Archive for March 2013
“If there is a magic in story writing, and I am convinced there is, no one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another. The formula seems to lie solely in the aching urge of the writer to convey something he feels important to the reader. If the writer has that urge, he may sometimes, but by no means always, find the way to do it. You must perceive the excellence that makes a good story good or the errors that makes a bad story. For a bad story is only an ineffective story.”
– John Steinbeck, immediately after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1962
Sometimes, you need to make your own.
No children were harmed in the filming of this picture. Luckily.
Here’s the upside down picnic table in its original wood stain, circa 1988.
The conversation went something like this.
Me: There’s no hope here.
She: What. Do. You. Mean?
Me: There’s nothing I can do. I can’t save it.
She: But I like it. There has to be something you can do.
Me: No, there’s nothing left. There’s nothing to fix.
She: Can’t you nail it or bolt it or something?
Me: There’s nothing to bolt to, that’s the problem. It’s rotten. It’s done.
She: But I like it.
Me: I know you do, but it’s done.
She: Can’t you put a brick under it? It will help with the aesthetics.
Me: You’re using the word “aesthetics” when talking about displaying rotten wood? Really?
She: But I like it.
It’s been a part of the family for 25 years. Longer than our daughter.
I built it in the garage with nothing but a power drill, a circular saw and a jig saw. I used 2″ pine stock because we couldn’t afford the recommended redwood for this picnic table/bench/sideboard outdoor set. I built it with Christopher’s help, as you can see. When we moved to our new home in 1989, it came with us. When the finish didn’t fit with our new & improved vision of outdoor living … after a long discussion, it got a coat of gray paint. It got a few coats over the years … I believe in thick paint as protection against the elements. The benches lived in the garage for the Cub Scout Den Meetings we hosted. The sideboard stayed on the patio, and was the only serving surface we had until we did the outdoor kitchen….
That was in 2006. It was clear the end was near … we bought a new table and chairs for the patio. I built two new sideboards in 2011. The old picnic set got in the way, but we could NOT throw it away.
Velda liked it.
Eventually, the table moved to behind the pizza oven. The sideboard got demoted to the side yard, behind the fence where no one could see it. Velda took it as a gardening center, and seedlings, pots and hand rakes called it home.
All was fine until I needed to move it to make room for the new outbuilding that will hold the lawnmower. The sideboard had to move about 5′ to the right. And then it happened. The side board of the sideboard fell off.
25 years ago, this carriage bolt connected the right side of the sideboard to the bottom shelf. It fell to the concrete when I moved the sideboard, and I knew we were in trouble.
The cleats had literally dissolved into mush. Both the top and bottom cleats had failed, the bolts fell out, and the side fell off. Oh, the sideboard can still be propped up. It may even last through this growing season.
But it’s just about gone.
I told Velda the good news was that I could build her a new gardening center that was just what she wanted it to be.
She didn’t seem to care. You see, we were losing the sideboard.
And she liked it.
Here we are on a day hike at Yosemite in 2007. Yes, we carry the Ten Essentials!
Spring is upon us … and it’s time to go tromping into the back country.
I’ll never forget the time a group of boys & Dads from our church decided to do the Half Dome trek in Yosemite National Park as a day hike. (note to self: don’t do THAT again). It’s a 20+ mile hike, and the technical term for this hike is that it’s a butt kicker. Many, many people do this hike in season; it’s one of those “gotta do it” hikes in California.
While on the trail, our group caught up to a young boy, about 13 years old … and his parents had sent him alone on this trail with a bottle of water and a peanut butter sandwich. I often think about that young man. I don’t know how close he got to Half Dome, but I know his parents failed in their responsibility that day.
Hiking is something that the Boy Scouts do very well, and so it’s timely to consider the Ten Essentials that Boy Scouts take on every hike. You should do the same thing … they just might save your life.
- A Pocket Knife: You don’t need a weapon, but a small folding knife can help you do many things … including opening that tough bag of beef jerky you will want to bring. I prefer a Swiss army knife. Some like lock blades or multi-tools. Your mileage may vary.
- A First Aid Kit: You just don’t know when you’ll need this. Moleskin is great for ill-fitting hiking boots that rub you the wrong way … duct tape can do in a pinch as well.
- Extra Clothing: It’s a pain, I know, but you need to layer up. It gets cold at altitude, even in the summer.
- Rain Gear: You need a poncho. You need a poncho. You need a poncho. See # 3. A sudden cloud burst, you’re cold and wet and you will not be having fun – especially if you have whining kids that you haven’t done a good job preparing for the trail.
- A Flashlight: I used to swear by Mini Maglights, but now I prefer LED headlamps. And yes, take extra batteries.
- Food: Nothing tastes better than a good meal in the back country. And if you burn enough calories, you can eat trail mix without gaining weight (something you can NEVER do sitting on the couch).
- Water: Some like Nalgene bottles, others prefer Camelbacks … which can provide the little backpack you need to carry everything. If you’re out for any length of time, you need 2 quarts of water. If it’s hot, plan appropriately.
- Matches: Don’t start a fire unless you have a permit.
- Sun Protection: The sun is fierce if you’re hiking at altitude.
- Map & Compass: You need to know where you are and how to get to where you’re going. A GPS is great, of course, as long as you know how to use it, and have extra batteries. And it doesn’t fall in a creek.
