tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14742178092701300512024-03-05T14:57:05.339-08:00Changing LanesMy life is shifting gears, at that time when my kids are not kids. My job(s) are evolving. And so am I.Traveling. Teaching. Writing. Moving. Always laughing about it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056760993655170308noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474217809270130051.post-90442871572558452612015-05-25T21:48:00.001-07:002015-05-25T21:48:28.809-07:00The Cockapoo and the Kayak of Death“Just give it a try,” I said. He looked dubious. “You enjoyed it last year.” He tried to walk away.<br />
“Ok, now you’re just being ridiculous.” I picked him up and plopped him into the kayak. He strained to climb out. “Knock it off!” He climbed over the side. I pushed him back in. “Get your furry black cockapoo butt back in there! Good Lord, dog! Give it a rest!”<br />
He stared at me reproachfully.<br />
I shoved the kayak into the water.<br />
Dog overboard.<br />
It was clear he was not a good fit in my kayak, Clementine, which was a river going kayak, all bumps and no place for a dog to sit comfortably. So we put him into my husband’s ocean going kayak, M2379L. And shoved it into the water.<br />
Zack the black cockapoo considered his options, stood briefly, and then sat down morosely.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpDwI5qf_h9kS2EC_bsV67gevs0nhIgb1SQ3J6bdESQNI5cx27_uMqf_RolDO8QRLQFDi5C6DrifVragYbqRGqWoFbEjeOCBZoAce82f-dtRiDQyuqx1MGPQkz1B-eysQVtk0N79AXiw/s1600/black+cocka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpDwI5qf_h9kS2EC_bsV67gevs0nhIgb1SQ3J6bdESQNI5cx27_uMqf_RolDO8QRLQFDi5C6DrifVragYbqRGqWoFbEjeOCBZoAce82f-dtRiDQyuqx1MGPQkz1B-eysQVtk0N79AXiw/s320/black+cocka.jpg" /></a></div>Clearly an abused animal.<br />
I did not plan to abuse him. I really did not. Last year he was the Dog Masthead, standing at the helm, or stern, or whatever, tail wagging, giving what for to the lily pads as we sailed through them majestically. I could have practically carved him as a figurehead, a sort of dog mermaid. For a cockapoo, anyway, he almost looked dignified. <br />
Well. Almost.<br />
But this year I have to stuff him onto my kayak and he’s turned into colloidal dog mass, spreading his limbs in different directions simultaneously. He’s a dog amoeba, spreading his body passive aggressively. <br />
He weighed 42 tons and had 45 limbs.<br />
He looked sorrowfully in my face and wonders what he’s done to merit the Kayak of Death.<br />
I was pitied by the mother of a whiny toddler.<br />
That’s just sad.<br />
When we got out into the water Zack sat morosely, as only a depressed dog can, hanging his chin on the side of the kayak, sighing deeply, puffing out his cocker beard. “Pffft,” he said, rolling his eyes at Michael.<br />
“Yeah, yeah,” he replied. “Never again, ok? We’ll leave you home next time.”<br />
“Pfft.”<br />
“Fine.”<br />
“Pfffffft.”<br />
“Whatever, dude.”<br />
Zack settled in at one point and cast me a long look of resentment over his shoulder. The sun was hot on his black fur but he refused all offers of water. Splashing water on his fur earned me a dark look. <br />
When we returned to shore, he commiserated with a half-dingo, half German shepherd rescue dog over the evils of mankind and then he retreated to the blanket to sulk. I was surprised that he had made friends with that rather scary looking dog so quickly. They’d given each other a quick sniff and an obligatory tail wag and seemed mutually satisfied with each other.<br />
Then, when Zack was settled on the blanket, the unleashed dingo approached Mike and the kayak for another sniff.<br />
Zack stood up. “ROWR!!” he barked. “Grrr….ROWR RUFF ROWRRRR!!”<br />
“Good Lord, Zack! That’s the dog you just sniffed! Lighten up!” I said.<br />
