Writing – Two People & A Cat

Politics Bulletin: 007

The SAME PAGE

In this issue:

Feeling Stressed
The Michael Luttig Article that everyone is talking about
Voting Information
An Invitation from Monarca – Democracy Defense

1. Feeling Stressed

The stress I’m feeling is nothing compared to an ICE abduction. I am not searching for water in the middle of a war zone that used to be a city park. Nevertheless, the anxiety is real. It has been hard to watch my country bend to a dictator who stirs constant uncertainty (an oxymoron), like when back in April he threatened to bomb Iran “back to the stone ages,” only to back down ninety minutes before a fake deadline to open the Straights of Hormuz. By preschool, I knew that a nuclear holocaust was inevitable; naturally, I’m feeling tweaked. More importantly, the chaos is destabilizing our democracy. That a private individual can change foreign policy with a literal flip of a switch, unilaterally shifting the United States from Ukraine’s ally to that of its Russian invader by cutting off access to privately owned satellites, is alarming.

If you are likewise struggling with the headlines, one way to stay grounded is to get involved in something that matters to you. Right now is the time to volunteer to maintain a public garden, read to a child, attend a PUC meeting, or teach someone how to set up a Signal account at the library. Or if you want to do something with urgency, help Get Out the Vote for the midterm elections. Sign up for a shift at mobilize.us/dflcc. Or sign up to give people rides to the polls at tinyurl.com/SamePage-Rides. Record turnout will be needed in order to secure democracy in Minnesota and to flip Congress so that we can reign in the dictator and begin to restore sanity and justice, while taking the opportunity to re-imagine how much better we can be.

Another way to keep your balance is to be socially engaged. How well do you know your neighbors? Why not take that drumming class you saw in the community ed catalog? Now is the time to say yes to the invitation. Better yet, extend one. Related, as a matter of resistance and to feel better, we must also reclaim our attention span. After Facebook and YouTube have been found liable for engineering their platforms to be addictive, it would be a good idea to keep them in check if not flee for higher ground (try BlueSky or Mastodon).

One step at a time. First, we vote on or before Tuesday, November 3.

(Rebekah Smith)

2. The Michael Luttig Article that everyone is talking about

Read full article in The New Republic

“So unalterably subjugated to Trump is today’s Republican House that even a decisive victory for Democrats and a resounding repudiation of Trump and the MAGA Republicans at the polls in November will not guarantee that a Democratic majority-elect will be seated in the 120th Congress on January 3…
Over the past year and a half since his return to the White House, Trump has exploited every conceivable unlawful means possible to rig the midterm elections in favor of the Republicans, and the federal courts have struck down as unconstitutional every one of these unlawful attempts. He will try every unlawful means over the remaining weeks to ensure that Republicans handily win the midterm elections in November. Those of us who oppose his illegality will look to the courts, but the federal courts will be institutionally incapable of checking his final unlawful rampage.

This is how the crisis would unfold. The precursor of the crisis will come sometime before noon on January 3, when Speaker Johnson removes current House Clerk Kevin McCumber and replaces him with a person loyal to Johnson and House Republicans who they know will refuse to list on the statutory roll of representatives-elect to the 120th Congress any Democrat-elect whom Johnson and the Republicans direct him or her not to list…”

Read full article in The New Republic

Please make it known with your calls and letters to Congress that we will not stand for a January 3 turd. If we can save Jimmy Kimmel by ditching a Disney subscription, what’s the least we can do for our democracy?

3. Voting Information

Vote by Tuesday, November 3. Find everything you need to know to vote in this critical midterm election at the MN Secretary of State’s website.

4. An Invitation from Monarca – Democracy Defense

Worth forwarding: A message from Madi at UNIDOS.

Election Day is right around the corner, and what’s at stake for all of us goes beyond who wins in November. The leaders we elect will make decisions that shape what we can accomplish at the Capitol in 2027. From protecting immigrant families and our freedoms to making healthcare, housing, and energy more affordable.

For too long, working families in Saint Paul have faced rising costs and policies that put corporations and wealthy interests ahead of our communities. We have the power to change that by organizing our neighbors and moving a legislative agenda to advance prosperity for all Saint Paul and Minnesota families in 2027.
The road to building the future we want starts now.

