dual personalities

Month: October, 2021

October 15, 2021

I fell off my pink cloud with a thud*

by chuckofish

Happy Friday! It’s hard to believe that just last Monday I drove down to Syracuse to spend a few hours with my son James. I didn’t arrive until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, but we still had plenty of time to check out a couple of antique stores, including our favorite four story emporium.  Here, James ponders a collection of priceless odds and ends.

It’s a great place to poke around, and it’s chock full of taxidermy. Though tempted, we managed not to buy this charming boar’s head.

After exhausting ourselves shopping – you know how tiring that slow, “just looking” gait is — we grabbed some dinner and then went to see Shang Chi: The Legend of the 10 Rings. The first hour had some good fights, including a wild one on a bus. But eventually the movie veered over the edge of reality into physics-defying stupid, as Marvel movies are wont to do. We enjoyed ourselves anyway. Here, the three leads look perplexed (or maybe a little embarrassed) as they watch two dragons and hordes of evil, bald flying-monkey creatures gather to attack.

The trip was exactly what I needed, and the best part was spending some quality time with James!

When I wasn’t on the move, I finished reading The Lincoln Highway. I loved it right up to the last page, but I did not like the end. Well, you can’t have everything, right?

I leave you with this absolutely perfect meme. I’m usually some combination of 3, 7 and 9, but right now I think I’m a 2. What about you?

Have a great weekend!

*Liz Taylor

4 Comments
October 14, 2021

The shadow of this red rock

by chuckofish

I have been laboring this week to put our new built-in entertainment center in order–not an easy task.

We have collected a lot of stuff over the nearly 41 years of our marriage–mostly books, DVDs and CDs. (Not to mention all the VHS tapes still in the basement along with my parents’ LPs.)

I make no apologies for this. We spend a lot of time at home, especially in this room.

So we feathered our nest and made it more comfortable. I realize CDs (and DVDs too) are obsolete, but c’est la vie. I like owning movies–who knows when they will start canceling all my favorites. And, yes we will probably upgrade our television at some point so our children will stop laughing at us.

Anyway, I am making progress and my alphabetizing skills are sharpening.

Since going to Bent’s Old Fort a few weeks ago where we met the nice old couple who had owned the Best Western in Las Animas where “all the movie stars stayed” during the filming of the 1978 miniseries Centennial, I thought it would be interesting to watch it again.

I first watched it when it premiered on television, originally shown on the NBC network in twelve separate episodes, with the first and last each running three hours and the ten in between at two hours each (with commercials). I was in graduate school at William and Mary at the time. As I recall, it starts out strong and loses steam–at least I did watching it. I don’t think I watched the whole thing. The early part would have interested me then as it does now, especially since our “Cousin Richard” plays one of the leads. Yes, we used to refer to Richard Chamberlain as “Cousin Richard” and a few people in college were convinced that he was, indeed, my cousin. There is a certain family resemblance.

We have watched four episodes (about 9 hours worth) and we are enjoying it, although Richard Chamberlain’s character has died. It is still interesting to see the landscape and note the places we were a few weeks ago and to see the actors who make an appearance.

(Is that a very young Mark Harmon?!)

Anyway, it is something to watch–TV is such a wasteland.

“A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”

–T.S. Eliot, from The Waste Land.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Finally, I have to say how touched I was by William Shatner’s emotional response to going into space. It seemed very sincere and not what I’d expect from that old smoothie. “I hope I never recover from this,” he said. He tries to explain what nobody else seems to have experienced, including Jeff Bezos.

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October 13, 2021

“Even though the questions change, the answers always stay the same.”

by chuckofish

Well happy Wednesday. It feels like a Tuesday for me because as a state government employee, Monday was a holiday. Which holiday it was depends on who you ask. Anyway, a long weekend is always lovely–primarily because it is another day when I don’t have to see the internet. Yesterday, we had a very rainy morning, but by the time I had to hit the road for Jefferson City, the sun had come out. Or so I thought. I crossed the river just past Chesterfield and it was rain, rain, rain until I got home. And windy! I collapsed on the sofa and didn’t move for pretty much the rest of the day.

