What cities do you want to visit?
Flying over San Diego, I saw in the distance the Coronado Bridge traversing the San Diego Bay. The sunlight of mid-afternoon shimmered under the arched pathway. I wonder; what was life like for San Diegans, before this bridge was built in 1967? How did they get to the Island of Coronado? ❤️
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
The coolest thing I ever found was Elizabeth Y Garrett’s Album. I was 19 years old and found it buried in a box of old books I purchased for a dollar. I still have it. The following is a transcribed excerpt from the book reflecting Elizabeth’s thoughts of the day.
What books do you want to read?
I ate a cookie with my coffee this morning. As I ate the cookie it came to me once again that I would like to read “War and Peace.” I read “Anna Karenina” Anna is a tragic character because she never realized she was enough. But it wasn’t her fault because she was the victim of a rigid society. She was ostracized for having an affair that resulted in unrequited love. To add insult to injury her son was taken away from her and she wasn’t allowed to see him. The last time she saw him was out of secrecy. Desperate and lonely, she killed herself.
I will finish reading “East of Eden.” Steinbeck is one of my favorite American authors. He’s the best.
I also would like to read “Roots” by Alex Haley and “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”
That’s enough for now. The cookie was good. 🍪
What book are you reading right now?
I am reading “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett. Before TL I read “Our Town” a play by Thornton Wilder because Patchett’s book is in part based on Wilder’s work.
What historical event fascinates you the most?
The landing on the moon, July 20th 1969, and the ability of the media to broadcast it over national television, is an historical event that is etched prominently in my memory. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made the voyage to the moon in the vessel called Apollo 11.
But why the moon? It was a challenge by JFK to put a man there, before the decade ended. Other reasons too, I suppose. For the advancement of science, and to send the message to Russia that the US was bigger and better than them.
Other events took place in 1969, such as the Woodstock concert, and the advent of Sesame Street, not to mention the invention of the internet, at least according to Google.
The landing on the moon “A Giant Leap” ended a turbulent decade in the US, whereby Race Riots and the War in Vietnam engulfed the psyche of the country, and mounting tensions across the land, and still do today. For some people, anyway.
By the end of the 60’s I was moving into my teenage years, and still, current events influenced to a degree, my fragile development. I came from a social, and politically minded family. I had a brother in Vietnam. My father, a liberal minded man who fought as a foot soldier in WWII, and my mother, an art teacher, all influenced my upbringing. And I had six siblings to bounce ideas and feelings off of, on a daily basis.
So, I witnessed the events of the 60’s with the newspaper in my hand, and listened to my parents in their adult fashion express their dismay, skepticism, and hopes for the future. Yet, despite my privileged upbringing emphasizing the importance of having an open mind, I ponder, where has that “Giant Leap for Mankind” brought us fifty-four years later, in 2023? Has it all been for humankind? How much was salvaged, how much was thrown away?
Yet, most of all, I look back at the landing on the moon with curiosity and wonder, because the moon has so many poetical possibilities; a source of human emotions since time began, and a symbol of positive power and creativity. In my mind, the moon will always represent Hope and Love. When they launched a rocket and put a man on there, I question, how many saw it the same way?
What skill would you like to learn?
I would like to learn how to do ceramics. Either, to throw a piece, or hand build some objects of art. I would like to learn about different ceramic glazes and techniques. Ultimately, I would like to be able to use shape, form, and color to express emotion and to reflect my environment through clay. I know, that in order to make ceramics you must work hard to acquire the skills that go into the process. Maybe some day I will find the time to accomplish my goal.
On Tiffany Creek 