But he would have none of it. It was one thing for HIM to get within biting range of the off leash monstrosity. It was something else to allow his master to go near him. It. Whatever. <br />
Zack barked. He growled and carried on with every fiber of the cocker spaniel and poodle and the last vestige of wolf lurking down within that dog-designed-by-a-committee deep within him. <br />
Kindle, the dingo/German Shepherd-really-not-such-a-bad-dog-huge-beast, glanced at our overwrought cockapoo, and wandered off to his own blanket. <br />
“Whatevs,” Kindle seemed to say. “Dude, switch to decaf. It’s a beautiful day.”<br />
A good day to die, Z dog…. I’ll go get the kayak.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056760993655170308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474217809270130051.post-1865240803296593692014-07-25T19:58:00.001-07:002014-07-25T20:12:00.364-07:00Making Up<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr3rtM84wWUJ8WmOqBIe1f6_a770mYoY4GDW_FVIt81k70dyOQbIuebav-wFNZvY8JHpCgkyp8hJf6W-p5xbCBZge2r-Hh001Kp4Vmt-VeerlhAVnVgBvixKeZyBQgRpB06JSaRuY_B4/s1600/look+slimmer+glamour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOr3rtM84wWUJ8WmOqBIe1f6_a770mYoY4GDW_FVIt81k70dyOQbIuebav-wFNZvY8JHpCgkyp8hJf6W-p5xbCBZge2r-Hh001Kp4Vmt-VeerlhAVnVgBvixKeZyBQgRpB06JSaRuY_B4/s1600/look+slimmer+glamour.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a><br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">My 17 year old
daughter went on the customary, almost mandatory pre-collegiate uber-feminist
rant about how cosmetics, and by extension, the cosmetic industry, is a vast,
right wing conspiracy. The goal, apparently, is to make us feel really bad
about ourselves unless we sex ourselves up with gobs of whatever the company is
selling. She feels very strongly about this. “Face it, Mom, just look at the
magazines, with the skinny people and the perfect lips and eyes and stuff. It’s
all a big conspiracy to make you feel ugly if you don’t buy their products. And
use it just the way they want you to.” Massive eye-rolling. “Plus they
photo-shop everything anyway. Nobody actually LOOKS like that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">I sort of nod and
go about my mascara’d life. I know what she means. I know that in my 20’s I
wrote a mean-spirited piece mocking my mother for wearing make up. I
jeered at her for having a drawer full of bits of eye pencils and rouge, and
lip sticks, exactly like the drawer I have now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBikJMIpdMQPaAPl6GeYVdGkPpAR6CwTbkAtPYoz9fqNcqDLgUSmF_ILJxv4ytnCjQtsjjCOHcE6gS18nGvy1QjUOKpblHAOZ68EEBIpkZdIsHuEeKuxigzazuEShm8G3pqoobL8SPJU/s1600/alarm+clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBikJMIpdMQPaAPl6GeYVdGkPpAR6CwTbkAtPYoz9fqNcqDLgUSmF_ILJxv4ytnCjQtsjjCOHcE6gS18nGvy1QjUOKpblHAOZ68EEBIpkZdIsHuEeKuxigzazuEShm8G3pqoobL8SPJU/s1600/alarm+clock.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">I called her shallow. I called her a
fashion victim, I think, and said a wide variety of nasty things, convincing
myself I was clever and witty and above all that. In my half-assed defense, I
was living in central Maine, the part of Maine that mostly heated with wood
stoves. This was not coastal, lobster eating Maine. This was the part of Maine
where to have a teaching job meant I got up at 5:20 AM to be in the classroom,
ready to teach at 7:10 AM. And the school was 45 minutes away.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">So wearing eye
liner was just not a priority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">I didn’t even have
the excuse of being 17 and still figuring myself out. I was just being a
really, really smug, all-natural fiber, Birkenstock-wanna-wear asshole. (Sorry,
