The Recognition

 

With 2 good sized snows this week, we only attended real school for 1.5 days. At the beginning of the week kids played outside and teachers stayed in jammies, but by the end of the week we were required to e-learn. That's where everyone simultaneously attempts to get on a digital meeting in order to learn.

E-learning days are stressful for people like me who tend to stress over things whenever possible.  This one had its ups and downs, as per usual. Some kids could see and/or hear me, some could not.  Some kids easily joined the meeting, others had parents emailing me repeatedly that they could not join the meeting. Some kids cooperated, other kids held up cats and toy cars to the camera while making random noises. One kid was disappointed when I denied his request for a tour of my home.

With the kids who were present both physically and emotionally, we read and wrote and mathed.  Learned a bit about tundra swans. Looked at some fossils.

I gave the morning a 4 on the fist of 5 scale, but the majority of 3rdLanders held up all 5 fingers.  One cheerful boy said, "I love e-learning.  We're all together.  I actually feel a little sorry for my sister 'cause she does e-learning just on her iPad. All by herself. She doesn't get to have what we have--- all this!"  He waved his arms around strangely. I've got to borrow this kid's positive attitude I thought, but mostly I wondered how his sister's teacher was spending the morning. I was forced to remind myself yet again to mind my own business and to move along. 

After the meeting ended, I waited for recognitions to roll in. Surely someone would want to compliment me for  educating our nation's youth on a glitchy, developmentally inappropriate platform with snow falling and calling from right outside the window. Where were the bouquets and statuettes?  Simple emails of gratitude?

 It took awhile to get my head on straight, to realize I would receive no rewards that day.  

I made a cup of tea, pulled the big chair over near the bay window and gathered my notebook and tome stack. 

An afternoon off would have to be almost reward enough. 

2 plastic mastodons are buried under this snow.  Just like the ice age.

Note the absence of gift packages.

The Trees

In Indianapolis, there's a Kile Oak that's 500 years old. Oldest tree in Indiana, but before you get in your car with your camera, it's my sad job to tell you that our old oak is closed to visitors because of alleged "safety concerns" after Hurricane Helene.

A basin bristle cone pine is our country's oldest tree. Coming up on its 5000th birthday, it lives in Inyo National Forest in California. Unfortunately I can't tell you more than that because its exact location is kept "secret." Evidently someone decided old tree lovers are shifty, untrustworthy sorts with evil in their hearts. 

The Big Oak pictured above behind 3 of our children is over 200 years old.  Our 200+ year old Big Oak is right there on Big Oak Trail near Lake Monroe.  No one bothers it a bit as far as I can tell.  

Elderly trees probably would enjoy some company.  I hope in 2025 we can lighten up and let the tree fans drop by for a chat and a photo. 

 Until then, don't forget that you can always come to Bloomington if you want to see a majestic tree that's super old. If you're really desperate for some aged flora,  drop by High Street if you want to see our 36 year old house plant that my parents gave us when we first moved to Indiana. It's pretty amazing. 

  

 

The Wrongs and the Songs

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child lists about 40 unconditional rights that all children on the planet have. 

 I taught about this amazing international treaty several years ago.  At that time only 3 countries had not ratified the treaty:  Somalia, South Sudan and the US.  

Teaching the treaty now, in 2024, I discover that the US is the only country ON THE PLANET that will not ratify the UNCRC.

Really ticks me off.  Can we just ratify?  The treaty protects children from dangerous labor, cruel incarceration, and corporal punishment. Can we just ratify it please?  We look like idiots. 

There are the usual reasons why we won't ratify, but the big one is that Parental Rights groups and Republicans don't like the treaty.  Surprise Surprise. 

On a lighter note, I'm really getting in to this Cool Yule song.  Enjoy if you want to.

 

The Salmon

Hermit Crab in Captivity - Gig Harbor

 CARKEEK Park in Seattle is the site of a record breaking salmon run this year. In the past month, thousands of CHUM salmon have flailed up Piper's Creek to spawn and die.  

