tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57340563006259936102024-03-12T19:46:13.990-07:00Brown EyesJohn Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-15458403428579376832023-12-25T12:45:00.000-08:002023-12-25T12:48:58.208-08:002023 In Review<script type="text/javascript">
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</script><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl2U2w-1YO9K42ZoRDUS1xpNaJEFIeEYM2EMNFYlZ8uzonjK5jBJdZk-M5bb8Vk-mOL8S82bUnOODmVBpkw6wO9nfnPhWxcTV_v7u-nK2quxEv2AGiBrdEvvALNlzRcwjAdssvr2q8VDyi1qL9WsezE-Y-S_9c9gFLizEtpJxQ12jQU_YUCz3ID9U0QnA=w640-h245" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: left;">People viewing an eclipse, Balboa Park, October 14</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl2U2w-1YO9K42ZoRDUS1xpNaJEFIeEYM2EMNFYlZ8uzonjK5jBJdZk-M5bb8Vk-mOL8S82bUnOODmVBpkw6wO9nfnPhWxcTV_v7u-nK2quxEv2AGiBrdEvvALNlzRcwjAdssvr2q8VDyi1qL9WsezE-Y-S_9c9gFLizEtpJxQ12jQU_YUCz3ID9U0QnA"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">All across the surface of the globe, a weary, exhausted humanity, filled with self-doubt and uncertain of its history, prepared itself as best it could to enter a new millennium.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">— Michel Houellebecq, The Elementary Particles</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgub4YXXnNBzh0Iw-3rHUNt4QM8wnOM84kWqdqFE-rlJBLnx-Y5QPZuJX4vF9t5DwN1cXFFWrxwpI15sbO-IR5QCOsvuEZc0MDkbKpW-_U5pTmAz_d1EJ9M6oUj98L_hNgesz9ohYCGpihg8MSO9B0actp28yOMXJ_KYZc3NmORtD7djadlWHhFCgOeMKQ"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgub4YXXnNBzh0Iw-3rHUNt4QM8wnOM84kWqdqFE-rlJBLnx-Y5QPZuJX4vF9t5DwN1cXFFWrxwpI15sbO-IR5QCOsvuEZc0MDkbKpW-_U5pTmAz_d1EJ9M6oUj98L_hNgesz9ohYCGpihg8MSO9B0actp28yOMXJ_KYZc3NmORtD7djadlWHhFCgOeMKQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Hello everyone,<br />2023 was not the best year for humanity. We could call it a "mixed bag," at the risk of breaking that word. Many of us hoped for more peace and harmony in the world, but in several places, the world wasn't listening. There may be only so much peace and harmony that humans are capable of, like it or not. Bearing this in mind, I won't put off reporting on our little lives, waiting for global conditions to improve.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggTy33A72KxFIn1MOItYu2rkqaD89bKNF12cnLSv1Sno5kxOjpLn2qst480_839q8HojC-q675C_oMqLh8vKUzXAUanrH7nbz9eF0UZY_Ah45cEWgxWZrSHPBTB2CKK45N2Ww8ejtjVwcu9kVPs1wIR7J-0NFM2_tWcJXZqIvOfhG1Lt2xvlBg0psrauE"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggTy33A72KxFIn1MOItYu2rkqaD89bKNF12cnLSv1Sno5kxOjpLn2qst480_839q8HojC-q675C_oMqLh8vKUzXAUanrH7nbz9eF0UZY_Ah45cEWgxWZrSHPBTB2CKK45N2Ww8ejtjVwcu9kVPs1wIR7J-0NFM2_tWcJXZqIvOfhG1Lt2xvlBg0psrauE=w640-h398" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Big rains visited Southern California this year, stirring up the ocean and throwing tons of rock past our favorite beach, burying the walkway. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtsVZfNxVgf35dI2qKXTTR4Q8RE97DOQlPuFbHA6h0pNOesC3ufEvQr1AdnEpvunYrx5jCgCygASRVGGHGdCfzZWmUEM3OhNSR84hZy0olqdc305thgkExeCkgs0Fm7YzjzoN7lMk3jRQ2yapq-JrcONsKFEqDKOPFGp8-ZD39cdiEh4U4wWIVJmeiw1Q"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtsVZfNxVgf35dI2qKXTTR4Q8RE97DOQlPuFbHA6h0pNOesC3ufEvQr1AdnEpvunYrx5jCgCygASRVGGHGdCfzZWmUEM3OhNSR84hZy0olqdc305thgkExeCkgs0Fm7YzjzoN7lMk3jRQ2yapq-JrcONsKFEqDKOPFGp8-ZD39cdiEh4U4wWIVJmeiw1Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrvrJ9EbACjY2VTlelI_3E_TWWDusphy-_Yc5YtuTzGfqvjhjoSSKNHnMFaYCoajugBe97gBhKwYfE1cctrXLJQuFNnaRvmunpYZNXTSf7I1M8Or6PKrsui2M-mf1Eb-4Y2Msvf688UJj6mqbyD5cibQx4lLtvKgAnlibSNstjGNGf8zfXf9uZ8Sl1ZyU"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrvrJ9EbACjY2VTlelI_3E_TWWDusphy-_Yc5YtuTzGfqvjhjoSSKNHnMFaYCoajugBe97gBhKwYfE1cctrXLJQuFNnaRvmunpYZNXTSf7I1M8Or6PKrsui2M-mf1Eb-4Y2Msvf688UJj6mqbyD5cibQx4lLtvKgAnlibSNstjGNGf8zfXf9uZ8Sl1ZyU=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Our hills blushed a delightful green glow, relieving their usual yellow and gray. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhafJ1tYmXP-RMG8-RB-9uoQl9RF2qIR8jpi8S3B--cxyDNC_S_0wV5ptPScwrtfkVOSia2gk3JiM9xNJRS6bzBgXv7OA9YGMJ8XL__i9o7lnMS70RObqyxPRl3XqEweZ_55WZHv78uUOn2QDxmxg8zWh52ciskWMEihifH8nsDRS4G6jUrAiL_XN_PNDA"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhafJ1tYmXP-RMG8-RB-9uoQl9RF2qIR8jpi8S3B--cxyDNC_S_0wV5ptPScwrtfkVOSia2gk3JiM9xNJRS6bzBgXv7OA9YGMJ8XL__i9o7lnMS70RObqyxPRl3XqEweZ_55WZHv78uUOn2QDxmxg8zWh52ciskWMEihifH8nsDRS4G6jUrAiL_XN_PNDA=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1Jihgsggk65aDChpv87eKe3jteH5vK6g3WQ9GAnilcYdcgIPj5HiN-i8olEVs6pbUsvxjifLJySdoHtH0GoePGt-ygZrZ5X6G2k8Mlzp8E9l2XmraQSRkEGCCc3j-zxe9hpSvp38jvbcHyh_ymiAn9dUiuJvSV3EwcfX2muzIbvwA2P1re3qiktgh_4E"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1Jihgsggk65aDChpv87eKe3jteH5vK6g3WQ9GAnilcYdcgIPj5HiN-i8olEVs6pbUsvxjifLJySdoHtH0GoePGt-ygZrZ5X6G2k8Mlzp8E9l2XmraQSRkEGCCc3j-zxe9hpSvp38jvbcHyh_ymiAn9dUiuJvSV3EwcfX2muzIbvwA2P1re3qiktgh_4E=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZnoqz2WTer7g10fumtGAXrvO94_tbJDJdJ8ikASJvU73Bel1SUAFXllXw3tx2ddxDyq9B7jwn_a-UjQGsY8gWNiMTRs1l9AnLHL5P8oWlpc6wFMVTFTY4anF7i7RuPzQrb0Mei0QqxK80fTeSgV0_Xsu5bteB6cGnCDoC1fHOi-pS1WqBWJc1wBSoSU"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZnoqz2WTer7g10fumtGAXrvO94_tbJDJdJ8ikASJvU73Bel1SUAFXllXw3tx2ddxDyq9B7jwn_a-UjQGsY8gWNiMTRs1l9AnLHL5P8oWlpc6wFMVTFTY4anF7i7RuPzQrb0Mei0QqxK80fTeSgV0_Xsu5bteB6cGnCDoC1fHOi-pS1WqBWJc1wBSoSU=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Max continued his studies in Arizona. He discovered a pilot career wasn't suited to him, and changed majors to Aviation Business. The curriculum is challenging, but he's doing well with it.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiYIfhH7-mgG3hdSVfhuCjDy-2Ho8I-GKDsxkfSE5yAIsykJQS0mGqqBFStYHPKD5HUF_63n90VdIQhdMcCDNvJQYdkG6_KN6NT8yKirzjDOoMitcngpbiaCNQqaTpgTrwyPay9NjWhOOUG3wOeC17WtaT0aBbZB_qUR72SaT-OimV-VJ1_sZA90nTiqI=w640-h480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Salzburg</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiYIfhH7-mgG3hdSVfhuCjDy-2Ho8I-GKDsxkfSE5yAIsykJQS0mGqqBFStYHPKD5HUF_63n90VdIQhdMcCDNvJQYdkG6_KN6NT8yKirzjDOoMitcngpbiaCNQqaTpgTrwyPay9NjWhOOUG3wOeC17WtaT0aBbZB_qUR72SaT-OimV-VJ1_sZA90nTiqI"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Max visited several countries in Europe in spring. He'd planned this trip for 2022, but the tour company canceled due to COVID developments. <br /><br />Misa and I remained in-country, keeping the bills paid.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOvIxuD-bxh0-ykl8JmgPyS13a83pulQSHQARUh0rqx8KR_wq1Ee3kEBoVd7qhH-GiXPNP7VYk73vt0Zut7tLHH3_rI4UNFAOOVPbs2WX1jrIoC_OI_auO48rgeIkTfVO2si0uwEqAmlwVBHnJfcK6wE6WUU69mU-Wo_DRQisyydZNoKPH6p1wavZNdvI"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOvIxuD-bxh0-ykl8JmgPyS13a83pulQSHQARUh0rqx8KR_wq1Ee3kEBoVd7qhH-GiXPNP7VYk73vt0Zut7tLHH3_rI4UNFAOOVPbs2WX1jrIoC_OI_auO48rgeIkTfVO2si0uwEqAmlwVBHnJfcK6wE6WUU69mU-Wo_DRQisyydZNoKPH6p1wavZNdvI=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />We drove north and visited the San Francisco Bay Area while Max was in Europe.<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2dGeERgAR5q7YMhgGb762dBgfGmTZs4OpYfCSCHAK0Wn5hSPZGa9cENMteq4frenIa3jQFZy2J6NUlkC1aKvvjEKDmkloKHFs11Ad-TxAzMxtQbSiUfDfKc9GVEm8w6zRfQ3uqfZrhAHA44olt7MloRIWVG_66EfcmgNAyudU9uz1sS0JHIq3mcAExMU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2dGeERgAR5q7YMhgGb762dBgfGmTZs4OpYfCSCHAK0Wn5hSPZGa9cENMteq4frenIa3jQFZy2J6NUlkC1aKvvjEKDmkloKHFs11Ad-TxAzMxtQbSiUfDfKc9GVEm8w6zRfQ3uqfZrhAHA44olt7MloRIWVG_66EfcmgNAyudU9uz1sS0JHIq3mcAExMU=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Mount Tamalpais still rules over the fog</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVmZxieMFDbmhMTta5w97iPabZm3RgvToRkfIBvAc0xs-B9NK8iX0U9JK4NTUYC17pTY4O2opIliajK5kqqm_1wsoGD6hCIBYdMyQI-MT-TBCFN4CnNeMwvLrc4SV3xuYHfg6sNA78QINP6NwQx9lLv2Tufyp_jkBzwnkyf8pV-kB1zzbWe6N0pvVJJlA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVmZxieMFDbmhMTta5w97iPabZm3RgvToRkfIBvAc0xs-B9NK8iX0U9JK4NTUYC17pTY4O2opIliajK5kqqm_1wsoGD6hCIBYdMyQI-MT-TBCFN4CnNeMwvLrc4SV3xuYHfg6sNA78QINP6NwQx9lLv2Tufyp_jkBzwnkyf8pV-kB1zzbWe6N0pvVJJlA=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Two old guys visit Da Bridge</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />We also visited my family in Dallas in December. The autumn leaves were in full color. I didn't remember seeing them before, even though I lived twenty years in Texas. It made me wonder if I don't pay attention to the right things.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUFVPiXqS3tlVQmworoL2IStIHscZVuaq0rH6uME2UVBPFvphJANDfEa6i5eTPN6MzRcc8lDqnHBLWtpcB2DPguAml1SeRDd2vaOb-Ad5yLTAwS4zNKyKKb7gkwfzY5V0OjqVFHhX8DVgr_ZO87XYT9LptgOOeudodwiM3cCj9KNRmOewYZgXV9c3dSOs"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUFVPiXqS3tlVQmworoL2IStIHscZVuaq0rH6uME2UVBPFvphJANDfEa6i5eTPN6MzRcc8lDqnHBLWtpcB2DPguAml1SeRDd2vaOb-Ad5yLTAwS4zNKyKKb7gkwfzY5V0OjqVFHhX8DVgr_ZO87XYT9LptgOOeudodwiM3cCj9KNRmOewYZgXV9c3dSOs=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The rest was just getting through the week. I found a bench in a secret place near my house. I go there on Fridays with a book and a can of strong beer. The thought of Friday Bench Time pulls me along, week to week.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ9Sa0XEfLneUgByF2EKWltEjxDBJyQn8ScYX0utWcll6zFwQOpi-wYZ7Yv3osfXYJMGEaxK9QGAAoF-VNgtOdN__9WNrrOtXepEfcmXhHhikOByLkuOBpyACv4PUcA-amg9XmgM8J63rZyaGB8509KLvvLVanNIG3tJ7omO942IxtPo69PNJgLU9d7VY"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ9Sa0XEfLneUgByF2EKWltEjxDBJyQn8ScYX0utWcll6zFwQOpi-wYZ7Yv3osfXYJMGEaxK9QGAAoF-VNgtOdN__9WNrrOtXepEfcmXhHhikOByLkuOBpyACv4PUcA-amg9XmgM8J63rZyaGB8509KLvvLVanNIG3tJ7omO942IxtPo69PNJgLU9d7VY=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />After completing a book, I often compare notes with my friend on GoodReads, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/117328858-edmund?ref=nav_mybooks">Edmund Roughpuppy</a>.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikZbV0H6MrViQBtDGejQ5WYZouiJK6PwBpYvfuozOGXdf0F9jWf9wya2Q_eGjotuH8Usc_36ULK4R4u1F8VEUHS2ZAlDRPauRFC9Hf5RT3qPCbk5geOYjO9n2IjtZVVD2aK7d5WSNQrAlS7yRrQ05bpsSTwfZLu_8p9OD9Zw7kdGZ9JZx-vLwV1vzih2o"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikZbV0H6MrViQBtDGejQ5WYZouiJK6PwBpYvfuozOGXdf0F9jWf9wya2Q_eGjotuH8Usc_36ULK4R4u1F8VEUHS2ZAlDRPauRFC9Hf5RT3qPCbk5geOYjO9n2IjtZVVD2aK7d5WSNQrAlS7yRrQ05bpsSTwfZLu_8p9OD9Zw7kdGZ9JZx-vLwV1vzih2o=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />On some Fridays I copied pieces of writing, with pen and paper. One of these is the Heart Sutra, also called "The Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Knowledge." Like many other religious texts, the sutra is purposely opaque, but I clean off the opacity with <a href="https://www.windex.com/en-us">Windex</a>. It contains the famous lines: <br /><br /><i>Form is emptiness: emptiness itself is form. <br />Emptiness is no other than form: form is no other than emptiness. <br />In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus . . . all [of our teachings] are emptiness. <br />There are no characteristics. <br />There is no birth and no cessation. <br />There is no impurity and no purity. <br />There is no decrease and no increase.</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJq95WpeAMeAX4Js3JhN_MpOmu6Uwek4QjBvGuatCoM4TYpIy3e5RdVSQivQR0kAAudIZ_aHxPethhdOq9jxx4fcD23V6e5-4R2LRFpBZ9O_18kOQcq35hxcCrZuwnZmAwXZaKG5vqOHs-XgQhWb544DSLOkLOUyZffwYcQFyiN0ZGWK7ksgWwcwZ9MWM"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJq95WpeAMeAX4Js3JhN_MpOmu6Uwek4QjBvGuatCoM4TYpIy3e5RdVSQivQR0kAAudIZ_aHxPethhdOq9jxx4fcD23V6e5-4R2LRFpBZ9O_18kOQcq35hxcCrZuwnZmAwXZaKG5vqOHs-XgQhWb544DSLOkLOUyZffwYcQFyiN0ZGWK7ksgWwcwZ9MWM=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br />Um, what is this emptiness? Empty of what?<br />Empty of our ideas, desires, expectations. We have thoughts about how the world is and how it should be, but the world itself will never know about them. The universe neither conforms to our ideas nor contradicts them; it simply continues being, the only way it can be.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhR4vbN3ofxDS02X_XUHBw6n2aLGDdhy-9SdkhCn7DsLr2xcxYRPnKBXdRjad6AghgTU5ri-l5Ge_2wA_9pTqsTsqa6TDKuj4dBpAqK9JzzVSJ089UQGdbLY38WJ4zQUwUqUZGU7C-lpszC-z3EwDTbeZwqB960F2TUjne0RGbM2LY3dTMACWFzwrhndxg"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhR4vbN3ofxDS02X_XUHBw6n2aLGDdhy-9SdkhCn7DsLr2xcxYRPnKBXdRjad6AghgTU5ri-l5Ge_2wA_9pTqsTsqa6TDKuj4dBpAqK9JzzVSJ089UQGdbLY38WJ4zQUwUqUZGU7C-lpszC-z3EwDTbeZwqB960F2TUjne0RGbM2LY3dTMACWFzwrhndxg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3ZOj2MsQJwOErj3iv3pxJEiZOGQDc4EOrxxGteL3IhRdMSrw9_kBaISV5MIcxJKn7eV6ABiFSQEWDnqNDPcOJrLZlT2TxmP1vpbXsyuxJOIFdU5lSljuJdsrvI5hRFaABBRw2SrMEH2J80RIcuJ696i5KABIFObHHA5yBvL8OxCOEDVGI9Zp8aBFsY9U"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3ZOj2MsQJwOErj3iv3pxJEiZOGQDc4EOrxxGteL3IhRdMSrw9_kBaISV5MIcxJKn7eV6ABiFSQEWDnqNDPcOJrLZlT2TxmP1vpbXsyuxJOIFdU5lSljuJdsrvI5hRFaABBRw2SrMEH2J80RIcuJ696i5KABIFObHHA5yBvL8OxCOEDVGI9Zp8aBFsY9U=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br />I thought about his while walking around the shoreline in La Jolla with Max, two days ago. Seals and dolphins played in the waves. I captured a short video; their short flights out of the water were impossible to keep up with.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6en--DyMfos" width="320" youtube-src-id="6en--DyMfos"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The big wave hammered me toward the beach. Bodysurfing was the best way to forget yourself. The power of the ocean made you understand your place in the natural scheme of things: You didn’t have one. The wave rose up and pounded the beach, with you or without you. This was a favorite notion of mine. It freed you from the disasters—past and present—of your life.</i></div><div style="text-align: right;">—Rick DeMarinis, The Morticians Apprentice, GQ, June 1992</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiknbodNTyWw4JD9tZ8twfoc4vwnk79GV_Fe0hGbk_SNw1SjAj-PpvcFhsXol5zlrT-EGRBfJ0OH19r25IX-OYIl0FVqkv54SuyJpQzdXbNxYApmz14cDSC3DEPJqtGui587gmFq8rUC0lebAiCYkz6sWSoFKqlGKX9Whd0sbRjq9Zlb0U5VgmJ8TijRU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiknbodNTyWw4JD9tZ8twfoc4vwnk79GV_Fe0hGbk_SNw1SjAj-PpvcFhsXol5zlrT-EGRBfJ0OH19r25IX-OYIl0FVqkv54SuyJpQzdXbNxYApmz14cDSC3DEPJqtGui587gmFq8rUC0lebAiCYkz6sWSoFKqlGKX9Whd0sbRjq9Zlb0U5VgmJ8TijRU=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: start;">Max on the Coaster Train, 2009</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyIxuNQoScnKZjjM2MySo9LFLF7e_MqsWNOCpJ313cs2b7j57NuSvuz2-kD5oEKwpN_4sncR9BJekdQ0aDMBXZz6jA7efSeJY9xV5bEpafab47Cy1ikWqjMKd5vr63mQQ9Q8wcj5epruHubQRVbLRoXtIf8AWY266qlsAulVddKBQzdyAqV9A_hbm5hYI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyIxuNQoScnKZjjM2MySo9LFLF7e_MqsWNOCpJ313cs2b7j57NuSvuz2-kD5oEKwpN_4sncR9BJekdQ0aDMBXZz6jA7efSeJY9xV5bEpafab47Cy1ikWqjMKd5vr63mQQ9Q8wcj5epruHubQRVbLRoXtIf8AWY266qlsAulVddKBQzdyAqV9A_hbm5hYI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: start;">Misa and Max on the Coaster Train, 2023</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkOsgeVRk3tCgdMt-yA_e7viMMFQqvsiAzaUVQmnSL6ACqZ87soJtH-U7Aq7uTMc14k9UvcYvoHfArWnWfyOrin5ZaiI0Zfni15ILdpi6nUYHz0W_5A8p0e8Fpcibr9l-kYayxYjtTDpdmmeX5gdhwoT9z11rMMVjvVh_wwgP0eEHehUmlkKG5MQzPBN4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkOsgeVRk3tCgdMt-yA_e7viMMFQqvsiAzaUVQmnSL6ACqZ87soJtH-U7Aq7uTMc14k9UvcYvoHfArWnWfyOrin5ZaiI0Zfni15ILdpi6nUYHz0W_5A8p0e8Fpcibr9l-kYayxYjtTDpdmmeX5gdhwoT9z11rMMVjvVh_wwgP0eEHehUmlkKG5MQzPBN4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: start;">San Diego Model Train Museum, 2009<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-SHk5muzT8ibw2eoHwOY8z27jutXS28J8AfJ0c55to_iSHw0COw--vVrU-NK68Lv4Ic-RHL-kwyMO7hq-4S8moZJvNG5W5K5zpszUd-LGL2v3uxQwaVUak8cPBwMt7P97qZkoGDJgp_JbwGop9ENXlj_2ztcqmG6aylcMZ8FNdBDAZfDdwFvaKigkJV4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-SHk5muzT8ibw2eoHwOY8z27jutXS28J8AfJ0c55to_iSHw0COw--vVrU-NK68Lv4Ic-RHL-kwyMO7hq-4S8moZJvNG5W5K5zpszUd-LGL2v3uxQwaVUak8cPBwMt7P97qZkoGDJgp_JbwGop9ENXlj_2ztcqmG6aylcMZ8FNdBDAZfDdwFvaKigkJV4=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: start;">2023</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />All the best to you in 2024.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixPJtMynzVMPSE0Ztx9uE1xYapoLJ-_9ixX3QttfxI8LHp1hmisN9aDeULZ6MMHvCxaSGrkoR3mzGobIaUAIiv0sABsViYRDWn1ErT6I-aEAGml65dUPg-rusXsv9S6pk9gGveGr1_YIDfpM7tyDyHSkAsN3P-2hyceTRchrqYQvLwWFqCjg98L8DImU4=w640-h480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: start;">The road behind</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjn41LbVCZy8iyeuQ77JUJV4TwZsQi36OUmxqBrkMP2s5LWDvZlR9_19IeQ-sueJKApQ2CZWCrajCoelswaP-9cOguusW4gCeUlRZi2FXIa_WVUTe2cCpBnshZYWKUb2l7Q54i4TksK5tjks-RyPyqsUjVSAkkGXtt2jDP2tVWgvDHazSQEeVVvB8BFqOk=w640-h480" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The road ahead</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3vENmXZ8qHStQouwVK_nS-LRrt34PqyO274yTzKnK7YyDzagi_5rsLqusn1E6BXrTa3ezpAsU28Rh3AqRN7ScvQFx8wZKnclX_vp_pdb6inU7NFsL87D6HGCWU3ZWeBpCmDEjCmBUC_xUW6K22skdWGNcz3hlug6kYImQjeZYtrif2yI1R98dheIBp3U"><img height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3vENmXZ8qHStQouwVK_nS-LRrt34PqyO274yTzKnK7YyDzagi_5rsLqusn1E6BXrTa3ezpAsU28Rh3AqRN7ScvQFx8wZKnclX_vp_pdb6inU7NFsL87D6HGCWU3ZWeBpCmDEjCmBUC_xUW6K22skdWGNcz3hlug6kYImQjeZYtrif2yI1R98dheIBp3U=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></span><br /></div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-21961245068635056502022-12-13T17:21:00.000-08:002022-12-13T17:21:58.184-08:002022 In Review<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I stored the memory for future examination because I knew that someday it would matter. </i>—Genie Zeiger, <i>How I Find Her</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Prologue, 1988</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENJbUgmXTcbv6h2h79txib9QDHqugbtdq-xREietofAyBDK0DU7SvSZ8nRs_NclltXm5gTgZYfl7B8PxWRm9fbmGmBi_usMO4STGWqGFEv6f4MuoE5tjTcEecrJ7_tMLbLw97vwki50NXildPLhZ0QSNTG8BI90cedeGEPMPVLJ31duWphztm4nd-/s3690/1988%20Fulton%20Street.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2731" data-original-width="3690" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENJbUgmXTcbv6h2h79txib9QDHqugbtdq-xREietofAyBDK0DU7SvSZ8nRs_NclltXm5gTgZYfl7B8PxWRm9fbmGmBi_usMO4STGWqGFEv6f4MuoE5tjTcEecrJ7_tMLbLw97vwki50NXildPLhZ0QSNTG8BI90cedeGEPMPVLJ31duWphztm4nd-/s320/1988%20Fulton%20Street.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fulton Street, with St. Ignatius Church, oil on panel, 1988</div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I painted this picture during the first months I lived in San Francisco. The city excited me, and I ran out with my paintbox at every opportunity. <br /><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNlPKRifSVCyBpruc6u2EuA1QIC9YVryjV0WguLGdiwR0IC_bsMKCCXzkZthdXytYRozTK8USMyA7bzixq7kHLIvOwfQhGtSFe1y3nD-e9udS3bHLA7qsKAc44yd_oRxxP4tK2HGlHEmx0v3yKYo4pXOTD4AOhpmx2GD7ON-Eb7Yp2xNmQx0o5cr1/s2400/Big%20Guy%20Little%20Guy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNlPKRifSVCyBpruc6u2EuA1QIC9YVryjV0WguLGdiwR0IC_bsMKCCXzkZthdXytYRozTK8USMyA7bzixq7kHLIvOwfQhGtSFe1y3nD-e9udS3bHLA7qsKAc44yd_oRxxP4tK2HGlHEmx0v3yKYo4pXOTD4AOhpmx2GD7ON-Eb7Yp2xNmQx0o5cr1/s320/Big%20Guy%20Little%20Guy.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Twenty years later, I passed St. Ignatius with a little boy beside me. He asked what happened in that big building.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;">Daddy: <i>You remember I told you about church? Some people think a big person made us and the world. They go to church to say hi to the big person.</i></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;">Max: <i>Yep.</i></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;">Daddy: <i>They call the big person "God."</i></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;">Max: <i>"God?" That's a yucky name! That's a trash can name, "God."</i></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><span><div style="text-align: left;">2022</div></span></span><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif6h3EQYlcQZCd4Hp6cZtcSzc_rs4x0Gj5RN6W2oRnrrkcbb_i36HEJ2NZAOsAP5c1QDjqBFgZMq9zYgoxdfsOCC-ud3e08DDx_DJrnZuNOJMQhyjnZFJFGvqJIQX7DRZ4BKWD6KhmysDk6_1KZ6woalgA62Mf5Q7NQAp-fYbSIMc44m6Ve6VIqZ-Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif6h3EQYlcQZCd4Hp6cZtcSzc_rs4x0Gj5RN6W2oRnrrkcbb_i36HEJ2NZAOsAP5c1QDjqBFgZMq9zYgoxdfsOCC-ud3e08DDx_DJrnZuNOJMQhyjnZFJFGvqJIQX7DRZ4BKWD6KhmysDk6_1KZ6woalgA62Mf5Q7NQAp-fYbSIMc44m6Ve6VIqZ-Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span><img alt="" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="410" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif6h3EQYlcQZCd4Hp6cZtcSzc_rs4x0Gj5RN6W2oRnrrkcbb_i36HEJ2NZAOsAP5c1QDjqBFgZMq9zYgoxdfsOCC-ud3e08DDx_DJrnZuNOJMQhyjnZFJFGvqJIQX7DRZ4BKWD6KhmysDk6_1KZ6woalgA62Mf5Q7NQAp-fYbSIMc44m6Ve6VIqZ-Y=w307-h230" width="307" /></span></a></span></div><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I want to acknowledge the terrible events in the larger world this year: war, earthquakes and violence we all are concerned about. If I ever discover something intelligent or helpful to say about them, I will. Meanwhile, my silence is motivated by respect and a desire not to interfere with those who try to help. </span></div><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYszN_wDaTx8SkB0mNkD_kX81xWiIyBKVt4RaEoVNt_44Lp0CyWuqzxUnn7c80CwPHTxDSnmVSHHkse3A5PEfPQSgfTSa-Z77TdPo9h-NbNBVcmzUdfmXeDacNAgc9dtjyNkuKKNUivWMKGuToyEVm6OfUAdoMCecKlPBJn9zqgHHzBpsucWp36pO/s3435/Max%20Graduation.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span><img border="0" data-original-height="2704" data-original-width="3435" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYszN_wDaTx8SkB0mNkD_kX81xWiIyBKVt4RaEoVNt_44Lp0CyWuqzxUnn7c80CwPHTxDSnmVSHHkse3A5PEfPQSgfTSa-Z77TdPo9h-NbNBVcmzUdfmXeDacNAgc9dtjyNkuKKNUivWMKGuToyEVm6OfUAdoMCecKlPBJn9zqgHHzBpsucWp36pO/w414-h326/Max%20Graduation.JPG" width="414" /></span></a><span><br /></span><span><br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR4VchutZzWZrORUNIHVB9i4I7xHISqgoafgrkWHd_pwzNPGvxtlUFutlVXaRq5KGXEVWaiHe3HFm_UYWT_hx9KI7FO73cHcETrtVtNUOiRg0z7xcCE9EW1JLHGbHEI0r-76Kn6kuYstb6wbmpkbhSZqTvlJApvM4VagUM6quAdUqmm7RCFq1iJMja"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="4015" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiR4VchutZzWZrORUNIHVB9i4I7xHISqgoafgrkWHd_pwzNPGvxtlUFutlVXaRq5KGXEVWaiHe3HFm_UYWT_hx9KI7FO73cHcETrtVtNUOiRg0z7xcCE9EW1JLHGbHEI0r-76Kn6kuYstb6wbmpkbhSZqTvlJApvM4VagUM6quAdUqmm7RCFq1iJMja=w554-h220" width="554" /></span></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Max with classmates from elementary school<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">each wears a shirt from their destination college</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Max completed high school in the spring. Parenthood is harder than I could imagine when I started. Graduation was no time to relax and appreciate a job well done. We immediately launched into the stress of helping Max choose his college and begin his semi-adult life. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As I wrote last year, we returned for a winter visit to the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Grand Forks looked pretty in the snow. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xCagmcLjlzXQHgrjM5a50rrQoe7qDkfEuWIj--hiVWoSH5Tp3YDdLGrBwsvsG4FCgA-zkXuMT1QKTQjw5ikeSEO-QCUnDkuoMmrzdwv2wNbtBH6qZ6LhZlNyDI2MvoGkYY3RXxXa7CTGjyjr30q3bMkrsb8Gf8NKcCFpbLvt4Bp1RY_1RGWy7wPN/s4032/Grand%20Forks%201.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xCagmcLjlzXQHgrjM5a50rrQoe7qDkfEuWIj--hiVWoSH5Tp3YDdLGrBwsvsG4FCgA-zkXuMT1QKTQjw5ikeSEO-QCUnDkuoMmrzdwv2wNbtBH6qZ6LhZlNyDI2MvoGkYY3RXxXa7CTGjyjr30q3bMkrsb8Gf8NKcCFpbLvt4Bp1RY_1RGWy7wPN/w392-h294/Grand%20Forks%201.HEIC" width="392" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdO4Zflcye8aQ3X14qHxJ2rqynHb6jUSbRwsTQX877-_CVGeL7ukcb4zbz7cUBovTPAokLOw_0-FP5fpvwI3N3j8ShO2A0V61AtlSCcRcetg9sFdx6B4C9hIBR4HMu17DdU2WTSl-JGmqDHZzRCGuzmfxAj1aJbHMLK6olRE8tecGan6s7gJ6svKev/s4032/Grand%20Forks%202.