Musings On A September Morning

Jeune fille au chien
Berthe Morisot
1887

I have a wonderful calendar of Impressionist paintings, and this is the painting for September. It fits, somehow. The colors and the pensive expression of the young woman. Summer has gone, and another season will be starting soon. I love autumn, and my favorite flowers are autumn flowers -- Dahlias, Asters, Black-eyed Susans. Soon the leaves will begin to change, and nature will put on a riotous display of color. My life has been sort of strange lately, as I sit and watch the lives of others around me -- achievements, new loves, lost loves, accomplishments, new houses purchased, careers changed. I have sometimes described my life as being "outside the candy store" watching everyone inside. It's as if there is a glass wall between me and all the people who are participating. But I do have a special friend who can make me laugh more than anyone has ever made me laugh.

Jeune femme en toilette de bal
Berthe Morisot
1879

Last night I had the strangest dream that everyone was going to a fancy-dress ball. All the women were in their beautiful ball gowns, the men in their tuxedos. I sat and watched everyone getting ready, but I was not able to go. I remember looking at Tori Spelling's dress, thinking how lovely it was. Oh, yes Tori Spelling was there -- don't ask me why -- but she had the most beautiful dress. As everyone danced off to the ball, I sat and watched them thinking, "Oh, yes..." I woke up laughing. How on earth did Tori Spelling get into my dream?

September is really the beginning of the new year, and it calls for a new wardrobe. This weekend I am going to hit the malls and buy myself something new. Maybe I'll even buy myself a ball gown -- just in case.

The Country Preacher

One Sunday morning a perplexed southern preacher addressed his congregation.

"Someone in this congregation has been spreading a rumor that I belong to the Ku Klux Klan. This is a lie and one which a Christian community cannot tolerate. I'm embarrassed and do not intend to accept this. Now, I would like the person or persons who did this to stand and ask forgiveness from God and this Christian Family."

No one moved. The preacher continued.

"Can you stand and face me and admit this is a falsehood? You will be forgiven and in your heart you will feel glory. Now please stand and confess your transgression."

Again all was quiet.

Then slowly, a beautiful blonde rose from the third pew. Her head was bowed and her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Reverend there has been a terrible misunderstanding. I never said you were a member of the Ku Klux Klan. I simply told a couple of my friends that you were a wizard under the sheets."

"For Now"

Two Girls Fishing
John Singer Sargent

My friend Lucy and I grew up together in a small town on Vancouver Island. We lived on the banks of a river, and spent a lot of time swimming, fishing, paddling in boats and just having fun. Lucy had the world's best laugh, and she laughed often. I met her when she first came to Canada and didn't speak a word of English. Laughter is a great way to communicate, though, and we became fast friends. Most of my memories of high school involve Lucy and our little group of friends. When Lucy fell in love and got married, I was her maid of honor. She had two beautiful children, but sadly her marriage did not last.

Twelve years ago Lucy fell in love again, with a man who enthusiastically pursued her. She was head over heels -- smitten. He bought her wonderful gifts, jewelry, sent her flowers, promised her the world. Ten years ago they married, and again I was a bridesmaid at her wedding. They began a wonderful life together, and built a gorgeous home on the ocean front. It was spectacular, with large wooden beams and spacious rooms. They travelled the globe -- Asia, Africa, New Zealand, New York, Paris. *sigh* They owned their own airplane, they had a lovely get-away cabin on a private island, and the world was their oyster. Lucy was one of those people who was definitely inside the candy store. Her daughter was not crazy about this fellow because he's a big game hunter, and her daughter is the director of an ecological society. He had a large polar bear hide covering the floor of one of their guest rooms and Lucy's daughter was horrified about that. There was some butting of heads -- but over time they grudgingly accepted each other.

Last night I received a call no friend likes to receive -- Lucy and her husband are divorcing.

"What happened...!?"

"It just didn't work out."

I am sad for her, she had such hopes at the beginning of their relationship. Lucy says she has no regrets, and she had a good twelve years. Sometimes we never know what life has in store. We should enjoy the moment because it is really all we have. There are no guarantees, no matter how much we wish for them, and sometimes that's okay.

