The committee chairman handling procurement of artists to paint "palettes" for display in the town has shamed me into painting yet another palette. This year's palette is in the shape of the town's historical landmark, The Casino Theatre, rather than the shape of an actual palette (the format used in 2007). Personally, I think it looks like a birdhouse for very large, but skinny, avians. Much as I would like to paint something avant garde on the palette, as a responsible member of the community who is painting this FOR the community, I must adhere to more conventional standards. Mine is going to be late, because I just received the palette, a 1/2" thick piece of plywood which measures about 5 1/2' x 4'. So it will be a lot of painting in a hurry. Since it is raining off and all today, it seems a good time to get a large part of the painting finished. I will post a picture of it when it is ready.
Speaking of art, I have found some interesting art blogs you may enjoy. This is art of a different genre, namely computer art. And it is art into which you can interact. Have fun!
http://artpad.art.com/artpad/painter/ and http://www.jacksonpollock.org/
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Puppy Raffles and Water Bottle Battles
There were certain advantages in going to a small, rural school in the fifties. We could play practical jokes on our classmates without being labeled a bully or being sent to the principal's office. Boys actually carried pen knives in their pockets and weren't suspended from school for possessing a dangerous weapon. To fear getting shot in school meant it was time for polio shots, not actually being shot by a fellow classmate wielding a pistol. There was a sense of discipline in students and great respect for our teachers. In light of all that, I wonder how my brother, Bill, and I were permitted to bring the mixed-breed puppies of our family dog, Baby, to the school science fair each spring. We sold raffle tickets and each winner was awarded a puppy. The money went to the school, and I don't recall ever taking a puppy back home. There weren't any parents who complained or refused to allow their kids to take a puppy home. Amazing, when you really think about it.
I had a penchant for water bottles which, when squeezed, performed like a super squirt gun. Every spring, I would bring one to school and squirt other students in the halls between classes. Pretty soon, other kids would also bring them and we would have water battles in the halls and sometimes on the school buses. No one ever got into trouble - I guess because our teachers were wise enough to realize this was good, clean (no pun intended) fun and the interest in the water bottles would end after a week or so. How things have changed!
I had a penchant for water bottles which, when squeezed, performed like a super squirt gun. Every spring, I would bring one to school and squirt other students in the halls between classes. Pretty soon, other kids would also bring them and we would have water battles in the halls and sometimes on the school buses. No one ever got into trouble - I guess because our teachers were wise enough to realize this was good, clean (no pun intended) fun and the interest in the water bottles would end after a week or so. How things have changed!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Little Kids
When one finally reaches the state of grandparent-hood, there is time to just sit back and watch children interacting with one another. I think the most apparent difference between children and adults, aside from size differences, is that children don't worry about what you may think of them, what they look like or sound like, or whether or not they are politically correct. They just ARE. They truly live in the moment, something we should all be doing. When do we lose what we apparently are born with - this lack of self-consciousness and inhibition? Society teaches each of us how to be and in the process, we become what we think we are supposed to be - someone other people tell us to be. Obviously, society needs children to learn how to live within its boundaries, but it is sad that individualism is often lost in the process.
On Saturday, I was watching a group of five children playing together. The eldest, a seven year-old girl, was in the role of leader. The other children, all pre-schoolers, followed her in a line, much like a mother duck and her ducklings. Everything the eldest child did, the others mimicked. It was quite touching to see these little ones learning, in a very basic manner, how to BE in our society, while playing a game.
On Saturday, I was watching a group of five children playing together. The eldest, a seven year-old girl, was in the role of leader. The other children, all pre-schoolers, followed her in a line, much like a mother duck and her ducklings. Everything the eldest child did, the others mimicked. It was quite touching to see these little ones learning, in a very basic manner, how to BE in our society, while playing a game.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Stop Smoking
Smoking is an addiction I have struggled with since I started during my freshman year at college, way back when. I half-heartedly tried to quit many times, to no avail. In the early 80's, when I was an EMT, I convinced all the other EMTs and firefighters to quit along with me, starting on New Year's Day. Everyone joined in, and I was elated! I love competition, so this was a great challenge for me. At the time, there was a kind of cigarette substitute on the market which looked like a tobacco cigarette, but surely didn't smell like one. I decided to use this product as a crutch. It worked! These 'cigarettes' made real cigarettes smell like manure, literally. They really helped me, and as I recall, I used them for about a month. I also, unfortunately, used hard candies as a crutch. During that first month of non-smoking, I broke a molar requiring a visit to the dentist, and I gained twenty-five pounds.
