The Burrow

Your hair is getting lighter  she said, referring to the black stripe going back from the top of my forehead, my skunk line, my last excuse to say  mostly grey  instead of  white , or, as TBG just suggested,  salt and light salt.... salt and pepper but not much pepper left. It's been a tough summer. Obviously.  Tell me. And for an hour, as she snipped , we traded stories .   Her daughter is now a Staff Sergeant. FFOTUS is a fool.  Penzeys makes great spice blends.  And so on and so on as I felt my shoulders relaxing and my face smiling and then we were both laughing at I can't remember what and, for a moment, all was right in the world.  

Living in Marin, I got used to seeing famous people in the grocery store.     For a while, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff lived next door; we'd drive down our road behind his shiny convertible with the top down, watching him smile at passersby.  Dana Carvey and Peter Coyote and I worked out every morning at the same small gym; we and the other gym rats shared post workout beverages on the benches outside.     When The Cuters were in high school,  I gave Phil Lesh and George Lucas the parent tours for 8th grade applicants.  Jerry Garcia and I shared a lovely conversation one holiday season, waiting in line at the art supply store.     Grace Slick liked the pet accessories store in our small downtown; she'd sit in the comfy chair with cats in her lap and a floppy hat on her head. Carlos Santana was a mainstay, appearing everywhere and charming everyone.  Halle Berry rented my friends' home one year.   It was commonplace ...

I sat and looked at the screen and searched my mind and I came up empty. Do you care that I spent 15 minutes unsubscribing from political emails I never signed up to receive? Do you care that writing colorful postcards for candidates in far off districts makes me happy? Do you care that nothing very exciting happened in the garden today - either at home or at school? I know you care about politics, but it's just the same old same old with lots more money attempting to change the narrative.  I'm having trouble coming up with a new angle to explore. I know you could care less about Kash Patel's engagement or my take on Taylor Swift's Cleveland . I am hopeful that tomorrow will offer more possibilities. Right now, this is all I have.

There's talk about prestige, sexual citizenship, and personal responsibility.  The poor girl was lured.... except Annie Savoy would dispute that. I did not get lured. I accept full responsibility for my actions. YARNmemes Mothers of boys are freaking out.  Lawyers are warning that there is no basis for a criminal suit, despite Letitia James's investigatory powers.   And I am deciding to ignore the controversy and immerse myself in the memories, some of which I share below. There was once a pumpkin atop this spire on the undergraduate library in the middle of campus. No one knows how it got there. Walking down these stairs takes you to the Suspension Bridge. The top of Libe Slope, with a viewing platform atop the underground piece of the library. Dorms and a student center at the bottom of Libe Slope. Really old dorms next door. And mostly, there's this. There are chimes in the tower, and they ease you into evening. This is what I'll be remembering, regardless of what...

I was morose all day.  I'm really feeling the loss of a big piece of who I am .  I cannot imagine wearing a Cornell t-shirt right now. I tried to talk myself into a smile, but then the radio told me that the Tompkins County DA misrepresented  lied about the victim's original statement.  Now I'm mad at him, too. The Prince gardeners brought me joy, as always, although the mud play may have gotten just a bit out of hand.  But driving home was a rerun of driving down there. There's no escaping it. Plus, the Cleveland Browns quarterback has recovered from his knee injury; an unrepentant serial sexual predator, he was booed at first.  Now he's winning games and the fans are cheering.   I wouldn't want to share a locker room with him.   Plus, more reporting confirms that Bibi knew what Hamas was planning plus the Republican candidate for Ohio's governorship wants people on Social Security to get off the couch and go to work PLUS goddamn if tha...

I used to really love Cornell.   I did volunteer alumni interviews for 40+ years; my name is on a plaque somewhere.  TBG and I donated a landscape installation alongside a well traveled path; our names are on a bench there, too.  I've been on Alumni Boards and College advisories and been president of our local alumni club.   We've donated every year since graduation; Cornell is mentioned in our will.  At least it has been up until now. First, there were internal machinations within the Colleges that drew my attention and ire.  I protested and supported the student protesters and wrote letters/emails which received boilerplate, anodyne responses.  Then, the administration complied instead of fighting the bullying, sending control over $60 million to the Felon in Charge.   That's when we stopped sending them money.  I didn't stop telling every entity asking for my dollars why they were being denied.  There was a say-nothing ...