Fall into winter?

I am back from my visit to Atlanta - a good visit,  little longer than usual.  The highlight, of course, was Cachao's 8th birthday which falls on Halloween.  That morning I went with Sam to Cachao's school to watch the Halloween parade.  All the kids dress up in costumes (ostensibly as a character from a book which each child carries) and parade through the school with parents and family there to watch.  Cachao went as a green ninja, but  I couldn't get a clear photo of him - the kids moved so quickly.  I did get a slightly blurry one of a kindergartner dressed as Audrey Hepburn (I wonder what her book was?):

The visit was also good as Corinne is now in Atlanta and I had time with her, as well as time with Sam.  I was able to get to know Cello better, and even saw John.  On Sunday we played whiffleball in John's backyard - John, Sam, Corinne, and Cachao - Cachao can really hit that ball.  Corinne, Cachao and I visited the Eastlake Community Garden to tend Corinne's plots.  Cachao got to feed Egbert, the pig, and various goats, first some tasty specialty cabbage leaves from Corinne's gardens, and then kudzu when the creatures would have eaten Corinne's garden down to the last shoot of green. 

Here's a picture of Cachao at the farm that Corinne took:

Meanwhile, back in Maine, we had our first snow of the season - reminiscent of the big October snowstorm in Connecticut that left 3/4 of the state without power for days on end (for us, 11 days). This year in Maine, as in Connecticut then, there were still many leaves on the trees. While our town only got about 6 inches of snow, there were very high winds and David lost power for about 12 hours or so. Some places lost power for days, so we were lucky I guess. A tree in our back yard fell on our neighbor's garage. Apparently there was no damage to the garage, but the fallen tree now has to be removed (David now has his own chain saw - once the tree is removed, perhaps he'll sign up for chain saw carving classes!)

Our forsythia bush in the front was somewhat abused as well:

 

Well, that's the news from NoRo.  Oh, I hear you ask - what's NoRo?  Apparently there are a couple of artists who are trying to turn their home - which was first a church down the street from us in our neighborhood, then an apartment building, and now a very large home - into an art gallery.  They are trying to art-ify (you know - art-i-fy, to make art-sy) the north end of Rockland, which apparentlyhas had a less savory reputation historically.  Hey, we live in the north end and we like it here.  Anyway, ergo ... North Rockland = NoRo.  So...

 

Peace, Peace, from NoRo to all points of the compass and beyond.

It slips away...

Time goes by, fall arrives.  The weather is ... odd.  A Nor'easter parked in the Gulf of Maine dropped 4-5 inches of water over 4 days.  Finally the sun came out this weekend. 

Friday night was "Uke Night" at a local music store.  David and I went.  There seemed to be about 20 or 25 people there, including kids, younger people and, of course, our generation was well represented.  We took turns suggesting tunes from the Daily Ukulele (a songbook with 365 tunes), and then strumming them.  We were likely among the less accomplished players, but it was still fun.

Saturday night we went to the Rockport Opera House to a concert of local Maine folk musicians to support a local Maine organization - We The People (wethepeoplemaine.me) - which is part of a larger national movement to repeal the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision through a Constitutional amendment.  The hall was packed (again, our generation well in attendance, actually very over-represented), the music was good, the feeling was upbeat.

 As we were driving home last night, I asked David if it seemed to him that there was more "going on" here - culturally, politically, etc. - than there had been in Connecticut, or if we are just more attuned to it. He thinks there is more going on. I think in Connecticut the "goings on" seemed to be targeted at the wealthier - Hartford Stage, Hartford Symphony, etc. - while here there are a lot of smaller, more locally based happenings happening. Not a very scientific analysis, I guess.

So here's another sample from the Free Press "Miscellaneous" section of the local Calendar of Events:

• "Extreme Savings: A Crash Course in Couponing," 6-8 p.m., Great Salt Bay School, Damariscotta. $24: 563-2811 or clcae@aos93.org.
• "How & Why to Keep Bees in Top Bar Hives," 6-8 p.m., Medomak Valley High School, Waldoboro. $20: 832-5205 or msad40.MaineAdultEd.org.
• "History and Myth in Russian Foreign Policy," 7 p.m., Camden Library. Prof. Seth Singleton gives the free talk.
• "Tugboat Work & Seamanship," 7 p.m., Rockport Opera House's meeting room. Talk by Captain Ron Hawkins.

