The first troubling thought:
Here the city has a monthly evening downtown street festival with a theme. June's theme was cars. Yesterday we went to Carwalk. The city blocked off a downtown street for about four blocks and special cars (antique, muscle cars, unusual cars) were parked up and down the blocks in the street. Street vendors and displays were located all along the sidewalks and some of the stores had special sales or gifts. The contemporary art museum and other businesses were open. The Grace Museum was free. A band was performing at Minter Park which is a charming tiny memorial park with a lovely fountain one story high dedicated to the private citizen who Willed it. It was a nice event and the featured cars were interesting.
Then Charlie saw a doppelganger, someone who looked like a very nice man, Mike,a machininst Charlie had worked with for years in North Carolina. Charlie told him "You look like Mike, a man I used to work with" and the man looked at him blankly and said "No". But the woman with him said to Charlie "His name IS Mike". They started talking and it turned out that he WAS Mike but that he had lost his mind organically through the solvent metal-cleaning chemicals he had used daily in his work. His wife, Beth, said that he had been forced into early disability retirement and then she started naming off other men in the machinist department who had lost kidneys, developed cancer, and died from various causes attributable to the same solvent. Charlie was shocked. He had worked in another department which interacted daily with the machinists and knew them all. We said goodby, but the rest of the day Charlie kept coming back to Mike, he was just haunted by the shocking deterioration of Mike and that he could not even recognize Charlie. I know he will keep mentioning it from time to time and what a shame it is.
The second troubling thought:
We went to a congregation meeting and the topic was remodelling. The temple is beautiful and looks like it was done yesterday. It is immaculate, not one smudge or fingerprint or blemish anywhere. The congregation has retained contractors to advise them and the contractors have advised getting rid of the antique embossed wallpaper, getting rid of the antique wainscotting, getting rid of the old but excellent quality antique molding and panelling that cannot be purchased today, getting rid of it all and painting everything for a fresh, new look. They said the decorating is dated and needs to be replaced.
Well, I disagree! Would they redecorate Buckingham Palace or the beautiful buildings in Paris and throughout Europe just because they are dated??? I think not!!! I think the charm of the building is in its dating. I mentioned this privately to the congregation president and he replied "It's been this way over fifty years, and I guess I am just tired of it". Well, it's their call, I will restrain myself and keep silent. "Silence is Wisdom" , a yiddish proverb from the Talmud Mas. Yoma 4 b.
Today we will attend a 5:30 pm dinner at the Szechwan Restaurant with those of the congregation who choose to attend, and at 7:00 we plan to go to the Friday evening service. Tomorrow from 7 am to 11 am is the farmers' market and all day is the week-long high school rodeo at the fairgrounds. And tomorrow evening at 5:30 is dinner theatre with the play, the Fantasticks at 7:00.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
"Bird the Hyena", June 11, 2009
HYENAS: Crocuta crocuta, named for their yellow crocus flower color, spotted hyena, cape wolf. The females are significantly larger than the males and are the leaders of the pack. An alpha female will be at the top of the clan, her daughters next, then the young sons, and last of all the mature, small, passive adult males at the bottom of the clan social order.
The females have large, long (sometimes seven inches), stretchy phalluses, larger than the males, and they use them to urinate, copulate and to give birth. Can you imagine giving birth through a penis? Their vulva are fused into their penises. The females have scrotal bags full of fat instead of testicles. Hyenas are sneaky, vicious scavengers and the females are the aggressors in eating and in sex and in all aspects of the pack life. Females in heat mount the least aggressive males and thus choose their inseminators.
I've been kind of oblivious to the constant clandestine social flirting that seems to go on constantly. Since I've been with Charlie, it is unavoidable. Almost every time we go out in public, the women flirt at him. Charlie does nothing to encourage this, au contraire, it is obvious he is with me, attentive and holding my hand or with his arm around me. Even so, the women act like I am not even there and just blatantly smile at him and start handling him, batting their lashes, preening and showing the backs of their wrists, smiling, raising their eyebrows, flipping their hair, fondling their earrings, exhibiting all the classic body language of a sexual advance. Sometimes this clandestine behaviour becomes overt.
One recent occasion: Last Friday we went to dinner at Little Italy and an older blonde woman came up to Charlie and started talking to him about how many people were in the restaurant. When she left, he said she had been rubbing her breasts against his shoulder. I could not believe it! She did have shoulder-length bleached blonde hair and heavy make-up but she had to be in her eighties! So Charlie said "She'll be back. If you don't believe it put your arm there and see". Sure enough, she did return and started another brief chat and left. Charlie said "She did it again and she'll be back". This time I did put my arm on Charlie's shoulder and sure enough a third time she came up and pushed her breasts hard into my arm and started rubbing them back and forth and up and down and around and around while telling Charlie the restaurant would be much busier later. So I stated "You're rubbing your titties on my husband's shoulder" and she kept right on rubbing them on my arm until she finally realized it was my arm. Even then she had no shame and kept on talking. I had to physically block her. I told her she should go talk to the piano player who was sitting by himself nearby alone on a break.
