Riverkeeping!!

DC has a fabulous organization:  the Anacostia Riverkeeper.  There's also a Chesapeake Waterkeepers, too.  I went on a boat tour led by Anacostia Riverkeeper Emily--8 miles from the DC Waterfront to the start of the Anacostia River--two days ago, and I am still thinking about it.  We had a huge rainstorm here yesterday, and the riverkeeper's words about why the Anacostia is no longer 40' deep, but 20'--because of the silt washed from the DC storm sewers into the river.  and I was inspired to pick up some trash at the bus stop across P Street NW from Whole Foods.  Somebody's grocery bag had split open, and I stacked the salvageable parts (4 cans, 1 bag of rice, two fresh peaches) under the shelter, and then picked up the half-eaten pear, an open bag of whole-wheat pasta, and tossed that in the trash can next to the shelter.  This is a good occupation for an old retired woman who doesn't see well enough to ride a bike or drive a car.  Keeping the trash out of the river before it gets there.

Often Wrong....Never In Doubt

Hard to imagine, but we all do make mistakes--especially mistakes in perceptions and assumptions.  I have always had supreme confidence in my perceptions and assumptions--of course, I've been a proofreader and editor for more than 30 years.  I have a bunch of books to back up my assumptions, especially.  Perceptions?  Well, that's one of my weaknesses.  I'm deaf, for one thing--much deafer than most people think--and I can't see very well now, either.  Bleah.

So, last week, when I went to get a replacement for my Senior Smart Trip metro card, I mistook what the clerk was asking me.  I thought she was asking to see the second SST card that I had been issued.  I said, "but I'm sure I didn't get two copies....just one, and I've lost that."  Well, the angels were working on my behalf.
A kind young Metro worker asked me if I wanted to come inside the building (the window for purchasing, etc., is outside.  You just walk up, and make your request......It was in the mid-90s that day, and very hot.)  I was sweating and uncomfortable and had to change the batteries in my Cochlear Implant, and needed a place to sit down.

So the kind young Metro worker led me inside to a comfy bench in the air-conditioned building, where I could breathe and replace the batteries, wipe the sweat off my face, and put the CI processor back on my head and....HEAR!!!  When my CI was back in operation, I told the young Metro worker about not having received TWO copies of the SST card, and she said, "Oh, no....she just was asking you for two dollars to cover the cost of the new card."  That's a major misperception/assumption, and that kind of thing has been my life since I lost my hearing at age 27.  I'm 80 now, and it's still going on, though not quite as often if my CI processor is working, and I have it on my head.

Anyway, I've been reading a wonderful book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and these are the four agreements:

1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don't take anything personally.
3. Don't make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.

Easy to write them down, but not so easy to put into practice.  Especially the part about making assumptions--if my perceptions are faulty to begin with. 

"O L H"

As indicated, the title of this post is a quotation.  It's from the fabulous CDB by William Steig.  CDB is a book--small, slim, inventive--masterfully drawn and written by Steig.  It supplies more of my quoted texts these days than the Bible.  CDB? Just say the letter names out loud, and you'll catch on.  I used to have at least one copy of this book, but no more.  Why oh why do I give away these priceless books, when my later years (Steig calls them O L H) has revealed them as mainstays of my life?? Yup.  I'm in O L H now--turning 80 impressed this fact on me.  O L H...very O L.

The sun is still shining on the lawn across the drive......I am not getting NE younger, but Steig's books do light up my mind and heart.  Have to start buying copies and mailing them to my precious great-grandchildren, whose birthdays i have of course lost/forgotten.  But you can still have a wacky great-grandma who sends you a present just cuz you're you and on the planet, not because it's your
birthday....ha....you don't remember yours, either. Oh, well.....Or as Steig would say, "Y R U YNN?"

