Constantine in Arpaio's Immigration Parade

Pic of my latest facebook friend Constantine Yakubovski in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail in 2009. Arpaio's guards made him stand near the front of the immigration parade to give the media a false impression of how international the operation was - as opposed to it just being Mexicans. Constantine just got in touch after reading Hard Time.

Shaun Attwood

Hurtwood House Visit, Dorking

Just got back from speaking to a sixth form in Dorking, overwhelmed by a fantastic reception - the type that puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Pic with Bella and Jack.

Shaun Attwood

A Test

In the movie "A Bronx Tale",  Sonny, played convincingly and powerfully by Chazz Palmetieri(who wrote the screenplay), advises his young protege about a test for whether a woman is one of quality. If you have seen this film, you know the test involves automobile door locks in the days before the ubiquitous power lock.

Since that test is now effectively obsolete....perhaps this statement offers a new criteria for selecting a mate.

A Day At The Races

 I noted in a prior post that I was headed to sunny Florida. The weather turned out to be not so sunny for most of out trip. Saturday started out overcast with a chill breeze. This was a perfect day to head to the racetrack. A $40.00 dollar cab ride from the Marriott Harbor Beach dropped us right at the gate. We quickly purchased programs, cocktails, and secured a mezzanine spot overlooking the paddock to scope the horses for the 4th race.

 There was a large crowd on hand. It appeared many of the fanny-packed sneaker and sweats set were there for the casino games and not the horses. We ignored the throngs of slot junkies and watched the horses enter and parade in the paddock. Then it was off to the betting window and from there, trackside along the rail near the finish.

 I always enjoy hearing the trumpeter give the call to post. Then I get a chill when the bell goes of and the gate opens. For that minute- plus that the beautiful thoroughbreds are charging  down the track, you have visions of cashing a nice trifecta. Then some spoiler who was stalking the pace crushes your vision at the top of the stretch. I did not have much luck picking winners. However, one of my buddies cashed in on the 5th race as shown in the ticket above. He had 30 across and cashed a respectable $140.00 ticket.

 While I was sipping rum, my buddies opted for the storied PBR. I can only tolerate PBR when I have already had 7 or 8 of something else.

Sometimes when you are at the paddock, you pay attention to horseflesh...and sometimes fillies of a different species.

Postcards from T-Bone (3)

Peace My Brother, 

Please tell the students at T-Bone Appreciation Society that I have read and appreciate all of their comments on my Facebook wall. Tell them things are terrible in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail. We get no sunshine, no exercise or running, nothing but two meals a day and a very small 13-inch TV fixed to a wall 20 foot in the air. Two buns with peanut butter in the morning with an orange or a grapefruit, and some type of slop in the evening that’s whatever old meat they’ve got on hand mixed with beans and water. It’s called slop! It’s not enough to keep my strength up, and I have no money for commissary. There are 70 guys in each pod, 35 out at a time for showers.

When I get free, I will be out there in England, and you can finish writing my story. How is your niece, Yasmin, doing? I am praying for her. 

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. 

I miss you, man. 

Each one, teach one. Steel embrace. Strength and honor. 

T-Bone 

Click here for T-Bone’s previous postcard

Shaun Attwood

Plumpton College Visit

Lyndon

Andy

Shaun Attwood

Revisiting Papa

 At Lehigh there was a mid-level English course on Hemingway. Taught by James R. Frakes, this course opened the entire compendium of Hemingway's work to this eager undergrad. This weekend while sitting on the plane heading to Florida, I re-read several short stories from "Big Two Hearted River" and revisited "A Clean Well Lighted Place." and "In Our Time." The stories are of course vivid and direct.. declarative sentences and laconic descriptions of place and person and activity,dialogue with coursing undercurrent.  Interactions between men and women and men and the outdoors and the sporting world hint at familiar themes of temptation, resonsibility, living well or behaving poorly,order, mess and lonliness.

 "The Battler" allows us to observe while Nick Adams is hopping freights and along the tracks meets an old washed up boxer. When I was 20 I had only seen a few professional prize fights."My Old Man" takes the reader to the racetrack as a kid who hears scurrilous talk about his father When I was 20 I had been to the racetrack only twice. The reader witnesses Nick Adams fly fishing the stream he knew as a younger man. I had not read these stories in years and the re-reading was as fulfilling as the first time around.

The  travel and  boozing and hunting and boxing and fishing and bullfights and camping and skiing and experience with women all resonate in a different way to me now. When I was 20 and hearing Frakes lecture on these stories and evoking my response from my own reading, I lacked the experience that I have now. I did not know why the line" Is dying hard daddy?" from "Indian Camp" was so critical. "In Our Time" features "The End of Something" and at 20 I was ill equipped to appreciate the dynamic of Marjorie leaving Nick after their brief conversation.

I am hooked all over again...I must read more. I think I will even tackle A.E. Hotchner's biography of Papa once again. Perhaps I will even finally come to terms with what Jake meant when he said: "Isn't it pretty to think so ?"