MARCH.. AU REVOIR (I HOPE...)

March 31, 2016

When adults or grandparents would comment on how 'time was flying' when it was not flying for me... summer could not come quickly.. Christmas? and now .. March has whipped through here like a runaway freight train.   Oh well...

On the news just now, grainy photos of a bad guy somewhere in LA.  With all the technology that is available today, why is surveillance video so blurry?   If it's truly 1984, I suspect that Orwell was saying that not only would there be video cameras everywhere, but you could actually see the faces of the folks being watched.  

I need to return a call from one of my longest time pals: Tom Hayden.  Not THAT Tom.. though it would have been fun to meet Jane!  Have you seen Jane Fonda lately, he wrote, totally off track!  

So. I'll take a break and call Hayden and we'll chat and he'll try to bait me with some silly political trip and I'll dodge the bullet and hope to hear that he and his wife are healthy and doing well. 

Watch out for friends bearing gifts tomorrow.  

March 31, 2016

michaelsheehan 
PS
I meant to mention that in my dream this morning that I was showing a special present that I made for my friend, Jill Bell, to some other person.  The present is in a small spice bottle.  In the dream, though, the bottle had morphed into a jar.  Inside are cookies in the shape of the letters of Jill's name and in the real item, they are fairly tightly packed. In the jar, however, they were looser and moved when you turned the jar, making the cookies begin to crumble.  It is my intention to not have the cookies crumble!  Analysis?  
ms  

DAVID SOMERVILLE / 3/30/16 "A"

March 30, 2016

More death.  Last summer, an old friend died.  David Somerville.  Known in the last third of his amazing career as "Diamond Dave," he played to fans across the country including a run in Branson, Missouri.  The old tunes.  His voice that will always be remembered by the falsetto 'la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaa' in Little Darlin' and countless folk songs back in the sixties and seventies when "David Troy" played the folkie scene.

David was my friend.  We last had lunch at The Good Neighbor and remembered some good times as far back as our meeting in Disneyland in the sixties.

David's wife, Denise, is now lumbered with some heavy bills that came as he struggled through the last days of his life.  He died at the age of 81: a true gentleman to the last.   Denise and David's son, Landa,  are now faced with some final bills and are asking friends and fans to pitch in to help with these last expenses.  Any amount will be gratefully accepted. Here's the link to the gofundme account where it'll be easy to contribute a buck or two.  Please do.
https://www.gofundme.com/davidsomerville

March 30, 2016 "A"

michaelsheehan

FLUFF AND STEEL 3/30/16 "B"

March 30, 2016  "B"

My originial intention when I came up with this one hundred days idea was to just do a hundred days that would include clouds and whatever was going on that I felt like writing about.  Yesterday, I found some clouds that were really wonderful. 

"Bobby flagged a diesel down just before it rained..." Which makes me think of Kris Kristopherson and Janis and then seeing Sam Shepard in the new film "Midnight Special" with Michael Shannon.  ET meets Close Encounters.  

 But.. but.. the clouds and then Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now and "life's illusions, I recall..."  And it is Wednesday, March heading out the door and spring popping in like anything. 

This is pretty uninteresting.  Staying in the moment. Looking forward to seeing my Aries friend for an hour on Friday.  I'll take my good old bus for a run today.  

The last screenings for the SAGAFTRA Film Society will roll this weekend at the DGA.  The DC Comics whoopdedoo with two 'good guys' going at it is the last movie!  Yikes!! Why would Batman even consider a showdown with Superman? Why, Bruce, Why?

Gosh.. time is flying.  Lee's birthday is a week from Friday, which marks the close of escrow on the home where my porch is located. 

It has now been about a hundred days since December 21st.  The 'Or so...' is now in effect, I guess.  

