"that which you hold, holds you"

Have you heard about the Bird House kids yet? Lately, they've been squeezing their way into a solid number of my conversations. Then, lo and behold, there they are on the front page of Sunday's paper.

Here's the skinny: about 5 years ago a group of young people took it upon themselves to fix up a deteriorating mansion on Bird Avenue in Buffalo. The squatters rode bikes everywhere, hit up dumpsters for groceries, set up a kind of communal living situation. People can crash there for a few days and then move on.

Two of the original residents went on to purchase homes and vacant lots on Normal Avenue where they carry on the Bird House legacy. They have vegetable gardens and a bee hive. They scout for curbside furniture and appliances. They pick up odd jobs to make ends meet.

The thing I find so appealing about their chosen lifestyle lies in its simplicity. Hinged on that is their sense of freedom. Shove aside all hippie propaganda about organic this and community that - I just like the idea of not being bogged down with so much stuff.

Says 25-year old Rich Majewski, "Most people my age are heavily in debt. They've got nothing to their names and owe everyone else in the world an average of $50,000. Why would you do that? That doesn't work."

These people don't work less hours because they're lazy. (or maybe that's part of it) But really, they don't work loads of hours because they don't need to buy new clothes or iPods or brake pads for their cars.

They don't need those things, so they don't need as much money, so they don't work as many hours, so they get to enjoy their lives.

Which, for young people without kids or spouses, sounds like a beautiful thing.

Buffalove

Overall, this has been what one might call a very “Buffalo” summer. Probably because it was Paul’s first in this “jewel” of Western New York and we had to show him the sights, so to speak. To keep him from jumping on the first plane home.

So, in our most Buffalonian way, we packed June to August with Labatt’s, Bison’s games with distant French relatives, city garden walks, zoo treks with too many babies and not enough hips to carry them.

There was the gluttonous Taste of Buffalo (too many people and smells, if you ask me) and the “oh-that’s-soooo-Buffalo” rainout of the much-anticipated Neko Case concert. (I’m still shaking my fist at the sky)

We did make it out to ArtPark to see Pink Floyd tribute band, The Machine, which was the most fun I’ve had in ages.

trippy laser show!

There were romantic dinners on Elmwood, awful dinners on the porch with screaming toddlers. There were parties in the country where we drank box wine and played washers. And, yes, there were about 600 times where I was mistaken as the mother of Marek, Gabriel or Michael.

But my favorite moment of summer? This award goes to my finally fulfilled goal of finding Rick James’s grave in Forest Lawn Cemetery. I especially liked the honorary 40 of Bud placed among the flowers.

Classic Buffalo.

It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day

Neko fucking Case is going to be at Thursday at the Square on July 23rd!!!! Be very, very excited!!!

and the rest of the line-up:

May 28: Gomez with Steel Train and Alberta Cross
June 4: An Evening With the Disco Biscuits
June 11: Robert Randolph & the Family Band with the Dana Fuchs Band
June 18: Better Than Ezra with Tyrone Wells
June 25: Los Loboswith Hill Country Revue
July 2: Zappa Plays Zappa
July 9: Los Lonely Boys
July 16: George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
July 23: Neko Case
July 30: The Avett Brothers with Cornmeal