Monthly Archives: May 2012

We took in a lecture at the Pioneer’s Museum yesterday that was instructive on lots of levels. The first (maybe superficial level) was when a couple with two nice little kids sat in the first row and the oldest boy got his finger pinched in the folding seat just as the moderator started to introduce Tom Huber, the speaker. It must have hurt a lot, because the little guy (4 years-old?) just howled! The screams filled the old courtroom where we were, but soon he calmed down to a whimper and then silence so Tom could begin. Ten minutes or so into the presentation, this same young man got a bit bored and started to get antsy and a bit noisy. The parents tried to reason with him, but he persisted. They evidently drew a line in the sand about what would happen if he didn’t be quiet and sit still, but the youngster called their bluff in front of this big crowd. Good parents that they were, after one last chance, they packed up the family and tried to quietly leave. Then the little boy began to bargain and loudly promise the world for another second chance, but the line had been crossed twice. Diminishing screams and howls were heard down two flights of stairs as these harrowed young parents delivered what may have been a life-saving/changing object lesson for him AND his brother!

Tom carried on as best he could with his presentation of  a book he has been working on for over ten years on the Hayden Survey Expedition of 1872-78 of mainly Colorado and part of Wyoming before they were states. Tom collected great pen and ink drawings of the geography/geology of the region and then with his wife, Carol, found the exact spot from which the drawings were done and did panoramic digital photos of the same scene to compare how much the landscape has changed in 140 years. Tom is a professor of geography at UCCS and just a great teacher/speaker. We really enjoyed the talk and look forward to the book when it is published.

Later we went to a wedding celebration next door along with the Agnews. Charlie Goodell is an ER doctor who works in Raton, NM 3+ days a week. With two rather loquacious dogs and unpleasant contacts with the neighbors over their barking (by email, shouting matches and phone calls) he decided to hire someone to care for them while he was away. I think he met and hired Karen in the grocery store, and soon they fell in love and just got married in Hawaii. (Time span about 4 months?). Anyhow, they threw this party yesterday. Charlie invited the Agnews and us since we are neighbors on either side of his house. Karen invited 50+ of her closest friends.  She was totally in her element – Charlie had the well known ‘deer in the headlights look’ about him most of the afternoon. The weather cooperated. Great party.

From there we went to the Philharmonic to hear a concert featuring Gershwin and Bernstein. It was a ‘sold out’ performance, but we got tickets in the last row of the handicapped section right behind Lynn and Rick Waite. Rick is struggling with multiple trips for dialysis now, but all really enjoyed the music. We know Lynn and Rick from the various volunteer programs at Penrose Hospital.

Today we went to Denver for a Mother’s Day brunch with Chelsea, Neal the kids, and his parents at a neat Italian restaurant called Locanda del Borgo. Nice food, but a short trip as both kids were tired. We were up and back in the span of about three hours.

Cath got right to work on her Woman’s Literary Club presentation for tomorrow, and we got just a few drops of the promised rain for the weekend.

Sad news: Cathy lost two good friends this week. One was a lady, Rosie Wunder, she worked with in the Rehab Buddy program, and today we learned that John Konselman, died last night. John was the husband of Jackie with whom Cath worked for 20+ years at the university. He had been in a struggle with multiple ailments for years.

Now I’m mobile blogging in a way I couldn’t make happen in NYC from my iPad. This is the complete package.

I had a gritty assignment cleaning the fuzz and dead skin cells off of the circulating fans in the gym along with other lower-form tasks on Thursday. Why do I enjoy it so much?

Craig Webb came to ask Cathy if I could come out and play with the sprinkler system.  We again had fun brainstorming solutions to the drip system, and he showed me how to make tree rings out of Netafim. I’ve got the front yard about halfway done.

The weather is supposed to turn bad tonight bringing three days of rain and snow. We shall see.

The parking space was really tight at Safeway today.

Proof that the sun really was out today.

The boss told me to board her up, but there were none too many boards.

Today I had time to take a walk to Safeway and to deposit some reunion checks at the bank. That must signify that I’m just about caught up and that my camera had a good time, too.

Cath was busy like a crazy chicken today: fasting for her lab early this morning (remember Phase Wellness Exam?), then off to Pilates, a haircut, nails, two meetings (one was kind of a memorial for a lady she worked with at Penrose – quick and unexpected and just before retirement), a quick bite with me and then she was off to Bunco. Dang!

Things are disturbing in the publishing world…Meredith’s two big bosses have been let go. We are just waiting and hoping.

A friend had her big surgery yesterday. Her spinal cord had been pinched to the size of a ball point pen and post surgery is about the size of the surgeon’s thumb. She is up and walking, but will have a long rehab period.

I shopped for flooring in the basement and groceries. I’m sure glad I got in that walk.

Yesterday, Cath got an infusion of some drug for her hand. It was in the form of a huge Band Aid with a built-in battery. Once the time was up [3-4 hours (?)], she peeled it off and threw it away – battery and all! She said she could really tell a difference.

The other hands belong to Meg Rich, wife of Bob Rich pictured below. (She didn’t have her hair done, so I was not allowed a full body photo). I got a distress call from Meg that her iPad was not working: email would not display, etc. I jumped on/in my charcoal stead (I would have taken the MG but it was raining) and motored to rescue this lovely 80-something damsel. A reboot of said machine made me hero-for-a-day, and as a bonus I got to visit with the Rich’s for a few minutes. They have made the brave decision to sell the beautiful house on the hill and go into assisted living. I honor and love them and wish them much happiness in their new digs. Bob has helped me immeasurably over the years with British car issues. Meg has knitted more than 10,000 caps for new babies. Their hands are holy.

