dual personalities

By this evening I felt a little bit like a shell-shocked pioneer on his first wagon trip west — you know, the kind of journey where everything is against you, but there’s no turning back. As Taylor Sheridan put it in his (seriously flawed but occasionally brilliant and always pretty) TV show 1883, “The river doesn’t care if you can swim. The snake doesn’t care how much you love your children. And the wolf has no interest in your dreams. If you fail to beat the current, you will drown; if you get too close, you will be bitten. If you are too weak, you will be eaten.” When my life feels like that, albeit in a non-lethal, smothered-by-pointless-departmental-politics sort of way, I find solace in in beautiful things like the paintings of Canadian artist Clayton Anderson. (I hope Mr. Anderson will consider this free advertising rather than copywrite infringement. I got the pictures via Google Image).

His work seems muffled and blurred, almost as if he paints in the quiet of dawn without wearing his glasses — and I find that curiously appealing.

I also appreciate the jewel-like watercolors of Shanghai artist Z.L. Feng, about whom I could not find any useful information (ditto comment above about free advertising).

Anderson and Feng may not be old masters but they have plenty of calm to offer in this high-stress world. Of course nothing can beat greats like Winslow Homer —

or my all-time favorite, the 1st century AD garden fresco from the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta. This photo serves as my computer wallpaper and provides a much-appreciated bolt of beauty every time I open my laptop.

How lucky we are to be able to look at such art whenever we want. Before mass printing and computers, few copies existed for distribution, and only the most fortunate people got to see the originals.

There, I feel better now. I’m going to put everything else out of my mind and enjoy the beautiful things the world has to offer — and if I’m lucky, no snake will bite and no wolf take an interest in my dreams.

Have a peaceful weekend!

*John 14:27

Last week, I missed my blogging day because I was attending a thrilling State Treasurers conference in San Antonio, Texas. According to Wikipedia, “founded as a Spanish mission and colonial outpost in 1718, the city became the first chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas in 1731. The area was still part of the Spanish Empire, and later of the Mexican Republic. It is the state’s oldest municipality, having celebrated its 300th anniversary on May 1, 2018.”

I have to say, I was impressed. My hotel was right on the historic River Walk. Again, per Wikipedia, “the River Walk is a city park and special-case pedestrian street in San Antonio, Texas, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws to the city’s five Spanish colonial missions.” It is very pretty and felt safe and clean.

Ever-flowing margaritas on a controlled and shady river front is a real vibe I can get behind.

I also had the opportunity to brave the 105 degree heat and walk several blocks to check out the Alamo. As I’m sure you know, and our friends at Wikipedia say, “the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing most of the Texians and Tejanos inside, including Davy Crockett. Santa Anna’s cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the rebellion in favor of the newly formed Republic of Texas.”

Sidenote, the website for the Alamo calls itself the Shrine to Texas Liberty. Which I guess makes sense.

It is quite the place and right in the middle of town!

I also got to go to the Briscoe Western Art Museum which is housed in San Antonio’s original public library. As the name implies, the museum focuses on Western heritage and was full of artwork illustrating cowboys, Native Americans, vaqueros, and great landscapes. I enjoyed it a lot. The free-flowing margaritas only enhanced the experience.

I promise, I did work, too! Anyway, it was a good trip, but it is always nice to be back home!

Last night I was in the mood to watch an old movie and was lucky enough to find a good one that I hadn’t seen before, The Real Glory (1939) directed by Henry Hathaway of True Grit and The Sons of Katie Elder fame and starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, Broderick Crawford, Reginald Owens and Andrea Leeds. Set in 1906 during the Moro Rebellion in the Philippines, three American soldiers (one a doctor) at a remote outpost try to train the local Philippine Christians to fight off the marauding Moro tribesmen who are Muslims. It’s quite an adventure.

The plot shares standard elements with films such as Gunga Din and various later westerns: the trio of friends stationed in a remote location; a local sidekick; competition over the love interest; scary enemies, and plenty of opportunities for bravery. In this photo we have the calm before the storm: Broderick Crawford, who plays the sweet but distracted dreamer of the trio, shows his buddies his prized orchids, while they exchange witty banter about a bud.

Somehow the film manages to combine the set pieces into something original and much more complex that this post suggests. At the obligatory party, for example, the boys vie for the attention of an officer’s newly arrived daughter,

but the fun ends when one of the sneaky Moro assassins machetes the commander to death in front of his horrified wife – a disturbing but skillfully handled scene.

The Real Glory is not afraid to be edgy. When members of the local militia fall sick from fear of the Moros, Gary Cooper heads into the jungle, captures one of the rebels, and threatens to sew the Muslim’s body into a pig skin so he cannot go to paradise.

The ruse works without use of the pigskin or any violence. The terrified Moro reveals that he is all too human, and the militiamen recover their will to fight.

Eventually, the Moro rebels dam up the river leading into the town, leaving the people to rely on one measly well. Soon cholera breaks out, and Doctor Gary Cooper is nearly overwhelmed with sick and dying people. David Niven comes down with the disease, but his friend’s capable treatment is able to save him.

In desperate need of fresh water, Gary leads an expedition to blow up the damn and save the people, but while he’s away the Moro attack. A great battle ensues – will the dam-blowing crew return in time to save everyone? I’ll let you find out the answer. The Real Glory is available to watch at Amazon or you can pay to watch it on YouTube.

Wikipedia dismisses the movie as propaganda, but I don’t think that is a fair assessment. The action took place in 1906 and the movie came out in 1939, just after the Nazis invaded Poland. What is wrong with depicting men and women as brave and upstanding? We could use such role models now. In the Real Glory all the main characters behave admirably: the female lead is plucky and competent and never complains; the heroes are brave; the Padre is wise and supportive, and the Filipino militia stands its ground. Calling such a film propaganda suggests that people did not have those qualities. History has proved otherwise.

Daughter #2 is filling in while Daughter #1 is in San Antonio, TX for a conference. Good timing, since I’m happy to share an update about sweet Katiebelle and her second birthday! Can you believe it?

Katie is officially in an “early pre-school twos” room at daycare and seems to have grown up immensely in the past few weeks. She talks in full sentences — mostly demands — and can hold a genuine conversation.

One of her favorite refrains, if DN and I are talking in adult voices, is to shout “Mommy daddy no talking!” Sometimes her father replies, “Oh, ok, does Katie want to talk instead?” and she says “Yeah,” so he asks, “What do you want to talk about?” She grins and says “Mommy mommy mommy mommy.” I find this very endearing. She is increasingly independent, but I think we know around whom the world still turns.

We had a low-key birthday at home — though we are throwing a party with friends this weekend — where Katie was surprisingly interested in and adept at unwrapping her gifts.

The biggest hit, as expected, was a toddler-sized vacuum cleaner that lights up and spins confetti. She immediately took to the rugs, exclaiming “More clean floor!” and mimicking my vacuum lunges exactly. She even knows to vacuum “under chair!” to get all the dust. Brilliant.

So, while there is certainly a lot of increased shrieking, running, and general havoc-wreaking, Katie is just about as sweet as can be. Feel free to check in when we reach “threenager” status, but for now, we are doing OK!