The Discount Double Check: Ha

The Discount Double Check AKA The Insurance Screw Job.

People still haven't been in their homes from Hurricane Sandy. Construction teams line the streets, PODS still on lawns, families still in campers, six months after the fact. Me I was only inconvienced by a few days of NO ELECTRIC. Back to a sense of normalcy fourteen days later. No biggie.
No claim needed to be filed on my behalf, luckily. But unluckily today I received the "heads up" from my local "discount double checker" at State Farm that my home was being dropped by the company because "the company (Not him and he emphasized his disagreement with the company) redrew the lines in the local map regarding home owner coverage". Bullshit.
 Continuous coverage is what I have had on my residence since  I purchased it in 1973 with State Farm. My drivers insurance goes back further than that. Now I have until May 30 to find coverage elsewhere. There is no codicil for "pre existing coverage" no "grandfathering" those who have coverage. Nothing, just a adios. So here's my letter...

Dear State Farm:

At 16 years of age (1968) I obtained my driver's license. Mr. Frank Burke, my neighbor and local STATE FARM agent wrote my insurance policy. While doing so he made me feel special and valued. A few months later he did the same when I purchased my first automobile and needed insurance.

Needless to say when I bought my home in 1973, the same home I am still residing in, Mr. Frank Burke whose office is within walking distance of my home, again wrote my STATE FARM policy. Since that time I have been a continuous and faithful State Farm client; adding my wife's car and later my two son's policies, and each time feeling special by my State Farm agent. An easy transition occurred when Frank retired and Anthony Albano retained Frank's client list. Anthony it should be noted is wonderful.

Mr. Albano was even kind enough to call to "give me a heads up" that a letter from Corporate was in the mail. To my dismay I received the letter which stated that after 40 years of continuous home owners insurance STATE FARM would "value me as a customer"(as the letter states) and unceremoniously DROP my coverage due to State Farm's losses in my area during Hurricane Sandy. To me this is outrageous.

Let it be known that I DID NOT (fortunately) having any damage to my home during Hurricane Sandy NOR did I Initiate any claims at that time. However, your letter asserts "THIS ACTION IS DUE TO THE EXPOSURE TO LOSS TO YOUR (my emphasis added)PROPERTY FROM CATASTROPHE..."

During the storm of March 2010 (three years ago) I did need to file a claim regarding my roof and siding(claim #XXX-XX-XXXX).  At that time I did also have standing rain water accumulating in my basement for which I did not have coverage.

Since that time  my home has been repaired  (roof and partial siding by claim) and followed completely at my own expense with a series of "French Drains" installed in the basement subflooring (with a generator backup), all exterior windows and doors replaced (Anderson energy efficient) as well as further energy efficient initiatives completed in 2011 through the office of the TOWN OF BABYLON'S- Long Island Green Homes Project.

As you can ascertain, I truly care for my home and property. Being a proud "valued customer"  ( I correct you as it should be" client") State Farm finds it in their best interest to drop me after 40 plus consecutive years of faithfully paying my premiums.

Since your letter I have searched for a carrier to pick up my policy. It should be noted that, yes, policies are available to me by companies offering to  moving my $912.00 a year premium to an outrageous over $2000.00 a year threshold.

 

Lastly, I wish to remind STATE FARM that when my original policy was written in 1973 I WALKED to the office on Montauk Highway which is just north of my home. What has changed in the "map" since that time  40 years ago?  As a long time CLIENT in good standing, a having gone through the "discount double check" in Mr. Albano's office only last spring where he voiced no concerns on STATE FARM's part regarding my home owners policy,  I request your re-consideration of this move to drop my policy and consider "grandfathering" mine and others like me.

 

Awaiting your immediate reply I remain,

jazzbus@gmail.com

So Sad About Us...

