My World of Wonders: October 14, 2026

 Where have I been this week? Painted Post, New York, back to Alexandria, VA, Inova Mt Vernon Hospital, the farmers market, the grocery store, the library, the treadmill, the pool, the grocery store, J's doctors. 

What am I reading? "How to Art", with a stack of books urging me to read soon. 

What have I been watching on YouTube? Cooking with Benjamin, he is in Arizona, with a southwest flair, and a focus on lower cost. He is fun to listen to, and very unfussy in the kitchen. 

What have I been thinking about this week? Refer back to Monday for how the week went, it was a challenging week. One of those that makes you think about life, health, the inevitability of loss. Enjoy every healthy day while you can. 

Who deserves a slap this week? I wake up every morning and check the news, and he is not dead yet. There are not enough slaps in the world. 

Who deserves an "atta boy"? President Z for taking out some data centers. 

What artsy stuff have I been working on? The next Gallery show is Still Life and Real Life, submissions are slowly trickling in. We are working on the schedule for 2027, we want to do a couple of shows that feature one or two artists. I have been pulling images for a show of photos. This prompted me to stroll through about 100,000 photos, trying to select 20, I narrowed it down to about 50.  I have found someone to split a show with me.  

Travel Tuesday: Flashback to Milan

 

Monday Mood: Thankful

 

Well that didn't go as planned, but all will be okay. We started out on the trip to New York, and things did not go as planned. Sweet Bear became confused and had difficulty putting words together, then he was better, then he had a headache. We eventually turned around and came back home. A consultation with his Doc urged us to go to the hospital for tests.  The verdict, a TIA, not a full blown stroke (thankfully) but a small "event." A "warning shot." 24 hours later, after every test they could figure out how to bill for, and a couple of new medications, we walked out of the hospital.  

Home three days before expected, and thankful for being home, alive and well.  

That was a more exciting week than we had planned. 

The Sunday Five: Were You a Good Kid?

1: Where you a troublemaker when you were a kid?

2: Was your parent's trust in you, well placed? 

3: What was the craziest thing you got away with when you were young? 

4: Is there anyone you owe an apology to for something you did as a teenager? 

5: Did you ever get caught? 

My answers:

1: Where you a troublemaker when you were a kid? Not really, my biggest act of defiance was refusing to work one summer day. 

2: Was your parent's trust in you, well placed? Yes, I was a good and boring kid. 

3: What was the craziest thing you got away with when you were young? As a photo opportunity for the Yearbook, I asked the Principal for permission to lead a donkey down the hallway of the school, he said NO WAY. The Superintendent of Schools was just down the hall, I asked him and he said yes on one condition, it had to enter the school through the back door of the Music Room during class. We put it in writing, and he covered my ass when we led an ass through the school. ( An early  sign that I destined to become a lawyer.)   

4: Is there anyone you owe an apology to for something you did as a teenager? My mother, my sister and I turned a street sign one night, and the next day got my mother to turn off of Holiday Drive, onto Holiday Drive. Sorry Mom, one of my few practical jokes. 

5: Did you ever get caught? No, I had a boring childhood. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Tell Your Story

There is an American Artist, who blogged when she was married to French Boy and lived in France, who is now in New Mexico, seemingly without Frenchy, who pops up in my social media feed from time to time. She has built a career as a modern artist, and talks very honestly about the traditional gallery and art league process. She is very critical of the "pay to play" entry process, of shows juried by judges who only see art as narrowly defined, and of artist's statements that sound like they are answers to an interview template. She urges artists to tell their story in their art and words, in ways that truly expose who they are. Tell the world what you were feeling, what inspired you, be different, in other words BE CREATIVE. 

