Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
Aug25

on the 110th anniversay of the U.S. National Parks.

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Some of the country’s first park rangers were Buffalo Soldiers, African Americans who served in all-Black U.S. Army regiments starting in 1866. When Yellowstone and several other national parks were being established near the end of the century, the Department of the Interior quickly realized they needed protection.

So the U.S. Army stepped in as park rangers for Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between 1891 and 1913, and the 24th Infantry became the first regiment of Buffalo Soldiers to take on the role when they began serving at Yosemite in 1899. In 1903, Captain Charles Young, the highest-ranking African American U.S. Army officer at the time, also became the first African American to be named the acting superintendent of Sequoia National Park.

—

‘There is nothing so American as our national parks.

The scenery and the wildlife are native. The fundamental idea behind the parks is native.

It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people,

that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.

The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.’

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

 

—

photo credit: National Park Service, Buffalo  Soldiers

Thomas Moran painting – Yellowstone Park

source credit: History Magazine, National Geographic

Aug24

“put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.” – elizabeth taylor

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Neanderthals Wore Makeup

 Tens of thousands of years before skin care routines started popping up on social media, Neanderthals – our supposedly brutish, decidedly unglamorous evolutionary cousins – were wearing makeup and even jewelry. This discovery was made by archaeologists working in Spain who excavated oyster shells covered in an”attention-grabbing” colored pigment.  The pigment was made of minerals including hematite, charcoal, lepidocrocite, and pyrite, which gave it a shimmering, glitter-like appearance that the researchers believe was also used on the body due to its cosmetic effect. The oyster shells were found with holes cut in them, suggesting they might have been worn as necklaces. The University of Bristol’s João Zilhão, who led the study, described the makeup to NPR as “something that people wear in order to convey what they are… in a world where you have a complex network of relations” – a means of self-expression rarely associated with Neanderthals. The shells which were 50,000 years old, wouldn’t look entirely out of place today.

By the Numbers

Neanderthals had larger brains than us.

Despite the common stereotype, their brains were larger than ours. Measured by endocranial volume,  the space inside the skull,) their brain size was an average of 1,410 cm³ (~6 cups) compared to Homo sapiens’ 1,350 cm³ (5.7 cups). Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, however, as their brains were proportional to their bodies (which were denser and more muscular than ours) and supported their larger eyes, which helped them see in the low-light environments where they thrived.

—

‘i like to imagine that the Neanderthals were all really good artists.’

-jim drain

 

*jim drain is an American textile artist who creates vibrantly colored mixed-media works that incorporate a range of materials such as fabric scraps, machine knit-patterns, found objects, and printed ephemera.

 

 

—

source credits: gary larson, far side cartoon, university of bristol, npr, historynews, michael nordine

Aug23

misfit society coffee club.

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welcome to the misfit society coffee club

pull up a lawn chair outside

or head on in for a hot or cold drink and a treat

enjoy the warm and eclectic 

vintage and pop decor

happy music

art all around

 graffiti art by local Detroit artist Richie Blanko. he’s a Puerto Rican graffiti artist, muralist, curator and educator, raised in SW Detroit. his graffiti art spans the perimeter of the club, tagging the walls with song lyrics that inspired him. 

—

loved the name 

set out on foot with friends 

to find it

quite an adventure

get around

the construction

over the cords

 through the tunnel

and back

avoid the holes

street signs down

doubled back

again

found it at last

think we qualify

 as

misfits and mischievous 

new members

of the club.

—

Here’s what the club had to say about itself:

Misfit Society Coffee Club is a place for misfits, outcasts, savants, prodigies, freaks, underdogs, and pretty much everyone in-between.

We’re all-inclusive, to be sure, but we have a special place in our hearts for the rule breakers and mischief makers. In other words, we have a lot of love for anyone and everyone who dares to think differently and follows their own path. Not your average cookie cutter types (but we love them too).

We strive to be a warm, welcoming house of refuge for all. The type of place you might be drawn to on a bad day, because you know you’ll walk out feeling better; or on a good day, because, well, you’ll walk out feeling better-er.

Yes, we said better-er.

 

 

 

Aug22

speak softly.

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 soft message left under the bridge in the park

 

—

‘speak softly but carry a big can of paint.’

-banksy

 

 

 

 

 

 

—

bandemer park, ann arbor, mi, usa – summer 2026

Aug21

may?

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SIDEWALK MAY —————?

—

is this a safety warning of some sort?

i was on the sidewalk when i saw the sign

is it this sidewalk?

is it too late for me?

i hope the sidewalk isn’t… 

doing or not doing

something i should know about.

—

 

‘you could start at a path leading nowhere more fantastic than from your own front steps to the sidewalk,

and from there you could go…. well, anywhere at all.’

-stephen king, american author

 

 

 

—

dexter, michigan, usa – summer 2026

 

Aug20

floored.