Half Dome is one of the most beautiful sites in California.
You may also want to carry
- Insect repellent
- Sunglasses
- A camera & lenses, up to the amount of weight you want to carry!
- Water purification system – you need to stay hydrated, and if you’re not carrying enough water to drink until your safe return, then you’re in trouble without pure water
- A walking stick or trekking poles (which can double as a monopod for the camera) – which will ease the pressure on your knees. But please, please, do not use unprotected metal tips on rocky trails, as they will mark the rocks
- Nylon cord (great for rigging a shade structure with your poncho)
- A watch
- Any medications you are to take, if they’re not in your first aid kit
- Extra socks – if you are blister prone, it’s wise to be careful
- Swimsuit – If you like to swim in the wilderness, you need to wear a swimsuit
- TP & a trowel
- A whistle
Everyone should carry their own gear! Adults, you do not carry the gear for the kids. They get to be responsible for their gear – it saves you the weight, and teaches them something about hiking.
Remember … take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing but footprints!
We lost our light too soon on our Sedona trip … it started snowing midday. The views are grand, but only a tease for what the photos could have been had the cloud cover been a little less dense.
These shots were taken from the plateau right by the entrance to the airport, on Airport Road. There’s a large parking lot and several coin operated binocular stands for all of the people who come to watch the light on the rocks with the sunrise (or sunset!).
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Sedona: Bell Rock
Sedona: Courthouse Butte
Sedona: To The East
We lost our light early, but the rocks are simply gorgeous on the south side of Sedona. You drive up Arizona 179. There are multiple observation points with parking lots. Pay the fee for a day pass and you are in for a treat.
Make sure you stop at the ranger station … they politely have a camera tripod set up for you to use on their front porch!
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Sedona: Courthouse Butte
Sedona: Cock’s Comb
Sedona: To The East
The painter of this portrait, Swedish artist Anders Zorn, drew his loose brushwork and preference for natural lighting from French impressionism. Cleveland was quite pleased with Zorn’s likeness, declaring to a correspondent, “As for my ugly mug, I think the artist has ‘struck it off’ in great shape.”
Grover Cleveland (1837 – 1908)
The 22nd President of the United States, 1885 – 1889
The 24th President of the United States, 1893 – 1897
AKA: His Obstinancy, The Stuffed Prophet, The Elephantine Economist, Uncle Jumbo, The Guardian President
From: New Jersey, New York
College: One of 8 US Presidents that did not attend college
Married to: Frances Folsom
Children: Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard, Francis
Party: Democratic
Previous Jobs: Clerk, teacher, assistant district attorney, county sheriff, lawyer, Mayor of Buffalo, Governor of New York
In His Words: “The laboring classes constitute the main part of our population. They should be protected in their efforts peaceably to assert their rights when endangered by aggregated capital, and all statutes on this subject should recognize the care of the State for honest toil, and be framed with a view of improving the condition of the workingman.”
“I have tried so hard to do the right.”
“The wants and needs of the employers and the employed shall alike be subserved and the prosperity of the country, the common heritage of both, be advanced.”
“He mocks the people who proposes that the Government shall protect the rich and that they in turn will care for the laboring poor.”
“The United States, in aiming to maintain itself as one of the most enlightened nations, would do its citizens gross injustice if it applied to its international relations any other than a high standard of honor and morality.”
“What is the use of being elected or re-elected unless you stand for something?”
Not true: Charles Lachman wrote A Secret Life, chronicling the events surrounding a child that may, or may not, have been the product of Grover Cleveland’s so-called date rape of Maria Halpin, a 38-year old sales clerk and mother of 2. This affair was a smarmy sex scandal involving a bachelor … who would later run for governor, and then for President. At the time, newspapers pounced on the scandal, and Cleveland steadfastly clung to “the truth:” that Halpin had affairs with more than one man, including Cleveland’s law partner. Cleveland took responsibility for the boy … and had the mother committed to an asylum when her drinking became a problem.
What’s true here? We don’t know. But can an author in 2011 really know definitively what happened in 1873? I think not. It is true the scandal was investigated in its day, and that Cleveland won two elections to the highest office in the land after the affair was widely known and investigated while the participants were all still living.
True: He is also the only President to have had his wedding inside the White House. He married his law partner’s ward, 24 years his junior, that he claimed to have fallen in love with when he first saw her as a baby.
Grover Cleveland is the only president to serve 2 terms separated by another President.
Utah was admitted as the 45th state during Cleveland’s Presidency.
He kept a mockingbird and several canaries as pets while President.
Cleveland paid a man $150 to serve in the Civil War in his stead (which was legal at the time).
He believed the President should be the executor of the nation’s laws … and not the creator of public policy. He believed that it was Congress’ job to make the laws, and he sought to avoid that task.
The Official Portrait: Eastman Johnson painted Grover Cleveland’s portrait in 1891; he also painted Benjamin Harrison’s portrait. Those two are the last portraits officially painted for the White House collection in the 19th century.
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Big Mo
“If there is a magic in story writing, and I am convinced there is, no one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another. The formula seems to lie solely in the aching urge of the writer to convey something he feels important to the reader. If the writer has that urge, he may sometimes, but by no means always, find the way to do it. You must perceive the excellence that makes a good story good or the errors that makes a bad story. For a bad story is only an ineffective story.”