Traveling north on I-95 my wife's cellphone went off just a few miles south of Washington D.C. My son called to inform us that there had been "a bombing" at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. His phraseology of "bombing" immediately needed clarification. Not being one to exaggerate we took him at face value but asked for any and all updates. As soon as my wife disconnected the call she searched using her smart phone for further information while I ejected the CD from the player and scanned for an all-News station.
A live feed from Boston was located on a Baltimore affiliate of CBS Radio Network. With much interest we listened. After the first report a local announcer came on to "interpret and rehash" what was said but in doing so he seemed to have taken great liberties in his interpretation, or so we thought.
By this time I was nearing the bridge in Washington. Quite cautiously I scanned the horizon. Planes were off in the distance and one helicopter off toward the Capitol. Nothing unusual. By the time we entered Maryland I noticed a few more than normally situated police vehicles. And by the time we reached the tunnel the presence was seen and felt. To my right a police car had a car pulled over and officers, about four or five in number, looked to have dismantled the vehicle's seats and trunk. My blood pressure started to elevate.
A few miles further  north a police cruiser with siren blasting passed on my right, a shoulder of the highway  not part of the road proper. And officers were noticed near the tolls before the tunnel entrance. A slow stop and go ride through the tunnel did not help to calm my nerves.
Upon leaving the tunnel the AM News station returned indicating that numerous victims were injured, about 20 was the first report. The further north we traveled the higher the number of injuries.
On the NJ Turnpike we picked up the WCBS 880 Radio report. Neither my wife nor I had too much of a conversation other than "Oh God". What to think? jazzbus@gmail.com

The Return of The Rascals

The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York: Two Nights On Another Planet (Thursday and Saturday) December 2012

It took all of 40 plus years to put the bullshit behind them. But with the help of some friends America's Best Rock Ensemble of the 1960's returned to the stage for six glorious nights. The Rascals, our hit makers and the social consciousness for a generation reunited and it seems the four members, albeit a bit aged, were musically no less for the wear.

Billed as a "bio-concert" a full screen caught your attention as the curtains parted. Up on the screen is a little girl digging to Once Upon A Dream and then we see Ed Sullivan in all his TV splendor announcing "Ladies and gentlemen....The Rascals". Boom, the band immediately launched into "IT'S WONDERFUL" followed closely by "LONELY TOO LONG" and "WHAT IS THE REASON". Right there I had my money's worth, every thing else would be gravy. "YOU BETTER RUN", "CARRY ME BACK", followed by a segment explaining their early Rascals days at Ondine's and The Barge leading into "SLOW DOWN", "MICKEY'S MONKEY/ LOVE LIGHTS" medley. Too much.

 

"COME ON UP","BABY LET'S WAIT" and "TOO MANY FISH IN THE SEA", now we are cooking, the crowd is whipped into a frenzy. "IF YOU KNEW", "HOLD ON" and a vignette with actors portraying the band in it's formative years being offer a tune and the real guys lead into "AIN'T GONNA EAT OUT MY HEART ANYMORE". A moment later "GOOD LOVIN", and I'm thinking where do we go from here.
No breaks, no intermission, hey this is rock and roll man, suck it up.The guitar kicks in, Dino follows on drums, OH MY...."LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING", then congas and Gene on harmonica have us "GROOVIN". The extended Hammond B-3 chord brings us to "DO YOU FEEL IT" with Gene killing on rhythm and lead, Felix holding the organ notes one handed while waving his other hand in the air asking us to have some fun. Eddie clapping two tambourines together, and Dino being Dino,this is Amazing.

"AWAY AND AWAY"  then bells, congas and Felix exclaiming to behold, "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING". I was sensing this might be coming to an end soon, but how wrong can one man be. A bit more video and Gene straps on an acoustic guitar leading us into "SUENO", back to electric for a psychedelic intro complete with a light show as Eddie asks us to "FIND SOMEBODY",  as the piano introduces..."A GIRL LIKE YOU". Hey there is a theme here. More extended images on the screen, more piano, congas and horns, "IT'S LOVE". It's Eddie turn and Felix's piano licks bring on "HOW CAN I BE SURE". I thought the place was crazy before, now it is definitely lifting off into outer space. A true STANDING OVATION followed by a bit more history on the screen and not just the band's history. Rather the history of Our Generation, "PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE", they have us now, clapping, dancing, singing; the building is shaking, "HEAVEN", "A RAY OF HOPE" and reprise of "PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE". I actually have tears in my eyes as the band introduces the players. Waiting over 40 years was well worth it. But "one more"...."SEE"... Love is really everywhere, to see it is to fly .jazzbus@gmail.com.