Hot Days in Summer

It's been quite hot here for the past week or two:  temps in the high 80s, middle 90s.  That's too hot for a sweatshirt and even long pants, socks.  Even when it's raining, it's been hot like that.  My dear friend from Tucson was visiting, and she thought it was very pleasant.  The temperature there has been in the 100s, and she has photos of the oven mitts that they use when they open their car doors.  Sigh.  I don't have a car, so I don't need any extra gear to get into it.  And I have not owned a car since I left the Midwest more than 20 years ago.  I am a pedestrian who relishes all the public transportation hereabouts:  Amtrak, the Metro--train and buses, the MC RideOn buses, the dear little taxis (not all that expensive)--and you can talk with the driver, which is virtually always fun. (Sometimes they are not in a talking mood, but that's ok.  We all have our moments.)

I keep repeating that I'd rather be hot than cold any day, and that's definitely true.  It was so cold in ND and MN (less so, but still) that I've had enough of that.  Every summer in the upper midwest plains, we'd have at least one REALLY HOT DAY--like 93F or more--and it would feel WONDERFUL.  We have lots of REALLY HOT DAYS here, and my old body just soaks them up.  Thanks, Universe!  Nothing like heat if most of what you've had for decades has been COLD.

My best pal just got back from 10 days in Florida, all suntanned and relaxed-lookiing.  She brought me a wonderful long-sleeved Tshirt that's a lovely light turquoise color, and even though it's been
quite hot, I've had it on for 3 days straight, 24 hours at a time.  I've got it on now, and it's comfortable. 

Will have to take it off soon to wash it in the machine (spilt some melted butter on it, and a few drops of salsa).  that's life in my OLH.  I eat wot I want, and mostly that's butter and salsa.  Not on any fancy nutritionist's list of foods to keep you going.  It's just wot i like.  I don't spill peanut butter or jam, much, though I eat a lot of that, too.

I did grind some fresh-made peanut butter at Whole Foods.  The peanuts included chunks of chocolate in the grinding jar.  It wasn't as good as I could have imagined, but I liked it.  And that's OLH.  Eat wot you damn please and ENJOY IT!  No matter wot the temperature is outside.

Here's a new twist.....

If you were raised in the Roman Catholic Church, you doubtless know that St. Anthony is the patron saint for  recovering lost objects.  I asked my very devout niece Paula about that this morning cuz i lost a tote bag on MAY 1, and although it had no wallet or credit cards or cell phone or anything that expensive to replace, it did have my most recent ADDRESS BOOK! and the newest Donna Leon Guido Brunetti mystery (half read and quite precious to me).  I did all the right things:  called places where I'd been on Monday, including CVS, and the local Metro Lost & Found.  I've prided myself on finding lost objects  by imagining how happy I'd feel when it was back in my hands. This has worked many times, but not as swiftly this time.  Was mentioning this to Paula, and I asked her if St. Anthony was still considered the patron saint of lost items.  Yes, she replied....lost souls (did she throw that in there for me?) and items.  Then she told me a story about our wonderful late Aunt Trudy, who at one point lost her diamond.  Trudy recited this prayer to St. Anthony:  "Tony, Tony, Come around....Something's lost that must be found!"  And she found her diamond in a SNOWBANK! 

 Leave it to Trudy.  Anyway, I resumed my search for the tote bag this morning, and recited this verse several times.  

And YES, I DID FIND THE TOTE BAG--at a CVS, of course, but not the CVS I'd originally  thought.  A different location three blocks away.  Everything was there.  THANKS BE for the address book!!! And whoopee for Donna Leon's The Waters of Eternal Youth. Dint have to spend another $16 to replace it. 

So, thanks, Tony and Trudy and Paula.  Nothing like Family!!!!

                                              

Ever Wonder About the Antarctic?

Check this out:  antarcticsun.usap.gov
Click on the Around the Continent, McMurdo Station
article "The Perks of Being a Winterover" is by my grandnephew Stephen McGowan.  He's a cub reporter for the Antarctic Sun.

Stephen's sister, Jeanne (Letizia) McGowan, just won her election as 4th Ward alderman in Geneva, IL (suburb of Chicago).

Congratulations, Jeanne and Stephen!

shredding papers

 I have about 20 boxes of papers here...Kon-Mari suggests throwing out all papers!!!
but then I open one, and find things--poems--like this:

In my memories of childhood, days are mostly mornings, the prairie sun slanting through the asparagus fronds, and my mother picking berries ahead of the heat, her freckles grace notes on her ruddy cheeks, her housedress cool and smooth as the ground behind the shed, and the smell of her like wash hanging, and her laugh like the lark on high....