Last week, while waiting to get my hands on the new Longmire book, I perused Gunn’s Golden Rules, Tim Gunn’s 2011 book full of life lessons and some fashion dish. It is ten years old and incredibly dated. Gunn is a believer in being nice and treating everyone with respect. His Rule #2 is “The world owes you nothing.” He shares an anecdote about how the doorman in his building doesn’t look up to acknowledge when he says hello. “There is no excuse not to reply when someone speaks to you,” Gunn writes. I mean, Tim Gunn was by no means the typical person back in 2011. And part of the reason people loved him was because he was so old fashioned and delightful. But still, I can’t imagine them publishing this today.

It’s honestly pretty depressing to look back and realize just how much things have changed in recent years. I mean, I’m pretty much to the point where if I go to the grocery store and there’s food, it feels like a win. Welcome to the future.

Here’s the new TobyMac song, which I heard on my drive yesterday. It was inspired by his grandfather, a coal miner in West Virginia.

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October 12, 2021

“Carefree highway, you seen better days”*

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of Ralph Vaughan Williams, (1872 – 1958) English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years.

(Statue of Vaughan Williams by William Fawke, Dorking)

Vaughan Williams’s Anglican church music includes anthems; choral-orchestral works, such as Magnificat (1932), Dona Nobis Pacem (1936), and Hodie (1953); and hymn tune settings for organ. And, of course, he was music editor of the most influential British hymnal at the beginning of the twentieth century, The English Hymnal (1906), and coeditor (with Martin Shaw) of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928). He also worked intermittently on a musical treatment of John Bunyan’s allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, for forty-five years, and the 1951 “Morality” was the final result.

But you are probably more likely to be acquainted with a Fantasia on Greensleeves…

…which makes me think of our May Day program of yesteryear…

…when the senior class danced around the maypole, braiding the ribbons to the harmonious music of Vaughan Williams. (I look so serious–I must have been concentrating on not stepping on anyone’s dress.)

This backward glance in turn reminds me that the wee laddie told me on Sunday that I was “really old” while we were digging in an ant hill. A couple of weeks ago he had asked me why I had white hair and I told him it was because I am old. I guess he is trying to figure out what that means. And, indeed, it is a weird concept. Sigh. Probably he was just trying to compliment me, right?

Happily, I can still be as immature as the next person. This probably explains my current obsession with watching episodes of Brooklyn 99 on Hulu.

Anyway, that is how my brain (still) works. So let’s not forget to toast Ralph Vaughan Williams tonight! And while we’re at it, blow some bubbles…

*Gordon Lightfoot

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October 11, 2021

Come ye weary, heavy laden

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? The weather here is still balmy and summery and I have no complaints. Daughter #1 came home on Friday and we had a lovely time sitting outside at Club Taco listening to the musical stylings of Dusty Rhoades. On Saturday we got the OM to drive us to Hillsboro where we hung out at our favorite winery. Lots of people had the same idea and the line for wine was very long and slow, but once we got our bottle and spread out our picnic, we relaxed and enjoyed the musical stylings of Brian Tobin, whose playlist was all our favorite 1970s tunes. Among the others enjoying the beautiful day and rolling hills of Jefferson County was a 60th birthday party, a gathering of overweight ‘witches’ in black pointy hats and suggestive outfits and a group of rainbow-attired Megan Rapinoe lookalikes. Everyone had fun.

Sunday morning we headed to church. Even the OM came along and so did the boy and the wee twins. It made me so happy to be all together, that I’m afraid I cried through all the hymns. C’est la vie.

We sang this hymn which I was unacquainted with and I really like it.

Words: Joseph Hart, 1759; chorus, Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835
Music: Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835

The wee twins and their parents came over Sunday night for one more October barbecue. We had more fun. They went on a hunt for my newest estate sale find yard ornament.

The wee laddie also asked me to go dig around a bit for cool stuff (i.e. bugs) and we found this guy, which he identified correctly as a praying mantis.

I was impressed. He pays attention.

Meanwhile I have been reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, which my DP has previously reported is excellent. (I concur.) I also remembered that a year ago when I advised my students at my flyover institute to read A Gentleman in Moscow, one of them emailed me to tell me he had gone to school with Amor’s father, right here in St. Louis at the same school my brother attended. He was, indeed, his best friend.

