No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA! ~~ Green Day chant
I don't write movie reviews very often because I'm more of a "do your own thing" kind of person. People like different things. But every once in a while a movie comes along that I think is so good, so clever, so powerful, or some combination of all of those things that I want to write a little bit about it and about why I recommend it so highly. "BlacKkKlansman" is one of those movies. We just got back from it and I'm still thinking about it and still processing my emotions. You've probably heard about the storyline because the movie has been getting a lot of buzz. A black cop begins a dialogue with the local chapter of the KKK and a fellow cop (a white guy) impersonates him to infiltrate the group. Sounds kind of implausible but it's a true story! Don't worry, no spoilers ahead. It was directed perfectly by Spike Lee, all of the actors were great (including a local kid-made-good, Adam Driver), and the storyline, set in 1979, resonates powerfully in today's atmosphere of divisiveness and racism. There are some very tense and uncomfortable moments. The racism made me feel ill. If someone had turned on the lights and looked at my face, I'm sure I had a look of disgust several times. There are also some laugh out loud moments. Thank you, Mr. Lee, for breaking the tension once in a while! The sly references to the orange creature occupying our White House were funny but also made me feel sad. Who would ever have thought that we'd reach this point? There is also a lovely dance scene in a club that brought a tear to my eye. It was just beautiful. There is some good, suspenseful action-type stuff, but I won't say any more about that. We definitely get some satisfaction but it is short-lived as we are reminded in a very sobering, powerful way of what is happening in our world right now. Especially this weekend's sad one-year anniversary of the white power march in Charlottesville, Virginia. I read that Spike Lee purposely released it this weekend and I think that was a good move. The theater was silent as the movie ended. It is a very powerful movie that has plenty to say. It's a message that we need to hear. And you know what? It made me feel determined. When I hear some racist white (or orange) A-hole say, "We're taking our country back," I think, "It's my country, too, motherfucker, and you're not getting it. Not without a fight." A great movie. You should go see it.
I got the thing that you want, the fix that you need
Chase this with a little lust and greed
I'll be the devil on your shoulder saying "Hey boy, come over"
My black heart beats crimson and clovers
So operator, operator, patch my boy in
This is Nightlife and I'll get under your skin
~~ “Nightlife” by Green Day
I guess there is a story out there about Mike Pence’s dining habits:
As part of his faith, Pence won’t eat alone with other women or attend events that serve alcohol without his wife. Within the faith, the practice of not being alone with a woman has been called “the Billy Graham rule,” after the famed evangelist preacher who encouraged it to avoid even the appearance of infidelity. (from Motto dot Time dot com)
I never knew it had a name, but I have experienced this firsthand. I chalked it up to a generational difference. I see now that there was more to it than that.
I’ve had conversations in the past with an older relative that gave me an idea of this whole weird concept of Pence’s. I happened to mention that Ken was in New York City and was planning on getting together with a good friend of ours, and I mentioned her name. This relative said, “Is she married?” I said, “No, why?” My relative said, “Oh. Well, I’m not sure it’s right for an unmarried woman to get together with a married man.” (Or words to that effect.) Never mind the fact that I have been friends with this person for something like twenty years. Or that she sent flowers to my father’s funeral. Or that I trust her implicitly and know that she would never do that to me. Or that Ken is a good man who would never do that to me. Or even that people actually can control their libidos and make a conscious decision not to act upon things. But the real disapproval was saved for me. I mentioned that I had lunch with my friend Jim. This relative said, “Did Ken go along?” I said, “No, he was at work.” They said, “Oh. Well, I would never think of going to a lunch alone with a man other than my husband.” I swear, I could have cut the disapproval and judgment with a knife! Again, never mind that I worked with Jim at the lab for ten years and helped train him when he started out, and that we have also been friends for going on twenty years. Or that he told me all about how proud he was of his infant son, or when his second son came along a few years later. Or that he was a steadfast friend who helped me through some rough times and was so happy for me when I got together with Ken. Or that I met his wife, tried to be a friend to him when they hit hard times, and tried to offer as much support as I could when they split up and then when he found a new love, I was as happy for him as he was for me and Ken.
No, the main thing is that it didn’t “look good” for me to be out having lunch with a man who wasn’t my husband. Because someone “might get the wrong idea.”
Hmm, I guess I should never have lunch with Cousin Shane again, or heavens to Betsy, Shane AND Matt! That is downright scandalous!
