The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (5) ~ Early Evening Thoughts

--continuing from night before last and posts prior

So,leaving the awe-struck Julius Caesar cast behind as they work on the Parker Hall stage, let us pick-up a bit on the star-crossed cast of Midsummer Night's Dream.

The problem with Shakespeare at any time and any of this plays is quite simple. In the comedies (and portions of the tragedies) he is quite a lewd..uh..crude..um..socially unacceptable..OK...earthy writer. One of the joys of teaching Shakespeare in High School is that the students absolutely "get it." Many parents, School Boards and even some English teachers fall into the trap of placing an aura around The Bard.

Yes, he did manage to write much that was tremendously powerful and amazing lyrical poetry within the structure of his plays and theater, as well as his sharp, unerring and amazing understanding of power, people and life ... however ... and it's a big however ... the "groundlings" and even those in the boxes had so much competing for their attention outside of the theater that he had to make sure they were completely entertained in a manner they were accustomed ... raunchy, ribald humor at that!!

Once a student discovers that aspect of the plays ~ the hunt is on! And I absolutely pity any teacher who has no idea just how raunchy and ribald Shakespeare can get trying to handle a class full of "hormones in tennis shoes" reading the comedies...or discovering the meaning of "the two backed beast" in Othello.

On of the advantages I had in my High School Shakespeare Tragedy classes was that I knew what was ahead. And I basically headed it off at the pass. My classes were so busy with themes, character work and dramatic archs - or lack thereof - that while I was unafraid to acknowledge their "amazing" dirty joke discoveries, I'd pull the discussion back to the matters at hand.

To me, his ability to write low and high-brow in the same play was nothing more than another example of his intellect and writer's gift. OK, it also was a tribute to the ability of the acting company at the time to adapt some of what he wrote - but as far as I am concerned, most of the work was his. And also, his ability to write wonderful humor that people in his day would understand, but not let it get in the way of what else he had to say, is nothing short of awe inspiring to me. And remember, he did have to be careful of what he said, lest he get into political trouble ~ which did occur upon occasion.

So now, as I faced adapting one of his wildest romps to an age appropriate level, the teacher and I did decide to play on the "aura" that surrounds his plays. I made the more obvious deletions and took some of the "in" out of the wilder "innuendos." And as far as the more subtle things? We took the course of ignorance just might be bliss, and quite forgivable.

I'd mentioned that one of the biggest problems was Bottom's line about "a man would be an ass." The was just one word that, for whatever reasons, had to either go or be changed. We tried all sorts of things. We tried leaving it out ~ big hole to anyone who knows the play. We tried using the word donkey ~ that just didn't even elicit a giggle from anyone.

As I mentioned before, when I was left in the hospital with my arm hanging straight up, the answer came to me and quite frankly it had been staring me from the page the entire time. When I told the teacher my solution, we both laughed. When I shared the solution with the person playing Bottom, I was rewarded the one of the deepest guffaws I've been blessed with in all the plays I've directed.

The passage in question ~

BOTTOM ~

[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! God's my life, stolen
hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare
vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to
say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go
about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there
is no man can tell what. Methought I was,--and
methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool, if
he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye
of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.

The way we adapted it ~
BOTTOM[Awaking] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer: my next is, 'Most fair Pyramus.' Heigh-ho!
Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout,
the tinker! Starveling! The have gone away and left me asleep!

I have had a most rare vision.

I have had a dream, past the ability of man to
say what dream it was: I thought I was-- I thought I was,--and
I thought I had--but man is but a complete fool, if
he will say what I thought I had...If any man tries to tell this dream, he is but an (he reaches up and feels for his missing ears - then shrugs at the audience.)
The eye of man has not heard, the ear of man has not
seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue
to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream
was.

I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of
this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream,
because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the
latter end of a play, before the duke:
peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall
sing it at her death.

There were other people who were involved in getting this play ready for performance.
The 4th grade class decided (on their own I might add) to take on the project of doing the scenery for Midsummer Night's Dream. This consisted of burlap type fabric tubes that could be used for columns at the various interior places in the play ... they would be able to be raised and lowered ... and a delightful enormous burlap tree (cut-out ~ based on the school symbol "The Lyre Tree) that was painted and decorated, which would suffice for all the forest scenes. This could also be raised and lowered. The raising and lowering was not as smooth as a Broadway or East End production, but they were incredibly pleased anyway.

--more Sunday.

I will be attending Gamer Musicon 90 at the Symphony tomorrow which consists of two different concerts using music from on-line and Xbox/Playstation games and various vendor demonstrations of new games. There are also two panel discussions with people from Blizzard and such. It will be fun and quite long. The first concert starts at 3:00pm and the second at 7:30pm ~ this concert will end at 10:00pm. I will end most likely shortly after that!!