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdO4Zflcye8aQ3X14qHxJ2rqynHb6jUSbRwsTQX877-_CVGeL7ukcb4zbz7cUBovTPAokLOw_0-FP5fpvwI3N3j8ShO2A0V61AtlSCcRcetg9sFdx6B4C9hIBR4HMu17DdU2WTSl-JGmqDHZzRCGuzmfxAj1aJbHMLK6olRE8tecGan6s7gJ6svKev/w389-h292/Grand%20Forks%202.HEIC" width="389" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Not North Dakota</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0XQOLmYndezaj6HV5ctBGPaWWcqi1lw4h5peAfXUY5alM_S6Xx-oh0e6qRVvYrRIdfxLmperIjxlZ_qMo_oTVZg--UaEhyyU9PXKlznKjbRjLd1PAlSybSN8mbT4AkRplrSV3jucB_xuwWLoGkY6kKdMJ-yJZkf9fQNcPLiWgYL2fayxMw-ex24d/s4026/Embry-Riddle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="4026" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0XQOLmYndezaj6HV5ctBGPaWWcqi1lw4h5peAfXUY5alM_S6Xx-oh0e6qRVvYrRIdfxLmperIjxlZ_qMo_oTVZg--UaEhyyU9PXKlznKjbRjLd1PAlSybSN8mbT4AkRplrSV3jucB_xuwWLoGkY6kKdMJ-yJZkf9fQNcPLiWgYL2fayxMw-ex24d/w472-h174/Embry-Riddle.jpg" width="472" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuDdzJGrUOF2s8PE5t0J0UIWaf1j6q3AiFn6sVc1T3jFHvlts1lyt6CLMoUcrfBHvVuhK1u4kjgsEg-o_YR7REd8lFIezwl0rO5jk2-ou5SaWlOUPtO3RFxsU-o1mj1xu628uEAplhcjl9t5aL2M24bQEz1xzkBZW8g5FLWJxuhGiw_md6TARBIl_u" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1939" data-original-width="4018" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuDdzJGrUOF2s8PE5t0J0UIWaf1j6q3AiFn6sVc1T3jFHvlts1lyt6CLMoUcrfBHvVuhK1u4kjgsEg-o_YR7REd8lFIezwl0rO5jk2-ou5SaWlOUPtO3RFxsU-o1mj1xu628uEAplhcjl9t5aL2M24bQEz1xzkBZW8g5FLWJxuhGiw_md6TARBIl_u=w467-h225" width="467" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">In the end, Max chose a school closer to home, <a href="https://prescott.erau.edu/">Embry Riddle Aeronautical University</a> in Prescott, Arizona. He is doing well there. Misa and I struggle to adjust to the new situation. Max was close to us all the time for 18 years. Now he's like a satellite that signals regularly and passes overhead once in a while. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9ahUsF1jA2uvaQCEowDSP2PcKrz-Zp87vrvTRXywoPswd0WiMpqMGrUzn7sdc4vjCtyxw37UYGWKUh-GHKA_U1a5RfFH-qkG8IzecL5oJz8AwKWiIfYJoluuRn89h5aYUBzcwA99e_c53RjWGHnUQEcZqO0hsWr45YBjrIgJRCDjOPcmQDtO2lKI0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2940" data-original-width="3978" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9ahUsF1jA2uvaQCEowDSP2PcKrz-Zp87vrvTRXywoPswd0WiMpqMGrUzn7sdc4vjCtyxw37UYGWKUh-GHKA_U1a5RfFH-qkG8IzecL5oJz8AwKWiIfYJoluuRn89h5aYUBzcwA99e_c53RjWGHnUQEcZqO0hsWr45YBjrIgJRCDjOPcmQDtO2lKI0=w491-h363" width="491" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We managed a family vacation to the big island of Hawaii over the summer. I first saw the island in 1992 and returned with Misa in 2001. The place changed a great deal in that time, and so did we. It was a trying week in paradise. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNw02G4Sq6WIMarniG1ppurj7u7S3oO7nxlfQIXLuw6T6uPOPtym04_DJ4nh0Qfh4DbUffh6BVZ0zgit4V47hIoIcDmpbbS7Cb_hsV96PBN5KwetoTKQ-AwvTf5NhXoVCL6VqmHbAtF2-iNWelGoNsfQlsrUA9wMRy_IdDC0lpHEH2ZSYzml0AhVIn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1408" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNw02G4Sq6WIMarniG1ppurj7u7S3oO7nxlfQIXLuw6T6uPOPtym04_DJ4nh0Qfh4DbUffh6BVZ0zgit4V47hIoIcDmpbbS7Cb_hsV96PBN5KwetoTKQ-AwvTf5NhXoVCL6VqmHbAtF2-iNWelGoNsfQlsrUA9wMRy_IdDC0lpHEH2ZSYzml0AhVIn" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kahikina in 2001</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">One bright spot, we enjoyed a brief conversation with our old friend, local radio host Tommy "Kahikina" Ching. We informed him that the blonde guy and Japanese girl he saw 21 years ago were back with their giant Hapa son. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiM0P5WBZVTt_daQTLD8wSFI3c9bk5mDTnudXgid49-2YEg_fa8ERvdtpTgAKAGhVm3usgWdY_hoN9Z0D5ba9505CKfuYBUbOxQ18V-TmfBYF9gjyCkNAY_Q3Y3pivgwvjtKRSQvuuh8bvRgdC_oBoC2wWgX4BK4U2xPTE_JXQxd-Sb5uRO8a-I8uK" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="466" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiM0P5WBZVTt_daQTLD8wSFI3c9bk5mDTnudXgid49-2YEg_fa8ERvdtpTgAKAGhVm3usgWdY_hoN9Z0D5ba9505CKfuYBUbOxQ18V-TmfBYF9gjyCkNAY_Q3Y3pivgwvjtKRSQvuuh8bvRgdC_oBoC2wWgX4BK4U2xPTE_JXQxd-Sb5uRO8a-I8uK=w391-h235" width="391" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Misa 2001</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhagc5Q8lnifgLDbULQJ5uMrjenuf8CQGZs-Cp1Q8et5NakNGnliq6RXi-PZmG1J6MWUSC64LikjIFabgoJN0zTEzVRlSw_lfLC33zctDxQf106HsA57VoQEHEpfIVA8LJfxL7UUz1pipUYYvoVU2I2XaHtwNJI_QcuOxp3qPe82s3RmWl2MyIcKK/s4032/IMG_1014.HEIC"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhagc5Q8lnifgLDbULQJ5uMrjenuf8CQGZs-Cp1Q8et5NakNGnliq6RXi-PZmG1J6MWUSC64LikjIFabgoJN0zTEzVRlSw_lfLC33zctDxQf106HsA57VoQEHEpfIVA8LJfxL7UUz1pipUYYvoVU2I2XaHtwNJI_QcuOxp3qPe82s3RmWl2MyIcKK/w325-h433/IMG_1014.HEIC" width="325" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;">Misa 2022</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUTadNlnJ3SYc-hsKFLDS54qVUWyI3kyS8JPx45uNsro4Czcs6pl3v4c25ci3FFqFtbrCFpS8ogS0MHnBELOZgGudhzXhxWmUM4Tyu1ImHVq4bNljt1clmHPP56C4RNY0B5xHP614pvtfNm0dOlZx5JoxiuMTIl_sapgNTA5wHSzpnrpNKu6PGVTU/s2400/JP%202001.JPG"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUTadNlnJ3SYc-hsKFLDS54qVUWyI3kyS8JPx45uNsro4Czcs6pl3v4c25ci3FFqFtbrCFpS8ogS0MHnBELOZgGudhzXhxWmUM4Tyu1ImHVq4bNljt1clmHPP56C4RNY0B5xHP614pvtfNm0dOlZx5JoxiuMTIl_sapgNTA5wHSzpnrpNKu6PGVTU/s320/JP%202001.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;">JP 2001<br /><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNM0UVsqLSckojKsoHFE3AsjE7rSCZH1U_wSAvbrJ1bBLoDqZ0W5vLZ_rwrkvBztJCIBn8KqP0ILRbUDqrMQ2x9jxAEQ5A65LkrIIEI-OIzV1LzF2D0_8TJPWdN28O7Qcnkc-jiogULHidc0cF_IlPkoC_wKlhQijaEUBNLv21_EszSmNldngT1QW/s4032/IMG_1016.JPG"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNM0UVsqLSckojKsoHFE3AsjE7rSCZH1U_wSAvbrJ1bBLoDqZ0W5vLZ_rwrkvBztJCIBn8KqP0ILRbUDqrMQ2x9jxAEQ5A65LkrIIEI-OIzV1LzF2D0_8TJPWdN28O7Qcnkc-jiogULHidc0cF_IlPkoC_wKlhQijaEUBNLv21_EszSmNldngT1QW/s320/IMG_1016.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">JP & Max 2022</span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Kona moon shining so bright</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Smiling at you right out of the sky</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Heard you whispering wonderful words of love</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Promising that we'll never part</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Kona moon she knows it all</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>So why deny your kisses so sweet. </i>— A. Gaspar</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="346" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VISloFtp6NY" width="416" youtube-src-id="VISloFtp6NY"></iframe></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbHBwm2hK2aeGFh6PAMfvFFVefoiLJce44rNMGYM_vQOr1JIV8C3Q2WR3tofJweAvbZf1A0sH0mMV2BACSXAeaIZPi4zSqkSxIVKDhHQ6tYqyDnFvrvL-d6OkoA9NGqna1ng29n5U1R9WaytCu-UuknW0wyfPWhck6JWrH24AxWs3eOH-9vDb3Vf_/s4032/Kona%20Moon.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbHBwm2hK2aeGFh6PAMfvFFVefoiLJce44rNMGYM_vQOr1JIV8C3Q2WR3tofJweAvbZf1A0sH0mMV2BACSXAeaIZPi4zSqkSxIVKDhHQ6tYqyDnFvrvL-d6OkoA9NGqna1ng29n5U1R9WaytCu-UuknW0wyfPWhck6JWrH24AxWs3eOH-9vDb3Vf_/w421-h315/Kona%20Moon.HEIC" width="421" /></span></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />We took one more short trip to Catalina Island, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in October. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw0colhFGI4ntwfdgmWIE8x0bI-KzAUE-2wdEQJIQEyx2I4Nuvs6IOcxfD58TwUgbou1OeOPsiF8cMRDMZQgKNvq9qXtvOg2NiSCzvQMugipH-ySYlxtPhQugcQd8LkfFTNx44U_bSLe5CmGWY1HXJT0GKFYL2wbiVLWdEJ3NJXKhCoEgMF3B0I8iM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw0colhFGI4ntwfdgmWIE8x0bI-KzAUE-2wdEQJIQEyx2I4Nuvs6IOcxfD58TwUgbou1OeOPsiF8cMRDMZQgKNvq9qXtvOg2NiSCzvQMugipH-ySYlxtPhQugcQd8LkfFTNx44U_bSLe5CmGWY1HXJT0GKFYL2wbiVLWdEJ3NJXKhCoEgMF3B0I8iM=w310-h413" width="310" /></span></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2002</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><img alt="" data-original-height="2065" data-original-width="3009" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWXCI_gKoGSUJjeWUi8jo2bHQwSdJCrBHMSIdpHCISQNElN4arRf9OzUtesfkEk76GHug5Mq0RoIUwk_WaICBCkmrhvbR3rdl60C-Gf8rKe8mxRHcLOnBp8lztEdJmj7a72zrKCVygDCuFHKTmylsG8Yox64Bi_KFjBYC6pfBtlCb1ErTrFiEunKNi=w427-h294" width="427" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>2022</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Misa and I are old. Do not believe the deluded souls who claim "60 is the new 40" and similar nonsense. Our bodies malfunction now, and some of our malfunctions can't be fixed. The Stoic philosopher Lucius Seneca (c. 4 BC – 65 AD) wrote about the infirmities that accompany age, in a letter to his friend Lucillius Junior, procurator in Sicily:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Come, did you not know, when you prayed for long life, that this was what you were praying for? A long life includes all these troubles, just as a long journey includes dust and mud and rain.</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr09og9Wov6Syn26ynPn21vdYbFaxcfVgH-Ftx7LLn9wWTn6qnAlOBx2i3v6-GKffDl76Yk7UM-NgaOUxuyMb40mEZZrywsdSvaEeibOYHCVjHt8SKpGCWAMPebq6sTp2IclsZ9MR-b5Hh1RA3BQyreYlOzJ_Q6YF39OncJgYe--wgYkQ8FKBmKWEu"><img alt="" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="975" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr09og9Wov6Syn26ynPn21vdYbFaxcfVgH-Ftx7LLn9wWTn6qnAlOBx2i3v6-GKffDl76Yk7UM-NgaOUxuyMb40mEZZrywsdSvaEeibOYHCVjHt8SKpGCWAMPebq6sTp2IclsZ9MR-b5Hh1RA3BQyreYlOzJ_Q6YF39OncJgYe--wgYkQ8FKBmKWEu=w408-h306" width="408" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Max helps paint a picture, 2004<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And yes, <a href="https://jpturnage.blogspot.com/p/current-project.html" target="_blank">the Eternal Picture</a> continues. I work on it nearly every day. Often the first thing I do is recognize yesterday's work missed the target and scrape it off. That's the special moment when I receive a deeper vision of the world. To welcome the backward step requires practice, and I have a wealth of practice. I don't leap for joy, neither become discouraged, but remember the words of dear T.S. Eliot:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>the way up is the way down,</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>the way forward is the way back.</i> —The Dry Salvages</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Music</span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Christian Music from Africa kept me going this year. I discovered these two fine performers in Kenya, Rozinah Mwakideu and Audiphaxad Peter Omwaka—who performs under the stage name "Guardian Angel." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="332" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f8IpQBy2wyA" width="399" youtube-src-id="f8IpQBy2wyA"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Please stay in touch. All the best to you in 2023.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN110dWIE64JLRgqs3PEu9Gg0F1uhGlBjv-Ro6StGbm4SJb0XmWps66wm6ANBOiqxJENYh2uYy0Gkyf7GG8VxXg613XpKs1xGWlal3AIEzPmFThbMbJgYhAzXRCUhP8SnOxTw2MSl3M3qHLw3QDBqMN5_zfAPNVkHUGYa2fOLeW_EwHbi_0010lYPi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN110dWIE64JLRgqs3PEu9Gg0F1uhGlBjv-Ro6StGbm4SJb0XmWps66wm6ANBOiqxJENYh2uYy0Gkyf7GG8VxXg613XpKs1xGWlal3AIEzPmFThbMbJgYhAzXRCUhP8SnOxTw2MSl3M3qHLw3QDBqMN5_zfAPNVkHUGYa2fOLeW_EwHbi_0010lYPi=w383-h287" width="383" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOpV7Aq_pnIc1pjRR1euT7tiu98WE5AWHtUhsgACvUI62EYUcEN8xob-IIwwdX9h5T-uwBcXKxVhSv0dh0sc-La6Gb2RI8y0hOwvWgkI45hRWkGDjDCsj6KaWUxBToSusXQR_zlAgX5FVwid90QbeYM7i5oFMkVL4v1B8HGWv_ELaCOvBX7of_z4-P" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOpV7Aq_pnIc1pjRR1euT7tiu98WE5AWHtUhsgACvUI62EYUcEN8xob-IIwwdX9h5T-uwBcXKxVhSv0dh0sc-La6Gb2RI8y0hOwvWgkI45hRWkGDjDCsj6KaWUxBToSusXQR_zlAgX5FVwid90QbeYM7i5oFMkVL4v1B8HGWv_ELaCOvBX7of_z4-P=w382-h287" width="382" /></a></div></div><br /></span></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3FvPqwo9TNaj--scdbrW3WgBDz3NW1SJ_hjPvCXIKXVEaytypJKRB8sPDXz6GJJFirqp1KB-gi7RJUmyExQ-hljt0uAB3kanB2dXI9zAIq7F8w-hjus2z6lzJaLvR2vFXHG4sPnA4poHdRnq-SpT0uYksP5k28542M1TdQ98f9wYmUPIE1hUSkZiQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3FvPqwo9TNaj--scdbrW3WgBDz3NW1SJ_hjPvCXIKXVEaytypJKRB8sPDXz6GJJFirqp1KB-gi7RJUmyExQ-hljt0uAB3kanB2dXI9zAIq7F8w-hjus2z6lzJaLvR2vFXHG4sPnA4poHdRnq-SpT0uYksP5k28542M1TdQ98f9wYmUPIE1hUSkZiQ=w389-h291" width="389" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitYIFxLZ0PotcoFFPK83J2Q4NZcP9pzt6bpDnJucBnB3dkps6R_pux6LjVbdAwRSRb5TBTFX_LTsy_z4nBs6jgkkU3sMfbhr_jEnvVgBYhrawgeOMQS8WG9tSj7iQZ62OAj2BO93BgUCmvt75RJk_dNSlm2lS2KGXroK4MYLrKKD9duoW47RP0dDV6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitYIFxLZ0PotcoFFPK83J2Q4NZcP9pzt6bpDnJucBnB3dkps6R_pux6LjVbdAwRSRb5TBTFX_LTsy_z4nBs6jgkkU3sMfbhr_jEnvVgBYhrawgeOMQS8WG9tSj7iQZ62OAj2BO93BgUCmvt75RJk_dNSlm2lS2KGXroK4MYLrKKD9duoW47RP0dDV6=w395-h296" width="395" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><br /></div></div><script type="text/javascript">
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-11041131746176739652021-12-25T18:35:00.025-08:002021-12-26T09:48:02.711-08:002021 In Review<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VdRZIYU5AZg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I need regular encouragement. That's one reason I live in California. When we ride the train and look out at the ocean as in my video above, all feels right with the world, even though we know it's not. Watch it in 4k if you can. Do not, under any circumstances, look at a photo of me in 4k. Here is a photo of all of us in low-resolution.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU2nAmsFODxn4gjQFLG1d68ANxWHULpzK_JWxWBYinwTOAKmJbxSmf8VYV-o2qTodLQHyUw-28Oub2QcorV-IAqbG7gvFpyDrc-oMcRN-h1R0xptzflyRLKLfw8jZlpUjyrXOZmidCooyGV84W7ef0XivRLj17pz_jiP4sdNfYPSH5seSQ4VJW0ARv=s360" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="360" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU2nAmsFODxn4gjQFLG1d68ANxWHULpzK_JWxWBYinwTOAKmJbxSmf8VYV-o2qTodLQHyUw-28Oub2QcorV-IAqbG7gvFpyDrc-oMcRN-h1R0xptzflyRLKLfw8jZlpUjyrXOZmidCooyGV84W7ef0XivRLj17pz_jiP4sdNfYPSH5seSQ4VJW0ARv=w400-h205" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Max is half way through his senior year of high school, living in the anxiety of college decisions. In summer he and I flew to Grand Forks, North Dakota to visit the state University there. Max wants to be an airline pilot and the University has a respected aviation program. Max had never seen the heartland of America, and I elected to drive across the state from Minneapolis, to give him some exposure to corn and barns. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8u89X-23zmJ-9FzUY6pWq6cEDjK2CnDwhNIVtVekcQqf0XtspxZOLfimQv1f7wTocT9CBH9JKEtnzhdmcmc-A8x1aP2q6v8J9VKZHcl7gOXWCPG6e7CIS-R31vSPunc4ZFCFL9jUdWybsMfSlOdusfFgzJZeIM-BulL4CX_03_xuyE4tuCpqwvvPa=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8u89X-23zmJ-9FzUY6pWq6cEDjK2CnDwhNIVtVekcQqf0XtspxZOLfimQv1f7wTocT9CBH9JKEtnzhdmcmc-A8x1aP2q6v8J9VKZHcl7gOXWCPG6e7CIS-R31vSPunc4ZFCFL9jUdWybsMfSlOdusfFgzJZeIM-BulL4CX_03_xuyE4tuCpqwvvPa=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpRZpP8GsEL-aFlMtJUbkxf1Q1OWOGPEgcZ36UkYyRZvoIeQTijrE5YsJtL7JS_URSpQFKGiEzJTTOJAE0bbjbRIKNXYhTmcAY6OkaSpozDa9Zrk2dxHFvK1_0ayMVd3BKak5HYC4uUBNAc-bIbcjt8vqpp-c19nlakcmCowFgjB1zkeAVGxCoO-6e=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpRZpP8GsEL-aFlMtJUbkxf1Q1OWOGPEgcZ36UkYyRZvoIeQTijrE5YsJtL7JS_URSpQFKGiEzJTTOJAE0bbjbRIKNXYhTmcAY6OkaSpozDa9Zrk2dxHFvK1_0ayMVd3BKak5HYC4uUBNAc-bIbcjt8vqpp-c19nlakcmCowFgjB1zkeAVGxCoO-6e=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1kkxigpUBxgT0hOHbKr7b2SeKO88_IEvn5goAls3CE-E_um4x34L5mOv4MjGnv8-sOBY1gTcBPXgnEknKR0JDFGyGPvhO3_LZXrVVshJ4nRWcerd8jbR8ydeKZA5BsROTCp4DdZt4fqasPzPGfZvugz71iBiirbOOaaqtkQrqellKznDx7TNF_hqY=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1kkxigpUBxgT0hOHbKr7b2SeKO88_IEvn5goAls3CE-E_um4x34L5mOv4MjGnv8-sOBY1gTcBPXgnEknKR0JDFGyGPvhO3_LZXrVVshJ4nRWcerd8jbR8ydeKZA5BsROTCp4DdZt4fqasPzPGfZvugz71iBiirbOOaaqtkQrqellKznDx7TNF_hqY=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMINT7s1aF7A9A1WYzoIc0tevY6o563q2XTBLg0DjaYBwJXBS8jooGlInotPn7gvY2pBzI9uW1i2cYl41W0aN1qsfiZCCtdAtgim_r_n_mSc8odLiwpPeto0stA5mzcQObaAQ59GcIAl1BiTv2HgnQ5g7C09dAEDObpbiyluELfYmwF8SKq6Vjmgpd=s4032" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMINT7s1aF7A9A1WYzoIc0tevY6o563q2XTBLg0DjaYBwJXBS8jooGlInotPn7gvY2pBzI9uW1i2cYl41W0aN1qsfiZCCtdAtgim_r_n_mSc8odLiwpPeto0stA5mzcQObaAQ59GcIAl1BiTv2HgnQ5g7C09dAEDObpbiyluELfYmwF8SKq6Vjmgpd=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Max agonized over his test scores and applications, wanting to be the strongest possible applicant. He will have at least three choices of colleges to attend. At this point the University of North Dakota is a prominent contender. We will visit again in winter so Max can prepare to survive the long, extremely cold months near the Canadian border. As I type, the temperature in Grand Forks is just 2°F (-16.6°C). Living in California up to now, this will be a new experience for him.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Max also began working on his private pilot's license. Here he lands an airplane on his first solo flight.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ke05brvlYgc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Misa began making lunches and driving Max to school again when in-person classes resumed in the fall. She continued to dance and sell clothing and jewelry on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveMisaStyle?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Etsy</a> and E Bay. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVWPrCYgJvFP3cz37XSQrlH0AfsW8_D5qvqj-3BqX8i8cxi9iymnYlY1vE3n9fxFKLWvY-xm-JYqpzrJjl9ErbYrjxN7Id95FSU4vBBCgMuRXEidrpGN7cr9E55Q1CQoFSTwwQMl0d0NW_tayc5JQgYPD2-kGEHt_9XpmiNAuu9UnxhO9G6D_rMrLK=s1140" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1140" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVWPrCYgJvFP3cz37XSQrlH0AfsW8_D5qvqj-3BqX8i8cxi9iymnYlY1vE3n9fxFKLWvY-xm-JYqpzrJjl9ErbYrjxN7Id95FSU4vBBCgMuRXEidrpGN7cr9E55Q1CQoFSTwwQMl0d0NW_tayc5JQgYPD2-kGEHt_9XpmiNAuu9UnxhO9G6D_rMrLK=w400-h346" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I kept the lights on and continued work on the eternal picture. You can see a record of this long project at <a href="https://jpturnage.blogspot.com/p/current-project.html">this new page</a>. Several people, including my mother, ask me how long I intend to work on this thing. No satisfying answer presents itself, and I can only say 15 years is not as unusual a time span to make art as you might think. Architecture and sculptures have consumed individual lifetimes. Leonardo da Vinci worked on his portrait of Mona Lisa for several years, possibly 14, and it remained unfinished when he died. In our own time, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73hip3pz0Xs ">one animated film has been under development by a husband and wife team for 40 years</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">During my time at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, I was privileged to meet <a href="https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection-artist/ben-kamihira">Ben Kamihira</a>, who was already famous for pictures he worked on 10 years or more. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLe-sVbXZrv2xvA4uBT98UBhosCqoSEQR_MxdzYxvKQ7L_sndVPfnsKXqPeJYG14c2_Wgah243mz-JkScPM2evVox1KchqbNYFUxtBRwBlpW_bY1dVgyoQPwP6HW4Md5sV6GbZdeoRGWAw86b5DZ7sQaW-C3VWpbJxQn8KOG24AF4LaxKVGn9SpvU2=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLe-sVbXZrv2xvA4uBT98UBhosCqoSEQR_MxdzYxvKQ7L_sndVPfnsKXqPeJYG14c2_Wgah243mz-JkScPM2evVox1KchqbNYFUxtBRwBlpW_bY1dVgyoQPwP6HW4Md5sV6GbZdeoRGWAw86b5DZ7sQaW-C3VWpbJxQn8KOG24AF4LaxKVGn9SpvU2=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Often he would return to a "finished" picture and rework it after many absent years. We had a pleasant conversation when I was 20 years old. I said, "I can't imagine how you do that. I work on a picture for a week and I'm exhausted. How do you put your mind back where it was 10 years ago?" </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">"Your view of things will become more solid and constant as you work," he told me. "When you reach my age (he was 55 then, ancient!) the difference in the mind you have about a picture won't change quickly. For me, coming back to a picture I finished 10 years ago feels like it would to you after only two weeks." </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyh2_uxNyOvvIV7Y8cqFCVrlOjv9-IB6JggfZhwAbb05W92YWrQcYj17kCgV63hqkC4BOGwpJtYn0fpgZpY59hu4XXwLdFLieULtNaW-eYODKHq0V21ChPnCd7cMJ-1AXmeNag7BGgmp-QuvHp5bAaSH_n1qrUfuRcrZpdfvNQpmvaiJZywdKtttEc=s2543" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="2543" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyh2_uxNyOvvIV7Y8cqFCVrlOjv9-IB6JggfZhwAbb05W92YWrQcYj17kCgV63hqkC4BOGwpJtYn0fpgZpY59hu4XXwLdFLieULtNaW-eYODKHq0V21ChPnCd7cMJ-1AXmeNag7BGgmp-QuvHp5bAaSH_n1qrUfuRcrZpdfvNQpmvaiJZywdKtttEc=w640-h266" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The rest of my free time was spent reading Will and Ariel Durant's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization">The Story of Civilization.</a></i> This was a bit more than casual reading, as the work is about 9,300 pages long. The Durants spent more than 40 years researching and writing it; clearly we are kindred spirits engaged in long, slow projects. I take on big reading assignments like this because my education has holes in it. When I was 18 I worked in a bookstore with another boy from a suburb of Dallas. One day someone complained of "<a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/an-albatross-around-ones-neck.html">an albatross around my neck</a>," and I wondered aloud where that strange phrase came from. My workmate said, "It comes from </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</i> by Samuel Taylor Coleridge," and I realized his high school operated at a higher level than mine. I'm still trying to catch up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As I digest this survey of western history from antiquity through the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, it's hard to be optimistic about our collective future. I'm working on that. Some interesting quotes from the Durants:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Individualism, like liberty, is a luxury of civilization. Only with the dawn of history were a sufficient number of men and women freed from the burdens of hunger, reproduction and war to create the intangible values of leisure, culture and art.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The whole theory of progress hesitates before Egyptian art.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The first lesson of philosophy is that we may all be mistaken.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Civilization is always older than we think; and under whatever sod we tread are the bones of men and women who also worked and loved, wrote songs and made beautiful things, but whose names and very being have been lost in the careless flow of time.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Life once passed this way in all its eagerness.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo8jacko7ckHfm4sL0oBMZyAmdFRFD23Qvv44NrrGkD0I2PxJjQjEVponJxFt7LxspoR_qnPvB7xNheTMwSvNhN9fPeNZnac78Uf51tPbHL1SDGdKWfW05CwL0TjUuekM5ABKJ5psBfsCWlCNqOrOF_7RczgSTQ0v-2eoWFT8Rzr6buYreLr0sfkyi=s4032" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo8jacko7ckHfm4sL0oBMZyAmdFRFD23Qvv44NrrGkD0I2PxJjQjEVponJxFt7LxspoR_qnPvB7xNheTMwSvNhN9fPeNZnac78Uf51tPbHL1SDGdKWfW05CwL0TjUuekM5ABKJ5psBfsCWlCNqOrOF_7RczgSTQ0v-2eoWFT8Rzr6buYreLr0sfkyi=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Olybrius, by grace of Ricimer, ruled for two months (472), and surprised himself by dying a natural death.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>[At Rome, Saint Augustine’s] brave mother overtook him, and persuaded him to listen with her to the sermons of Ambrose. He was moved by them, but even more by the hymns the congregation sang. At the same time Monica won him over to the idea of marriage, and in effect betrothed him, now thirty-two, to a girl with more money than years. Augustine agreed to wait two years till she should be twelve. As a preliminary he sent his mistress back to Africa, where she buried her grief in a nunnery. A few weeks of continence unnerved him, and instead of marrying he took another concubine. “Give me chastity,” he prayed, “but not yet!”</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGSP6k8CJppLU4GfkImmbfMkbXKFvATCdYCf_n06SBHU5xdYJVnJ8q9lwzDoRiIabXOynwMkywN2YaxAiLsz-nSU-P5S_ln95ofIy7y6qPmVhcO5BaZBL8Wl5GbRQBMS0B_9IR_wBlYbW-0Trz2FzSV_nTR1qavsrXr9pvURoYnUAqVDmvB4v09jve=s3648" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGSP6k8CJppLU4GfkImmbfMkbXKFvATCdYCf_n06SBHU5xdYJVnJ8q9lwzDoRiIabXOynwMkywN2YaxAiLsz-nSU-P5S_ln95ofIy7y6qPmVhcO5BaZBL8Wl5GbRQBMS0B_9IR_wBlYbW-0Trz2FzSV_nTR1qavsrXr9pvURoYnUAqVDmvB4v09jve=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>In the end death won all arguments.