Do you know the work of Spalding Gray? He was an incisive and humorous monologist. One of his most popular pieces was "Swimming to Cambodia," about the making of the film, "The Killing Fields." His mother committed suicide at age 52, and he did the same at age 60, after surviving a devastating car crash in Ireland. His last monologue, about that incident, was published a few years ago. I miss him, as I miss so many artists. So many beautiful spirits die too young.
I read to the kids this morning, and they were unusually well-behaved. I'm working harder at learning their names. It's easy when someone like Madeline raises her hand and says, "Miss Linda, I love you." What's better than that? Eric can't stop talking. Phoebe is SO tiny, with huge blue eyes, and smart as a whip. Angel, Anthony, Tia, Paisley, Mackinzie, Hayden, Aiden, Darien, Jordan, Shawn. Xavier had a black eye and when he came to hug me, which they all want to do after I read, I asked him what happened. He said he fell on something, and looked down. Of course my mind defaults to "what parent/caretaker did this to him?" I do think Miss Abby and Miss Erin and Miss Danielle are good teachers and would know, but still I worry. Mr. Don, the director, came in and gave me a hug saying, "I thought you had taken off and moved to Alaska!" Ha! I wish.
After reading, I went to Saint Augustine Library south and spent a long time looking at arts and crafts books, and then checking out several childrens' books for next week. I love libraries. What a wonderful wonderful resource. The ones around here show movies, teach pine needle basket weaving, and invite you to a raindrop therapy workshop. Who says CA has it all?! Ah, I miss California. As Spalding Gray said, I love new age therapies, all the alternative healing cultures. I think I was meant to live there. I am sending out to the universe my desire to become a snowbird; a home in Florida for the winter, a home in the Bay area for the summer.
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I have a friend on Facebook who posts several messages a day about the well-being of animals around the world. She is a huge animal rights activist, and director of the Foundation for Antarctic Research, even tho she lives near Saint Augustine. She keeps me up to date on the killing of seals for fur in Namibia, the slaughter of dolphins for meat in Taiji, Japan, and the destruction of the rainforests for palm oil, which ends in orangutans beings decimated. Orangutans share 97% of our DNA. They are our brothers and sisters.
Did you know Johnny Depp had a small role in "Platoon?
Was supposed to go to an LGBT Elders Task Force meeting in Jacksonville, but only realized it around 5pm, and the meeting was at 6. I had settled in for the night and did not want to get dressed and drive 45 miles to sit in a "meeting." I've got to check my iPhone calendar more often!!! Wrote the email contact and said I wasn't feeling well. Well, I wasn't! I didn't feel like getting there!
Stopped at ACE hardware and bought some dahlia bulbs. Don't know if they will grow in this climate, but, hey, they were selling them. I miss some flowers from the north: lilacs, tulips, peonies. There is incredible flora down here, and I like learning about what is native and drought/humidity tolerant. Still . . .
Have to take care of the hornet's nest under my mailbox tomorrow. Spray the hell out of it with nasty insecticide. Then I can pick up today's mail.
Hey, send me snail mail, ok?
xo
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