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Lost at bc

antlers

 

I hung a mounted deer rack proudly over our men's room urinal. I thought these deer antlers wouldn't be a bother. But bother they were, as being petite I thought I was hanging them high; instead they were right there at eye level for every 6 foot plus gentleman to eyeball.

 

Suffice it to say, it was a conversation piece, it was intended to be.

 

This trophy, a deer bagged from an Alaskan island, was a gift from a long lost love. And now, they are gone, taken.

 

Here is their story: 

 

When I was a teenage girl, my parents only fear was that someday I would come home with a long haired, motorcycle guy wearing a leather jacket. 

 

Of course, I did just that; and was eventually forbidden to see him. Which is odd coming from my typically opened minded parents, but in their defense he was often in trouble.

 

This boy was from the wrong side of the highway. Abandoned by his mother in the 1960s, his father sent him to live with his grandmother, "Nan." She was a Maniac raised on a solitary island in Maine. 

 

We met on a school bus on the south shore of Massachusetts.

 

He didn't shower me with gifts, instead, actions. For example, I lived in a snug harbor next door to a Congregational Church in our small town. Churches were never locked in those days. He would enter that holy building and climb the tower and ring the bells for me.

 

When I was a senior in high school my family moved away. That first love and I sat together the night before my move in his Volkswagon Beetle and held each other tight, crying into the night.

 

And then, I moved on.

 

Years later, a mutual friend, nicknamed Love, arranged for us to meet again before a high school reunion. I know this is a common story, but there was more to it. My friend, who has since died of cancer, had always found it so sad that I had moved away. And she knew his story, as she had dated his brother, a commercial fisherman out of Plymouth, Mass.

 

On the coldest night of one winter, the two brothers had been fishing off the coast of Massachusetts when their boat started to take on water. My former boyfriend realized the vessel was going down and got the others into shabby survival suits and into a inflatable life raft just cutting the line from lifeboat to their vessel before it was engulfed in sea water, sinking in a flash. Fortunately, he had also grabbed a beacon.

 

Their survival suits were old and ripped. It was a long night at sea in a raft. My boyfriend said that he was about to give up, and his last thought was that he would never see me again. And then, as all hope was lost their weak signal was picked up by a Russian satellite, which alerted the Coast Guard, who rescued the sorry crew, which, by the way, was captured by the Boston media.

 

I humored Love and agreed to meet my former. But then, there was this unexpected electricity when we came together. He told me of his rescue at sea, and that he had just wanted to see me one more time.

 

But at this point in our lives, we were both married to other people. 

 

He was a carpenter living in Maine, who also fished off of Kodiak Island in Alaska when it was salmon season. He had shot that deer from their fishing boat, "The Hungry Raven." He left me with those Sitka Island antlers as a keepsake of our first love. He was also the person who told me that everything done in the dark, eventually comes to light.

 

So, if you took the antlers and can find it in your heart to return them it would be appreciated. But if not at least you know their story of love lost, and found and lost again.


Really celebrate your mom!

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This will be my second Mother's Day without my mother, "mom." Last year probably didn't count because I was more than grief stricken, instead, I believe I was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, as the end of my dear mother's life was a bit tragic.

 

Being in the hospitality industry I have spent many Mother's Days serving other mothers. A treat I assure you, as my job often involves making memories. 

 

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I'd like to share with you the year I had the day off. I believe my dad was working at the desk of the Sherwood Inn, a place that really rolls it out for Mother's Day. So, I had my mom all to myself. Mom and I went for a drive and ended up having an impromptu delightful little meal at China Road; Simon's great little Chinese joint up in Mattydale that serves amazing crab rangoons, sizzling long green beans, Salt & pepper shrimp and more treats always finishing with a fortune cookie. China Road isn't a wild and hectic mother's day place. Instead, it's very relaxed and peaceful.

