The Sunday Five - Books

 J.P Morgan had a spectacular private library, which raised questions for me, all of the inspriration I need for this weeks Sunday five.

1: Are there books you have multiple copies or editions of? 

2: Have you ever stood in line to buy a first edition on the day it was released? 

3: Do you buy books just to own them, or only to read them? 

4: Have you read 90% or more of the books you own? 

5: Do you have an active library card? 

My Answers:

1: Are there books you have multiple copies or editions of? No longer, I did at one time, but we have downsized. 

2: Have you ever stood in line to buy a first edition on the day it was released? Yes, Harry Potter books. 

3: Do you buy books just to own them, or only to read them? Almost always to read. 

4: Have you read 90% or more of the books you own? Yes. Probably more than 95%. 

5: Do you have an active library card? No, I should do something about that.

Please share your answers in the comments.

Saturday Morning Post: In lieu of flowers

 

I read this in an obituary recently: 

In lieu of flowers or cards, 

Jim would want you to write a card or letter to someone that is special to you.

Dear Travel Penguin Blog Readers,

I never met Jim, kinda wish I had.  He lived near where I was born and raised, I often check obits there, people around my age are often people I crossed paths with when I was growing up.  Those 20-30 years older are often the parents of people I grew up with. Sadly sometimes the younger ones are the children of my classmates.  

You are special to me.  I know a handful of you. I wake up everyday looking forward to interacting in the comments. The statistics tell me there are many more that read, than I have never seen a comment from.  I write for everyone of you.  My sincere hope is that a photo I have posted, or a phrase I have crafted, makes your day a little better.   

I hope through these photos and words I am able to express that life will be okay.  It has ups and downs, we persevere and focus on the good.  The today is all we have, the future is not guaranteed, the past we can't change.  Find joy today.  A pleasant smell, a silly giggle, an image that makes your mind wander, an oddity that distracts you.   

Most people are good.  Yes, there are evil people in the world. There are also a lot of people who are frightened, or hurt, or abused, that respond in the only way they know. If before we die we can each help just one person have a better life, we will have a life well lived.  Remember the old Chinese proverb, it is better to light a single candle, than to curse the darkness. 

I have had a good week.  Nothing swopped out of the sky and tried to eat me.  30 years ago I was sitting in my office in Florida watching a flock of seagulls in the vacant lot across the street. Out of nowhere an Eagle swooped down, the birds scattered, except for a couple that were not as agile, one of them was the Eagle's lunch.  As long as I am not lunch, I have had a good week. 

And I know someday I will be the Eagle's lunch.  Someday I will follow Jim into the crematorium.  I hope when I do, I have lived each day in search of joy, helped others to have a better life, brought a little ray of sunshine into an otherwise dreary day. I hope that I have few regrets about what I have done, and even fewer about opportunities I have passed on.  I saw a T-shirt recently that said, "If I die broke, rest assured I had a million dollars worth of fun." I hope Jim had his million dollars worth of fun.  

Thanks Jim, I needed that, I hope my readers enjoyed, 

Love,

DG

https://thecountypress.mihomepaper.com/articles/james-j-obryan/ 

Fabulous Friday - Public Art

The City of Alexandria Virginia, redid the waterfront at the end of King Street (main street - high street.) This was a long involved process including moving the yacht club.  The new space has expanded public access and a larger park, including a public arts space that hosts rotating exhibits.  The current one is fabulous, I Love You, with lots of light and bright.  The previous exhibit was a bunch of knee hight posts, representative of the pilings for piers along the waterfront, it was not as fabulous.  I need to get down there at night, it lights up. 

Thursday Ramble - End of April Edition

I am working on a post that will appear in a couple of weeks of things that piss me off.  This week added a couple of things to the list. 

We succeeded at ordering appliances for the kitchen replacement.  With luck the cabinets should be ordered in the next week or so. Appliances are still in short supply, the total sorcery cooktop we wanted is delayed at least 6 months, and the cooktop is an essential to the job.  We found a slightly less magic model in stock, it will be delivered this week.  The appliance dude didn't seem very enthused about what I thought was a rather large order. When we went into pay, there was an invoice laying on the counter, the first item was a refrigerator, I had to look twice, I didn't believe my eyes, the first item was a $10,000 refrigerator, makes my order look insignificant. Still I have bought new cars for less.  

The world here has turned green, the last of the trees are starting to leaf out (the one outside my  bedroom window.) We had a nice drive in the convertible with the top down. I am only driving it about 2,000 miles a year, it has just over 50,000 miles on it, at this rate I will be too old to drive by the time it has 100,000 miles on it.  

I applied to four law schools back in the mid 1990's and three of them said yes.  I have accepted an invitation to speak at a conference hosted by the one law school that turned me down.  Should I make a remark about me accepting them after they rejected me? 

Last Friday and Saturday were 7-8 hours each day of Zoom meetings.  A clear violation of the Constitution and the Geneva Convention.  

I have had a couple of long weeks, at least one more to go, oh I should just be real, my work is going to be overwhelming until I retire.  There are days when I wake up and think, I don't want to adult today. 

 

 

The Way We Wednesday - Self-Timer Selfies

My oldest brother had a low draft lottery number, so he enlisted in the Navy the year he finished high school.  After basic training, he was assigned to the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise (now decommissioned and the last I knew it was being dismantled.) Someplace in southeast Asia he bought a Canon Ftb, a nice 35MM SLR. There was also a tripod, the gray zippered case above their arms is the case for the tripod. Looking at this it was taken with the camera on the tripod, and either a cable release or the self timer,  I suspect the self timer as Dale is almost blurred from having tripped the timer and rushed back to be in the picture.  This would have been taken in one of the crew living areas on the ship.  I think Dale only took a couple of rolls of film on the camera, this roll of slides ended up with dad's meaning it was probably in the camera when Dale came home on leave, and somehow Dad ended up keeping the camera.  Dad gave it to me a few years before he died.  After Dad died, I returned it to Dale. I never did quite understand how dad ended up with it to start with. And Dale didn't really want to explain - bottling things up is a family tradition. I learned a lot using it, it had one of the best lenses I have ever used. I never have liked self timers.  

 

Travel Tuesdays - Live Demonstrations

Artisans, craftspersons, farmers, chefs, I love watching them work.  Historic sites sometimes have live demonstrations of how things were done, metalsmiths,  spinners, weavers, broom making, furniture, historic farming making are all fascinating to watch. 

They are also often a financial loss for the venue, the cost of the demonstrations far exceeds the value of what is produced.  The glass blower working in a demonstration shop, produces less at the same cost as a glassblower working in the back room without the distraction of an audience.  So we see fewer of them.  When we lived in Kentucky nearby Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, had a thriving demonstration program, until a new director mandated that they had to pay their way or go.  The last time I was there one craftsman was working.  Sad that.  

Non-profit does not mean free to operate, or exempt from the economic realities of the world.  That is why there are admission fees, memberships, fundraisers, and why it does really help when you buy that paper weight that was hand made there on site.  Yet it would be 1/3 that price - made in China - sold at the souvenir shop around the corner.  But the difference makes a difference in the artists being able to show their craft and entertain.   

Music Monday : Julian Lennon Performs 'IMAGINE' for Global Citizen's Stand Up For Ukrai...

May there be light at the end of this tunnel.