 

 

NEMO

Now they name all storms: hurricanes, Nor'easters, typhoons, blizzards, etc.  So this one called Nemo was planning on coming to town only a few weeks after we got hammered by Hurricane Sandy. Still reeling in the unbelievable destruction Sandy did, followed a few days later by a Nor'easter with some snow, after dealing with insurance companies, private adjusters, public officials, contractors, subcontractors, town building permits, LIPA, cell phone and Internet providers, gas lines, gas shortages, odd/ even days, lack of telephone poles to restore lines, major stores not having generators, no replacement heating units, and shit spewed all over the place covered with mold...yea...we needed Nemo. "C'mon Nemo, you little bastard, give us what you got, your best shot, go ahead".

The weathermen/woman (PC-?) predict up to 24- 36 inches; some say 5-10, others hoping it blows away, still others say "run for your lives- this will be one for the record book". And weather people who get it wrong still keep their jobs???
So late Friday afternoon I ventured out to bring my granddaughter  home as she was ill and did not go to school. At the start of the sojourn the sky was clouding and it was raining lightly. Sunrise Highway was a bit crowded with cars, and lines were forming at the gas stations. Turning off Sunrise to Rt 231 was like heading into another dimension. Sleet was softly pounding my windshield and the wipers started to work overtime. The merge to Commack Road was slippery and I was getting nervous as it took 20 minutes to get to this point from turning off Sunrise.

After dropping off my granddaughter I headed back home, traveling south on the same road. Deer Park Avenue/RT.231 was now a mess with cars traveling a few feet and stopping. The roads were slush. Half an hour to Sunrisethen  heading west for home. Sunrise was moving at a brisk pace and by Town Hall traffic was great. The point is Deer Park was hit and we weren't, yet. The radio Dj said "Commack has two inches already". What? Good ole Copiague just had rain, still.
Now, what to do? It is Friday late afternoon and my traditional get together with friends for Diet  Cokes is pending. Hmmmm. I decline and decide to stay home. And then it started.


Nemo, one for the record books or as one person interviewed so eloquently stated "it's the most I have seen in my lifetime". Geez, good for you. You are only 17 years of age.

The TV news guy is traveling on the LIE assessing the situation and informing us to "stay off the roads. Only emergency vehicles are to be out". HELLO, Are you, Mr. TV-man, an Emergency Vehicle? No, so get off the road.

So Nemo arrives late Friday afternoon to the fanfare he/she so rightfully deserves and lays about 2 feet plus a few inches on us before leaving with the sunrise of Saturday morn. My coffee is brewing, with no paper on the lawn to help me get my thoughts in order, I sit gazing out the window seeing a sea of white. Yet off to my left is a beautiful cardinal sitting on a perch looking at my now empty bird feeder. Time to get to work.

If Sandy taught us something it is to be prepared for the worst. A tough lesson to be learned but I did adhere to its premise. I fired up my recent purchase of a 6 forward speed/two reverse double stage snow blower (with an electric start). Time to dig out. Jazzbus@gmail.com

Almost The New Decade...

Almost 1970, actually December 69, but we are close enough to start the celebration of  a new decade. Closing out 1969 we experienced the festival known as Woodstock,  The soon to be nicknamed  'The Amazing"  Mets won the World Series a feat unto itself, Americans planted a flag on the moon, and The Stones played at Altamont. 1969:The good, the great the bad and the ugly all reared its head.
At a party one night in late October someone suggests we get tickets to see JETHRO TULL, the suggestion being  made while their TIME WAS album played in the backgroung.Subliminal?, I think not. Just someone wanted to see Tull at Fillmore East first week of December. My vote was a resounding NO, as I wanted to see HENDRIX on New Years Eve. But they won and I lost out. Eight tickets for TULL with Fat Mattress and GRAND FUNK RAILROAD opening....Who???  Grand WHAT?  Away we go. Orchestra far back on the right. Grand Funk was loud, fast, hair flowing and a lot of running around on the stage. Geez, they got encore after encore...WHAT? Opening act at Fillmore East getting multiple encores? Grand What? Then,  FAT MATTRESS which was basically Noel Redding from Hendrix's Experience  and a bunch of Noel's drinking buddies. Not particularly good, terrible actually. They did a tune called ALL NIGHT DRINKER to which I think Noel was, drunk. Then JETHRO TULL hits the stage with NOTHING IS EASY. Pretty cool but something was amiss, somewhere the natural order appeared to be disrupted to me. Something felt amiss. After the show i found out what it was. Prior to the Tull show one friend arrived a bit early grabbing two tixs for the Hendrix show which I assumed was sold out. Stupid me. So my Friend attended Hendrix BAND OF GYPSIES on NEW YEARS EVE while I attended  this stupid party.This is not supposed to happen.

