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Monday Bulletin: Garrison Keillor UWS Poetry; Cigarette Sparks Deadly Fire

February 22, 2021 | 1:04 PM
in NEWS
16


A blue heron in Central Park. Photo by Jen Silverman.

February 22, 2021 Weather: Rain and snow expected, with a high of 39 degrees.

Notices:
Our calendar has local and virtual events.

News:
Garrison Keillor is living far from Lake Wobegon — as he put it in the New Hampshire Union-Leader — “in the liberal tribal reservation of Manhattan’s Upper West Side.” He was recently vaccinated, and in the fifteen minutes he waited to see if he’d have a reaction, he wrote a poem:

The clinic that offers vaccine
Resembles a well-run machine,
I got my shot,
Sat down, was not
Dizzy or hot or pale green,
No aftereffects,
Loss of reflex,
Skin wasn’t waxy
So I hopped in a taxi…

Click the Union-Leader link for more, along with spot-on advice about how to behave as a septuagenarian.

“A smoldering cigarette apparently sparked the fire” that killed a 72-year-old Upper West Side woman last Wednesday night, according to amny. “Law enforcement sources said the fire broke out at about 8 p.m. on Feb. 17 inside a third-floor apartment within a building at the Douglass Houses located at 845 Columbus Avenue (W. 101st – 102nd.) Twenty FDNY units with 78 firefighters responded to the fire. While battling the blaze, police reported, firefighters discovered the victim, unconscious and unresponsive, and pulled her out of the burning building.”

Editor’s Note: An entry about Da Homeless Hero has been removed for updating. Some original comments remain.

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Linda
Linda
4 years ago

Congratulations on your new home, DHH. We wish you well and hope that you will continue to be a voice for the homeless and others in need.

0
Reply
sudden_eyes
sudden_eyes
4 years ago

I’m so happy for Da Homeless Hero! That is wonderful news.

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Reply
Danna
Danna
4 years ago

It shoukd be “Wobegon” not the more literally spelled WoeBeGone

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Reply
West Side Rag
Author
West Side Rag
4 years ago
Reply to  Danna

Thanks! Fixed.

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Reply
Bob Lamm
Bob Lamm
4 years ago

The “scandal” is that people make attacks like this anonymously. Wishing you well, Shams, in your new home.

0
Reply
Sarah
Sarah
4 years ago

Indeed! People with hearts like stone and no charity in their souls aren’t afraid to declare it openly in public! What times we live in.

0
Reply
Bob Lamm
Bob Lamm
4 years ago
Reply to  Sarah

No one is declaring their (ugly) views openly if they use fake or incomplete names.

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Reply
ben
ben
4 years ago

Good on ya DHH. Always a great story when shelter residents can find their footing and move out into their own permanent homes.

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Reply
susan
susan
4 years ago

No one has commented on the superb photo of the blue heron. Hunched over & withdrawn into himself (sorry — itself) it is a perfect epitome of the way a lot of us feel as we wait for this February to end.

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Reply
Jane
Jane
4 years ago
Reply to  susan

On the contrary, I think the fact of the beautiful heron in Central Park illustrates the vibrant life of the area, and gives yet one more reason to stay. (It’s warm under that wing).

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Reply
joseph hanania
joseph hanania
4 years ago

To Garrison Keillor, I got my two shots – with a 15 minute recuperative wait after the first, 30 minutes after the second. I never thought to write a poem, let alone a good one that would make anyone laugh. Yours made me laugh. Thank-you.

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Reply
Gilbert Kalish
Gilbert Kalish
4 years ago

Garrison Keillor-We really miss you. You were an original and always brightened our days.

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Reply
Abe
Abe
4 years ago
Reply to  Gilbert Kalish

Agree. Too bad he was “canceled”.

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Reply
Jane
Jane
4 years ago
Reply to  Abe

I was a loyal fan until Keillor introduced the evil mother character. That ended that, and although the show was sorely missed, it was better for me not to have to hear that hateful, an non-humorous routine.

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Reply
Peter Simmons
Peter Simmons
4 years ago

Finally, a thanks and gratitude for all those years, I listened to your most Wonderful Saturday nights radio shows ALL OVER the Country! As a classical musician, I worked weekends and every Saturday, after my dress rehearsal, I would get to my car or a room with my trusty radio to LISTEN to your wonderful show. The energy and fun made my performance in the coming concert, So IMPORTANT! I worked with so many of the musicians that you featured in your band that I felt like a member of your tribe for all those years. I do not know if you’re still in touch with the GREAT ANDY (King of Everything Musical), but I loved playing all those great Gigs with him… He was just the Greatest as are YOU. I promise not to bother you if, perchance, I see you up here on the UWS! Always thanks for being a Treasure to me, Pete Simmons…. UWS Denizon for EVER!

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Jane
Jane
4 years ago

It is most saddening that the woman died. I have read no report that stated that the cause of the fire was, in fact, determined to be a cigarette, but, as always, a cautionary.

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Reply

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