Join Saint Paul leaders on Wednesday, October 28, for a virtual community meeting to plan how we will move together this legislative session.
Together at this meeting, we’ll discuss:

Election Defense: How we can use our voices and votes this November and how we can make sure our elections are free, democratic, and protected
Our 2027 Legislative Agenda: The policies we want to move at the Capitol around freedom from surveillance, immigration justice, climate justice, healthcare, and prosperity for all families.
What’s Next: How we can organize our neighbors and build the power we need to turn these priorities into real material changes for our communities.
Join us Wednesday, October 28 at 6:20PM via Zoom

Register Here

Be sure to also save your seat for the November 15th Saint Paul Legislative Caucus meeting. This meeting will bring together neighbors and Saint Paul representatives and senators to talk about how we can move our Prosperity Agenda forward this legislative season.

The election will help determine who makes decisions at the Capitol next year. But it’s our organizing before and after Election Day that will help determine whose voices are heard and which priorities move forward. Join us to ensure our communities are prioritized this legislative session.

Sunday Update 001

Plans

I’m bouncing between taking advantage of the nice weather and washing windows, partly in an attempt to reclaim the porch which has fallen into a mess (along with many other things, but you have to start somewhere) and finishing a variety of frames. First, I am making frames that will essentially serve as a storm window once I cover them with plastic. I’m also making frames to block the sun in the summertime. I’ve already made them for the French windows in the living room, and they have been working great. I thought it would be nice to have something that looks decent (as opposed to the raw panel of silver insulation that I’ve been throwing in there on the oppressively hot days). I am also making a frame to weave on for a “special project.” Once I figure it out, I’ll share more. As for the frame, after trying to make it with EMT conduit, I’m taking my dad’s advice and making it with wood. I’m about to finish one frame, which I would already change given a few things I’ve learned. But it will be good enough to make a second prototype (the first being the one I made with the conduit). Hopefully, my third try will be the answer for a strong but light-weight and inexpensive frame. The list of things to do today continues, and I will return to that list, should I manage this first part.

Progress

As I mentioned above, I’m getting close to figuring out a frame that I can weave on for a top-secret project. Other than a cover that I am making for the cat litter box, writing a cook book and finishing a novel, this is the only thing I want to work on, though it is very satisfying to look out of a clean window.

Puzzles

The weaving frame has been the biggest puzzle, though I just encountered another one yesterday. My clothes drying racks kept tipping over on the deck as it was windy and I had sheer curtains on them (to make a sail). In the past, I’ve tied them down or wedged them between patio furniture. But this time, I wondered how I could screw an eye hook on the railing between the deck boards so that I can attach a bungee cord to it and by that means hold down the drying rack. This way, the hooks would be hidden such that one wouldn’t stub a toe on them, but ready to use whenever needed. I only wish that I would’ve thought of this before I put down the deck boards, as there is no way that I know to add them after the fact. On the other hand, maybe adding a hook as I’ve described would defeat the purpose of the gap between the boards (to accommodate wood expansion). But if it were possible one could incorporate many such hooks on a deck, making it (maybe) easy to erect a temporary awning, for example. Maybe I could still put in some hooks on the side of the deck our house so that I can easily secure my clothes drying racks.

Burning Questions

I’ve been thinking about social grace and observing various forms of it or lack of it.

Something Amusing

Brian has been working on painting the trim on the garage and plans to be done with it today. But he took time to use the recently acquired Uprooter to remove a sapling that got away from us. So, happy (again) with how well it works he was compelled to bring the evidence to me where I am working in a very messy dining room.

How it Went

I’ll post “how it went” later. In the meantime, if you have a “Sunday Update” to share, I’d love to read it.

Protected: The Funeral– Part III

Protected: The Funeral – Part II

Protected: The Funeral – Part I

Protected: A Mister Trusty Mystery

Politics Bulletin: 003

Today is Election Day. In my precinct, there is a mayoral race and two questions on the ballot to consider. Once again, with just hours before the polls open, I checked with neighbors and friends to get their thoughts on the candidates and issues. As of this posting, two have graciously responded. If I hear from others as the day goes on, I will amend this post accordingly.

