Pops Goes The Monkey

Sometimes I really long for the good old days with the Boston Pops. I remember tossing back a few with Arthur Fiedler after some of those wild Esplanade performances and, of course, helping John Williams score Star Wars. Of course, Johnny had me in mind when he composed The Rebel Fanfare. Hmmmm. I never did see those royalty checks, come to think of it.

Still, it was very nice to make the scene at Boston Symphony Hall last Sunday for Keith Lockhart's wonderful Christmas Pops show. Those old Symphony Hall floorboards bring back some mighty fine memories. I particularly like Keith, too, since we're about the same height and have all those young girls throwing themselves at us. Never a sour note where I'm concerned with the ladies.

Spacing Out

Washington DC

Greetings from our nation's capital. I have been reluctant to accept NASA's invitation to join the space program. After all, it's been painful for me to get over what NASA did to Uncle Basil, Aunt Perdita, and other friends and family members in the early stages of the space program. And to think they dared call it "manned" space flight. Come on; it was "monkeyed" space flight first.

Anyway, I dropped by NASA headquarters today to see where things stand and, well, I think the space suit will look great once a few adjustments are made. And my new friend Vivian from NASA almost has me convinced to give it all another try.

Take it Frank......Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars......

Minding My Own Business

Santa Monica, CA

Well you can see that I have been sitting here at Shutters on the Beach minding my own business. Nice room, and don't I go well with the decor. Monkey Chic!




Anyway, Jessica, Zack, and I drove down to Rodeo Drive before dinner at Spago and I saw this amazing, yellow Bugatti, probably a $200,000 car. My Bugatti was red, but I always wanted a banana-colored one. Suddenly, out of nowhere, comes a former girlfriend of mine to pose next to the car. Hey, babe, I got your Bugatti right here.

The World = My Oyster

Aboard The World

The planet's most amazing "floating luxury residence" pulled into Boston Harbor tonight and, well, this equally amazing monkey made that scene, too. Jessica, Auntie Pat and I started the afternoon with a lengthy brunch at the Taj Hotel in the Back Bay (top photo) and now here we are.

As you can see, the ship issued some foul-weather gear, but it's too large, Oh well, as long as they don't issue any foul-mouth gear. Then I'd really be in trouble. It's off to dinner. Ciao!

Dim Sum, Anyone?

Toronto, ON

Everything was going just fine at the Sky Dragon dim sum in Toronto's Chinatown yesterday. Then, I made the mistake of mentioning Sarah Palin to cousin Alexa. Well, who could blame her for this reaction to that particular conversation topic.

Here Comes The Monkey

That was quite a wedding last Sunday. Scott and Pauline tied the knot and, well, I'm just waking up from it all now. This first photo for my wedding scrapbook shows Alex's reaction and that of a woman seated next to me when I told them I was getting engaged to a bonobo friend of mine.














Okay, so Gibster and Scott later talked me out of it. It seems I was not the first boy to be romanced by that bonobo. Adieu, mon monkey! Here are the three of us after that "tough love" conversation. Thanks, guys!

Nothing But Trouble

New York, NY

Here I am with Auntie Pat at the bar in the wonderful Standard Hotel in NY's Meatpacking District. We just saw Fela on Broadway and we'll be heading back uptown soon to see Judy Collins perform at the Cafe Carlyle. It will be good to see my favorite maitre'd Tony again at the Carlyle, but it'll be especially wonderful to reconnect with Judy Collins. Those were tough days we shared together in the early '60s trying to break into the West Village folk scene with Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and others. I'd like to think that you can find a little of me in Judy's music. And no, I'm not one of the clowns she's sending in.

This marvelous weekend in my home-away-from-home here is certainly helping me to forget this Swinger character pictured below. Thanks to JoAnn, this little bugger wound up in my life and I'm not sure how I feel about it. He may be nothing but trouble!

Not So Lucky

Portland, OR

I should have seen it coming. There I was on the dugout roof at a Portland Beavers' game here and, well, he appeared. I'd call Lucky a "big ape," but he's actually a very big beaver. After a heated exchange between us, which reminded me of the problems I had with Lou Seal at a San Francisco Giants' game (see August 30, 2008), we got to know each other better over a cold one. Lucky's not so bad after all except, wait a minute, I ended up buying the beer. No wonder he's so Lucky!

Happy New Year!

Charlestown, RI

Happy New Year, everyone. Well, it's been quite a holiday period for me. First, as you can see here, I had to deal with all my relatives at Auntie Pat's home in Washington.













And yet, I found true romance with Auntie Pat's friend Marguerite in this Alexandria, VA Irish pub over Thanksgiving, too, which helped me get through all the family monkey business.













Then, we all had a great Christmas dinner at the Hancock Inn in New Hampshire. Here are the men in our group - Mark, Walt, Bob, and me.













I also hung out with Yasir over Christmas, pictured below, the owner of the wonderful restaurant Soundbites in Ball Square, Somerville, MA. Although I turned down the proposed Kitchen Nightmares with Mikey television show that Gordon Ramsey eventually took, I'm always happy to help good chefs like Yasir improve their culinary skills.












And good God,I can't forgot the 44th edition of the Kuklinski Family's Christmas Eve Hearts game. You gotta be kidding me. Hey, I tried to help Uncle Bill here beat the Gibster, but he wouldn't listen to me so "you know who" won again!

















So now, we're leaving the Ohley's New Year's pajama party here - after seeing the wonderful Roger and Linda in Carolina, RI on Wednesday night - and returning to Boston. Here's to a terrific 2010 to all my fans. I'm soon off to DC. Hmmmm, I wonder what Marguerite's phone number is. I think I'll surprise her and send a dozen bananas.