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihFU_UW-yGBqGhyrbTb7k9siEm4GWnZHftx3q55N1lR75tYMmqDuh1gxAt29JfOk_qXeMONycQ0tFxmioo9hKRdUmnftLvfcpJqWgRqarpj6hTRGu9orhRPAZligr_YMUYOdFGWcmDTAO3hf4ZpGuEFui8GALRb8gwZMkH6fZ9zqfAML4szakbZLpX=s3457" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3457" data-original-width="2592" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihFU_UW-yGBqGhyrbTb7k9siEm4GWnZHftx3q55N1lR75tYMmqDuh1gxAt29JfOk_qXeMONycQ0tFxmioo9hKRdUmnftLvfcpJqWgRqarpj6hTRGu9orhRPAZligr_YMUYOdFGWcmDTAO3hf4ZpGuEFui8GALRb8gwZMkH6fZ9zqfAML4szakbZLpX=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Beliefs make history, especially when they are wrong; it is for errors that men have most nobly died.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Many bequests to the Church, especially before the year 1000, began with the words adventante mundi vespero—“since the evening of the world is near.”</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>History makes no leaps, and nothing is lost.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><i style="font-family: arial;">There were hearts tender and bruised under the hard surface of that disordered age [15th century].</i></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>From barbarism to civilization requires a century; from civilization to barbarism needs but a day.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDUEPaL9OX_QY3PsVp8Mp38uxgbBz__DoO9AseAO-OhLOAkzkGkWbiXGQsC9TGiVMh-Ntk-Xq_YMrtvOj4eYDawBptV8VS3gdM4IzCua2aAMAq81fLj7ZFHWNHc8jABozOlp6CnFmhs9GVL1dzMrgQM4NyhWPpjhAhdFU4bTuUWFj4LAjmh3DBFOj8=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDUEPaL9OX_QY3PsVp8Mp38uxgbBz__DoO9AseAO-OhLOAkzkGkWbiXGQsC9TGiVMh-Ntk-Xq_YMrtvOj4eYDawBptV8VS3gdM4IzCua2aAMAq81fLj7ZFHWNHc8jABozOlp6CnFmhs9GVL1dzMrgQM4NyhWPpjhAhdFU4bTuUWFj4LAjmh3DBFOj8=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div>To know and to think, to see the truth with the eye of the mind, is always a joy. The older a man grows, the greater is the pleasure that this affords him.... As love is the life of the heart, so is the endeavor after knowledge and truth the life of the mind. Amid the movements of time, the daily labor, perplexities, and contradictions of life, we should lift our gaze fearlessly to the clear vault of heaven, and seek ever to obtain a firmer grasp of .... the origin of all goodness and beauty, the capacities of our own hearts and minds, the intellectual fruits of mankind throughout the centuries, and the wonderful works of Nature around us; but remembering always that in humility alone lies true greatness, and that knowledge and wisdom are profitable only in so far as our lives are governed by them. —Nicholas of Cusa (1401 - 1464)</div></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7bsGxo4qSnmM9zo6wO1Fe12LROzbIUNIXHTL1_JTKWAu-m7_yKmldkYiHxVNM-WvzJunPI1QbweknB3_ws51SnKVhrNK_bdmcPuIXF4TPJfVvNUD6yp2GyQgWVhCi1dDB2uabv1_tbvcMO3ajm7UREPlyrB3B6Tar8cU3q-DszNdAQSBOJnlaV4rT=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7bsGxo4qSnmM9zo6wO1Fe12LROzbIUNIXHTL1_JTKWAu-m7_yKmldkYiHxVNM-WvzJunPI1QbweknB3_ws51SnKVhrNK_bdmcPuIXF4TPJfVvNUD6yp2GyQgWVhCi1dDB2uabv1_tbvcMO3ajm7UREPlyrB3B6Tar8cU3q-DszNdAQSBOJnlaV4rT=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfjPf6dS_reNl_Vfk5N5iq4vRxZj59DU8ACouCgAQZpzR0bfTpmONDn8iRSQvd5MGkTi3YrUgax8HXQ4CMl7pDxrv1_7Z-cImnoARD5ZkX1a5rpqii7ZsgG1DKfqGrJnYxc5K1kWyqvWqfSwQlv7Ihy5qjVf47YIpEBy0UAdpzSyBQzWtK_cjJUWiL=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfjPf6dS_reNl_Vfk5N5iq4vRxZj59DU8ACouCgAQZpzR0bfTpmONDn8iRSQvd5MGkTi3YrUgax8HXQ4CMl7pDxrv1_7Z-cImnoARD5ZkX1a5rpqii7ZsgG1DKfqGrJnYxc5K1kWyqvWqfSwQlv7Ihy5qjVf47YIpEBy0UAdpzSyBQzWtK_cjJUWiL=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQli2ZDA8tG4-QFd86jZFKD4iyw42GIZ_K7RfGJM4g7wUp5mV_P_3PgwRnykCK8Dn9vvYygxspMuni9IvdqDukYnqWNpEmuddJxyIV8VwiSS9UIBAvpD11ilGWzz66ZqO8v7eTzxeoGVxOTTe2UYhdkmsUf1Md_ZODCnrHglt3BAUvRus2L3aZhIcS=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQli2ZDA8tG4-QFd86jZFKD4iyw42GIZ_K7RfGJM4g7wUp5mV_P_3PgwRnykCK8Dn9vvYygxspMuni9IvdqDukYnqWNpEmuddJxyIV8VwiSS9UIBAvpD11ilGWzz66ZqO8v7eTzxeoGVxOTTe2UYhdkmsUf1Md_ZODCnrHglt3BAUvRus2L3aZhIcS=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBJ6wxitvO8sqmelqFaiPOYIj-e2yFqoE9ErO82eTn33AdG-nHsT864g20iRNokR8A9uF1ccyV1GB7-MmLGl7cKQNQID3a6EgG_B4_bukM3u9BOK3ZWB7NSJJOMaB1xAkyeyu_uEUpaBTq4pxSEsVl7lVMPLiZs9k1RBEdMXEDDA9y2Pa5hmkko4w1=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBJ6wxitvO8sqmelqFaiPOYIj-e2yFqoE9ErO82eTn33AdG-nHsT864g20iRNokR8A9uF1ccyV1GB7-MmLGl7cKQNQID3a6EgG_B4_bukM3u9BOK3ZWB7NSJJOMaB1xAkyeyu_uEUpaBTq4pxSEsVl7lVMPLiZs9k1RBEdMXEDDA9y2Pa5hmkko4w1=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><script type="text/javascript">
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} catch(err) {}</script><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX17UVkxMLa-dqhximonT0E3-GVOmJwqGFgTJU3n62IGYhl4r6f2LZ9wVp6WnU9TifjYqQeWsxSfsaLgVC4KokQKzhLhUJ6DTgP4WIY6xnb1j6c4qV5woSBlm86BVgMORBRzA5Vs6qPQA/s1280/Masks2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX17UVkxMLa-dqhximonT0E3-GVOmJwqGFgTJU3n62IGYhl4r6f2LZ9wVp6WnU9TifjYqQeWsxSfsaLgVC4KokQKzhLhUJ6DTgP4WIY6xnb1j6c4qV5woSBlm86BVgMORBRzA5Vs6qPQA/s320/Masks2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukOc1Eg_YTBXAlydkeaLRDsSw_CRsFO-CCfxUyRfg40o3Ag0cEZ7kVPPsBTrnijQH0MrjvA4OaiaJq84r0mUYW2KUhytNOZngQUaMIZ8Y7oJ_9pvgd6XoQilg0HgAvRdvf0GSUABnmc4/s2048/IMG_0788.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukOc1Eg_YTBXAlydkeaLRDsSw_CRsFO-CCfxUyRfg40o3Ag0cEZ7kVPPsBTrnijQH0MrjvA4OaiaJq84r0mUYW2KUhytNOZngQUaMIZ8Y7oJ_9pvgd6XoQilg0HgAvRdvf0GSUABnmc4/s320/IMG_0788.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildfire smoke</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I'm glad we are able to communicate, at the end of this trying year. You have weathered the storm of 2020 sufficiently to read this, and I to write it. We are the lucky ones. Misa, Max and I have so far been spared the worst difficulties of this strange time. We are healthy. I'm still employed, and since I've worked at home exclusively since 2006, remote working was not a big challenge. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-4RGbZWUixuWzfRiV2iyGDWU-tSIODg0jZVxFF1q1IVamSHB_Jp8G821ZtB2nosCLvvo7CycZwCfp1ph5HnCZTQPZdTjyJyBY97QCRuGgxzQN6MkYDOtd-GNfKaNIcj7zNR6RCL3N_I/s2048/MIsa+Barr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-4RGbZWUixuWzfRiV2iyGDWU-tSIODg0jZVxFF1q1IVamSHB_Jp8G821ZtB2nosCLvvo7CycZwCfp1ph5HnCZTQPZdTjyJyBY97QCRuGgxzQN6MkYDOtd-GNfKaNIcj7zNR6RCL3N_I/s320/MIsa+Barr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcK0ccOg94hM3GMPxapw99wn5K3up-tSFjalbltQS3jLSs1dDawulajaIi-ijPNm0L4S_fSMQaNEL6UctzeWPo8GRfq7Kj66xzbaXa2TWwgLwa093T_akinWVhAvB6uIwdPtpnVR-cA/s2048/bunnycoushions3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYbQbA1Yw9gI5E1AFPIM-8vyHu6D6XDR6VfZcFpmT7jXBTxTh5IASU4x6ppVDFxPykFfCtS-UmIHHGG1xyNLSmaBCgap88UaI4o_SGctC-zYibaUEuQ1ksVeBFn8PhtAHDzd8cm5A4pE/s2048/masks.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1987" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYbQbA1Yw9gI5E1AFPIM-8vyHu6D6XDR6VfZcFpmT7jXBTxTh5IASU4x6ppVDFxPykFfCtS-UmIHHGG1xyNLSmaBCgap88UaI4o_SGctC-zYibaUEuQ1ksVeBFn8PhtAHDzd8cm5A4pE/s320/masks.jpg" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Misa enjoyed staying home and made high-fashion face masks for us. She also sold them in</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveMisaStyle?ref=l2-shopheader-name" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank">her Etsy Store</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span></span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcK0ccOg94hM3GMPxapw99wn5K3up-tSFjalbltQS3jLSs1dDawulajaIi-ijPNm0L4S_fSMQaNEL6UctzeWPo8GRfq7Kj66xzbaXa2TWwgLwa093T_akinWVhAvB6uIwdPtpnVR-cA/s2048/bunnycoushions3.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1301" data-original-width="2048" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcK0ccOg94hM3GMPxapw99wn5K3up-tSFjalbltQS3jLSs1dDawulajaIi-ijPNm0L4S_fSMQaNEL6UctzeWPo8GRfq7Kj66xzbaXa2TWwgLwa093T_akinWVhAvB6uIwdPtpnVR-cA/w200-h127/bunnycoushions3.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMxPzkV_mGomeT33WI-g_hnDRnT0Ev-3UZlqOhprgw7YFzsIhwfDHUZOU_ig20RPRKdXAVJD9XiNSIEhGdnaE6FYkoaPAlNEKnkF_i1j2zBz9hOpPRulQDTzaFni9SzzA66tl0eLTm2g/s2048/misajewery.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1681" data-original-width="2048" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMxPzkV_mGomeT33WI-g_hnDRnT0Ev-3UZlqOhprgw7YFzsIhwfDHUZOU_ig20RPRKdXAVJD9XiNSIEhGdnaE6FYkoaPAlNEKnkF_i1j2zBz9hOpPRulQDTzaFni9SzzA66tl0eLTm2g/w200-h164/misajewery.jpg" width="200" /></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTcK0ccOg94hM3GMPxapw99wn5K3up-tSFjalbltQS3jLSs1dDawulajaIi-ijPNm0L4S_fSMQaNEL6UctzeWPo8GRfq7Kj66xzbaXa2TWwgLwa093T_akinWVhAvB6uIwdPtpnVR-cA/s2048/bunnycoushions3.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s2048/IMG_0807.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYrAdNbsvx2H1sBWgDoj7WLCrX9dzUsg5DFeHyjhrU5Q9DytBIUmaxs7r-Hm4g-XGS1RV-WNrjcng_28qusOsiUTScbLeLXIZCc4A2OQk_mP4QdCyPuzyRvwL_CQwye60Mg12AO7J3ko/s320/IMG_0807.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Max studied day and night, took a college board test and managed his worry about school and future. Some of his friendships grew through separation this year. He began learning to drive, and that’s one activity that helps him cope with the extra restrictions everywhere else. He also flew high in his computer flight simulator.</div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBufq1u6WDlyo10nEa15JNng7kNYz4ZHpyXEIZM2NoRj59Wz1Q0QKAxaMV5tILT5-yX7aQiRjSrQA_UOLL4M7xS3yX52jiLM2YEkzyd1sgy1xKomr23xZS7nB_-2TSSmXbSshSOJi15C4/s2541/Yerba+Buena+Dec.20.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="2541" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBufq1u6WDlyo10nEa15JNng7kNYz4ZHpyXEIZM2NoRj59Wz1Q0QKAxaMV5tILT5-yX7aQiRjSrQA_UOLL4M7xS3yX52jiLM2YEkzyd1sgy1xKomr23xZS7nB_-2TSSmXbSshSOJi15C4/w640-h312/Yerba+Buena+Dec.20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">My eternal picture continued to develop, mirroring the pace of the carving of the Grand Canyon. I hope to show you more expansive completion next year.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The rest of our challenges produced no stories to share, even though they consumed vast time and energy. Family members went into quarantine. We worried about the direction of the country and the world, then hoped for the success of the vaccines. We appreciate the bravery of our front-line caregivers and hope for their relief from danger and overwork.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLKeUfGLqc6Tg1DNwsaeqDP_ZvZwqeYxfTChyZiOB7Tr5NS7MlQowqUqRVoUhVinJVSbzXgAKxLxTmDmC4vYCRKZXqho6G4NTTD-6HmcShBCSx_QV_Kd1VUU-z6dXiXvxLQaQjFdTj3Q/s2048/IMG_0863.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLKeUfGLqc6Tg1DNwsaeqDP_ZvZwqeYxfTChyZiOB7Tr5NS7MlQowqUqRVoUhVinJVSbzXgAKxLxTmDmC4vYCRKZXqho6G4NTTD-6HmcShBCSx_QV_Kd1VUU-z6dXiXvxLQaQjFdTj3Q/s320/IMG_0863.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We can’t be together, but perhaps we can exchange thoughts as we digest this complicated year. I think the first thought is grief, for the lives we have lost, the careers, the businesses, the fearful and disappointing struggles played out in our country.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">One thing I want when grieving is to share that grief with others and to remember the suffering of other people. What happened to them, and how did they endure?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKhubdpuuCH8b96fFoR-0gNIOKtp3ZMQwWi7EUVIsaJShI6mZ4NfDdhGcli4D_qSqLGRJXdeOBUy_GApGEsASC-qY9X-Bjvr3NpbQKO_f0RwCKc36yTKY03XXVKVVOb3kVw35xB3wHYc/s800/lord-have-mercy-on-london-1665.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKhubdpuuCH8b96fFoR-0gNIOKtp3ZMQwWi7EUVIsaJShI6mZ4NfDdhGcli4D_qSqLGRJXdeOBUy_GApGEsASC-qY9X-Bjvr3NpbQKO_f0RwCKc36yTKY03XXVKVVOb3kVw35xB3wHYc/s800/lord-have-mercy-on-london-1665.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKhubdpuuCH8b96fFoR-0gNIOKtp3ZMQwWi7EUVIsaJShI6mZ4NfDdhGcli4D_qSqLGRJXdeOBUy_GApGEsASC-qY9X-Bjvr3NpbQKO_f0RwCKc36yTKY03XXVKVVOb3kVw35xB3wHYc/s320/lord-have-mercy-on-london-1665.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Daniel Defoe wrote a book about a biological catastrophe that struck London in the year 1665, titled, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Journal_of_the_Plague_Year" target="_blank">A Journal of the Plague Year</a>.</i> Though he wrote the book much later than the events it records, Defoe knew many people who lived through that time. His uncle, Henry Foe, kept a journal, which may have served as source material. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Fear and grief paralyzed the population. Defoe’s narrator watched sadly, as people abandoned their reason, just when it was most needed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s619/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s619/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="619" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s320/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Defoe wished, as I do, that we could learn from suffering and redeem ourselves by improved behavior. When the plague exhausted itself and life returned to normal, he looked for signs of a better civic life to come. The signs were mixed, however.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s619/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s619/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupXF1ln7wv2E4Ga8ypNj7u-3P0gv6TfDZW3YmeHH_8Tegxel8GgtMnhD5HQH9yP5Bpiu6UL0j4OMfsLBTpQmhf485yxDjYDeS0dabp1b8I4IeScrVQwZL1XGs8soUuRvPohwTfmmgqQk/s619/great-plague_3088463b-xlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>I wish I could say that as the city had a new face, so the manners of the people had a new appearance. I doubt not but there were many that retained a sincere sense of their deliverance, and were that heartily thankful to that Sovereign Hand that had protected them in so dangerous a time; it would be very uncharitable to judge otherwise in a city so populous, and where the people were so devout as they were here in the time of the visitation itself; but except what of this was to be found in particular families and faces, it must be acknowledged that the general practice of the people was just as it was before, and very little difference was to be seen.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3Lt2N6HbU0bkRmh48aDSFsn1I19XMHqkU3RlKgMA9-uNDjq3xsj9sP-T2IACzxC8MsZXqGPl45bSI2fqLphzq17qA-pH2ac9i0v_ihaPIfvgAUEEeN4ukgXJZXpQnb7cTxuVXcAOq_w/s830/Drinking+Party.jpg" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238); clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-3Lt2N6HbU0bkRmh48aDSFsn1I19XMHqkU3RlKgMA9-uNDjq3xsj9sP-T2IACzxC8MsZXqGPl45bSI2fqLphzq17qA-pH2ac9i0v_ihaPIfvgAUEEeN4ukgXJZXpQnb7cTxuVXcAOq_w/s320/Drinking+Party.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>Some, indeed, said things were worse; that the morals of the people declined from this very time; that the people, hardened by the danger they had been in, like seamen after a storm is over, were more wicked and more stupid, more bold and hardened, in their vices and immoralities than they were </i></span><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">before; but I will not carry it so far neither. It would take up a history of no small length to give a particular of all the gradations by which the course of things in this city came to be restored again, and to run in their own channel as they did before.</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1v_bNc3FYm7kJwCNi92XwnVS3DnDrCm7TQx0Yy0u14r6_ltzAceJqgPaTPDOkUVPcU4N5uVQL0EzQj3jD89vs4Icfvl1ZWeMZ5a5QvFXdGU3Qj6gq6Jzw3iI4o3SjchAgbaZv2vZ_lg/s800/Stan+Rogers.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1v_bNc3FYm7kJwCNi92XwnVS3DnDrCm7TQx0Yy0u14r6_ltzAceJqgPaTPDOkUVPcU4N5uVQL0EzQj3jD89vs4Icfvl1ZWeMZ5a5QvFXdGU3Qj6gq6Jzw3iI4o3SjchAgbaZv2vZ_lg/s320/Stan+Rogers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stan Rogers<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I call on an old friend, to help us grieve. When I was a young man, I lived in Philadelphia. The alternative radio stations there, <a href="https://whyy.org/radio-podcasts/" target="_blank">WHYY</a> and <a href="https://xpn.org" target="_blank">WXPN</a> introduced me to forms of music I’d never heard before. One new voice belonged to a Canadian folk singer named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Rogers" target="_blank">Stan Rogers</a>. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbT4ZTKMRz7bMpXLGSUuIttFJMlPlISqKG_AhSZQcdE4I4xZbAH4laXds44ujZAxyX7AWyuWbB-vupoK57RuEs8NrWoqzY4PsqIs9awM2bZtFd9c1tASpC4xNGku9hsqfaZ_KVK9fCHU8/s2048/72117322-SLD-001-0020.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbT4ZTKMRz7bMpXLGSUuIttFJMlPlISqKG_AhSZQcdE4I4xZbAH4laXds44ujZAxyX7AWyuWbB-vupoK57RuEs8NrWoqzY4PsqIs9awM2bZtFd9c1tASpC4xNGku9hsqfaZ_KVK9fCHU8/s2048/72117322-SLD-001-0020.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbT4ZTKMRz7bMpXLGSUuIttFJMlPlISqKG_AhSZQcdE4I4xZbAH4laXds44ujZAxyX7AWyuWbB-vupoK57RuEs8NrWoqzY4PsqIs9awM2bZtFd9c1tASpC4xNGku9hsqfaZ_KVK9fCHU8/s320/72117322-SLD-001-0020.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>I spent many weekends alone in my apartment, painting my pictures and listening to Stan’s deep, steady voice. He often sang about boats, and this song, <i>The Jeannie C,</i> expresses a fisherman’s despair when his boat sinks and his friend drowns.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uXDSGJky4qk" width="560"></iframe> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For those who are ready to look ahead and hope for redemption, I share another of Stan’s songs, <i>The Mary Ellen Carter.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8uirXFig0IQ" width="560"></iframe> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8wqaaHtpRiuEsYrtGWFnRz7WpibyRetfUBsfZZvOUqFg7bnhYJ9wUT-HK0SyCRrFI6_PfXTpUQHs9TCcupm0tAtxt1JK2yAEbHqMjI9vmFGRi6i8Oc9jEOA9wQK-jbYuQR3a2wo28QI/s2048/IMG_0939.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8wqaaHtpRiuEsYrtGWFnRz7WpibyRetfUBsfZZvOUqFg7bnhYJ9wUT-HK0SyCRrFI6_PfXTpUQHs9TCcupm0tAtxt1JK2yAEbHqMjI9vmFGRi6i8Oc9jEOA9wQK-jbYuQR3a2wo28QI/s320/IMG_0939.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64GOY4lhnMEK34NowN15Uck20EovGbMH3LdqcR3fbMJ3WAMpTPTviJkTywsxRSI_Zs0gmbR5VCDRXlPpUNRGPpaGgi79dABcGIemsXA1_hfKU_CzumPnp7oubymNO-lyiSy-aU7x4Td0/s2048/IMG_0738.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64GOY4lhnMEK34NowN15Uck20EovGbMH3LdqcR3fbMJ3WAMpTPTviJkTywsxRSI_Zs0gmbR5VCDRXlPpUNRGPpaGgi79dABcGIemsXA1_hfKU_CzumPnp7oubymNO-lyiSy-aU7x4Td0/s320/IMG_0738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXF-qGQrIzJ58ItPt0lQCGCmzHrIaQ8Bc0ltbdJ36OF2tVn6gAz2OaKpD0V_lCi9Cx9e84ynfF1dI2dDhl0bO2U8WFT179c6QvJ33ly9hT0AG5bmmcrGD74tbq3eqzls7J6VQhy-QImk/s2048/IMG_0686.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXF-qGQrIzJ58ItPt0lQCGCmzHrIaQ8Bc0ltbdJ36OF2tVn6gAz2OaKpD0V_lCi9Cx9e84ynfF1dI2dDhl0bO2U8WFT179c6QvJ33ly9hT0AG5bmmcrGD74tbq3eqzls7J6VQhy-QImk/s320/IMG_0686.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div></div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-2115633788784521062019-11-27T19:15:00.004-08:002021-11-23T17:00:55.516-08:002019 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Writing about our year is always harder than I expected. In the beginning, I can't think of a single sentence that is interesting, or even coherent. We have a blessed life in Carmel Valley. It is somewhat monotonous, as I've written before, but it's the monotony of abundance. A desirable monotony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Max is in the 10th Grade now. His school work is challenging as always. He also volunteers at our local library, helping young children with arts and crafts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Misa took a part time job at a retail store last year. She did well but gave it up this month to be at home more. She continues to study dance and jazz piano, and people on my conference calls occasionally enjoy her diligent practice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Tokyo</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We had some family business in Japan this summer, and we enjoyed revisiting Misa's home town of Tokyo. I can't say enough good things about this city. It's clean and quiet, and everyone pitches in to make it run efficiently. The Japanese have a lot of urban issues figured out. Everything is under control here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Max and Misa plot our route in the train network. I'm the lucky one who doesn't need to know anything. I follow along, like a three-year-old. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The eternal picture</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I spent this year painting water (on my study) and sky (on the big canvases). I have already painted the water and the sky several times, big and small. They came out wrong. I needed to start over. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> This sky isn't terrible, but it's not right yet. I decided to scrape it off, along with the previous skies underneath it, down to the pinkish ground I started with, long ago. I didn't have this scraping ability a few years ago; I acquired it along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You might think it's depressing to take a giant step backward like this, but I like it. It's like going back in time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Music</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of my favorite musical performers, Johnny Mathis gave a concert here this year. I saw him 19 years ago, when he performed with the San Francisco Symphony. Johnny is 84 years old now, but his voice is still clear and strong. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Johnny early in his career, 1957.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Notes from failed drawing expeditions in Shinjuku</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Misa and I washed laundry at a tiny shop a few blocks from the hotel. We took breakfast at a McDonald’s. Misa returned to the clothes and I tried to draw a young man next to me. The drawing was stiff, inaccurate, but the work lifted me nonetheless. Later the three of us went to the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art, where the art was less “modern,” more traditional. Many works on paper and silk revealed that Asian mastery of drawing I’ve reached for but never touched, these last 40 years. Precision and fluidity simultaneously; how can they do it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Misa and Max took another subway excursion while I napped. After dinner, Max charged on ahead of us to the hotel. I decided to linger out in the delicious night breeze, while Misa bathed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I went to a coffee shop and tried to draw again, this time a plump, doll-like young woman who was chattering away to her boyfriend. Once again, the drawing was not cooperating; it was a failure all the way. I worked for about 40 minutes then gave up. As I walked out of the shop, running feet followed me. Both male and female asked to see the drawing and took a photo with their phone. They only had a few words of English and I had fewer Japanese, but we had a nice short conversation anyway. They smiled warmly and took my hand. This is what my attempts at art did for me. They gave me a way of being at home in the world, which I sorely needed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Please comment or email about your year. All the best for you in 2020.</span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-89703126143315296132018-12-22T08:22:00.007-08:002021-11-23T17:04:01.614-08:002018 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