Sample Ballot

CITY QUESTION 1 (St. Paul)

Referendum on Ord 25-2 amending the City Charter.

Should Ordinance Ord 25-2, amending Chapter 6.03 of the St. Paul Charter, regarding Administrative Citations take effect? Ordinance Ord 25-2 amends the City Charter to authorize the issuance of Administrative Citations that may result in the imposition of civil fines for violations of City Ordinances. Administrative Citations are not Criminal Citations. A “yes vote is a vote in favor of amending the City Charter to allow the City to issue administrative citations. A “No” vote is a vote against amending the City Charter and against administrative citations.

SCHOOL DISTRICT QUESTION 1 (ISD #625)

Approval of New School District Referendum Revenue Authorization

The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.

Comments

Below is what I’ve heard as of this posting. Should I receive more comments, I will add them below.

One trusted neighbor wrote:

Hi Rebekah. I hope you and Brian are well.

I voted for Her but am not as politically active as previously and cannot offer an insider perspective. As my Rep., after redistricting moved me from Dave Pinto territory, Her had the right positions but I find her rather elusive. Compared to Pinto, she is quiet and not strong on outreach. During the mayoral, she seemed to recognize that and emphasize her “get it done,” no show-boating style.

That professed (and maybe real) style served her well in this campaign because more people now realize that Carter is pretty much hot air. His mirco-versions of potential national solutions come as his own city is falling down around him. A quiet yeoman Mayor who will fix the basics sounds pretty good in comparison.

I voted for both ballot questions in spite of my respect for Jane Prince’s warning about limitless administrative citations. I’m assuming there will be penalty guidelines. And I’m in favor of heavy investment in public schools not just for facilities, personnel, and curricula but to fend off the largely right-wing attack on them.

Your newsletter had a welcome section of food shelves. I’ve been delivering groceries from Keystone to homebound individuals in Saint Paul and surrounding territory. Doing a little is alternately satisfying and very troubling for the recognition it affords of how much more is needed. And then there are the fucking Republicans.

Another thoughtful neighbor wrote:

Hi Rebekah,

Two reasons not to vote for Mayor Carter:

He did not bother, despite multiple requests, to respond to a questionnaire from Neighbors for Responsible and Livable Development about a proposed moratorium on the tear-downs of original homes the the neighborhood and their replacement with barn-like structures to be used as private student dormitories. Like I said when we chatted this morning, I don’t oppose greater housing density, but I do oppose perfectly good century-old homes in the neighborhood being demolished and replaced with cheaply built, hideously ugly structures.

He is apparently not in favor of requiring bird-safe glass in new zoning rules for the Mississippi River Corridor. We should all know by now that regular glass is deadly to birds. Requiring bird-safe glass for construction in a city in the Mississippi flyway should be a total no-brainer.

So, who gets my vote? I asked a number of my politically savvy friends about their choices for mayor. Most of them favor Her, with Chen in the #2 ranked choice spot. I am probably going with Her as #1.

My Thoughts

As I watched a debate last night, Brian grumbled with every hostile jab between candidates: “Debates are useless.” He’s right. They lack nuance and the time it takes to tease out viable solutions to problems.

What’s with the hostility?

As for the hostility, I’m worn out by the lack of civility in politics. We can disagree and even correct a statement without resorting to making enemies of each other. Please, to every candidate everywhere: Stop it. To be clear, I’m not arguing against passion. We need people to – for example – stand up for the poor with some vigor. But it’s disheartening to watch politicians who should be allies tear each other down with petty complaints. If I were teaching a debate class, I would ask my students to rewrite this one such that candidates were cordial and made their points without the snark. In my view, Rep. Kaohly Her would need the most editing in this regard. Yan Chen seemed to mainly stay above the fray, while Mayor Carter came across as the most likeable. If I based my decision on this debate alone, he would be my first choice.