Another recent occasion: June 4, we went to the Grace Museum for a fancy reception. We were sitting at a table enjoying our wine and brie and hors d'ouevres. An older blonde woman quickly came up to Charlie and snapped his picture and then put her arm around him and asked if it was OK, and could she take another? Charlie looked startled and looked at me and I said "No! Stand by the buffet and I'll take a picture of you over there". But then I reconsidered and said "Oh, OK, stand behind Charlie and I will take one of you". Wouldn't you know she leaned over pushing into him closely! I took the photo and then she took one of me. I asked her name and she said "Bird" and spelled it. She took my email on a napkin to email me the photos. Then she leaned over right into Charlie's face and said to him "You're cute!!" and went running away up the stairs.
An older occasion: On my very first date with Charlie at our high school reunion, two blonde women actually crowded up to him competing for his attention, forcing me into the background, until he was forced to tell them outright "I'm with her" to make them back off.
I'm going to have to think about a proper response since this keeps happening. It is rude and disrespectful to me while inferentially flattering Charlie.
The females have large, long (sometimes seven inches), stretchy phalluses, larger than the males, and they use them to urinate, copulate and to give birth. Can you imagine giving birth through a penis? Their vulva are fused into their penises. The females have scrotal bags full of fat instead of testicles. Hyenas are sneaky, vicious scavengers and the females are the aggressors in eating and in sex and in all aspects of the pack life. Females in heat mount the least aggressive males and thus choose their inseminators.
I've been kind of oblivious to the constant clandestine social flirting that seems to go on constantly. Since I've been with Charlie, it is unavoidable. Almost every time we go out in public, the women flirt at him. Charlie does nothing to encourage this, au contraire, it is obvious he is with me, attentive and holding my hand or with his arm around me. Even so, the women act like I am not even there and just blatantly smile at him and start handling him, batting their lashes, preening and showing the backs of their wrists, smiling, raising their eyebrows, flipping their hair, fondling their earrings, exhibiting all the classic body language of a sexual advance. Sometimes this clandestine behaviour becomes overt.
One recent occasion: Last Friday we went to dinner at Little Italy and an older blonde woman came up to Charlie and started talking to him about how many people were in the restaurant. When she left, he said she had been rubbing her breasts against his shoulder. I could not believe it! She did have shoulder-length bleached blonde hair and heavy make-up but she had to be in her eighties! So Charlie said "She'll be back. If you don't believe it put your arm there and see". Sure enough, she did return and started another brief chat and left. Charlie said "She did it again and she'll be back". This time I did put my arm on Charlie's shoulder and sure enough a third time she came up and pushed her breasts hard into my arm and started rubbing them back and forth and up and down and around and around while telling Charlie the restaurant would be much busier later. So I stated "You're rubbing your titties on my husband's shoulder" and she kept right on rubbing them on my arm until she finally realized it was my arm. Even then she had no shame and kept on talking. I had to physically block her. I told her she should go talk to the piano player who was sitting by himself nearby alone on a break.
Another recent occasion: June 4, we went to the Grace Museum for a fancy reception. We were sitting at a table enjoying our wine and brie and hors d'ouevres. An older blonde woman quickly came up to Charlie and snapped his picture and then put her arm around him and asked if it was OK, and could she take another? Charlie looked startled and looked at me and I said "No! Stand by the buffet and I'll take a picture of you over there". But then I reconsidered and said "Oh, OK, stand behind Charlie and I will take one of you". Wouldn't you know she leaned over pushing into him closely! I took the photo and then she took one of me. I asked her name and she said "Bird" and spelled it. She took my email on a napkin to email me the photos. Then she leaned over right into Charlie's face and said to him "You're cute!!" and went running away up the stairs.
An older occasion: On my very first date with Charlie at our high school reunion, two blonde women actually crowded up to him competing for his attention, forcing me into the background, until he was forced to tell them outright "I'm with her" to make them back off.
I'm going to have to think about a proper response since this keeps happening. It is rude and disrespectful to me while inferentially flattering Charlie.
Barbequing Flesh; Cheating on Meat
"Barbeque" means to cook outdoors on a grill. But I bake meat with three flavorings: sweet and sour and spices - in the indoors oven at a very low temperature for at least 8 hours and the ribs taste wonderful.
