We are back in So. Oregon for a few days then heading to Portland for the Big Event. "Baby" Leo is about to get a new brother. He and cousin Thea are very intrigued by it all.
Language itself is a barrier.
12/08/2012
07/08/2012
Counting on autopay
I hassled most of the morning sorting out my utility bills. Most are autopay but my records were in the rears. That was bad enough, then there's the Gardnerville trash bill. The city of G'ville doesn't trust autopay. Way too fandangled for them. Customers have to use the most arcane system known to humankind .... memory. Yes. Yes. I have a reminder on my phone but I didn't have cell service in London or Paris so I forgot I even brought the damn thing, the battery died and my reminder along with it.
But before we left, remembering I have a horrible memory, I paid the trash bill in advance. But I forgot that, didn't I? So then I paid it again at the end of June. It's only due every three months but I forgot that too, so then I had credit. But I didn't realize it. So, this morning, not having an amount to go by, I paid the bill again and added extra for good measure. Then, well then I panicked even further, thought I'd paid the wrong entity, and called the office.
Good ol' Marie answered. She and I have talked many times since the idiots down at city hall nixed autopay. I am now paid up into next year. I hope I remember that. And btw, Marie is always very nice, friendly, helpful...in case any of you retrograde nincompoops are reading this.
So M. Lee sent me this happy little video this morning which I would like to dedicate to Marie.
But before we left, remembering I have a horrible memory, I paid the trash bill in advance. But I forgot that, didn't I? So then I paid it again at the end of June. It's only due every three months but I forgot that too, so then I had credit. But I didn't realize it. So, this morning, not having an amount to go by, I paid the bill again and added extra for good measure. Then, well then I panicked even further, thought I'd paid the wrong entity, and called the office.
Good ol' Marie answered. She and I have talked many times since the idiots down at city hall nixed autopay. I am now paid up into next year. I hope I remember that. And btw, Marie is always very nice, friendly, helpful...in case any of you retrograde nincompoops are reading this.
So M. Lee sent me this happy little video this morning which I would like to dedicate to Marie.
06/08/2012
Another torn page
I posted a new excerpt at my poetry blog, anna sadhorse. I realize calling it an excerpt is pretty vague. Excerpt from what? At this point, it's nothing more than a page torn from the little black notebook I always carry. I hesitate to call it a poem. Maybe it's a bit from the autobiography I plan to write someday.
04/08/2012
Morning on rue Ordener?
A crow woke me this morning. Unwilling to open my eyes, I lay in bed trying to sort out where I was. Crows, lots of them, live in nearby Montmartre Cemetery but I could not remember any hanging out on rue Ordener.
In 1882, Monsieur Ruggieri of the world famous Lacroix-Ruggieri, masters in the art of pyrotechnics, aka the "Painters of Heaven", exploded fireworks in a vacant lot on rue Ordener. In 1911, the world's first robbery using a car occurred on rue Ordener. During the 1950s, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy grew up at 100 rue Ordener.
The highly respected Professor of Singing Madame Charlot, lived at 189 rue Ordener until her death in 2004. Her apartment was only two doors away from ours and our belle ami Karen currently lives on rue Ordener just one block in the other direction. There is also a fresco over 200 meters long on rue Ordener and, sadly, a madwoman has made her home on a concrete slab along rue Ordener for at least the last 10 years. People give her all kinds of things, money, cigarettes, food, reading material etc., but she refuses efforts to get her off the street so there she lives. That's Paris.
But crows on rue Ordener? While undoubtedly they do drop by from time to time, gradually the fact that I had seen no crows on rue Ordener began to sink in and, eyes still closed, I considered the possibility that perhaps I was no longer in Paris but in Nevada. That woke me up. The crow was Minerva and that, although I've been gone for over two months, the ever-vigilant 7 o'clock Magpie knew I returned yesterday and alerted her friends. They were all in the Bird Park this morning at daybreak enjoying the tasty breakfast of puppy chow and peanuts I left out last night. She knew I'd be back. I am flattered.
(Google Translate does a fine job of translating pages, should you be so inclined to explore the links)
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| The very watchful crows of Monmartre cemetery |
In 1882, Monsieur Ruggieri of the world famous Lacroix-Ruggieri, masters in the art of pyrotechnics, aka the "Painters of Heaven", exploded fireworks in a vacant lot on rue Ordener. In 1911, the world's first robbery using a car occurred on rue Ordener. During the 1950s, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy grew up at 100 rue Ordener.
