me on a karmic, spiritual level.  However, this past week I discovered another physical effect that I previously not known about.  Apparently, at some point during the accident I also hit very hard on my right hip.  For a long time I had a large scrap and a bruise in the area right below my right hip bone.  A bit of the bruise is still there.

Well, last weekend I did some shoveling and cleaning up around the house to get a little dug out from the event that was Snowmageddon!  Well I guess I must have twisted wrong because I woke up Monday morning in a lot of pain.  Now, you have to understand as a dancer I do have a pretty high pain threshold and I can take a lot of punishment.  As a matter of fact, my back has been sore and/or hurting pretty consistently for the last two months or so.  However, Monday's pain was a new level so I called my friend Dr. Scott Torns to see if he could fit me in.  He got me in that morning and did a series of tests and came to the conclusion that I probably twisted my L5 vertabrae;

Which probably accounts for why I have had pain in my lower right back for so long.  Anyway, he's been working on me now and everything is getting better (without the need for pharmacological help!).  The downside of all of this is that I haven't been able to ride my bike this week.  I've been leery of getting on the bike and undoing all of his hard work.  However, that will hopefully be taken care of as I finish these last adjustments.  I'm going to try to get out on the bike this weekend to try my hand as the weather is supposed to finally warm up.

So that is the physical condition of me (and by extension Connor's Army) but there has also been an interesting turn of the wheel in regard to the emotional and financial situation.  No, we haven't gotten a new infusion of sponsorship cash in hand (although, again, if ANYONE is reading this that has a connection to any potential sponsors - LET ME KNOW!) but we have had a lot of people come forward this week with offers to do some fundraising on behalf of Connor's Army.

First of all is my friend and colleague Peter Haughwout.  He is one of the founders of a collective of artists known as Art Studio 85.  Their group has a primary goal of "entertaining our audiences through a myriad of media. In attempts to evoke emotional responses from a growing New York community, it is our studio’s desire to appeal to all of the senses and to eventually reach individuals internationally."  They "regularly engage in discussions on topics such as philosophy, current events, religion and metaphysics just to name a few" while "Group critiques and required pilgrimages (visits to exhibition spaces) allow our artists to remain competitive and current in their creative fields."  I personally know many of these artists as many of them are collegues of mine at Syosset High School and I have seen their work first hand.  Go on their website and check it out - I wish I had a quarter of their talent with a pencil, paintbrush or clay.

Pete and his group are putting together an art exhibition at the Walt Whitman museum for early April and they intend to run it as a benefit for the museum and Connor's Army!  We don't know how much it will generate but every little bit will help us towards our gaol.  With any luck we may be able to raise another $1,000 through this event!  More would be a blessing of immense proportions but we'll start small and that would be enough.  Yet, there's more!  He is hoping to do a similar show in June with student artists that traditionally has a very large turnout.  With any luck, we'll have the funding we need before that event and all of the proceeds from the June show can go directly to Sunrise Day Camp.

Also, one of my former students has a comedy improv troupe at Emerson and she is putting together a benefit show that will be held next Friday night!!!!  THANK YOU MEL!!!!  As soon as I get more information about that event I will post it here and also on our facebook sites as well!  With any luck that will generate a goodly amount as well.

And finally, and this offer really touched my heart, one of my former acting students who is now involved in a lot of the after school clubs has offered to go door to door in Syosset and ask businesses to support Connor's Army.  She is also going to approach the student government about sponsoring us as well!   She floored me when she made this offer and I can only hope that more of our "Army" can help us with smaller fundraisers such as this.  Please, any of you who have the opportunity no effort is too small since every dollar raised for the cross country event brings us one wheel length closer to the finish line!

Thank you everyone for believing in us and believing in our mission!  Please keep those fundraisers coming and I will keep letting you know how close we are to making this happen and changing the lives of these kids.

Now, keep your fingers crossed that when I go out this weekend I don't mess up Dr. Scott's adjustments!

Stay well and I'll see you on the road!