We ventured to CARKEEK over T-Day break to witness this incredible event. We saw salmon fighting to hurl their bodies further upstream in the rocky shallows.  We saw hundreds of salmon corpses rotting along the creek beds.  We smelled the putrid stench of death.  

I'm trying to focus on their inspiring life stories, but the trauma of watching the chum struggle to their deaths lingers, haunting my days and nights.  The smell wafts through my nasal cavities as if I never left Piper's Creek.

I wish the chum salmon could have a more peaceful end.  Could more water be added to the creek?  Something to think about for next year, Seattle. At the very least, prompt, respectful removal of chum carcasses should also be considered. 

I didn't get photos of the salmon run because of the trauma I experienced, but I'll never unsee the images from that apocalyptic visit.  Here's  a photo I found online.  Multiply this scene by one trillion and you'll come close to understanding the heroic end of the chum. 

The Hand Turkeys

 Our hand turkeys this year expressed our homage to favorite artists.  Here's the rundown.

Husbandman - Inspired by Starry Starry Night.  I loved this one.

30 Something turkified Wayne Thiebaud's beautiful paintings of pies and cakes. I loved this one too.

I took an easy road with the Matisse collage turkey. Pretty basic, but I still love it.

JL calls up the joys of painting of the indomitable Bob Ross.  Hilarious.  I love his little easel.

Neph knocked it out of the park with this homage to Jacob Lawrence.  I mean.  Wow.  Frame this one immediately. They're holding little turkeys. Love it so much.

Botticelli.  Birth of Venus.  So beautiful. Thanks, Eve for this amazing work of art.

K saw the reliquary containing John the Baptist's hand in the cathedral of Siena. I wish I could see that some day but for now, this turkey is the next best thing.  I love it.

Maurizio Catalana taped a banana to a wall.  The rest is history. What a fun hodgepodge of art deco with minimalist modern.  LOVE it!

Obviously we've done a great job with the hand turkeys once again. 

It's pretty amazing. 

The Giving of Thanks

 Just because the world's coming to an end doesn't mean we have to shut down this phenomenal blog.  I'm getting straightened out over here and stepping up with the blogging for my readers who have been with me through thick and thin lo these many decades. If you are reading these words at this moment in time, I thank you both heartily.  You're the reason I do this grueling work. 

Here's the latest with leeway:

Last Sunday I broke my toe.  I was walking down the stairs, carrying sundry objects, and I skipped that crucial last step.  Hard to understand how or why that happened, but it did. Lots of things are hard to understand right now and this is one of them. I just have to deal with it.

In the slippage I came down hard on all the toes on my left foot. Sprawled on the floor, screeching in agony, I feared the worst, but X-ray technology showed that I broke only my large toe, also called the great toe, or the hallux.  When Orthopedist Pal JR, disclosed that my hallux was cracked, I complained, "Rats. It's one of my favorite toes."

JR commiserated, "It's the one that goes to market."  

Truer words were never spoken.  

I have to wear the boot for one month which seems excessive for one toe, but the good news is I had a boot in the closet that I wore last time I damaged my left foot by breaking it in two different places when I fell in the backyard on my birthday after challenging Husbandman, "Race you to the car!"  

The boot is cumbersome, but I'm tough and I rarely complain about stuff like boots. Not thrilled to be wearing the boot on the 5 hour flight to Seattle tomorrow, but maybe I can take it off and leave it in the aisle when people aren't up and about. 

In conclusion, today I give thanks to readers, doctor friends, boots in closets, and vacations.  Soon we'll be making the hand turkeys of 2024.

The Misunderstanding

 My belief that everyone is "unshakeably good" has been tested severely this week. 

 It now occurs to me, plain as day, that some peeps are "shakeably good," and a whole big bunch of others are unshakeably bad. 

  This is a significant shift in my perspective about my fellow citizens.  

 I hoped beyond hope that "joy (would) cometh in the morning," but I woke up on Wednesday in a joyless place with much weeping and worry and it looks we'll all be living here for the foreseeable future. 

I'm developing a plan for a life of isolation and ignorance and I now present it to you in a bulleted list. 

