OMG! Trapped in reality!! Swear swear swear

Our old house is empty except for a bed, a little food, a television and -- of course -- my computer fortress holding out until the last minute. 

We vacate this house Sunday and move into the new house Tuesday. 

And, despite promises that it is coming soon, there is curerently no fucking Internet service available!! 

(Please know that I have always been careful to avoid using obscentity in my blog...but this time, I think, it is appropriate).

I'm told that there are some wireless hotspots available. 

Great.  People who tell me that obviously have no concept of how I use the Internet.  I am not happy and several additional swear words would be appropriate here as well but I am restraining myself.  

I feel like Amelia Earhart and my plane is going down into some mysterious jungle.  I suppose that occasionally I will take Karen's laptop to Barnes and Noble to hunt for wifi but until I can bludgeon some cable providers into recognizing our street as a viable market for their services, I'm trapped in reality.  I may actually have to talk to people.  Damn.  

But I promise, like Douglas McArthur, "I shall return!"

And, begging your pardon again, "Shit!"  

Pros and Cons of "Defining Moments"

Our unique talent for "defining things" has been more important to the survival and growth of the human race than opposable thumbs.

·         Hey!  That fuzzy round thing floating around my mouth that makes me belly feel better is a "bottle" (otherwise known as a "ba-wa").

·         That thing on the tree branch under which my friend is about to walk is a "saber tooth tiger" (otherwise known as an "Ug ug ug!")

·         That thing promising to watch out for my best interests is a "politician" (otherwise known as a "self-righteous greedy bastard")

Our ability to define who we think we are is essential for introducing ourselves to each other.   "Hi.  I'm an overweight, balding, retired writer, photographer, and harried grandfather."

Defining where I end and where you begin is one of the most exciting parts of falling in love.  However, it can also become problematic in marriage.

Defining things can become very complex and addictive for people who enjoy thinking.

The biggest problem with defining things is when we hold on to our precious definitions even when confronted with conflicting reality.  I was once a marathon runner.  Fortunately, I recognize that I am no longer a marathon runner.  (At least not with more work than I'm willing to put into it).

I used to think I was Ernest Hemingway but my best writing was never done when I was pretending to be Ernest Hemingway.  Come to think of it, Ernest Hemingway's best work was never done when he was pretending to be Ernest Hemingway.  

I would probably like both Obama and Romney much more if we were all just walking our dogs in the woods.  But the Presidential stakes are so high that they have legions of advisors coaching them on how to define themselves as who they are suppose to be. 

I'm not sure where I was going with all of this. 

I think, at the moment (4:30 a.m.), I am holding on too hard to my self-definition as a very clever, humorous, blog-writer.  But the reality is that a better definition of myself right now (4:35 a.m.) is someone who is really, really tired and should go back to bed and get a few more hours of sleep before the grandchildren wake up. 

Friday Hometown Shootout - Public Statues

It is only ten days before we move!  We've had a yard sale and sent other bigger stuff to a local auction house.  We've moved out stuff to Goodwill and given other stuff away.  The shed, the garage, the closets have all spilled their guts into boxes and over the floor.  A direct hit by a tornado would have probably been more efficient and easier.  Preparing to close on two houses (one as seller, one as buyer) in two days.  Turning off and on water, electricity, cable...Internet is still a possible problem where we are going which freaks me out but people keep assuring me..

But I have missed my friends at Blogspot terribly!!  A few times, I've tried to grab a chance to look at my favorite bloggers or check out the Friday shoot...and the phone rings or the kids run in or, frankly, I fall asleep at the desk.  

But one of the things that fell out of old drawers was a box of work I did in 1973 in Boston (which still qualifies, I think, as a hometown since I lived there for a long time).  I was trying to get a book published on "Boston Statues."   There were hundreds of 8x10's I had done in a make-shift darkroom.  There were reams of research and typescript - white-out and all -- of some of the chapters.  Always trying to find an unusal approach to make standard public statues interesting.  There was even the correspondence from several publishers, one of which was ready to do the book if I could expand it to New England because Boston was too limited.  (I didn't have the energy or the financial independence to put another two years into the project so the book was never done).

But since I had scanned some of the pictures in the past and since this week's topic is public statues (or public art or something like that) I had to push myself to do at least one post.  I'll see you all around mid-August after we've unpacked and I've solved the Internet problem. 

In the meantime: 

BOSTON STATUES - 1973

I did do one in color - not in the darkroom, however.

I've always loved public statuary and I really hope I'll have a chance at least to see what the rest of you do with this topic. 

I really miss you all!



Why I'm not blogging much

I'm sure my blog is packed in one of these boxes.

I think Bagman is snoring in the garbage bag on the couch

OMG! Panic-city!

I'll try not to sound like I'm feeling too sorry for myself since Librarian caught me whining in my last blog...but as our move from our current house to our new house -- still being built and hopefully completed by August 1st or we'll be living in temporary housing for a month or so -- Hmmm...I've just hit a grammatical wall and can't complete the last sentence in any meaningful way.

Where was I?  Oh yes, packing boxes, setting up yard sales, etc.  

Karen is very excited.  Matching furniture, thinking about curtains, placement of things.  I'm providing muscle since I don't really care where things go.

But today...panic just hit!   Since it is a new house in a new development, the phone/Internet companies have not yet laid cable lines.   I'm sure they will but nobody will give us a time table yet.

In other words -- no Internet!!!   I can do a few things, I suppose, by taking our iPad to Starbucks but this will effectively shut down my self-employment as a stock trader since I need high speed DSL to keep up with streaming quotes, etc.  

No Internet!   I'll have to live in the real world for awhile!   Holy Crap!  

I'm not complaining!  Maybe it will be good for me!  

Okay, maybe I am complaining.

Happy Fourth of July

...which I realize is a purely American Holiday (except for those native Americans that were here before the better-armed Americans arrived). 

But almost everyone enjoys a day off from work, at least.   Well...except for those of us who are retired and get to do chores no matter what day of the week it is.   And I guess for those who are unemployed and wish they had work to have a day off from in the first place. 

I didn't mean to turn into the Fourth of July Grinch.  Sorry.   Keep it simple, Mark.  Happy Fourth of July.

And I thought I'd better send out a message so that anyone who is still bothering to follow me will know that I am still alive although buried under a growing avalanche of boxes and furniture and knick-knacks...

Some of which will go to the new house
Some of which will go to an auction house
Some of which will go to a yard sale
Some of which will go to the trash

...I'm not quite sure which box I used to store my mind.