Friday, October 19

1) Today was the birthday of both my Grampa Dimmick and my loving cousin Susan. And I miss them both still.

2) A day of experiences: a) a man with a crutch (who may or may not have been drinking) fell flat on the sidewalk getting off the #1 bus, b) waiting for the campus shuttle and listening to an old lady yawping into her cell phone, I was surprised to recognize her as a colleague from almost 30 years ago, and c) coming home tonight I was very surprised to find someone sitting on our front steps smoking a cigarette. I greeted her "Good evening! Are you visiting some of the neighbors?" She replied "No, I'm just takin' a break." She said she lived up the street. I had never seen her before, and it was unclear what she was taking a break from. I told her "I'm sorry, but we don't keep the porch open for the public, and this is a non-smoking building. You'll have to leave." (I really was so taken aback - this has never happened - I hardly knew what to say.) And off she went in the direction of Washington Street.

3) I am for the moment very focused on this scene from The Devil Wears Prada: “And then call Natalie at Glorious Foods and tell her NO, for the 40th time, NO, I don’t want dacquoise, I want tortes filled with warm rhubarb compote.”

Thursday Evening, October 18 - Communications

So for the past two (?) days I’ve been without email at my own domain!

1) Long story short (too late!) my domain straddles two ISPs. One upgraded a server, so the other was sending email to the OLD server - in other words, it was sending email into the ether and not to me.

2) This took a little longer to resolve since I had forgotten ALL of my login information for the second ISP. Attempts to verify my identity by calling me on my landline led to the surprise of (after unplugging my router modem thingy - whatever they’re called now) and replugging in my Dimmick Supply pushbutton phone from the 1970s - there was no dial tone.

2a) Had to verify by landline because they wanted to send a new password to the email associated with the account - which was one of the affected email addresses.

3) NOW I am able to send and receive email again - huzzah! - but, it seems, not through whatever the email system is on my computer, but through the web interface. Again, something about passwords.

Bonus: So if you DID send me email in the last two days, I didn’t get it, and please resend. Thank you!

Thursday Morning, October 18

1) Why on earth the first article I should choose to read is about the regional shortage of Tab cola I have no idea. It’s like the Norma Desmond of soft drinks: “Why, I thought she was dead!”

2) I’m going to be without email for a few days, so thanks for your patience. I’d fall asleep or die laughing explaining what happened in detail, but the short version is that, following a server upgrade at my ISP, I’ve forgotten lots of essential information and my landline has no dial tone when I plug in my aged Dimmick Supply pushbutton phone from the 1970s.

3) My prayer these days is that everyone not only know the truth, but recognize it as the truth.

Wednesday, October 17

1) Frustrating communication day, as my personal email will not send outgoing mail because of some “syntactically invalid HELO argument(s),” whatever the hell that is. JUST SEND THE EMAILS!

1a) Opened a ticket with ye Lynyrpyges at 8:45 AM, and it is STILL open ten hours later.

2) This is one of those days when I have to wonder what on earth I’ve been doing my whole life.

3) I was given a copy of Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists, which so far has been very interesting. So this puts me in the middle of three books simultaneously, including Victoria: A Life and White Trash.

Saturday, October 13 - Daddy's Birthday

Today would have been Daddy’s 89th birthday.

1) I was thinking yesterday about how, when I was learning to drive, he brought me out to Chennault Air Force Base to practice in its large, abandoned parking lot.

2) Just rediscovered the photo above on my external hard drive this morning. I really like it because it looks like Daddy at his best, quiet but with some sharp intelligence and humor behind his eyes.

2a) He did love to laugh, and like me, he had a BIG laugh.

3) It’s interesting how people have vocal mannerisms or words or phrases that identify them so unmistakably. In my mind I can hear Daddy exclaim “Whoooooaaa, billy ca san!” or ask “How’s the finances?” (a popular question in my 20s I was always loath to answer) and it just couldn’t be anyone else. To this day I can hear him singing “Detour:” “Dee-tooooooour! There’s a muddy road ahead! Dee-tooooooour! Paid no mind to what it said. Dee-toooooour! Only bitter things I find. Should have reeeeead that detoooooour sign.”

