Welcome spring!
Mixmaster? Just look at ‘Pit-a-Pat High Jinks’
What, me as a Mixmaster?
Just look at the topics percolating in my novel Pit-a-Pat High Jinks.
Here are ten:
- The early ’70s. The counterculture movement has changed. It’s no longer centered in a handful of big cities or a few isolated communes but is now found across the country, often revolving around college campuses.
- Back to the earth. For those who move out into the countryside, the new digs could be perplexing. Most of the hippies came from the city or suburbs, and few knew much about gardening or raising chickens or general household maintenance or even cooking. It could be a steep learning curve.
- Intentional households. Settling in with a group living together presents unique problems, even when it’s not a full-fledged commune. Just what are the advantages and disadvantages, anyway?
- Friends and housemates. Kenzie arrives in a place where he knows only one person but quickly encounters a host of friendly new faces. And through them, his adventures really take off. Where would he be without them?
- Each one is different.
- That first full-time job. Learning to cope can be a challenge.
- For Kenzie, this arises as Tibetan Buddhism and its daily practice.
- Couch surfing. The term hadn’t been coined yet, but here he is, spending many nights in friends’ apartments rather than back at the farm.
- His best friend’s collection of drums provides a counterpoint to the narrative. Just listen to how expressive this can be.
- Personal healing and growth. Kenzie undergoes a transformation through this time of seeming retreat. He emerges stronger, more caring, and happier, especially.
Be among the first to read my newest novel.
Kinisi 3
generosity / economy
Those dark-roasted coffee beans and the Cuisinart
The automatic coffeemaker came from a yard sale. A Cuisinart for, as I recall, five bucks or so. It even grinds its own beans at 4 in the morning, just like we ordered.
We like our brew with a Latin kick. Cuban roasted, for instance. Like espresso, which I turn au lait – or, in this case, Ole’!
Even curbing back my caffeine intake to a cup a day, as my doctor ordered, it’s heavenly.
Imagine rolling over in bed, hearing the grinder kick in downstairs, and then finding the pot freshly made.
What a way to say good morning to the world!
When Cassandra pipes up
My final revisions of my new novel, What’s Left, heightened the role of her best friend forever and first-cousin, Sandra – short for Cassandra. She’s now active from age 11 on (rather than being central to the final chapter alone) and provides some punchy counterpoint to Cassia’s discoveries and questions during their adolescence.
Some vital exchanges occur when Cassia is railing to be in a “normal” family, unlike theirs, and Sandra points out her own struggles fitting in – her mother’s Japanese-American from San Francisco, after all, rather than from Indiana where she and Cassia live.
Sandra also has a heated perspective on their three great-aunts that Cassia doesn’t quite understand. As for their Barbie dolls? You’ll just have to see.
Ten values I expect in a bud
Defining just exactly makes someone a best friend can be rather elusive. But here’s a stab at it from my end.
- That is, someone I can deeply respect and trust. Included would be honesty, confidentiality – a gossip, never, and kindness.
- Gentle sense of humor or playfulness.
- Mutual interests. There doesn’t have to be a complete overlap, but having activities and causes we undertake together is vital. For me, it’s typically Quaker Meeting or the music we sing together in a choir. Oh, yes, and I can’t overlook reading itself.
- Curiosity – and a delight in learning. A desire to understand the world around us also opens my eyes to so much I’d otherwise not know.
- Shared friendships and community. If they reject you – or you find them annoying – there’s trouble.
- Equal give-and-take over the long haul. Yes, there will be rough stretches where I’ll need to be quite supportive and other times when I’ll be the needy one, but it can’t always be one-sided.
- Appropriate tone. I have difficulty being around a loud individual. I prefer a good listener, someone who can also be comfortable with silence.
- Generosity and caring. Just look how they treat others for a clue.
- Good taste. That is, a touch of class and style – nothing vulgar.
- Not too picky. They’re dealing with me, after all.
~*~
What qualities would you add to your list? Which ones would you delete?
~*~
Continuing the poetry parade, see what’s new at THISTLE/FLINCH.
Food as the new cultural touchstone
My wife came across an article that noted the primary cultural focus in 21st century America is fine food and wine. It’s what intelligent people discuss, even argue about, in casual conversation. And just look at all the writing focused on it today.
A related factor the article raised was that in modern history, in each century one nation has dominated in one art form rather than many. That’s had me thinking, even though I think America led on two fronts in the 2oth century.
Here are ten examples that spring to my mind.
- Painting and sculpture. 16th century Italian masters.
- Theater. 16th century England. Shakespeare is unrivaled.
- Painting. 17th century Dutch masters.
- Painting. 19th century France culminating in Impressionism.
- The symphony. 19th century Germany towering in Beethoven and Brahms. Do we think of Vienna as essentially German?
- The novel. 19th century England and America. Moby Dick and Huckleberry Finn may be flawed but they remain original masterworks.
- Opera. 19th century Italy. Verdi and Puccini remain the core of the repertoire.
- Ballet. 19th century Russia. Its great symphonists excelled here. And look where the great dancers and teachers still come from.
- Movies. 20th century America. (Shall we consider Hollywood as a nation unto itself?)
- Popular music. 20th century America as jazz and then rock evolve. (Note that this happens more in the eastern half of the country – New Orleans, Kansas City, Memphis, Cleveland, Nashville, but especially New York.)
I’ll leave it to others to look for the food trends over time.
What else would you add to this list?
I once gave up fish for Lent
Original? Turns out the Eastern Orthodox do this, too … every year.
I’d still take the room atop the tower
When a Chinese student stayed in our home
Last summer, we had a college student from China stay in our home while he worked an internship at the children’s museum in town.
We found it to be an enriching experience.
His big desire was to improve his English, which he did, but he also wanted to “eat American.” That meant, as we learned, that he really loved our homemade Mexican more than a Big Mac … and my fried rice more than the Chinese restaurant downtown. And don’t overlook the brownies and potato chips.
Lobster, on the other hand, required too much labor to dissect, as his friends agreed.
As a city boy, he was annoyed by the insects when we dined outdoors. Alas, we ate indoors a bit too often.
In return, we’ve been endowed with some of the best green tea in North America, along with some great memories.
His English was, shall we say, much better than my Spanish (my point of reference in trying to translate to another language), but our great discovery was of an effective way to translate when we got stuck on an interpretation. No, it wasn’t a dictionary. It was the ubiquitous cell phone.
Like when he wanted to buy some sleepers.
Pajamas?
No, sleepers.
After a few rounds of that, he pulled up the image online.
We were in the drug store.
Oh, flip-flops! Now I understood.
That is, slippers.
Made sense to me. An “i” can, after all, be pronounced as “ee.” It is in Spanish, for that matter.
We headed for the aisle behind him, found a suitable pair for under three bucks – made in China, actually. Small world?
Continue reading “When a Chinese student stayed in our home”
Jnana's Red Barn 