 The other part is night, the dark velvet earth
scent and the stillness, the house lights drawing bugs, and such peace, such safety, in the nighthawk's bounce, and my mother singing, folding clothes like sheets of sunlight dried.

When my mother died, after all the old, after
all the pain and shrinking, after the robber's art, she looked a baby then, new and helpless.
My tears fell on the leaves she loved, and
in the sparkling sunshine, we put her in the ground,

Now what?

So many changes in the world as I knew it when I started this blog in 2006.  An old old book/Bible? found recently (or reported recently--the powers that be have known about it for quite a while) says Jesus was not crucified, and the Pope recently said wine is good for you (well, he's been reading his Thomas Aquinas, perhaps, who wrote in his Summa Theologica that getting tipsy is good for us--keeps us humble.  Not that drinking wine has anything much to do with getting tipsy--lots of beverages can do that). 

And it's not only legal but ok for two people of the same sex to marry each other--I know LOTS of gay married couples now.  Most of them are highly educated and working in educational or medical or religious administration (that would be the girl rabbis).  I remember the 1993 MOW, and what fun it was to see all the GLBTQs coming here to march, have fun together, and express their joy at being who they are.

And we now are faced with the end of our democracy as we knew it.  So now what?

First Favorite Toy

A friend was asking her friend what his first toy was.  I quote:

A friend and I got to talking about our first toy -- his was an old raggedy stuffed dog called "Junky" , mine was an old raggedy sand man called "Gogel."  In both our experiences the adults decided the toys belonged in the garbage, and of course we were traumatized for life.

She asked me the same question, and I immediately  thought of my brothers' electric train. 

The train was a worthy antidote to the long winter in ND.  It was pre-TV, and we could also listen to the radio, although the radio had mostly hog reports, soaps, Scandinavian folk music,  and recipes in the afternoons.  Superman, Batman, et al., came on in late afternoon.  As soon as the snow melted, April/May, we all went outside to play, and the train went into its boxes.   

Hmmm.  Wonder who got the train set after its last run?  I had four brothers, and they all felt they. 
owned the train jointly--and shared it with me uncomplainingly.  Don't know who Mom gave it to
when she and Dad moved to the lake permanently.  The boys also had a little electric steam engine and a movie projector.  I loved those, too.

home again....

1.  The glitch appears to be fixed!  Xtreme English is back in bidness!!!

Shifting Gears....

XtremeEnglish is changing her focus for a bit.  I've already strayed off into XEXpress, but now I'm going to create yet another blog--for painting.  Haven't thought of the name yet.  Wish me luck.  And thanks for stopping by, if you do.  It's been wonderful getting in touch with my readers.  I'll be here with paint-stained fingers!  Yak later.....XE

Where Do You Get Your News??

Was talking with Lea, a realtor who has been holding various open houses in my cooperative for the past two years, and she warned me about my not having a TV.  (No, I'm not selling or buying--she's just a nice neighbor lady whom I've gotten to know.)

"How will you get your news?" she wants to know.  Good question.

I get most of mine online--AJ, The Guardian, Truthout, The Nation, LA Times, and many others, and I do scan through newspapers in the public library or at the dentist when I visit there.  Besides not watching TV voluntarily--can't escape CNN at the dentist (double torture!!)--I don't listen to the radio, either, but much of PBS, Bill Moyers, and Democracy Now (TV? or radio?  I'm not sure)  record and repeat broadcasts online--with closed captioning. 

I always get the free local weekly newspapers for their local coverage--not just news, but ads and arts schedules.  The DC City Paper has great local coverage, and the various Current papers--Georgetown, Downtown, Dupont Circle, et al--have other useful info that's not always available in the bigger rags.

I love magazines, too--especially the New Yorker, and Mother Jones.