Friday, October 12

1) A three-fer this morning at home: commenting on Princess Eugenie’s wedding, getting the piano tuned for the first time in years, and conferring by phone with a couple volunteers.

1a) Turns out Steinways are known just as much for verdigris as they are for tone, depth, sound, and just Being a Steinway. #surprise

1b) I’ve been just a wee bit Pavlovian about the royal wedding coverage reaction. Remembering what a nice spike I got after the May wedding, I knew I had to do this again. I just have to stop checking on likes, etc. so obsessively.

1c) OH MY GOD, DID YOU READ IT?! Please read it! :-)

2) Touched down in the office mid-afternoon for a software training, and then our team was taken out for drinks to a basement beer hall in Hahvahd Squayah. #goodtimes

3) Tonight’s soundtrack at home includes Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Jackson. And it’s so funny, I haven’t thought of any of these songs in ages. But here they are, just leaping out of my subconscious.

National Coming Out Day 2018

1) Right, that’s today. Yup, still out. Twenty-nine years and counting.

2) Matthew 23 was part of this morning’s devotional. I kept seeing our national situation in every line. #scary

3) No matter how old I get, I still find situations where I can put my foot in my mouth. The trick is recovery. Still learning.

Two Days of Catch-up

1) Spent all day Tuesday with colleagues staffing an event on the No’th Sha for our older constituents. I’ve known more than a few of the attendees for almost 20 years or more, so it was great for me to greet old friends.

1a) My colleague who drove needed to pay a call on a volunteer while en route home, so I found myself with two other colleagues waiting near a beautiful isolated beach in the Gloucester area. With the weather so very perfect, it felt unusual to be in this calm place in the middle of nowhere during the work day.

1b) Yes I did, I feel asleep in the car on the way back to town.

2) Another event back on campus. What is the correct answer to this equation?

(corporate types + open bar + speeches) + ((school children * screaming) + interactive displays)

Is it a) mashup or b) chaos?

3) Evening committee meeting in the splendid Trustees Room at Fysher Cyllege on Beacon Street.

4) Only recently have I begun participating in a unique benefit at my office, guided meditation on Wednesdays at noon. A recent retiree comes in to do this, even now that she’s retired. It’s not possible for me to go every week, and indeed there were only two participants yesterday. But I did get to a state of beautiful deep relaxation, and I needed that.

5) I’m afraid I got a little Pavlovian yesterday checking on how well Etiquetteer’s column on cocktail attire was being received.

6) Late in the day I remembered that October 10 was my Aunt Betty’s birthday (may she rest in peace). And Daddy’s birthday would be this Saturday.

Columbus Day, 2018

1) A beautiful, beautiful unscheduled day at home, in which I accomplished a LOT - but not everything on my list.

1a) Weeping Baby Pumpkin Head is no help at all!

2) Big doings in the condo association, as a new third-floor neighbor will be moving in tomorrow when Mama and Papa bring him back from the maternity ward. This morning I got to chat with one of the grandmothers, Little Miss, and the Young Master in the basement while the latter two clambered all over the washer and dryer.

3) Saturday I got an envelope from overseas, which turned out to be an early birthday greeting from my friends in England. It included two beautiful postcards of Japanese mauve-and-gold paper that are perfect against the gray walls of the study. I love color.

Weeping Baby Pumpkin Head 2.0

He’s baaaaaaack!

Thursday Morning, October 4

1) Yesterday turned out to be a wonderful, impromptu office excursion for us all to get our flu shots! “Whaaaaaaat?!” you ask. After having gotten the flu for a whole week after my last flu shot several years ago, I just said “I am too busy to be sick for a week!” Then I was down with the flu for two weeks last spring (as you may recall). And my doctor gave me a stern talking-to, so I knew I’d be getting a shot this autumn.

1a) Colleagues were very proactive about all this. One printed out flu shot forms for anyone going to complete early, to save time. Another kept calling out the number of minutes until the campus shuttle was supposed to get there. I think from our end of the floor about six people were on the shuttle, along with some others.

1b) The Great Big Flu Shot Clinic had been set up in ye Wylker Memorial, and a colleague timed us waiting in line for 28 minutes. It passed quite pleasantly with a whole clutch of people to talk and joke with!

1c) I could not roll up the sleeve of my dress shirt high enough for the nurse, so I had to undo everything from the top down so she could “go in from the top.”