March 30, 2016

michaelsheehan 

LITTLE BITTY CLOUDS

March 29, 2016

We learned today that Patty Duke has died.  The recent loss of SAGAFTRA President Ken Howard and now Patty's departure is sad.   Neither Ken's health issue nor Patty's has been mentioned.  I do know that over time tobacco was a big deal in  Patty's life and it always made me a bit sad.  We worked together on the first SAG Animation Contract Negotiation.  She was dynamic and involved.  She walked the picket line with voice actors. We even got in trouble for the public address system she arranged for when we wound around the block at Disney.  (It's a hospital zone!)

It is interesting to me how the deaths of folks we know effect us.  I'd only met Ken Howard one time and felt that he was a decent guy, though tall!  Patty was a dynamo but never close.  The loss of Earl Hamner, the probably least well known to the general public until reminded of his narration on The Waltons, is most moving to me because of his genuine personal warmth one on one as well as in a huge gathering.  

I've not heard the latest on Wally Burr's situation.  I write to him and want to see him, but he has not said okay for  visit... yet.  

Steve Julian's unhappy situation is artistically narrated by his wife, Felicia Friesema. Her writing is intelligent and thoughtful: filled with passion... and recipes!

We may lose more friends as the year goes on.

Acceptance of the inevitable is not easy.  But, life goes on!   Life goes on.   

March 29, 2016

michaelsheehan

TO TITHE? SHARING THE LOAD! LORD LORD!

March 28, 2016

A late start today.  A late image from the Porch. I like it that the Shoe Factory is better lit in the latter day sun.  

My attention is on the TV news. Something came up as I started this entry.  It is something that was on my mind earlier today by coincidence.  Evidently, Bernie Sanders may think that churches paying a fair share of their income is a good idea.  I agree.

Most churches ask that parishioners tithe: dedicate ten percent of their income to keep their church vital.  It makes sense.  Folks come together to support a common goal. A common good.  Ten percent of the more than a thousand Faithful at the church of a friend in Orange County would come to what?? If each working member contributed (and could take a tax deduction for..) let's say an average of $800.00 a week?  Fair?  So.. x 10 percent  equals $80.00 times a thousand every week?  Is that right?  $80,000.00 a week x 50 equals yikes.. $4Million a year.  That pays for the upkeep of the property (upon which there may be no property tax) and staff. $300K a month? Wow!

So.. what if just that church agreed to tithe to the United States with ten percent of their gross income as they request from their faithful? From the OC church that would be about $400K.  

Of course, this is all speculation and my quick peek at the numbers on line are not helpful. But, lets say that of the over 300 Million citizens of the USA, that a third of them, 100 Million attend church on a regular basis and tithe say.. only twenty bucks a week to their respective churches.. that's about a thousand dollars a year which would turn into One Hundred Billion Dollars. Is my math anywhere in the ball park? Wow.

 And, if the churches to whom they tithed then shared ten percent of those donations, that would mean an extra $10Billion annually to pay for the same things that we all pay our individual taxes for and enjoy: highways, schools, police and fire protection, etc.  

I have deliberately low balled this figure, but you get the idea.  If churches collect ten percent from their faithful and the faithful support their individual churches, then, why not the body of the churches support the country that they practice their religion in?  AND. the parishioners still get to deduct their donations from their individual income taxes.  

The only way a society can survive is when every member of that society contributes to the common good.   Is it wonky to think that all institutions currently exempt should be so exclusive from paying a fair share to support our country? 

Hmmm..  

March 28, 2016 

michaelsheehan

ISHTAR? MITHRA?

March 27, 2016

Easter Sunday.  

Religion has created the most conflict the world will ever experience.  Just a shame. I read Easter greetings from Christians who truly believe that a teacher with some really good basic ideas was a man and God. I am unsure about where the Holy Ghost comes in, but, to have a Trinity, you gotta have a third.

On a happier note, Bernie Sanders and his lovely wife (though not really centerfold material), Jane O'Meara Sanders is shown happily winning something somewhere today.  What I notice when I am trapped with my fingers on the keyboard with the television set keeping me company and watch the republican candidates making speeches compared to Sanders' supporters is that the Sanders supporters'  attitude and look of joy and celebration is somehow less fanatical than those other candidates.  This comes down to 'tone.'  