The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (4) ~ Late Evening Thoughts

--continuing from night before last and posts prior

As I said, there seemed to be a battalion that came and got me out of the bushes and up the side of the path (a nice, basically straight down drop) and without too much yelling in pain on my part, took me and my broken arm to the hospital. There was the usual checking-in process, and then the Doctor arrived. At that point, he discovered that I had eaten dinner, so ~ knocking me out with anesthetic and setting the arm was not going to be possible until the morning. My arm was placed in a cloth type tube and I was attached to an IV stand ... the arm is now straight up (well, as straight as a completely broken arm can be) and I've been left in the bed. He ordered some pills to take away the pain - and allow me to get some rest.

The pills didn't work. Well, they did numb the pain, but wired me. There was no sleep that night. In a sense, this was a good thing because it gave me a lot of time to think ... about the plays, about what caused the break and to finally come up with two wonderful solutions. The first solution was the problem between the teacher and I and the second - even more important - solution was how to handle Bottom's infamous line about a "man may still be an ass." The first solution came from my addled, wired brain ~ the second from my arm hanging straight up in the air.

After what seemed as if The Longest Day have become The Longest Night, the nurses came and got me and off I went to surgery. The arm was set, put in what seemed like an ENORMOUS cast - and I woke up absolutely starving!! I was finally released and sent off to head back to my apartment for the rest of the day. Well, I should have gone directly back to my apartment for the rest of the day ~ but I stopped at the Quad at school to see the two teachers and let the students know that I was doing fine. A bit woozy, but fine.

The 6th grade teacher and I sat down and done what I should have done in the first place - we talked. My solution was actually quite simple (aren't most of them?) I would have her sit in at all the rehearsals and she would not put in/take out anything unless I was either there or we talked about it. Big smiles all around. Then I dropped my solution for Bottom's line ~ and we both laughed out loud over it.

The next day (as I remember) there was a rehearsal for Julius Caesar, and the actors were quite anxious to show me what they had accomplished and ready to begin the battle scene. Our elementary rehearsal space was simply not going to be good enough, and Parker Hall was available ~ so ~ up we went to the High School and to rehearse on the "big" stage.

Usually, the only time the elementary students performed on the stage was for music or dance recitals and once a year for the elementary talent show. So, getting "on the stage" was a big deal, and regarded with appropriate awe.

--more tomorrow

The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (3) ~ Late Evening Thoughts

--- continued from July 10th ~

I had -- in a moment of mental aberration -- left the 5th grade students aware that there was going to be at least one battle scene in their production of Julius Caesar ... this was followed by a battle with the 5th grade teacher. At the time, I had not formulated in my mind exactly how it was going to happen, but assured her it would be safe for everyone -- including the audience and provide some excitement to those watching.

The major problem was going to be weapons -- cardboard was not going to work, and i certainly wasn't going to try and round up a bunch of swords to place in the hands of my joyous and raucous 5th graders. Little did I know ~

The High School Science teacher a couple of days later (as I remember) talked to me in the staff dining room (where an incredible number of things seemed to be forever being discussed and/or decided) about the play and his interest in it. We got around the the battle scene and he told me that he had discovered a cache of bayonets at the kabardiwalla (I'm not sure of the spelling - forgive me) -- which means the local 2nd hand shop and he was sure I would be able to borrow them for the show.

Off we went to the shop, and there they were ... in all their nasty and dangerous glory. Unfortunately, the danger part really didn't dawn on me ... didn't even enter my thoughts. I immediately saw the scene in my mind and the realization of how much fun it would be to put together pushed all other concerns out of my mind.

They were triangular basically black - and - most exciting of all, they gave off sparks when struck together. (cue music from the beach assault in The Longest Day here.) At this point I lost all shred of sanity as far as the production was concerned, and the battle scene was about to become something that probably belonged in a movie about advancing on the beach at D-day!!

Now Midsummer Night's Dream was certainly not left out of the process. There was still the problem of Bottom's line about a man may still be an ass and then I found out that I would put something into rehearsal and the 6th grade teacher would take it out. This had been going on for sometime before I found out about it. I was getting frustrated with the students not remembering what I wanted them to do/say and them not wanting to tell me what was going on in the classroom.

So now we were down to two super-sized egos .. I was of the opinion that you don't mess with my show and she was of the opinion that you don't mess with her class. I found out late in the day and I got more and more angry as I went down the hill (literally) to the High School boys dorm where I was assistant supervisor and had my apartment. The longer I thought about it, the more angry I became. I decided, at that point, that I would go over to the High School girl's dormitory (where she had an apartment) and have it out with her - once and for all time!!