Today Becky Elder and Wesley arrived to plant two Korean ??s and three Green??s out front where the juniper bushes used to reign. I planted three Blue Mist Spireas (OK, so I read the tags on these).

I’ve got a couple of new dragons on eBay and have been doing a lot of reading: The Neversink Chronicles and another one on dying – Good to Go: A Guide to Preparing for the End of Life sent by Meredith from the “free” shelf. She sent a disclaimer that it was for our NODA group, but mortality is a topic that rolls around in my cranium at an ever increasing rate. It’s a very cool and quirky book.

I get a daily heads-up from Gizmodo via email and sometimes they are very engaging. I like this one: http://gizmodo.com/5906600/the-cheap-charming-kinda-crazy-lab-of-a-video-visionary?utm_source=Gizmodo+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4f2025a43d-UA-142218-3&utm_medium=email. Even the comments are interesting. Be sure and view the embedded video.

Degas had a hard time getting ballet off of his mind, too.

There have been so many false alarms, but last night a gentle rain began and it hasn’t stopped completely all day. Blessed rain.

From an email exchange today with Ron Lupton:

This was a nice thoughtful piece. http://spiritualwealth.com/ I liked it a lot. It was a ‘thwack upside the head’ like a few other things have been lately.

Meredith sent us an article from the New York Times Magazine about ‘paper’. It was basically about a guy named Barrett who decided paper needed to be studied more closely, enrolled in paper making classes, became a master and ended up teaching the Japanese some of their own early processes, etc. (I’d be happy to share it). There was one quote in the article by Bob Stein, the founder of the Institute for the Future of the Book that rocked me: “The notion of a page is being expanded as we speak. I imagine the book going in two directions – one as an art object, printed on paper in small quantities and so expensive only the rich can afford it, and the other as an electronic form that will incorporate still images, animation, a diverse set of links to the open Web and a significant social component. In terms of the electronic book, we’re in 1464 – the infancy of Gutenberg’s press – and everything is poised to change.”

I read a LOT on my iPad. Often subjects also contain animations, film, photos and lots of links to other material including instant pronunciations, definitions, etc. With a couple of taps, I can share what I’ve learned with you or dozens of friends (and I didn’t even have to use Facebook, which I am very down on, but which ‘could’ serve the same useful purpose).

That made me think about the history of the printed book which was initially only the Bible and only available to the rich. Gradually, with cheaper paper and more academic sources the book gained a wider circulation until mass printing and pulp paper made the dime novels and how-to pamphlets available to everyone. All of this cycle is not unlike what Stein envisions in our future.

The other ‘thwak’ this article delivered was the book Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know (paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Literacy-Every-American-Needs/dp/0394758439.  Like it says on Amazon this was published in 1988 when you and I were at the top of our game. We were then shocked about what our students didn’t know. Harris, the author of C.L. attempted to list the essentials. That ‘thwak’ made me recall a book I read in Vietnam by Sheilah Graham, College of One, http://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/graham-collegeof1.html documenting a course of study laid out for her by F. Scott Fitzgerald who was in her pants and her mind at the same time. She was clueless and he attempted to educate her by outlining what was important for her to know.

It sort of makes you think that once we have some knowledge, the natural next step is to share it.

Anyhow, thanks for the article.
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Somehow, I can't get ballet off of my mind.

Pure hell and defiance of the rules of physics describes my visit with Keith and his Epson printer. This was my second attempt at helping to get the air bubbles out of his delivery lines. I was totally ready to be the hero and walk away victorious. However, we ended up buying another CISS unit for forty bucks and going to Cy’s for a hamburger! At least the  morning ended on a positive note.

Wednesday night we had a good meal at the Villa with Cindy and Tom Allen in Palmer Lake. They are soon returning to Nelson, BC. I wish we could find a reasonable excuse to go visit them again.

Thursday at the hospital I learned that Kris will be resigning in September to spend more time with her kids and decide what is next for her. She sure has been a good leader for the wellness program, and I’ve learned a lot from her. We wiped down all the equipment prior to maintenance shampooing the carpets. I built a new org chart, because the last one was too fancy for her supervisor. At the SMMUG meeting, Mark Pimentel demonstrated  three ways to make a slide show. Quite a few things I didn’t know. He’s a great instructor.

Friday brought a full day of chores starting with Craig Webb and the sprinkling system. He charges $60/hr, but is well worth it. He is helping to redesign the system with newer technologies, teaching me what to do so that he can maybe turn it over next week. Again, I’ve learned a lot, and Cathy is pleased that her plants will be getting more water and our utility bill will be less. Ah…..efficiency!

Theaterworks presented Mary Stuart, a play about Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. Now, that’s the way I want to learn about history! Excellent production and featured our friend Jane Fromme in the lead role as Elizabeth. Gerry and all really liked it.

We took a load to Goodwill on Saturday, went to Good Feet, Langs shoes, Harding Nursery, Cheers, Tucanos, and many more. It’s all a blur.

Sunday, I got caught up on the Wasson reservations while Cath went to a lecture on Jane Austen at the University. Later we worked together on the WLC hand-off. Cathy is getting the whole archive of the Woman’s Literary Club dating back to 1872 ready to turn over to Colorado College. Big job.