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. 

 

My World of Wonders: October 17, 2026

 

Where have I been this week? The community center, the gym, the farmers market. 

Who have I talked with this week? Amy, Jon, Elaine, Anna, Susan, Raf, my Sweet Bear, Krissy, Grace, Tom, Alan, Kathy, Ellen, . 

What have I been up to in the Kitchen? Cheese and bacon quiche. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and a simple salad with homemade vinaigrette.  Beef stew. My annual fruitcake. I have written about this tradition a couple of times. 

I cook bacon ahead of time, in the oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, I double layer this. Spread the bacon on the tray, I do a whole package at once. Bake at about 375F for 20-40 minutes, the time will vary with how thickly the bacon is cut, and how lean it is. You want it done, but not crispy. Drain the fat off (store the bacon fat in the refrigerator to cook with) and store the bacon in the refrigerator. You can chop it to use as an ingredient such as the quiche or crisp it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to serve hot. It stores well. 

Eggs fried in bacon fat, on toasted crumpets, with bacon. 

Who deserves a slap this week? The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, returned all of the pianos to Steinway this past week.  For the most part the pianos are leased or loaned, they belong to Steinway.  Returning them is a clear indication that they are not expecting to use them. It is really sad to see the Kennedy Center closed. At least 5 slaps, out of 5. 

Where am I going this week?  A little road trip, Corning, New York - spend the night, visit the Corning Glass Museum, then drive onto Syracuse.  The National Aging and Law Conference that I produced ten time during my time with the ABA, is being hosted at the Law School at Syracuse.  Then from there we will drive to Harrisburg, PA and have dinner with Mistress Maddie, and the next day drive on home. Not a long trip, but a nice change of scene and a chance for me to hobnob with my my fellow wizards. 

What is coming up, that I have not made any plans for? Our 34th Anniversary. It is on a Saturday. We should plan going out to lunch someplace nice.  Will we live long enough to make it to 50 years? 

What is on the easel? A fresh start, primed in a metallic sky blue. 

What am I looking forward to? A phone interview on a possible consulting project for just after the first of the year. It would more than pay for next year's travel plans. 

What has left me scratching my head? Lawyers who can't follow a simple direction. Sometimes the brighter they are, the less they make sense. 

Travel Tuesday: Whatever Comes Your Way

 

Monday Mood: Time for Change

I know of two female friends were sexually assaulted by people we knew, members of the group of young adults we hung out with, and everyone treated it as just one of those things that happens. As a middle aged adult, and an older adult, I have had two female friends tell me how being sexually assaulted as a young adult, has impacted their life. One of them blames her now deceased parents for not taking her seriously when she spoke up - the result was a lack of trust not only of her parents, but of other adults to defend or protect her. The hurt was still real 40 years later. The other one blames herself because she was drinking with college friends. She felt damaged by the experience. Good therapy later in life has made a real difference for her. The experiences screwed up their lives. 

It is time for change. 

Stand up and speak out. 

The bullshit of not wanting to ruin the life of a young man for a "youthful indiscretion" overlooks the life long impact on the young woman.  A friend brought up the Cornell rape case, and pointed out that the woman had been drinking and taking drugs, and needs to take "responsibility for her actions." 

We need to teach teenagers and young adults, that consent requires conscious decisions. Someone who is impaired by drugs or alcohol is unable to give consent, even if they shuck their clothes off and say YES, YES, YES. Any sexual activity with a person who is intoxicated is non-consensual, because the person lacked the ability to truly consider the act they are saying yes to. 

No one ever talked to me about this aspect of consent, until I was in law school. That is a massive failure in our educational system. It is time for change. 

Take the survivor of sexual assault seriously. 

Teach the concept of valid consent. 

If necessary, amend the laws to recognise that a drunk or drugged yes, is a NO. Getting someone drunk and taking advantage of them is or needs to be a crime. 

Hold the criminals responsible. Screw up their lives, they lacked the judgement to go onto become elected officials and judges. Their actions screwed up the life of another person.  

This was not what I had planned for today, but the commentary on the Cornell case made me want to speak out. 

The Sunday Five: tiny tacos

1: Tacos, hard shell or soft shell? 

2: Beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, or veggie? 

3: Mild, spicy, or very spicy? 

4: Tiny, medium, or large? 

5: Chips with salsa or guacamole? 

My Answers: 

1: Tacos, hard shell or soft shell?  Soft shell. 

2: Beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, or veggie? Beef, I actually like Taco Bell's mystery meat. 

3: Mild, spicy, or very spicy? Mild. 

4: Tiny, medium, or large? Large.

5: Chips with salsa or guacamole? Salsa.

Please share your answers in the comments. 

This the second version of this post, using this image. The first one was just too weird. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Practice Leads to Improvement

 I was working on updating the digital display for the local arts group, and Renee stopped to talk. I explained to her what I was doing, and about the upcoming gallery shows. 