I learned the term tone vis a vis differing points of view when the Screen Actors Guild elections were getting out of hand.  The tone of the Membership First faction was fanatical (to me) and a little scary.  Unite for Strength candidates were more moderate.  It all came down to the tone of voice and over all attitude that prevailed. 

Finding strength and putting reason first is problematic because we all perceive 'reason' and 'strength' in different ways.  Just ask Michael Gregory (bfstar!)

This brings me back to the vernal equinox, now past and the coincidence of religious holidays and tone.  If folks want to have beliefs and use them to guide their lives, that should be okay.  Of course it's only okay until we have The Crusades or ethnic cleansing or the Holocaust or folks who, like the Westboro Baptist Church folks, decide to make life difficult for the rest of us.

/////

On TV I am watching an Easter Egg Hunt that was created in a way I like.  From a hovering helicopter, trash cans filled with plastic eggs were dumped onto a huge field and the greedy little Christians all rushed out and filled their buckets and baskets to over flowing.  Greed is good?  

FYI.. In today's title I mention Mithra because he was a guy about two thousand years ago who ran around with twelve friends and taught stuff.  He was Persian, I think.  Ishtar is just a favorite movie.. You can Google them both and make your own comparisons.  

Honeybaked is on the table? Fancy hats upon our heads?  For me.. the theatre and a nice ramble to Hollywood in the wonderfulness of my old friend. Varoooooooooom..  

Oh!! Look!  Who is the babe in the new B-man/ S-man debacle? Mmmm!!

Happy Easter

March 27, 2016

michaelsheehan

 

LIFE GOES ON: PAY ATTENTION

March 26, 2016

Death.. 

We so often cushion the blow by using euphemisms: Rainbow Bridge (mostly for critters), expired, passing on, slipping away.   A crusty old guy whom I have chatted with briefly , Malachy McCourt (actor, writer, raconteur from the lanes of Limerick: famous in his own mind and also the brother of novelist Frank McCourt... who died) goes off on condolences.  He's an iconoclast and I appreciate him for his rants.   However, to me, we need to find ways to talk about death.  Louise Hay has done that and Kubler-Ross's steps of dealing with what happens when a tragedy happens or someone dies are important. Malachy will have none of that malarkey.  And, that's okay with me. It's just malarkey.

Processing death is certainly a process.  I've learned, via FB, from Earl Hamner's son, Scott, that Earl insisted that there be no memorial.  This is a little sad because his entire life, he has written the history and a sort of memorial to the life that he has lived. The Waltons is a tribute to his life. Maybe that's enough?

We respect the dead. (or should) Period. But, do the dead respect us?  I am now remembering the scene from The Big Lebowski where Jeff Bridges and John Goodman are trying to scatter their friend's ashes.  Classic.  So...  I think that the dead should honor the living by allowing us to gather in their name and confirm to each other that our lives matter.  Their lives matter.  Life matters.  Of course, every memorial is not only a tribute to the dearly departed, but to those of us left behind.  It's a nice thing.  

The recent funeral for  Nancy Reagan was lovely and helped with closure for those who liked her and for those who may have been critical.  It was nice.  Lavish.  It was generous of her to have planned the event and for the nation to be invited to hear the many tributes from those who knew and loved her.  It's the stories that allow us to nod our heads in agreement and to be together.

I wish that there would be a gathering for Earl, in spite of his last wishes.  Not "for" Earl, but for the literally thousands who knew and loved him, me included.

Finally, I want for anyone who reads this stuff of mine to know about the impending death of Steve Julian. His wife, Felicia Friesema, is keeping a journal on line as she helps to steer this lovely man to the Rainbow Bridge. It is dear and funny and very sad. She said in a post today that she 'needs a poet.'  In fact she is extraordinarily poetic and kind in her writing and I hope that as life goes on, that she will publish her cook book and her notes on the process of seeing her husband through the days that lead to the inevitable.    Here's her latest entry. I do believe that she is a poet, too.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/stevejulian/journal/view/id/56f6a61ba689b47372c967f7

 My artwork for Steve and Felicia is in process. Thanks for the bee's wax, Felicia. 