The low temperature in cooking with sweeteners avoids the Maillard reaction, which gives toxic carcinogens and has other bad effects upon nutrients.
For "sweet" I use sugar, honey, fruit or omit entirely. For "sour" I use wine, vinegar, lemon or any citrus juice or omit it entirely. For "spices" I use thyme, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or the nightshade chilis or anything else or omit them entirely.
As soon as I got out of bed early this morning, I put some ribs into a covered baking dish. I covered them with hot spices very freely. I put on the spices with the intent to make them too hot to eat. The spices were whole dried cayenne and various chili peppers I finely cut up with scissors. I thickly spread on the hot chilis. I baked them in the oven 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and now will keep cooking them for twelve hours at 175 degrees.
I meant to put them into the oven last night right before I went to bed and let them cook overnight and all day at 175 degrees. This seems to be the best way to get that good barbeque taste, spice it as strongly as you can and cook it as long as you can.
An angry word to the butcher: Lately when one buys ribs, there is a groove cut between the bones where someone has cut out the meat and robbed it! This is abhorrent! I will not buy ribs that have been mutilated in this manner to cheat me of my meat!
A cautious word for health: All chilis, peppers, paprika (not black pepper) are nightshades in the Solanaceae plant family. My research shows that a protein in nightshades bioaccumulates in the human body around the joints as it ages and over time can cause arthritis. A youthful, healthy body will flush out these toxins but the more you eat and the older you are, the higher your chance for arthritis. Solanaceae includes deadly nightshade, belladonna, jimson weed, nicotine tobacco, paprika, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, all chilis, tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. It may be that potatoes are less harmful since one eats the root instead of the fruit. But potato leaves can be deadly. So I try to avoid all the nightshades and I will eat sparingly or none of today's barbeque.
My non-nightshade barbeque sauce uses salt, honey, turmeric, ground mustard seed, black pepper, finely minced ginger, and vinegar. But yesterday Charlie expressed a taste for nightshade barbequed ribs.
The low temperature in cooking with sweeteners avoids the Maillard reaction, which gives toxic carcinogens and has other bad effects upon nutrients.
For "sweet" I use sugar, honey, fruit or omit entirely. For "sour" I use wine, vinegar, lemon or any citrus juice or omit it entirely. For "spices" I use thyme, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or the nightshade chilis or anything else or omit them entirely.
As soon as I got out of bed early this morning, I put some ribs into a covered baking dish. I covered them with hot spices very freely. I put on the spices with the intent to make them too hot to eat. The spices were whole dried cayenne and various chili peppers I finely cut up with scissors. I thickly spread on the hot chilis. I baked them in the oven 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and now will keep cooking them for twelve hours at 175 degrees.
I meant to put them into the oven last night right before I went to bed and let them cook overnight and all day at 175 degrees. This seems to be the best way to get that good barbeque taste, spice it as strongly as you can and cook it as long as you can.
An angry word to the butcher: Lately when one buys ribs, there is a groove cut between the bones where someone has cut out the meat and robbed it! This is abhorrent! I will not buy ribs that have been mutilated in this manner to cheat me of my meat!
A cautious word for health: All chilis, peppers, paprika (not black pepper) are nightshades in the Solanaceae plant family. My research shows that a protein in nightshades bioaccumulates in the human body around the joints as it ages and over time can cause arthritis. A youthful, healthy body will flush out these toxins but the more you eat and the older you are, the higher your chance for arthritis. Solanaceae includes deadly nightshade, belladonna, jimson weed, nicotine tobacco, paprika, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, all chilis, tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes. It may be that potatoes are less harmful since one eats the root instead of the fruit. But potato leaves can be deadly. So I try to avoid all the nightshades and I will eat sparingly or none of today's barbeque.
My non-nightshade barbeque sauce uses salt, honey, turmeric, ground mustard seed, black pepper, finely minced ginger, and vinegar. But yesterday Charlie expressed a taste for nightshade barbequed ribs.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Grace; and the Snake
Thursday, already June 4, 2009, this month is going as rapidly as May did. This evening we plan to go the the Grace Museum, wwwthegracemuseum.org. It has five gallery spaces and three different permanent museums (History, Art, Children's) and is right in the middle of downtown. One can usually park free within one block and we can drive there in five minutes. What a difference from the big city with $10 parking and 30 minute drives to go anyplace! Here one arrives relaxed and ready to enjoy. I notice a big difference. I am reading a book "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" recommended by Eden's father, Dr. Alan, and the book documents the various stress hormones that remain in the body for hours after a stressful event, I can feel the difference.