Now, if you look at the picture you will see a building on the hillside at the left edge. That was the starting point A -- the building on the hill on the right of the picture was finishing point B ... with a path and the middle school boys dorm hovering around the middle. Part f the path was lit, and parts were narrow and not. It was a path that everyone did several times a day on some days - and once a week, the High School boys make a treck to the High School girl's dorm for a dance. It was a path I knew well. I also knew that at that time of night, I needed to take a flashlight along, but I did not.

I am now charging along the path, heading to the middle building readying in my mind exactly how this was going to work and what I was going to accomplish or else!! That's when the "or else" happened in a moment. To this day, I'm not completely sure what happened - all I knew was that I ended up down the "chud" (pronounced cud .. again, I apologize for the spelling -- it meant cliff literally) as it was called with a broken arm. Unfortunately, I was too far entangled and too far down and hurting FAR too much to get myself out ... I began to yell for help. Finally, one of the workers heard me and tossed down what looked like a piece of twine. I finally convinced him that I was going to need more help then that ... and in due course, some kind of battalion arrived and got me to the hospital which was about a half-mile away.

---more tomorrow

The Course Of - Whatever - Never Did Run Smooth (2) ~ Late Evening Thoughts

---Continuing from last night

While Bottom's ass, or rather his line containing the word ass was becoming a major sticking point between the teacher and I concerning the Midsummer Night's Dream script adaptation ... the 5th graders were beginning to get VERY interested in just what and who Julius Caesar was going to be and what kind of play this might turn out to be.

This was going to be a first for both classes, before plays had been done in the main auditorium Parker Hall, but these were going to be done with scenery, lights, costumes and above all else ~ programs. Big stuff...as this meant there would need to be rehearsals outside of class and a performance outside of the elementary school quad area and timetable. The dining room (students and staff) , four dormitory staffs (5th-6th grade girls and boys, high school boys, high school girls), staff and administration all wanted their piece of the action and planning.

Parker Hall was the school's main purpose "rumpus" room - as I like to call it. There were innumerable concerts, recitals, meetings, plays and such. One year in the last four weeks of school there were 18 different events ... all of which required several rehearsals, settings, lights, a dress rehearsal and ticketed performance. As most of the seats weren't numbered and were plastic stackable chairs at that - this entailed a lot of number/row painting on the floor. If you think that politicians have turf wars, just imagine trying to standardize performance seating charts for each of the departments of a school that had been going their merry way for over 150 years. As the saying goes: "It was so not going to happen ... in anyone's lifetime."

I assembled some props, and the 5th grade students were given their scripts to read. Now, here comes the part where real life intersected with the class room. These students worked not only on their regular school work, which was intense but also time in the day was found to read the script and after the casting was done to learn and rehearse the script. I saw these students once a week for a little over an hour, so much of the work was going to fall on the classroom teachers. Fortunately, this is something they were aware of and welcomed (at first anyway).

I meet with the 5th graders and showed them the cute little paper model of the Globe theater and did my story about what plays would have looked like and sounded like during that time. We laughed over the fact that King Lear and Hamlet take four hours to do the complete script today, but at that time they managed to get through them in a little under 2 hours. (that was my story, and I'm sticking to it!!) I also talked about the children's troupes that used to perform Shakespeare to highly appreciative audiences and we talked about what that might have been like.

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to a discussion of the play. I was thinking that it was going to be somewhat difficult to explain the over reaching theme(s), the types of people these folks were, etc. I should not have worried ... I told them we would start at the first scene and talk about the play. I decided that I would ask a (what I was sure would a rhetorical ) question about the crowd in the first scene. Almost everyone's hand went up. I chose a smiling young lady who informed me that "The crowd represents just how fickle people can be. They are all excited and thrilled with someone and want them to be everything to them and then just a quickly can turn on them and want them dead ~ or kill them themselves."

All I could think of was the fact that I had high school students taking my Shakespearean Tragedy class that took a couple of days and a lot of coaxing to figure out that one concept. At that point I knew we were not going to have a single problem figuring out the play.

The next point that had to be dealt with was the fact the 1) there were a large number of girls in the class and 2) there were only two parts for women in the show neither of which was exactly lengthy. I assured them ~ in a moment of total brain failure ~ that they would not only be able to participate in the crowd scene(s) but the battle(s) as well. The look from the teacher will simply be recorded in this space as "the look."