 

To make the day even more special, singer-songwriter and all around musician extrodinaire Colin Aberdeen (Los Blancos/Westcott Jug Suckers) was sharing a meal with his mom at the table next to us. Normally Colin and I are working while others are celebrating. A bit of a bad boy on stage, I know first hand Mr. Aberdeen is a kind man. Seeing him sharing a meal with his mom is just one example.

 

This year, I will be working again, as Mother's Day is the one Sunday we are open each year. If you decide to celebrate with your mom, consider joining us here at bc, as I can assure you the experience will be relaxing and delicious - just like that one I had with my mom so many years ago.

 

mom always wore shades

 

I miss you mom!


bc Restaurant: A Guru Review

One Syracuse restaurant that's been undergoing a bunch of changes lately is bc. From the revamped interior, new Fayette Street signage and tweaked menu to a new concept of identity–they've been hard at work. A while back I wrote an article on bc's reopening and heard about the restaurant's renewed attitude about food, atmosphere and more so I thought I'd go see what all that actually means when it comes to dining at bc Restaurant.

I was intrigued with what I learned when I met with the staff months back, but it was high time to see them in action.

Read more...


Butterflies are free to fly; fly away ...

mahan's butterfly

 

What is art but expression, a form of communication if you will. 

 

The world is his oyster - Pal Project's Steve Mahan

 

This month Syracuse based photographer Steven Mahan, director of Syracuse University's Pal Project, is hanging at bc. Well, not Mahan, but a photographic project he created more than 15 years ago that he dedicated to his mother after she passed away. It's a series of butterflies captured in her garden, shot quietly on film in sepia tone. Mahan pinned each print behind a see-through sheet of paper coated in beeswax. But first, he typed a single word on each, followed by its definition straight from the dictionary. It was his intention for viewers to read the word, its definition, then lift up that page to expose the butterfly beneath. 

 

sepia capture: sepia was photography's first attempt at color, a mixture of black and brown inks.

 

I went to this show's first opening in Geneva, it resonated with me so much so that I thought, "if I ever manage a public space again, I have to hang Mahan's butterflies." 

 

Eternal

 

As the years passed, we would run into each other and I would always ask about these images, and he would say, "Oh, they are all stacked up and packed up somewhere." And, if you know Mahan, he would give me that mischevious smile of his.

 

 familiar territory for Mahan

 

You see, Mahan is a bit of a wild man. Wild in that he's traveled in some of the earth's wildest environs working as a river guide - Tibet, Chili, Colorado. And, he was always a bit of a street photographer. It would be fair to say his work was often edgy. So, to encounter this sensitive tribute to his mother, was very thought provoking, illustrating a beautiful heartfelt bond between a mother and son. 

 

 butterflies in bc's gallery dining room - must see in person!

 

Next time you are in bc, please take a moment to drop into our gallery dining room and take a peak at this captivating butterflys. And yes, they are meant to be touched!

 

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For more information on SU's Pal Project go to syr.edu/news/articles/2010/pal-photography-literacy-07-01.html or http://supalproject.wordpress.com/.


Welcome to our Website

January 13 Justin hung our new sign on Fayette Street. It was the official beginning of a new era at bc. Heading into our eighth year, we needed it, as 7 year itches are a bitch!

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We had just spit shined the front of the house after adding new hard wood floors in our bar and carpeting in our two dining rooms. Out went our central coat closet to make room for two rolling community tables located just off the bar. We wanted a space where people could come in and break bread together - strangers and friends. And people have responded in a big way. 

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This reconfiguration has made it easier to host local musicians, which we started with a Friday night music series that starts at 9 p.m. First up was Loren & Mark, a guitar duo who were playing at bc before heading off to headline a wine festival in Bordeaux, France.

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Loren Barrigar is CNY's premier guitar picker, singer and songwriter. He has teamed up with New Zealand guitar sensation Mark Mazengarb. The two make beautiful, world class music together, and bc responded with a packed house. 

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Loren & Mark's last show before Bordeaux is Friday night Feb. 10 with the usual start time of 9 p.m. - up next Friday are R&B artists, Reginald and Donna (Alford) Seigler (9 p.m.).


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