Everything you do, be it great or small, is but one-eighth of the problem, whereas to keep one’s state of mind undisturbed even if thereby one should fail to accomplish the task, is the other seven eighths. </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">—St. Abba Dorotheus (sixth century), quoted in E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer, <i>Early Fathers from Philokalia</i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj793yI2STuhvtH8pwjPRjTE5wbzmwAA1hrfE5IwPYKspnyIbH1xliBTXp2hSUVLaapMErJPRu8cuA1TRAB1gbJQYhWByjkSp693pHssOgLUHy2Fxg6gjbGaVFIuAVII4oaKvTaVaUeLTs/s1600/3uscard.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="975" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj793yI2STuhvtH8pwjPRjTE5wbzmwAA1hrfE5IwPYKspnyIbH1xliBTXp2hSUVLaapMErJPRu8cuA1TRAB1gbJQYhWByjkSp693pHssOgLUHy2Fxg6gjbGaVFIuAVII4oaKvTaVaUeLTs/s320/3uscard.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2005</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFGSqqJB9s3D9r9rhzTcc6uL86QYqKCLd71MT7I0izHkGZJxLa9Z-YsvrTbq_0JWTfNRQbasSRuyfU77AZdEZdhhfy10_6S7zAE9aQG4j0M_EL4ngjOWraOOgeuZ2eoPhmj8Ao4ZIAqU/s1600/IMG_2600.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFGSqqJB9s3D9r9rhzTcc6uL86QYqKCLd71MT7I0izHkGZJxLa9Z-YsvrTbq_0JWTfNRQbasSRuyfU77AZdEZdhhfy10_6S7zAE9aQG4j0M_EL4ngjOWraOOgeuZ2eoPhmj8Ao4ZIAqU/s320/IMG_2600.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2018</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7QJ5PMsUl25AyXGOJClfeYf9TXVcLoWeK1IDyILgsG-ygjmmPoZnTcy2PpmJMJcSAGWfGjBrzK3_X8BX_cuwV5Ny6f-2pjWd3DvDPZqB79YVLjr077QWesRYMwjPJiyukcuPoDMQx2k/s1600/misamaxstreet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="636" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7QJ5PMsUl25AyXGOJClfeYf9TXVcLoWeK1IDyILgsG-ygjmmPoZnTcy2PpmJMJcSAGWfGjBrzK3_X8BX_cuwV5Ny6f-2pjWd3DvDPZqB79YVLjr077QWesRYMwjPJiyukcuPoDMQx2k/s320/misamaxstreet.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2004</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Facebook depresses me because everyone's life looks better than mine. I don't want to contribute to that problem by presenting a choreographed product here. You don't want to read about my heroic struggle to clear the drain in the dishwasher, but that's the kind of excitement that fills my days. At any hour of any day, you're likely to find all three of us working. That's mostly what we do. It's not a bad life, I have no complaints about it. I only mention this to avoid misleading by omission.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Max took his first training flight in an airplane on his birthday. He liked airplanes from birth. At preschool, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, "A airplane! Wiff ten engines!"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmI568rjCSdLQ8q7QooRbIbzeweNR3jFtGv3boKhRnY-uiIsMJ0pmoQ5Ej7NskLA3P6PQZAE378tltYIsZeTw09BIDBT-sSiqSGVHYDwwYYP7BSbE08M4Nmf0Kd6qvuKVo9WNi83FVWkU/s1600/DSC05895+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmI568rjCSdLQ8q7QooRbIbzeweNR3jFtGv3boKhRnY-uiIsMJ0pmoQ5Ej7NskLA3P6PQZAE378tltYIsZeTw09BIDBT-sSiqSGVHYDwwYYP7BSbE08M4Nmf0Kd6qvuKVo9WNi83FVWkU/s320/DSC05895+copy.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzsHg5jk6G3mnvtZiTlZmsVw5tjg0LPNFzpDFr6OtWAT8g68PWVyKIxHA-x8Qht_kQiYtLAFJg5uAIydaPWgnB-pFGJucd_-JRk5lLaT68oCx9XE2fJCrb3gIoP_dqlJvi-IjHBAYftE/s1600/DSC05921+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzsHg5jk6G3mnvtZiTlZmsVw5tjg0LPNFzpDFr6OtWAT8g68PWVyKIxHA-x8Qht_kQiYtLAFJg5uAIydaPWgnB-pFGJucd_-JRk5lLaT68oCx9XE2fJCrb3gIoP_dqlJvi-IjHBAYftE/s320/DSC05921+copy.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He studied photography at his high school, and made this ad. I like the composition, but Max only says, "Yeah, I calculated you could land a plane on this street, given the right conditions."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SzSlBiwUyC36aC8dCs50RU4lcs0cdMJB7AwFTqMljtXNzLgRfn7hy1MqHZRBILnKNJ-_D92C3JltMJBhGl124_mj3ExMC0fZaAQzIW-iknppLZ3o8RhEEYAqlNtENKsDkCUanN4dk34/s1600/Turnage_Max41.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SzSlBiwUyC36aC8dCs50RU4lcs0cdMJB7AwFTqMljtXNzLgRfn7hy1MqHZRBILnKNJ-_D92C3JltMJBhGl124_mj3ExMC0fZaAQzIW-iknppLZ3o8RhEEYAqlNtENKsDkCUanN4dk34/s320/Turnage_Max41.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa continued to make and sell jewelry, handbags and scarves at her store, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveMisaStyle?ref=l2-shopheader-name" target="_blank">LoveMisaStyle</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Qrb7HQQVtp2Ep_ZOB3RPONI7XWvmWnOawATckXFVSb9Dn_AgzfHPqIShmMngXs9Ax3WM1wsGlRuc46_oXO47jODkI6_iijra_FXlkGCskthossz8giD8EMF33cVQU3jhQCiLmrYOYPQ/s1600/xmas+bag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Qrb7HQQVtp2Ep_ZOB3RPONI7XWvmWnOawATckXFVSb9Dn_AgzfHPqIShmMngXs9Ax3WM1wsGlRuc46_oXO47jODkI6_iijra_FXlkGCskthossz8giD8EMF33cVQU3jhQCiLmrYOYPQ/s320/xmas+bag.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Work continues on my Eternal Picture. Right now I'm working out some problem areas off the main canvas. We'll see how far I get in 2019.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A Buddhist shrine enclosure hangs on the wall in my office. Elaborate rules dictate what to place inside and how this sacred space is cared for. Naturally, I ignore every one of the rules and do what I want with it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Today I placed photographs of women who taught me important lessons. The photographs were taken over a period of one hundred years. When I stepped back and looked at them, I noticed every head was slightly tilted in the same way, and each girl beamed the same delicate smile. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Each face connects to the others, to this Earth, to the passing of time, and to me. There it is, the horizontal arc, the wider pattern we swim in. Like the curve of our planet's surface, the arc is always there, but we catch a glimpse only a few times in life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Music this year comes from a Canadian singer, Ken Lavigne, who deserves more attention.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-4j6F9-VpTL5QSsQI4CYfr2NpHuUHoWFsKrZHXdVAESKSq7jHdOc869Ym81rbpnLY6QBB0eLeZVFsW_bGq8J2V5ys26x7qKn6eyPkExYdOFThzGNTUa6svTrrbW47k_Amit0h97Jcko/s1600/IMG_2612+copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-4j6F9-VpTL5QSsQI4CYfr2NpHuUHoWFsKrZHXdVAESKSq7jHdOc869Ym81rbpnLY6QBB0eLeZVFsW_bGq8J2V5ys26x7qKn6eyPkExYdOFThzGNTUa6svTrrbW47k_Amit0h97Jcko/s320/IMG_2612+copy.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">SoCal decorations, courtesy of Dr. Seuss</span></td></tr>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-79178602808428693072017-12-12T05:30:00.000-08:002017-12-12T05:30:07.191-08:002017 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; text-align: left;">"Months passed, months of extreme caution, dull and silent."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> —Louis-Ferdinand Céline, <i>Journey to the End of the Night</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hello again,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2008, when we lived near Ocean Beach in San Francisco, I made a short YouTube video with typical scenes from our days together. In 2017 I made a new movie about our current life in Carmel Valley, San Diego. Some things have changed dramatically; others not so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the original, wherein you can see a smaller boy and younger parents:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2017 we broke up our routine by spending two weeks in San Francisco in summer, through the generosity of friends. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Max rode across the Golden Gate Bridge for lunch in Sausalito.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got to walk the Lincoln Park Trail, where I'd climbed and painted many days in the last century.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Max visited the San Francisco Zoo, near our old house, and rode the puffer train again. His cousin Daniel Duke joined us.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87_izI_XukmlLnga6g9NgwEMi2vJdtCjK_yOSj6rANuZxL4H3fRaWOex7-BFiAsy792woZ8kmu5Bvv_SgHftws_6HEX14IbF20sgSHl97x53KNDAt4UrArgMPbexn56Iy-iMNJlw0TXA/s1600/IMG_0964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87_izI_XukmlLnga6g9NgwEMi2vJdtCjK_yOSj6rANuZxL4H3fRaWOex7-BFiAsy792woZ8kmu5Bvv_SgHftws_6HEX14IbF20sgSHl97x53KNDAt4UrArgMPbexn56Iy-iMNJlw0TXA/s320/IMG_0964.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We drove through California, which is always interesting for me, no matter which route we take. I came here from Texas thirty years ago, and never get tired of just looking around.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2p2IU1YZXT_H-mQF0eC6oKVnZHPWKVzCsbSHoS_wF-PvJ8EgOLXWpFd5PLC_DVgoTG5eLSYAWDbuaWVWBU8l_ASSdy2fwlXNQVZKU6QEukS5mCBdCkPNlvjEdUe79k3y60aazjdeLVAc/s1600/IMG_0893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2p2IU1YZXT_H-mQF0eC6oKVnZHPWKVzCsbSHoS_wF-PvJ8EgOLXWpFd5PLC_DVgoTG5eLSYAWDbuaWVWBU8l_ASSdy2fwlXNQVZKU6QEukS5mCBdCkPNlvjEdUe79k3y60aazjdeLVAc/s320/IMG_0893.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Music to share this year:</span><br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IUy_h__NjxY" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Please comment or email. Let us know about your year. Until next time, enjoy every minute. This exquisite light won't last.</span><br />
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-54930254648012034032016-12-25T08:38:00.000-08:002016-12-25T08:40:18.820-08:002016 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“Christmas will soon be here, Svevo,” she said. “Say a prayer. Ask God to make it a happy Christmas.”</div>
<div style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; margin-left: 5px;">
—John Fante, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Until-Spring-Bandini-Fante-ebook/dp/B003L77ZPW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594267&sr=1-1&keywords=wait+until+spring+bandini" target="_blank">Wait Until Spring, Bandini</a></i></div>
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Music this year:<br />
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This part of life is almost monastic. I get up every day at 3:45AM, meditate, then cook breakfast. While cooking, my iPad reads the current book into my headphones. In a normal day, I only get scraps of minutes for reading, so the machine helps me make steady progress. Here are some passages from books I read this year:</div>
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I can’t believe how real life never lets you down. I can’t understand why anyone would write fiction when what actually happens is so amazing.</div>
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Nora Ephron, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Feel-Bad-About-My-Neck-ebook/dp/B000JMKNBA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594353&sr=1-1&keywords=I+Feel+Bad+About+My+Neck" target="_blank">I Feel Bad About My Neck</a></i></div>
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So decide now that you are worthy of living as a full-grown man who is making progress, and make everything that seems best be a law that you cannot go against. And if you meet with any hardship or anything pleasant or reputable or disreputable, then remember that the contest is now and the Olympic games are now and you cannot put things off any more and that your progress is made or destroyed by a single day and a single action.</div>
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Epictetus, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enchiridion-Epictetus-ebook/dp/B00CLFETRW/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594406&sr=1-2&keywords=Encheiridion" target="_blank">The Encheiridion</a></i></div>
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By Donald Trump’s own account, what may have been one of his most important lessons occurred just after he started college at Fordham. One rainy, cold day in November 1964 he accompanied his father to opening ceremonies for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which joined Staten Island and Brooklyn and was the longest and highest suspension bridge in the world. It was also City Construction coordinator Robert Moses’s last hurrah, and its opening day was an occasion for politicians to deliver remarks and, mainly, receive applause, regardless of whether they had actually backed the project. But what Donald Trump noticed was that Othmar Hermann Amman, the eighty-five-year-old Swiss-born immigrant who designed the Verrazano, George Washington, Whitestone, and Throgs Neck bridges, was alone and ignored. “I realized then and there,” the young developer-to-be told a reporter many years later, “that if you let people treat you how they want, you’ll be made a fool. I realized then and there something I would never forget: I don’t want to be made anybody’s sucker.”</div>
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Gwenda Blair, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trumps-Generations-Builders-Presidential-Candidate-ebook/dp/B015WNZ1IK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594572&sr=1-1&keywords=the+trumps+three+generations+that+built+an+empire" target="_blank">The Trumps: Three Generations of Builders and a Presidential Candidate</a></i></div>
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It was in the reign of George II that the above-named personages lived and quarrelled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now . . .</div>
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William Makepeace Thackeray, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Barry-Lyndon-William-Makepeace-Thackeray-ebook/dp/B004TQU4SE/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594687&sr=1-2&keywords=barry+lyndon" target="_blank">Barry Lyndon</a></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_rj9mmzi30RGe4yMJiLroV8cqmxntG9ltfPU0yNMgCmMJgWMdi3QRmGI9Y4j2eeTCcGGUo_ZCUidOFszYN1TbQTQ6fTW62HVQLSVDx6LAlkp4MqreIu7NSIfUDcWYcpbVhCBqRflfww/s1600/DSC06086.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_rj9mmzi30RGe4yMJiLroV8cqmxntG9ltfPU0yNMgCmMJgWMdi3QRmGI9Y4j2eeTCcGGUo_ZCUidOFszYN1TbQTQ6fTW62HVQLSVDx6LAlkp4MqreIu7NSIfUDcWYcpbVhCBqRflfww/s320/DSC06086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After breakfast, I work on the eternal picture. As you can see, I’m crawling, inch by inch toward the west. I knew this section of the picture would be especially slow and difficult. The work breaks my brain open, which is its reward. I'm still working in Canvas #3, which depicts Pacific Heights, the Marina, and the Presidio.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6xHXr6wh_mkc7249gicXbWitr6ilidf2FINQCAND5Jw36jWwlUSDRXyYNLi6giNEMO7Y2se6J9sR6nITdy7ir-s9j_diHQPPPMj0FR0hjHKjhsFwdq_C841whPl_iqDfZvl6PkeXwRs/s1600/DSC06404.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="36" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6xHXr6wh_mkc7249gicXbWitr6ilidf2FINQCAND5Jw36jWwlUSDRXyYNLi6giNEMO7Y2se6J9sR6nITdy7ir-s9j_diHQPPPMj0FR0hjHKjhsFwdq_C841whPl_iqDfZvl6PkeXwRs/s320/DSC06404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's where I was at the end of 2015</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GyUBFi414hU-DvMav7ma0wQMhH3fhJde_qApLSVfYmrPaDPMiLHrCp7e-IcUnQwzOphsYPIn4_LXGwDAFYDLfsfVnFuvHqC856zT0nBPI3lIX5dLCFr6RF-KCneXuZTl1YosU0LJx38/s1600/DSC00210.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GyUBFi414hU-DvMav7ma0wQMhH3fhJde_qApLSVfYmrPaDPMiLHrCp7e-IcUnQwzOphsYPIn4_LXGwDAFYDLfsfVnFuvHqC856zT0nBPI3lIX5dLCFr6RF-KCneXuZTl1YosU0LJx38/s320/DSC00210.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was able to get most of the buildings in the foreground colored this year, and now I'm lost in the trees.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcb8g_lI6GvwSjiTiOELH2eSs1Moqf5UkvGQpeEmmkROuQYftNXRC_XfIggvrUia3b6_qiVb_AzI836bYnGjYfGK0G-6BqgBZtHlW2duSs7lbim9Avg7j0VgrD5T0FKOMage51pzAd6P8/s1600/DSC06559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcb8g_lI6GvwSjiTiOELH2eSs1Moqf5UkvGQpeEmmkROuQYftNXRC_XfIggvrUia3b6_qiVb_AzI836bYnGjYfGK0G-6BqgBZtHlW2duSs7lbim9Avg7j0VgrD5T0FKOMage51pzAd6P8/s320/DSC06559.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0J8-Gt2ezMRfzrdCfejShVDGw_9qeJbv7ETnugsN4Ozf9WkcXNB5rXnANazEdmuCIxnQt-Bsx6QvoHju8APZtpA3ZO_dYeoJEhPbJXVQX5P7ETc2b63G9B2UzpU3a2OKDKAzcnPsZaZM/s1600/DSC06560.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0J8-Gt2ezMRfzrdCfejShVDGw_9qeJbv7ETnugsN4Ozf9WkcXNB5rXnANazEdmuCIxnQt-Bsx6QvoHju8APZtpA3ZO_dYeoJEhPbJXVQX5P7ETc2b63G9B2UzpU3a2OKDKAzcnPsZaZM/s320/DSC06560.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqxxAwUMbTpDZfleP3O278WuCYh4l8KqycgOyVtWmN0IIGYgUCyUGgMzH2aIsMjHRkYj-bWYkOHDgJhSyqIDlqKxRCB8iObENnAw0hDlv_eKT2IKzJv9Sa-GrRAd1HDx_n1JpjPokols/s1600/DSC06564.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqxxAwUMbTpDZfleP3O278WuCYh4l8KqycgOyVtWmN0IIGYgUCyUGgMzH2aIsMjHRkYj-bWYkOHDgJhSyqIDlqKxRCB8iObENnAw0hDlv_eKT2IKzJv9Sa-GrRAd1HDx_n1JpjPokols/s320/DSC06564.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcMhVbbWm1LuGhNoSRGbozl8ekO-D2gRHjsIOWbhH7N1jSCo4Cgg5lC-n77VPf9S9bqijV-iKaW7sCpnc9cjB0C0B1d8uuSytvLQ4pY-LT7A1jTSuaIR67Q-mnrhEFdqu4Op4vEj-Q_E/s1600/DSC06565.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdcMhVbbWm1LuGhNoSRGbozl8ekO-D2gRHjsIOWbhH7N1jSCo4Cgg5lC-n77VPf9S9bqijV-iKaW7sCpnc9cjB0C0B1d8uuSytvLQ4pY-LT7A1jTSuaIR67Q-mnrhEFdqu4Op4vEj-Q_E/s320/DSC06565.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcfECAFjXfILok19lo7mlg6d_NrzipSG8KOLgQI859r1ZgPhMOgtLYg_NuWqUojs-cAobz9k8Hh1YA67twRMH6i3UjnpqmjL29fvBj6ZV12xBR5zewWR99_iSRKGnuCITN90bON3kF0k/s1600/DSC06566.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcfECAFjXfILok19lo7mlg6d_NrzipSG8KOLgQI859r1ZgPhMOgtLYg_NuWqUojs-cAobz9k8Hh1YA67twRMH6i3UjnpqmjL29fvBj6ZV12xBR5zewWR99_iSRKGnuCITN90bON3kF0k/s320/DSC06566.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I start work at my job around 7AM. Misa and Max open their lives for business and leave before 8. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdv9JtqhweOfGohtCxsRvyo8NsXEvhFeuTdZeFKfiZoYKzcNBKbPxvW5NSCv5PfeDwg4yaCyUHVxlWCLKJ3RUi_qM8oexOjxIXw_O9eXHFd0iVsvXDhdhjcFw-3hur3Al3Nr-A5H6Vys/s1600/DSC06439.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdv9JtqhweOfGohtCxsRvyo8NsXEvhFeuTdZeFKfiZoYKzcNBKbPxvW5NSCv5PfeDwg4yaCyUHVxlWCLKJ3RUi_qM8oexOjxIXw_O9eXHFd0iVsvXDhdhjcFw-3hur3Al3Nr-A5H6Vys/s320/DSC06439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sometime during the day I exercise. In winter, this means riding a bicycle trail through Carmel Valley. The weather here is perfect at least 350 days each year, so I never have an excuse to skip exercise. The trail follows a little creek. Bunnies scamper across it, lizards crawl across. Twice I saw a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_skink" target="_blank">skink</a>, which looks exactly like a snake, except it has legs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF16QKrAI7UtEmALTmFW8OYfJU5z_Jn-h1NaGifoWHCSCvRtZghSgSPeBqiFoq8MRbu_XVZfp_muM1kSGCcl9x-bd9LFQyqIIfwzpI9PfftMS-3lD4qOsEpXZnIQmd1OqXcJ0EuHhg5zQ/s1600/DSC06092.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF16QKrAI7UtEmALTmFW8OYfJU5z_Jn-h1NaGifoWHCSCvRtZghSgSPeBqiFoq8MRbu_XVZfp_muM1kSGCcl9x-bd9LFQyqIIfwzpI9PfftMS-3lD4qOsEpXZnIQmd1OqXcJ0EuHhg5zQ/s320/DSC06092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After the bike ride, I lift weights. The weights are smaller than they used to be. </div>
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We eat dinner at 5:30. After, I read to Max. Presently we are reading Robert Greene’s book, <i>The 48 Laws of Power.</i> Here are some passages:</div>
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In the end, life is short, opportunities are few, and you have only so much energy to draw on. And in this sense time is as important a consideration as any other. Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others— that is too high a price to pay.</div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Never let the presence of enemies upset or distress you—you are far better off with a declared opponent or two than not knowing where your real enemies lie. The man of power welcomes conflict, using enemies to enhance his reputation as a surefooted fighter who can be relied upon in times of uncertainty.</span></div>
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Robert Greene, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene-ebook/dp/B0024CEZR6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482594805&sr=1-1&keywords=48+laws+of+power+by+robert+greene" target="_blank">The 48 Laws of Power</a></i></div>
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I need to be on my way to bed by 7PM. I’m fortunate to have Misa, to work the late shift. </div>
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A meditation teacher once told me, “You start making real progress when you can do the same thing over and over, with steady enthusiasm. Once you stop fighting, you receive the spirit of repetition. You don’t need escape. You stop shopping for a different, better life.” When you hit the same nail, over and over again, you get good at it. </div>
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Misa had serious health problems this year, but she’s feeling much better. We hope we have them under control now. Despite these difficulties, she continued to make jewelry and needlework. <a href="https://1creativeone.wordpress.com/2016/12/04/stitch-along-sampler-students-work/" target="_blank">This</a> was one of her projects.</div>
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Max is the BIG story this year. He’s taller than I am now, and he's proud of that. The transition to Middle School gave Max big challenges, but he met them with stamina and determination. Late in the year, he received his own phone. He was relieved, because almost everyone else in his school already had one. The old man shakes his head and mutters at these kids and their crazy gadgets.</div>
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We visited Washington, DC in summer, and found it pleasant and interesting. Misa helped me get ample time in the art museums; she’s a good girl to take along. </div>
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This is a painting by George Bellows of New York City, painted in 1911. His strong tide of paint captures everything I like about New York, the energy, the crowding, the ricocheting walks, as people strive to avoid collision. </div>