Mom.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Now, at 50, I wear
make up most days. It’s not that I need to, or feel bereft if I don’t. But I
feel that when I line my eyes with a very thin marker, I don’t look tired. I
don’t FEEL tired, so<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2po-HGBquBEG2zOAwKgSxj1yNTI9OOuwT9_qreyOKpfufb7pmoINJcSc-lWu-ymCOcfgKsyy6XYGJe-QR-qOLH8qvG8M20PERJ5Xk7GPMbMtMcg1tgBt9_o_llqv36f0qYlFQgS8s1Ck/s1600/eyeliner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="float: right;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2po-HGBquBEG2zOAwKgSxj1yNTI9OOuwT9_qreyOKpfufb7pmoINJcSc-lWu-ymCOcfgKsyy6XYGJe-QR-qOLH8qvG8M20PERJ5Xk7GPMbMtMcg1tgBt9_o_llqv36f0qYlFQgS8s1Ck/s1600/eyeliner.jpg"
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<div style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">why should I LOOK
tired? The thin line of dark brown makes me look the way I </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBFH9A3oSMzrPmKHqWJFfp6OFaXezyxm5cKOPgzxmbn0l3E589OV4_p-DNMxtENm2rL3MaLkifr61Z7F3jUgy6GXndamDeOegd2ZgAjT-tK866-M7UyGZ6FcIiE3DeLTL0qW-5VK6WeQ/s1600/eyeliner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBFH9A3oSMzrPmKHqWJFfp6OFaXezyxm5cKOPgzxmbn0l3E589OV4_p-DNMxtENm2rL3MaLkifr61Z7F3jUgy6GXndamDeOegd2ZgAjT-tK866-M7UyGZ6FcIiE3DeLTL0qW-5VK6WeQ/s1600/eyeliner.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">feel. The puff of
white powder above my eyes makes me look more awake, too, and the smudge of
dark brown at the edges of my eyes – ok, well, that just makes me look a bit
thinner.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">I tell myself that,
anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">It’s the same
effect as coloring my hair. People perceive me as young and energetic when I
get rid of that skunk like white stripe on my head. How do I know? I hear
comments about how great my hair looks soon after I get the color retouched,
and usually people can’t quite put their finger on WHY it looks …different.
Good. Young. It doesn’t look wild, or unnatural… just...younger than my age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">It wasn’t too long
ago that 50 year old people were right there on the crumbling edge of
retirement. I’m looking for a full time teaching job, and I plan to look like I
could swing from the chandeliers. If I have to chase after some kid who’s at
the top of the monkey bars, no problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">I have my Taser
right here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">So…make up. There
are days of second guessing. What exactly is age appropriate for me? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfraikeg6iVkNo-wtUn7vz_5oiIWbsKLCePzCVMyXrTzcTtPM1tgO7Fpwp7_XPoYbFbQdhtkAZjSgG_09m-C1UTKdz7cWvcGhApH4BJFsYgkxZlaSxubvRcrKpUwCUHHJ8ZBWZmDzQZ1w/s1600/grandmas+pink+lipstick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfraikeg6iVkNo-wtUn7vz_5oiIWbsKLCePzCVMyXrTzcTtPM1tgO7Fpwp7_XPoYbFbQdhtkAZjSgG_09m-C1UTKdz7cWvcGhApH4BJFsYgkxZlaSxubvRcrKpUwCUHHJ8ZBWZmDzQZ1w/s1600/grandmas+pink+lipstick.jpg"
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjX0urEB4RoexHN3ntO1atImLWbJ44pvEKyxuGK8p5JioK4YYTYAT3E3jDzx121sg-FbjR5fL4gpUFbc5yG0P3hm27czgFxsoC6-sT56oL-ke7r7xMs3jspHfOlXkqI9FsrfWqxLObU0E/s1600/grandmas+pink+lipstick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjX0urEB4RoexHN3ntO1atImLWbJ44pvEKyxuGK8p5JioK4YYTYAT3E3jDzx121sg-FbjR5fL4gpUFbc5yG0P3hm27czgFxsoC6-sT56oL-ke7r7xMs3jspHfOlXkqI9FsrfWqxLObU0E/s1600/grandmas+pink+lipstick.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Do I HAVE to wear
some dull pinkish thing? Or, God forbid, some puke-brown color that looks like
the cockapoo pooped it back out? It’s a quandary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">That evening Xena