This city is sophisticated and cultural and strongly supports its vigorous artistic community. The performing arts here are of the best quality. We have had a ball!
A great song I love is "The Snake". Go to www.songza.com and put it in the search box. Another music site is www.tropicalglen.com. I do love music and hope in the future to start playing again.
This city is sophisticated and cultural and strongly supports its vigorous artistic community. The performing arts here are of the best quality. We have had a ball!
A great song I love is "The Snake". Go to www.songza.com and put it in the search box. Another music site is www.tropicalglen.com. I do love music and hope in the future to start playing again.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Carrying a Burden
Today I hope to finish some paperwork I need to mail to a witness for a hearing. Jami's comment: "Sounds like an important hearing". No, not at all really. I got an unwarranted parking ticket and posted bail for $47 and asked for an administrative hearing because there was no sign prohibiting parking. What is important is my witness who will go to the trouble of appearing at the hearing and presenting testimony and evidence. And Alan who will babysit adorable Eden while Jami plays lawyer. The importance is that the witness and babysitter will do this for me. I am grateful to have this support which is way more valuable than the hearing or the $47.
The hearing is my part of making things right for all of us. We should not get tickets without due process and without warning. It is unjust punishment. All the trouble and expense I have gone to is my gift to social justice.
Now that I have done all I can to right this wrong, I let go of the burden of injustice. I have done my part.
The hearing is my part of making things right for all of us. We should not get tickets without due process and without warning. It is unjust punishment. All the trouble and expense I have gone to is my gift to social justice.
Now that I have done all I can to right this wrong, I let go of the burden of injustice. I have done my part.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Lightning storm...
This evening we drove 15 miles to a 50 acre ranch for a cook-out at the girl-friend of one of Charlie's co-workers, Terry. She was cute and nice, a divorcee raising a 3rd grader and a 6th grader and today was their last day of school. The food was standard but good, hamburgers with accompaniments and chips and dips. It was spitting a few raindrops so Terry cooked outside and we ate inside.
She has lived here 17 years and is from Nova Scotia. Apparently her husband abruptly left her with the two kids and went off with another woman. She is a registered nurse.
After eating, we all went outside and sat and stood around and watched the lightning. Here the lightning puts on quite a show, it streaks all across the sky over and over again with only sometimes a bit of thunder. There might be one giant streak of lightning running from the top of the sky to the horizon, or it may light up in a giant web across the sky. We saw the lightning when we were driving there and it was still going on as we drove home.
Yes, the lightning could have been dangerous. I think, though, that it was pretty safe since it looked far away out toward the horizon, this may have been an illusion. There were metal chairs to sit on inside a metal shed. We didn't stay long outside and were the first to leave. Two of the guys kept spitting and I thought they were feeling brave to be in danger.
She has lived here 17 years and is from Nova Scotia. Apparently her husband abruptly left her with the two kids and went off with another woman. She is a registered nurse.
After eating, we all went outside and sat and stood around and watched the lightning. Here the lightning puts on quite a show, it streaks all across the sky over and over again with only sometimes a bit of thunder. There might be one giant streak of lightning running from the top of the sky to the horizon, or it may light up in a giant web across the sky. We saw the lightning when we were driving there and it was still going on as we drove home.
Yes, the lightning could have been dangerous. I think, though, that it was pretty safe since it looked far away out toward the horizon, this may have been an illusion. There were metal chairs to sit on inside a metal shed. We didn't stay long outside and were the first to leave. Two of the guys kept spitting and I thought they were feeling brave to be in danger.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Looking forward, we may leave Abilene
Charlie got an email saying he would be going ("you will be going") on the repair travel module, meaning we will be moving soon, probable not earlier than a month, though, since it takes time to arrange things. So we are keeping in mind the transience of life and geography.
The only thiing that doesn't change is change.
Today I ran the roomba, did some cleaning, and filing and paperwork. Still waiting for paperwork from Chase in the mail, waiting for Fidelity to link accounts, need to keep checking online to see that things get done.
To me, for sure, doing things by snailmail with paper hardcopy was much faster, more efficient and better than doing things electronically. The old way was for certain much faster. In the information age, we are losing information.
The only thiing that doesn't change is change.
Today I ran the roomba, did some cleaning, and filing and paperwork. Still waiting for paperwork from Chase in the mail, waiting for Fidelity to link accounts, need to keep checking online to see that things get done.
To me, for sure, doing things by snailmail with paper hardcopy was much faster, more efficient and better than doing things electronically. The old way was for certain much faster. In the information age, we are losing information.
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