She has taken up watercolor painting. She took a drawing class and was deeply surprised to find that she is pretty good at it. That led to her trying her hand at watercolors. She has a three year old granddaughter in New York. She said she was playing with her granddaughter and mentioned that she had taken up painting. The child said, "oh please send me one of your paintings." When she returned home she did that, mailing a small watercolor to her granddaughter. When it arrived there was a phone call expressing great delight and a plea to "please send me more." This has led to three mailings a week and three phone calls of delight every week. 

She said she has been delighted by how much her painting has improved, the more she does, the happier she is with the results. And her granddaughter loves receiving the steady stream of work. 

What a fun way to develop her creative abilities. 

Friday Rant: Stop the Insanity

 Warning, I am going to talk about the news and get political, if this is a trigger for you protect yourself and come back tomorrow. I promise to be better. 

Government needs to get out of the murder business.  You don't end murder, by murdering your own citizens.  People commit some very horrible crimes. Millennia of the death penalty has not changed this. 

And now Tennessee botches an execution, apparently for the SECOND TIME THIS YEAR. The latest was given two "lethal" injections, and an hour later was still breathing, still snoring, and was taken to the hospital.  The person she murdered, died with more comfort. I will go beyond we need to find a better way to kill people, we have lots of effective ways to murder people, the Government needs to set an example of good behavior and end the Death Penalty. It is not a deterrent, it does not rehabilitate anyone. If murder is wrong, it is wrong for the government to commit murder. Period. All of the god fearing quasi Christians in government should burn in their hell for allowing this travesty to continue. 

What about redemption, turning the other cheek, the concept of no one being without sin, do they fail to understand. Revenge and retribution only feed the anger and hurt. 

So what do we do with persons who have committed horrible crimes? Help them to live a better life. The prison system calls itself the Correctional System, it needs to provide an environment and support to help people learn to live in a civilized society. Few people are truly beyond hope.  We need to help people find a better way. And if we cannot, we still should not commit murder to try to discourage murder. If murder is wrong, it is wrong for the government to murder. Let alone when it can't even get that right.  

The Thursday Ramble: Get Out and Go

It is the season to get out and go. We had a long hot summer. A summer that made us want to stay inside. Not that we couldn't go outside, but that it was generally unpleasant to go outside. The heat and humidity were relentless this year. The Mall in Washington DC, the great American font lawn, was a three ring circus this summer - elect a clown - and you get a circus. Not a place we wanted to spend anytime. And with fall, this is all changing, the weather has changed becoming pleasantly cooler, the circus has folded its tent, taken down the reviewing stands and left town. 

In the past couple of weeks, I have gone into the city for a museum walk, out to Mt Vernon for the fall Colonial Fair and Market, into old town Alexandria just to walk, to go to lunch, and to do a little shopping, across the River to National Harbor for a long walk about. We have taken a little overnight trip to Maryland, and soon a road trip to upstate New York. Ah, we are escaping the self imposed confinement of summer. 

In what other ways do we self impose confinement? 

My World of Wonders: September 30, 2026

 

Where have I been this week? If all has gone to plan, Cambridge Maryland, on the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay. I had a photo in a jurried show at the Dorchester Center for the Arts, the show is over and it was time to collect the piece. We made a road trip out of it, spending the night and hopefully having time to explore a bit. 

Where else have I been? Aldi, the community center, the pool, the treadmill. Old Town Alexandria for a long walk. Old Town for a second walk and a little shopping. I needed to pick up supplies to bake fruit cakes later this week. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? I poached a chicken - from that we had chicken and rice, and chicken pot pies, and I have about 4 cups of chicken stock to cook with. A pork stew, a had a pork tenderloin and didn't feel like roasting it.  Dice and saute one small onion, quarter half a dozen mushrooms,  two stalks celery, one small white turnip, one golden beet, two medium potatoes, two medium carrots peeled and chopped, cube the pork, a couple of cups of the chicken stock, some red wine, salt, pepper, and old bay. Simmer for a couple of hours.  It was delightful on a cool wet day. 

Who deserves a slap this week? The UPS delivery driver who left my package outside someone else's door last Friday afternoon. There are 250 almost identical doors in this building, over 1,000 in the four high rise towers. At least 2 slaps out of 5. 

Who deserves a big THANK YOU and a hug this week? The neighbor who realized that the box left at their door was not theirs, and delivered it to the right door. (I have done the same over the years.)

Who deserves a HUGE THANK YOU? The dear friend who sent me an irreplaceable gift. 

What am I reading? A book about mental illness and creative persons, artists, writers, film makers, actors. Many live a complicated life. 

What is on the easel? A fresh start, primed in a metallic powder blue. 

What am I drinking? I recently opened a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel, it is exceptionally good. A little at a time, the bottle will last me a month or so.   The origins of the name Four Roses. A young man met a young lady that he wanted to get to know better. He asked her to dance with him at an upcoming ball, and she said, she would think about it. If the answer was yes, she would be carrying a red rose at the ball, when he arrived she was holding four roses. He named his new business Four Roses. 

Travel Tuesday: Colonial Fair and Market at Mt Vernon