Seeking the Sublime in the Everyday

Yesterday the front page of The NY Times said, "The Earth's Axis is Shifting, and We're the Reason." "Groundwater Pumping is Factor in Altering the Planet's Spin" Did you know that the Earth wobbles on its axis like "a badly thrown Frisbee?"  Yikes! And OY!  How in the world have we gotten to this state and how in the world do we fix it? I have no idea, so I'll just look for something to feel good about. Here's something; A new tree on Washington Street!  The crew was very nice when I thanked them, and one of them held my coffee cup and Russell's leash while I took this shot. Trees do a great job of removing carbon from our air, so let's thank them and take good care of them. More good news!  A perfect game pitched by a Yankee! Congratulations to Domingo German. This is Yogi Berra and Don Larson celebrating the only perfect game pitched in a World Series Game. David Welles pitched a perfect game on my birthday a few years ago. I...

June is a month for celebrating! Besides dads and graduates we celebrate Juneteenth, the end of slavery, no matter how late the message came.  But there's more! June 12 is Loving Day, the anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the aptly named 1967 Supreme Court decision that vacated the two 1-year sentences of Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter Loving who each pled guilty to a law criminalizing marriage between persons of different races, on the grounds that the Virginia statutory scheme violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.   And More! That decision was relied upon in 2013 in U.S. v. Windsor, which granted Edith Windsor a marriage exemption of $363,053 after her Canadian-wed wife passed away and the IRS denied her estate tax refund, striking down the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional in the process.   Still More! In 2025 it was  cited in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and  Ten...

 Inspiration for this week's blog comes from Russell, who's been sampling my library.  By that I mean he's pulling my books from the shelf and chewing them. Of course I don't approve but he's brought some forgotten gems back to my attention.  Like this one, William Morris, Artist Craftsman Pioneer   by Rosalind Ormiston and Nicholas Michael Wells I've quoted him before;  He also said "Art is necessary to man's essential happiness." He designed wallpaper that you still see in the house magazines and in my studio. That's his Willow pattern. Here's an unobstructed view. Yes, he designed wallpaper but he did so much more. His Wikipedia page begins: William Morris  (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British  textile designer , poet, artist, [1]  fantasy writer, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British  Arts and Crafts Movement . He was a major contributor to the revival of tradi...

Sounds like you agree with me about grammar. Thanks for the encouragement, Joan, and I'll keep on nagging, rather, reminding, my grandkids.   While I'm still ranting let me add something else that really irks me.  The ATM at Chase, when I've withdrawn my cash, asks if I'd like another transaction and the options for my response are Yes                    No And every time I see that I say, "What's the magic word?"  Years ago when I was a waitress I asked a kid if he'd like ice cream with his pie and he replied, "Nah."  And I said, without thinking, "Don't you mean 'No, thank you?'" His mother gave me a dirty look but if I'd ever spoken to a waitress or anyone else like that I'd have gotten a smack.  Well, at least a stern reprimand and a command to apologize.   I wasn't alone; my friend, Jill's dad told her that her thank you's came too quickly like thankyouverymuch! and sounded glib and insincere...

  Dear Earth,  New York is on the cusp of passing a landmark bill that would reduce wasteful single-use packaging by 50%. But we're running out of time to get it passed.  We have until this Thursday, June 8 to get the bill to a vote before the legislative session ends. Can you help urge our legislative leaders to schedule a floor vote ASAP?  Take one minute to learn more and send a message: Reduce Plastic The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would require companies to reduce their single-use packaging by 50%, ban a dozen common toxic chemicals in packaging and hold companies responsible for their waste. Do you have any friends, family or neighbors in the state who are also concerned about plastic pollution and the climate crisis? You can forward this email to them.

What are you Reading?  I love it when someone asks me that. The Times Book Review has a column that asks what's on your night table?  Does everybody read in bed?  If I have a good book I can't wait to say good-night. But as reading and writing has made me focus on language an abyss of bad grammar has opened before   me and I cry out in anguish. Will I ever become inured to hearing Ivy League graduates on NPR saying, "Him and Me are gonna..." and "Please reach out to John or I?" Terry Gross never corrects anyone's grammar and I respect  that,  it's not a good interviewing technique,  but where are the mothers and teachers?  How has it come to this? And another thing! The misplaced modifier!   In a biography of Willa Cather I read, "At the age of eight, school began to bore Willa."  Really? School was eight years old?  Miss Cather is rolling over in her grave.  And this, from Elle Decor; "As a young girl, her father affectionatel...