the 17 year old warrior plasters on the rouge, the eyeliner, and the truly
scary orange lipstick, and charges forth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">That's a lot of
conspiracy spread all over that 17 year old face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Who am I to judge,
though? I did the same thing, exactly, but more cruelly, to my mother, and here
I stand, staring, and at my naked lips, and think....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1474217809270130051" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Victim of the
patriarchy, are we? Pitiful soul, buying the tawdry snake oil in Nude Beige in
pale hopes of holding on to fleeting youth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9mO3sNFDrdyC7K63RwWH0-wu1oo9CFD89vpOg0pLV0wIKqcLc6glGlahDi8YtkklPsekkTow7kPOsTQrAM3HIhdTJW2HMgaauOv4FSXDtPjvFfsoy12bCHqSHlcPjh4wIKI1IzyHMrw/s1600/woman+w+red+lipstick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9mO3sNFDrdyC7K63RwWH0-wu1oo9CFD89vpOg0pLV0wIKqcLc6glGlahDi8YtkklPsekkTow7kPOsTQrAM3HIhdTJW2HMgaauOv4FSXDtPjvFfsoy12bCHqSHlcPjh4wIKI1IzyHMrw/s1600/woman+w+red+lipstick.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Wellll, that'd be a
nope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Um, and nope again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif;">Make up, I think,
is possibly the only truly victimless crime.</span><br />
</div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">I'm more of a
Medium Beige, really, folks.</span><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">So just shut up,
and hand over the Killer Crimson lipstick and nobody gets hurt. </span><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">I need a job, one
that helps to pay for two, yes, two college educations. </span><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">I shall sally
forth, equipped with my blood-red lips. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; line-height: 18pt;">Amy 1, Patriarchy 0.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4qtQa_U5jZw8NpynzmnfwSzZfZmRNvQCANdsShtlMguZopD25-3v5G63g6-d1vjATA9-Iuhh4q7luV5rInWIwMuHpmC0UCo_IrIU4WCXU9jtjJT25mPwOL34CTB0VYMqPvYKEjChidU/s1600/handsome+young+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4qtQa_U5jZw8NpynzmnfwSzZfZmRNvQCANdsShtlMguZopD25-3v5G63g6-d1vjATA9-Iuhh4q7luV5rInWIwMuHpmC0UCo_IrIU4WCXU9jtjJT25mPwOL34CTB0VYMqPvYKEjChidU/s1600/handsome+young+man.jpg" height="200" width="91" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.animevice.com/forums/rpg/34/phoenix-wrights-bio/330411/">http://www.animevice.com/forums/rpg/34/phoenix<br />-wrights-bio/330411/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A 20-something guy
nearly dropped his Mac and deftly caught it on the way down. We caught each
other’s eyes as he exhaled in relief. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Nice catch,” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />“Yeah,” he said. “My
parents would not have been happy with me if that had hit the ground.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“It would have been a
bit chilly for a while,” I agreed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">He stood up, all
nicely muscled six feet of him, and said, “So – how are you doing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I looked up,
startled. “Me? Not bad, all things considered. How are you?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There was moment of recognition when he suddenly realized I
could easily be his mother – the one that would have been upset if he’d dropped
his laptop – and he said, “Oh, I’m – fine!” and he fled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Poor boy was confused.