She urges artists to find or create opportunities to show their work, without buying into the system. Find a venue that needs art, that is run by people who are open to your art, and exhibit there. When all else fails, find a vacant space and stage your own show. A show can be anyplace. When we were in Lexington, half a dozen times a year there was an art walk, people would fill empty storefronts, empty offices, the front room of a house, a garage, even an alleyway with art for a night. They would talk about their work. Music, food, and drink were always a part of the experience (sadly I only went a couple of times.) Back in the early 1990's in Orlando, the warehouse at a glass company was converted to an art and theater showcase one Saturday evening a month. It was creative. The shows here at Arts in Montebello are open shows, if you submit it, we will show it unless it is clearly offensive. In over a year of organizing shows, we have not had anything offensive submitted. I worry that if we don't offend someone sooner or later, we are not showing enough work.  Be creative, find venues that allow you so show your work. 

One of the works above was inspired by a dream. The artist's statement tells about the dream and how it compelled her to get up early the next  morning and paint. She sounds just a little bit crazy, and I think people can identify with that. It tells her story in a very creative way. 

Freaky Friday: The Day The Earth Moved

August 23, 2011 I was at a conference at the Marriott Hotel at Woodley Park*, mid afternoon, there was this distant rumbling sound, the room went quiet, and the sound got louder, then the room started to shake. There was construction going on next door, and I wondered for a moment if the excavation was collapsing. One of the speakers was from California, she dove under a table. I held onto a picture frame that was shaking so hard I thought would fall off of the wall. It lasted less than a minute. It was an earthquake. The biggest one in recent history in the Washington DC area. 

Everyone was moved outside, about half an hour later the hotel announced that it was safe to go back inside. Most people did, a few refused to do so. One group told the hotel to ship their bags, and took a taxi to the airport. A few minutes later it was announced that the conference was adjourning early.  I walked a couple of blocks, and found a Capital Bikeshare Bike, and started my journey home. The subway had reopened, but with a very-slow speed restriction. The wait to get into a station in the city stretched down the block. I rode out of the city. By the time I got to Crystal City, in Arlington, I was able to get on a train to my home station. Good thing, as BikeShare had not extended service to Alexandria at that time. 

The photo above was take a couple of months later, as I was riding across the Mall on my way to L'Enfant plaza to catch the train home. 

The Washington Monument was closed after the earthquake. It needed a careful inspection, not easy to do. They put out a call for structural engineers, who were skilled mountain climbers and under 150 pounds. They squeezed out through windows, secured ropes and meticulously inspected the outside of the monument. Ultimately the monument was surrounded by scaffolding for a few months. Then later, closed for replacement of the elevators, the rails the elevators ride on were twisted in ways that could not be unkinked causing frequent  malfunctions. 

The photo above was a once in a lifetime moment, being in the right time at the right time. Kind of like being in DC when an earthquake shakes the world. 

* the Marriott Hotel closed a few years ago, was torn down and replaced by apartments. 

Thursday Ramble: Gone Wrong

About 35 years ago, I was at a Home Builders Association banquet at the Hyatt Regency at Lake Buena Vista, in Florida. It was elegant, and we were all telling one another how great we were. Some idiot decided to present all of the awards before dinner was served. Of course the bar was open. As the time wore on, and the speeches become more slurred, it started to be obvious that this was a mistake.  Cell phones you could put in your pocket were relatively rare, but a few people in the room had them. The table behind us pulled one out, called and had Pizza delivered. They were drunk and tired of waiting for dinner to be served. Needless to say the evening had gone wrong. 

Something else that has gone terribly wrong is "fast food." I don't like to eat in my car, I stopped doing that when I started driving nicer cars, and when I slowed the pace of life realizing that I needed to take time to stop and taste the french fries along the way. The problem with fast food today, besides the food, is the service, especially if you are not going through the drive through. The drive through gets priority out of the kitchen, and those of us standing inside waiting, wait longer, and longer, and longer. I have seen people go through the drive through, and then bring the order into the McDonald's to eat, because it is faster than ordering at the counter. McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's have destroyed the in restaurant experience, by focusing on the drive through, and yet they continue to build indoor dining spaces. Fast food has struggled, and for me, a big part of it, is they have focused so much on the drive through, that it is no longer fast to go inside. Fast food didn't go wrong by selling fast food, they have gone wrong, by neglecting a serious part of their business.  And the worse the service gets inside the less it sells, and the more they focus on serving the drive through, making the service inside even worse.  

Time to get off of the ship of fools.