March 26, 2016

michaelsheehan

Good Night, Sweet Prince

March 25, 2016

Today, the iconic closing of The Waltons television experience will forever mean more to those whose lives were touched by Earl Hamner. Earl died yesterday at the age of 92.  His  mellifluous voice as he narrated the stories based on his youthful days in Schulyer, Virgina is unique in all narration.  I was fortunate to be introduced to him by my friend, Carol Marie, who was his assistant for a time in the hey day of the show.  The honor of escorting Grandma Walton (Ellen Corby) to the Waltons Christmas Party came to me twice. Once pre stroke and once post.  Post stroke, she chimed in with "Oh Boy!" a lot.  I did one episode of the show as a radio announcer.

What every single person who ever encountered Earl Hamner will repeat and repeat is what a present and lovely person he was.  He remembered his friends with specifics about their lives.  He bought my lunch.  He made me feel like a peer. A peerless man, made us all feel his loving equal.  

If you live over ninety years, I think that's doing something.  Earl lived a long and productive life and shared it with his family and the world.  He shared with me and for our occasional but wonderful times together, there was no one else in the room.  He made sure I was invited to UCLA to view the documentary that was made about his life and I watched every single visitor, from his lovely Lady Jane to the livery service driver be treated with love and respect.  He was my friend.  Every person who ever shared his smile or shook his hand or was embraced by him will say the same thing.  He was our friend.  

Eulogies are interesting things.  I've given a couple and this is the one that may touch me the deepest.  We hate to have our friends hit the trail, but it is inevitable and in this case, not such a sad parting as a longing for one more moment and the missed chance to say Good Night.  

Earl Hamner was honest and true.  He shared a talent that few possess and was a friend to everyone who met him.  

Good night, my generous friend.

There are others we mourn this week.  Ken Howard and Garry Sandling, both too soon.  We must live our lives and be grateful for these precious moments.  

 

March 25, 2016

michaelsheehan  

RUBY'S DADDY

March 24, 2016

News.. the reports of the terror attacks expands to almost paranoid reactions as folks 'see something and say something' locally. Caution is a good thing, I think.  Over reacting creates an atmosphere of fear that is hard to deny, but we are reasonable people and, to me, Reason must rule the day.  If we become limbic reactionaries, the media will ramp up and exacerbate any situation to the detriment of us all.   Deep breath.  Nameste. 

Then! Good news and good news and good news. 

We have a recent arrival: Ruby Reger! Welcome to the world! Ruby Reger's dad, Rob Reger, is in town for an opening at Thinkspace Gallery here in Los Angeles.  Yay and yay!!

RUSH HOUR has become a series on CBS.

Lillian Bronson, The Lady of the Freeway, immortalized by muralist, Kent Twitchell, will now live forever at LA Valley College.  

These three artful events are either a direct step (as in Six Degrees of Separation / Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon) for me or two or three steps.  The serendipity of how we are all connected fascinates me.  Rob Reger's dad and mom are long time and very dear friends.  

The feature film series, Rush Hour, was overseen by my former student, Leon Dudevoir and I have met Kent Twitchell in person for a brief chat, but via my dear artist friend, Jill Bell, I am acquainted with Joan de Bruin, author, who may still represent Kent as an artist?   

The point is that we are all connected and the joy in life is seeing... for me... the success and involvement in art that friends experience.   That, to me, is satisfying to the point that it feels good even physically.  Applause. 

Years ago (1990!), I installed a special art installation (The Cranford Project for the UNC Centennial) in my home town, Greeley, Colorado. It was specifically for my alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado.  It involved over two years of planning; effort and  getting cooperation from the university to do it. A friend let me use his huge band saw to create special stakes used to install the one hundred Maglites in a huge field on the college campus.

My point:  a cousin of mine, a successful businessman, asked me what was in it for me?     It was a one night event. What was in it for me?