The competition went on for five months. One by one, the other quitters stopped being quitters. As each one resumed smoking, I felt sad and a little angry. I stuck with it, however, and felt very, very proud of myself. I could dance and walk a distance without getting winded, and generally felt pretty good. It finally was down to two people, Jeff and me. Then came the day when I found out that Jeff was bumming cigarettes and smoking them at work. I was devastated. It wasn't until one day when my now ex-husband and I were having an argument, that I started smoking again. He had promised to quit drinking if I quit smoking. He didn't quit, and that is what we were arguing about. He said he wasn't the one who told me to quit smoking. I got the car keys, went to the store, and bought a pack of cigarettes. I came home and very dramatically lit up a cigarette in front of him. He said, "Do you feel better now?" Needless to say, he is my ex for more than one reason.
I continued to smoke until December 24 of last year. That is when I had a second and more severe incident of not being able to breathe very well. I was at my daughter's home for Christmas, and I had to waken her to call the ambulance. It was so very frightening to not be able to inhale more than what felt like about an inch. My breathing was so rapid and I couldn't say more than one word in between breaths. And, of course, the more the rapid inhalations continued, the more anxious I became. I don't know what the ambulance crew did other than getting me onto oxygen, because I don't remember any more than being put into the ambulance. I must have been sedated or I passed out. I vaguely recall a little about being in the emergency room where I stayed all of Christmas Day. The day after Christmas, I was transferred to another hospital where coronary artery bypass surgery was done. I haven't smoked since!
The downside of this is that instead of smoking, I am once again eating hard candy and just about anything else I can get my hands on. I have cracked a tooth. I have gained weight. I am diabetic and eating candy. At least when I smoked, I didn't have any desire to eat candy and my weight stayed about the same always. So now what? One vice seems as bad as the next.
The competition went on for five months. One by one, the other quitters stopped being quitters. As each one resumed smoking, I felt sad and a little angry. I stuck with it, however, and felt very, very proud of myself. I could dance and walk a distance without getting winded, and generally felt pretty good. It finally was down to two people, Jeff and me. Then came the day when I found out that Jeff was bumming cigarettes and smoking them at work. I was devastated. It wasn't until one day when my now ex-husband and I were having an argument, that I started smoking again. He had promised to quit drinking if I quit smoking. He didn't quit, and that is what we were arguing about. He said he wasn't the one who told me to quit smoking. I got the car keys, went to the store, and bought a pack of cigarettes. I came home and very dramatically lit up a cigarette in front of him. He said, "Do you feel better now?" Needless to say, he is my ex for more than one reason.
I continued to smoke until December 24 of last year. That is when I had a second and more severe incident of not being able to breathe very well. I was at my daughter's home for Christmas, and I had to waken her to call the ambulance. It was so very frightening to not be able to inhale more than what felt like about an inch. My breathing was so rapid and I couldn't say more than one word in between breaths. And, of course, the more the rapid inhalations continued, the more anxious I became. I don't know what the ambulance crew did other than getting me onto oxygen, because I don't remember any more than being put into the ambulance. I must have been sedated or I passed out. I vaguely recall a little about being in the emergency room where I stayed all of Christmas Day. The day after Christmas, I was transferred to another hospital where coronary artery bypass surgery was done. I haven't smoked since!
The downside of this is that instead of smoking, I am once again eating hard candy and just about anything else I can get my hands on. I have cracked a tooth. I have gained weight. I am diabetic and eating candy. At least when I smoked, I didn't have any desire to eat candy and my weight stayed about the same always. So now what? One vice seems as bad as the next.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Way Men Talk
Have you ever noticed that when two or more men gather to talk, they stand in a row, side-by-side, looking out in the same direction? I have always wondered about this behavior and how it differs from the way women talk with each other. Women normally stand face to face or in a circle and chat. Anyone have any ideas?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Obama and the Media
Our system of elections has been undermined and completely taken over by the media. It is despicable that the cable news "stars" spew forth endless diatribes, rants and predictions on the November Presidential Election. These omniscient "talking heads" have decided that Hillary Clinton should quit the race because Obama has won. The thing is, the votes of the PEOPLE of this country (who are supposed to decide the candidates) indicate that about half of said voters want Hillary and the other half want Obama. It seems to me in past primaries, the decision was left to the Democratic Convention.
