no, this is not a giant hairy spider
it’s just a conspiracy of ring-tailed lemurs
having a snack at their mobbing planning session.
—
A group of lemurs is called a conspiracy. Lemurs are social animals and live in mini communities of around 10-25 members. As a result of this, they often work together, or ‘conspire’ to outwit predators using a technique called ‘mobbing’.
—
image credit: nature is amazing
recently went through my training
to work at the polls
in the upcoming elections
primary election – august 6
general election – november 5
with a diverse group of community members
of all political leanings
wanting to help to support the system
a lot of work, training, time, planning, set up, security measures
go into the process
i saw firsthand how much integrity
figures into the equation
and is top of mind
trying to make is as accurate, easy, and accessible to all people
absentee voting, early voting, drop boxes, in person, and mail-in voting options
i feel good about it
hoping people will
read, listen, talk, watch, question
learn all they can
exercise their right to choose
i’ll be ready for you
and will see you there.
—
‘every election is determined by the people who show up.’
-*larry sabato
*Dr. Larry J. Sabato is the founder, director, and professor at theUniversity of Virginia Center for Politics. He has had visiting appointments at Oxford University and Cambridge University in Great Britain. A Rhodes Scholar, he received his doctorate from Oxford, and he is the author or editor of two dozen books on American politics.
—
image credit: shepard fairey
the last paycheck. the day hath come.
—
*‘fear no more the heat o’ the sun, nor the furious winter’s rages.
thou thy worldly task hast done, home art gone and taken thy wages.’
– william shakespeare, cymbeline
*i know shakespeare wrote this about the final goodbye, but it also works for commuting and retirement
scout (in the original), walks home dressed as a ham.
—
I was cast to play scout
in a scene from ‘to kill a mockingbird’
as a favor for my friend
who was in an oral interpretation class
during her later in life college days.
the scene was the one
where scout was dressed as a ham
walking home through the woods
and the victim of an unknown attacker.
as I’m an incredibly horrible actress
I double-checked to see if she was sure
about wanting me for the role.
she was desperate and had no one else
so I was perfect, and was in!
she also cast my boyfriend at the time
as my brother
and our about to deliver a baby any second friend
as the narrator
that was it.
the only actors in the scene.
we were the holy trinity of non-talent.
one important thing that I needed to know
in spite of knowing my few lines
to be delivered in a frantic southern accent
with lots of screaming and thrashing movements
was that my attacker was not going to actually exist on stage
it was all interpretive
I had to imagine and act
like I was being attacked
as I wrestled with my invisible assailant.
at last the big day finally arrived
the curtain rose
I drawled and shrieked out my part
rolling around, slamming into the walls
and fighting my attacker who did not exist
all while dressed in my ham costume.
once it was over
we all took our bows
happy when the curtain finally went down.
after, I asked my friend’s husband,
(who was kind enough to have been in the audience
so we would be sure to have someone who clapped)
what he thought of my performance
and while his review was not exactly as expected
it was probably right on the mark:
‘you were like a cat in heat!’
my friend got an ‘a’ on the project.
—
“drama starts where logic ends.”
-ram charan
—
a repost – follow up to yesterday’s post
image credits: ‘to kill a mockingbird’ -universal pictures
“summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots,
or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat;
it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill.”
– harper lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
one of my all-time favorite books and movies and here were are once again, in summer.
i even played ‘scout’ once in a scene of a play, and it was something.
—
credits: j.b. lippincott & co., universal pictures
not my bear, not my state, not my deck
but i get it
everyone needs relief from the heat
such extreme weather
just a quick over the shoulder glance
and then –
relief
you find it where you can
careful not to bother anyone else in the process.
—
‘if you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?’
-steven wright
—
image credit: nature is amazing
how exciting to find a real working payphone
caused me to do a double take
the umbilical cord connecting to many a ride home
the joy of finding a quarter in the coin return.
—
“the telephone gives us the happiness of being together yet safely apart.”
*mason cooley
—
*mason cooley, 1927-2002, was an american aphorist known for his witty aphorisms. One of the aphorisms Cooley developed was “The time I kill is killing me.”He was professor emeritus of French, speech and world literature at the college of staten island and an assistant professor of english at columbia university.
opening of Michigan Central Train Station, 1913, Detroit, Michgan, USA
one of the great historic icons in Detroit
the last train came through in 1988
it became a victim of neglect. abuse, theft, time, and the elements
the locale for a number of end of world/armageddon films
the city couldn’t afford to demolish it
bill ford (grandson of henry) bought it in 2018
these 2 pics, above and below
show how it looked on the last day we could go in
before it was shut down and renovation plans began
he had plans to
make it ford world headquarters
create a newlab technology hub
support the surrounding neighborhood
develop a 30 acre campus
restore the parks around it
after 6 long and incredibly challenging years
at last restored and ready
he returned this landmark
to it’s original luster
the city could not have a greater gift.
“how soon country people forget. when they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. as thought there never was a time when we didn’t love it. the minute they arrive at the train station or get off the ferry and glimpse the wide streets and the wasteful lamps lighting them, they know they are born for it. there, in a city, they are not so much new as themselves; their stronger, riskier selves.”
-toni morrison
not long ago
i was stuck for an unexpectedly long chunk of time
waiting to have my car repaired
(some of you may remember my tire store post from a couple of weeks ago)
i entertained myself
by reading, writing, watching things on a big screen
thinking about
the phone calls and paperwork and research
i still needed to complete
questions i hoped to have answered
now that i was officially retired.
nothing to be done about it
i’d deal with it later when i got home.
armed with a mean cup of mechanic-grade coffee
(i drink all coffee)
accepted i’d be a captive audience
to whatever happened for the next couple of hours.
in walked a quiet, unassuming man
who sat down at the table
where i was working on my computer
he began working on his
asked me how long i’d been waiting
he had a long wait ahead of him too
i shared that i had just retired
wanted to be home lolling around
instead of sitting in an auto repair waiting room.
(first world whining on my part)
that opened the genie’s bottle
for the next 100ish minutes
he told me
about he and his wife’s retirement last year
she was a teacher too
he was an engineer
gave me tips
answered all of my questions
told me what not to waste my time on
offered me shortcuts
suggested what not to forget
talked about life after retirement.
after their double retirement
he decided to get social
formed a book club with his guy friends
mapped out his garden projects
set up a spread sheet system for them to keep track of things
started exercising more
i had more of that coffee…
shared some of the things that i’d learned as a newbie.
such a sincere, humble, genuinely friendly guy
(all i could think of was ‘ned flanders’)
a character on the long-running animated tv comedy, the simpsons.
he was smiling, happy, optimistic, helpful, and so very cheery
just like ‘ned.’
i have no idea what his real name was
but we happened to be stuck waiting together
at the just the perfect time
(i wonder if he was thinking ‘marge simpson’ with regard to me)
our long waits flew by
we chatted about family, teaching, the city, the world..
he helped me fill in so many blanks in the retirement universe
gave me confidence that i could navigate it easily
thank you, ‘ned’
sometimes you find your answers in the least expected of places.
—
“the measure of wisdom is in simplicity, humility, and in friendliness.”
-debasish mridha, m.d.
—
image/show credits: the simpsons, fox broadcasting
—
or both.
welcome summer.
coming in hot.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 