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
Aug19
any door. anyone.
Aug18
let him make toast!
(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.
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.
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.
—
—
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
Aug15
a form of action.
after my recent post
about waiting a long time for ice cream
i had yet another epic episode of waiting
when i stopped by the post office
(i honestly love the post office, the joy of mailing things… )
the photo above shows how many postal workers
were at the counter when i walked in
i read the sign and waited
what if there is no available clerk?
what if there is no clerk at all?
still waiting
i’m not a person who minds waiting in line
usually end up bonding with the line
at a certain point in the process
we support each other
by talking, guessing how long it will take
showing pictures, imagining scenarios
the line kept getting longer
and
yet longer
not one person left
a man sitting in a chair
called out
‘what happened?’
every so often.
one person called home to say
‘we’re here in line and there’s one working at the post office.’
we finally saw one worker
walk from the back to the counter
she’d been getting a pile of mail
for the man in the chair
this friendly smiling young woman
announced to our line
‘i’m the only person here until 11.’
it was 10:10
she was un-frazzled
stayed calm and professional
another person in line
called the post office from their cell phone
thinking another worker in back might pick it up
no one answered because their one employee
was at the counter
helping our long line
we reassured her
we weren’t upset with her
amazed how well she was handling it
she quietly called up each person
when it was finally my turn
i told the line
my business would be quick
one responded
‘that’s what they all say!’
now the whole line
was laughing together
no one was upset
they were happy
when it only took a couple of minutes
to get my package on its way
right before i left
i noticed a mini post office
very detailed
made of
paper and cardboard and paint
set up on her counter
i asked who had made this
she told me it was her
wow
now this is someone
who loves her job
is an artist
has incredible patience
even under pressure
i would like to nominate her
to be the postmaster.
‘patience is also a form of action.’
-auguste rodin
Aug14
‘between the wish and the thing the world lies wating.’ – Cormac McCarthy
still waiting on the front porch
for the ice cream truck
to come down our street
i hear
the faint sound
of chimes
in the distance
any minute now…
—
“Oh, how long Me seems it, ere the promis’d help arrive!”
-Dante, The Divine Comedy, (Virgil character)
—
on a neighborhood walk in ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2026
Aug13
direction.
near saugatauck, michigan, usa
—
seeing as my nickname
is peaches
people will know
where to find me
if they take their time
and
head in my direction.
—
‘direction is so much more important than speed, you can go fast in the wrong direction.’
-r.l.
—
photo credit: jk
Aug12
bloom.
beauty and flowers in kyiv, ukraine, art by maria golub
beauty and flowers in michigan, found on my walk
(some of the biggest blooms i have ever seen, look at the pink flower to see the scale)
—
slava, ukraini!
—
‘peace is not just the absence of violence, peace is when the flowers bloom.’
-amrita pritam
Mariya Golub lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2018, Mariya graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture.’I have been drawing since I was three years old. The first time I tried to scratch a horse with a stick on a green leaf of a tree. I saw horses everywhere, flowers and clouds turned into horses for me, because I thought a lot about them.’ – MG
Amrita Pritam (1919 – 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. She has written more than a hundred books and was the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award.
Aug11
ablest navigator.
Cat jumping, Salford, UK, 1957, photo by Neil Libbert
—
‘the winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.’
-edward gibbon
*Neil Libbert was born in Salford, UK in 1938, He studied at the College of Art in Manchester before starting to work as a photographer and opening his own studio in Manchester. Neil later joined the staff of the Manchester Guardian newspaper in London, and became a freelance photographer.
Neil has photographed the great and the good and some of his work is held in the National Portrait Gallery. But Neil’s enduring reputation was made through his street photography and reportage, which includes his coverage of the Brixton riots in 1981.
In 1999, he was Nikon News Photographer of the Year and won a World Press Photo Award for his exclusive coverage of the Soho pub bombings. Neil has also received an award for his coverage of the homeless, which he took in his home town of Salford.
*Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) was a British essayist, historian and politician. His most important and influential work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, to critical and commercial success. It is known for the quality and irony of its prose.
·
Aug10
national lazy day.
National Lazy Day (yes, it’s real), arrives every August 10, offering a much-needed pause from our always-on world. This is your official permission to ditch responsibilities, ignore chores, avoid work, and fully embrace the art of relaxation. So, kick back, put your feet up, and savor a day of blissful inactivity. Feel free to celebrate! I’ve provided a list of helpful vocabulary to throw around when discussing the holiday with those who might need a greater understanding of the concept. (Both home and work options below.) Pro Tip: If you have already begun your celebration, you can always wait to read this post until tomorrow.
Fancy words for lazy:
Indolent: Avoiding work because you prefer a state of comfort.
Languid: Moving in a slow, peaceful, and unhurried way.
Torpid: Being very slow and inactive, like an animal sleeping.
Oscitant: Drowsy and yawning, showing a highbrow form of inattentiveness.
-Merriam-Webster
British words for lazy:
Layabout: An idle, lazy person who avoids physical or mental exhaustion or to try to get a job.
Skiver: Someone who avoids work or dodges their duties by trickery or playing hooky.
Work-shy: An adjective and noun style term used for someone who actively avoids doing any form of work.
-Cambridge
Traditional Slang and Nouns for Lazy:
Slacker: Someone who avoids work and effort.
Couch Potato: A person who spends a lot of time sitting or lying down, watching TV.
Lazybones: A harmless, old-fashioned name for a lazy person.
Goldbrick: Someone who shirks duty or pretends to work.
Workplace Nicknames for Lazy:
KitKat: Used for someone who is always taking a break.
Sensor Light (or Motion Light): Describes a person who only starts working when someone in authority walks past.
Wheelbarrow: Someone who only moves or works when they are pushed.
E.T.: Refers to someone whose main goal all day is trying to “go home”.
Seaweed: Used for a worker who just floats around the office all day doing nothing.
Cordless: Describes someone who works unplugged or only functions for a couple of hours before dying out.
#1 Laziest Animal in the world: Pygmy Blue Tongue Lizard
Pygmy blue tongue lizards don’t enjoy interacting with the rest of the world, and they’re hyper-cautious about predation. The skittish pygmy blue tongues spend their lives hanging out in spider caves and don’t leave unless forced. For sustenance, they sit with their mouths open and wait for food to fall in. The same goes for water; they rely on raindrops landing on their tongues.
—
‘doing nothing is very hard. you never know when you are finished.’
-leslie nielsen, american actor
—
image credit: malta rabbit club
I didn't have my glasses on.... 