I can’t really be super angry about it. I just think it’s silly and it still is very much a generational thing. It is predicated on the idea that men and women can’t be friends without losing their damn minds, and I completely reject that premise. I have had many male friends over the years and they were platonic relationships. Is there occasionally an awkward moment or some sort of tension? Well, sure. But civilized people understand that you can make a choice on whether or not to act on something.
And as far as “people getting the wrong idea,” fuck that noise. People can think what they want to think. It’s none of their damn business. Sitting across a table from someone having a beer and eating lunch does not mean that there are shenanigans going on. Jeez.
So it was a little weird for me today to see this revelation about Pence and learn that it has its roots in the evangelical faith. Although as I said, it should come as no surprise. There are some weird ideas there about temptations like alcohol, rock music, and dancing. I’m guessing you won’t see Mike and Karen Pence clubbing anytime soon!
And guess what? It’s not even about politics! There is plenty to write about there, that’s for sure, and you know I will have plenty to say about it. But this is all me. Thank goodness for the steady things in my life, because they are keeping me on an even keel. Like I told Ken tonight, every day that goes by brings me one step closer to becoming a total hermit.
Exhibit A:
A long-time friend has apparently absquatulated (I got to use one of my vocabulary words! Yay!) completely from our friendship and almost completely from social media. This happened once before and I pursued it and tried to find out what was going on. I thought everything was cool and then it happened again. No word whatsoever about taking a break, just a promise to “write soon.” That was over two months ago. I’m not pursuing it again. To quote Merle Dixon, “I ain’t gonna beg!” Be my friend or don’t. But you don’t just get to vamoose without an explanation and expect to still have a place in my heart.
Exhibit B:
I discovered yesterday that another friend defriended me on Facebook, although they stayed friends with Ken and a couple of my friends. I finally got an answer to that tonight...I “put them on mute” months ago. Yeah, that’s right, I did. You know why? Because I couldn’t stand the constant bashing of Obama and Hillary. The same crap that I was hearing from my conservative relatives for the past eight-plus fucking years. I didn’t want to see that in my feed every damn day because I can’t stand that kind of constant negativity, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to be friends anymore. I unfollowed a few people on Facebook last year for the same reason, but I still value them as friends. I don’t doubt that several people unfollowed ME last year so they didn’t have to see my numerous political posts and I even told them to do it! I said that I get that not everyone is into politics as much as I am and that not everyone wants to read what I have to say about it, so I said, “If that’s the case, don’t hesitate to unfollow me. I understand, and I won’t be offended!”
But nope, this person somehow realized that I unfollowed them and instead of ASKING ME ABOUT IT, decided to unfriend me.
I repeat: be my friend or don’t.
At least this brought about a funny moment. When I had lunch with Shane and Matt the other day, I said, “I have to ask you guys something. Have I turned into an asshole?” With a totally straight face, Shane said, “Well, we’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” and Matt said, “That’s why we called this meeting today. It’s an intervention.” We all cracked up!
Then I told Ken that I guess I’m too opinionated for some people. He said, “What? Why didn’t you tell me this?” I said, “I know, I know...I should have warned you about it before we got married.” So we had a laugh, too.
For the icing on the cake, I give you Exhibit C:
I was talking to my Mom today and she asked me if I could look up an address on the computer. I said sure, if it’s listed. She said, “Okay, it’s in So-and-so, Indiana.” I said, okay. She said, “I want you to look up So-and-so.” It was my ex-husband. MY EX-HUSBAND.
I said, “Aww man, no. Why do you want to contact him??” Jeez, we’ve been divorced for over 25 years. She said she came across some sort of medals or pins that my ex got when he was in the military, and he had given them to my Dad. I said, “I’m not really sure he’ll appreciate being reminded of me.” She said, “Well, sending these to him won’t be reminding him of YOU.” Right. Because having my Mom contact him won’t remind him of me. ::sigh::
But she was adamant about sending these things to him (She said, “I know it’s what your Dad would have wanted.” Well-played, Mom. Well-played.), and I could understand her reasoning, so I looked it up and found the address. She asked, “Is there a phone number there?” I lied and said no. I feel absolutely zero guilt for lying about that. It’s one thing to send those things to him and write him a note. It’s quite another to call him up after over 25 years. “Hey, how ya doing? Remember how my daughter divorced you?” I have to laugh. But really, he has his life and his family and I have mine and I have no desire for them to ever come in contact again. Knowing him, he’d probably ask her if I was still possessed by a demon. (Yes, he really told me once that he thought I was possessed by a demon.)
It’s been a frustrating and rather maddening day. My patience level has flatlined. I do feel a little better after writing it out, though.
