"What if we begin with the assumption that most people work hard?" I am so glad you wrote this. One of my grandsons (11 y.o.) is giving his teachers grief. He thinks it's cool and he thinks his teachers are just there to spoil his fun. This is my argument to him - that it's okay to not like your teachers, but remember that they are there trying to make a living, and they have 20-30 kids like him. I try to keep this in mind when I'm frustrated.
I live for the Guardian's Poem of the Week. And that Emily Dickinson selection is a heartbreaker. (Though frankly, I think her poems would never be published if she were alive today. They would be considered too old-fashioned -- rhyme and meter?! -- oh, the horror! -- which in itself is heartbreaking. But then I think so much contemporary poetry is banal: diary entries with line breaks.)
I confess I'd only ever crossed the Key Bridge twice in my life, both times accidentally. But I loved seeing its graceful arc across the water -- so elegant, so delicate. A beautiful design.
Re the Orioles-inspired outfits, love the gingham check and those fab orange sunglasses the best!
I live about 2 miles from the bridge in Pasadena. In fact, my exit to Route 10 off 695 is the last exit they would let people get to (not even the back way to Ft. Smallwood). However, my life is in the opposite direction. I grew up on the west side - southwest, really. In Arbutus and the city Yale Heights, Irvington, Violetville. So, my early trips across the Key Bridge were with my cousins - 4 of them, 1 of me, all packed in my uncle’s station wagon. My cousin Kelly and I, best friends at 31 days apart, in the very back, facing the rear, in those days before seat belts were a thing. My uncle’s family all lived across the Key Bridge in row houses. We all were pretty poor back in the late 70s, and my cousins were even more poor, given the fact that there were 4 of them to my 1. I was an only child until my sister’s miraculous conception and birth when I was 9. (Eight years, 11 months, and 1 day, but who’s counting?) I stopped hanging out with my cousins once I was in grade school, and for the most part, stopped driving over the Key Bridge except for a few times recently. Ironically, I have a party to go to Friday for a friend’s 50th birthday, and it’s in Dundalk - and there’s no Key Bridge to get there! So, I guess I’ll be doing the Tour de Baltimore to get there. I told my friend that if he didn’t want a party, all he had to do was cancel, not knock down a whole bridge.
Love, love, love this part: "What if we begin with the assumption that most people work hard? What would happen if we could park our resentments and grudges and just acknowledge that life is fucking hard for pretty much everyone right now? It’s not a contest. We really are all in this together." Thank you for the reminder.
I wound up checking out Baltimore Blues on Libby after the bridge collapsed - a therapeutic act, perhaps, and one with less calories than my usual therapy chocolate or donuts. Only a few paragraphs in Tess is rowing toward the Key Bridge.
Thank you. Definitely piled high today. First two selfies point to sunny days at the ballpark.⚾️😎❤️
Heart aches for everyone hurt by the bridge collision and nearly instant collapse. Small but incident in Kentucky took a very old but important bridge over Kentucky Lake out of commission for probably two months while temporary fix patched together. No loss of life.
Even though the lake traffic did not approach a major port like Baltimore, still a major feature in Western Kentucky.
Long drive arounds existed. Could drive north to dam and cross. Could drive south well into Tennessee and cross. So many day to day patterns changed drastically. Now the old bridge is a memory and two new ones in place with pedestrian/bicycle routes safe from cars and trucks. Lovely views.
I take an exercise class with Jane Eberwein who is an Emily DIckinson scholar (now retired). She will be delighted to explain this to me. Thanks for sharing it and all of your interesting thoughts. Patti Abbott
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time."
--James Earl Jones as Terence Mann in FIELD OF DREAMS
And it’s a fun game to look deeply art each photo to see what’s different! Stuffed animals, lights through the windows, etc. endless hours of amusements!
Oh, I also wanted to comment that there has been research that there are people who believe that people are doing the best they can at any given moment and people who don’t believe that. It’s kind of an either or, which is interesting. One of my mottos is, Be the Good You Wish to See in the World. I believe we’re all doing the best we can at any given moment, even when we know better.
"What if we begin with the assumption that most people work hard?" I am so glad you wrote this. One of my grandsons (11 y.o.) is giving his teachers grief. He thinks it's cool and he thinks his teachers are just there to spoil his fun. This is my argument to him - that it's okay to not like your teachers, but remember that they are there trying to make a living, and they have 20-30 kids like him. I try to keep this in mind when I'm frustrated.