"Satisfaction," I replied.  "I get the satisfaction of dealing with a bureaucratic institution, creating a really big art installation and knowing that I did it pretty much by myself." 

He shook his head, incredulous that someone would do something just to do it. That was that.  I'd borrowed a station wagon from another cousin, his brother, and the college provided me a place to stay over the time of the installation.   I get some of that rush back as I write this.  The tenor of the times at UNC has changed and the college's interest in my art (because my cash donations have been tiny?) has waned.   I did get permission to 'save' Totem Teddy, The Bear Totem, by embossing it in 2003 and installing the Ghost Memory Project

in 2005, again mostly at my own expense. My efforts to renew interest in UNC history: in particular The Bear Totem, have not been successful..  No Satisfaction.  Sigh.

This meandering narrative makes me want to do another Colorado project.  Why? Because.  Because it would give me satisfaction, AND.. I think that it's important for all  UNC students and alumni to not lose touch with this particular part of the college's history and tradition.  

Congratulations to Rob Reger and Katie Harbaugh for their wonderful addition: Miss Ruby.  Congratulations to Kent Twitchell and the restoration of the iconic mural The Freeway Lady: Lillian Bronson.

And, here's to a long and successful run of RUSH HOUR, the new series on CBS-TV.  If they can capture the madcap fun of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker's chemistry in the movie franchise, that will be a real gift!  And, Satisfaction!!

March 24, 2016

michaelsheehan

SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES

March 23, 2016

Facebook is a window on the world.  We mourn the tragedy in Brussels,  Michael Pritchard's birthday is today (an old Company Theatre pal), we get a feeling for life around the world. Evidently, a spring snow has come to Colorado, just about the time that folks were ready for shorts and tank tops!  Brrr.. and beautiful.

 I keep the TV on, mostly with the sound off just for some company sometimes.  The Price is Right on CBS is an opportunity to practice lip reading as my hearing changes.  I like the show because it sometimes changes peoples' lives for the better.  Of course, a college kid winning a brand new kitchen instead of a brand new car is not necessarily a change for the better, but the contestants are filled with hope and energy and are excitedly having lots of fun.  Even if they don't win the kitchen or the car, they have a shot at the Big Wheel for the Showcase Showdown where luck might smile on them.  

Today, a young woman won her way on stage and got to play my favorite game of all the TPIR games: Plinko.  It's a version of the popular asian game Pachinko.  Why seeing someone have a shot at winning at this game is so much fun for me is a mystery.  The woman had a T shirt that had written on it: "Need Gas Money to Get Home."  She had four opportunities to drop disks into the $10,000 slot and did it twice.  $20,000.00!!  Then, in the showcase showdown, I had a feeling that it was her day. She spun the winning spin for an additional $1,000.00 and will have a shot at other big, big prizes at the end of the show.  She has just gone into the Showcase Showdown and won an additional $22K in prizes including a new car.  Over $47,000 in cash and prizes.  It was her day!

I mention this, as it's what's happening before me as I write these daily missives.  Sometimes, I am not really sure, but have a notion, that sometimes it may just be "your day!"  Based on nothing practical.. just a vibe that a string of luck may continue.  

This reminds me of the wonderful movie, The Cooler, with William H. Macy.  The premise is that his very presence at a gambling table where someone is winning would turn their winning streak around.  This, then, reminds of something I read about the costuming for Macy in the feature.  We see him early in the film looking schulmpy and sad.. a loser.  As his confidence elevates because of meeting a sympathetic and attractive woman, Maria Bello, the costume designer, continued to put him into more tailored suits. As he perks up, his effectiveness as a 'cooler' wains and his job is in jeopardy.  Might be an idea to see that movie again!  As I sometimes say, "Apropos nada".. Just what comes into my mind.

Luck.  Extra sensory perception?  Is there a Multiverse?  Are we just dust in the wind?

