Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

lazy in las vegas.

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floating down the lazy river in the middle of the desert.

“most people think of las vegas, and they think of extravagance.

but it’s really a mix between fantasy and laziness.”

-gia coppola

wheel of fortune.

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our first foray into vegas life

was a spin on the wheel of fortune

easy come, easy go. 

 

“anyone who is prosperous

may by the turn of fortune’s wheel

become most wretched before evening.”

-ammianus marcellinus

vegas vacation.

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headed out today 

for a 3-generation

family vacation

in vegas

i’m a lightweight

gambler and drinker

but we have lots of other ideas

up our sleeves.

“Pick a number? ! I’m great at that!  Coin toss!! Eddie, these are my games!!”

-Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold (Family Vacation) upon entering a Casino

tang.

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Tang! The space-age drink that’s still a worldwide staple

But General Foods, Tang’s original parent company, had contracts with the military for producing rations and other food items, such as instant coffee. Thanks to these connections and the aforementioned shelf-stable, “just add water” capability of Tang, NASA sent the drink mix into space with John Glenn on his famous orbit of Earth in 1962. General Foods’ advertising strategy shifted to capitalize on the popularity of all things outer space, and Tang henceforth became marketed as the astronaut’s drink of choice.

But Tang isn’t just a space age relic. It’s still popular across the globe, from South America to Asia, and produced in a number of flavors – including pineapple, mango, lemon, calamansi and its newest Filipino flavor,  Coco Plus Buko Pandan. Tang is also a popular drink during Ramadan in the Middle East, according to Mondelez International, the food corporation that now owns the brand.

“whoo, what a day! i’m gonna drink tang all day until i forget it all!”

-jhonen vasquez 

 

 

Source credits: Casey Barber, CNN, Kraft Foods, General Foods, Monedelez Int., NASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

nests.

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robin’s nests created by the kinder using natural materials 

clay, twigs, pinecones, clippings

any robin would be happy to raise her babies in one of these beautiful homes

 

“wildness we might consider as the root of the authentic spontaneities of any being. it is that wellspring of creativity whence comes the instinctive activities that enable all living beings to obtain their food, to find shelter, to bring forth their young; to sing and dance and fly through the air and swim through the depths of the sea. this is the same inner tendency that evokes the insight of the poet, the skill of the artist, and the power of the shaman.”-  thomas berry

 

on the lookout.

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kinder are on the lookout

making sure

the leprechauns

don’t sneak back in

to spread all the green

throughout our room again

but somehow they still got in

and worked their merry mischief.

“be on the lookout for the presence of wonder”

-e.b. white

listen, earth sings.

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May be an image of flower, nature and body of water
 Claude Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France
 “Spring has returned again.
The Earth is like a child
that knows poems by heart;
so many poems, so many verses,
patient toil winning her prizes at last.
Strict, the old teacher.
We loved the whiteness in the old
gentleman’s beard,
its bright snow.
Now when we ask what the green,
what the blue is,
Earth knows the answer,
has learned it.
She knows.
Earth, you’re on holiday,
lucky one: play now!
Play with us children!
We’ll try to catch you.
Glad, joyous Earth!
The gladdest must win.
Every lesson the old teacher
taught her,
all that is printed in roots
and laborious stems:
now she sings it!
Listen, Earth sings.”
– Rainer Maria Rilke
“The inspiration for this sonnet came from
a visit to Ronda, in southern Spain, in the
winter of 1912-13. Rilke had overheard a
group of schoolchildren singing in the Convent
of Santo Domingo, accompanied only by a
triangle and tambourine. He didn’t know what
their song meant, but the light-hearted
animation of their singing is reflected in the
cadences of the second and third stanzas.”
on international poetry day

all fall.

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how you deal with it changes everything. it’s all in the comeback. 

 

power nap.

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this guy….. acting all hangry and ready for spring

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – On March 7, a Yellowstone National Park wildlife biologist on a radio telemetry flight observed the first grizzly bear of 2023 to emerge from hibernation. The adult bear, estimated at 300-350 pounds, was seen near the remains of a bison carcass in Pelican Valley, in the central-eastern part of the park.  Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively toward people when feeding on carcasses. All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country.

“most animals show themselves sparingly. the grizzly bear is six to eight hundred pounds of smugness.

it has no need to hide. if it were a person, it would laugh loudly in quiet restaurants,

boastfully wear the wrong clothes for special occasions, and probably play hockey.” 

-craig childs, the animal dialogues: uncommon encounters in the wild

 

 

 

credits: national park service, jim peaco, grizzly bear on swan creek flat – photo

stuck.

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one foot in a boot

one foot out

stuck tight in the mud

give a happy shout.

a rite of passage and sure sign of spring

on outdoor adventure day.

“it isn’t that deep, they said.”

-author unknown