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ODE TO THE GUY IN THE FLOOR

stopped by my friend’s house

rebuilding

after the storm

while talking

looked over

 lo and behold

a builder guy

popped up

out of the floor

nonchalant

 half a body

hanging out

reading his phone

never looked up

happens everyday

all part of the process

nothing to see here

thanks, floor guy,

 

—

‘i think there will be more smiles when the smoke clears.’

-shaun alexander

*Shaun Alexander is a former American professional football running back who won the NFL Most Valuable Player award. 

Aug19

any door. anyone.

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this should cover it, works for me
—

‘i was smart enough to go through any door that opened.’

-joan rivers, american comedian

—

 

ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2026

Aug18

let him make toast!

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(not the guy who passed me, but it might as well have been, if you can imagine him going uphill)

—

riding my bike

downhill 

using my brakes

to slow down a bit

when

a unicyclist passed me going

uphill

a smile and a nod

no struggle

how is this even a thing?

i’m just trying not to crash

 make it back from town

with

a loaf of bread

no scrapes 

no scratches

no blood

no band-aids needed

dignity mostly intact

on my two-wheel bicycle. 

—

here’s what ai had to say about it:

Riding a unicycle uphill requires intense, continuous leg power to fight gravity at the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock pedal positions. Meanwhile, riding a bicycle downhill relies on momentum, gravity, and brake control to safely manage speed.

no big difference really

we each have our skills

i’m on team gravity

for the win

and

 i now can make toast.

—

“a bike is just a unicycle with training wheels.”

-common unicyclist joke

 

 

 

—

photo credit: facebook images

 

Aug17

tell me.

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something about this sticker drew me to it

as a lover of true crime, mysteries, detectives, spies, and heists

i might have a use for this one day

maybe i should put it in my wallet

just in case.

—

 

‘the great advantage about telling the truth is that nobody ever believes it.’
– Dorothy L. Sayers

*Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) was an influential English writer, scholar and poet.  She is best known as one of the “Queens of Crime” during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, famous for creating the aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey

Aug16

shared humanity.

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photo by Michel Porro – Getty Images

(a reblog fr0m August in 2018)

—

in yet another amazing case of serendipity

i was at the school where i taught

(in the united states)

attending a professional development session

led by colleagues who were describing a wonderful project

they had undertaken with their older students.

during the last school year they had worked on design thinking projects

intended to help our world’s environment in some way.

throughout the process

their teachers provided the students

with a wide range of sources of information having to do with their area of interest.

 they passed around some of the sample articles they had used.

imagine my surprise when reading the random article that i was handed

when i saw the photographic credit on one of the pages

(that originated from another country)

realizing that i had a personal connection to it.

it read:

‘michel porro – getty images’ 

michel porro is a long time friend of mine who i happened to meet

when we were both working at the world cup in my city 24 years ago. (now, 32 years ago)

michel, at the time was a photojournalist from the netherlands, stationed in hong kong, working for reuters, and covering events all over the world. i was in advertising, taking time off to work in the media tent for the duration of the event. we met there when he came to pick up his credentials. we continued to run into each other in a variety of places, though we never had the chance to meet up outside of a working situation, try as we might.

we finally had the chance, on the last night before he was to leave to return to europe. we’d planned to meet after the last match was over and his story filed and chose a time and place. unfortunately brazil won the final match, leading to a chain of unusual events that ruined our last chance to meet, when they closed down the roads where i was, leaving us with no way to contact each other. (pre-cell phones). instead of exchanging phone numbers we had decided to share our addresses to stay in touch, figuring we’d meet that night.

since that time, (24 years ago), (now 32 years ago), he’s lived in different places and traveled the world as a photographer, finally settling in one place, starting his own photo business. i left advertising, went to grad school, changed careers, raised my daughters, became a teacher, still living in the states, and went on with my own life’s adventures. we’ve stayed pen pals, following what’s happened in each other’s lives, our careers, our relationships, news, and shared pictures. i wrote an earlier blog about our long distance and unlikely long term friendship and the link is below, but the photos have disappeared from the old post. i may try to find them again one day and add them back in.

—

https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/2014/06/22/what-a-wonderful-thing-is-the-mail-capable-of-conveying-across-continents-a-warm-human-hand-clasp-author-unknown/

—

what a strange set of things fell into place

upon seeing his name on the photo credit on that day

years later

at a meeting at my school,

on a page i’d been handed randomly

selected by one of the teachers

for their student

 i had happened to notice the photo credit

—

i texted to tell him about my surprise.

he texted back surprised as well.

our paths continue to cross in the most interesting ways.

—

B Kennedy -to Michel

small world, Michel. 

Sent from my iPhone

——–

Michel Porro – to me

Wow Beth, that is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing. Boyat (the subject in the photo) is a quiet man with a big mission. 

I met him twice for 2 photoshoots.

How are you doing? I’m in Italy at the moment. The world is a turbulent place isn’t it?

You do good work.

Best

Michel

—

“this idea of shared humanity and the connections that we make with one another –

that’s what, in fact, makes life worth living.”

-clint smith