Little Rock

I am on vacation visiting my good friend Frankie in Little Rock. The last time I saw her was in November 2003 in France. Since then, she and her husband had a little girl who is now three. It has been a blast getting to hang out with them. So many observations about life and how it is possible to do things your way. Frankie is such an inspiration to me. She is vegan and going raw. And her child is pretty much following the same diet, except that Victoria is still breast feeding. It is pretty amazing to be in the midst of all this: to see how they play with her and attend to her needs so patiently, relaxedly, with love and kindness, and a sense of joy. Victoria has the luxury of having both of her parents with her all day. Toni works from home and can pop in and out throughout the day to play. It is beautiful.

I have mostly been spending time with them, going to the pool today, the park yesterday and the day before. I went to the Arkansas Art Center one day, where I enjoyed an exhibit called HOT COLOR cool glass. There were pieces from all over the country. I was impressed. The permanent collection was also impressive, with Pablo Picasso, Odilon Redon, Diego Rivera, and others.

More later...

Let Freedom Ring!

Just in time for the Pride Festival this weekend, the California Supreme Court overturned the gay marriage ban.

"One of the core elements embodied in the state constitutional right to marry is the right of an individual and a couple to have their own official family relationship accorded respect and dignity equal to that accorded the family relationships of other couples" --Chief Justice Ronald M. George

Are you a feminist too?

Like so many other people (both men and women) I love and admire, I am a feminist.



AND I embrace this point of view too. I don't think they are mutually exclusive.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Since I can't run away from trouble...

Ouch

I feel like a boxer lately. The $42 ticket on my car this morning was just another blow. An uppercut to the chin. It was not pretty. Last night after work, I went to Trader Joes. I was quite pleased to have spent as little as $36 for my groceries. I came home, parked in front of my house, fully aware that today was street cleaning day (4:00-8:00 a.m. being the hours). I knew that I needed to move my car, but thought I would just unload my groceries and then move it. Then I decided to walk the dogs first. As I leashed them up and took them out, I made a note to myself. Move the car. Move the car. Then I came home again and… forgot. This morning my roommate told me she saw my car and thought about telling me to move it, but I was asleep. I told her to please wake me up in the future. I cannot afford this. I have even woken her up before to spare her the cost of a ticket. So, I wish she had. But I have no one to blame but myself.

So much of my life
Devoted to problems
Listening to them
Trying to solve the ones
That pertain to me

Sister is ill
One eye falters
Vision blurs
Exams for law school
On hold
an MRI becomes the test
will she pass?

Aunt has ex
With serious issues
Children suffering
From stress and tension
Seeking help for a
Can of worms

A friend at church
Sobs during the service
I listen afterwards
Of stories of a
Lifelong friend
Recently dead
Without resolving a rift of 8 years

Me, my back and neck
Slightly twisted
From scoliosis
Requiring regular
Adjustments
Chiropractic tweaks
Need to stretch and exercise

Work overwhelms
Deadline upon deadline
No time out
And still barely
Making ends meet

Once

Have you seen the movie Once? It is fabulous. Featuring the brilliant Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the movie and their music and their personal lives as a result of all this cosmic collusion are simply beautiful. Their self-titled album The Swell Season is very moving. I find something very reassuring about seeing movies and hearing songs that reveal the very personal, vulnerable, lonely, sad, struggling, and real. They make me feel less alone.

observations

Every day is so interesting. So much happens in so many ways.

I was invited to go to a party to celebrate the publication of a book that I proofread. I planned to go, but yesterday I noticed a problem in my car. Of course, driving a 1993 Mazda Protege with close to 120,000 miles on it, a small issue here or there is to be expected. But smoke coming from under the hood is a little more than I can ignore. It was not billowing plumes of smoke, mind you, just the slightest suggestion. Whispers of smoke. Having experienced this before, I turned on the fan. This cools the engine a bit and keeps the smoke from getting too intense. In the past, it came into the car through my inside air vents, but yesterday it wasn't so bad. Thank goodness. Of course, this meant I was not going to be driving to Hermosa Beach in the evening by myself. I made a couple of attempts at recruiting other folks to go with me, but at such late notice I had no luck. So, I missed the party, but got a good night's rest.

So, I dropped off the car this morning. Luckily, the mechanic, where I work, and where I live are all relatively close together. On the bus, there was a gray haired man in his 60s or so sitting across from me. I noticed a calendar on his lap from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I also noticed his mouth was slightly open and he was moving his tongue from left to right and back and forth. I wondered what that was about and thought perhaps he could be on a medication that makes him do this or something. (I have lots of sympathy and insight on this stuff after seeing my father go through his illness.) When it came time for him to get off the bus, he reached over to push the stop button, almost brushing an elderly woman's chest. When he got off the bus, she glanced in my direction and sort of shook her head. I guessed she was referring to that man's seemingly unintentional albeit sort of surprising move, and I said, "yes, that was a little odd, wasn't it." She said, "He reached right over me and I shoulda smacked him." This sort of surprised me, as she seemed very calm and "proper." I said, "well, I think he may have been a veteran, and might have had some problems." She said, "Oh, everyone is a veteran these days." I replied that I was fairly certain, as I had seen the calendar. I said I thought perhaps he could be on medication, who knows. She said her husband was a veteran of three wars and lost a leg, in a way that implied problems other than physical issues were nothing to whine about. I said, "everyone is affected in their own way, and some people suffer from post traumatic syndrome and so forth." She and I did not say much more to each other, as she got off the bus soon after. I wished her a good day. I thought the whole interaction was interesting. She seemed very unsympathetic to the man, and I could see she was upset at things that she likely needed to vent about.

At work, I got a call with dianosis and the estimate for my car. There was leaking coolant from a cracked radiator and valve cover gasket.

Replace radiator: $314
Valve cover gasket: $135
Oil change

Thank goodness I got the $600 from the government today.

Here's something kinda cool. An article I wrote is on the website of Mexico Living.