And tomorrow is another day. A big weekend coming up, with our Green Day concert in Detroit! We’ll be hitting the road with Shane and Matt and we’ll have a kicky blast! Green Day, take me awaaaaaaay!
Ken is out with his mentee at a hockey game tonight, so I was on my own for dinner.
I decided to watch a couple of episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” on Hulu. With her recent death, I had seen a few clips of the show and remembered how much I enjoyed it. For whatever reason, it was one that I didn’t go back and watch multiple times like “I Love Lucy” or “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” But I watched it in real time back in the ‘70s, and I even watched the spinoffs, “Rhoda” and “Phyllis.”
I watched the first two episodes of the series and it was like a total wallop of déjà vu. When it originally aired, I was in junior high and high school, sitting around and watching TV after dinner, and with maybe five channels—tops!—it wasn’t difficult for me to be able to persuade my parents to watch a show like MTM. I mean, everyone loved Mary, right?
I was struck by just how engaging MTM was as Mary Richards. Kind, funny, smart, and as Mr. Grant said, “You’ve got spunk! I hate spunk.” Her movements, her body language, her expressions...just perfection. Valerie Harper as Rhoda was brash, self-deprecating, tough, but with a heart of gold. And Cloris Leachman as Phyllis was just brilliant. There was so much implied in what she said and did, and it was so subtle.
As I watched, I realized how much this show probably shaped my attitude about being a woman. Whether in the workplace or at home, married or single, Mary Richards was a role model for so many of us, even if SOME of us (raising hand) didn’t truly realize it until just now.
What really struck me was this exchange in the very first episode of the series. Mary’s ex-boyfriend, a doctor, comes to visit her in Minneapolis. There seems to be the possibility that they might get back together, but she quickly realizes that she broke it off with him for all the right reasons and she had no desire to get back together with him. He asks if she really just told him goodbye and she says yes, I suppose so.
He says: “Take care of yourself.”
She says: “I think I just did.”
Maybe it’s a matter of looking at that from a much older perspective from when I first saw it, and from having been there a few times myself, but HOLY SHIT. Is that one of the most powerful moments for a woman? Yes, it is! I think most of us have been to that point, where we know that it is time to put ourselves first. To come to the realization that you don’t give a fuck about what your parents will think or what anyone else will think, or that some people will completely shun you and be angry with you for your decision. That you are better off on your own. I speak from experience here. It’s better to be happy on your own than to be in a bad relationship.
To say, “Enough. I want to do what is best for me, and that means not having YOU in my life. I’m better off taking care of myself and I am perfectly capable of doing so.”
I was going to write that I’m sure that holds true for plenty of men, too, but you know what? It’s not the same. In 1970, when this show came out, it was still a pretty radical idea that women didn’t need to be married to have a fulfilling life. And when you come from a very conservative, religious family, divorce was still a stigma. When I got a divorce in 1989, I was worried that my parents would be angry with me. At one point, I felt like they were taking sides against me with my ex because for whatever reason they kept in touch with him for a while, and my Dad set me straight about that pretty quickly. He said they loved me totally and my concerns were unfounded. (Pro tip: maintaining relationships with ex whatever-in-laws is usually not a great idea, although there can be mitigating circumstances.)
So for Mary Richards to be a single working woman and to be happy and fulfilled was a big deal at the time. In watching those two episodes tonight, after not having seen any for decades, it made me realize that Mary Richards had an effect on me and I didn’t even realize it.
Here’s to you, Mary Tyler Moore, and here’s to you, Mary Richards. You were both trailblazers and I am grateful.
Bottle rockets and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate
~~ “Carpe Diem” by Green Day
It was a great night last night in downtown South Bend.
Our own Mayor Pete Buttigieg invited his supporters to join him for a holiday celebration at CJ’s Pub, a great local haunt and burger joint. We met Shane and Matt there and had a great time getting caught up on everything and talking about how to deal with things.
Mayor Pete gave a brief welcome to us all and said he was keeping it brief because he planned on talking to all of us who attended, and he did indeed keep his promise. He visited with everyone in the room and spent a good 10-15 minutes chatting with the four of us. (We also got to meet his partner, who is a very nice guy!)
We asked Mayor Pete about how we go forward from here, and he reiterated what he wrote in his op-ed (link above). Talk to people. Interact as a community. Grassroots politics is key and we can all participate, whether it is running for office, attending city council meetings, or working with the local Democrats to get out the vote. But his main focus is on connecting with others and taking the time to listen to them.