///

A friend mentioned that she had encountered a pet bird in her deliveries of lunch to a retired client as part of her work on behalf of senior citizens.  She reminded me of the beautiful 'daughter' I shared with Lee Arnone many years ago: Toby Sue.  Toby was a Hahn's Macaw who became like a person in my life.   As far as I know, she may be still laying little macaw eggs for Candy Mills, the lady from whom Lee got Toby originally.  Lee returned Toby when it became difficult to keep her.  I miss that bird like a lost child sometimes and am ever grateful to Lee for sharing her love of birds with me.  I owe much of the good stuff in my life today to knowing Lee.  So much. She took this photo of Toby and me a long time ago.  I do so still love this beautiful little ball of feathers.

 Thank you, Lee. 

Toby Sue and Michael  1985?

 March 23, 2016

michaelsheehan

Oh My..

March 22, 2016
Still touting Casa Valentina at the Playhouse.  Dental issues and insurance changes.  

I guess it's difficult for me to hold forth on a topic with these mundane issues in my face..Literally! 

Income tax time is looming.  This is so boring.  So.. another image from the porch. A beauty of a day and that's that. 

michaelsheehan
march 22, 2016

ARIES!

March 31, 2016

Into Aries we fly.  It's Jill Bell's birthday and that's always a celebration. 

Last night's opening of Casa Valentina at the Pasadena Playhouse left more questions begging than questions answered.  A truly gorgeous production of Harvey Fierstein's recent play will hold forth until the tenth of April.  Highly recommended. 

http://onstagelosangeles.blogspot.com/2016/03/casa-valentina-by-harvey-fierstein.html 

My meeting with Scott Ochoa to hustle petanque for the City of Glendale has been postponed. He's a busy guy and the only problem was that when the cancellation call came, I was soaking wet, actually opting to bathe in honor of the meeting!  Sheesh.

Today's photo is a little later in the day. Earlier, the scene across the hill was really gray.  June Gloom and May Gray may be creeping into earlier months.  We still hope for some rain, yes!

The Independent Shakespeare Company will present Othello with a cast of eight including a Desdemona who looks like she may have trouble filling the category of 'white ewe.'  I love the work I've seen this company do and look forward to their always innovative approach to Shakespeare. 

Monday..  Hold a good thought...

michaelsheehan

March 21, 2016

B O I N G!!!! (ALMOST SPRING)

March 20, 2016

It is almost spring!  Morning overcast and chill are in high contrast to our warm and sunny days.  Oh well.

Jill Bell's birthday is coming.  Aries! 

I went to see an excellently written play last night, "The Andersonville Trial" by Saul Levitt. How many of us were taught in American History about the deaths of fourteen thousand Union prisoners held in the Georgia compound that, toward the end of the Civil War (how can any war be "civil??"), became, literally, Hell on Earth for the unfortunate soldiers? It may have been Hell for their captors as well.  The problem that I had was that the performance was exceedingly uneven.  I singled out one performer in my review and was too tired to really discuss other performances, save the guy who had only a few lines, but was believably present through the entire play.  

http://onstagelosangeles.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-andersonville-trial-by-saul-levitt.html 

Coming home I thought about the diverse acting styles that the director had failed to reign in to insure that the production lived up the the text.   The apparent deliberate neglect of human beings is the foundation for the play.  That enormous issue must be instilled in the actors. If it had, it was not immediately apparent to me.  

I got to thinking about the seven chakras of the body as discussed in the Hindu faith.  A chakra or 'center of power' starts with the Root Chakra at the base of the spine with "openings" up through the center of the body emanating up through the Crown Chakra at the top of the head.  Each of the actors in this play seemed to be dominated by energies coming from different areas of their bodies. The least effective cast member, the judge advocate, was thinking more about remembering his lines than presenting the story.  Others in the cast came from different techniques, delivering either truly thoughtful deep emotion or what they thought was a strong delivery.  Becoming a character is an individual effort guided with the over all vision of the collaboration with a strong director.  One of the most boring discussions, to me, is a discussion about how to act.  Suffice it to say that when all of the cast members are on the same page and in the same play thanks to a director's vision (or maybe in spite of it!), then magic can happen. 

