Thxgiving

 it's no secret that I enjoy time on the patio chatting with birds & lizards. but today was special. I was sitting in the last of the day's sun when a rabbit poked out of the big bush which birds live in. he stoppd when he saw me. I began to speak quietly & slowly. his ears twitchd but he stayd in place. he didn't engage but finally felt comfortable enuf to sniff around for fallen berries. I tried to be cheerful. he appeard to not really care what I was saying. & finally he skippd by right in front of me.

it felt good to have met a potential new friend.

my Sherwood Anderson sonnet

 

                                                       Toucan (Winter 1968)         

a milestone addition

 near the entrance to Budman Studio is a vessel full of marbles. Jim invites visitors to take one. I see that as an art piece.

of course I was eager to have one. I chose a small one knowing immediately that I'd put it in "box of little bags." that piece began in 2018 when I found a penny in the sauna at my gym. as I baggd & labeld the Budman marble I realizd it's the 100th item in my work.

I love when art overlaps.

letters

 they've always been important to me. & the archivist in me developd at an early age because I saved them.

in my collection at Kent State the first letter in that vast holding was from the children's writer Lois Lenski. she was responding to a fan letter I wrote to her at age 10.

unfortunately a downside of technology is our group abandonment of letter writing. it's all quick e-mails. & yes I'm guilty too. so when I got a real letter yesterday I was thrilld. & its content elevatd my excitement.

I consider my gift of nearly 40 pieces from my art collection to the Allen Museum on the campus of Oberlin College to be one of the good things I've done in life. I will always cherish the memory of my first visits there. my first exposure to real art. to know that from time to time a piece that once adornd my walls is now on view for many makes me feel good.

I hope you don't find it immodest of me to share this letter but I'm feeling rather proud.

over the years

 I've had ideas for books that still rattle in my head but rarely leave that place.

one mite be calld "Witness to History." I envision a group of chapters each focusing on the life of someone who accidentally saw something everyone remembers. & how being a footnote to history effectd the rest of that person's life. the impetus came from Mary Ann Vecchio. she was 14 years old when her image became iconic. she was "the girl in the photo" when she was on the Kent State campus at the moment of the murders.

the second person whose life I wantd to consider was Betty Bersinger. she was the one who discoverd the body of Elizabeth Short. if you know my work you know I've had an enduring fascination with the Black Dahlia case.

just tonite I learnd that Bersinger died 2 years ago at the age of 103. although she gave some interviews during her life she was reportd to have spent periods when she tried to avoid any connection to the famous case.

I know that book will never be written by me but I'd love to read it. & I gladly give the idea to anyone who wishes to do the research.

sorry

 for my absence.

I'm not sure why I've been away from here. I cd blame it on the discomfort I feel living in a country going down the toilet. but I still post regularly on social media. if you really miss me you can check in on FB & IG.

I don't know how to catch up. perhaps a glance back at this past weekend. it was our annual Pride on the Page. a chance to hear & connect with LGBT writers. & there was a poetry reading. I remember when they were such an important part of my life. now less frequent. this reading had a half dozen poets. for me the most powerful was Steven Reigns who did a selection from his new book Outliving Michael.

if I were Paul Metcalf

 I'd write a piece abt the 2 Edith Wilsons I saw as a boy. their stories. how they overlapped (or didn't). & how those biographies resonated with the history of our nation.

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. perhaps the most powerful First Lady.

Edith Wilson. jazz singer who for years portrayd Aunt Jemima.