Diane’s an avid NetFlix subscriber. She’s on the three movie plan  and is almost always satisfied with her picks. Today’s arrivals : Juno, A Mighty Heart, and Harrison’s Flowers. I always struggle with those mailers and Diane always shakes her head.

“Diane, how do you open this thing?”

“Honey, those are made for morons and they got to the right address.”

***********
Peter and I stopped in TJ Maxx to look for a temporary rug for the master bath which I’m remodeling. Matt and Joe ripped out the old tiled floor and I hammered in a new one, a temporary sink, and today I added the new toilet. Given how things are, I can’t dilly dally so we were without a sink for only one day and the toilet was missing for two. I told Diane that when I started I was anxious about how long we’d have a non-functional mess, and now that it’s again useable,  I’m back in my comfort zone. A functional mess.

I’m straying too far. My point is that we didn’t find a rug but I did steer Peter to the Hawaiianesque shirt racks. I told him about the one in K-Mart that I’d wanted, but had missed out on when someone else stole it from me after the price tumbled to four dollars.

“Thirty-six new, and now it’s ten dollars,” I said, “That’s the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks.”  He tried one on – I think it had beige palm trees swaying  against a black background.  He slipped it off over his head and said,   “This shirt is like putting a sign on my chest that  says hit me.”

If all goes well today, tomorrow Phoenix will broadcast a real movie from Mars.

–rakkity

Goose’s comment reminded me that I wanted to point back to his website. He chronicles his preparations, his trip and what’s he’s been up to so far in Colorfulrado. Wanna take a trip back in time? Watch his road trip video.

Goose’s comment reminded me that I wanted to point back to his website. He chronicles his preparations, his trip and what’s he’s been up to so far in Colorfulrado. Wanna take a trip back in time? Watch his road trip video.

John and I were sitting at the counter of our local greasy spoon when someone shouted, “Call 911.” I’d just wiped up some runny yellow with my wheat toast. Two girls to the left of us stood up, alarmed, but the commotion was occurring around the bend in the counter, to our right. I slid off my stool and thought, “Finally, someone to resuscitate, I haven’t done this in a long time.” A couple of steps and there she was, a girl of about sixteen flat on her back on the floor wedged between two stools, with her head at a funny right angle against the counter.

People were hollering the usual, “Give her air, be careful of her neck,” all against the silly drumbeat of call 911. Too much TV I thought.

The fallen girl looked like one of Matt’s friends with that blemishless skin that screamed sacrifice me now and the rains will come. That was my first clue that she was okay. Nonetheless, kneeling over her I had to do something so I felt her carotid artery. Then I knew for sure she okay, not because her pulse lub dubbed against my fingers, but because she opened her eyes and yelped. I fully understood the yelp. Had I been Matt she might’ve smiled.

This all brings me to another one of my pet peeves.

If you read our local newspaper’s police beat you’ll see things like, “Resident saw car parked outside neighbor’s house and called the police,” Suspicious looking man in black hat spotted on Arlington St, police called,” “Stray dog, police called.” As Matt is fond of saying, we didn’t call the police when our house caught fire. We called the fire department on their chat line after we put the fire out. Matt doesn’t want the police near him for any reason, and I don’t want to bother people.

The girl on the floor? The rescue squad arrived and she walked into the ambulance.

Michael,

On our way to the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, we learned that the Baptistry (adjacent to the Duomo and the Torre) has wonderful echoing acoustics. The echoes are exploited by chanting singers every half hour during the day, so I came to the Baptistry ready to record.  This is a big file (85 MB), so I couldn’t just attach it to my message, you’ll have to download it.

Oh, and there’s a problem — it’s rotated sideways. Can you use your iMovie powers to rotate it upright after downloading it to your site? Even if you can’t do the rotation, it’s nice to have it just to listen to the chanting and the echoes of the singing.

Click here and watch.

–rakkity

He looked like Raymond Carver, but with modern, rimless reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. His brown hair  combed neatly back from his furrowed brow which looked ready for spring planting, like mine. I’d stopped in at our local auto parts store for front brake pads for the Mazda, and I carried this funny collection of bills from our trip to Aruba. Hundreds, fifties and lots of singles.

“You want the knock offs for thirty or original equipment for seventy?”He asked.

“What’s the difference?”

“Maybe ten thousand miles.”

I chose the cheaper pads and I gave him a fifty. I said, “Can you use ones? I’d like to get rid of all these so I can sit down again.”

“I’ll take all you’ve got.” Ray’s lookalike replied.

As he pulled change from the register I dealt those dollar bills into a neat stack and laid them on the counter. He didn’t watch me, he didn’t pay much attention at all, and when he asked how many I said, “Twenty.”

He picked up the pile and dropped them in the singles slot in the register and handed me a twenty.

“Give or take three or four.” I said.

He smiled.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” I asked.

“I’m not, I’m from Oregon.”

Same as Carver, I thought.

“How did you know?”

“You didn’t count those bills.”

“I trust everyone.” He said.

Hi Mike,

It looks like you all returned from Aruba about the same time we got back to Boulder, but you don’t have any jet lag, while we do. Right now in Colorfulado it’s dinner time, but my brain and stomach are confused because it’s 2 am in Manarola, Italy.