Perhaps terrified. The young woman
sitting next to him – the one his age – looked a little bewildered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEEZpr6H64-Ep6EYRGWMoSwJNCK_H7GEh23kmwHaG6n-VIS-jt_4f7aym2NIYagigEyyYoQMGwVQvLOsnQgkULLtZmS1RghTRMKRETmuT2aUTLohoEZ7kLydGPENkvNhhTQ3VATQAqts/s1600/cougar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEEZpr6H64-Ep6EYRGWMoSwJNCK_H7GEh23kmwHaG6n-VIS-jt_4f7aym2NIYagigEyyYoQMGwVQvLOsnQgkULLtZmS1RghTRMKRETmuT2aUTLohoEZ7kLydGPENkvNhhTQ3VATQAqts/s1600/cougar.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...vanilla cappuccino with an extra shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Score one for the not-wanting-to-be-but-clearly-mistaken-for-cougar
variety. Yay? Ok. Yay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This little scene
reminded me of the refrain my dad would sing at random moments, before my mom
got to be a certain age, “She could easily pass for 45 in the dusk with the
light behind her.” I think he stopped before she hit fifty. He was smart
that way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaGYPQkyDgeEDvqXw7cC7aEDWyIK39Q_5pMwf7Ezw74Iwvf_5Rrv4NZeOWR2-Rya4QAcDve8f_ETinQzRasPfdt-Ajdm_Q55Z327gMojEGAh_Md4nvhnDr5ztbgCSwaKVfn1_2L42QRw/s1600/puffy+sleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaGYPQkyDgeEDvqXw7cC7aEDWyIK39Q_5pMwf7Ezw74Iwvf_5Rrv4NZeOWR2-Rya4QAcDve8f_ETinQzRasPfdt-Ajdm_Q55Z327gMojEGAh_Md4nvhnDr5ztbgCSwaKVfn1_2L42QRw/s1600/puffy+sleeves.jpg" height="152" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I hope never to be
one of those women desperately striving to keep the light behind me. Not long
ago, though, I put on a favorite blouse. It’s sheer, hangs beautifully; it has
a lovely black and white pattern. And then suddenly I thought: nope. Nope nope
nope. I cannot rock puffy, elasticized sleeves at 50. That girlish, almost Anne-of-Green-Fucking-Gables wannabee thing? There’s a date stamp on this sucker, and I,
alas, have passed it. I mourned a bit, but I did take it off, and put it in the
casket reserved for the Salvation Army donations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When I glance in the
mirror and suddenly have that slightly foolish feeling, that outfit goes to the
Salvation Army, for the woman who will snatch it up and wonder who the hell let
this one go? Me, honey – enjoy it with my blessing. The Salvation Army, in wealthy areas such as
Ann Arbor, is a great place to find good designer clothing, sometimes with the
labels still attached.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv87pk-GI1wM9hhNkQvikNJDpTkSFYP9aFxLr9r4p1AO6jVpgsHjrYNFYlVuOmBqDyP_BOq62lRv2nyl8fzfmaoNahYB5BW_E7oN5FkmXX9nDWSv2iMr1mhcXaJ1fiyma36HD7MPzIQg/s1600/1920s+cloche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv87pk-GI1wM9hhNkQvikNJDpTkSFYP9aFxLr9r4p1AO6jVpgsHjrYNFYlVuOmBqDyP_BOq62lRv2nyl8fzfmaoNahYB5BW_E7oN5FkmXX9nDWSv2iMr1mhcXaJ1fiyma36HD7MPzIQg/s1600/1920s+cloche.jpg" height="200" width="170" /></a><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I was there recently and held up a hat with one of those
cute little bows on it, the front pinned up, like something out of <i>The Artist,</i> and, again, thought that <i>nope </i>thing. I commented on that to a
nearby woman, a slender blonde, who looked just past thirty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncgXBnG_dIaLEQ28dnY4fThMR8Cq76DfBfIi0OKkxsuH80Iq41YH0xJXBYyPa9np5B3G4Dj6p9vbpp-jWTZD1YwoCQdfHK30A3M5uIc3rq6lSBoRpLQjvtkCvipnl6-qxtFNW9HLs5jg/s1600/baby+cloche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncgXBnG_dIaLEQ28dnY4fThMR8Cq76DfBfIi0OKkxsuH80Iq41YH0xJXBYyPa9np5B3G4Dj6p9vbpp-jWTZD1YwoCQdfHK30A3M5uIc3rq6lSBoRpLQjvtkCvipnl6-qxtFNW9HLs5jg/s1600/baby+cloche.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...working it much better....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> “Oh, I think that’s not really true,” she
said. “I mean, if you feel like you can rock it, wear it!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Go back to <i>Sex and the City,</i> Cynthia, I thought. You and your Jimmy Choo Who’s or whatevers. </span><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Wait twenty years and
about fifteen more wrinkles, then come talk to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I handed her the hat.
