YET ANOTHER PILE OF OBSOLESCENCE

June 17, 2015June 2, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 7 Comments

Years ago my father gave me a small metal cabinet with 18 one-inch-deep plastic drawers, each 2.5-by-6 inches. It was intended to hold screws, nuts and bolts, and other small items for the household repair shop – but mine wound up in my studio, where it holds small items of the writer’s trade. An artist’s pencil sharpener, push pins, souvenir fossils and flakes of mica, fountain pen cartridges, staples (for the stapler), a measuring tape, clothespins, business cards, foreign coins, colorful paperclips in both small and large sizes.

The last item – three of the drawers, in fact – recently stopped me cold.

Not so long ago, or so it seemed, I started collecting them at the office as we went through the mail. My literary work at home included a hefty dose of correspondence – not just submissions, either – and the bright-color clips seemed a much brighter option than the usual shiny steel in circulation.

As I gazed on them this time, though, I started to wonder what I’ll really be doing with them. Submissions are all done online these days, as is most correspondence, even of the personal streak. Maybe I’ll clip materials together when offering a workshop here or there, but I’ll never go through my stash.

Add to that the manila envelopes and cardboard backing, the loud bursts of colorful folders and binders, even the three bottles of typewriter correction fluid.

Not too long ago I wanted more filing cabinets, but as elder daughter informs me, folks can’t even give those away these days. Besides, I stopped printing out manuscripts long ago. Talk about downsizing?

Makes me wonder what’s next to go. Not that I’m really comfortable with any of these changes.

CIVIC PRIDE

June 16, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

As municipalities emerged in the 19th century, the populace often took pride in the local identity – and this was reflected in the craftsmanship and details adorning their public buildings.

Dover's old waterworks. — Dover’s old waterworks.

Stained glass windows in what was the high school's chemistry lab. It's now a community center. — Stained glass windows in what was the high school’s chemistry lab. It’s now a community center.

Don't forget the central firehouse. — Don’t forget the central firehouse.

RADAR VIEW AND THE EXPERIENCE

June 15, 2015June 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

Looking at the forecast a while back, trying to figure out whether we’d actually be hit by thunderstorms, I played with the radar view on the online map and saw – for the second or third time in as many days – some heavy activity in Upstate New York. The stuff that was headed our way.

Brought back some intense memories of my first summer after college, when I was living with two others in a neighborhood that fluctuated between Italian during the day and black ghetto at night. Much of it, I should add, has since been leveled, at least from what I see in the satellite photos of the neighborhood.

We lived on the second floor, with a porch on the front that overlooked the street as well as windows in the parlor and dining room that looked out into the foothills – or mountains down the valley, as this flatlander viewed them. Still, it seemed that most late afternoons that June included a dramatic thunderstorm rolling in. The mountains would disappear in swirling gray and then emerge in slices, at best, before becoming whole again. It was nothing like anything I’d viewed in the Midwest.

The radar, of course, doesn’t present that part of the experience. But for me, at the time, it was magical.

Don’t think I’ve ever viewed a thunderstorm quite the same since, either.

A SECLUDED COURTYARD, IF YOU WILL

June 15, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

I’ve already mentioned it, the patio-like space beside the barn where we grill and dine through the summer. The place we call the Smoking Garden.

Originally, I envisioned it as a haven for the kids’ grandmother to sit with her cigarettes, but she never used it. Preferred the porch to the barn, if anywhere.

We inherited the arrangement when we bought the place. A couple of thick maple branches had to be removed, since they were blocking any passage at chest level. But the round fiberglass table was already in place, with pea-gravel on the ground and three adjoining panels I’ve since cleared and planted.

Now we’ve added tiki torches and twinkling Christmas lights overhead, plus the hammock.

Pour me a glass, please. Turn up the music.

~*~

let me praise the secluded outdoor corner
as part of an urban dwelling:
a patio or deck
(my last apartment lacked one)
the courtyard with a fountain
a large porch or gazebo
at the least, a place to sit
or, better yet, cook
any place close enough to the kitchen
with a degree of privacy and a view of something

A TYPICAL TRAILHEAD

June 13, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 6 Comments

Starting off on a mountain hike in New Hampshire often looks like this. The trails are often marked by color blazes, in this case, blue.

CRACKLING IN OUR AIR

June 12, 2015June 2, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

In blogging here, I’ve generally tried to steer clear of current events, as in political and economic news. Even my reflections on the weather have been, I hope, along a larger or more timeless horizon than mere day-to-day changes. Think of watching the grass grow.

But I do live in New Hampshire, and the campaigns for the November 8, 2016, presidential election are already generating daily front-page headlines here. Remember, that’s nearly a year-and-a-half away.

The primary is tentatively set for February 9, but that could move up, depending. We hate when it clashes with Christmas.

The point is, politics is already crackling in our air. How can I possibly avoid it?

BACK AND BACK AND BACK

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

As I said at the time …

You’re home once more, with many fresh laurels, I hope. On my end, the computer’s fixed and I’m dancing with some frequency again. At least between some heavy allergies. (Birch pollen at the moment; pine comes soon.)

I’m still in shock from Sam Hamill’s “To Eron on Her Thirty-Second Birthday” – she’s always a twelve-year-old tomboy in my memory! Impossible, it seems. And that was back when I was still married and my wife studied painting under John Bennett’s wife, Ellensburg, Washington … back in his Vagabond days. Small world. Am still trying to figure out when and where I heard Bill Stafford read. Yakima Valley College, I believe. Will the parts of my life ever come together?

Yes, you certainly are a moon-child, with all of the sign’s gentle humanity. Violet, a variant of purple, the cancer-sign’s color. Star, like the moon, of the moody night. Well-named, it seems! For whatever reason, more of my serious relationships have been with women born under the sign of Cancer than with any other; in fact, there have been no Gemini or Libra, which are supposed to be a natural fit for me. Go figure!

~*~

My, what ancient history this, too, has become!

FOR THE WIDER GOOD

June 11, 2015June 2, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

Be wary of folks who seem to believe they’re better than the rest of us. (They’re likely to expect more than their share.)

Yes, respect superior skills and abilities, especially when they’re used for the wider good.

But see through the mask, as well.

(Oh, I hope I’m not wearing mine …)

HIGH STREET STYLE

June 11, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

Situated at the mouth of the Merrimack River, Newburyport, Massachusetts, has a historic harbor and charming brick downtown – one that echoes many others in New England, for that matter. Its residential neighborhoods are likewise filled with a range of fascinating details from many historic styles. But for me, the real glory is High Street, built at the height of the lucrative whale oil business. Interspersed among the dominant federal-style houses are some other fine examples. Here’s a sampling.

Lingering Georgian, without many of the distinctive details.

Greek Revival Temple, here a former church converted to private residence. It has an attached matching garage.

Georgian "Colonial" Revival — Georgian “Colonial” Revival

FEDERAL ROW

June 10, 2015April 10, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

The federal style of architecture flourished from the 1780s into the 1820s, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a finer sampling of it than in Newburyport, Massachusetts – especially along High Street. Here are a few examples.