1970: It's A New Dawn

The Holiday vacation was almost over yet I was itching to listen to some live performance so I attended a Fillmore East Monday Night Audition  and met the FLAMIN Groovies. This to me was the future of rock and roll, not Grand Funk, The Groovies... What a band, what a blast. All for $1.50. and stylish...




Spending my Christmas bonus on new slacks, cut perfectly for my skinny body, a nice pullover, new suede jacket and almost matching boots, I even got a recut for my styled hair as we went to see The Doors,Sunday, January 18 1970 at The FELT FORUM. Second shot at seeing the band but again the rants and poems by Morrison while the group played a pedestrian beat in the background sort of made me think...ah, not that good. But the women in the crowd loved him. John Sebastian helped open the Doors segment with ROADHOUSE BLUES  and  Lonnie Mack was superb.






Quicksilver/Country Joe Fish at FILLMORE EAST ( 1/24/70) also known as HOW I SPENT MY 18th BIRTHDAY. It was early Saturday morning when  Mom asked if there was anything special I wanted for my birthday. While she probably meant for dinner, may be a special meal. Nah, I selfishly requested two tickets to see Quicksilver. Twenty bucks exchanged hands in a card and away I went. Real proof of age as I was now legal, got me a bottle of wine for the train  ride in. A pack of Marlboro Reds, LIRR tickets and 2 Fillmore tickets.Dinner later would also be on my bill. Thanks Mom.Eric Mercury opens, Country Joe and The Fish, then Quicksilver Messenger Service with Nicky Hopkins on piano and Dino Valenti. Not the band I was expecting but an all out San Fran bill, cool.

Now 18 years old , ready to rock or get drafted to Vietnam but not old enough to vote. A bottle or two of red wine and two tickets to see Delaney Bonnie Friends with Eric Clapton on a bitter night  February of 1970. ERIC CLAPTON playing with DBF.This was a dream come true. I hoped Rita Coolidge would be there to make the night complete. Met some older (by one or two years) town folks on the train ride in who were also heading to the show . Live music became  the topic for our small talk. And we spoke, and spoke. Too cool, I held my own. Eric Clapton was the man that night and the Fillmore East sound made it amazingly good.. So much better than the Garden with Blind Faith .  Seals and Crofts opened.

February in New York is cold and this night was extremely cold, temperature wise also. Four tickets for Savoy Brown ,Renaissance, Voices of East Harlem at  FILLMORE EAST 2/21/70. Why four? Ah, NO...I sensed things are shifting, personally and  to top it off The KinKs cancelled at the last minute. The Voices  started with a video of the ensemble singing while running down the streets of Manhattan, suddenly Second Avenue, oh look the Fillmore Marquee, then the actual group running down the aisles toward the stage singing. Very cool. Renaissance was the left over Yardbirds, quite different from what I expected. Savoy Brown BOOGIED and then they BOOGIED. Chris Youlden was great on vocals with a top hat, Noonan danced and Kim Simmonds rocked. Nice. But The KinKs cancelled. Ahhhhhh...

It was only one full week and I was back doing what I do but this time it was a late show on A Saturday night midnight extravaganza. And I was ready to party. TYA, Zephyr, Doug Kershaw Feb 28, 1970.

Cold with Therapy

Another day of freezing temperatures. COLD, an I left the warmth of the Carolinas for this. Well truthfully I came home because the NHL lockout was over and had a few NY Ranger games to attend. A rare Saturday night game no less.
Started physical therapy on my bad right wing ( not a hockey position) and hopefully all will be better in a few sessions.

Happy New Year 2013

Just another day but a full new year ahead. Allman Brothers Band announced another March Madness, 10 shows for The Beacon Theatre. Tixs on sale Thursday, and I am looking forward to another adventure added to My Obsession.