A year ago, I wrote about my excitement about using vanilla bean orchid pollination as an antidote to COVID era ennui.That was about a month into the pandemic, and, a 365+ days later, I'm sad to say that my excitement didn't pollinate the orchid or alleviate boredom. Tricky stuff. Orchid propagation and boredom. My next enthusiasm was makeup … Read more
Fertilizing a Vanilla Bean Orchid
The world has changed in the last year since I posted. Instead of giving a summary based on my own opinions---which would of course be awesome---I'm simply going to tell you about a strange way to cope with boredom. I found it in the bosom of my own family, but a quick search of YouTube shows that farmers in hot countries all over the world have … Read more
D-Day
Part of the American cemetery in Normandy Two years ago, I made a trip to Normandy specifically to remember D-Day (June 6, 1944), the day the Americans and British launched the offensive which would liberate Nazi-occupied France. Somehow in the recent WordPress upgrade, I seem to have lost my post. Although all travel is time-travel in that … Read more
Lizards, Game of Thrones and a New Conspiracy Theor
Look closely at the top guy. Now take a look at the photo below of the Night King from the TV series Game of Thrones. They look alike. Sure, the king has blue eyes and the big lizard has green eyes but with a little imagination you will see what I see. A conspiracy theory. I live in South Florida where iguanas run … Read more
Karma or Coincidence in Old Florida
Potluck is the name of the game when it comes to dinner companions at an academic conference in a small strange town in Florida. I was in Tarpon Springs for the 32nd annual Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society conference meeting recently. As I was holding sway with my munchkin--the little people in the iconic movie The Wizard of Oz--info (I have no … Read more
The Last Munchkins
Jerry Maren, the last Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz, died May 24, 2018 at the age of 98 in Los Angeles. Jerry was one of the Lollipop Kids. Both photos are from the Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jerry-maren-20180606-story.html In 2014, I wrote a blog post about Meinhardt Rabe, another Munchkin, one … Read more
Another Florida Project
A hazard of being a watcher, observer and sometimes writer is that I will never be a trendsetter. I chew on the news until it pisses me off and then I state the obvious. Loudly. I cry at old tragedies and stay numb while new tragedies unfold, fade from everyday hubris and Go Fund Me sites wither. In keeping with my late-is-better-than-never … Read more
Marjorie and Zora: Anything but Black and White–Quotes from the 2018 Rawlings Society Presentation in Mt. Dora, FL.
As part of my presentation to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society in Mt. Dora, FL in 2018, I used quotes from the writers Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zora Neale Hurston to illustrate their struggles and perceptions and to tell their stories as I perceive them. I'll provide some context but this is mostly a record of some extensive … Read more
Improving on Nature
Hibiscus in my South FL front yard So the title is a little outside (inside?) joke. Mother Nature manages to outdo the best artists and crafters, but part of the human condition is trying to keep up with her and learning as much as you can. So during a recent online carving class for metal clay, a medium that has alternately been an … Read more
Processing Parkland
"The trouble with listening to authentic American voices is the certainty that they won't tell you what you want to hear." That's the way I kicked off my last post, and of course, Nikolas Cruz. 19, spoke with his AR-15 on Valentine's Day 2018 and told his story without words. He left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland … Read more
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