It's Palm Sunday and a local priest is on the TV news having a ball sprinkling folks with water as they wave palm fronds in the air.  Happy Easter.  

There's a sale at Harbor Freight today!  The fog will lift.  Off to the Playhouse this afternoon. Dinner with a good friend.  Another play to review.  How much does Matthew McConaughey make from those silly Lincoln commercials? Would you ever have a car like that? Seriously.

March 20, 2016

michaelsheehan

REMINDED OF THE WAR

March 19, 2016

Reading the amazing poetry of William Faulkner: LIGHT IN AUGUST.   His descriptive passages are pure and have words that I do not know.. And, I thought I was so smart.  

Then, a wonderful artist I met because of Claes Oldenburg, Lurline Weatherly, posted a photo of a Zippo lighter inscribed with  a "Peace Sign" (the semaphore for N and D: Nuclear Disarmament) this pithy thought:

"NAM 71 - 72 "

WE THE 

UNWILLING

LET BY THE

UNQUALIFIED

TO KILL THE

UNFORTUNATE

DIE FOR THE

UNGRATEFUL

Those years were changling years for me in another way. A better way.  Serendipity and action that literally kept me alive and changed my life. In '72 I met a friend who is my friend for life. A good thing.

I had not intended to be so serious this morning.  Reading Faulkner (thanks to Jan Munroe) and anticipating a review to write tonight.  But, war is what is killing and maiming unfortunate young men and women as 'we speak.'  The fears of the looming tide of sewage spewing from political candidates are on us all, like it or not.  How to survive? Seriously?  T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men's conclusion creeps in, "This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends... not with a bang, but a whimper." 

Oh well...

My plumbing woes are (knock wood) behind me for now.  Repair of a sponge mop when a new one should be on my list of stuff to buy and looking forward to the day is what is should all be about. 

On the way to the recycling center yesterday, I lucked into an encounter with Popeye!  He was strong to the finish!  Of course, his answer to everything was to beat the crap out of it.  Sigh. 

 

March 19, 2016

michaelsheehan   and popeye, the sailor man

WHICH WRENCH??

March 18, 2016

As if..  as if my home fixin' up was a topic.  But.. as the day gets going.. all philosophy takes a back set to a leak!  My home is about ninety some years old.  Now and then.. something leaks.. just like me.

So.. back to the Home Depot for a couple of simple faucets.. (yeh right!!) and all shall be well.

I hope.  2:40PM.. Spoke too soon..  Jeans are all wet, bathroom floor is all wet.  The thirty minute easy fix took me to Home Depot twice.  Traffic jam on Colorado with some issue on the 5 North? The air filter for the bus is lost in traffic, too. But.. the guys waving at you at Home Depot are friendly.  I got a nice note from a former student (he's a doctor, no thanks to me!!) and I'll scrub the bathroom floor and then.. we'll see if it all holds together.  

Adam Rugg!  I needed you, but..  I did it myself. You'd have done it faster and tidier .. but.. it's a beauty of a day.  There's Appalachian Music at The Coffee Gallery tonight.  Too many extra frets for me.  Jean Ritchie would have something to say, too.  
enda addenda. 

March 18, 2016

michaelsheehan

THE WEARIN' O' THE GREEN

March 17, 2016

St. Patrick's Day..  Sitting here in my green sweatshirt, tracing the shadows and the sunlight on the house across the street.   Sorry for the death of Frank Sinatra, Jr.  On one of today's episodes of Adam 12, Frank is featured as a cop.  He had a nice career in his own right, always in the shadow of his dad.   I was always jealous of him.  Won't tell the story, but a girl I liked was swept away by him one time!  Sheesh.. 

I'm working on my VW bus and yesterday prompted this email to one of my best friends. He would have had the job done in twenty minutes.  Me?  about four hours. 