Our flights back from Sicily clicked right along, except for an announcement by our pilot in Rome. “This is the captain speaking. Due to aircraft controller strikes in France, the European air space is very busy, and we have been told that our departure will be delayed 55 minutes.” So we groaned inwardly and curled up with our books, but 15 minutes later we were winging our way homeward. Go figure. That’s “Italian time” for you. During our trip, some of our buses or trains left early, and some of them left late. We got used to it after 14 days in Italy!

Cinque Terre was all that we expected, and more.  I took 250 pictures there, and winnowed them down to a pretty good 56.  See them here.

–rakkity

I was happy to see Applewood’s heron had returned, and once again, as he stalked his prey, I stalked him. This first photo taken through my truck window at maybe twelve feet. As I opened my door and walked around the back of my truck the great bird flew away, down this narrow pond and out of sight. There are all kinds of trees obstructing my view and he usually lands far back in the reeds. Sometimes I give chase, this time I chose to give up. Then I heard or felt something and as I swung my camera up there was he was flying overhead. These kinds of quick shots are so hit or miss because it’s hard to know what the camera’s focusing on. But I’d say I got my prey.

I was happy to see Applewood’s heron had returned, and once again, as he stalked his prey, I stalked him. This first photo taken through my truck window at maybe twelve feet. As I opened my door and walked around the back of my truck the great bird flew away, down this narrow pond and out of sight. There are all kinds of trees obstructing my view and he usually lands far back in the reeds. Sometimes I give chase, this time I chose to give up. Then I heard or felt something and as I swung my camera up there was he was flying overhead. These kinds of quick shots are so hit or miss because it’s hard to know what the camera’s focusing on. But I’d say I got my prey.

Michael,

Today at 7:11am, my youngest Hannah turned 18 years old.  She was a joy from the moment she careened into the world.  She wasted no time in getting here (3 hours, 11 minutes from start to finish) and that is how she has continued to live her life.  Not one moment is wasted, but not in the silly fill your time busy; a worthwhile busy.  She sees a need and fills it without thinking.

It started early.  When she was in kindergarten, she thought she could benefit from weekly meetings with the Gates school guidance counselor, Mr. Brusie.  Her father and I had just divorced and she was really sad about it. Talking to him made her feel so good that she correctly deduced that other kids with divorced parents must be going through this as well and she could help them feel better.  She suggested to Mr. Brusie they invite other kids to the weekly sessions, and the Divorced Kids Support Group was born.  Mr. Brusie and Hannah are no longer at Paul P. Gates Elementary School, but the support group still exists.

She has raised countless dollars for every charity she comes across.  She’s jumped rope and trick or treated for UNICEF.  She’s collected books for Afghani school children.  She’s done countless hungercropcancerhomelessshelterbatteredwomenbirthdefects walks.  She spent the last two summers as a counselor for under-privileged kids at the Knickerbocker YMCA camp in Maine.  She has been VP for 4 years of both the Jr. Rotary Club of Acton and Acton Boxborough Community Outreach, and she sits on the board of directors for the United Way.

She wants to go to college in Switzerland?  She makes it happen!  It doesn’t enter her mind that it’s not a possibility.  She is good at raising money for herself too.  By academic merit and essay writing for scholarships, she managed to get roughly 40% of her fees reduced from the school.

This kid is my hero.  She has done more for AB and her sphere of influence in her mere 18 years than most people do with their whole lives.  THIS is what you can accomplish if you don’t think you can’t.  I can’t wait to see what other journeys she takes herself on and what’s in store for the rest of her life, but I know it includes at least a dozen adopted Asian girl grandbabies for me.  Stay tuned…

Jen Kero Koeller

Michael,

Today at 7:11am, my youngest Hannah turned 18 years old.  She was a joy from the moment she careened into the world.  She wasted no time in getting here (3 hours, 11 minutes from start to finish) and that is how she has continued to live her life.  Not one moment is wasted, but not in the silly fill your time busy; a worthwhile busy.  She sees a need and fills it without thinking.

It started early.  When she was in kindergarten, she thought she could benefit from weekly meetings with the Gates school guidance counselor, Mr. Brusie.  Her father and I had just divorced and she was really sad about it. Talking to him made her feel so good that she correctly deduced that other kids with divorced parents must be going through this as well and she could help them feel better.  She suggested to Mr. Brusie they invite other kids to the weekly sessions, and the Divorced Kids Support Group was born.  Mr. Brusie and Hannah are no longer at Paul P. Gates Elementary School, but the support group still exists.

She has raised countless dollars for every charity she comes across.  She’s jumped rope and trick or treated for UNICEF.  She’s collected books for Afghani school children.  She’s done countless hungercropcancerhomelessshelterbatteredwomenbirthdefects walks.  She spent the last two summers as a counselor for under-privileged kids at the Knickerbocker YMCA camp in Maine.  She has been VP for 4 years of both the Jr. Rotary Club of Acton and Acton Boxborough Community Outreach, and she sits on the board of directors for the United Way.

She wants to go to college in Switzerland?  She makes it happen!  It doesn’t enter her mind that it’s not a possibility.  She is good at raising money for herself too.  By academic merit and essay writing for scholarships, she managed to get roughly 40% of her fees reduced from the school.

This kid is my hero.  She has done more for AB and her sphere of influence in her mere 18 years than most people do with their whole lives.  THIS is what you can accomplish if you don’t think you can’t.  I can’t wait to see what other journeys she takes herself on and what’s in store for the rest of her life, but I know it includes at least a dozen adopted Asian girl grandbabies for me.  Stay tuned…

Jen Kero Koeller