Unresponsive government

However, Carter’s unresponsiveness to advocacy groups who oppose tearing down single-family homes, as mentioned above, is very concerning. The current Mayor and the City Council seem intent on bulldozing their way to solutions without acknowledging the harm they are doing to our neighborhoods in the process.

It’s hard to see how tearing down blocks and blocks of quality homes that have lasted over a hundred years and replacing them with cheap eyesores can be a serious response to the “climate refuges” we are expecting. Aside from wasting resources, these buildings are not even a solution to affordable housing for the people who already live here. For example, a neighbor recently became homeless (one crisis away from homelessness is real). She lived within blocks of dense new construction but she couldn’t afford the rent. Meanwhile, college students (who – despite the justifications for doing away with parking requirements – do drive) seem to be able to swing it.

Unlike my friend quoted above, I like that Carter is thinking beyond the “nuts & bolts” and is trying to do what he can to address things like gun violence in the face of failure elsewhere in government. It’s a little ironic to fault him for this while complaining about crime. In any case, anyone who is resisting the Trump administration, which Carter has been doing, deserves some credit, even if there are potholes that need to be filled. There will always be potholes.

If Kamala were president…

At the recent No Kings Day protest near St. Kate’s college, I saw a sign that said, “If Kamala were president we’d all be at brunch.” Like a lot of the signs that day (“Clean up in aisle 47,” “No Faux King Way”), it made me laugh. Brunch did sound good. But the sentiment also points to a problem. To believe that electing Democrats means that we can let our government churn along unattended, as if they too aren’t tainted by corporate money that makes things like universal health care – as then presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar put it – “pie in the sky,” is a mistake. Even today, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is singing the same song. Anyone who says that universal healthcare is impossible in America should be disqualified from consideration for any office, let alone the presidency. Now is the time to make this clear. Just like last month was the time to start a discussion with my neighbors about an election that is happening today.

Our collective “brunching” is the reason why our democracy is on the verge of collapse. Thank goodness for the advocates who are keeping an eye on things.

I’m inclined to support them.

As for the questions on the ballot, I’m inclined to support my neighbors who are feeling crushed by their property taxes. May I suggest looking into establishing a state bank, as they have in North Dakota, to finance the public good? In the Minnesota House, there used to be a bill with bipartisan support to establish one. That was a while ago, and I’m not sure where the bill stands today. The ultimate solution is to tax the rich appropriately. In the meantime, as a neighbor suggested, we can try to fund our schools with a tax on plastic bags.

No Kings

Here are some pictures from the No Kings rally that Brian and I attended on October 18.

1,000,000 died for our democracy. Don’t let one man take it away.

Does this all make my democracy look small?

This is the Night, Really Love

My reaction to This is the night (2021) movie and Really Love (2020) movie.

My better-late-than-never movie reactions

In addition to straightening up my physical office, this morning I took a minute to organize some digital files. In the process, I found a piece on two movies: This is the Night and Really Love. An updated/finished version of the June 2022 original is below.

I also came across some photos of pumpkins (top), which go even farther back. I know this because last year was a bust squash-wise. Still, it was only recently that I used the last of some frozen puree to make pumpkin and black bean soup. I found the bee balm (below) in the same place, in a folder marked “Garden.” So, not so disorganized after all.

This is the Night (2021)

Spoiler Alert: Reading this before you see the movie This is the Night might lesson your enjoyment of discovering the various plot points on your own.

While I liked This is the Night (TITN), a movie written and directed by James DeMonaco, it pained Brian. However, it should be noted that he never nodded off. Not once. And that’s something. Nevertheless, the critics — at least those who bothered to review the movie — appear to be with Brian on this one. They hated it.

Ignorance might have bolstered my enjoyment of the movie. One, I’m unfamiliar with DeMonaco’s previous work. So, warnings about how this movie is nothing like the Purge series are lost on me. Two, I know Rocky as a cultural phenomenon but I don’t know the movies, let alone Rocky III — the movie that’s at the center of TITN — specifically. In other words, I know the Rocky theme music and could pick out a movie still, assuming that Sylvester Stallone is boxing in it. Finally, I don’t presume to know the creator’s intent.

