Friday Favorite Photo: my Mom, 1962

I took this picture of my mom in the summer of 1962. It was taken at my uncle's house in California. We had traveled there from Michigan in a station wagon, a summer vacation trip and major event of my childhood.

My mom has just awakened from a nap in this picture. She'd been sleeping on the couch and hasn't yet lit her first post-nap cigarette. I vaguely remember taking this picture and like it because my mom is so relaxed, and also because I think it shows her slight resemblance to Susan Sarandon. (or am I the only one who sees this?)
I was very excited to be in California, but got sick on my first ride at Disneyland - the Tea Cups. It was the first time I saw the ocean, and I distinctly remember hearing a news report on the car radio during this trip that Marilyn Monroe had died.

Escape

I hate moving for many reasons, but mostly I hate the time it takes. I hate the huge disruption in my life. And I hate it even more so in this case because I have misgivings about the house we're moving into, and worry about the ways in which it will change our lives.

In the meantime I've become addicted to watching the second season of Mad Men on AMC. I've been watching it on our cable On Demand feature, sometimes two or three episodes a day, like a glutton. I watch it while packing, and then again as a reward for packing, and then sometimes again in the middle of the night when I can't sleep because I'm so anxious about the move.

I think it's one of the best series that's been on TV in a long time. And I feel lucky I have it to distract me. It's got everything: interesting, complex characters; an engaging story; great visual appeal; wonderful period details; and great writing.

Our last weekend on the island

During our last weekend before the big move, me and BB managed to have a little bit of summer fun. On Friday we went to Detroit for dinner at Mario's and a Tiger baseball game. Before dinner we strolled through this neighborhood garden in the city:

I'm usually incredibly bored by sports, so I wasn't really looking forward to the baseball game, but the weather was ideal, the Tigers won, and we had a good time. We sat in front of the big scoreboard - this picture was taken by turning around in my seat and looking up:


On Saturday I went out shooting for a few hours. I took some new abstracts...

some new shots of industrial decay...
and some Downriver landscapes.

On Sunday we took a long walk, which included going over the bridge.
We walked to Elizabeth Park for the "Roar on the River" - an annual event. We watched some boat races and feasted on corndogs, fries & lemonaide. Here's a video of one of the races:

On the way home we saw this thistle.

Next weekend we'll be moving. And then there will be all the fun of cleaning, unpacking, organizing, adjusting, etc...

Friday Favorite Photo: Summer fun

This picture was taken in my backyard pool when I was a kid. I'm guessing it was taken in 1961 or 62 - way back when summer was three long months of nothing but fun and goofing around. That's me in the middle with my cousin Benny's arm around me. The girls are twins who lived across the street, the boy on the end was my favorite neighborhood friend, Jerry Affholter, the little guy is Mark Affholter, and the goofy kid in the middle is my cousin Derryl, who was visiting from Oregon.

It's funny how I remember this pool as so much bigger. I sure spent a lot of good times in it. I love the way I'm looking at Benny with such admiration, and the fact that he's giving devil horns to Jerry.

Hollyhock

My hollyhock is in bloom & it's a joy to see. It survived being transplanted from our Grand Rapids garden last Fall and is thriving this summer in a pot on our patio here on the island.

It will be nice to get these plants into the ground when we move.

We close on the new house tomorrow!

junk or antique?

While I was dropping some things off at the Salvation Army today I noticed a sign with a list of items they do not accept. The list included computer monitors, waterbeds, console TVs, and typewriters.

This made me wonder what happens to old typewriters now. Do they just get pitched in the dump?

I wonder how many electric typewriters were made and sold in the 70s - 90s that are now just worthless junk? I'm sure that older, manual typewriters have already become "collectible," but will obsolete electrics ever achieve this status?

I got rid of my old electric typewriter two moves ago - back when they were still being accepted by charity. And I'm kind-of sorry I did. It could have become an antique family heirloom.

Or maybe not.

My true calling

I haven't been blogging much lately due to some self-imposed priorities based on the best use of my time.

Although it seems like it shouldn't take much effort to dash off a few little paragraphs now and then, the time spent crafting sentences and posting photos ends up taking a lot longer than you'd think. And there's always something more important I should be doing with that time.

Recently I've been doing two very important things: working on some stories, and packing up for our impending move. I still have this crazy dream that I might actually get something published somewhere someday, and to that end I've been trying to actually write.

But the thing is: I'd rather be packing. Of the two occupations I've recently been engaged in, I get a lot more enjoyment from packing boxes. And I'm not sure if this because I'd rather do just about anything than the hard work of writing, or if packing boxes is my true calling.

Packing boxes is something that comes to me naturally and gives me pleasure. Unlike writing which is difficult and breaks my heart. I'm confident about my ability to pack, and I get enjoyment from doing something I know I'm good at. I love to sort and organize. And I'm beginning to think I should pay attention to this. Or at least write a story about it.

Friday Favorite Photo: Pictured Rocks

I took this Friday Favorite Photo last summer at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Munising. We took the boat tour out onto Lake Superior to see the magnificent views.