--more tomorrow

which may include the story of the bayonets and the battle of the ages

The Course Of - Whatever - Never Does Run Smooth ~ Late Afternoon Thoughts

Marja at her delightful blog "Dutch Corner" did a 4th of July post about being introduced to one of Shakespeare's zanier comedies "Midsummer Night's Dream." And I had left a comment about "Years ago (in a galaxy far away) my 6th grade drama students did an adaptation of this wonderful play." --> her post is here <--

This week as I was moving things around, under the guise of "getting rid of somethings" .. I found the "gift" they had given me after the performance. And for a second time a flood of memories charged back demanding to be written down.

This occurred while I was teaching in India.

At that time, I was a teacher of English, Speech and Drama. The English, Speech portion involved grades 10-12 and Drama was divided up into Creative Drama grades 1-6 and Drama grades 10-12. Yes, there was a three year gap, but neither my schedule or the syllabus allowed for much more than doing a week long intensive theater performance with the 7th graders once a year.

The Shakespeare "experiment" started, as things so often do, on the way to somewhere else.

The 5th and 6th graders had done short plays before, and I was really not thrilled with what we had done, and they were a little dissatisfied with the level of plays available to be done. I was a little gun-shy about writing a couple of plays for them. I had done that twice for my High School students and while they loved them and "got" them, the administration was not terribly enthusiastic about them. 'Twas a quandary...and a puzzlement!!

I don't know how many of you are acquainted with "My Weekly Reader **" but when I was growing up, it's arrival in the classroom (we each got our OWN copy) was 2nd only to the Weekly Reader book sale ~ as I remember, once or twice a year. For years in school, this little newspaper brought fun, learning and insight to all who received it. When I was teaching at Woodstock School, I knew that it was available, but didn't realize that the students enjoyed it just as much as I had.

As I remember, it was in the staff dining room where the 5th grade teacher showed me a issue that contained a very short (10 or 12 lines) of one of the speeches from Julius Caesar and the article accompanying the adaptation (if that's the right word for it) about Rome and current affairs. As we were talking, (cue the theme from ANY Judy Garland, Micky Rooney "Let's put on a show" movie here.") One thing led to another, And I had agreed to adapt the play to their level, and do a Shakespeare segment as their drama classes. The 6th grade teacher, not to be outdone, wanted a play for her class as well. Well, why not (cue violins from Psycho shower scene here) ... why not a comedy - Midsummer Night's Dream wasn't being done anywhere around ... so, why not.

The major "why not" was the script(s) ... my agreement meant that I not only had to come up with two adaptations of major theatrical works, but would now need to stage them as well. Any student of Theater or Theatrical Literature knows the Julius Caesar text to use - and I don't think the cover has changed much in over (a certain number of years) ... And Midsummer Night's was available almost anywhere, so I set to work. Interesting enough, it was the adaptation of Midsummer Night's Dream that proved to be the most difficult.

As a play that is basically one big "romp" ... it is full of sexual innuendos and some not-so innuendo. And taking away completely everything that might ring slightly off would turn the play into a big nothing. Then, there is the magic, fairies and sprites wandering around ... this being a school high in the Himalaya Mountains depending on mission boards for teachers, support and some income (to say nothing of a stream of students!!) was somewhat vexing.

The teacher and I worked closely and sometimes contentiously about the wording. The most amusing part was what to do with Bottom's famous line (after being released from his donkey's head) that "sometimes a man might still be an ass." That line went in and out of the script more times than most people breathe in a day!! And was still a problem up to the final rehearsals ...

--- more to come ...

** FYI ~ (My) Weekly Reader has been in continuous publication since 1928 ~ to quote Wikipedia: The first edition was produced for the fourth grade, and appeared in September 1928. Its cover story was entitled "Two Poor Boys Who Made Good Are Now Running for the Highest Office in the World," and focused on the childhoods of Herbert Hoover and Al Smith.

-- and yes, that is a picture of Woodstock School ... I just wish it was mine!

An Elegant Timewaster - Lovecraftian Lore ~ Early AFternoon Thoughts

It's VERY hot here today - just the kind of day to stay inside and get all those nagging things done that I have been putting off doing . . . and after discovering -->this delightful site<--, will put off even further ... The site is devoted to those dark and deadly seeming card games. Somewhat like playing Dungeons and Dragons, but it moves much more quickly and even somewhat darker. Alas, no gnome tossing or princess rescuing ...

The start of the game looks like this ....



And once you press start game (I would suggest reading how to play first!!!) you will see this --


Nice creepy music and sounds accompany the game play, and no I've lost each time I've played, but there's always the next time

To play the game .... --> CLICK HERE <-- and as always, I'm not responsible for lost time, jobs or - in this case - sleep!!

