Thursday, May 28, 2009

Memorial Day and After

Back from the lake, where the weather was stunning, cool, sunny, just gorgeous. We had the usual brouhaha of people, Ellen and Andy and David cleaning and fixing, Ann and Nathan celebrating the Sabbath, Lean and Greg there too. Me up in my room working on the manuscript of Ten Strategies to Start Your Novel, parakeet to deal with, boat and dock to put in, futon covers, Andy and I went out to dinner with Harvey and Adrianne in Lee. Movies Sunday night (new Star Trek). Many pleasures.

Then back to enormous piles of email, preparations for a Coalition working session on the Academic Achievement Gap last night (see Two Towns) . Tonight, last Writers' Group of the season. Summer class at NYU starts next week.


From Memorial Day weekend 2009: Andy, Taxi, and me taking Taxi's picture.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

"Welcome to Summer!"

... was what good neighbor and friend Paula Hatch called and said. She's looking for the proxy for our vote at the lake meeting-- meanwhile, here, David and Ellen and Andy (as best I can discern) are off for the bonding ritual of early bakery goods. I'm on the porch, perfect cool weather so far. Parakeet over my left shoulder, the Ishiguro book When We Were Orphans to my right where I was sitting. Ellen worked hard for hours before the rest ofr us came, so there’s been a general vacuuming and furniture in place, couches covered, etc. David got us online, so as he said, last night was the long. dreaded nightmare: him on his computer, Leah on hers, Nathan (it was shabbos) looking over her shoulder but not touching, Andy on this Toshiba, me on the Acer. Pretty amusing, all considered.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Commemorations

Yesterday was Pete Seeger's 90th birthday (www.nobelprize4pete.org); today is the anniversary of the Kent State massacre, (may4.org, alancanfora.com, etc.).

Friday, May 01, 2009

May Day

International Workers' Day? Pagan Dance of the Maypole? Commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs?

A Holiday Worth Researching, because of its amazingly different celebrattions. A good place to start is with Wikipedia, but if you already know you are commemorating the Haymarket Martyrs, take a look at Shelley Ettinger's blog and her list of books about Haymarket. One way of looking at the holiday is to distinguish between "green root" celebrations relating to the ancient rites of spring and the "red root" celebrations that relate to labor and the struggle for the eight hour working day.

Shelley is off marching today, but I'm home enjoying my first actual writing day in about three weeks--that is to say, I've been writing on a book for the Newark Museum Arts Catalyst project, but today I could actually take a look at my own private, on spec, no one is expecting it, no deadline writing.

Or, just play with the parakeet.... (photo taken with the built-in web cam on the little bitty Acer).


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Andy, MSW, Joel, Sarah, and Sarah's parents Jan and Phil Zakowski on Passover at Sarah's grandparents' ranch near Los Angeles

Joel and Sarah got engaged!

April 22

In Honor of National Poetry Month and Just Spring.....

Spring Scumble
Commercial buildings' sharp edges
Climb the low hill: flat roofs, one church steeple
And then a soft explosion-- a blur of
Trees awash in filmy lime yellow.
No question now it's leaves,
That mist and spray of pastel green.
The sky just clearing: pale clouds pale sky
And the sheer curtain of color
Inexorably spreading the new.