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Send your stories, I want to know about your year. All the best to you in 2017.</div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-12219717259124065912015-12-30T10:09:00.000-08:002016-09-19T10:00:55.454-07:002015 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the film "Citizen Kane,'' which Orson Welles made in 1941, there occurs my favorite passage of movie dialogue. Old Mr. Bernstein is talking about the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">peculiarities of time. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">think he'd remember,'' he says. "You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by </span></i><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">since that I haven't thought of that girl.’’</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">—Roger Ebert</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This year's music:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lucia</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I met Lucia through an artist friend when I was 19. She was attending the <a href="https://www.pafa.org/" target="_blank">Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts</a> in Philadelphia, where I hoped to apply. Lucia was a graduate of the <a href="http://www.hockaday.org/" target="_blank">Hockaday School</a>. I’d never heard of it, but it sounded expensive. She had grown up in the Highland Park section of Dallas, and her father put the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> in front of her at breakfast each morning. I’d graduated from a fair-to-sinking public school. I still lived with my parents on the far south side of town, and read the <i>Dallas Morning News.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We met for drinks on a hot, golden evening at Stoneleigh P. Lucia was tall, with thick blonde hair and green eyes. She was a few years older than me, in her mid twenties. Lucia asked me how I knew our artist friend, and which teachers I’d studied with at <a href="http://www.smu.edu/" target="_blank">Southern Methodist University</a>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNherSJTFDvvI_yjdqc__k_Opyvcb6K2kRB_zl7ke_pj1a1YM0v54uLPYcwTMWvq9pwerQwHmi5PgK7o_eKkDfYnoLTso9Nyh6Q2zuDo7g3qdV9hdOFRVjUl9eUNXKdu0Jreg3rIVD3jY/s1600/Lucia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNherSJTFDvvI_yjdqc__k_Opyvcb6K2kRB_zl7ke_pj1a1YM0v54uLPYcwTMWvq9pwerQwHmi5PgK7o_eKkDfYnoLTso9Nyh6Q2zuDo7g3qdV9hdOFRVjUl9eUNXKdu0Jreg3rIVD3jY/s320/Lucia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After half an hour she took my hand dramatically, looked into my eyes and said, “John, I know something about you, just from talking this short while. I’m telling you this for your own good; you must get out of Dallas. Dallas is run by just a few families and I know all of them. There’s nothing for you here and there never will be. You need to come to Philadelphia. Do whatever you have to do, but get out of here.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Naturally, I was moved. I’d soon find out that every minute with Lucia was high drama, but so what? I needed encouragement to take this big step. I’d have moral support from this living Barbie doll. Whoopee!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTGPdthLvvpQulR3W2y4Ir2G-2oLjgyCrK8WOjpW0fG7ic0Ka-gbEiY0OzdM1HY7nk8Lo9k3lRW5gEnZyRmR3P-TbZPv9GLO9XpHmXNDvmlXUmFbtHHXzh6j_WnrofJm4rAyWOru84Gs/s1600/Lucia2.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNherSJTFDvvI_yjdqc__k_Opyvcb6K2kRB_zl7ke_pj1a1YM0v54uLPYcwTMWvq9pwerQwHmi5PgK7o_eKkDfYnoLTso9Nyh6Q2zuDo7g3qdV9hdOFRVjUl9eUNXKdu0Jreg3rIVD3jY/s1600/Lucia.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYM55IcSBLfDdVJjcWGCHy3oE2yCph0heFGHRJ3gvBNyOYtw8UZZskpcjIl-5I9t4A-psCZysrzvODunSjXRmDCmpCjXc6hcwUnvNeKFbbf5Aza7GxHYrPHX4TuxQ2q_xBq4sB5HrQlo/s1600/Lucia3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYM55IcSBLfDdVJjcWGCHy3oE2yCph0heFGHRJ3gvBNyOYtw8UZZskpcjIl-5I9t4A-psCZysrzvODunSjXRmDCmpCjXc6hcwUnvNeKFbbf5Aza7GxHYrPHX4TuxQ2q_xBq4sB5HrQlo/s320/Lucia3.jpg" width="272" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the end of September I flew to Philadelphia for several days. Lucia acted as my tour guide, introducing me to the city. She lived in a building called St. James House, on the corner of 13th Street at Walnut. 13th street was narrow, only one lane wide, with sidewalks and stone towers facing across. We walked out into the night. It was a new experience for me, walking around a city at night, meeting other art students on the sidewalks. I loved it. I wanted to return and prayed I’d make it, literally. I flew back home and worked for another year, writing to Lucia occasionally. She never sent me a letter in return, but whenever I phoned her, she responded with great excitement.<span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I moved to Philadelphia the next fall, and again, Lucia met me at the door of her apartment building. She’d fallen in love with a good-hearted Italian boy named Michael and he’d moved in with her. After a cup of coffee in Lucia’s tiny room, we walked across 13th Street. She’d arranged for me to stay a week at a friend’s empty apartment, on the 10th floor of the Chancellor. Lucia went down to the building office and got the key to another apartment that was available for me to rent, if I wanted it, on the twentieth floor. I looked across the room to the east-facing windows. I could see over the building tops to the old part of town, South Philly, the Delaware River and Camden, New Jersey. I told Lucia I loved it and she kissed me on the lips. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We two friends began the fall semester, living just a few horizontal feet from each other. Surprisingly, I didn’t see Lucia much, after school started. I was disappointed, but not devastated. I was learning about the different kinds of people in the world. I noticed those who came close to me quickly tended to ricochet off in new directions, just as quickly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My brief encounter with Lucia was entirely positive. Knowing me only slightly, she'd given me invaluable help when I needed it. All I could do was express gratitude. I still feel that way today.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTGPdthLvvpQulR3W2y4Ir2G-2oLjgyCrK8WOjpW0fG7ic0Ka-gbEiY0OzdM1HY7nk8Lo9k3lRW5gEnZyRmR3P-TbZPv9GLO9XpHmXNDvmlXUmFbtHHXzh6j_WnrofJm4rAyWOru84Gs/s1600/Lucia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTGPdthLvvpQulR3W2y4Ir2G-2oLjgyCrK8WOjpW0fG7ic0Ka-gbEiY0OzdM1HY7nk8Lo9k3lRW5gEnZyRmR3P-TbZPv9GLO9XpHmXNDvmlXUmFbtHHXzh6j_WnrofJm4rAyWOru84Gs/s320/Lucia2.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As our school year slowed to its end the following spring, Lucia called me from across the street, to catch up on the news we’d missed. I told her about my fascinating year, and the job I’d lined up for the summer, back in Dallas. Lucia was leaving Philadelphia for good. She had come to dislike the general environment, and decided not to marry her boyfriend Michael after all. She regretted all the upheaval in her life, but now that it was over, we would get together when we both returned to Dallas, in just a few days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The last evening I saw her, she stood in the doorway of St. James House, waving sweetly, this glowing, blonde Texas debutante. Once more, she promised we'd meet up again in Dallas and trade stories. I never saw her again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">House</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For sixteen years, my parents lived in a pleasant, one-storey ranch house on a large, park-like lot. I graduated from high school while living there. Here is a photo of my niece and nephew by the front door, circa 1990.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When my parents left the house a few years later, it was still a nice place, well-maintained. This is a photo of the house today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I often think about buildings and the people who knew them. A long time ago, plans were laid out, a foundation was poured. Did the construction crew feel pride, when they finished their work and drove away for the last time? When the last family left the house, did they realize no one would ever live there again?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Max Park</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When Max was little, we took him to a park on Vicente Street in San Francisco, specially designed for young children. We called it “The Max Park.” The park had places to climb and swing, but Max spent most of his time there digging in the sand box. It was our closest, safe place for playing with other children outdoors, so we went often. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The park was nice enough, but the wind from the ocean always blew cold over us, and there were few places to sit. Every visit became an endurance contest, and when it was over we had to get the sand off Max before he entered the house. By that time, I was cold, tired, and wanted a drink.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This went on for several years. As Max got bigger, we rode our bikes to and from the park. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One day I asked Max if he wanted to go to the park, and he said, “No.” His Max Park time was ended. The last day we’d gone to The Max Park was the last day we’d be there together, but neither of us knew it at the time. Most endings happen this way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As the days and years pass by, I see ending after ending. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every day is the last day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The last day we’ll see that sandwich man at our neighborhood Subway, the last time we’ll swim at this beach, the last message we’ll get from this friend. We can’t know what ended until later, but we’ll certainly do something for the last time today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think about those lost experiences and those lost people, the woman I saw on the sidewalk of Bush Street every day, when I walked from my apartment on Nob Hill to my job downtown, the woman with ratty hair, walking her little dog. What is she doing now? Did she wonder what happened to me, when I moved to the Sunset in 2002, or did she even notice? And which people remember me, that I never noticed? Are past events lingering in someone's brain, or have all traces vanished, as if they never happened?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>If there were any wisdom (and there isn’t—there’s everything and nothing to be learned) it would consist of learning to fall freely. For we are in full, flaming descent, but we move so slowly we imagine we can hold on to certain things (at least this friend, at least this moment). If we fell faster we’d call out in panic. But our speed is slow if constant and some things and people are falling at the same rate; relative to them we don’t seem to be moving at all. But then something we are holding . . . . accelerates and slides out of our grasp — and suddenly we glimpse blackest, rushing night through the gap.</i> —Edmund White, <i>Caracole</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 20px;">2015</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Nevertheless the time passed.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">—Louis-Ferdinand Celine, <i>Journey to the End of the Night</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We were more settled than in 2014. We did not have to sell or buy a house. The facts:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We are older.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2011</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2015</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Max is bigger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The big picture is not finished yet. Compare with last year to measure progress. You may ask, "Why is it taking so long?" There are two reasons: 1. The picture is complicated. 2. I'm slow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We went to Alaska on a cruise ship. Misa and Max wandered around the ship. I mostly sat on the balcony and watched the water go by. We all ate. A lot. Alaska was pretty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Please write if you feel so inclined, we enjoy hearing your thoughts and news. Wishing you well in 2016.</span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-58474810729442479042014-12-24T19:11:00.001-08:002014-12-24T19:11:48.656-08:002014 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2014 In Review</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It seemed from all of this that uppermost among human joys is the negative one of restoration: not going to the stars, but learning that one may stay where one is. </i>— Peter de Vries, <i>The Blood of the Lamb</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello everyone, here we are again, at the end of the year. It’s 80° F in San Diego today and I’m dreaming of Hawaii. I can’t go, but I can get a little scent of the islands from this newly-released song by Keali’i Reichel:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Max and Misa</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCPzj4IAepwpxahBj4qhB-d4hwAcnQzuiUa2HMgN65JwM8uNGX6-vlfJ2tWzN1sVdXdwEW5gWhgmb3mj2NhPLuSRxxE1Y1t5-QJKnvOh0lkrprl0f6Nqd6HP2uWXHpawoAm_itOq9sLU/s1600/DSC04502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCPzj4IAepwpxahBj4qhB-d4hwAcnQzuiUa2HMgN65JwM8uNGX6-vlfJ2tWzN1sVdXdwEW5gWhgmb3mj2NhPLuSRxxE1Y1t5-QJKnvOh0lkrprl0f6Nqd6HP2uWXHpawoAm_itOq9sLU/s1600/DSC04502.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was the year Max surpassed Misa in height, though he’s still ten years old. He likes being taller than Mom. He will be equally pleased when he’s taller than I am, which may happen soon. Max did good work in his English and Japanese schools this year. He volunteered for Safety Patrol and kept the crosswalk secure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa got back to her dance classes after recovering from injuries, but only as a student, for now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Painting</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Work continued on my long picture. This year I worked on downtown San Francisco, Nob Hill and Russian Hill. Each building, each window moves me like a human face. They turn toward—or away from—the light. Like other living things, they are always in motion, and the picture records a moment between their birth and their death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you wonder why the sky and water are white, see last year's post.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwrpswANjcRnMereaY8qiWILUIW1D1QwtbXQ4WrxqxUu3Y1KIaW3NF3FjBBsYKcyl8duOH_7jGRohW3pq5UXOowyW56eiMB6Nxu_UCoXuXGKmFoPIUvR3fSTy3QeE-ghG3mK1IQdpmjE/s1600/DSC04776B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwrpswANjcRnMereaY8qiWILUIW1D1QwtbXQ4WrxqxUu3Y1KIaW3NF3FjBBsYKcyl8duOH_7jGRohW3pq5UXOowyW56eiMB6Nxu_UCoXuXGKmFoPIUvR3fSTy3QeE-ghG3mK1IQdpmjE/s1600/DSC04776B.jpg" height="152" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moving</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rG50EkX40QP8GB1CQv2pR7tISf3YFkMxQKyymkeoFHcuFyPuh8ahF7cqA_68d21vETJwh-54qyfPPvPHJAz8Kxr2RI4MZ_vOiZbJ9FhuMgh-QOMdQA8sOPcM2EwOFAHWe6rt75tjaaI/s1600/DSC03314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rG50EkX40QP8GB1CQv2pR7tISf3YFkMxQKyymkeoFHcuFyPuh8ahF7cqA_68d21vETJwh-54qyfPPvPHJAz8Kxr2RI4MZ_vOiZbJ9FhuMgh-QOMdQA8sOPcM2EwOFAHWe6rt75tjaaI/s1600/DSC03314.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Early in the year, our tenants Bryan and Chaundra told us they would leave for New York in the spring. We were sad to see them go, as they took excellent care of our house in San Francisco. We decided to sell that house, and try to buy one here in San Diego. All of us grieved to cut this tie to the city we love, but it looked like a house here would yield the most benefit from our money. Max loves his schools and his friends in Carmel Valley. They encourage him to excel. We wanted to make sure he could remain in this nourishing environment through his school years. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvnDq0_DG5lVP87jZ4fhZ_kE_IPXXI9NskQr_ou_rrwuC3bgb33453aaTFtOUILfIIAYE3yUpRJly64IVNKqKq5sSAjEw7dLkkarjcd2myt1gtzTek_bdVIUEf5fxJnttBCxmUzZ7xGE/s1600/DSC04668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvnDq0_DG5lVP87jZ4fhZ_kE_IPXXI9NskQr_ou_rrwuC3bgb33453aaTFtOUILfIIAYE3yUpRJly64IVNKqKq5sSAjEw7dLkkarjcd2myt1gtzTek_bdVIUEf5fxJnttBCxmUzZ7xGE/s1600/DSC04668.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had good agents in both cities. Still, the real estate transactions proved difficult and complicated, especially buying into Max’s school district. After living most of my adult life in San Francisco, I thought any other market had to be easier, and offer more choices. We found out that other parents also exhibit a strong preference for Max’s school district, and bid up prices here into the stratosphere. At the same time, the district boundaries for elementary and middle school formed a small intersection. If we bought outside it, we risked putting Max in a different school from his friends.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXfOPpjLmpIY1HUmdv7CcUzH-4tyjFN9c92ORSL41nTbpG0JzyiUDA-FX0oDzh4njQ0yOEGZYlpFGL9abkVl7mkOk_Cv4CSHRcvHgaiSWMHUlgo7W8EBBjQdKWq3RtUVDzEhZv8EljPM/s1600/DSC04162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiXfOPpjLmpIY1HUmdv7CcUzH-4tyjFN9c92ORSL41nTbpG0JzyiUDA-FX0oDzh4njQ0yOEGZYlpFGL9abkVl7mkOk_Cv4CSHRcvHgaiSWMHUlgo7W8EBBjQdKWq3RtUVDzEhZv8EljPM/s1600/DSC04162.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa helped me negotiate these limitations and make the best choice for us. In late July we moved into our new house. We are glad to be on a hill, across from a small park. I can still ride my favorite bike trail and Max can play with other boys nearby.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3T-9AKKrbci1pw9Smzstolyl-9hxV_FdVz8iGschibOhJN3Imjrg6Wu0JuhcZoXPIVAh5MZLjvnfT4A4Ut174T5OR638yo4Ga5QJ0ZUc6VKwnnWzZUNfvaGHXYwn9nUb7nTQRCm4dec/s1600/DSC04255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3T-9AKKrbci1pw9Smzstolyl-9hxV_FdVz8iGschibOhJN3Imjrg6Wu0JuhcZoXPIVAh5MZLjvnfT4A4Ut174T5OR638yo4Ga5QJ0ZUc6VKwnnWzZUNfvaGHXYwn9nUb7nTQRCm4dec/s1600/DSC04255.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mexico</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJhFF_PE5ZqPyTD7lnKgmXzyzzWABUb1V3y4ZMYF3_oKhgZgN7wH1_iRgbBEMPVrzCzuwlJ0MrvUYjoRTllGi_cINFUbO8yZ4gsuB8nnrfDr6Wbkgil3vtUe6qyFH_K-NkTE0MvLQ5ow/s1600/DSC03986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJhFF_PE5ZqPyTD7lnKgmXzyzzWABUb1V3y4ZMYF3_oKhgZgN7wH1_iRgbBEMPVrzCzuwlJ0MrvUYjoRTllGi_cINFUbO8yZ4gsuB8nnrfDr6Wbkgil3vtUe6qyFH_K-NkTE0MvLQ5ow/s1600/DSC03986.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The big changes stressed me out and damaged my muscles. Fortunately, we’d already purchased a vacation to Baja California. We had not been there before, and we loved our resort. The food was the best, and included in the price of our room. Everyone at the resort was friendly and helpful. They gave us free yoga lessons, where I tried to restore my stress-damaged body.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vxvzGCsCLurxx65Jdi7aJ3o9DdVwy3If36GG70u3jXwNLDg_PgBSLdz6eaNCjhUe3UjK7AC8ozcoBlbQjBDES1cNHBWlb-RnkkKgEI75QTsn76W7xE5du85f8k7ZiNF2rj7EvzGZ-wA/s1600/DSC04004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vxvzGCsCLurxx65Jdi7aJ3o9DdVwy3If36GG70u3jXwNLDg_PgBSLdz6eaNCjhUe3UjK7AC8ozcoBlbQjBDES1cNHBWlb-RnkkKgEI75QTsn76W7xE5du85f8k7ZiNF2rj7EvzGZ-wA/s1600/DSC04004.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In autumn, Max began the fifth grade and we continued settling into the new location. We attended my niece Rachel Duke’s wedding to Olivier Swinnen in Dallas. Our family continues to spread across the map, so it was nice to see everyone in one place.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtra2GnfEPzhQALKx2aCsi6MQnsEAyQnG_LeTsad7nyIoyoHM4y1o0nNzSb7REDz-XOr2lKcVvCTi6uIMZdwet7Y1yZ-r3CqRUl280S_a-WAUYoFSeOm_6xN2WjVTzyjvX0hEQPNrPU1U/s1600/DSC04537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtra2GnfEPzhQALKx2aCsi6MQnsEAyQnG_LeTsad7nyIoyoHM4y1o0nNzSb7REDz-XOr2lKcVvCTi6uIMZdwet7Y1yZ-r3CqRUl280S_a-WAUYoFSeOm_6xN2WjVTzyjvX0hEQPNrPU1U/s1600/DSC04537.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Bride and Groom break the tension with our resident pastor, my brother Mike.</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Roy Ragle, 1944 - 2014</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCeRSLs8EyoKBg8uso_6RSyzE7JAkz5_Ah6tZgBeo25FNs23O8ji5X_0v1LTB0oO-42SKfNjpuD2UDaT_RAIEovvbToGK6c2wjamJ0tMncaY_A1wLmvpvVodSJ9AlfJxHiFUeMVf4OQo/s1600/Roy+Ragle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCeRSLs8EyoKBg8uso_6RSyzE7JAkz5_Ah6tZgBeo25FNs23O8ji5X_0v1LTB0oO-42SKfNjpuD2UDaT_RAIEovvbToGK6c2wjamJ0tMncaY_A1wLmvpvVodSJ9AlfJxHiFUeMVf4OQo/s1600/Roy+Ragle.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Above Roy's mantle is a self-portrait I made around 1990.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On December 11, I lost a dear friend and fellow artist, Roy Ragle. In 1989 I participated in San Francisco Open Studios at my apartment in the Richmond District. A tall, thin woman came to look at the pictures and talked briefly. Later she returned with her husband, a big man who climbed six flights of stairs on crutches just to see me. Thus I met Carol and Roy, artists from San Diego who lived a few blocks away, in a long flat overlooking Golden Gate Park. They bought a small painting that day, and they would buy many more in succeeding years. They honored me thus, because both of them were accomplished artists, and their work was in the collection of the <a href="https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/" target="_blank">Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDuzLSqyZEqECDyF91TrsG3gsKWOWtO9Wh3NWs1fs5mSOSo_hwau0QRa19I_duzS26pZ473h1ocjvSYRs9xYHE4PiuVqvMaWALFYaOBmbHe2o8LI3pvWky1RvS8TTjKPCjTv_SW9a1gA/s1600/RoyRagle2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDuzLSqyZEqECDyF91TrsG3gsKWOWtO9Wh3NWs1fs5mSOSo_hwau0QRa19I_duzS26pZ473h1ocjvSYRs9xYHE4PiuVqvMaWALFYaOBmbHe2o8LI3pvWky1RvS8TTjKPCjTv_SW9a1gA/s1600/RoyRagle2005.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">In 2005, Roy’s prints were shown at the Oakland Museum. Max was just learning to walk and getting into trouble in the background.</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVBevIPMITEtVO_qvnosFQmHeBQUaFOHLSiTXhpLRvzUqIUridtRQ5cN4I70xoFwvn7kLa2GXaYjUO8uwAd-usaAtsnbkbl_TzZDaAs_hy69Upb9xKV2ZaakfuS7xnc3yVBuz_3VLj7w/s1600/DSC04778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVBevIPMITEtVO_qvnosFQmHeBQUaFOHLSiTXhpLRvzUqIUridtRQ5cN4I70xoFwvn7kLa2GXaYjUO8uwAd-usaAtsnbkbl_TzZDaAs_hy69Upb9xKV2ZaakfuS7xnc3yVBuz_3VLj7w/s1600/DSC04778.jpg" height="197" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Roy and Carol were the finest people, and the best friends one could hope for. They supported and encouraged me in every way. They were always positive, despite life’s inevitable difficulties. Carol endured the loss of her hearing, but continued to refine and advance her fine illustration work. Roy suffered from Crohn’s disease and other disabilities, but he was always thrilled to see me or get a letter. Roy’s letters are magnificent works of art in their own right, and they have appeared in a magazine article.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoQx5p_aETaw9DgQyTU6031qe5B2gDuQLxqsACcECM1G_JTePEciyiCgG1TeFTg8W7pH1wBptpUm2DDswtDJMp6VwMG1xi3DIwEAKjcdlkOnDgiKswl3g7yhvKZ6PBa8jJxVJMFnewi8/s1600/carolroy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoQx5p_aETaw9DgQyTU6031qe5B2gDuQLxqsACcECM1G_JTePEciyiCgG1TeFTg8W7pH1wBptpUm2DDswtDJMp6VwMG1xi3DIwEAKjcdlkOnDgiKswl3g7yhvKZ6PBa8jJxVJMFnewi8/s1600/carolroy.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My painting of Carol and Roy, mid 1990s.</span><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Farewell, Roy. This world is a sadder, colder, less interesting place without you.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wrapping Up</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please send your stories; I love to read them. In facing the new year, I look back at T.H. White’s <i>The Once and Future King.</i> I read the book when I was nineteen, and Max is reading it now. White gives us an idea for dealing with pain, grief, disappointment and other forms of tough luck:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> "The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake in the middle of the night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting."</span></i></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-42135803458709880562014-01-03T17:32:00.001-08:002014-01-03T17:32:16.315-08:002013 In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I always knew I would have to rewrite my life. I just didn’t know how soon I would have to begin doing it.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ve only finished the first chapter of my novel, but lack of fame resulting from it is already a great concern. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">—Kendall Hailey, <i>The Day I Became an Autodidact, and the Advice, Adventures, and Acrimonies that Befell Me Thereafter</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAej9fB_NB3gmpwDemp6ye6Tl6z345U_FN1IJUqgL4IRVvBxxl0BrugyEoCtnGAJ8QX5QYcdaMuSkWhPFBlg98fpWxWeauBwugymRVZHlqR6kDYu5dYVraXdiylJOamF_FJ6FBkB-s-o/s1600/DSC02942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAej9fB_NB3gmpwDemp6ye6Tl6z345U_FN1IJUqgL4IRVvBxxl0BrugyEoCtnGAJ8QX5QYcdaMuSkWhPFBlg98fpWxWeauBwugymRVZHlqR6kDYu5dYVraXdiylJOamF_FJ6FBkB-s-o/s320/DSC02942.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTc0fPT9RQE4ZBnCwXEWF0am0srYiLwi6V8jJxTQ478cJpEVe8JnMGTD6VmJEban0kaujQiQ1COE-TABFsb3RZLKAjK9mnHaVo0zcvC0G04c4bFVM7AxKeEC9JDiczGjzx13F3KZHcwo/s1600/DSC02986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTc0fPT9RQE4ZBnCwXEWF0am0srYiLwi6V8jJxTQ478cJpEVe8JnMGTD6VmJEban0kaujQiQ1COE-TABFsb3RZLKAjK9mnHaVo0zcvC0G04c4bFVM7AxKeEC9JDiczGjzx13F3KZHcwo/s320/DSC02986.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2013 was our first full year in Carmel Valley. Hot air balloons flew overhead, and we shared fruit with little friends on the ground. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">We have been welcomed by many neighbors, and got together as often as we could. Almost everyone is a parent here, so their schedules are full.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Painting</b></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ed3dlsOP8l6UsmtJLD4U8_ksMW7ULR4_3gDyrPzRgO5qobPLlSSpubX7IOcgjLvNiCvFW93Mhu2WFDAOLgCGGJVJb01c_ZZym2gzQoVq7JHzP_FKo82nVBGpZctIFwyAuroEW4EOYu8/s1600/DSC02360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ed3dlsOP8l6UsmtJLD4U8_ksMW7ULR4_3gDyrPzRgO5qobPLlSSpubX7IOcgjLvNiCvFW93Mhu2WFDAOLgCGGJVJb01c_ZZym2gzQoVq7JHzP_FKo82nVBGpZctIFwyAuroEW4EOYu8/s320/DSC02360.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Full size</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many of you asked about my painting, how it's coming along. I have been working on the same project for several years, a picture of the San Francisco Bay. The most difficult parts of the picture—and perhaps the most interesting to work on—are the water and the sky. I wanted to color these areas first, before completing the land. </span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJcLGQkutMFv3RqhAvr3KbgB9UeEfqkfN333eGR1Vib72gNN8Qgnkl-7-amN90_eCkX9VZYp4KZBictCDefO4ZRg153uhH4dpp0EkUmJDKK1jv62ArX1dbc_nqhi7bMofCRh9zjBQHDk/s1600/DSC02361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJcLGQkutMFv3RqhAvr3KbgB9UeEfqkfN333eGR1Vib72gNN8Qgnkl-7-amN90_eCkX9VZYp4KZBictCDefO4ZRg153uhH4dpp0EkUmJDKK1jv62ArX1dbc_nqhi7bMofCRh9zjBQHDk/s320/DSC02361.