The world is more than we know.

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October 8, 2021

Third Time Lucky

by chuckofish

Well, here we are in October and another week has passed by in a blur. Only one notable thing happened to me this week: I received and started to read Amor Towles’s new book The Lincoln Highway.

I’m only on page 63, so my feelings could change, but so far, it’s great! Set in the early 1950s, the story follows three young men and a boy on a cross-country road trip.  The passage at the front of the book sets the story up beautifully:  

Evening and the flat land,

Rich and somber and always silent;

The miles of fresh-plowed soil,

Heavy and black, full of strength and harshness,

The growing wheat, the growing weeds,

The toiling horses, the tired men;

The long empty roads,

Sullen fires of sunset, fading,

The eternal, unresponsive sky.

Against all this, Youth…

From Willa Cathers O Pioneers!, which I have not read but know that my DP has, the stanza reveals that we are not in for a typical coming-of-age lark but something infinitely more complex and satisfying. I’m betting Mr. Towles will remind us of what binds us all together, rather than beat us over the head with the things that tear us apart, as seems to be the goal of so much modern literature. Despite all the other things I should be doing, I’m going to spend a lot of the weekend reading!

Then, on Monday, I’m going to head down to Syracuse for a lightening visit with my eldest son. I get Monday and Tuesday off for October break, so I thought it would be fun to visit James, do a little antiquing, go out to dinner and then to a movie if we can find anything to watch. Right now, the choices do not look particularly promising: a bloated 2 hour and 45 minute James Bond movie; a martial arts Marvel hero flick, or a weird and unsettling Icelandic horror movie. Whatever we end up watching, I’ll have something to post about next week!

Before I run into any additional WordPress problems (I’ve been encountering an unusual number this post, hence the title), I’ll sign off and get back to my book set in a simpler time, when technology did not intrude so much into our lives.

Have a grand weekend!

5 Comments
October 7, 2021

What are you reading and other stuff

by chuckofish

Last week I read the newest Longmire book, Daughter of the Morning Star, by Craig Johnson.

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It is the 17th novel in the series and, as you know, I am a big fan. This one–about Walt and Henry Standing Bear (Walt’s best friend) investigating the disappearance of a Native teenager and the harassment of her sister–did not disappoint. Walt and Henry are always a literary breath of fresh air.

Now I am waiting to receive my copy of the latest novel by Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway, which was released on Tuesday.

Let it be noted that Tuesday was the birthday of Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758).

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.”

Some things never change, right?

I don’t miss being an Episcopalian, but this was kind of funny in a sad way, i.e. this is all Episcopalians have to offer these days. And, newsflash, that is not enough.

This is very special, indeed.

Also, today is the 71st anniversary of our parents’ wedding in 1950. They made it 38 years until our mother died. So I will toast them tonight. Mazel tov, Mary and Newell.

1975

I pray for the day ahead and that I might bring Glory to God, in word, thought and deed. I thank God that his mercies are new to me every morning. I thank God that his grace is sufficient for all situations that I may encounter.

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October 6, 2021

“I feel that way every time I get on the school bus.”

by chuckofish

Remember how like a year and a half ago, at the start of COVID, every day was stranger than the last? And we all thought that would eventually end but it hasn’t really? Well, I present to you this push alert I received on my walk home.

I mean, I’m glad the GORILLA is doing well, but a breaking news push alert.

In other animal news, last week, I ventured north to the big city (Columbia) to hit up Macadoodles, my favorite liquor store. Naturally, it started pouring rain while I was there. But, I did get to see this guy.

Yes, that is a Budweiser Clydesdale chilling under the eaves at Macadoodles. They were promoting an event at the Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville. So, after having an employee carry my case of wine to my car for me, I asked to have my picture taken. See what I mean about each day being stranger than the last?

Last week, I also got to travel up to Troy, MO in Lincoln County for an event. Lincoln County was known only to me as a county close enough to St. Louis as to be in the viewing area but far enough away that they always got more severe weather. Troy is not on the river, so it lacks that charm, but the people were nice. Plus their historic courthouse is getting renovated and the Clerks’s Office has exposed brick and high ceilings with big old windows.