I know the Rocky theme music and could pick out a movie still, assuming that Sylvester Stallone is boxing in it.

If ever there’s a whiff of a contrived plot or hokey dialogue that points to the same, I will bail within twelve minutes of a Netflix movie. And as not to throw good time after bad, I can easily quit a movie halfway through it. Three-quarters. More. However, though TITN gave me pause at various points, I stuck with it. I’m not sure why. Nor can I find a review that captures it for me.

Where some critics saw a failed tribute to a popular movie, I saw a story where a popular movie served as the backdrop for characters who needed to wage their own fight and who — yes — were inspired by said movie. But it would be wrong to say that this movie was about Rocky, no matter what a superfan might post on a YouTube channel.

The movie was cartoonish and regardless of whether that was the intention, it worked for me. Nevertheless, I had my doubts along the way. For example, we begin with teens splashing around in a public pool, which I loved for the memories it evoked. That I could almost smell the chlorine promised a nostalgic style and the film delivered. But then a stock bully (Steve Lipman) is introduced when he razzes the protagonist, Anthony Dedea (Lucius Hoyos) (one of the protagonists, which I’ll explain later), for wearing a t-shirt in the pool. It’s cheesy. Fine. But the bully’s girlfriend (Madelyn Cline) sticks with him even though she disapproves of his mean behavior. And I have no love for a movie where a supposedly nice woman — even a naïve sixteen-year-old — is hooked up with a jerk just so we can see the part where she realizes that she likes the kind of self-conscious guy who wears his shirt in the pool.

Nevertheless, I stuck with it. Was it because of the way Rafe the Handsome Mailman (Constantine Rousouli) flirted with Anthony’s/“Shirty’s” older brother Christian (Jonah Hauer-King), hinting at a juicy side story that turned out to be much more than that? Was it wondering about whether the family restaurant could be saved? Did I just want to see how the Dedea mother (Naomi Watts) looked as a blonde or whether she would liberate herself from that cranky husband Vincent (Frank Grillo)? Or was it some other basic character-wants-x-will-she-get-it hook? Whatever kept me engaged, there was a definite moment when I decided to roll with it, despite the guy next to me who was sighing with every Rocky reference that went straight over my head.

It happens right after the Dedea family watches Rocky III in the theater. This is where our bully from the pool returns and makes it look like “Shirty” yells out, “Rocky is a pussy!” Now a mob is after the kid, including some out-of-place biker dudes whom DeMonaco must have resurrected from — as it happens — the 1986 Gary Busey film Eye of the Tiger. It’s ridiculous, just as some critics have complained. But then the manager of the movie house appears just in time to whisk the imperiled “Shirty” down a secret hallway and to a back door where he escapes. From that point, for reasons I can’t explain, I was on board. It’s possible that I wrested the wheel from the story’s creator. Either way, I enjoyed the ride.

So, when critics say that the fervor surrounding the premiere of Rocky III is unrealistic, pointing to the ticket lines that wrapped around the building (It’s surprising that no one took issue with the size of the theater. You could have filmed it in my living room.), or that it was laughable when an entire town turned on someone for hurling insults at “the greatest hero of our time,” or that the movie was overly sincere with one critic warning us not to give DeMonaco any credit by taking any of this with a grain of irony, I say phooey. I don’t care how DeMonaco would have me take it. I thought it was funny when the cops kicked “Shirty” and his friends out of the squad car when they realized that he’s the one who questioned — or supposedly questioned — Rocky’s manliness.

And now for an intermission…

… and we’re back!

There would be more cringey parts to come. The worst was when “Shirty’s” mother tells his brother Christian that she knows that he (Christian) is a cross-dresser. In fact, she insists that he put on a dress. She helps him put on a wig… and lipstick… Acceptance? Great. But this was a bit much. Maybe someone could pull off “blurry boundaries” without “incestuous” coming to mind. But this was bad. Cut to gratuitous nightclub scene (Every movie! Come on!) and more blurry boundaries where mom lurks after dropping off her freshly-out Christian. I suspect that DeMonaco just needed “a moment” to extract an emotional response from his audience. He should have either smoothed over the rough edges of this scene, in which case he would have needed to start with a monster belt sander. Better yet, scrap it and try another approach.