I like how you have to spend money to learn about "extreme savings".  Do you think you have to bring your own bee or bee hive to the bee class?  The tugboat event sounded interesting, but I think we missed it already.

Today was chore day - vacuum, rake leaves, mow the lawn (dare I hope for the last time this season?), clean up a couple of the garden beds and mulch.  Hard work, especially the raking.

I am getting ready to travel to Atlanta this coming week for Cachao's 8th birthday and birthday party, to which I received a handwritten personal invitation informing me to come in a Ninja costume, to bring a present and my invitation, and in so doing, I will be able to join a Ninja dance, have dinner and Ninja birthday cake and go trick-or-treating.  Sound like fun?  Photos to come post-trip.

MPBN - our local public radio station, sponsored a contest recently, asking the question "What to MPBN listeners look like?" - and asking listeners to take a photo of themselves listening to MPBN and send it in.  Many were posted on the MPBN website.  Here's the one I sent in:

I wish you bright autumn leaves, chilly nights, frosty mornings, and Peace.

The birthday of the world

Here we go, into the new (Jewish) year--5775.  Rosh HaShannah at the local synagogue was good--a smaller turn-out than last year when the holiday fell during Labor Day week and we appear to have had a number of "summer" people who stayed over and attended services.  But services were good and I found them meaningful.  On the second day, David and I were invited to lunch at the home of the former treasurer and her husband, whom we've begun to get to know and already like very much.  It was a big crowd, probably 75% of those who attended services on the second day, but hamish and much delicious food.  Now we turn toward Yom Kippur, which this year comes on a Saturday.  Perhaps that will bring out a larger crowd; who knows.  The synagogue will have a Break Fast, but I don't think I'll attend.  I find I need to go home and revive privately.

Two weeks ago the visiting rabbi came for Shabbat and on Friday night suggested we use poetry to dig into the meaning of the holidays.  He invited us to bring favorite poems or our own poems, and I brought a poem I wrote many, many years ago when I lived in New York.  Since I left New York in 1992, the poem must be at least 25 years old, probably more.  It arose from my surprise at finding that although during the year, synagogue Shabbat services would be attended by some number of people - perhaps 75-100, depending on what was going on - for the High Holidays (Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur), Jews would seem to come out of the woodwork and we might have 1,500 people attending services.  Here is the poem:

The Year Yom Kippur Came on Wednesday
 
we tumble from our beds our bellies growling
feet tramping through the halls and down
the stairs in canvas shoes so odd a match with

our best suits and bright skirts we dribble out to

sidewalks join in rivulets and merge in streams to

rush and pour into our sanctuaries where we stand

and sit and stand and fast as fast as hours pass in

prayer and penitence we beat our breasts confessing

lists of sins when we're not slipping out and in and

out again to catch the latest word on who's been

born and who passed on this year still finding time

to stir the lost sweet ache to weep to watch the

chazzan throw himself upon the floor become

a waterfall a woman's sobs white shredded clouds

in steeped blue skies each note a shard that

tears our hearts above our bended knees

at last the shofar blast we bow we leave to drink to eat
to laugh to weep to live and die again as
one by one each of us a single sheep passes by Him
unaware of what a miracle the Shepherd sees this Wednesday

October 12th will be the second anniversary of our move to Maine.  Every day I am happy we made that decision, my morning walks with Ella are a gift.  One recent morning:

May each person and every living thing on our world be sealed in the book of life for peace, for health, for prosperity in the year to come.  I have a feeling that would be okay with God--it's just us human beings that are likely to have an issue with it.  Still hope will not let go.  Stubbornly it sinks its frail roots into dry worn-out soil and hangs on, even in the face of the coming winter.  (300,000 people marched in New York City to warn of the perils of climate change.  When is the last time 300,000 people marched in this country for anything?) 

So, Happy Birthday, World.
If not us, who?  If not now, when?
Peace, peace, far and near.

So...

So ... I haven't posted lately because my computer is having troubles... again.  Same issue that came up around July 4th holiday weekend, being locked out and being told the password I enter isn't right.  Last time I called Apple Support and they walked me through sort of re-booting the system.  I haven't had time, or energy, to go through my personal desk to see if I (hopefully) took notes on the steps they walked me through.  If I didn't, my choices will be 1) calling Apple again (which means waiting on the phone 20-30 minutes and then, likely this time, paying money) or 2) taking the laptop to a local computer place, which also means money (and probably time).  There's a place around the corner from us that says it is an authorized Mac service place.  I just have been too demoralized to deal with it.  Since my iPod still works, I can see my personal email there; listen to music (at least the music already on the iPod) and listen to podcasts (which still automatically download).

