Virginia

Workmanship refers to the quality of the work of an artisan or craftsman.  WIKIPEDIA    

'What lies beneath may be more treacherous than the surface chooses to disclose...'

from student notes, archaeological dig, California coastline circa 1921. 

Cliff's list of requirements to earn a scholarship was succinct, and somewhat surprising.  High school gpa of only 3.5, an essay not longer than three pages, and a statement to substantiate financial need.

"One scholarship will go to each of the Colleges: Fine Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Mathematics," Cliff announced.

Hah.  Good luck getting anyone to agree on who would get the one scholarship in social sciences.  The two sides of the room were already glaring at one another.  Good thing the decisions this first year were made only by Warren and Cliff.

'Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose — a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.'

Mary W. Shelley, English Novelist (1797-1851)

Why do we look back?  Why do we sort photos, read old correspondence, look at artifacts and articles that speak only to the past? 

I recently spent a week going through photos that came to me from my dad.  They started before the 1900's (yes, they did) and continued until about 1945.  In his later years, he was in the process of reviewing them and making some kind of declaration of who was who, and where they were, and when.

  Albert, circa 1927

He died in 2009, only a few days before his 91st birthday. Right until his very last breath, he could recount who was who, what was what, where they were, and when.  He wasn't so good at what was going on.  That's not strictly fair, he tried to make sense of it.  He did his best to explain, extrapolate, and justify.

He died sitting in a garden chair, in his back patio, looking at the stars.  

“Did you know you’ve got ants all over your kitchen?” Char was back, and had seated herself gingerly on the edge of the bathroom counter. “Do you have any bug spray?”

“Under the sink.”  Good, maybe she’d leave Kate alone if she could go kill something.

That woman was impossible.  Who else would even mention the ants, let alone offer to get out the bug spray. 

Father's Day is coming up.  Sunday, in fact.  Well, it always is on Sunday. 

Maybe that's why I'm thinking about my dad, and his dad, and all dads.  I don't know if I would choose Sunday for Fathers' Day, if it were up to me. 

Sunday was the day in my family where dad had little or no say about what was going on.  Sunday was a day of rituals, and most of them revolved around the mothers in the family.  Church, mainly something women were interested/compelled/obligated to attend -- but not really for spiritual reasons, because of community.  And that's fine -- and then there was Sunday dinner. 

In my family it was usually overcooked beef at my grandmother's house.  Green beans figured in as well.  And jello.  Always the jello.  For festive occasions there would be mushroom soup with the green beans, and marshmallows in the jello.  Sometimes there would be "cool whip," that enticing and non-food sweet "topping" that everyone loved because it was cheap.

What’s the Matter with our Unions and our Politics? [revised]

Why is there so much bad press about Unions?  What or Who do these bad-press people think Unions are?  And why does this bad press just keep spinning until there is no way to separate reality from fantasy or some other agenda that really isn’t about the business of unions at all?

Kate tried to put Clifford out of her mind.  She was determined to make some progress, make some difference, in the chaos of her garden.  But she was so tired.  The scratch on her leg was bleeding, and it had begun to throb.

She sank into a chair like she had some internal injury, not just a scratch. 

“In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility.”  Wikipedia

Sometimes, when you wake up in the morning, the newspaper isn’t there. But there is someone you can call, and eventually it will appear.

"One brief shining moment..."

Sometimes, when you go to make a sandwich for lunch, you find that you only have one slice of bread, or not enough cheese – or that the mayo has gone off.  But you can always go to the store and get some more.

Sometimes, when you go to bed at night, the sheets are rumpled, your feet are cold, the person you sleep with is already snoring.  But you can straighten the sheets, get a hot water bottle or socks, or gently nudge the snorer.

If you have retired recently, did you notice that when you looked in the mirror you seemed different?  Or were you just the same, only more relaxed and happy?  Or did you find a face there at all?

I retired almost five years ago, and I'm still trying to discover who I am now.  The fact of me was so defined by what I did, that I can't quite figure out yet how to just be... or how to do, as I have heard said, "very little, slowly." 

I want to get out and slay something.  Or change something.  Or say something that somebody needs to hear. 

Or do I?

I did all of that for some long time.  To work at a meaningful job is absolutely important.  To take risks, to give all of your energy, to believe in what you are doing is a human imperative.