I live for the Guardian's Poem of the Week. And that Emily Dickinson selection is a heartbreaker. (Though frankly, I think her poems would never be published if she were alive today. They would be considered too old-fashioned -- rhyme and meter?! -- oh, the horror! -- which in itself is heartbreaking. But then I think so much contemporary poetry is banal: diary entries with line breaks.)
I confess I'd only ever crossed the Key Bridge twice in my life, both times accidentally. But I loved seeing its graceful arc across the water -- so elegant, so delicate. A beautiful design.
Re the Orioles-inspired outfits, love the gingham check and those fab orange sunglasses the best!
I live about 2 miles from the bridge in Pasadena. In fact, my exit to Route 10 off 695 is the last exit they would let people get to (not even the back way to Ft. Smallwood). However, my life is in the opposite direction. I grew up on the west side - southwest, really. In Arbutus and the city Yale Heights, Irvington, Violetville. So, my early trips across the Key Bridge were with my cousins - 4 of them, 1 of me, all packed in my uncle’s station wagon. My cousin Kelly and I, best friends at 31 days apart, in the very back, facing the rear, in those days before seat belts were a thing. My uncle’s family all lived across the Key Bridge in row houses. We all were pretty poor back in the late 70s, and my cousins were even more poor, given the fact that there were 4 of them to my 1. I was an only child until my sister’s miraculous conception and birth when I was 9. (Eight years, 11 months, and 1 day, but who’s counting?) I stopped hanging out with my cousins once I was in grade school, and for the most part, stopped driving over the Key Bridge except for a few times recently. Ironically, I have a party to go to Friday for a friend’s 50th birthday, and it’s in Dundalk - and there’s no Key Bridge to get there! So, I guess I’ll be doing the Tour de Baltimore to get there. I told my friend that if he didn’t want a party, all he had to do was cancel, not knock down a whole bridge.
~
Cute Orioles outfits. Very chic!
Love, love, love this part: "What if we begin with the assumption that most people work hard? What would happen if we could park our resentments and grudges and just acknowledge that life is fucking hard for pretty much everyone right now? It’s not a contest. We really are all in this together." Thank you for the reminder.
I wound up checking out Baltimore Blues on Libby after the bridge collapsed - a therapeutic act, perhaps, and one with less calories than my usual therapy chocolate or donuts. Only a few paragraphs in Tess is rowing toward the Key Bridge.
Life is, indeed, hard for most people. Alas, empathy is in short supply, as well. Lovely piece, as usual.
I left Twitter 6 months ago so thank you for the Sunrise at Domino. I miss it.
Oooh, love the jeans and the boots and the orange t-shirt! (also, the writing) xo
Thanks for seeing the night shift.
Thank you. Definitely piled high today. First two selfies point to sunny days at the ballpark.⚾️😎❤️
Heart aches for everyone hurt by the bridge collision and nearly instant collapse. Small but incident in Kentucky took a very old but important bridge over Kentucky Lake out of commission for probably two months while temporary fix patched together. No loss of life.
Even though the lake traffic did not approach a major port like Baltimore, still a major feature in Western Kentucky.
Long drive arounds existed. Could drive north to dam and cross. Could drive south well into Tennessee and cross. So many day to day patterns changed drastically. Now the old bridge is a memory and two new ones in place with pedestrian/bicycle routes safe from cars and trucks. Lovely views.
Excited for Lady in the Lake treatment.
April IS National Poetry Month. So thanks!
I take an exercise class with Jane Eberwein who is an Emily DIckinson scholar (now retired). She will be delighted to explain this to me. Thanks for sharing it and all of your interesting thoughts. Patti Abbott
Better late in life than not at all. I just had my first piece published by a lit mag (that I’m not the publisher of) last month at 42.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time."
--James Earl Jones as Terence Mann in FIELD OF DREAMS
Congratulations on adopting wide-legged pants. I still can’t do it.
And it’s a fun game to look deeply art each photo to see what’s different! Stuffed animals, lights through the windows, etc. endless hours of amusements!
Oh, I also wanted to comment that there has been research that there are people who believe that people are doing the best they can at any given moment and people who don’t believe that. It’s kind of an either or, which is interesting. One of my mottos is, Be the Good You Wish to See in the World. I believe we’re all doing the best we can at any given moment, even when we know better.