Then there's Twitter, which Lea scoffs at.  Twitter is one of the "social media," I think--like FaceBook, but I like it because it's like a news early warning system.  I don't have to follow program hosts or organizations whose positions on the political spectrum are far removed from mine, but I can at least know what they are saying--often a day or two ahead of the other news coverage. It gives me time to Google around and learn more before the spin hits.

My friend Jim and his wife, Sandy, read the WSJ cover to cover every morning as they have their breakfast/coffee.  And I'm sure they listen to the radio when they drive here and there.  How about you? How and where do you get your news and information?












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Workin in the Liberry....

Old age seems to be affecting everything I've previously depended on, not just my health and bank account, but also my lovely Macintosh laptop (or as Sherwood calls it, "tummytop." 

My laptop is so old that Apple won't work on it any more, not for love (the warranty contract) nor money (bribery).  But thanks to the District of Columbia, which provides for its residents even better than some of the states who actually get to vote in Congress, we have a fabulous library here on 9th and G Sts. NW.  The MLK, Jr., library has a new "digital commons," where residents like me can go to use a state of the art iMac or PC if we have bothered to acquire a DC library card!  For free!!  We have to pay something per copy if we want to print out anything.  So far, I haven't.

Today, however, I experienced one of the downsides of using a free, public digital commons:  a young person whose sole aim this afternoon appeared to be watching as much of a documentary on
sex as he could.  I noticed him because he was sitting at the computer next to mine, rocking his knees or something, and I found it distracting.  So I looked over and happened to see the documentary, which was closed captioned.  The host of the program was interviewing a young woman from perhaps a Mideastern country--I didn't look that long or that hard to get all the details, but I do remember one quote:  The woman said, "The young boys who have just entered puberty here don't have a chance to have sex with any women or girls.  The only choice for them is the donkeys." 

Donkey sex?  That's a new one for me.  I know the farm boys in the Midwest often woo cows or sheep.  This may not be their first choice, as there just aren't that many donkeys in the Midwest.  Not in the areas where I grew up or in which I lived as an adult. 

I regret that I wasn't quick enough to smile at the guy when he glanced up and saw me looking possibly incredulous.  He seemed a bit sheepish.  I could have just laughed and said, "Donkeys??" 

Later  I was at my friend's house, and she was watching CNN or something.  There was a program on about new fashions in pets.  It showed a well-dressed New Yorker walking into a convenience store with a small llama on a leash.  My friend was not at all fazed.  She has an older coonhound who is
probably much older and bigger than the llama.  The dog has been to NYC many times in the past two or three years and stays in the hotel, too.  Why?  "Because he loves to run in Central Park!"  I
can imagine my dad's reaction to that bit of info.  HIS dogs never even got to come in the house.  They had their own kennel outside. 

It can be done.

since when is columbus day a 3-day weekend when everyone heads out of town? 

The People's Climate March?

So...planning to go to NYC to march for the climate?  How you gonna get there?  Walk?  Ride your bike?  This issue really bugs me.  Why can't we march at home, right where we live?  Why do we have to go to NYC??  I'm envisioning all the marcher driving their cars or riding a chartered bus or taking the train to NYC--it all uses fuel.  Makes me think of all the virgins in Paris on parade. 

"Take Love for Granted"

found this poem on facebook just now, and I want to show it to my readers:

Take Love for Granted
by Jack Ridl

Assume it's in the kitchen,
under the couch, high
in the pine tree out back,
behind the paint cans
in the garage. Don't try
proving your love
is bigger than the Grand
Canyon, the Milky Way,
the urban sprawl of L.A.
Take it for granted. Take it
out with the garbage. Bring
it in with the takeout. Take
it for a walk with the dog.
Wake it every day, say,
"Good morning." Then
make the coffee. Warm
the cups. Don't expect much
of the day. Be glad when
you make it back to bed.
Be glad he threw out that
box of old hats. Be glad
she leaves her shoes
in the hall. Snow will
come. Spring will show up.
Summer will be humid.
The leaves will fall
in the fall. That's more
than you need. We can
love anybody, even
everybody. But you
can love the silence,
sighing and saying to
yourself, "That' s her."
"That's him." Then to
each other, "I know!
Let's go out for breakfast!"