I had a quiet weekend, still recovering from our Colorado adventures. I will be heading to St. Louis this weekend so that I can get my hands on the new Longmire book which sources (my mother) tell me was good and is basically just Walt and Henry talking, so that sounds like a recipe for good times. Hopefully, we can enjoy happy hour at the Red Pony and Continual Soiree (or Club Taco).

*the blog post title comes from this

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October 5, 2021

Dust in the wind

by chuckofish

Since returning from our trip to Colorado, I have been re-reading The Old Santa Fe Trail by Colonel Henry Inman, a classic memoir of “the Old Trail” which was, as Buffalo Bill described it, “the arena of almost constant sanguinary struggles between the wily nomads of the desert and the hardy white pioneers.”

It always helps when reading history (especially a primary source such as this) to be able to picture the location.

(Stagecoach ruts in the Comanche National Grasslands)

Since most of the Symposium we ostensibly attended consisted of lectures on topics not of particular interest to me (“The origins and history of the Spanish saddle used on the Santa Fe Trail from 1820-1830”) and which surely included much editorializing, we chose to skip them. Likewise we chose not to join the bus tours of points of interest, but re-visited on our own places we had been before (Bent’s Old Fort, Boggsville)…

…and also some places we had never been before (Bent’s New Fort site, Las Animas, Lamar)…

We attended the two award ceremonies (2020 and 2021) and chatted amicably with the legion of “living historians” (John C. Fremont et al) also in attendance–not to be confused with re-enactors (i.e. men who like to wear costumes). I met a nice couple who had retired to West Pueblo, Colorado after having owned the Best Western in Las Animas for 40 years. They told me that all the movie stars stayed there when the mini-series Centennial was filmed at Bent’s Old Fort in 1978, but that things had quieted down a lot after that. After dinner we cut and ran and drank the wine we had purchased at the local liquor store which we had found after two friendly locals pointed the way.

Mostly, it was just “being there” that mattered to me. I hope we can return someday, maybe with a grandchild or two in tow. No Disney princesses live there, but something much better does. I feel it is my duty to try to impart to them a love of history and appreciation of their ancestors’ part in it.

“We have a few old mouth-to-mouth tales; we exhume from old trunks and boxes and drawers letters without salutation or signature, in which men and women who once lived and breathed are now merely initials or nicknames out of some now incomprehensible affection which sound to us like Sanskrit or Chocktaw; we see dimly people, the people in whose living blood and seed we ourselves lay dormant and waiting, in this shadowy attenuation of time possessing now heroic proportions, performing their acts of simple passion and simple violence, impervious to time and inexplicable.”

William Faulkner, Absalom! Absalom!
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October 4, 2021

“There’s the respect that makes calamity of so long life”*

by chuckofish

Can you believe it’s October already! Zut alors–We are on the downward slide to Christmas. I am a little discombobulated by the alacrity with which the year is speeding by. And my weekend, which I thought would be a quiet one, turned out to be busier than I anticipated and it flew by.

Not that I did anything particularly noteworthy…The OM is trying to put the complicated audio/visual system back together in our new built-in “entertainment unit” and that has been very stressful. The boy came over for awhile and helped. We are 90% there.

We also hauled a bunch of electronics (old computers/printers/monitors etc) to an electronic recycling event and felt that we had really accomplished something. I also moved some books around to make room for other books…the usual stuff.

The wee twins and their parents came over for dinner Sunday night. We had not seen them in three weeks!

They ran around merrily outside for awhile after dinner. They are getting to be such big kids. (Well, not really.)

After they went home we celebrated having our DVD player working again by watching My Darling Clementine (1946)–a movie that is literally perfect (except for Linda Darnell’s hairdo.) I had been meaning to watch it ever since watching the heinous Tombstone (1993). It did not disappoint and I highly recommend it. The minor characters are all wonderful John Ford regulars. The wildcard is Victor Mature and, boy howdy, he pays off.

The movie was filmed in Monument Valley, which is next on my travel wish list (after Oklahoma City).

Meanwhile back in Maryland baby Katie et famille did the pumpkin photo op thing and we texted our appreciation back and forth.

Fall is just about here and that’s okay with me, although I still feel like I am lagging behind in August somewhere. Well, I’ll catch up.

*Hamlet (III.I.66-70)

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