He is a remarkable guy and I couldn’t be prouder to have him as our Mayor. He is also very easy to talk to and is not intimidating at all. I get the impression that he really wants to hear from everyone and wants to make a difference in our community. It was a pleasure to talk to him and I look forward to seeing what happens in South Bend as we go forward. I see many good things ahead of us!
I was also very touched by something Matt told me. At some point, I guess I wrote something to him and Shane about how while we might be dismayed, disgusted, and downright despondent over this election, those of us who love each other have to stick together and support each other. I said that we are all part of Our Tribe and we will get through this by hanging tough and sticking up for each other. Matt said that that really spoke to him and he took it to heart. It did my heart good to hear that something I wrote made someone feel resolved and ready to support those who are feeling disenfranchised.
It really is all about being stronger together, isn’t it?
It’s the death of a nuclear family staring up at you
It’s looking like another bad comedy
~~ “Nuclear Family” by Green Day
I recognize that there are generational differences but man, sometimes I just want to flip a damn table.
I won’t go into specifics because one never knows who might be reading this ([waving madly] Hi Vlad!), so I’ll just say that I heard an older woman criticizing a younger woman for going to college and heard the words, “She should just stay home with those kids.”
::sigh::
A few things here.
I applaud anyone—ANYONE—who wants to further their education. People with a college education earn more on average than those without one. Fact. So if you are raising a family, it makes perfect sense to get a college degree if at all possible. It’s not just about the monetary benefits, though. It’s also about learning for the sake of learning. Some of us still see the value in that. It’s why I am thrilled with the Rise of the MOOCs. I can take worthwhile and interesting classes online, continue to learn, and more often than not, I can do it for FREE. How super cool is that??
I know things were different “back in the good old days” *COUGH* (for whom?) but there is a new reality in the 21st century. If you are renting a two-bedroom apartment that isn’t a Roach Motel, you’re going to be paying at least $700 per month. Heck, it was 15 years ago that I was renting and my nice 2 BR in an apartment complex in a small city in northern Indiana was close to $800 per month. The price of food has gone up. The price of clothing has gone up. Utilities, gas, health insurance, you name it—it’s all gone up. This isn’t the 1950s, no one can raise a family on minimum wage, and that is a fact.
If people are working minimum wage jobs, it is a given that both parents will have to work. Maybe it’s comforting to live in your Leave It To Beaver world, but how can anyone ignore reality and not realize that it is just not the current reality and it never will be again? I suppose I know the answer to my own question. Low information voter.
Finally, there are plenty of women who find great satisfaction in working. Before anyone gets pissed at me, I’m not knocking any woman who chooses to stay home with her kids. If you are able to do that, more power to you! It is a very personal choice. But plenty of us enjoyed our work and found it stimulating and rewarding. I recall having a conversation with my ex many years ago about having children (it happened in front of others, which made it extra special) in which he said that he thought I should stay home and raise any child we might have. I was in my mid-20s at the time and was just embarking on my career in the laboratory and I was enjoying myself. I said, “What are you gonna do? Chain me in the basement?”
That attitude was bad enough coming from a guy (I think he attended one too many Promise Keepers rallies), but I find it especially bothersome coming from a woman. Again, I understand the generational differences and I get it that there is a wide gap between their reality and mine.
That doesn’t mean that I have to agree with it or that I will stop defending anyone who chooses to try to further their education. What was enough for you when you were raising a family might not be enough for a whole lot of us.
Oh, I’m doing all right. I’m living my life, having fun, all that stuff. I haven’t been gunned down in the street, had my uterus ripped out, or been told “Hush your mouth, little lady.”
A stranger hasn’t grabbed my pussy, so there’s that.
I am still not feeling real happy about things right now.
At the moment, there is not a whole lot I can do about it. We’ll see what happens in the coming days, but for now? I guess I have to see what plays out.
In the meantime, I’ve been focusing on meeting my reading challenge. I have met the goal of fifty books per year in my Facebook reading group, but my personal goal is 52, and I am two books away from that. I think I’m going to make it! I’m going the distance! I’ve read some great books this year, but I’ve read a few stinkers, too. Quirky does not always equate to good.
Reading is always a refuge for me. I’m not retreating from the world, but diving into a good book and losing myself for a while is always a good thing.
We’ve also been watching “Aquarius,” the show starring David Duchovny (I lurv him) and about the Manson family. It’s fascinating, disturbing, and a great diversion.