It's All In The Drink ~ early afternoon thoughts

It all makes sense now,

Subject: Derivative markets, an understandable explanation

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit . In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar and soon she has the largest sale volume for any bar in Detroit .

By providing her customers' freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS and PUKEBONDS.

These securities are then traded on security markets worldwide. Naive investors don't really understand the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities
become the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.

One day, although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the bank (subsequently fired due his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's. Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %. The decreased bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extensions and having invested in the securities are faced with writing off her debt and losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 50 workers.

The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax levied on employed middle-class non-drinkers.

Finally an explanation I understand .....

Parental Moments ~ Early Evening Thoughts

About the time my daughter was in High School. a ladies only strip club had made the news here in town. It was owned by a former dancer of note (according to his press releases) and had become quite the party spot. It had (at that time) a firm "ladies only" policy ~ so, from what we understood the evenings were fairly raucous. This became quite the topic of conversation from my daughter and she was making all sorts of devious plans to go. I didn't worry too much about it as 1) she was way to young to get in and 2) I doubted she would really have gone even if she could have gotten into the place and 3) she was talking out loud about the plans ~ probably to see what kind of reaction it would get.

My daughter also loved to go to the various trade shows (travel), home and garden shows and the other exhibitions during the year. She was the exact opposite of my ex-wife. who could tolerate those kind of gatherings for - oh - maybe ten minutes and then was done. My daughter, on the other hand, loved to go, look and see everything that was there. She also was beginning to "scope" out men which was quite funny to be around. She would decided someone was cute, and I'd tease her to go talk to him, to which she would refuse, etc. It was a fun time to be around her ...

One week, there was a home and travel show at the convention center and I extended the invitation for her to come with me and for once, she decided that she didn't want to go but "Bring me home something from it, Dad." was the response.

So, I went and wandered around the exhibits on the main floor and then went to the second floor exhibits. In the center of all those exhibits was not only an exhibit for the club she had been talking about, but about 8 of the dancers were there as well. And yes, everything was quite G-rated. I wandered by and realized they were selling pictures, slides (!?!) and calenders. Ah ha!! A calender would be the ideal thing for her - if I could find one that she would be allowed to hang in her room! I found a large wall one with all 12 months and a different dancer for each month. This was a little more PG rated, but they were basically clothed and I was pretty sure that my ex (not ex at the time but later) would allow it in the house and in her room.

Not only did I get the calender, I got the dancers who were there to autograph the calender for her - and they each personalized it. I was sure it would be a great hit. (two of the dancers circled their birthdays with hearts - as if!!)

I waited to give it to her for several days. We were heading to do some shopping and I reminded her about the home/travel show and that it was too bad she wasn't there, because ... and then I told her who was there. It was a wonderful dramatic moment on her part as she was quite vocal about having missed them, etc. THEN, I gave her the calender.

A long silence followed, and all I could think was: "Oh, great, she doesn't like it!!" Finally I asked her if she was unhappy with it ...

Another long pause, then she replied that she did like it but ~ she said; "I just realized that there is no way I could date someone who has bigger boobs and more hair than I do!"

An Elegant Moment In Time ~ Early Morning Thoughts

What happens when you take ~ 8 weeks of planning, 8 sound tracks of 60s through 90s music, 10,000 who auditioned, 400 chosen, 10 hidden cameras, and a terminal full of unsuspecting commuters? You get an amazing moment in time.

Here is a cell-phone commercial recently filmed in England ... at a railway station during rush hour...




Of course, it took quite a bit of planning and rehearsal ....



I always get a bit teary/emotional seeing things such as this ... hopefully, not too many commuters missed their trains ....

Side note ~ There are some advantages to being old(er). Years ago, on the old Alan Funt Candid Camera, in a supermarket ~ there was an announcement on the loudspeaker asking everyone to take a moment and dance. A waltz was played and the "plants" literally took unsuspecting shoppers in their arms and began to waltz with them. My family urben legend is that my uncle had written the show and suggested it as something they could do.

A Moving Tale (2) ~ Early Afternoon Thoughts

Previous post about moving -->here<-- I got the keys to see the apartment, and upon entering ~ I actually loved it. There was a much larger living room, an actual hallway to the bedroom (Le Mutt would enjoy the running room) and, of course, the washer/dryer connections off the kitchen . . . just right to clean and cook, right? The patio was larger and only needed some weedkiller for the forest primeval that was attempting to grow there. All seemed to be well and what I was looking for in living space.