 /////////

Duncan: 

It's almost seven.  At about 3:30 I took some tools out to the bus to change the brackets for my groovy back bumper.. that would be a two by six.  For three and a half hours, dealing with impossible space to do the work, lying on my back gazing up into the blue skies and the palm trees gently swaying over my head, I thought of you.  I thought of how you'd just get under there and I'd hand you a wrench and you'd cuss and I'd hand you the right wrench.. and you'd get those pesky old brackets off in no time and then we'd stick the new brackets right on and in twenty minutes it would be done.

I thought of you as a little gnat wanted to land in my eye and then some piece of loose crud managed to fall in but I was not going to stop.  But, I wished you were here.

I got one bracket on and then went to the side of bus where the muffler sticks out so that it's more difficult to do the work, but, I should have learned from the first bracket.  Hah.. It's the opposite side and therefore everything is reversed.  But, had you been here, it would not have been a problem.  Lying on the concrete is so nice and comfy, especially with the squirrels peering down and chuckling, as you may be now.  Just quit it.. It is NOT funny!  Well ..maybe to you.. but my body is barking and I'm not going back out there until I've had a couple of Ibuprophen and finished this note to you.   Right now I miss you like anything.. Not because of your superior mechanical skills..  but.. oh wait.. Yes. It IS your mechanical skills that I miss right now.. Sorry..  I was getting nostalgic, but all I needed was your expertise.

The upside is that all the while I'm unscrewing and then screwing again because "righty tighty and lefty loosey" get mixed up when you are lying on your back in pain and wanting to strangle a squirrel and grateful that that one big bird that covered the porch with poop a while back was not resting up in the palm trees with the danged squirrel. 

New bolts for the brackets??  What a concept.. If I can haul myself to the Nissan and set the cruise control for Home Depot, I'll buy two new bolts and send these old ones to you as a souvenir!

What? Do I feel better now? What??  Why yes  I do. Oh.  My neck just made a sound like Rice Krispies!   Hmmm.

 

March 17, 2016

michaelsheehan

FAULKNER!

March 16, 2016

I see these images side by side sometimes in the thumbnails. Today's view from the porch looks almost identical to yesterday's.  I really hope that if I do make it all the way to next Winter Solstice (I'm gonna capitalize that because I want to..) and install all of the photos that the subtle differences will be what the art/the installation is all about.  The reflection of the sun on the house, the shadows on the roof, the shadows on the palms.. Every one is different.  

In my dream this morning there were two distinct scenes.  One was my overhearing someone talking about William Schallert.  Schallert was the president of the Screen Actors Guild when I joined and had my first TV series back in the seventies. I had a question about session fees and made an appointment to ask him about this problem.  He was open and attentive and explained things as one professional to another.  He has remained a pal and we've chatted on the phone or seen one another occasionally over these many years.  In my dream, I was telling the other person what a great guy Bill is. I even became emotional about it.  Deep feelings. He'll be 94 in July.  Being treated like a peer by the likes of this kind man makes being an actor who is not so well known feel very special.  

Also in my dream I was with my dear friend, Ken Rugg.  Rugg is only 82, but is now in the land of memory loss and is fortunate to have his daughter, Shelley, looking out for him.  In my dream, Rugg was somewhat grizzled and shorn.  He may have been in a wheel chair.  This is probably spinning off of looking in the rear view mirror of my VW bus yesterday and seeing a guy with a white beard and glasses who closely resembled Rugg.  In my dream I was behind and to the left of him. I told him that I loved him. He called me 'Fred.'.. but even in his memory loss, the last time I saw him and when we have chatted on the phone, he still remembered me. In my dream he smiled at his own joke.  

Reading The Light in August by William Faulkner.  The man is a poet. This novel is starting out with the young heroine trudging along the rutted red dirt roads of Alabama; knocked up by a guy who may or may not be on the run from responsibility.  Faulkner's vernacular is palpable and the language of the deep, deep south, the prejudices and the dust are all just hanging in the stillness of the stillness.  

michaelsheehan

March 16, 2016