The afternoon France-Paraguay FIFA match was good. Viewing it was definitely better than doing anything outside in the sweltering heat.
Earlier in the day, I was at Short Hills Mall, where I got a close-up look at a Bentley Bentayga. I’m sure that this twin-turbo V8 performs very nicely, but–IMO–overall, it didn’t look worthy of the $243k sticker price.
But, IMO, the tail lights look like something from an econobox, and from a distance it doesn’t really look very different from a lot of other large SUVs.
Well the neighbors did not disappoint any at all, it was another pro level fireworks show put on by an extreme enthusiast, the land owner just dominated his land for the show and passed out lots and lots of ice-cream sandwiches and he said it took the fireworks guy(s) almost a week working 8-10 hours a day to set it all up, it was synchronized to music with a light show, very cool, looking forward to see how he out does himself next year…
After being just under 100°with a feels like 106-110° for almost 2 straight weeks, the temp dropped to mid to low 80’s with a feels like of only mid 90’s last night during the show, so it felt really nice after sundown, plus the free ice-cream helped… The grand kids really loved it…
I played in 2 different bands for Independence day celebrations. I played a 2 hour rehearsal on July 2nd, an evening concert outside on July 3rd, a rehearsal in the afternoon of July 4th and an evening concert on July 4th which was moved indoors because of a thunderstorm. I am resting my lips today.
I feel bad for you guys out there. Here around Seattle it was perfect, 73 degrees with a slight breeze. And fortunately that breeze was blowing in the right direction to keep all the fireworks debris off the cars in the driveway.
Yup! The lineup for valet parking at Short Hills Mall usually includes a Ferrari and/or a Lamborghini, and at least one Bentley. On July 4th, there was a green Bentley Bentayga on the valet line–in addition to the white one that was on display inside the mall. The other vehicles on display in the mall that day included an Audi RS6, a Porsche Taycan Turbo S, and a Range Rover SV. In the past, they have had a Rolls-Royce Phantom on display. Surprisingly, all of the display vehicles are in the center of the pedestrian areas, with no barriers around them.
If anyone is wondering about a mall that would keep vehicles like that on display, suffice it to say that the stores in the mall include Tiffany, VanCleef & Arpels, Burberry, Bulgari, Cartier, Hermes, Gucci, Prada. Louis Vuitton, and a bunch of other very high-end merchants. While I don’t normally shop at those stores, it’s a very interesting place to walk around, especially on an extremely hot day when outside activities are limited.
A college friend was from Short Hills. His father owned a large contract engineering company. The company is still round but the last name of my friend is no longer associated with it. I guess they sold it and bought a small country.
Here are a couple of fun facts about Short Hills: There isn’t actually a municipality by that name. Short Hills is simply a very expensive section of the very affluent town of Millburn.
That area was developed into a community in the late 19th Century by the inventor of roll-up window shades. That “technology”, which we now take for granted, was so unique for its time that it allowed its inventor to become extremely wealthy, and to create one of the first real estate developments aimed at the affluent.
All this talk about the affluent brought back whst Bruce Williams said about his grandfather. Sell to the masses, live with the classes, but sell to the classes, live with the masses. And better to take a fast Nickle than a slow dime. Wish I could convince the greedy relatives.
My friend said that they lived in a gated community with security that checked everyone they didn’t recognize as they came to the gate. If they didn’t recognize you and the resident you were visiting hadn’t called ahead to authorize your visit, security turned you away. There were no cell phones at this time (early 1970s).