Now came the difficult part, actually making the decision to move. I weighed all the options, made innumerable lists comparing the pros and cons . . . and finally decided that I would once again move. Again, it was only 150 yards down the way. . . and down a short flight of stairs into the apartment or down cement steps OR a slight grassy incline into the porch. Shouldn't be much of a problem.

I had decided that there was no way I was going to pack and move myself. Somewhere I felt there was one of the moving companies that would pack, move and unpack. That was a correct assumption, but you would have thought I was moving into the White House based on the conversations and prices I was quoted. I was stunned to find out what the charges would be just to MOVE things that were already packed. So now I was faced with doing it on my own ~ so to speak. While I was contemplating this turn of events, I got into a discussion with my daughter. My son-in-law, in order to add extra money into their personal stimulus plan had been doing a number of "side-jobs" on the weekends. I decided that I would hire them for the move. . . and pay them quite well for it.

This proved to be one of the best decisions about the move I could have made. I decided on moving the last week of December. The move would occur the 24th of January. My neighbors were planning to make their move to a different complex the same weekend, so we would be able to share/commiserate during the ordeal of boxes and dumping and hauling and sorting.

During the week of the move the weather reports were quite typical for Houston. . . in other words, no one really knew WHAT the weather was going to be like during the weekend. Of course, there is always the chance of rain or storms ~ but nothing such as that seemed to be on any one's mind. The day of the move was actually quite cool, overcast, light wind and some rain was forecast at some point during the day. My daughter, Son-in-law and the 2 grand kids showed up ready to begin the day . . . I was actually ready to begin it myself. Very shortly. however, I was banished sent to the new apartment to oversee the arrivals and to place and unpack them as well.

What my Son-in-law has done was hire four men that work on his construction sites to come and do the lifting, hauling and placing. This meant that he could arrange, box and get things finalized (with the rest of his families help) and they would simply "hoof" it over to me. Talk about an incredible time-saver and energy saver! Very shortly furniture, boxes, tables, beds and all the etc. began to arrive to be placed and/or unpacked. What the moving companies had told me would take two days (!?!) was accomplished in a few hours.

The best moment of the entire move was the arrival of Bonzai (who had been in his large crate the entire time to prevent him from trying to help/hinder the move!) I'm old(er) enough to remember the spectacle of Elizabeth Taylor's entrance into Rome in the movie Cleopatra. The dog arrived much as she did - with one guy on each of the corners of the crate. They carried him through the complex and down into his new kingdom. We were all laughing but I can report that he was "not amused."

He was even less amused when Daughter, Son-in-Law and grand kids all went to dinner and left him behind.

So now I had moved into my new space without too much difficulty (only one slight damage to a piece of furniture) and I was awaiting the quick connection of the phone, Internet and TV.

---that ordeal will follow . . . and it was an ordeal!

A Moving Tale ~ Early Afternoon Thoughts

Le Mutt (officially called Bonzai - because the first day he was around, he had the startling habit of throwing himself off furniture ) and I were quite comfortable in my apartment. While not an enormous space, it was comfortable and had a view of the Bayou unmatched except at the very expensive restaurant down the road. As a two bedroom I had visions of turning the second bedroom into an office/craft room. In actuality, it consisted of piled boxes and "stuff" - with the computer tucked into a corner of clear space.

The apartment laundromat was a matter of steps from my apartment, and when the machines were working was quite convenient. At least that is what everyone told me . . .

in actuality, they are never convenient.

Having the quarters,
loading the laundry,
carrying the laundry,
washing the laundry,
getting more quarters,
drying the laundry,
folding/hanging the laundry,
carrying the laundry (now occupying much more space)
and
putting the laundry away.
(rinse and repeat theme song here)

And, of course, with any apartment dwelling there are neighbors. I was fortunate in that mine were nice and except for the ones above me, relatively quiet. On my side of the building ~ next to me was a couple who were in residence only during the week. On weekends they went to their ranch to play with their cows and horses ~ nice job if you can get it!! Upstairs from them were a delightful couple with a five year old son that was going to be a stand-up comedian someday and a new baby. They were wonderful neighbors, and when I had my first knee operation actually showed up at my door during the recovery to find out if I needed anything and to check that I was OK.

The neighbors directly above me were . . . well . . . quite interesting and unusual. Aside from some strange activities and loud noises from above ~ there was the day (a beautiful Saturday afternoon as a matter of fact) they made rather passionate love (cue bad movie porn sound track here)~ with their windows open. Ah, the sounds of nature. There were a number of people out on the area in front of my apartment which had some BBQ pits and benches . . . they were as fascinated stunned as I was. Even Bonzai was stunned into silence and immobility.

