Trip to Dunedin...

Finally took a road trip.  Four hour drive of wonderful sights.  Miles of open farm land, thousands of sheep, cattle and deer farms.  I did not see one rabbit along the highway.  Usually we knock off a few huge bunnies driving at 100 Kilometers that is about 65 MPH in USA.  I always jump when I hear that THUD, THUMP, something that goes BUMP under the car...  rabbits are a humongous problem in NZ.

When I was a very young boy I raised rabbits.  We kept them in Rabbit pens and my father would often dress one out for Sunday dinner.  England and Europe refer to rabbit as HARE.  I happen to quite enjoy a "saddle of Hare" in some fine restaurants.  I remember people saying:  "Hell, they breed like rabbits!"  Well, rabbits do breed rapidly!  Possibly the bunnies KNEW we were in route to Dunedin!  They alerted the entire world!  BEWARE.

Everything went fine.  Arrived at our Land Lady's home 'round 5 PM.  I had promised to make the dinner.  Karen is a serious vegetarian.  I made a great, and I will brag a delicious mushroom casserole, garden green salad, all kinds of cheeses, breads, new boiled potatoes, a mixed fruit salad and wines.
Coffee or tea after dinner.  Fun evening.  I slept like a rock.  Awoke feeling great.  Saturday we were going into the city.  I wanted to have a few hours all to myself.

Walked to Begg's Music Store.  They still have music stores in NZ.  I purchased my beloved Technics piano in Christchurch nearly 20 years ago!  IT STILL PLAYS PERFECTLY.  I have never had any repair or maintenance performed on it.
I would take it back to America but there is a problem:  this piano uses 220 NOT 110 Voltage...
When I walked in the front door of the shop there was a boy playing a piano I've never heard the brand, something out of a Korea?

This kid was not at all a talented, or else had been very spoilt and miss guided as how to touch a keyboard!  I walked over to him, lightly tapped him on the head, however I wanted to slap him across the head damn hard.  Well, the sales person behind the desk came around and asked me why I stopped the brat from pounding the piano to pieces?  Like, this boy had talent???  Call up Simon Crowl,  better yet, HELL HAS TALENT!

I did apologize and told the young boy he was not playing the piano, he was HURTING the piano.  I told him to move aside and I would SHOW HIM HOW TO TOUCH THE KEYS ON A PIANO.  I had not a clue what I was going to do.  He stood by his strange mother glaring at me.  I smiled, placed my two old hands over the keys sweeping them treble to bass without touching a key.  Both hands settled on a G sharp below Middle C then dropped to the lowest C sharp.  The Fantasise Impromptu by Chopin saved the day...  I played a "cut down" version of the piece for time's sake...

The boy's mother had tears in her eyes.  I told her I was sorry about the way I ATTACKED HER DAMN KID, she said:  "Forget it.  That piece was my father's favorite piece of music!"  My father tried to learn it and he did attempt to play it many times but never had the "gift".   She then said:  my father would have been probably your age when he died last year.  I rose from the bench, put my arms around her and simply held her for a brief moment in time.

She and her son exited the store and the salesperson was glaring at me:  "Thanks a hell of a lot sir.  I was hoping to sell that piano to those people.  Because of you I lost the sell..."
I will not write the language I used to express my contempt for this man!  HE GOT THE MESSAGE as I carefully put my back pack on my back, picked up my parcels.  Suddenly he had a set back or something occurred because he smiled and said:  "I thought you would help me sell the piano, your a YANK!  You live by Capitalisim!  BUY, BUY, CONSUME..."  I simply blessed him inside a place I keep very sacred and secretive within my heart then, to use a phrase I hate as well as the Actor that said it:  I WILL BE BACK!!!!!!!

From the music drama I walked to the Dunedin Art Gallery.  I LOVE THIS PLACE.  Free admission.
Main exhibition:  Gregory Crewdson.  "IN A LONELY PLACE"... I thought OMG, I hope I took my anti-depressant this morning but, just incase?  I AM JOKING.  THIS MAN'S PHOTOGRAPHY ART HAUNTS ME!!!
I spent two hours between a huge gallery of art the museum owns, classics, NZ famous painters, then the huge rooms with Gregory's enormous art.  Every piece has a story and that story ONLY SPEAKS TO THE PERSON LOOKING AT IT!  I was exhausted after leaving the gallery.

There is a wonderful cafe beside the gallery called THE NOVA.  I sipped a strong coffee, munched on a scone, then walked to my favorite old, very old USED BOOK STORE on the Octagon.  IT IS NO LONGER THERE!  GONE!  The old deaf man that owned it died.  It is now a dress/frock shop!

Used book stores are like comfort food to my soul.  They haunt me because of the smells, the thin as paper pages of some books that have passages underlined, notes in the margins, dates when they were given to someone...  I can spend lifetimes inside such santuarys.  

I have always had a dream that oneday I would have a used book shop and tea room, very small tea room in an old Victorian house with three floors.  I would name it : THE GYPSY MOON.  Once I even went so far as to design a floor plan for the books, used sheet music, old magazines, a reading room... then a very small room where one could have great wine, teas, coffees, read, eat and drink on very OLD VINTAGE CHINA.
Anyone that can remember when:  I did only use old used china in my restaurant in Alpine years ago.  I and my family spent hours shopping at the  Desert Industries, The Salvation Army, Thrift shops...

The climax of the day for me was:  WE ALL WENT TO THE RIALTO CINIMA.  The place is right out American 50 years ago.  The biggest damn screen you have ever seen.  The movie was "THE BOOK THIEF"  GO SEE THIS MOVIE.    IT IS FANTASTIC.  It touches every person alive from young to very old... it is history, it is magic, it is reality, and most of all it is a story of overcoming evil and hate.  The acting is beyond what I imagined.

Before I shut this blog down... see Philomena.  More to write later.