As always, music is the best retreat. I’m listening to a lot of different things, but Green Day is the band that is perfectly matching my mood right now and their new album “Revolution Radio” is getting lots of airplay at Nutwood.
We’ll see what happens going forward and we’ll see what response is needed.
For the moment, I can immerse myself in books, movies, TV, and music.
Yeah, it’s been a rough week. I’m still vacillating between disgust, horror, anger, and other feelings that I’m not even sure there is a name for.
Music has helped. I’m listening to a lot of Green Day because they have the right mix of rage and sweetness. “The Reflex” came on the radio one day when I was in the shower and I belted it out at the top of my lungs. Thanks, Duran Duran...I needed that! A couple of good movies, a lot of reading, a Notre Dame basketball game today, and a late lunch/early dinner with Shane and Matt. We had a chance to talk about things and even had some laughs. Margaritas and beer helped! Seriously, there is not enough booze in the world right now.
The personal healing has begun, in other words. We are in the situation we are in and we go forward from here. That doesn’t mean we’re going to shut up about it. Far from it.
But what has brightened my world more than anything is all the Joe Biden memes that are making their way around the Interwebs. (Click on photos to embiggen.) I don’t know exactly what it is about them that delights me so much. Is it putting these silly words into VP Biden’s and President Obama’s mouths? Is it the sheer goodness and coolness of Joe Biden? Is it the earnestness of Joe and the serious Obama trying to calm him down? I have no idea, but there is something so goofy and endearing about the memes that it totally eases the pain in my guts. It feels good to laugh.
The Internet giveth and the Internet taketh away. It’s been way too much of the latter this week so I’m happy to get a little more of the former.
Yes, I feel quite a letdown today, but the sun came up, and we have beer in the fridge.
~~ Ken
I had a quiet day at home as I reflected on and processed what happened Tuesday night.
Boy, I sure called that one wrong, didn’t I? I take zero pleasure in the fact that it wasn’t just me. Almost everyone was wrong about it—the pollsters and the pundits—and they get paid to do that stuff!
To say that I am heartsick doesn’t do it justice. I am also disgusted, appalled, and embarrassed. What might be the biggest blow is that my eternal optimism and unwavering belief in the innate goodness of humanity has been shaken. I truly did believe that we would find our better angels.
But we didn’t. Some of us did. But not enough.
I’ve seen enough recrimination to last a lifetime today. Everyone wants to lay blame. I’m not going to target any particular group of people or any age group. We failed collectively as a country. We allowed our paranoia and fear and hatred to cloud our reason and judgment. Many of us did our part by contributing and voting and advocating for reason. But this didn’t happen overnight. The Republican party has been fomenting this unrest and anger for years, and this is the culmination of that effort. Should we have made more of an effort to speak out long before this? Would it have made a difference? Or was the worldwide sweep of nativism and populism inevitable in our country, too?
I honestly have no idea and it’s above my pay grade, anyway. All I know is that this is where we are right now.
So what do we do now? I have a couple of ideas.
First, we must speak out. I fear that a massive wave of bigotry, sexism, and hatred has been unleashed. We’ve seen some very ugly scenes lately and I am afraid that we will see more. I know that a lot of us have not been afraid to stand up for someone who is being bullied or abused. We must have zero tolerance for any such behavior. If you see it happening, make your stand! (With regards to Stephen King and my all-time favorite book, The Stand. I might be due for yet another read of it, because there are lessons to be learned and relearned there.) Those who are most vulnerable among us will be under attack and all of us must stand up, speak out, and defend and protect them. We must not let hatred become routine or ignored.
Second, we must speak out against policies that are antithetical to what we believe. We have elected a new president whose policies (what little he has proposed) I find absurd and whose personal behavior I find repugnant. But he has been elected president. That is reality, and unlike most of his supporters, I’m a big fan of reality. I will respect the office. I will no longer call him the Yam, the Vulgar Talking Yam, Yamboy, or any of the other things I’ve called him. (Tool, Asshole, A-hole, and many others.) I will refer to him as the president or as Trump. Not even Mr. Trump. He doesn’t have any respect for women, so why should I have respect for him as a Mister?
I’m not going to call him names, because as Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” It drove us all crazy when people called President Obama and Michelle names, right? So I’m not going to resort to those tactics. However, while I am forced to accept that he is the elected president, I absolutely, unequivocally and forever reject his brand of hatred.
I refuse it. I will speak out against it whenever I see it. I will post about his lies and misdeeds (and there will be many...have you been paying attention?), I will post about the lawsuits against him, I will post as much as I want, when I want. All based in fact, of course, because I don’t traffic in conspiracy theories.