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| Our very gracious belle amie, Karen. Dinner party on rue Ordener. Paris but not champagne. |
The highly respected Professor of Singing Madame Charlot, lived at 189 rue Ordener until her death in 2004. Her apartment was only two doors away from ours and our belle ami Karen currently lives on rue Ordener just one block in the other direction. There is also a fresco over 200 meters long on rue Ordener and, sadly, a madwoman has made her home on a concrete slab along rue Ordener for at least the last 10 years. People give her all kinds of things, money, cigarettes, food, reading material etc., but she refuses efforts to get her off the street so there she lives. That's Paris.
 |
| Madwoman of rue Ordener |
But crows on rue Ordener? While undoubtedly they do drop by from time to time, gradually the fact that I had seen no crows on rue Ordener began to sink in and, eyes still closed, I considered the possibility that perhaps I was no longer in Paris but in Nevada. That woke me up. The crow was Minerva and that, although I've been gone for over two months, the ever-vigilant 7 o'clock Magpie knew I returned yesterday and alerted her friends. They were all in the Bird Park this morning at daybreak enjoying the tasty breakfast of puppy chow and peanuts I left out last night. She knew I'd be back. I am flattered.
 |
| 7 o'clock Magpie wielding this morning's apple |
(Google Translate does a fine job of translating pages, should you be so inclined to explore the links)
30/07/2012
26/07/2012
The madness of it all
I'm in a tailspin. We return to the States next Tuesday and are jamming and cramming in all that we can of what's left on the table. Yesterday's visit to the Palace of Versailles necessitated me staying up late last night brushing up on Marie Antoinette. I must say, my opinion of the her has changed. Clearly, in spite of the totally over the top, outrageous wealth and privilege she enjoyed, the lady was framed during the Reign of Terror. Even her 10 year-old son died a horrible death alone in a dark, filthy dungeon. At least Robespierre, the teabagger type lawyer/politician and one of the instigators of the Reign of Terror, eventually fell into the jaws of the guillotine. It was pure poetic justice that this coward's unsuccessful suicide attempt simply shattered his jaw. For a lawyer, not being able to have the last word is worse than death. The bastard's head was chopped off the next day by the same guillotine that decapitated Marie Antoinette.
Today we go to the Musée d'Orsay. I'm going crazy without downtime. We're out breakfast to bed. I'm drowning in photos. I can't catch a breath. I know. Luxury problem. March me to the guillotine. I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm just howling before launching into action. It's embarrassing. What can I say? It will pass. And, of course, I'm grateful for this fabulous opportunity, even though I've been lock step with my dear, (very) covertly insatiable mother-not-in-law and my darling beloved for two fucking months. Soon enough, my world will shrink back to the Bird Park and I will be writing about who came by for breakfast but today it's off to the d'Orsay. Wednesday is their late night so, of course, we'll be out late again.
Thankfully, there is a small reprieve on our departure so I actually have a bit of time to sit down here and write. Lucky all around. I really needed a little time off. I'll cut my fingernails on the way to the bus.
Today we go to the Musée d'Orsay. I'm going crazy without downtime. We're out breakfast to bed. I'm drowning in photos. I can't catch a breath. I know. Luxury problem. March me to the guillotine. I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm just howling before launching into action. It's embarrassing. What can I say? It will pass. And, of course, I'm grateful for this fabulous opportunity, even though I've been lock step with my dear, (very) covertly insatiable mother-not-in-law and my darling beloved for two fucking months. Soon enough, my world will shrink back to the Bird Park and I will be writing about who came by for breakfast but today it's off to the d'Orsay. Wednesday is their late night so, of course, we'll be out late again.
Thankfully, there is a small reprieve on our departure so I actually have a bit of time to sit down here and write. Lucky all around. I really needed a little time off. I'll cut my fingernails on the way to the bus.
19/07/2012
Photos du jour
PARIS STREET SCENES
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| Woman and flowers by Quai du Valmy |
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| Homeless guys watching TV under bridge over the Seine. |
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| Mimes along Quai de Valmy |
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| Father and son bazar on Boulevard Barbès. The son is out of sight but the father is seated inside. |
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| Mannequins on Boulevard Barbès |
16/07/2012
Five-thousand six hundred and fifty-three
That's how many photos I've taken on this trip so far.
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| Honey, you've got a problem. |
Well, it's an estimate really because that number
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| Jesus! |
does not include the ones I've deleted.
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| Get some help. Vous êtes lunatique, ma chérie! |
Five thousand is not that many.
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| Home of forty to fifty-thousand books |
There are way more books at the Abbey in the Latin Quarter.
14/07/2012
Open mic night
The SpokenWordParis open poetry mic at Au Chat Noir last Monday was really excellent. I'm always an outsider at these things but I read whenever I can wherever I go and, in my opinion, the quality of writing at this event was among the best of any I've participated in. And the presentations were good. Even the poems read in other languages were interesting. And unlike London's Poetry Unplugged,which makes people pay a suck ass cover charge to read, SpokenWord Paris is free for all.So, if you find yourself in Paris looking for a place to read, or listen, to poetry I highly recommend this event. Not only was the work excellent, but people were friendly and unpretentious. Our friend Karen enjoyed the evening, as did M. Lee which is saying something. Generally, to hear him talk, you'd think a rat had gnawed his earlobe off at one of these things.
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