Evelyn! Scott and I Had a Fab Time at Your Co-op! - Poem: Everlasting Friendship

Hostess Evelyn Kobler and I met when we both worked at Art Matters. I interviewed the late Christopher Ray and wrote a short story very loosely based on his life. Read it here. 

Evelyn and I traveled to Camden, NJ, where we interviewed artist Fred Danziger. 

Astonishing that my brie-cheese-clogged brain actually remembered Fred's name. Who knows? Maybe we never forget those we interview like the late Sam Maitin, whose work is at the Tate Gallery in London.



  Sarah and I were at the Tate but didn't see Sam's work. 

 
Michael (Ukrainian last name) was there from last year. His sister Ruth, 80, lives at Moreland Towers, and has an apartment similar to his, with beautiful objets d'art, which you'll view shortly.

I told Michael that the Poet Laureate of Hatboro, PA, lives there. Presenting Allan Heller




Allan's in our Coffeeshop Writers' Group at the Willow Grove Giant Supermarket, the cultural capital of the Eastern Seaboard.

Marilyn Frank also lives in the building. She recently visited South Africa!

Bishop Desmond Tutu attended the same church service as Marilyn.

Too bad he didn't taste her brownies!

Before they were served I got up from the table and injected 8 more units of insulin.

What fruit dyou have inside the brownies, Michael and I asked.

No fruit, said Marilyn.

Finally, she remembered:  Dried Apricots.

Amazingly delicious as was the Trader Joe's Vanilla Ice Cream. Michael, a polymath, said the vanilla was from Madagascar.

Scott surprised me by having one scoop.

Evelyn showed me how to take close-ups.

Here's Gail, who, with her late husband Ed traveled extensively. Ed was a librarian at Swarthmore College.

Gail loves to travel. Hmm, maybe we'll become traveling companions.

Evelyn and I have known each other since our days at Art Matters. I was fired after I had a manic-psychotic break in 1984.

Luckily I no longer have manic-depression. I don't necessarily tell people in my support group that it went away.

I drank delicious Chardonnay wine, which I later mixed with sparkling Pellegrino, which Sarah introduced me to,

Menu:  Herb-baked chicken, roasted potatoes (which I skipped - too many carbs - I was saving myself for dessert) - broccoli rabe (yum!) - salad in wooden bowls.  

Drank three cups of this wonderful brew. I like it hot, like my men.

Here's Scott in a sweater I bought him in Paris.

Gail was wearing gorgeous shiny shoes she bought in Paris. She loves shopping there.

 As I've often said, Shoes are my favorite part of the body.

I wore my comfy Nikes, which I painted, b/c they were too plain. I told the Dinner Party I bought a rug in Paris for about $350. It was love at first sight. An Iranian merchant sold it to me. He left his native country during the Shah's regime.

Hey, let's take the elevator to the Rooftop Garden. It's run by a Committee.

Stuck my proboscis in there and sniffed the delicious aroma.

Herb garden. I clipped some Chives and Oregano.

 New apartment building with glass windows.

 Look at their rooftop view!!!

 Street view.

Something's got their attention! Bird? Plane? Superdome?

 Using my close-up setting, I got the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was far far away.

 My first thought upon seeing this wicker basket was Ira Einhorn - Philadelphia activist - who beat his former girlfriend Holly Maddux to death and then buried her in a trunk in his closet. She was discovered 18 months later when neighbors complained of a foul smell.

Question: Was Einhorn a sociopath? If so, other behaviors of his would also follow his lack of conscience. 

Einhorn was defended by Arlen Specter and found guilty. However, he was out on bail and fled to France. A long extradition battle followed, with the US demanding his return.

In 2002, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

I believe it was Marilyn who said a friend of hers dined in Einhorm's apartment during the time Holly went missing.

The wicker basket above holds Cushions for the chairs. Good idea, in case it rains. 

Bird baths are a must when you have a garden.

Scott asked if Bees fly up here.

They do! But, no squirrels or other garden pests.

Philadelphia skyline.

 Peek-a-boo view of our peach tree, protected by mesh on the top and sides. Foreground shows developing peaches. We lost em all last year b/c of the critters.

Here's our well-watered garden. Cherry tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, eggplant, sweet taters, and hot peppers. (Dunno how to spell Jalapena)

Here's the spectacular apartment of Michael. His collections span 40 years. Many things were his parents, but he made many things himself.

Scott loved it!

Kitchen, where he prepares meals.

 Michael has company when he hosts the co-op's Scrabble club. The members take turns.

Michael pasted wallpaper around the base of this lamp.

They just issued a new Scrabble dictionary, the first one in about 9 years. It's as exciting as the new DSM, diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders.

As a psychotherapist, I'm interested in this information. Was gonna write 'interested in this stuff' but 'stuff' is one of those words you use when you refuse you think. 

Michael called up the Scrabble Book editor to ask if the New Words are identified as such. No, said the editor. But, they should be!

 Everywhere you look is something beautiful. The Barnes Museum of the Co-op - 2101.

Breakfront belong to his parents.

Trompe l'oeil - fooling the eye - wallpaper of a book shelf.

Home sweet home. I always thank Scott for doing a great job driving.

I brought Evelyn a vase of bright pink azaleas off to the right, and sweet-smelling lilacs, also in the front yard. Also brought her a sprig of mint which comes up every year, a gift from Robin of the Willow Grove Giant.

EVERLASTING FRIENDSHIP   A Cinquin: 2-4-6-8-2  syllables - I wrote it in the car

Dinner is served.
Not on Rattlesnake Road near the
Towers, but south among new friends.
L'chaim!

Note: Evelyn lived in Pottstown, near Limerick's nuclear power plant.