Warning ... Don't Try This At Home

Eyes are the windows of the soul. Our eyes frame us, and more importantly, our eyebrows frame our windows, and add expression to our faces. We can change a whole mood or feeling, or convey an idea or thought, just by flexing the muscles around our eyes, or around our eyebrows. In the quest for the eternal fountain of youth, people are carving up their eyes and disfiguring the windows to their souls. More than any other cosmetic surgery, "overdone" eyes rob a person of who they are. Would you believe these eyes belong to the same person? In both pictures they are attractive eyes, but the eyes on the right could only belong in the 21st Century. They are unnatural. The inside of the eyebrow that slopes towards the nose has been lifted too high, and the eye has been robbed of its expression, giving the wearer a perpetual look of surprise. They don't look particularly younger or older, just artificial -- generic. They look like eyes that a plastic surgeon has "fixed" to look like all the other eyes he has churned out of his office on a daily basis. I wonder what the owner of the eyes would look like, if she had allowed her eyes to age naturally. Instead of showing the workmanship of the plastic surgeon, would they show all the years of living she had done instead? And if so, is that really so bad?

Brigitte Bardot was once the most beautiful woman in the world, and I admire the fact that she allowed herself to grow old naturally. She didn't carve up her face in the quest for beauty and youth. She is 75 years old now, and to me she still looks as beautiful as she ever did. Every wrinkle, every laugh line, tells a story about her life -- and what a story. She has the confidence to say, "I was once the most beautiful woman in the world, and that was enough for me." She knows that no plastic surgeon is ever going to restore her youth, or even a facsimile of her beauty. To me, Brigitte Bardot is far more beautiful than Cher, who has become unrecognizable, or any of the hundreds of other celebrities who have lifted their eyebrows up to the stratosphere, or plumped their lips up to proportions not known in nature, or inflated their cheeks with fillers until they can no longer smile.

How sad that women are embarrassed about looking their age. Having lived a full, rich life has become a mark of shame, something to be erased. How will they ever know that perhaps they would have been even more beautiful if they hadn't had plastic surgery. The important thing is to look younger -- at all costs -- even if it is almost deforming.

We've come a long way, baby, but we still have a long way to go...

English As She Is Spoke...

The Letter Writer Surprised
Gabriel Metsu
1662

Languages change all the time, they morph into something different as new words become part of the lexicon, and old words are no longer used. Anyone reading Shakespeare requires a translation sheet to understand many of the things he is saying. Shakespeare wrote in English, but it's really a foreign language to the English used today. The world's greatest writer needs a translator for readers in the 21st Century. The same thing applies to the King James version of the Bible. It was published in 1611, in a language that became obscure in later centuries.

However, the composition of English has not changed all that much, and I always laugh when I read bad English. Oh, I know I shouldn't. I'm not a writer, so I am probably as guilty as anyone. But there are a few obvious things that can change the context completely. The other day I was reading our little local newspaper, and it reported how a man who had been guilty of a string of bank robberies had "...turned himself into the police." What a neat trick. Once he had turned himself into the police, did he arrest himself?

One grammatical mistake that everyone seems to make, and is like fingernails on a blackboard to my ears, is the misuse of "I" and "me". Hardly anyone ever gets it right. What were they doing during grade six grammar lessons, day-dreaming and gazing out the window?

Correct: "Charley and I took the book from the librarian."

Incorrect: "The Librarian gave the book to Charley and I."

Omigoodness...

Correct: "The librarian gave the book to Charley and me".

Another of my favorites, that grates on me so much, I can hardly type it -- "Would have went..." Have you noticed how many people use that now? I have heard TV newscasters use that expression.

Correct: "I went."

Incorrect: "I should have went."

Shudder...

Correct: "I should have gone."

My grandfather always used to say that people can fit into any society if their shoes are shined, their buttons are polished, and they speak well. No one polishes their buttons anymore, but everyone with a basic elementary school education should know the rules of grammar. Poor grammar will give you away faster than anything. Even in the age of instant texting, where a complete sentence would be something like, "How R U?" folks should still know how to speak properly.

Ain't that right...!?