Despite this, I stuck with the movie and discovered that all of these odd little parts — save a few that left even this sympathetic viewer scratching my head — add up to a satisfying and surprising and lovely ending. But wait! This only worked because there were accomplished actors who were able to wring water from a rock. Fine. The battle that the mother has with the father at the end of the movie is worth it. And when you consider that she was standing up for her non-conformist son who likes to wear dresses, it seems to me that Rocky is the perfect backdrop to this movie. And given the shift in the social climate where we are just beginning to see a transgender world, maybe even timely. It’s not a matter of giving anyone too much credit. It’s a matter of what I picked up on, regardless of anyone’s intent.

This brings us back to the idea of the multiple protagonists in this movie. The main character is obviously “Shirty,” right? That is to say Anthony who faces down the enemy and gets the girl. I’m not convinced. Though a small character by comparison, I would argue that it is the father who makes the biggest transformation when Mister That-would-be-stupid finally says yes. Or is it his wife, who finally puts her foot down? Or is it Christian who — at last — comes clean with his dad? I like a movie where you can make the case for multiple characters, even if the writer must choose one. For example, realizing that Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke) is the protagonist of Reality Bites as opposed to the obvious choice, Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder), made the movie better for me. As for who Lelaina “ends up with,” I have strong opinions. But I’ll leave that debate between the generations for another time.

I don’t know if it will be worth it for you to get there, but I have no regrets about spending my time with This is the Night. Nevertheless, this is one case where I won’t be able to convince Brian that he might like this movie if he approached it with the right mindset. And judging from the comments elsewhere on the Internet, he holds the more popular view.

Really Love (2020)

We also didn’t see eye to eye on Really Love, directed by Angel Kristi Williams. I thought critic Roger Moore had it right: “…beautiful people doing beautiful things set to a silky smooth jazz score all do their best to atone for a script seriously thin on originality or conflict,” whereas Brian found a lot more to like about this film. There was something about a realistic evolution of a young romance that he liked, whereas I was bothered from the start. Again, Moore says it best: “They meet at a gallery show. He’s forward, fingering her necklace. She makes a lot of eye contact and allows it.” He also makes note of some “clunky dialog,” quoting the exact phrases that hung me up as well. The writer might have benefited from that belt sander — working up to super fine steel wool — once DeMonaco finished with it.

The ending of Really Love is predictable. It’s also lovely and it almost makes me forget the weird beginning and the glossed over middle where we are to accept without any evidence that there are real barriers to these two lovebirds to be together. I can’t recommend it. However, it is beautiful and it was fine to have on while I untangled some yarn and rolled it up into a ball. It kept my interest in that I wondered if the slow pace of the movie, which was great, was going anywhere. Alas, it was not.

Christmas Trees & Cats Don’t Mix

Happy New Year!

When I woke up this morning and looked out my bedroom window, the frosty tree limbs grabbed my attention. Maybe we should’ve cancelled coffee? Later, I found Brian standing in the middle of the alley looking like a caroling Peanuts character in his trapper hat. Through a crystal canopy that lined the way, he looked toward the golf course.

“It’s quite beautiful,” he said. “A real winter wonderland.”

He was on coffee duty. On Saturday mornings, it’s his job to set up the table and plug in the coffee pot in time to be ready for whoever shows up. When I moved my car to the front – also in preparation for our guests – I ran into Emily and Justin who were on their way over. When Emily stopped to notice the ice crystals that had formed on some dried wild flowers, “Close up!” was a natural thought. Despite the fancy camera and the tripod, these are mediocre snapshots.

