Took a drive up to Columbus this afternoon. Pretty simple errand, actually. Dropped off a long-term project I’ve been working on for over four years now. Audubon Adventures, Ohio series, it’s called. Student newspapers with activities focusing on Ohio’s natural habitats: forests, grassland prairies, and wetlands. Really good team putting it together. Glad to get that one done, though. Proud of it, too.
Noah spent his first summer week with us. He’s nine, and ready to take on about anything. Except maybe the dark in the basement and the occasional bumble bee. But he’s a trouper. Tree climber. Skate boarder. Bike mechanic. Age of Empires master. Guitar Hero and real guitar player. Common laborer, from which he earns three bucks an hour. Earned $10.50 this week. Cindy wants to write him a check every two weeks so he can consider what goes into a savings account. We’ll talk to his mommy about that one. A good week.
For us maybe, but surely not for many on the Gulf coast. What a nightmare. Bad news, then worse news. Horrible images of birds stuck in ooze and brown, diluted oil gunk washing up into sensitive wetlands. Wetlands will die. They will seem to flourish for a time, then die off due to the consequences of no oxygen at their root. Fisherfolk can’t fish. Vacationers are changing plans. Lots of volunteers, but you need a haz-mat suit to participate. Then today the word of excess methane, which along with the dispersant, might be brewing up another toxic nightmare. I should go, I know I should. And maybe I will. But right now I need to stay here and work on my book. The birds will have to wait this time.
How about them Reds? Here we are, late June, and the current cardiac kids are hanging tough. Lots of late game heroics. Most last-at-bat wins of any team in the majors. 12? Something like that. They’re in Seattle this weekend. Last time they were there, Ken Griffey Jr. was playing right field for the Redlegs. Oh, such a reception the whole team got. The tv guys were very impressed with the welcome carpet rolled out for Junior’s current team. I hope they have a good weekend this time around. First place. Ain’t shabby for June 19. But you gotta’ keep winning.
A new book on its way from Amazon: Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s Feuds by Lydall Gordon. Looking forward to seeing that one. I was disappointed how Mabel Loomis Todd was dismissed in the New York Botanical Garden show. According to them, all of Emily’s history was with Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Yes, he corresponded with her and came to Amherst for a visit a time or two. And, yes, he co-edited Poems, First Series and Poems: Second Series, but damn it, it was Mabel Todd who got the ball rolling. And it was Mrs. Todd who collected Emily Dickinson correspondence that she, indeed, edited that we know today as Emily Dickinson’s Letters. Know that some of Emily’s letters are as magical as her verse. Both are important contributions to the American literary canon. And Mabel Todd had much to do with it. Giving all the credit to Higginson is re-writing history.
Cindy & I splurged on a new washer and dryer this week. The old ones were still working, but were over 15 years old. The dryer lost its sensor cycle years ago. Now both are HE --
And what do you think of Pandora radio? I am most impressed. Found it a couple weeks ago, thinking it was unique for use with my iPod. Not so. Works great on the desktop computer. The ‘station’ is currently set on ‘nature sounds radio.’ My other favorite choice is ‘New Age ambient.’ Both fill my office with music that aids my creative process. Call it muzak if you want, but it works for me. Rich instruments, easy cadences, thick harmonies. My, my. Really good stuff. And all for free, if you’d like. I went ahead and paid the $36 annual for the Pandora One desktop browser. Works better for me. No ‘commercials.’ I’m always eager to find new music, but I don’t know where to look. Pandora lets me hear lots of very specific stuff, then I can buy it if I want. Picked up a couple new albums so far. Good investment for a guy who ‘works’ hours at his computer. See http://www.pandora.com/
Weather’s been great, but now a hot, humid session moves in. High tomorrow over 90. Then back into the mid-80s, but still wetter ‘n heck. Air conditioner time, for sure. Not a big fan of this stuff. If we have to have severe weather, I prefer a snowstorm. More meditative. Heat gets me down. Gotta’ keep things watered, that’s for sure.
What I really wanted to write about today was how beautiful things are. I look up into a maple tree and see sun illuminating a branch full of green dancing in an afternoon zephyr. Carolina wren and American robin make soundtrack not much different from the ambient stuff I love in my office. Scent of flowers in the air. Hummingbirds buzzing into the feeder. Can’t get much better. Then I think some day I won’t be able to see and hear such things. Losing gifts, you know? Not trying to be morbid, but realistic. But that’s for another day.
How’s the state of your state?
Today’s elder idea: You want to be a writer? Don’t know how or when? Find a quiet place. Use a humble pen.
Paul Simon (the musician)
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