Further, I am sick of hearing about racism involved in the primaries. Hillary is blamed for playing the racism card, but the black race itself made the election about racism. Blacks, by registering to vote in huge numbers for the first time in the history of this country, brought forth race as an issue. The media is now trying to decide if the white blue collar voters and the white female voters will vote for Obama or switch parties and vote for McCain. By subtly denigrating white blue collar workers by saying they are uneducated and thereby implying they are not smart enough to make the right decisions, the media attempts to shame them into voting for the most liberal of the candidates. Many of these workers are political conservatives and don't want to see someone as liberal as Obama in office.
I speak as someone who was once quite liberal in beliefs, but who has lived long enough to see where that liberalism has led this country. Does anyone recall the Communist Manifesto? Even though the Communist Party is no longer a major world threat, their Manifesto has been, if not completely, then almost completely fulfilled. It was done not via conservatism, but rather through liberalism.
Further, I am sick of hearing about racism involved in the primaries. Hillary is blamed for playing the racism card, but the black race itself made the election about racism. Blacks, by registering to vote in huge numbers for the first time in the history of this country, brought forth race as an issue. The media is now trying to decide if the white blue collar voters and the white female voters will vote for Obama or switch parties and vote for McCain. By subtly denigrating white blue collar workers by saying they are uneducated and thereby implying they are not smart enough to make the right decisions, the media attempts to shame them into voting for the most liberal of the candidates. Many of these workers are political conservatives and don't want to see someone as liberal as Obama in office.
I speak as someone who was once quite liberal in beliefs, but who has lived long enough to see where that liberalism has led this country. Does anyone recall the Communist Manifesto? Even though the Communist Party is no longer a major world threat, their Manifesto has been, if not completely, then almost completely fulfilled. It was done not via conservatism, but rather through liberalism.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
When my brother, Bill, and I were young, we each received a duckling for Easter. We fed those ducks and watched them grow. Our parents warned us not to get attached to those white ducks because the plan was to cook them one day. I guess Bill and I didn't believe that and we became quite fond of the quacking, messy ducks.
Then one Saturday, our mother told us to catch one of the ducks. We caught Bill's duck, and Mom decapitated it (while I, as usual, held the metal funnel used for the same purpose on chickens). Mom cleaned the duck and early Sunday morning, she prepared it for the oven. She said it takes longer to roast a duck.
Our grandparents came for dinner, and the duck was the main course. The house at that time was built into the hillside so that windows on the upper side and the back were at ground level. As we were eating in the dining room, I had a clear view of the living room side window and was startled to see my duck peering in the window as we ate its buddy. My brother and I could not eat any more duck. The adults were rather amused, as all of them except our father, were born and raised on farms.
The next week, Mom decided my duck was next for the funnel guillotine. She told us to catch it. Bill and I chased that duck for a long, long time before we actually were able to hold onto it. It seemed to know what we were going to do and it didn't want any part of it.
To this day, I have never eaten duck again.
Then one Saturday, our mother told us to catch one of the ducks. We caught Bill's duck, and Mom decapitated it (while I, as usual, held the metal funnel used for the same purpose on chickens). Mom cleaned the duck and early Sunday morning, she prepared it for the oven. She said it takes longer to roast a duck.
Our grandparents came for dinner, and the duck was the main course. The house at that time was built into the hillside so that windows on the upper side and the back were at ground level. As we were eating in the dining room, I had a clear view of the living room side window and was startled to see my duck peering in the window as we ate its buddy. My brother and I could not eat any more duck. The adults were rather amused, as all of them except our father, were born and raised on farms.
The next week, Mom decided my duck was next for the funnel guillotine. She told us to catch it. Bill and I chased that duck for a long, long time before we actually were able to hold onto it. It seemed to know what we were going to do and it didn't want any part of it.
To this day, I have never eaten duck again.
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