Born of the pandemic, we’ve been hosting coffee for just over two years. Here’s what I posted about it in the early days:

“Three weeks ago, Brian Harmon and I bought a coffee urn. On Saturday mornings we’ve been offering coffee to the neighbors on the lawn (or in the garage if it rains). It’s BYOC (bring your own cup). I’ll be curious to see how far into the winter we can go before people quit coming. Or maybe that’s exactly when we’ll need such a thing, when we’re feeling even more cooped up. People have appreciated this (someone just left a medium roast from the Mississippi Market on my porch) and have done a good job of maintaining the proper social distance. We know that sometimes it might be just the two of us because it’s drop-in-if-you-feel-like-it, no RSVP needed. But so far that hasn’t happened. If you ever want to drop in to say hello, feel free. Rain or shine. We will be there.”
Rebekah Smith, Facebook, October 2, 2020

With all eyes on a beautiful sunny day, no one at coffee noticed that my shoes didn’t match. I didn’t catch it until I took them off, prompting me to quiz Brian.

“What’s wrong with this picture?”

Seeing Miss Ruby this morning was a treat. Zipped up in a comfy bag, she and her doll arrived on a Norwegian push sled pushed by her dad. Upon learning that her favorite song is Dancing Queen, Brian brought out the Red Sox Bluetooth speaker, a gift from his sister.

She let me off easy this year. It could have been a bedroom set.

After coffee, Brian usually makes a “rail hand breakfast,” a reference to the eggs and hash browns I used to order pre-pandemic. We haven’t been in a restaurant ever since a server at Pizza Lucé gave us her roller derby card. It was right before the first “safer in place”/lock down mandates. And I remember it feeling eerie sitting at the bar, like “Should we be doing this?”

Thank goodness for my friend Alex. We were discussing a time to meet and he mentioned Zoom, which was unknown to me at the time. “I’d rather meet in person,” I said. He set me straight. Along with the NBA shutting down when Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19, it’s one of my first memories of “Oh, this is serious.” It was odd because I had recently attended a rally for Senator Bernie Sanders who was running for president. There were thousands of people there. I remember seeing one person – just one – with a mask and thinking, “What’s up with that?” The rally was at once exhilarating and foreboding. As the arena, twinkling with magical screens and going round and round and round in feverish waves, I couldn’t help but think: “Should we be doing this?” Now it’s strange to listen to the recordings I made that day. It was the last time since the onset of the pandemic that I have walked up to a random person on the street and said, “Can I ask you a question for my podcast?”

Maybe I’ve lost my nerve.

In addition to making breakfast on Saturdays, Brian names them. Today, he knocked on my office door, cracked it open and announced, “Your ‘Dancing Queen Irish Cream Rail Hand’ is ready.”

We covered “Dancing Queen,” Ruby’s favorite song. As for the Irish Cream, I assure you that coffee in the yard is usually alcohol-free. But it’s New Year’s Eve. So, when I brought out some chocolates, I grabbed a bottle just in case anyone might enjoy “a snort.” Is that how you say that? It’s not something I normally say but I heard it at coffee this morning and thought I’d give it a try.

Speaking of… Dancing Queen.

Speaking of… Irish cream.

Speaking of breakfast… specifically eggs. Do you notice anything funny about this picture?

In one case (the eggshell on the right), the break is clean. In the other case (left), the egg is cracked with cartoon zigzags, like this:

As for Christmas, it was lovely. As Brian has said (and I have repeated too many times), “We’re up to our asses in socks, books and Clinique!” In fact, these words made it into my five-year journal, something I highly recommend that you keep:

Lovely Christmas Day with Brian and cats Michael and Bert. Chicken dinner reminded me of Grandma Choate. “We’re up to our asses in…”
Christmas, 2022 – Five-Year Journal, Rebekah Smith

The journal makes it easy to look back five years per page. For example, the entry above this was:

Brian made a roast for dinner. Nice gifts. Lots of stuff for woodworking. A router. Clamps. Power stapler…
Christmas, 2021 – Five-Year Journal, Rebekah Smith

And above that:

It’s hard to find a podcast that I like. Brian made a rail hand breakfast and we opened presents. He said he missed shopping this year and the Christmas vibe.
Christmas, 2020 – Five-Year Journal, Rebekah Smith

As I sit here right now, my ankles are warm thanks to my new socks and I am grateful.

The big question this year was whether to put up a tree. For the past few years, we’ve been skipping it, partly due to these two clowns:

Now that Michael and Bert are older, I thought maybe they could handle it.

I was wrong.

They cannot handle it.