Then this morning, I used David's computer to log on to my personal email (needed to use his computer just so I could capture a URL from eBay to send it to someone) and after I did that, he had problems logging in to eBay, so now I'm stressed that I somehow screwed up his computer.

But the bottom line is - f**king technology is taking over our lives, we come to "need" it and depend on it and get stressed and strung out if we can't use it when we want it.  Yesterday I got a marketing call from Time Warner, our internet, home phone and cable TV provider.  The woman wanted to tell me about a new "package" that would deliver "hundreds of movies" to me for just another $8 or $10 a month.  "I don't watch movies" I told the woman.  "Well, the package includes other entertainment options..." "I don't much care for 'entertainment,' I told her, "I barely care for Time Warner Cable."  So she gave up. 

That's the goal for next year, I think, when our "discounted" (if you can call it that) price for Time Warner's "triple play" package (internet, phone and cable tv---which was actually "cheaper" than buying only internet and phone) expires - get rid of cable TV, get rid of home phone (get MagicJack) and keep only internet from Time Warner (unless a better option comes along).

My next door neighbor doesn't have a computer.  She doesn't have internet.  She doesn't have cable TV.  She reads a lot.  She gardens.  She's not technologically illiterate.  At work she uses a computer, the Internet.  She watches movies on DVDs from the library.  She is a civilized person and, perhaps, my role model.

So that's what's going on.  I'm squeezing in this posting using another computer.  My next post may not be until my own laptop is repaired.  I am off to Connecticut next week for work and a check-up with my oncologist.  So I may not have time to deal with the computer until I return.

But don't worry.  I am here.  Ella and I continue to enjoy morning walks.  Fall is coming.  It makes Ella frisky. There is crispness in the air.  Northern and interior Maine have frost warnings in the evening.  Yesterday morning I forgot to bring Ella's ball with us on our walk. Down by the water where we stop and I usually throw the ball for her to chase, there's a pear tree. So I threw pears that had fallen on the ground, and Ella chased and returned them to me. What I found interesting was that she barely scratched the skin of the pear. A soft mouth. 

Rosh HaShannah - the Jewish New Year - approaches - the birthday of the world.  The day on which our tradition says that each of us, in fact, each living thing, the whole world, is judged for life... or for... 

I hope God is in a good mood, feeling lenient and more optimistic about humanity that I feel these days.  Otherwise, we may be in trouble...

Peace.

At dawn, shouts of joy...

One may lie down weeping at nightfall,

            but at dawn there are shouts of joy. (Psalm 30)

Maybe there is something wrong with me (well, okay, there certainly is something wrong with me, but I mean one specific thing).  I seem to have an almost irrepressible drive to wake up each morning and feel ... happy ... even joyous.  Given the state of the world, given the suffering - war, poverty, racism, violence, sexism, disease, hunger - I feel guilty about this, a shallow and self-involved person.  Over the course of a day, the weight of the world comes back, pulls me to it, and the pain and outrage vibrates.  But in the morning...

... joy!

In the meantime, August flies by.

My friend Cyndy and her sister-in-law Pam stopped by for a quick visit.  (Cyndy and I worked together at SNET beginning in 1996 when I moved from Atlanta to Connecticut the first time, until 1998, when I moved back South - gosh, so long ago! - and have stayed in touch ever since, even with Cyndy's move to Florida.) The three of us visited the Rockland breakwater and walked around "downtown" Rockland.  It was good to see her.  Cyndy even made some noises about finding a summer home up here in Maine when she retires in a few years.  I say to ALL my friends:  Come on up!

One wonderful thing that has been happening lately is my grandson, Cachao's, calls.  Starting a couple of months ago he began calling me to tell me he had finished another book in the series he is writing called "Captain Booger."  Those who are parents or grandparents of young ones will hear the echo in that title of the smash hit children's series called "Captain Underpants."  Cachao has been reading that series for several years, but about a year ago he began creating his own series.  Each book is between 10 and 25 pages, with text and drawings.  On yesterday's call, Cachao read me book number 40, the first of "season 6" of the series.  Of course, over the phone I miss the drawings.  But the sound effects - the title of "season 6" is "In Space" - were outstanding!  Anyway, it is just lovely to have the home phone ring, answer it and hear my grandson's voice.  And besides reading his own creations, we chat about other things, too.  I expect to talk to him again this weekend.  The littler guy, Cello, also likes to "talk" on the phone, although I wouldn't really call the experience a "conversation" but I like to hear his voice.  And I need to pay attention, because in a blink of an eye he'll be as big as Cachao is now! (Cello is 3, Cachao is almost 8.)