Waiting For Winter

The novelist John O'Hara once wrote a collection of short stories called "Waiting for Winter". The title of the book was in reference to the fact that, during the summer months, he could only write short stories, and in the winter he wrote his serious books. I think that is sort of like my blogging. We haven't had any rain this summer -- darn -- and I am enjoying the gorgeous weather. This is a picure of where I live, taken yesterday. Well, no, I don't live under a bridge -- but this is where I live, and we have had such a spectacular summer, I have had a lot of things going on in my life, and I have been away from my computer for much of the time. So I haven't had an opportunity to visit all my wonderful blogging friends. You're probably wondering where have I gone... I'll be back.

This morning CTV news reported that thirteen-year-old Laura Dekker from the Netherlands wants to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, and her parents think that’s a great idea. But, the Dutch Council for Child Protection has stepped in and put a stop to it. Finally, someone with some sense. A thirteen-year old child does not have the emotional capacity to be alone on the world's oceans in a small boat, for two years. What are this child's parents thinking? Has the world gone mad? Children should be allowed to be children for as long as they can. They have plenty of time when they're older to do foolish stupid adventurous things. I once took sailing lessons, and to pass the exam, I had to sail a 27-foot boat solo across the bathtub bay in that picture at the top of the post. It was one of the most difficult, nerve-wracking things I ever did. Children don't belong strapped to the wings of an airplane, piloting an airplane, or sailing a small boat across a stormy ocean. It's perilous enough navigating the treacherous waters of junior high school. Kudos to the Dutch government for putting a stop to the nonsense.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

You Can't Go Home Again...

For some reason, at this time of year -- late summer -- I go through a stage of introspection and retrospection. I think it's because September feels like the beginning of a new year, and I assess my accomplishments -- and failures -- over the past. I was digging through some old photos the other day, and I found this picture of myself when I was about eight or nine years old. Oh, goodness, what a little pudding face. I remember at that age what my hopes and dreams for my life were. I was quite adamant about what I wanted, and number one on the list was a university education. Even at that age, I knew education was the key to all the good things in life. When I was in grade nine, I was in the academic class (9A) and we had an extra study block. The teacher asked us to vote on whether we wanted to keep the study block or take a typing class for five extra credits. I was the only one who voted against the typing class. I had a fear and dread of learning to type. When I look back at that now, I realize how foolish it was. But to me, typing was for "those other kids who weren't so smart..." What a silly idea.

My life has been interesting, to say the least. It has been nothing like I imagined it would be, when I was a little girl playing hopscotch and riding my bike. I have met some interesting people and been involved in some interesting situations. But I have had to struggle, too, and I learned that I was a lot stronger than I thought I was. Who knew!

Sometimes we look back at our childhoods, and our home towns with a sort of wistful longing. "Oh, gosh, if only I could wave a magic wand and go back and start again -- only knowing what I know now." But that is not possible. We can only hope to impart some of our knowledge on the younger folks in our lives. My mantra is, "Get an education...!" If my family has heard that once, they've heard it a thousand times. But my mother always used to say, "You can't put an old head on young shoulders," so people have to make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons. Two of the novels written by Thomas Wolfe -- "Look Homeward Angel" and "You Can't Go Home Again" have this theme running through them. I read both of the books when I was younger, and did not quite understand what he was saying.

Wolfe should have written a booked entitled "It's Never Too Late". Instead of regretting that I did not get a university education, I should just enroll in school and get one. It's not too late. Not getting an education is my only regret, and now with the beginning of another school year, that little voice inside me is saying, "It's not too late -- do it!" How about you. If you could change just one thing, what would it be?-

Teddy ... The End Of An Age

I have always liked the Kennedys. If they didn’t exist, someone would have had to invent them. They were larger than life in all aspects, and they demanded the best from everyone, including themselves. The balance sheet of their lives had equal entries on both the public service columns and the scandal columns. But, that’s what made them interesting. They truly were America’s royalty. After the deaths of JFK and RFK, Ted Kennedy became the last hope politically for that generation of the Kennedys, but he screwed it up – royally – with the Chappaquiddick incident in July 1969. How devastating that must have been for the Kennedy dynasty. But Ted Kennedy did go on to redeem himself, and became the "Lion of the Senate". It suited him, somehow. At the end of the day, he ended up contributing more towards the political community than anyone else in the family. His star didn’t shine as brightly as his dazzling two older brothers, but it burned slowly and steadily. He was once famously quoted as saying "I think about my brothers every day. They set high standards. Sometimes you measure up, sometimes you don't."