Bert didn’t get interested in the tree until after we decorated it. And then he proceeded to undo it.

It was lovely for about a minute. But now the tree is a mess because I’ve given up on fluffing it up and rearranging the lights every morning. So, I’ll probably take it down sooner than I normally would, which is just as well. Valentine’s Day is late for boughs of holly.

We were supposed to look at cross country skis today. Maybe tomorrow? Tonight, there will be a movie because my friend Craig insisted that I watch The Glass Onion. The coffee crowd agreed. We’re guaranteed to love it. Good. The last movie that Brian and I watched together was The Vanishing. As a palate cleanser afterwards, we went to Tom Papa. It was a good movie (I think). But it was intense. Tragic. Sad. Disturbing. Usually, my kind of movie. Not so much Brian. We still haven’t talked about it. Not much. Brian called it a story about breaking from procedures. Initially I saw it about – not greed exactly – but shifting morality. Pivotal escalating choices. However, the more I think about it, the more I like Brian’s perspective.

At coffee, Ralph said that he was in a Quaker group that would bring in the New Year with a meditation. From 11:30 p.m. until midnight, they would sit together in silence, except for the ticking of a thousand clocks. None of them synced. Insert smiley face here.

So, that’s the report, as disjointed as it might be.

Happy 2023.

Rebekah

Not Bored but Maybe Boring

Brian groaned when he realized the purpose of our post-lunch errand. Nevertheless, he was relieved to find out that my haul would fit into a grocery bag. In other words, it wasn’t another chair.

I love my recent acquisitions, two paintings I found on FreeCycle. The first is a sunset – or a sunrise? – that I see as I turn around to face the hallway at the top of the stairs.

The second is a place that feels familiar, though I’ve never been there.

If you ask me what I’ve been up to, this is what I’ll tell you. I hung up two paintings the same day I got them. If there’s time and you seem interested, we could talk about how something as simple as a free painting can lift a person’s spirits or how these random paintings about which I felt lukewarm belong here. For the person who gave them away, these paintings were clutter or reminiscent of a time best forgotten or just ugly. Or maybe it was painful to give away her mother’s art that was collected over the span of a childhood? But she’s moving to Denver. Starting over after a messy divorce. No room. Downsize, like it or not. Or maybe she read Marie Kondo’s book and said, “These colors don’t spark joy! Get them out!”

Maybe.

Or I might tell you about how I’ve been replacing the boards on my deck and how being done with hauling 16-footers on top of my car (after hours of picking through them at the warehouse, ugh!) is a cause for celebration, even though there’s still more to do.

Or – being of limited skills in the way of needle arts – how I cannot believe that I managed to recover four patio chairs using my consumer-end sewing machine. It was tricky but not as hard as sewing a patch on some old jeans.

It’s an out-of-body experience to look at a finished product (mostly finished, I might add some buttons but I’m counting it as not to despair). It’s the same feeling I get whenever I see the door at the top of the stairs. It was caked with layers of brittle paint and it was a huge job to repaint it. The ceiling in the dining room. The office I’m sitting in right now used to be Pepto Bismol pink. These are good things to remember when you’re in the middle of a never-ending project like when there are still boards to cut, clamp and screw down to the framing of the deck. With every swing of the hammer, I wonder “Am I about to ruin my house?”

“I’m not bored but I might be boring.”

That’s what I told my mother when we were catching up this morning. She called just as she was sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee and just as I was about to do the same.

Boring is no badge of honor anymore than eschewing television makes you better than me. I would welcome adventure. But it’s still cool to take pleasure in second-hand art and to think, “Perfect! I love it.” And then to put away the drill that has a place because you’ve already done the boring task of organizing your tools, which didn’t bore you at all.

Bert claiming the materials to make the seat cushions. He loved the plastic mesh that I was able to reuse after reinforcing it with fabric.

“You’re not going to throw out these filthy cushions are you?”

I did document the patio chair project and keep meaning to post some tips, if not for the random person who might find it useful (Spoiler alert: pockets, as in shams, instead of zippers), then for me. Because it’s already starting to feel like someone else must have done it and I’m not sure I could do it again.