Meanwhile I'm thinking about news from family and friends, which is ... like most of life I guess ... up and down.  Up - a dear young man I know, Joseph, has been offered a very good job in his field with a very good organization.  It restores my faith in the ability to have hope about young people's futures in today's world.  Down - a good friend here lost her job, and not that long after receiving a promotion.  It was a case, I think, of the management not realizing that they had promoted to management an ethical person who would actually take her job seriously and do what was right.  Apparently that was problem for them.  But to be without a job again when one is closing in on 60, to be a single parent with a mortgage ... it must be gut wrenching, particularly at a certain stage of life.  Up - my daughter tells me she found a "job," definitely not a career but it will pay something and money coming in offsets money going out.  It is one step toward the future she so dearly desires (and deserves).

Summer is not lingering in mid coast Maine - which is actually fine with me.  The nights have been cool (50's), the days mild to warm to occasionally very warm (80's), but the spiral down to fall is now apparent.  Trees have begun coloring and dropping leaves.  First to go brown seems to be the Horse Chestnut, which I recall was the very first to bear green in the spring.  But also other trees.  Here's the first red leaves on a maple around the corner:

So heading into September on Monday - also Labor Day - here's a taste of what's happening around here:

• Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, Fridays, 9 a.m. Spectrum Generations Knox Center, Rockland. $1.
• Qi Gong at Thomaston Academy, Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Chinese exercise for all ages. FMI: 354-2453.
• Free Pole Dancing Classes, Fridays, 5:30 p.m., through August, Studio V, 407 Main St., Rockland. FMI: 941-718-0847.
• Fellowship of the Spirit Step Study Group, Saturdays, 7-8 a.m., St. Margaret's Church, 95 Court St., Belfast. FMI: 505-5266.
• Meditation Group, Saturdays, 7-8 a.m., Belfast Dance Studio, 109 High St.

It is hard to decide what to choose - coffee and donuts sounds good, but free pole dancing classes?  Maybe I'll go meditate on the question and if I can't decide, join the spirit step study group to know myself better first.

Peace.

Hands up! Don't shoot!

Ferguson, Missouri - why does a city of 70,000 people need a police force with tanks and automatic rifles?   A city that is 60% black with a white mayor and 1 black person on the city council.  Oh, maybe that's why tanks and automatic rifles are needed.  Who can imagine a scenario in which an 18 year old white man would have been shot 6 times in the same circumstances - cops stopping 2 young white man walking down the middle of the street, leading to leaving one lying dead in his own blood on the street?    But, wait, hear all the voices - including Obama's - telling (black) people to calm down, to protest peacefully, violence never helps.  Someone should have told that to the cop that shot down Michael Brown.  Oh, wait, that's what Dr. King said before Selma, 50 years ago.  Oh, wait, Dr. King was shot down.  Remember Watts?  Remember Rodney King?  Remember Treyvon Martin?  

And then there is the Islamic State fka ISIS, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.  Forced conversions to Islam or summary executions.  Selling women and children into slavery - in 2014.  

How did that "women's cigarette" brand used to advertise itself?   Virginia Slims - you've come a long way, baby!  Oh, we human beings have come a long way, ain't we baby cakes?  We used to burn people at the stake if they would not convert to Christianity.  We used to kidnap black people, lock them in the bellies of ships and sell them into slavery in the "new" world.  We used to occupy people's homeland, wipe them out, and then "negotiate" a "settlement" granting them a "reservation".  We used discriminate against people of color, against women, against gay people.   But we're way past all that now, aren't we?  Well done, human race.  God must be very happy with us these days.

That's all I have to say today, except:

"It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it" (Avot 2:21) - Rabbi Tarfon.  

Wage peace.  

Summertime

Summertime, and the  living continues to be stressful.  