“Try it with the bow on the side. It’s a cloche, so it works in several ways,”
I suggested. “Like in <i>The Artist</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oh, I love that
movie!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I hated that movie. I
smiled and went over to look at the purses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM721Tk2KCZZvwMy3zVGCDJ7F-KwGw5nePBfqOa2hh0bY5SjUP1u1QCySMQGJO4JY6H2SJPBazFzFIzpiDB0R3Ls7mX7PlWUhrH1ClF7jG8eH386vJzRcQaBepEUjhv-Pug15U6BRThy0/s1600/bugs+bunny+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM721Tk2KCZZvwMy3zVGCDJ7F-KwGw5nePBfqOa2hh0bY5SjUP1u1QCySMQGJO4JY6H2SJPBazFzFIzpiDB0R3Ls7mX7PlWUhrH1ClF7jG8eH386vJzRcQaBepEUjhv-Pug15U6BRThy0/s1600/bugs+bunny+bag.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have a closet full
of purses. You don’t ever have to “nope” a purse. Or at least, I haven’t had to
so far. Then there's my Bugs Bunny purse. But nobody messes with my wascally wabbit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00056760993655170308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1474217809270130051.post-64749637824512341962014-07-07T20:24:00.000-07:002014-07-07T20:24:59.865-07:00Different Mountains<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGZwKZDU4iECe8Y5q8XrRWYwnFZpqGV9Ky7lcoHlTjbPmi-XRcpbb8_LmBSQUE-BC679n2aZPu_ml38hMkvLjFZbdkPNp2R6_-O-nO9fPoIPvFaUTQYjqIRkpmXg-M6MkDROOodb6zdE/s1600/katahdin+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGZwKZDU4iECe8Y5q8XrRWYwnFZpqGV9Ky7lcoHlTjbPmi-XRcpbb8_LmBSQUE-BC679n2aZPu_ml38hMkvLjFZbdkPNp2R6_-O-nO9fPoIPvFaUTQYjqIRkpmXg-M6MkDROOodb6zdE/s1600/katahdin+sign.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5,270 feet of prime, wind-blown mountain.The northern end<br />
of the Appalachian Trail. It starts in Georgia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />My 20 year old
daughter Alice mentioned that she was going to climb Mount Katahdin on the
Fourth of July this year. “Are you going
with a partner? You shouldn’t hike alone. Have you ever actually hiked a
mountain? I mean, not just a big hill. Don’t forget to take extra water and
flashlight. Be ready to cancel if the weather starts to turn,” I texted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I spoke with the condescension
of one who had lived in central Maine for eight years. I had skiied the back
woods, and heated with a wood stove. I was on a first name basis with countless
carnivorous woodland creatures. Ok. Lying. But anyway, the girl goes to college
in Florida. She may know alligators, but a mountain? Really? She puts on a
sweater when it dips to 75. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I could sense her repressed
sigh as she texted back.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmG5dnasnIKco0JXEv-ESNx1eggS9BkcrOYg9sDLfR5UcB-fZHhAs1bVlD4-ZtMltTmlS1vekNKCT07nq23PuQ3_1chR6g7TsWzWysknKAZKHi_rrB_Jmim-66d1gZgp9OgdP2lDg47M/s1600/katahdin+climbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmG5dnasnIKco0JXEv-ESNx1eggS9BkcrOYg9sDLfR5UcB-fZHhAs1bVlD4-ZtMltTmlS1vekNKCT07nq23PuQ3_1chR6g7TsWzWysknKAZKHi_rrB_Jmim-66d1gZgp9OgdP2lDg47M/s1600/katahdin+climbing.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: #3e454c; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">No, I'm
climbing it on my own. But I am doing it on the 4th so there will be a lot of
people around. My supervisor is doing the same thing at a later date.</span><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background-color: white;"> I will have my emergency SPOT with me so I can call for a
LifeFlight helicopter if I need it. I'll also have a lot of water, a jacket and
water purification tablets, as well as a first aid kit and my GPS.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #3e454c; font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="background-color: white;">It's an easier
trail than most, only 4 miles round-trip and the least steep of all the trails
that reach the top. I am prepared and Evan has my float plan so he knows when
to expect me back and when to get worried. I'll do the same for him. It's not
that uncommon for people to hike Katahdin alone. </i><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: #3e454c; font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have no idea what a
float plan is. I think that refers to what she uses when she goes on out a
rescue call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alice is a first mate
– well, now a lead officer – on the search and rescue team at her college, which
is on the Gulf of Mexico. She’s one of the people who goes out, sometimes with
the Coast Guard, to search for boats that are lost, people who have been swept