•  I'm not going to read or listen to any source of NEWS.  Good riddance. 
• We will probably also move to France, where I can walk around in a blissful bubble while HM works,  unable to communicate with others, unable to understand what's happening around me. 
• Moving back with the BLUES people of California also appeals. 
• The plan includes near constant collage and notebook doodling. 

 That's all I have of the plan right now.  

The "Offerings"

Someone keeps putting ridiculous objects on my front porch Buddha. Useless coins and small bills appear no matter how many times I remove them.  

Today I threw away this inexplicable offering of a blue letter A birthday candle put there by someone clearly making a mockery of my Buddha in order to get on my last nerve. 

Not sure if it's the mail carrier doing the defacing, but I highly suspect it is because no one else comes to my house. I also suspect the college kids across the street.  I've called the police about their loud parties four times and I know they're not pleased about that. Well, too bad. Have some respect for your neighbors!  

I'm having a small sign made professionally to put in front of my Buddha.  It says:

Keep AWAY.  

 My Buddha neither needs, nor wants, your trash.  

He's doing just fine.  

Thank you.  

The sign arrives next week.  Let's hope it puts a stop to this nonsense. I'm at my wit's end.

The Field Trip

 We went to the History Center yesterday.  When we were leaving, our guide thanked me for helping her with her guided tours.  My help involved getting 3rdLanders to pay attention to our guide.  She told me I could take any artifact from the museum that I could carry out with me, so I took this doll.  

It was no contest.  This doll has been beaten down, but they're still here. Head held high. In your face attitude.  This doll is a role model to dolls and humans alike.  

The PeacePlayer #1

 I saw this gal across the street yesterday as I was noodling around our courthouse square after an outdoor dinner with SL.  

I asked if I could take a photo. We talked about peace for a bit. She and her friend set up around town with their violins and their sign.  She said, "It's a small thing we can do." They've been peace playing for a few years now. Come to find out, there's always more violence to play over. 

I heard her music from my car window on my way home. Well done. 

The Winner

 I'm afraid to write this, but I have a feeling that 3rdLand is calming down. Just maybe, we're slowly  starting to grok one another. 

Forget you ever read that.  I've probably jinxed it now.  Another bad decision on my part.  Why do I do these things?

Moving on quickly....

We went to our 200th Lotus Festival this weekend.  I bought the festival t-shirt that has a sea turtle on it.  I love sea turtles, but why a sea turtle? We may never know.  We saw musicians from India, Mali, Pakistan, Canada, Ukraine and Virginia. Usual drill. Some we loved more than others, but I'm not going to lie---the festival overall pleased us greatly yet again.

I know you've all been waiting, so here it is...

This year...the 2024 LeewayLotus Trophy goes to....USTAD NOOR BAKHSH and his amazing benju wizardry. 

Born into a shepherd family in Pakistan, Ustad became obsessed with the benju at age 7. He apprenticed with a benju master at 14 who had his same name, but was no relation.  After decades of playing around, doing his thing,  anthropologist Daniyal Ahmed searched him out and made some music videos.  These went viral.  Now Ahmed is Ustad's manager and Ustad plays all around the world. Ustad, age 79, now supports his extended family.  They recently added running water and a bathroom to their residence. California friends, maybe you caught Ustad at Hardly Strictly?

By the way, the official name for the benju is bulbul tarang, which means "waves of nightingales." The benju evolved from a Japanese instrument, probably brought around the world by Japanese sailors, called a Taishōgoto.  

    The Taishōgoto was developed in 1912 by the musician Gorō Morita in Nagoya. He came up with the idea of combining the mechanics of a typewriter with an instrument.  (wikipedia)  Well done Goro!

 In an attempt to avoid working on dreaded report cards, I've spent time reading about Ustad's home province of Balochistan this morning.  Balochistan, you might want to work on your literacy rate.  Not good. Just saying.

  I'm probably listening to Ustad's EP as you read this. You can learn more about Ustad here and listen to some of his music if you feel like it. 

Congratulations, Ustad, and don't be a stranger!   Your birdsongs are always welcome here.