When I thought things at work could not be more stressful... well, let's just say, I was wrong.  I think the bottom line is that I have never learned how in the corporate environment to lay low, play games, suck up when necessary, and generally maneuver "politically" to put protecting my own (ample) butt ahead of all else.  I've never been good at that, even when it would have benefited me.  I tend to treat all people as people, rather than worrying about who is important and who not, whose bony or other ass needs to be kissed, and whose can be ignored.   I tend to think other people operate the same way.  The result - again and again I am surprised when people are willing to stab each other in the back to get an advantage or will deflect a justified criticism (oh, sorry, I should have said "will fail to take advantage of a growth opportunity") by making a personal attack.  I suppose this is a "growth opportunity" for me - to model myself after those around me so that finally, before I "retire," I too can learn to contribute by looking after number one first and always.  That may be one new trick this old dog doesn't want or just is not able to learn.  As a result, I finally do see the end of my corporate "career" in sight in the not distant future - depending on other local job possibilities, finances, etc.  I'm not sure what will come next for me or exactly when.  But life is too short to spend it like this.

Better news:  

Our friend Jon visited from California.  Once he shared his personal history of being dragged out on boats by his family where he hung over the rail and barfed, we avoided boats.  But we had a good albeit short visit - we went (for me, back) to the Farnsworth Museum, took a walk on the Rockland Breakwater, drove up Mt. Battle to see the view, shared several good meals at local restaurants, and enjoyed just catching up.  Yesterday I learned that our friend Cyndy, formerly from Connecticut and now from Florida, may come to visit toward the end of August.  Something to look forward to.  (By the way, thanks to Cyndy and others who encouraged me to keep up this blog.)

The weather has been alternately hot followed by rain followed by a typical Maine summer day followed by more hot, more rain, etc.  The garden has generally thrived from this but our radishes were a bust.  I think I failed to thin them soon enough and then let them grow too "woody".  The carrots are looking  very robust, but we haven't pulled any yet.  The grape tomatoes planted in the raised bed are thin and feeble looking. We've had a few tomatoes from them, but the plants just didn't do well.  My neighbor Melissa says Japanese beetles have been a problem for her tomatoes, so maybe for mine, too.  The one grape tomato plant I put in separately over by the side of the house is thriving.  The jalapeño peppers are finally coming in.  We've been eating cucumbers from our garden.

Locally - we made it through the Maine Lobster Festival and this weekend, the Boat, Home and Something or Other show.  We skipped the Lobster Festival and went to the Boat show  yesterday.  Best thing was a local Ukulele band that had a repertoire of 1400 songs.  You could request a song by name or call out a number.  In addition to ukuleles, their instruments included an electric bass guitar, drums (including congo drums), an electric stand-up banjo bass, a saw, a kazoo, a flute, and more that I forget.  Tonight we may go kayaking off the coast with a group in a "super moon" paddle.

Meanwhile, here's what's coming up locally - if you don't have equally exciting happenings where you live, why don't you come up and join us:

• Talk by Hope Elephants Director, 1 p.m., St. Andrews Village, Boothbay Harbor. Andrew Stewart talks about the threats elephants face in the wild. Free, space limited; RSVP: 633-0920.

• Insect Walk in Edgecomb, 1-2:30 p.m., Singing Meadow Preserve, Cross Point Road. Join entomologist Clay Kirby for an entertaining stroll in search of singing insects. FMI: bbrlt.org or 633-4818.

• "The Truth About Bats," 5 p.m., Project Puffin Visitor Center, 311 Main St., Rockland. Expert Annie Kassler gives the slidetalk about our winged allies and their critical place in the planet's ecology and global economies. With wine and cheese. Reservations: 596-5566.

• "Race, Violence, and Friendship: Mississippi, 1964 and 2014," 7 p.m., Jackson Memorial Library, Tenants Harbor. Talk by David Riley and members of his family about Freedom Summer, its voter registration drives and a reunion of activists.

Actually, this may be the most quintessentially Maine event in the Free Press this week:

Quilt Whisperer" Gives Workshop, Sat., Aug. 16, 2 p.m., Federated Church, Hyler St., Thomaston. Bonnie Dwyer shows more than 25 from her collection and explains how to determine age and care for quilts. Bring your own for her to identify. Free.

Or maybe not, maybe this one:

"How to Kill a Zombie," Fri., Aug. 15, 7 p.m. The Maine-made action-comedy makes its debut at Flagship Cinemas in Thomaston, and continues through Thurs., Aug. 21, at 1 and 7 p.m. daily. Actors from the film will attend the 7 p.m. showing Sat., Aug. 16, and participate in a Q&A after the screening.

Peace.  Soon.  Please.