I think the most interesting thing Ted Kennedy did during his career was writing the children’s book, “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s-Eye View of Washington”. It’s a children’s book, and it is meant to explain the process of government and how a bill becomes law -- from the point of view of Kennedy’s dog Splash. It’s also a brief biography of Kennedy and Splash. What an original idea.

He was greatly loved by his friends and family, and I know they will miss him.

Moonlighting

Does anyone remember this TV program from about a million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth? I loved this show, but my favorite thing about it was the theme song. I thought it was cool and jazzy, and even listening to it now, it doesn’t sound dated. Well, I don’t think it does, anyway... Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd had great chemistry, the show made Bruce Willis a major star, and the title song fit the premise of the show perfectly. Tomorrow night the singer of the theme song to “Moonlighting” – Al Jarreau – will be at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, and my friend Lesley (one) and I are going to see him.

The year "Moonlighting" first aired – 1985 --was full of major events. President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office; Mikhail Gorbachev became President of the Soviet Union; “Amadeus” won best picture at the Oscars; the Discovery Channel was launched; the first Live Aid concerts were held in Philadelphia and London; Robert Ballard located the wreck of R.M.S. Titanic; Microsoft Corporation released the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0; the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable were released for sale to the public; the Tommy Hilfiger brand was established; DNA was first used in a criminal case.

It was a busy year for pop culture as well, and the Queen of Pop Culture -- Princess Diana -- was at the height of her reign. 1985 was the first sighting of "the Full Nanaimo" also known as "the Full Cleveland" for men -- polyester, of course -- and big hair and linebacker shoulder pads for women. The comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" debuted in 35 newspapers; and "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" directed by Tim Burton was released (one of my favorite movies -- I love the scene where Pee-wee dances on the bar to "Tequila"). Somehow, the theme from “Moonlighting” was the perfect soundtrack for all the events that happened in 1985. I think I'll dig out my big hair and shoulder pads.

We’ll walk by night
We’ll fly by day
Moonlighting strangers
Who just met on the way
Who just met on the way
Who just met on the way

Scots Wha Hae...

Bagpipes are definitely an acquired taste, and people either love them ... or not. My father was a red-headed Scot, so I think the love of bagpipes is in my blood. I go to parades just to hear the pipe bands, and I can usually hear them two blocks away. A parade just isn't a parade without several pipe bands. We are fortunate to have the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band here in Vancouver, and on August 15th they won the Pipe Band World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, for the sixth time. Can you imagine -- winning this event in Scotland, the home of the bagpipes, in front of 40,000 people. The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition currently held in Glasgow, Scotland every August. The event has been operating regularly since 1930, when the Scottish Pipe Band Association (today known as the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association) was formed. For competitive bands, the title of World Champion is highly coveted, and this event is seen as the culmination of a year's worth of preparation, rehearsal and practice. ... Wikipedia

SFU Pipe Band is one of only three bands located outside of the United Kingdom that have won a World Pipe Band Championship. In addition, the band has placed second seven times -- finishing in the top two in the world in 12 of its 25 years. They have played for Queen Elizabeth, and they have opened for Rod Stewart.

The band wears the Fraser tartan, and when my daughter graduated, she wore a dress of the Fraser tartan under her robes. She didn't realize until the convocation ceremony that it was the same tartan, and it looked absolutely amazing. The convocation ceremony is very impressive with the wonderful bagpipes, in the beautiful setting at SFU. In this picture you can see the lone piper, piping the graduates as they get their degree. Simon Fraser University was designed by the famous architect Arthur Erickson, and it has been the scene of many sci-fi movies, including the TV series "The X-Files" and "Battlestar Galactica". So SFU is a mixture of ultra-modern and traditional, and the Simon Fraser Pipe Band is an integral part of the university. Here they are doing a medley at their winning performance in Glasgow, Scotland. Congratulations to them. Well done!