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I painted the water and sky several times. Each new layer was an improvement, but but they still didn't look 'right.' I painted a study of the entire composition, in order to make each look the way I wanted.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_K-bLO1y3124nyzqq_GPDnTxqMIUi46PRJSQKKkkBd__1YkVmptdtTjsJBTW9kW-rmJrJfNmyvHOCnUW_1FCEGnBUT8qw82hPEwiSyRSwx_JaKfiD7p6DL6JoR57F6O6UXeiNeCrCjgk/s1600/DSC02247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="38" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_K-bLO1y3124nyzqq_GPDnTxqMIUi46PRJSQKKkkBd__1YkVmptdtTjsJBTW9kW-rmJrJfNmyvHOCnUW_1FCEGnBUT8qw82hPEwiSyRSwx_JaKfiD7p6DL6JoR57F6O6UXeiNeCrCjgk/s320/DSC02247.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Study, 1/4 scale</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8wbG9XifcW5EaS8DeDYNXsbTLM1mwVr2dXBnWl430r3KMDbkbHlwIr9MnMEDOSVAissItKvlASrkX7Qa6ZLkc3VbiCQtCTqd4hOsXqkQRMxiHGQfHB8qHrqNOtSiv1mmAnICR9Zj-N0/s1600/DSC02277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8wbG9XifcW5EaS8DeDYNXsbTLM1mwVr2dXBnWl430r3KMDbkbHlwIr9MnMEDOSVAissItKvlASrkX7Qa6ZLkc3VbiCQtCTqd4hOsXqkQRMxiHGQfHB8qHrqNOtSiv1mmAnICR9Zj-N0/s320/DSC02277.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Study, 1/4 scale</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43lmntj1kM_0hnpbR7ylc_ap2uPqYdy_zLSe9mJUVivprhb9LQ0w24oLXXb14gYmmdUASgqplrZknsJ-Ld-Xx4mZVRcXdttH18Hn9z6FnG0hsBDEXzTlxa0QHxce-zC3LUupuYQqdaa4/s1600/DSC02276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43lmntj1kM_0hnpbR7ylc_ap2uPqYdy_zLSe9mJUVivprhb9LQ0w24oLXXb14gYmmdUASgqplrZknsJ-Ld-Xx4mZVRcXdttH18Hn9z6FnG0hsBDEXzTlxa0QHxce-zC3LUupuYQqdaa4/s320/DSC02276.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjvT2lVDZf-Cz8F6AYZue1JHfeJliaWxuY8mYoAPv4OoqGNkXZw7OBToHdRfpMvhtssUsNlKCKDgbxCCuKKgVHRjiTihFIlaKvtyQ-uKrnS9Vy9_K5jThyNHbhohSzP0jpUh0iqPOxt8/s1600/DSC02279.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjvT2lVDZf-Cz8F6AYZue1JHfeJliaWxuY8mYoAPv4OoqGNkXZw7OBToHdRfpMvhtssUsNlKCKDgbxCCuKKgVHRjiTihFIlaKvtyQ-uKrnS9Vy9_K5jThyNHbhohSzP0jpUh0iqPOxt8/s320/DSC02279.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Study, 1/4 scale</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8c-ezptbhyphenhyphenjHK-YFDWzH1vjm-IRnia88pF-ls1Qm7K_BUWpwLjVT083L_gJ-cgAJCvQiZUhaf0wQ4CogxE7poWGnBJosI9UQQ2Djo0HuwDtyyox977s9H8q2q5QwStjJ2m2e1lTW7zUM/s1600/DSC02278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8c-ezptbhyphenhyphenjHK-YFDWzH1vjm-IRnia88pF-ls1Qm7K_BUWpwLjVT083L_gJ-cgAJCvQiZUhaf0wQ4CogxE7poWGnBJosI9UQQ2Djo0HuwDtyyox977s9H8q2q5QwStjJ2m2e1lTW7zUM/s320/DSC02278.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Study, 1/4 scale</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknAVn2mfKdqcLd3mN-yHl82vLKKB0fgATuk7_Wt_LdZ2NVqJ5GkmXucJaYuG4B13TotPO-hlRcssBt0pcsW3pcYBzVOtTcwsYtiyxQk8Yts1tDiHbkcLUgxQSJpQniG9g6ZcXg9qgYwU/s1600/DSC02280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknAVn2mfKdqcLd3mN-yHl82vLKKB0fgATuk7_Wt_LdZ2NVqJ5GkmXucJaYuG4B13TotPO-hlRcssBt0pcsW3pcYBzVOtTcwsYtiyxQk8Yts1tDiHbkcLUgxQSJpQniG9g6ZcXg9qgYwU/s320/DSC02280.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Looking at the same composition for so long, it becomes difficult to remember the desired effect, to hold it in mind and bring the picture closer to it. To clear my head, I went to Coronado Island and painted studies of San Diego Bay and the city. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGABxdsE5gYdzA-imX_E_rR8zt3S79r7IMA0ZKMHx3RH9iQqCsztuj6h-jeLXeyVILQp1tsPQeRCDK0A0DCNIfJyFUP0CwgIgILQJizi4tRn9Q9lyO3juj1FnLDQP9T4AcqrLQ1QgLRo/s1600/DSC02457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGABxdsE5gYdzA-imX_E_rR8zt3S79r7IMA0ZKMHx3RH9iQqCsztuj6h-jeLXeyVILQp1tsPQeRCDK0A0DCNIfJyFUP0CwgIgILQJizi4tRn9Q9lyO3juj1FnLDQP9T4AcqrLQ1QgLRo/s320/DSC02457.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1H8BwLivHteXbc6cPhPGlT6sMWvZQUdJAn_mkSpQGoZQguYktcamPnm8GsgpIBR4d2lQ7QZC_d4B1qZgnnepOn7AmxQ_V_9R8chvKC0v9ie1Ldzp3MT8kIuQkJ7c-JDBz2IN0r_mWHs/s1600/DSC03050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1H8BwLivHteXbc6cPhPGlT6sMWvZQUdJAn_mkSpQGoZQguYktcamPnm8GsgpIBR4d2lQ7QZC_d4B1qZgnnepOn7AmxQ_V_9R8chvKC0v9ie1Ldzp3MT8kIuQkJ7c-JDBz2IN0r_mWHs/s320/DSC03050.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I applied the experience outside to more sky and water studies, taken from the San Francisco composition.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqqgwZQdMHCvMHQZ4gpvNUOKZuZQwxdATlfvY_MnDhHzZEoWlcJRF9BRvEzfQCwkVXz9hYCduMpRwdy2_my8x_NsRztqpupwhUKW6jeg5RyxKqtxUdudaBzNNQ7GLLcmZuAusYr-0OgI/s1600/DSC03049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnqqgwZQdMHCvMHQZ4gpvNUOKZuZQwxdATlfvY_MnDhHzZEoWlcJRF9BRvEzfQCwkVXz9hYCduMpRwdy2_my8x_NsRztqpupwhUKW6jeg5RyxKqtxUdudaBzNNQ7GLLcmZuAusYr-0OgI/s320/DSC03049.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After all this study, I concluded that I'd taken the big picture in the wrong order. Instead of painting color in the sky and water first, I needed to color the land first, then sky, then water. The sky had to offset the land features, and the water must reflect the sky. I painted white over the water and started over on the land.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC_lHthg2AeKTixguxwSIv0ddRwSIBNn9oX2mtyhBtk6gyUTAGCdtLKx2tl-fCuaLICjCcnLW7TePauIARRjeB2rJz8OJWFKzUbUqdHL3WdHF2Qy_3dKTU_V9zhsLhxYGLloUdpKzn6s/s1600/DSC03037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC_lHthg2AeKTixguxwSIv0ddRwSIBNn9oX2mtyhBtk6gyUTAGCdtLKx2tl-fCuaLICjCcnLW7TePauIARRjeB2rJz8OJWFKzUbUqdHL3WdHF2Qy_3dKTU_V9zhsLhxYGLloUdpKzn6s/s320/DSC03037.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It often happens that the most important work on a picture is scraped off or painted over. The scraping off and the painting over are critical.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcpGuHXsEQVXgjp-r8Pw7muHmQ7gY7FV048wcuZnqwjtTQwjfiEcTWN7lfmXWbr47Wnt6q5ZCSNZMdldAly-fSUCYukskoOGEFcmEIaVmKFWkBWQgxAzvlINFLyLdq4v2MydQrAy24Tg/s1600/DSC03041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcpGuHXsEQVXgjp-r8Pw7muHmQ7gY7FV048wcuZnqwjtTQwjfiEcTWN7lfmXWbr47Wnt6q5ZCSNZMdldAly-fSUCYukskoOGEFcmEIaVmKFWkBWQgxAzvlINFLyLdq4v2MydQrAy24Tg/s320/DSC03041.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQExYH9UJLj7kzlJPz8xyTV85y3hk8HdLDSIthAwjgjTDxC4xo6GOQbs5M3l-BYPXxtNE-g7eaq0rNUftSG6wvQ2Lq32jnbESGPTYYdmeiz-bE18LL2lt45AAlJIP4eY1aLb7k1jeLcd4/s1600/DSC03073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQExYH9UJLj7kzlJPz8xyTV85y3hk8HdLDSIthAwjgjTDxC4xo6GOQbs5M3l-BYPXxtNE-g7eaq0rNUftSG6wvQ2Lq32jnbESGPTYYdmeiz-bE18LL2lt45AAlJIP4eY1aLb7k1jeLcd4/s320/DSC03073.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhD-3fwmJol54wqA46Xkg22B3FOwcf36oFsPqsl4cNR72hs-FwFnobbuevP74hKFH0shPhYJ4QgsixpR1p8zt2wX1W3ctpftRH-xjuiu_gAeUbrQK5OIEC0Ck_k8t7j2wH1_curWNBpo/s1600/DSC03074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhD-3fwmJol54wqA46Xkg22B3FOwcf36oFsPqsl4cNR72hs-FwFnobbuevP74hKFH0shPhYJ4QgsixpR1p8zt2wX1W3ctpftRH-xjuiu_gAeUbrQK5OIEC0Ck_k8t7j2wH1_curWNBpo/s320/DSC03074.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9NL6SxgvMPVPvwYi7kPf6ngPtSB7bt9j86F5CgAkT3x4X820BFSsgViz1FRFZ_3fWsv53ZxIRPvzPAk69Q5SKWm7OJrViDieX9XumrNun4NSmTA0FBnGVMCnDyVtmohacpyxOWJuqqo/s1600/DSC03075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9NL6SxgvMPVPvwYi7kPf6ngPtSB7bt9j86F5CgAkT3x4X820BFSsgViz1FRFZ_3fWsv53ZxIRPvzPAk69Q5SKWm7OJrViDieX9XumrNun4NSmTA0FBnGVMCnDyVtmohacpyxOWJuqqo/s320/DSC03075.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Max</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4Mw0Rvw9jxfgqTjuER3uNE2pG62paQcX6ySqLStSLm2m2Pocnze8RNMUM0KePoa_P77VpjoEtGW0U2y46WH9VTyOygWcdESbi8k9VEsuqktZSK32aSOCT8BWvmdD-SQRbN7Han6AzrE/s1600/DSC02852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4Mw0Rvw9jxfgqTjuER3uNE2pG62paQcX6ySqLStSLm2m2Pocnze8RNMUM0KePoa_P77VpjoEtGW0U2y46WH9VTyOygWcdESbi8k9VEsuqktZSK32aSOCT8BWvmdD-SQRbN7Han6AzrE/s320/DSC02852.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Max grew taller this year. He had many trips to the beach and many get-togethers with guys in the neighborhood.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5O43Uq2pAQsbP0mYWDt-0kwympLnFf7cXSS2KqePzYBSl0dTBwwVFizIM_C_ovYPBe20bqOgXW89mW2skRXaUGnD1kWwrOd8lKrjXcWEMZFgUG4PFaJoyBNjieVBBk31KY6KXdM1_d8/s1600/DSC02932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5O43Uq2pAQsbP0mYWDt-0kwympLnFf7cXSS2KqePzYBSl0dTBwwVFizIM_C_ovYPBe20bqOgXW89mW2skRXaUGnD1kWwrOd8lKrjXcWEMZFgUG4PFaJoyBNjieVBBk31KY6KXdM1_d8/s320/DSC02932.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7_30Kaw5pv1FLpvG0Z_GAlW88khsUYuFqZkL06S0v3CJAAcN05kHICBeXbaNpjKt3wQ4spctqnZzgeEPD4BZ8IcSWjVPBG91cgpd21_wemdw9ws7pm2u7spnmPhZBKjOaD3GIO7a7gY/s1600/DSC02949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7_30Kaw5pv1FLpvG0Z_GAlW88khsUYuFqZkL06S0v3CJAAcN05kHICBeXbaNpjKt3wQ4spctqnZzgeEPD4BZ8IcSWjVPBG91cgpd21_wemdw9ws7pm2u7spnmPhZBKjOaD3GIO7a7gY/s320/DSC02949.jpg" width="263" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the fall, Max ran for Student Council Representative from his class. He did not win, but we were proud of his campaign.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCjMuUu8jQ82O03NQgSwRqLyrK2xh9K1hNqoXSz8S8y_lYsoNK-kixl4uNv7djr4pHcN1Mwrp04xaOAdRs4uqIwoYHulV7u1EcCkSHIcLht-3O3T37L9DtyDtIRD8jPxzL0EhI8Eg3FM/s1600/DSC03011A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCjMuUu8jQ82O03NQgSwRqLyrK2xh9K1hNqoXSz8S8y_lYsoNK-kixl4uNv7djr4pHcN1Mwrp04xaOAdRs4uqIwoYHulV7u1EcCkSHIcLht-3O3T37L9DtyDtIRD8jPxzL0EhI8Eg3FM/s320/DSC03011A.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Hawaii</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We hadn't had a real vacation in two years, so we counted our pennies and took off for Kauai. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">We stayed in a resort in Kapa'a, on the eastern shore of the island.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSri9oPzOXi1GIYhgbCPK_KnPiLGMxJDsJvOj2je38zS7fDHdjHj3IknHI9KqKI8PBokJAb_2z5sOYoWjxzFKfQchIdB42s8qSOLFNj2Lwc3XwgqFpDqjVzvax56k592LTGVnmW5mp-qE/s1600/DSC02585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSri9oPzOXi1GIYhgbCPK_KnPiLGMxJDsJvOj2je38zS7fDHdjHj3IknHI9KqKI8PBokJAb_2z5sOYoWjxzFKfQchIdB42s8qSOLFNj2Lwc3XwgqFpDqjVzvax56k592LTGVnmW5mp-qE/s320/DSC02585.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When Max goes to the beach, he is mainly interested in moving sand. Max says the sand on Kauai is of very high quality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Misa</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa dealt with 'health challenges' this year, that prevented her from teaching dance. They did not prevent her from keeping the house running and the son in motion at English and Japanese schools.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In October, my brother Mike and mother Lila got to visit us. We were thrilled to see family in California, which doesn't happen often.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable. The obstacles preventing the realization of both these extreme states are of the same nature: they derive from our human condition, which is opposed to everything infinite. Our ever-insufficient knowledge of the future opposes it: and this is called, in the one instance, hope, and and in the other, uncertainty of the following day. The certainty of death opposes it: for it places a limit on every joy, but also on every grief. The inevitable material cares oppose it: for as they poison every lasting happiness, they equally assiduously distract us from our misfortunes and make our consciousness of them intermittent and hence supportable.</i> —Primo Levi</span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-60006621303981575462013-08-25T16:14:00.000-07:002013-08-25T16:14:07.991-07:00Good-bye, Summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">September marks our year, forcing reflection. I remember a Friday night in late August, many years ago. I was still single in San Francisco, living in a dark burrow of an apartment, on the slope of Nob Hill.</span></div>
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August 22, 1997 Friday</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>Work was a joke, everyone plotting their escape. I sent out an e-mail about meeting for drinks after work. Most people didn’t get it or were on their way out of town or didn’t care. I went to the bar in North Beach anyway, in case someone showed up. Drank two glasses of wine, the room spinning elegantly, ordered dinner. No one came. I was neither surprised or disappointed in them, except for a new Chinese girl whom I have a crush on. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>Other young, pretty people infiltrated the bar. One woman sat with her long hair flying, her tummy exposed in the current fashion, expecting her boyfriend any minute. Voices grew louder and turned with the spinning room. Underneath them the sustained hammers of Joaquin Nin-Culmell sang a dirge for the summer of 1997.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>August is exhausted. The last rose of summer lies limp, dilated, consumed by the ministrations of her eager lovers. A gold blade of evening sun cuts through the window glass. It’s over. Whatever we thought this summer would be, whatever we hoped for, dreaded or deserved. It came or it didn’t. Whatever we had—in thought or reality—is lost now, sealed up and closed down, frozen in memory, ended for all eternity.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>Think of all the young Americans, teenagers and college students, on their way to Europe in June, their identical blue jeans bursting with libido. Tireless lovers, aspiring drug addicts, warriors against adulthood, victims of sun and bad food and nights sleeping on crowded trains and too much great art, searing their innocent blue eyes. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>How I loved them! How I wanted to be with them and to be one of them. Now they drag home. They sit in airport lounges, or stand in long lines, phoning their parents in the New World with a final plea to send more money. And whatever they wanted from this summer, whoever they lusted for; it happened or it didn’t. The happened and the unhappened are both put away, into the same oblivion. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>So, too, in my North Beach bar, the young and pretty clientele don’t know how late it is. The summer is over, only they don’t realize it. In Texas, my nieces and nephews are in school already. And the first niece—whose grandfather held her up at Rylie Church 19 years ago this fall—is at college and settled in her dorm room, busy becoming an adult. </i></span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-23752554604210636812012-12-30T16:11:00.000-08:002012-12-31T08:24:19.823-08:002012 In Review & Film on Matt McGoff<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Year-end greetings to each and all. In 2012, life came on thick and fast. I couldn't live it and write about it at the same time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Christmas Day, I received notice of a new film about my art school roommate, <a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2011/01/winter-in-san-francisco-farewell-to.html" target="_blank">Matthew McGoff</a>, who died in 2010. The film was created by my friend <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/RustyScupperton" target="_blank">John Thornton</a>. Matthew lived an intense, messy and short life, much like the painter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amedeo_Modigliani" target="_blank">Amadeo Modigliani</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The film is masterful, John's best work to date. Matthew would have loved it, and this is quite a distinction. Matt was a focused, driven man. Only 2% of life on earth met with his approval.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, back to the almost-present. We began at our house in San Francisco, doing the normal stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Max built this robot. He wanted it to follow him around the house, so he taped it to an electric car [bottom].</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Max's school lunch, a Misa production.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our big change this year was to try living in a new city. In January, we visited Seattle, Washington.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In February we visited the <a href="http://www.csrmf.org/" target="_blank">California Railroad Museum</a> in Sacramento. Max is still crazy for trains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In April, Misa became a citizen of these United States, in a ceremony at the <a href="http://www.paramounttheatre.com/" target="_blank">Paramount Theater</a> in Oakland. This building is quite dramatic, and the ceremony moved me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On this day, a thousand people from more than one hundred countries took the oath of citizenship. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Master of Ceremonies greeted the new citizens in more than eight languages. They stood and recited their oath, then watched a taped speech by President Obama. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjop8N6ezBN1oroTclr_NkpXnOLKCCPnq_dZz27bGrsdk4hjSNkBhqv4Q3D8hVMAHGTlSDboNbMVeeJ1nnxhuYLhNyjxYiiGsO7yaOAHpoptYdmBNDE_Dqh-HUaj8_unX1VHilODbI5dt4/s1600/DSC00761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjop8N6ezBN1oroTclr_NkpXnOLKCCPnq_dZz27bGrsdk4hjSNkBhqv4Q3D8hVMAHGTlSDboNbMVeeJ1nnxhuYLhNyjxYiiGsO7yaOAHpoptYdmBNDE_Dqh-HUaj8_unX1VHilODbI5dt4/s320/DSC00761.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7u-iKYW4iS4987aLnqUlfpNI5-RMbxBdidbb1f4vmMKVrqibtV0MYb-vkw8SRCE1tYCZph_5D8ZjAvK2gpfy0Z2Qo__P0ki-iyQ6vMsFSgTS7Lp_8YOmjbRf1_HlKYRLy7zL8kban6A/s1600/DSC00381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7u-iKYW4iS4987aLnqUlfpNI5-RMbxBdidbb1f4vmMKVrqibtV0MYb-vkw8SRCE1tYCZph_5D8ZjAvK2gpfy0Z2Qo__P0ki-iyQ6vMsFSgTS7Lp_8YOmjbRf1_HlKYRLy7zL8kban6A/s320/DSC00381.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Shadows, Yerba Buena Park, San Francisco</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We decided to move to San Diego. The rest of the spring was spent getting ready to go, and saying good-bye to San Francisco.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Francis Scott Key Elementary School</span></td></tr>
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<span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAomyVeLsUWnqnJazcdcSmGQhdhNb-mvFwzGze335yS6ADEF1EUfw7A8b_riR_D_oUMfxYBJVoXy9DebC3huItduV1WCGf8WuQQmdkYUshVKEfBS3nmcdwLU1vE4hnrH2AxuA6ZoCgiU/s1600/DSC00347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAomyVeLsUWnqnJazcdcSmGQhdhNb-mvFwzGze335yS6ADEF1EUfw7A8b_riR_D_oUMfxYBJVoXy9DebC3huItduV1WCGf8WuQQmdkYUshVKEfBS3nmcdwLU1vE4hnrH2AxuA6ZoCgiU/s320/DSC00347.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Christian Wignall stops all cafe conversation by mounting his Penny-Farthing.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiruma2rzhXDJRVZ0515-OlXNyHpCiCazQtnIK7YYoHHfy6BvzeKXLZ_XMBY3fLfb9_-D_Psg24ubb7v4Iu_0HDGAUU0VWgWlEOPEGeA5qqYZrKiM3fvNrsvUxJ9swaM1cInuy5E0Y88/s1600/DSC00437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiruma2rzhXDJRVZ0515-OlXNyHpCiCazQtnIK7YYoHHfy6BvzeKXLZ_XMBY3fLfb9_-D_Psg24ubb7v4Iu_0HDGAUU0VWgWlEOPEGeA5qqYZrKiM3fvNrsvUxJ9swaM1cInuy5E0Y88/s320/DSC00437.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Max and a friend from Japanese school</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We arrived in San Diego on July 1. The environment was radically different for us. For one thing, it was warm in summer. Max and I swam in the ocean at La Jolla Cove and Torrey Pines Beach. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6MOv9RT9p5ye9dhzzfOnKkAvS8UorbYrJKHR02OhuVPjTntDHMmvU91fzCe-PE30daDjgYSjwvkaIQMQDFhaCVcYVGClvalOoLfEcEz8qsMwew1zS73rjQERFVd0m89oTiVzsJuIpk0/s1600/DSCF0218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6MOv9RT9p5ye9dhzzfOnKkAvS8UorbYrJKHR02OhuVPjTntDHMmvU91fzCe-PE30daDjgYSjwvkaIQMQDFhaCVcYVGClvalOoLfEcEz8qsMwew1zS73rjQERFVd0m89oTiVzsJuIpk0/s320/DSCF0218.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibg3AQ30RqyFZzJVkEBQysZHMnivrF7EqQvtwpI5FuVet8wOccDYWttwvebtJJuPPg07I9hZTSjZZZJjP-xx1aD4QcFNEwgJxxHkjGDED-yjhjweljVo-7QyPHmXz1KeZPq2lWZLZ64Ns/s1600/DSCF0223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibg3AQ30RqyFZzJVkEBQysZHMnivrF7EqQvtwpI5FuVet8wOccDYWttwvebtJJuPPg07I9hZTSjZZZJjP-xx1aD4QcFNEwgJxxHkjGDED-yjhjweljVo-7QyPHmXz1KeZPq2lWZLZ64Ns/s320/DSCF0223.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We explored Carmel Valley on our bicycles. Max began at a new elementary and a new Japanese school. He adjusted well and made many friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In November </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">voted in her first American election. W</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">e held an open house party for our neighbors and school mates. It was a great success, and we hope to do this again in 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misa has done well driving new roads; she has always found her way home. She is teaching one regular Zumba class and filling in for other teachers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">San Diego has been good to us. The people at Max's school and at my job were especially supportive. We continue to adjust and explore and settle in. I'm working on the same art project, and I'll post more in-progress photos later in 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Happy New Year to you all. Please stay in touch. </span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-85553668279695757252012-08-07T08:49:00.000-07:002012-12-26T05:34:24.058-08:00White Cathedral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknxZ6lCqUMSmJmp1K3DlUIOo6wwkU8ebGBw0agpo5EKZtDRT0tWsr1hRihkAY2GO901-OEQKj-xvFJvwxaHv2OcImUP40R3XyQXohB-MauSDzL48iX7zhp1Tmaty3YbanpGTiBblFzOk/s1600/DSC01372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknxZ6lCqUMSmJmp1K3DlUIOo6wwkU8ebGBw0agpo5EKZtDRT0tWsr1hRihkAY2GO901-OEQKj-xvFJvwxaHv2OcImUP40R3XyQXohB-MauSDzL48iX7zhp1Tmaty3YbanpGTiBblFzOk/s320/DSC01372.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The house we are renting in Carmel Valley is different from our house in San Francisco. It has high ceilings and lots of space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The greater difference is the atmosphere here, warmer and greener. The house came with an automatic sprinkler system and a gardner. This is a good thing, since both Misa and I are lousy at taking care of plants. We have the "Black Thumb."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's a small park behind the house, where people run their dogs and throw frisbees. I'd forgotten that summer could be pleasant. In San Francisco, we ran the heat almost every day of the year, even in August. That may be hard to believe, but San Francisco has an unusual climate. Warm weather in the inland valley pulls cold fog across the city, so you only get a truly warm day a few times a year. It's like living with the thermostat stuck on 65° F.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm sitting in the back yard, shaded by palm trees. The fresh grass cools my bare feet. We've been here one month now. I can't be sure this place is going to work for us, in the long run. This time, here and now, may be worth all the money and work it took to get here.</span></div>