But as I said, Le Mutt and I were quite comfortable where we were and not planning to move anytime soon. (cue ominous sounds here) I really didn't want to go through the hassle of packing, unpacking and transferring everything into a new apartment. Besides, mine was quite convenient and I was settled into the space. Albeit a somewhat cluttered space, but MY space none-the-less.

The 1st week of January, the people next to me told me they were planning to move ~ something closer to their jobs. We chatted about options, and then they told me that the BC building in the complex had a 2 bedroom/2 bath available. THAT conversation was what set all this in motion.

When the complex was built ~ there was a supper club right in the middle. It had the charming name of "Barbary Coast." From what I understand, it didn't take the owner very long to realize that he really didn't want to be in the restaurant business . . . running a large complex was quite enough. After several years, the building was revamped/redesigned with ten individual apartments. Because of the lay-out of the building, no apartments had the same floor plans and each had washer/drying connections. Because of the type of building it is, and the larger apartments along with the connections, demand is rather high for them. As a matter of fact, when one becomes vacant, the complex doesn't even advertise them - current tenants rent them in a matter of days.

So, off I went to the office to ask about the apartment and to get the keys to see it. The apartment itself was about 150 yards from where I was, so moving wouldn't be a major ordeal. Or so I thought . . .

--more to come

Cyclic Cynical ~ Late Evening Thoughts

Every so often it comes over me. It's a feeling not of despair or hopelessness ~ but one of deep cynicism. It is not a pleasant feeling or way of thinking. If allowed to run free, it begins to color so many areas of life. . . relationships, friendships and way of life.

As I was trying to track down where this was coming from or being "fed" by, I realized that the political arena was mostly to blame. I was surprised because usually my reaction politically is a heartfelt "Meh" (a new word in the dictionary) or a rather disgusted "Oh well . . . ". It seems that this time the political circus has moved beyond the annoying to emulating the Keystone Kops!

It started with Mr Pay-for-Play Rod Blagojevich, who, until we actually have a chance to hear/read the transcripts of the recorded conversations, seems to be guilty of nothing more than stupidity and babbling bluster. However, that was until the Senate leadership, in its infinite leadership wisdom entered the act. With extreme posturing ~ even by political standards ~ announcing that no one appointed by the governor would be seated in the Senate to replace President-Elect Obama. At first blush it seemed reasonable enough, however with some reflection I remembered there was a court case where the House was told by the Supreme Court no less, That Congress lacked power to fashion its own standards for admittance (back in 1967, involving Adam Clayton Powell ~ race surely coincidental). Of course, the Governor did exactly that . . . he appointed Roland Burris who one article described as someone who: "never lacked in self-esteem or retreated from long-odds challenges."

This appointment boxed the Senate leadership into a nice corner of their own making.

Then, I read in chigacotribune.com this priceless bit of information ~

" While the process slogs along, it's also possible that Burris could take on some limited trappings of office.

Past practice (cue music from Fiddler on the Roof here) in the Senate has been to grant a senator whose credentials are disputed office space and payroll for a staff, as well as floor privileges—but not a Senate seat—until the situation is resolved. So Burris potentially could be allowed to enter the exclusive club, but not as a full member, without the ability to vote, speak or even literally sit at a senator's desk."

At that point, my cynical meter was almost on overload. Everything but the ability to vote or have a seat on the senate floor? Are you kidding me?

It no longer is a surprise to me that Congress is unable to get anything done. They're too busy living on tradition or trying to outdo or outshout anyone else.

However, all that paled when my cynic (OK, B.S.) meter finally exploded. I had heard this before, but it wasn't until tonight that any of the anchors seemed to make a point of it . . . The Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had evidently called Mr. Blogojevich to tell him who NOT to appoint (evidently) because they would not be "electable" in the 2010 elections!! No name politicians such as: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Now, this has moved from the Keystone Kops to The Perils of Pauline!

While I am using the political situation as a "set-up" this is not basically a political two-part post. Tomorrow I'm going to explore what this cynical attitude can do to me and to those around me ... after all:

"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
---Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

“The opposite of creativity is cynicism”
---Esa Saarinen

"A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin."
---H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

The Great Morality Question ~ Late Morning Thoughts

There's the Pillsbury Bake-Off, the Pun-Off in Austin and a small town in Minnesota has started the "Think-Off."

This challenging contest began (as far as I can tell) in 1993 with the question: "The Nature of Humankind: Inherently Good or Inherently Evil?" According to the website, a priest, a newspaper editor, a 15 year-old cheerleader and a former tribal police officer made such strong arguments that the audience couldn't decide if mankind is good or evil, leaving the question forever unresolved.