"Take Love for Granted" by Jack Ridl, from Practicing to walk Like a Heron. © Wayne State University Press, 2013. Reprinted with permission

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Lunes-y

It's Monday again.  Had fun yesterday.  My companion kindly bought me a taxi ride home from Capitol Hill, and the driver took a different route:  Capitol North to Blair, and Bob's your uncle!  Not a whole lot of traffic, as per the usual routes.  It was funny.  The driver, who spoke with a heavy accent and was quite solicitous, asked me, Do you know where you live?  I said, Well, I did this morning.  Not a problem.  I was fascinated by the alternative route.  The driver passed up many opportunities to turn onto streets I was familiar with and just kept on going.  Was home in no time.

So, another question I've posed myself this morning is why did the dinosaurs die?  and how?  It seems nobody really knows exactly how or why they died (best possible theory--some kind of climate change).  But it was not a total disaster, except for the pore dinosaurs.  we got birds out of the deal.  Much better exchange, IMHO, and would make a much better movie!!  Wouldn't it be lovely to
go to a movie these days and listen to previews with glorious bird song instead of dinosaurs roaring?

No gun shots or car crashes, either.  Ish.

Pals on the Sidewalks

Had a mild stumble today stepping over the bike racks by the Library, and a nice old guy caught me. "Are you OK?" he said?  "Remember me?  You talked to me two days ago.  How's it going?" It was kind of funny, actually.  The first time I passed him and his cup two days ago, I said, "All I have is 15 cents, sir...hang on."  I went into CVS and bought some nostrum, and my change was $1.01."  When I went back out, I told him "I got another penny!  It's 16 cents now." (I gave him the dollar, too.) And he smiled and laughed.  "Thank you, ma'am."

Fast Forward to Monday....

this apparently is my time to learn a thing or two about "giving" and "helping."

This afternoon I had to go to the DC office for Medicaid.  I needed help with the form, and it's so much easier to just go there and talk to them.  You sign in, get a number, and wait in line till they call it.

the woman in line ahead of me had three huge bags she was wrangling, one of which was right in my way.  So I moved it closer to her.

"You don't touch my bags!" she said.  "My mother raised me to be independent, and I am VERY independent!!  I went to COLLEGE and got a 4.0!!  I don't need any help from anyone!"  (So I'm thinking, but not saying, "well, why are you here at the DC office for HELP??")  I just smiled, held up my hands, and backed away. 

I, of course, was there because I truly needed HELP understanding DC's form, which they sent to me
in the mail.  And because I've done this before, I know that showing up and talking to them works better than trying to talk wiht them on the phone!  Not just because I'm deaf, but because if we can
resolve everything when i'm right there, all I'll have to do is drop the form in the box by the security officer, and bob's your uncle. 

That's what happened again, today.  Meanwhile, the independent woman was in the back of the room pointing to various folks in line--"It's no wonder they can't get a job, the way they look!"  she didn't notice that some of them were close to tears. 

I was very gratified when one of the DC employees in uniform, like a guard?....made her move her bags out of the way so others could approach the helping persons at the desk.

And so it goes.  I am totally grateful for all the help I get--from anyone, anywhere.  

Off Hiatus.....

I'm officially not on hiatus now with this blog.  Leave it to Lida to boost me back into the fray.  The weather has been spectacular here, and daughter Sally & crew stopped by for sandwiches yesterday on their way back from NC.  What a good idea....sandwiches!  no cooking!  almost no cleanup.  and
I discovered that Giant in SS has Portuguese rolls.  DC here is pretty much a sourdough-only town, but there are oases of Portuguese bread (soft, chewable).  Nice to find these rolls.  I think I'll keep a dozen in the freezer for future sandwich events.

Other bonus:  The NJ gang stayed with friends in NC who have their own farm, and they send some
fresh eggs and fabulous garlic back for me.  Many thanks!!!

The Silver Line is up and running now, and articles in the washpost are intriguing. Maybe I'll head out there to see if VA has anything as fabulous as cherry mustard, a new discovery from restaurant week here.