I know many of us feel disheartened and bereft. I felt that today, too. (The nausea was a side effect.) But listen to me and know this: we are not done. We have work to do and it begins with us. Speak out. Do not be ruled by the politics of fear. Reject bigotry, sexism, homophobia, and hatred of any kind. Do not let this negate your belief in what is true, what is right, and what is just. They have not taken those things from us...we still have them. They have not taken our country from us...it is still ours, too.
Well, hello, you little maniacs! Did you miss me?! I’m alive and kicking, but decided to take the summer off. No apologies this time for not updating sooner, because I made the decision to take a break and I don’t feel even a little bit bad about it! (Okay, maybe 5% bad. But that is within the margin of error.) It’s been a busy and fun summer, and I just decided to go with that and not feel obligated to write about everything. Plenty of updates on Facebook and Twitter (you can find me @Luvrte66), but I think all of us who are still writing blogs know that the readers just aren’t there like they used to be. I’m okay with that, although I did get quite a thrill when my hits went through the roof when Duran Duran posted a link to my review of my friend Andy’s book Beautiful Colors on their Facebook page! I do still enjoy writing, so I’ll ease back into it as we head into the winter and things settle down. Man, we’ve had some fun. We went down to Indianapolis with Shane and Matt to see Presidents of the United States of America and then Smash Mouth; we went to a couple of RiffTrax movies; we went to several local events like Art Beat and seeing my friend Jim’s band High Gravity play; got to see a couple of Silver Hawks games; we got to party with some of my former coworkers when our friend Aubrey got married. We had our annual vegecation in New Smyrna Beach in July, and on the drive back, stopped in Atlanta to do a Walking Dead filming location tour, which was so awesome. Then we spent a couple of days in Nashville, where we visited the Johnny Cash Museum (it was wonderful), went to Printer’s Alley, and went honky-tonkin’ on Honky Tonk Row. It was an unusual weekend when we didn’t have something going on! As much fun as we had with all of these things, we appreciated those downtime weekends so we could recharge our batteries. Our latest projects are getting ready to have our friend Mark come out from Omaha to spend a long weekend with us. We’ll be taking an overnight trip up to Detroit so that he can see his family, and we’ll be meeting up with some friends while there. I’ve also been busy planning a house party at Shane and Matt’s for later in September, where Bob Walkenhorst of the Rainmakers will play an acoustic show for a small group of us. I’ve loved Bob and the Rainmakers for going on three decades, so it is going to be wonderful to meet him and hear him play in such an intimate setting! I’ve also been working on setting up a big vacation in October in Vegas, baby! A bunch of family and friends are converging on Sin City for a long weekend of partying friendship and fun. We’ve got people coming from the Detroit area, Texas, and California, and will be meeting up with several friends who live in Vegas. The long weekend will culminate with a meet-up for all of us at the Hofbräuhaus, an exact replica of the Munich Hofbräuhaus. We have some other fun things planned, and Ken and I will meet with Shane and Matt a few days before in Phoenix. Ken has a business thing he needs to go to, but we will definitely be hitting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West while we’re there. We’ve also had some very positive things happen on a personal level, and I’ll just say that I am very happy for Ken. Reconnections are great...never give up! There were positive things on a professional level for him, too, with a change of duties and director status at the company where he works. I’m very happy for him about that, too! I always feel a little blue this time of year, because I love summer. It is definitely my favorite season. I love the warmth, I love sunbathing on the deck while reading and listening to music, and I especially love wearing as few clothes as possible. I don’t look forward to wearing all those clothes in the winter! I’m a big fan of not wearing pants. It’s not officially the end of summer yet, but doesn’t the end of August always feel like the end? It does for me. It seemed official this past weekend when I had my birthday, then celebrated with 80,000 of my closest friends on Saturday as the Notre Dame football season kicked off with a win against Rice. Go Irish! As much as I hate to see the summer wind down, we have ND football, basketball, and hockey games to look forward to this fall and winter. In fact, we just got hockey season tickets! There are many fun things to look forward to, including a visit from our nieces and their family from San Diego over the holidays and some fun shows at the Morris for the Broadway Theater League. But it still makes me sad when I fill the hummingbird feeders for the last time of the season, using extra-sweet nectar as they prepare to make their long flight south. I did that yesterday. Farewell, summer. I’ll miss you. I’ll see you next year, though! Please enjoy this song from Green Day. This is the aural equivalent of my feelings about the bittersweet end of summer.