Since then such questions have been "thought-off" as:

1994: "Does Life Have Meaning?"

1998: "Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?" (again from the wegsite) A record year, the 1998 Think-Off received over 820 essays, and the final debate was broadcast live on C-SPAN. As the country grappled with the spectacle in the White House, the Think-Off audience and the C-SPAN viewing audience, agreed with a soft-spoken priest from New York--honesty is not always the best choice

2002: "Is the Pen Mightier than the Sword? (and the web site says) Paul Higday of Richmond, Virginia said No. It's not a matter of which has the right, but which has the might. In today's world it takes the sword to change societies so the pen can flourish. In order for the pen to be mightier, the people in whose hand it lies must be 'entirely great', said Higday, referring to the 19th century novelist Bulwer-Lytton who said, "Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword?"


The event is organized by Minnesota's New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the cultural and creative opportunities of rural Americans. New York Mills is a farming town of some 1,200 people in central Minnesota, about 170 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Anyone can enter by submitting an essay of 750 words or less. Four finalists will be chosen to debate the question on June 13 before a live audience.

Last year's question was “Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?” The audience decided Craig Allen, of West Linn, Ore., was most convincing with his argument that the system of immigration and immigration policy is broken, that it encourages illegal immigration and poses a threat to the country.

Here's how it works ... go to --> this website <-- and you can read previous essays and debates. There is a link to the entry form --> here <-- . You compose a 750 word essay on this years question ~ "Is it ever wrong to do the right thing?" You submit the essay and it will be judged along with all the others received. And the four finalists will be chosen to debate the topic on June 13th before an audience that will decide. At least one of the debates has been broadcast by C-Span and given all that happened in 2008, I suspect this years topic will generate a lot of interest.

The prize for the four finalists is travel, lodging and $500. They also will appear in the parade on the 12th of June. The final prize(s): Gold, Silver & bronze medals and title of "America's Greatest Thinker".

From the website again:
"Entering the competition is easy. Just submit an essay of 750 words or less by April 1, 2009 (postmark date). You may send your essay in one of three ways: through the mail to Great American Think-Off, New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, P.O. Box 246, New York Mills, MN 56567 or email to nymills@kulcher.org (no attachments)".

My challenge for this year ~ enter this contest . . .

It's That Time Again ~ Early Evening Thoughts

It started in New Zealand

- followed about an hour later in Sydney.


The New Year is being celebrated around the globe - and each area hopes that this year will be better than the last, and not worse!!!

But behind the fireworks, cheers and cheery drinks is an amazing combination of hope and fear. I have to agree with a commentator I heard last night that this combination is almost 50-50 in people. It will be interesting to see which side gains strength in 2009.

The most amazing part - it's up to each of us individually and collectively to decide whether fear or hope will rule. There's an intersting verse in the Bible that talks about "men's hearts will fail for fear" . . . I have NO intention of letting mine go that route. I already went down that road once before, and am NOT going down it again.

Am I doing resolutions - no. Am I making commitments instead - yes. I'm convinced I will have better luck with that then resolutions. Of course, if I really want to make sure I continue on with the commitments/resoltions - I could use the services of -->this web site<-- to keep me on the straight and narrow!!

I am going to continue to blog, with a lot greater frequency and relevancy this year. I'm going to continue to loan money to individuals around the globe through -->Kiva<-- and challenge each of you to take $25 and put it to good use through them AND you get it back . . . it's a loan program after all. Welcome to the New Year

Hey, my lad, ho, my lad!
Here's a New Broom.
Heaven's your housetop
And Earth is your room.
Tuck up your shirtsleeves,
There's plenty to do-
Look at the muddle
That's waiting for you!

Dust in the corners
And dirt on the floor,
Cobwebs still clinging
To window and door.

Hey, my lad! o, my lad!
Nimble and keen-
Here's your New Broom, my lad!
See you sweep clean.

- Eleanor Farjeon

This is probably one of my favorite New Year Videos ~ ABBA around the piano is what it is normally called - and is usually played in Sweden around midnight!!

New Year’s Resolutions


Each year I resolve with the strongest intent
To be better this year than the last.
And I work very hard; the rules hardly get bent,
But this discipline gets old so fast!

But with this new year I just know I’ll win out,
Just watch how I do and you’ll see!
I’m not going to have yet another blowout;
I’ll be good as I know I can be.

But, if wicked things beckon, and I’m not so strong,
If I weaken and fall on my ast,
I’ll be thankful again that you’ll help me along
As you have during all new years past.
I'm so glad you are all my friends!!!

-- Karl and Joanna Fuchs

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!