overboard, and that sort of thing. </span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFMmiVTiJutwyF33JaMdM-RudYaEjOYU0hZi8JWXFO0Nug3L_iYBzyX3Eejx189KT1myYAGtMF0qiwjvmuCpPSDfMLDmD2-cZcl-mVZv-e-mgeznc0rAkhekg1BotSRCRFgsJvnouc7E/s1600/alice+katahdin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiFMmiVTiJutwyF33JaMdM-RudYaEjOYU0hZi8JWXFO0Nug3L_iYBzyX3Eejx189KT1myYAGtMF0qiwjvmuCpPSDfMLDmD2-cZcl-mVZv-e-mgeznc0rAkhekg1BotSRCRFgsJvnouc7E/s1600/alice+katahdin.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
She made it. The last hour in the pouring rain.</div>
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</tbody></table>
</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboGNSk3eeL1LVIQkbwkyO2l9gcqJwWW8KTN6k_YSauLy3ryw5KEnICYLPCTBD2owV-XofUqosFXwYWlzXk5DaWzkhpY1uvv9vqw3nUyTHQH_4u-luW6ALItGzW1nujfn3aOSF5nAZCas/s1600/IMG_4151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Back in the late 1970’s, EcSar, for Eckerd
College Search and Rescue, was the first rescue crew to show up when the Sky
Way Bridge collapsed. I am utterly horrified at the idea of my daughter, who is
permanently 12 in my head, searching through the water for bodies is. But I am also extremely proud that she’s
capable of this sort of work. She’s grown
up, and is an incredibly responsible person. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Right now she’s in northern Maine living
in an RV, getting up at 4 AM, slogging through the wood</span><span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">s, warding off
mosquitoes the size of vultures, using a GPS (no trails for HER), to get to a
research point. Then she spends four hours alone in the woods, taking down data
on songbirds. By herself. In the woods. Did I mention there are no towns there?
No wifi reception, unless the loggers are around? No phone reception?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No Starbucks?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So – how do I adapt
to this? In a month or so, my next, and last, daughter, Caroline, will take off for four
years in Scotland. She’ll come back now and then for holidays, and for summer,
but essentially, that’s that. Four years at the University of Edinburgh for her
degree in music. Caroline spent six months at a high school in London a year
ago and fell in love with Great Britain. Edinburgh had the kind of music degree
she really wanted, so why fight it? She’s one tough cookie and has shown she
can handle it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Throwing myself at her knees and keening NOOOOOOO would just
show a lack of class, I think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And would not work.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />But it’s not just the my kids that are moving on. My mother-in-law is too, and in a good way,
really. She has made her peace with moving to an assisted living home, where
there will be people to talk to, and folks to eat with. She can go out to visit
her farmhouse when she wants to; it’s about 30 minutes away from the assisted
living </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">home. Her memory is slipping a bit here and there, which is not exactly
surprising, as she’s 85. She’s got the old days down fine, but now and then the
recent past gets slippery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last week Caroline and I went down to visit and help
clean out the garage, evicting all pre-Carter administration Campbell’s soup
cans. At one point Caroline borrowed some shoes from the attic to go through
the muddy fields. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We got a phone call
the following week from Grandma. “Tell Amy she left her leather shoes here,”
she told my husband. He passed the word to me, still on the phone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDJI53WQnxIgLqz0yVxUTAalhNyh2czHl2jnNQTO4qjRHZVah-z5fzcLGtBBofmWemCqDO3XL4tGaPB4qMyTA4I2pClrAGJ79FZR9f-V5owOXYScETx3spYWvwf4t865XUWB_4uf4FIU/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDJI53WQnxIgLqz0yVxUTAalhNyh2czHl2jnNQTO4qjRHZVah-z5fzcLGtBBofmWemCqDO3XL4tGaPB4qMyTA4I2pClrAGJ79FZR9f-V5owOXYScETx3spYWvwf4t865XUWB_4uf4FIU/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Puzzled, I said, “I
don’t bring leather shoes down there – I’m cleaning the garage. Why would I?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“She insists they're yours. They’re not hers. She’s mailing them up here,” he said. “I’m not going
to argue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I shrugged. And
that’s how I got her dead husband’s shoes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They fit pretty well, actually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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