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John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-64584711988995063982012-07-23T08:09:00.000-07:002012-07-23T08:09:50.028-07:00Hello, San Diego<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We moved into a new home in San Diego in July. It's a big change.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did not expect to leave San Francisco or to live in San Diego. The first time I visited here, I did not like it. When I returned for a second visit, many years later, it was not my choice of destination. But the place charmed me, unexpectedly. It's hard to resist friendly people and warm weather. Later on, we decided to try living here.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We live in Carmel Valley, which opens to the ocean at Torrey Pines beach and runs eastward. The land channels pleasant ocean breezes to our neighborhood. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Each day we work at settling in and exploring. All three of us ride bikes along a long, paved bike path through the valley. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So far life has been good here. The big decision still scares me a little. In my past experience, stepping forward, stepping outward has always led to good things, but not always directly. I'm reminded of an article in GQ magazine that explained this issue of when to jump in life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><i>It strikes me that Willy survived all her epochs because she was . . . . just better at cutting to the chase than were her companions, whoever they were. In some way, her secret has been always to decide. She decided to marry people. She decided to work. She decided to move to Lisbon. And she decided to have fun. It's the sort of honesty that one could use as fuel to motor through many different epochs in life.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Guy Martin, <i>Travels With An Expat,</i> GQ, March 1992</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We left San Francisco and drove south. I rarely left the city, so everything looked new to me. California is much more than cities and beaches. There are miles of these rolling, golden hills dotted by oak trees that look like broccoli. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We spent a warm night in Bakersfield, then drove on to the foot of Tejon Pass, between the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Tehachapi and San Emigdio Mountain ranges. These are desert mountains, and the desert terrified me for most of my life. I hated the lack of water, shade, people. It's called "desert" for a reason, after all; people are not well-suited to live here! Desert! Get out!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But something about this mountain pass excites me, visually. The mountains look soft under their yellow grass, but they are extremely steep. I expect sharp, naked rock to break through at this altitude, but it doesn't.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">My knuckles were white on the wheel as we crawled over the giant anthills. I asked Misa to take photo after photo of the mountains as we passed, and she said, "You are NOT coming back here to paint pictures!" The girl knows me too well. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At last we coasted down the long slope to the sea. I heard Joni Mitchell's song <i>California</i> in my head, and wondered if I'd see her standing naked on a rock.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I grew up, there were a thousand songs about being free in California, and we all got sick of the idea, which was unfortunate. There really is a feeling of freedom and possibility here, such as I have not experienced in other places. Here it is, all this space, all this warm, fragrant air. What will you do with it?</span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Will you take me as I am?</span></i></div>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-76001026470707518392012-07-07T05:08:00.002-07:002012-07-07T05:08:47.555-07:00Good-bye, San Francisco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1986</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-york-and-mepart-2.html" target="_blank">I first saw San Francisco in 1986</a>. I was married and living in Dallas, Texas. My wife wanted to come see the city on a three-day weekend, and on the third day I decided to move there. We were walking on Ocean Beach, very close to the house I'd later live in. I said, "So how long do you think it will take, two years?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"No, John, at least five years."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Exactly one year later, we rolled into town, on Columbus Day weekend. Monday night we slept in our first apartment, and enjoyed this view:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1987</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the next twenty-five years, San Francisco and I were thick, inseparable. Many months passed, without crossing a bridge out of this seven-mile square.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1988</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first apartment was across the street from Lincoln Park, where I painted many pictures.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffcl1HKQRKs6Ta4TwOnTzCSFB8XFP1UzpVDiHVyh31aeBVAJxqtV4W1l5Hx3pFaR9DXiw-e6Iuumfbi8YEZHCAaJVAkK5mlE4_1EdTXTI7EtQLQPdq6KFV2DS89r3IMVK25X2YYPyROE/s1600/1988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffcl1HKQRKs6Ta4TwOnTzCSFB8XFP1UzpVDiHVyh31aeBVAJxqtV4W1l5Hx3pFaR9DXiw-e6Iuumfbi8YEZHCAaJVAkK5mlE4_1EdTXTI7EtQLQPdq6KFV2DS89r3IMVK25X2YYPyROE/s320/1988.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1988</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The second apartment was a few blocks further inland, and gave us views of the Golden Gate and downtown, as well as the stunning Holy Virgin Orthodox Cathedral.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPglPK6-w2pAZeFdeQN8yA7r383Qf10jDt8AkhLODV0dKjuHClNSxITYGocaMQcYIlmzqifpp7JdoaeNYHzBhKHKlZaC5gs2RQtmqBgE83QMu1HGan_592XBEZw9Z9DbXYGL5unfPoge8/s1600/1989EQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPglPK6-w2pAZeFdeQN8yA7r383Qf10jDt8AkhLODV0dKjuHClNSxITYGocaMQcYIlmzqifpp7JdoaeNYHzBhKHKlZaC5gs2RQtmqBgE83QMu1HGan_592XBEZw9Z9DbXYGL5unfPoge8/s320/1989EQ.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1989 - with Regina Pettus and Sara Pate</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Coming to San Francisco and making a life here gave me confidence. Many people attempt this and many of those who attempt it fail. The place seemed to accept me. I could think and work effectively in this unusual environment. Equally important, I was able—often by invisible means—to afford living here. On the scale of my small, ordinary life, this was a triumph of the will.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbQWPvvvFJYdQ_JnWHI0_UOLkvWPMVqpsLCF_PmNxYfS6IYj1O9uEQKrDMtOQqCJRHWbsjufBV5ra-5LQb86j46wVynh6oExGHGt_ylP54pT5ycLmUnwKZKjTcGBaQYetQekOhuxVjZ8/s1600/1991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbQWPvvvFJYdQ_JnWHI0_UOLkvWPMVqpsLCF_PmNxYfS6IYj1O9uEQKrDMtOQqCJRHWbsjufBV5ra-5LQb86j46wVynh6oExGHGt_ylP54pT5ycLmUnwKZKjTcGBaQYetQekOhuxVjZ8/s320/1991.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1992</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">San Francisco is a good place to be alone with your thoughts. The weather is almost always cold, and many people do not speak english. If you want to pace up and down on the beach and brood, you'll have plenty of space and no interruptions. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9feD_ZCO-aBE69Xe9c19QpoZNA3YBlSR8ij-9vzQYHseQZHetIT7PKnQ0iydpxQ4ef3j93R9e0kKt99d2OAgr-2keATNYGqyQdCtm9hN06Joh8Id_-O6IZiC1jbf72U-OLADUc2-OwTs/s1600/DSC00057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9feD_ZCO-aBE69Xe9c19QpoZNA3YBlSR8ij-9vzQYHseQZHetIT7PKnQ0iydpxQ4ef3j93R9e0kKt99d2OAgr-2keATNYGqyQdCtm9hN06Joh8Id_-O6IZiC1jbf72U-OLADUc2-OwTs/s320/DSC00057.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">1998</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This atmosphere was perfect for me; I'm a champion brooder. In the course of these many years, I had plenty to brood about. I turned thirty, then forty, then fifty. I went through a divorce, bought a house, married again, had a baby and sent him to school. In San Francisco the normal milestones are the most difficult to achieve. If you want to ride your bicycle through downtown naked, you will be encouraged and <a href="http://sfbikeride.org/" target="_blank">fifty people may join you</a>. But buying a house and having a family are so difficult that many people don't even make the attempt. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJxv1Zf7jaF56kGLz1aeUzMEKwWMm5rW7lconKD56mJukS1G3KajbUfL8xnvVP0nZVZSxDryKPuScN-7ceW1WrurAxfjYTQzTj4Io7KZKPEPPdMvMlOaFq_44kPgRjEklk4hKqQFNSOc/s1600/DSC00009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJxv1Zf7jaF56kGLz1aeUzMEKwWMm5rW7lconKD56mJukS1G3KajbUfL8xnvVP0nZVZSxDryKPuScN-7ceW1WrurAxfjYTQzTj4Io7KZKPEPPdMvMlOaFq_44kPgRjEklk4hKqQFNSOc/s320/DSC00009.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">2000</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAugVC9rfRjDMFWH5hY227t4bihzpG8YA5d3DGAaDSMBpcKyIKaaO-J1flS7yBa_9MxNAV04hUpqiyZ6Uf5ajQjJf8gvIXd_TFl-DKIQW7jYbOzID3jhsN36n__CUH1mjZpUG8ZUQOwlU/s1600/DSC00015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAugVC9rfRjDMFWH5hY227t4bihzpG8YA5d3DGAaDSMBpcKyIKaaO-J1flS7yBa_9MxNAV04hUpqiyZ6Uf5ajQjJf8gvIXd_TFl-DKIQW7jYbOzID3jhsN36n__CUH1mjZpUG8ZUQOwlU/s320/DSC00015.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">2001</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Living space was especially problematic. I didn't mind this so much, as it forced me to trim down my belongings to the bare minimum. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ww9iNsBbzXN3o8f0k_xBZrWZPkITAeKI6EFHCpeo9pnyWjjs05EwVIp7Qu1AnmcbV4kMh1FEG27mxdFLbErCirCXFLRFUBJVjnj-TTjnYpzTiTqb9vFoeyPVMe0-_mzaa5WFCYWXRBs/s1600/DSC02655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ww9iNsBbzXN3o8f0k_xBZrWZPkITAeKI6EFHCpeo9pnyWjjs05EwVIp7Qu1AnmcbV4kMh1FEG27mxdFLbErCirCXFLRFUBJVjnj-TTjnYpzTiTqb9vFoeyPVMe0-_mzaa5WFCYWXRBs/s320/DSC02655.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">2002</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYK1gkaSvOSKV2RStZP700k0HqNwZHZB-wYPKqDVpat2K8RuM7pwFoty41JAd1_hsS_FHrb7FWzNm5GbhC-Fq84c8MdTWo5dQX8QXXll3brPzuiMVoChKprLIKHWputeBvqeQ7PxL588/s1600/DSC00381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYK1gkaSvOSKV2RStZP700k0HqNwZHZB-wYPKqDVpat2K8RuM7pwFoty41JAd1_hsS_FHrb7FWzNm5GbhC-Fq84c8MdTWo5dQX8QXXll3brPzuiMVoChKprLIKHWputeBvqeQ7PxL588/s320/DSC00381.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2006</td></tr>
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<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My son was upset when we told him we were leaving. He said, "I feel lucky that I lived here." I agree, and so does the rest of the world. I rarely traveled unless I was forced to, but wherever I went, in New York, London, Tokyo, people invariably nodded with admiration when they learned that I lived in San Francisco. When I explained that—at that time—I lived in a tiny apartment with no view, that I got everywhere by foot or bicycle, they shook their heads and replied, "Yes, but you get to live in San Francisco!" </span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnh9fKWr3ZjqCf5a_r1iZQ3Qr0baUxvC5Y4JTMk3pxdvytPw8FtMZcvDyK2qagYtvLGmib-uIBwHx6MC6ZOnFEto-HSmWsB1UcV0xBmYqGCEU9-8d8Lpz6v4LFQWrIy8aKhB_-akBD7o/s1600/2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnh9fKWr3ZjqCf5a_r1iZQ3Qr0baUxvC5Y4JTMk3pxdvytPw8FtMZcvDyK2qagYtvLGmib-uIBwHx6MC6ZOnFEto-HSmWsB1UcV0xBmYqGCEU9-8d8Lpz6v4LFQWrIy8aKhB_-akBD7o/s320/2009.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">2010</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They were right. It was a rich existence, worthy of its own <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry" target="_blank">Very Rich Hours</a></i>. Good-bye, San Francisco. We'll meet again some day, and laugh at old times.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESEGL8gQuGV_OgkoccoqMITGpYpsuNEqJwJPoJ8i-jU-PAKHQprwRpV0LN2SIPYwoNE5eDRiE4Je_7cmwZ5Fmvc72Dm8K8ByRXW4FltIKLW22JtacZEiaytCVaHaFLL_-Ivjwe69DKT8/s1600/2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESEGL8gQuGV_OgkoccoqMITGpYpsuNEqJwJPoJ8i-jU-PAKHQprwRpV0LN2SIPYwoNE5eDRiE4Je_7cmwZ5Fmvc72Dm8K8ByRXW4FltIKLW22JtacZEiaytCVaHaFLL_-Ivjwe69DKT8/s320/2011.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">2011</span></td></tr>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-19062446224646233422012-06-23T07:46:00.001-07:002012-06-23T07:46:15.231-07:00Leaving Alcatraz<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GhWcP9sU9HgVo3ErGj1mVfZbnMXd70UUwlNXns2_Zl7-qWnevjEUfRym2_qEcF7vUSCCxCEVKDNAno2ct8Bh8SLrQuhuXsgfxKy7fAqJ9eApEthotHheO5ceBBXJFWWOOfJbszlfRUc/s1600/DSC00102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GhWcP9sU9HgVo3ErGj1mVfZbnMXd70UUwlNXns2_Zl7-qWnevjEUfRym2_qEcF7vUSCCxCEVKDNAno2ct8Bh8SLrQuhuXsgfxKy7fAqJ9eApEthotHheO5ceBBXJFWWOOfJbszlfRUc/s320/DSC00102.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm beginning my sixth year of work on the same project, a long painting of the city of San Francisco. It took some time to find the right view to paint. I found it on the island of Alcatraz, near the summer solstice, in the evening. Only during this time of year does the north face of the city light up. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even though I live here, I conduct a long-distance romance with my subject. Since about 2009, I only see her one night a year. I feel like the young man in <i><a href="http://www.lyricsmania.com/night_visiting_song_lyrics_kate_rusby.html" target="_blank">The Night Visiting Song</a>, </i>a traditional folksong from Scotland, sung here by Kate Rusby.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Walking around the crowds waiting to enter the prison, I climb the steep hill with my equipment, my knees protesting every step. When I stagger to the top, panting away, there she is, stretched out on the opposite shore. I say, "Hi, Honey. Did you have a good year? Just let me look at you. I do believe you're more beautiful tonight than the day we met." </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-w5ue_EeBzAnS_UVuhZlFDShxiZJXgwwr3fYNFPjQdcEkXCFR3AH1IO9huHUopG6Dh_Ydwx7q_dXXZ_ayHB3ZizQ7omA3XTXvHxRyGcpma_OkymkMThMkATFXBlxcP4v9n0vm0LGhzsk/s1600/DSC00030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-w5ue_EeBzAnS_UVuhZlFDShxiZJXgwwr3fYNFPjQdcEkXCFR3AH1IO9huHUopG6Dh_Ydwx7q_dXXZ_ayHB3ZizQ7omA3XTXvHxRyGcpma_OkymkMThMkATFXBlxcP4v9n0vm0LGhzsk/s320/DSC00030.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My time on the island is not comfortable. The weather is always cold. Gale force winds charge angrily through the Golden Gate. The name <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Alcatraz means "pelican" or "strange bird." In summer, clouds of sea birds use the rock for hatching babies, and as a giant toilet. Surely some of the prisoners did not deserve this level of smell and noise! The video below gives a sample of the atmosphere.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The light does not cooperate this time. The sun hides in clouds and fog, and only shines on the city for a few minutes. I reluctantly pack up to return on the early boat, instead of freezing in the dark. One last look. "Sorry, my Love. It has to end some day, and I'm afraid that day has arrived."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qjE_U20LeusqqmC9hsX_Kr-EeTPIcIG-8uOso90pqs5IS_UoY0csdSgth2D01cDjn1HIfqAiiZT70W1hyphenhyphenOu3y0kNJ0aiosaAIpht4mqJ7AZWOxzKzuZZcMo4GkqRVzZs5LlhiNeszHY/s1600/DSC00097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qjE_U20LeusqqmC9hsX_Kr-EeTPIcIG-8uOso90pqs5IS_UoY0csdSgth2D01cDjn1HIfqAiiZT70W1hyphenhyphenOu3y0kNJ0aiosaAIpht4mqJ7AZWOxzKzuZZcMo4GkqRVzZs5LlhiNeszHY/s320/DSC00097.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9J59WR-XkuiYd921udWF-WJJHeJbKyxkAWGDhGCBOEbRT0AZ85IaV0rtZyNHiqUpaKJrGPxKdUyLNPqCr6jGS7k6dWqEz-hwoxOW-fgwSyIBJKPHpNgZHu47Q_4_kmaga1Sjs8LH6C0/s1600/DSC00120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9J59WR-XkuiYd921udWF-WJJHeJbKyxkAWGDhGCBOEbRT0AZ85IaV0rtZyNHiqUpaKJrGPxKdUyLNPqCr6jGS7k6dWqEz-hwoxOW-fgwSyIBJKPHpNgZHu47Q_4_kmaga1Sjs8LH6C0/s320/DSC00120.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On my way back, a sunset breaks through the fog. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIBJm7r2mkhSYw38QvvIwlpd_aa_f9NM7X-ygxXViS1-P79pnk1qRw_VCDszymGUuLu8JfqGl9FL64f30Qmpk_Uw1RuKiwBrlFE7Ldc8rwI25Hq6wk7U2wfum19zzuUCLFTwTGw7U3Ac/s1600/DSC00131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIBJm7r2mkhSYw38QvvIwlpd_aa_f9NM7X-ygxXViS1-P79pnk1qRw_VCDszymGUuLu8JfqGl9FL64f30Qmpk_Uw1RuKiwBrlFE7Ldc8rwI25Hq6wk7U2wfum19zzuUCLFTwTGw7U3Ac/s320/DSC00131.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Each minute, the colors in the sky burn brighter than the minute before. My heart races. "Where will it climax? Now? Or now? Or now? Has is already happened?" Edmund White wrote about being in love. It makes us aware of every passing minute, and how precious they are. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklofDeo49OIyXkQ-dvt45EuTdBcjvjqa7B_BFVne8RoTBFK0z9HHxEP2ErEd3ft-0ftjGgZSglSPG2zgA8w_GfDWjIooUhAL3TVeFHrjU7xPojEf7G37Zhb2wtVZKG3N8nyFahFdmAu8/s1600/DSC00135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklofDeo49OIyXkQ-dvt45EuTdBcjvjqa7B_BFVne8RoTBFK0z9HHxEP2ErEd3ft-0ftjGgZSglSPG2zgA8w_GfDWjIooUhAL3TVeFHrjU7xPojEf7G37Zhb2wtVZKG3N8nyFahFdmAu8/s320/DSC00135.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The commotion of happiness ringing in my head was so loud I could scarcely hear what was happening. Such moments in a whole long life are neither as rare as one fears nor as frequent as one hopes.</span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">—Edmund White, <i>The Beautiful Room Is Empty</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIxaRnnFroKW06RVowzfhGJhstpj8jeBtZx_7qr76RxHFU2HmCxlAWo8bonPc1XvcwSKSG8k6wE9_8pBrpksx64t4h5Tzp1RLsRl3Pu7SiL1d04BBPsE5OJajTmorT0s8-6UfN0dBbWQ/s1600/DSC00116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIxaRnnFroKW06RVowzfhGJhstpj8jeBtZx_7qr76RxHFU2HmCxlAWo8bonPc1XvcwSKSG8k6wE9_8pBrpksx64t4h5Tzp1RLsRl3Pu7SiL1d04BBPsE5OJajTmorT0s8-6UfN0dBbWQ/s320/DSC00116.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-40491034114394574132012-06-19T05:10:00.001-07:002012-06-19T05:10:53.573-07:00Packing Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3B9MJgOAwGBgSz87iMUyzKnlpjQsH20iICuyLDkEFM8tHv4kH5hRAa-a-Z2YEggx4rItIk5UCrx7eMGRP4woj8elBkrUZWpvXzPrpmJGdjNlsEw2MmT5vdy7ESPjDq3Iq0ptBsjVDJiA/s1600/DSC00997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3B9MJgOAwGBgSz87iMUyzKnlpjQsH20iICuyLDkEFM8tHv4kH5hRAa-a-Z2YEggx4rItIk5UCrx7eMGRP4woj8elBkrUZWpvXzPrpmJGdjNlsEw2MmT5vdy7ESPjDq3Iq0ptBsjVDJiA/s320/DSC00997.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2009/11/breaking-free-from-my-possessions.html" target="_blank">I hate my possessions</a> and dream of living in empty rooms. Despite this desire, I accumulate stuff, like everyone else. No one forced these things on me. At some point, I thought my life required additional equipment. Just like everyone else, once I get something, I have a horrible time letting go of it. Somewhere in my art bin there are fine etching tools. I have not made an etching in thirty years. Thirty. Years. But I can't let go of the tools, because one day, long after I'm dead, in an alternate universe I'll never visit . . . I'll use them. No, I won't. I'll never use them, but I'm powerless to throw them out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbiA-ECb7nUdy3wbrotlhc8nY3xBJJqAc0qlKLzhoxw5EnWCSGjVA_x9ktCJ4bRTxiiZAi8BzxJxRAb1nwCVzINDRRdMGprbbtwQiAKypwcatbsYCg0Zz7_pv0AoArLrYYgEHYWUUqEU/s1600/DSC00984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbiA-ECb7nUdy3wbrotlhc8nY3xBJJqAc0qlKLzhoxw5EnWCSGjVA_x9ktCJ4bRTxiiZAi8BzxJxRAb1nwCVzINDRRdMGprbbtwQiAKypwcatbsYCg0Zz7_pv0AoArLrYYgEHYWUUqEU/s320/DSC00984.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I make honest efforts to unburden myself from this stuff. I've given away books, furniture, appliances, and sculptures filled with glycerin. I received a few more inches of breathing room, but I was always disappointed with the result. I wanted to roller skate through the living room. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The problem with trying to improve myself is that I only do what I'm forced to do. Many people succeed by putting themselves in uncomfortable situations, where they are forced to perform. They climb mountains or join the military.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tK1MPw_irUdgHxxCsWVFpC2LuvHzzJhMycM5bCBCb0N1QhxzdpFmLSpS39kNpPZZIdEhS0zUmmXkUuXiMPO0Hatj5gRu5WjXoKkiGGRPZeY_NpCeJNZbVNnGuqWWMixkdJQIOlwb6Ys/s1600/DSC00998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tK1MPw_irUdgHxxCsWVFpC2LuvHzzJhMycM5bCBCb0N1QhxzdpFmLSpS39kNpPZZIdEhS0zUmmXkUuXiMPO0Hatj5gRu5WjXoKkiGGRPZeY_NpCeJNZbVNnGuqWWMixkdJQIOlwb6Ys/s320/DSC00998.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In my case, I am moving out of my house. We're not out yet, but we soon will be. This deadline makes me ruthless, merciless in my hauling. I'd like to get my stuff down to one suitcase, but that's impossible. After two months of sorting, day and night, I'm down to a few cubic yards. Sadly, the house looks worse, because now there are boxes everywhere. I'm hoping to feel the open space when I get to the new house, but I may be in for more disappointment. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Disappointment or not, it has to be done. Misa and Max have their own possessions to deal with, and we'll compare notes on the other side. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Meanwhile, I feel relief already. I knew I had old light fixtures, cans of paint, photo negatives, slides vulnerable to molding. The constant reminders—Need to deal with those, maybe next weekend—took a toll on my meager mental processes. Now that stuff is all gone. I can put some new thoughts in those neurons. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Friday was Max's last day at Second Grade. He won't be attending the same school in the fall. He was sad to leave his teacher and his friends.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The children read poetry.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the afternoon, it was time for the last goodbye.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fortunately, there was still time for a soda with two pretty classmates, to unwind.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Long ago when I completed my second year of art school, all my classmates scattered for the summer. One girl left school permanently, to study in Paris. She wasn't a close friend of mine, but I still felt a paralyzing sadness, realizing I'd never see her again. It was a reminder that I couldn't control life. People and things would keep popping in and out of my life, regardless of my wishes. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I always wanted security and permanence. I think everyone does, but we don't understand life when we do that. We don't want the whole situation to be permanent. When something good happens to us we want <i>that part only</i> to be permanent. We miss a critical point: The good part is good because it is <i>not permanent. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Good things come because we are in position to contact them, and open to them. It's like an eclipse. It happens because you are in motion, and another object is in motion. Their motions bring them into alignment, temporarily. I experienced this excitement many times; when I moved to a new place or fell in love with a new girl, and especially when I came to San Francisco. Each time, I opened myself to the new experience and let go of my past. That's what made it rewarding. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's only natural to hold on tight to those experiences, and wish they could never end, to just stay and live in those moments. But the motion that made the moments possible will inevitably move us further on. The only way to enjoy life is to open up to our new position, and give love to it as we let go of the old one. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><i>Ah, it’s an awful thing . . . and being young doesn’t help any . . . when you notice for the first time . . . the way you lose people as you go along . . . buddies you’ll never see again . . . never again . . . when you notice that they’ve disappeared like dreams . . . that it’s all over . . . finished . . . that you too will get lost someday . . . a long way off but inevitably . . . in the awful torrent of things and people . . . of the days and shapes . . . that pass . . . that never stop . . . All these pests . . . all these bystanders and extras strolling under the arcades, with their pince-nez, their umbrellas, and their little mutts on the leash . . . you’ll never see them again . . . Already they’re passing . . . they’re in a dream with the others . . . they’re in cahoots . . . soon they’ll be gone . . . It’s really sad . . . it’s rotten . . . all these harmless people parading along the shop fronts . . . A wild desire took hold of me . . . I was trembling with panic . . . I wanted to jump out on them . . . to plant myself in front of them . . . and make them stop where they were . . . Grab them by their coats . . . a dumb idea . . . and make them stop . . . and not move anymore . . . stay where they were, once and for all . . . and not see them going away anymore. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">—Louis-Ferdinand Celine, <i>Death on the Installment Plan</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Last week we rode the Coaster Train between San Diego and Oceanside, CA. It's one of Max's and my favorite excursions. <a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2009/08/coaster-train-with-max-misa.html" target="_blank">I made a short movie of our first trip in 2009</a>. To begin with, the train is painted my favorite color, and very few vehicles are. The seats are comfortable. You can sit high up and eat at a little table as you ride. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We passed lagoons, dunes and beach towns. From the Coaster Train, it's a beautiful world, and everyone is doing okay. In some sense, there's nothing going on out there, but it's wonderfully relaxing to watch, as it drifts past. </span></div>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-71716790955973651982012-02-05T17:18:00.000-08:002012-02-05T17:18:00.543-08:00Max, Basketball, and the End of Our World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The day Max was born, I began dreading the inevitable re-involvement with sports. I hate sports. My last competition was a picnic softball game in 1982. I slid into home plate, ripped a knee out of my one pair of blue jeans, and called it a career. No one regretted my departure. In the years that followed, sports receded further from my consciousness, until they looked like rituals from another planet. Misa was no more enthusiastic or adept than I was.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Despite this heredity, Max wants to play basketball. Misa and I are all in favor, because it gets him working together with other kids. I took him out to practice. It did not go well. I yelled at him continually to play ball, and he collapsed in frustration. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Then came the first game. We got to be sports parents, exploding with anxiety, yelling our lungs out. </span>Max got off to a slow start, but he ran down court with his team and retrieved a rebound or two. When the other guys passed to him, he did his best to dribble, then pass the ball on. Two thirds of the way through the game—Providence must have intervened—he sunk a basket! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">When the game was over, Max's face shone red as a Christmas bulb. Another mommy introduced herself. Her son was an unusually tall boy, and she complimented Max's playing. "Remember," she said, "tall kids have a much harder time controlling their arms and legs." She was correct, of course, and I was duly chastened; maybe I'd been too critical of Max. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Recently, at the end of our day, I watched a few minutes of a science program with Max. The subject was supernovas. When I put him to bed, Max asked me to stay at his bedside. He predicted he'd have nightmares, for fear our sun will blow up. We talked for a long time, as I stroked his head. I reminded him that Misa and I always told him the truth, instead of filling his head with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I'd read that exploding stars produced the calcium in our bones, and the iron in our blood. We were not separate from this violence; we were a part of it. Finally, the event would almost certainly occur four billion years from now, when all trace of our species has vanished. I said, "You won't be there, so there's nothing to give you a nightmare." </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">"If you want a nightmare, try the <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VP6FpIjKGA&feature=related" target="_blank">Book of Revelation.</a></i> My Mommy and Daddy told me an angry god was coming to earth, to separate good people from bad people, rain down plagues and ultimately destroy the planet. Instead of billions of years away, they told me this would happen soon. When I was twelve years old, a friend of my Dad told me The Second Coming would probably happen before I turned fourteen."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">"THAT is a nightmare, but there's no evidence to support it, so you can forget it all. I predict you won't have any nightmares tonight." I live for moments like this with my son. No one else can do this job. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">In the morning, my existence was validated, no nightmare.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>[looking at the Grand Canyon, you learn] The most important lesson of Darwinism: Weak forces, operating over long periods of time, create large and dramatic change.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">—Jerry Coyne, <em>Why Evolution Is True</em></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">When frustrated, I often think I need a different attitude or more energy in pursuing my goals. This is a mistake. What yields results for me is endurance, planning for the long term. This best course of action is also the most difficult. It's </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">far too easy, too human, to be <a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2010/07/tyranny-of-ideas.html">distracted by the present irritations</a>. Television and the internet feed this short, nervous attention span by setting off emotional firecrackers, describing every momentary event as a cataclysm. Our instinct for self-preservation keeps us glued to the screen, while summer passes away and we get old. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In contrast, consider this story: Directly after Japan's catastrophic defeat in World War II, a group of business executives met to plan the future of their company. John W. Dower in his book, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><em>Embracing Defeat,</em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"> records their approach: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>We must make a one hundred year plan, and not be disturbed by the difficulties of the moment. </i>On that basis, these leaders built up a ruined land into the second largest economy on earth.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wired Magazine published a wonderful article in their December, 2001 issue on <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/ff_bezos/all/1">Jeff Bezos of Amazon</a>. He says:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><i>Our first shareholder letter, in 1997, was entitled, </i>“It’s all about the long term.”<i> If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people. But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavors that you could never otherwise pursue. . . . </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px;">In some cases, things are inevitable. The hard part is that you don’t know how long it might take, but you know it will happen if you’re patient enough. Ebooks had to happen. Infrastructure web services had to happen. So you can do these things with conviction if you are long-term-oriented and patient.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">My hero, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://jpturnage.blogspot.com/2011/06/heroes-robert-greene.html">Robert Greene</a> expounds further on this topic:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">According to the cosmology of the ancient Greeks, the gods were thought to have complete vision into the future. They saw everything to come, right down to the intricate details. Men, on the other hand, were seen as victims of fate, trapped in the moment and their emotions, unable to see beyond immediate dangers. Those heroes, such as Odysseus, who were able to look beyond the present and plan several steps ahead, seemed to defy fate, to approximate the gods in their ability to determine the future. The comparison is still valid—those among us who think further ahead and patiently bring their plans to fruition seem to have a godlike </span>power. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Because most people are too imprisoned in the moment to plan with this kind of foresight, the ability to ignore immediate dangers and pleasures translates into power. It is the power of being able to overcome the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen, and instead to train oneself to step back, imagining the larger things taking shape beyond one’s immediate vision. Most people believe that they are in fact aware of the future, that they are planning and thinking ahead. They are usually deluded: What they are really doing is succumbing to their desires, to what they want the future to be. Their plans are vague, on their imaginations rather than their reality. They may believe they are thinking all the way to the end, but they are really only focusing on the happy ending, and deluding themselves by the strength of their desire.</i> —The 48 Laws of Power</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Long term planning is no more natural for me than for anyone else. Fortunately, circumstances force me to stretch my timeline, almost every day. I'm working on two projects that have been going for more than four years. I'm also helping to raise a child, an effort that has no identifiable endpoint. Take heart, fellow travelers. Keep to your path. </span></div>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-70984929943760031782011-12-19T16:52:00.000-08:002011-12-19T16:54:18.734-08:002011 Life in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I hope the year's end finds you healthy and happy. We were among the luckiest families on earth in 2011. We had a warm place to sleep and a job that paid the bills. Our son Max is taller and heavier than he was last year; all good news.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Relaxing on a field trip.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJATmUPA0V8kshQyAUH1XGiS78bp6j-ycufdCUHQP4Tb-5FGqW3dCiufgG4k95IBkccuL19ptMbxKONlKF7cT0yuzvdx7QBsycPV5rmaCQ0_CCXLHrbEPopSD4RKh7WmMBG-r8F__QTTc/s1600/DSCF8873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJATmUPA0V8kshQyAUH1XGiS78bp6j-ycufdCUHQP4Tb-5FGqW3dCiufgG4k95IBkccuL19ptMbxKONlKF7cT0yuzvdx7QBsycPV5rmaCQ0_CCXLHrbEPopSD4RKh7WmMBG-r8F__QTTc/s320/DSCF8873.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The happiest time - redecorating the house.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Max is thriving because Misa keeps him going every day. She makes a gourmet lunch for him, which is nearly too pretty to eat.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Misa also began teaching Zumba dance this year, after a long time of study. She puts a great deal of care into her preparation. Max and I are proud of her.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I often think about life as a series of choices. There are good and bad choices, like a light switch flipping on or off. Clearly that understanding is primitive and incomplete. More often success or failure depend on what we do <i>after</i> we make a big decision. I do feel lucky to have married Misa, but she makes that decision good by taking care of Max every day. Max got placed in a good elementary school, and now he has to study every day and keep up with his homework. One minute of decision is followed by years of <i>execution. </i>In the best sense of the word.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">My days ran together. I got up early and worked at my desk downstairs. On most days, I got a few minutes to exercise by riding my bike along the beach.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">The painting project continued. This year was devoted to painting waves, and I'm still floating in the Bay. The land will get more color, eventually. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Many people requested posters this year. I was thrilled to send them out to places like Russia and India.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">I apologize for the delay in getting them shipped - they are still working, and I hope to get caught up to all requests early in 2012. On the other hand, they're still free. I can't attend to new requests now, but I will offer the poster again when I get caught up. Also, I'd love to hire someone to fulfill the mailings; if you know of a company who'll do it for money, please email me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Recently all three of us watched one of my favorite movies of all time, <i>Breaking Away.</i> We'll need Dave Stoller's spirit of adventure in 2012, when major changes are coming for us. </span></div>
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</div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5734056300625993610.post-13922632366305283762011-12-16T06:24:00.000-08:002011-12-16T10:40:43.531-08:00Farewell, Christopher Hitchens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A great man has left us. Before I offer my meager thoughts about his life and work, I want to share his closing comments in a debate on religion, given at the Prestonwood Christian Academy in Dallas, Texas. Hitchens is addressing his opponent, mathematician and philosopher William Dembski, and the audience of students. Hitchens's speech is so important to me, I post in video and text also. One YouTube commenter described this passage as: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 16px;">Some of the best few minutes of human speech ever uttered."</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I'll close on the implied question that Bill [Dembski] asked me earlier. "Why wouldn't you accept this wonderful offer? Why wouldn't you want to meet Shakespeare?" for example. I don't know if you really think that when you die you can be corporeally reassembled, and have conversations with authors from previous epochs. It's not necessary that you believe that in Christian theology, and I have to say it sounds like a complete fairy tale to me. The only reason I want to meet Shakespeare or might want to is because I can meet him, anytime, because he is immortal in the works he's left behind. If you've read those, meeting the author would almost certainly be a disappointment. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>But when Socrates was sentenced to death for his philosophical investigations and for blasphemy, for challenging the gods of the city—and he accepted his death—he did say, "Well if we are lucky, perhaps I'll be able to hold conversation with other great thinkers and philosophers and doubters, too." In other words, that the discussion about what is good, what is beautiful, what is noble, what is pure, what is true, could always go on. Why is that important? Why would I like to do that? Because that's the only conversation worth having. And whether it goes on or not after I die, I don't know, but I do know that it's the conversation I want to have while I'm still alive. Which means that to me, the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can't give way is an offer of something not worth having. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I want to live my life taking the risk all the time that I don't know anything like enough yet. That I haven't understood enough, that I can't know enough, that I'm always hungrily operating on the margins of a potentially great harvest of future knowledge and wisdom. I wouldn't have it any other way. And I'd urge you to look at those of you who tell you, those people who tell you at your age that you're dead, 'til you believe as they do. What a terrible thing to be telling to children! And that you can only live by accepting an absolute authority. Don't think of that as a gift, think of it as a poison chalice. Push it aside, however tempting you think it is. Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty and wisdom will come to you that way.</i> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>—closing a debate with William Dembski at Prestonwood Christian Academy, Dallas, November, 2010</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once in a while I discover a human achievement that makes me glad I'm living in this time and this place. The speaking and the writing of Christopher Hitchens are two of those achievements. He expressed himself with a powerful charm. He moved through his thoughts with that rarest of qualities: Style. I wanted to listen to him even when we disagreed. I could think of nothing more pleasant than to warm myself in the glow of his fire. Fortunately, all of us can still have this experience, by the grace of YouTube.<script type="text/javascript">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I dearly wish I could say something to adequately sum up Mr. Hitchens's impact on contemporary thought, but I can't. He does that himself, in these passages:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>To be the father of growing daughters is to understand something of what Yeats evokes with his imperishable phrase 'terrible beauty.' Nothing can make one so happily exhilarated or so frightened: it's a solid lesson in the limitations of self to realize that your heart is running around inside someone else's body. It also makes me quite astonishingly calm at the thought of death: I know whom I would die to protect and I also understand that nobody but a lugubrious serf can possibly wish for a father who never goes away.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I never launch any little essay without the hope—and the fear, because the encounter may also be embarrassing—that I shall draw a letter that begins, "Dear Mr. Hitchens, it seems that you are unaware that . . . " It is in this sense that authorship is collaborative with the reader. And there's no help for it. You only find out what you ought to have known by pretending to know at least some of it already.</i> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>—Hitch-22</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>On drinking:</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>What the soothing people at Alcoholics Anonymous don't or won't understand is that suicide or self-destruction would probably have come much earlier to some people if they could not have had a drink. We are born into a losing struggle, and nobody can hope to come out a winner, and much of the intervening time is crushingly tedious in any case. Those who see this keenly, or who register the blues intently, are not to be simplistically written off as "dysfunctional" cynics or lushes. Winston Churchill put it very squarely when he defined the issue as, essentially, a wager. He was a lifelong sufferer from the depression that he nicknamed his "black dog," but he could rouse himself to action and commitment and inspiration, and the brandy bottle was often a crucial prop. I have taken more out of alcohol, he said simply, than it has taken out of me. His chief antagonist, Adolf Hitler, was, I need hardly add, a fanatical teetotaler (though with shorter and less wholesome life span). The most lethal and fascistic of our current enemies, the purist murderers of the Islamic jihad, despise our society for, among other things, its tolerance of alcohol. We should perhaps do more to earn this hatred and contempt, and less to emulate it. </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>—Vanity Fair, March, 2003</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>In debate with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair:</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I mentioned earlier our [mine and Tony Blair's] attachment to the labor and socialist movement in our lifetimes. For a very long time, we had in that movement a challenger, apparently from the left, the communist movement, which has only been dead a very short time now. Actually it hasn't died everywhere yet. And which said it had a much more comprehensive and courageous and thorough-going answer than we did, to the problems created by capitalism and imperialism and other things, and really proposed a fighting solution. And if I was to point to you the number of heroic people who believed in that, and the number of wonderful works of fiction, of novels and essays written by people who believed in it, you could probably, all of you, mention one of your own. If you were Canadian—I hope they still teach you about him in school—the great example of Norman Bethune, heroic doctor, who went to volunteer in China during the civil war, on the communist side. He did amazing work, invented a form of battlefield blood transfusion, just one among many examples. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>It was the communists in many parts of Europe who barred the road to fascism in Spain, and kept Madrid, for many years, from falling to Franco and Hitler and Mussolini. Ghandi may take credit for the Indian independance movement—too much, in my view—but no one would deny the tremendous role played by the Indian communists in doing this, in helping to break the hold of Great Britain on their country. As a matter of fact—some people find it embarrassing to concede this, but I don't, as a supporter of it myself—the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela's party, at least half the members of its central committee were members of the communist party until quite recently, very probably including Mandela himself. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>There is no doubt about it. There was real heroism and dignity and humanism to those people, but we opposed it. We said, "No, it won't work." Why won't it work? It's not worth the sacrifice of freedom that it implies. It implies that all these great things can only be done if you place yourself under an infallible leadership, one that, once it's made that decision and you are bound by it . . . . you might conceivably notice where I'm going here. Its why many of the brilliant intellectuals who did leave it left it very often for as high reasons of principle as they joined it for in the first place. And the names of their books are Legion and legendary. The best known is called 'The God That Failed,' precisely because it was an attempt at, a bogus form, a surrogate of religion. But let no one say—when the history comes to be written, no one will be able to say—that it didn't represent some high points in human history. But I repeat, it wasn't worth the sacrifice of mental and intellectual and moral freedom. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>That was the purpose of my original set of questions on the metaphysical side. Consider this carefully, ladies and gentlemen: Are you willing, for the sake of certain elements of the numinous, perhaps for a great record of good works, are you willing to say that you give your allegiance to an ultimate Redeemer? You're not really religious unless you believe that there's a divine supervision involved. You don't have to believe it intervenes all the time, but if you don't believe that, you're already half way out the door. You don't need me. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>But are you willing to pay the price of a Permanent Supervisor? Are you willing to pay the price of believing in things that are supernatural? Miracles? Afterlives? Angels? Are you willing to admit, most of all, that human beings can be the interpreter of this Divine Figure? Because a religion means you will have to follow someone who is your religious leader. You can't—try as you may—follow Jesus of Nazareth. It can't be done. You will have to follow His vicar on Earth, Pope Benedict XXVI presently; his own claim, not mine, the apolostolic succession, the vicar of Christ on earth. You have to say, "This person has divine authority." </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I maintain that that, and what goes with it, is too much of a sacrifice of the mental and intellectual freedom that is essential to us, to be tolerated. And you gain everything by repudiating that and standing up to your own full height. You gain much more than you will, by pretending that you're a member of a flock, or in any other way, any kind of sheep. </i><b>—debating Tony Blair, November, 2010</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Farewell, Christopher. You left us a treasure of inspiration and clarity. We are grateful.</span></div>
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<br /></div>John Paul Turnagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02394418736723429631noreply@blogger.com3