happy 4th of july, may you celebrate your independence today and every day
Jul4
Jul3
main street.
main street is soooooooo close to reopening…
—
“main street is almost alright.”
-robert venturi, american architect
—
photo credit: ann arbor townies
Jul2
blind date.
exploring saginaw forest
—
“july is a blind date with summer.”
*-hal borland
*Harold “Hal” Glen Borland was an American writer, journalist and naturalist. In addition to writing many non-fiction and fiction books about the outdoors, he was a staff writer and editorialist for The New York Times
1900 – 1978
—
summer 2023, ann arbor, michigan, usa
Jul1
cheeky monkey.
this lamp popped up online
bringing me great joy
making me laugh out loud
each and every time i’ve looked at it
i may have to buy it
or at least put a picture of it somewhere
there is no accounting for good taste
when you know, you know.
p.s. someone once said i reminded them of a cheeky monkey, and i loved it, perhaps i saw a bit of myself in this.
do you have an unusual object that brings you unexplained joy?
—
“i just want to spend the rest of my life laughing.”
-author unknown
Jun30
equality in learning.
“education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.”
*-edward everett
*Edward Everett was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Massachusetts, minister to Great Britain, and United States secretary of state. (1794-1865)
—
image credit: rutgers.edu
Jun29
smiles.
i way today years old
before i noticed
that tiny pepperidge farm goldfish crackers
each had a smile.
—
“the simplest positive action is a smile.”
-maxime lagace
Jun28
absence.
Cinzia Paolina De Lio was dismissed in 2017 after she reappeared for four months and triggered complaints.
Italy’s highest court confirmed the dismissal after a legal battle, saying her absences showed a “permanent and absolute ineptitude”. Ms De Lio has condemned the ruling and vowed to “reconstruct the truth”.
The secondary school teacher, who specialises in history and philosophy, said she had documents to prove her story but told Repubblica newspaper: “Sorry, but right now I’m at the beach.”
“I will reconstruct the truth of the facts of this absolutely unique and surreal story”, she said adding, “I don’t answer questions from journalists thrown around that wouldn’t do justice to the truth of my story.”
Ms De Lio was reinstated in 2018 after a ruling by a judge in Venice but the education ministry appealed against the decision and it was reversed by the Supreme Court of Cassation last week.
The ministry argued that the teacher had kept out of the classroom for 20 out of her 24 years of service. For the first 10 years she was completely absent, and her absences in the other 14 years were attributed to sickness, personal or family reasons.
The court heard that in a four-month period in 2015 when she did teach in Chioggia near Venice, students complained of her lack of preparedness, her failure to bring textbooks and her “random and improvised” way of marking. An inspection found she was “unprepared” and “inattentive”, and students refused to take part in her classes as she was distracted by her phone.
Her 2017 dismissal turned into a legal battle, going through an appeal and counter-appeal, before finally arriving at the top court. Her defence of “freedom of teaching” was rejected by the court which argued it was the teacher’s responsibility to guarantee students’ right to study.
Describing herself now as a freelance journalist, she told Italian media that she had documents to refute the claim that she had been absent for 20 years. The education ministry said it would “increasingly strive to ensure that the activity of teaching is carried out with adequate professionalism”.
—
“absence is presence with distance.”
-taeyoon choi
Jun27
dignity.
i went shopping
for two very different gifts
the first
a bit of fancy lingerie for a soon to be bride to be
the second
a book about animal art for my granddaughter’s soon to be birthday
all went well at the first shop, i found a beautiful gift
at the second shop, i found the perfect book
but when i looked down
i noticed that the lingerie has spilled out of my bag
right onto the floor
smack dab in the center of the little indy bookstore
i casually picked it up without too much fuss
laughing to myself
but when i tried to put it back in the bag
i discovered that the bag had torn
which led to it falling out in the first place
when next trying to quickly stuff it in the bag
it kept getting worse
falling to the ground a couple more times
so i finally
had to scoop the whole mess up in my arms
and clutch it to my body
carrying it to the register to buy the book
leaving one arm free to pay
no one said a word
but they did offer me a small chocolate and a smile as i left.
—
“i left the room with silent dignity, but caught my foot in the mat.”
-george grossman
Jun26
broken.
bittersweet.
‘juan and amelia’
painted and left behind
and
‘amelia and juan’
painted and now left broken.
—
“the heart will break, but broken live on.”
-lord Byron
Jun25
what the fudge?!
since i was an itty bitty girl
my very favorite desserts in the whole wide world
always included
my hometown bakery’s (sanders) milk chocolate hot fudge topping
(on anything, or sometimes just a spoonful or bowl (small) of it, yes)
in my later years
i have it on special occasions
or on a random tuesday
imagine my reaction
when i read a local article
how it was now very hard to get
so of course
i then decided i had to have it
checked the usual places
without any luck
went to amazon
found an offer
for $288
for 6 jars
of what is normally under $10
now i want it more
haven’t yet found a way to rationalize the cost
even though it may very well be worth it
perhaps an emergency go fund me is on the horizon.
—
amazon ad:
Sanders Chocolate Hot Fudge Dessert Topping, 10 oz, (Pack of 6)
$288
100+ viewed in past month
FREE delivery Jun 29 – Jul 7
Or fastest delivery Wed, Jun 28
Only 1 left in stock – order soon.
Per the Detroit Free Press: ‘Due to supply chain and production issues, the chocolatier decided to pause production on its dessert toppings until it is able to find a new manufacturing facility.’
—
“price is what you pay. value is what you get.’
-warren buffett