2) Lots on the calendar today: the opening of mit.nano in the afternoon, and then a cocktail party on Newbury Street, and then dinner with a friend.

3) I’m trying not to let the fact that it’s already October get to me.

Wednesday Morning, October 3

1) Last night, after meeting a colleague for drinks at ye Hawthyrn in Kenmore Squayah and enjoying a dinner provided by the neighbors, I fell into bed like the dead about 9 PM and slept the sleep of the just for many hours. Man, I needed that!

1a) Truly Kenmore Squayah is the student mecca of Boston, but it’s lost all its edginess.

2) Time to haul the glass pumpkins out the cellar!

3) One of the classes I work with is talking about compiling and publishing a book of their collected life experience (which is distinct from a book of biographies), so this morning I reached for A Book of Courtesy as part of my morning devotional. This slim orange volume was originally written by a Dominican nun who was headmistress of a school of Catholic girls. For their 50th reunion, the Class of 1950 revised and updated it both as a tribute to her (they were the last class she had before retiring) and as a way to celebrate their reunion.

Sunday Afternoon, September 30

1) Today is the 15th anniversary of my return to MIT. I should be writing some retrospective post, but frankly, I have a headache. Maybe later.

2) This headache has certainly kept me from a lot of the things on my list, but at least I got a column posted today.

3) Returning from an errand this afternoon, I got to chat with my third floor neighbor and the children. Little Miss was having a pout, but talk about the cookies they baked for me started to bring her back to a happy place. By the time I headed indoors both of the children were using their auto as a jungle gym.

Sunday Morning, September 30

1) I’ve been up since 6 AM (quite naturally and by choice), drunk half a pot of coffee and written and published a column . . . and I’m ready for my nap.

1a) But I got that column published before 11 AM, so it’s a good day.

2) It’s worth noting that this year my birthday falls on National Chocolate Day.

3) This morning’s devotional included Matthew 6. A friend online once told me that the whole Book of Matthew was like the most poetic wisdom ever received. I thought that was such a great description.

3a) Whereas today’s C.S. Lewis made me say “Gurrrrlllll, you are overanalyzing this thing!”

It's Time to Watch Advise and Consent Again!

Regardless of your political persuasion, conservative or liberal, with the current Supreme Court confirmation hearings going on it’s a great time to watch Otto Preminger’s Advise and Consent. Found at the intersection of the political thriller and the all-star cast extravaganza, I love to tell the story:

The Secretary of State has been dead for two weeks, and President Franchot Tone surprises Majority Leader Walter Pidgeon (and the nation) by nominating Henry Fonda for the position. Pidgeon enlists the help of Majority Whip Paul Ford, bachelor senator Peter Lawford (!), and married senator Don Murray with the nomination while also reaching out to Minority Leader Will Geer (!), who is opposed. Senator Charles Laughton (essentially appearing as Jesse Helms) hates Henry Fonda, but Senator George Grizzard passionately supports him with his army of sycophants, his “Brain Trust.” Vice President Lew Ayres wants to be helpful, but is overlooked by all. During the confirmation hearings, Laughton calls Burgess Meredith as a witness to expose Fonda as a Communist. Fonda eventually discredits Meredith, but not because Meredith wasn’t telling the truth.

The nomination stalls, and suddenly Don Murray finds out from his wife Inge Swenson (!) that someone wants to remind him “about what happened in Hawaii.” Blackmail?! Society hostess Gene Tierney (oh my God, she is so fabulous) remains the background, and ends up hosting a stag poker party at which some terrible news arrives . . . The nomination finally comes to a vote, but will the Vice President have to break a tie or not? You won’t catch me divulging what happens!

Steve Hayes, the Tired Old Queen at the Movies, tells the story better than I, but there are spoilers in this video:

This is my favorite scene with Laughton: “Ah honah the President, I love my pahty, and I admiuh you, Mr. Majority Leadah, except wheah it crosses with mah convictions.”

Even Senator Betty White gets into the act!

Early on, my beloved Gene Tierney explains how the Senate works to the wives of two ambassadors. Pay careful attention . . .

Advise and Consent is a great way to spend part of your weekend!

I LIke my Coffee Like my Supreme Court Justices

#nationalcoffeeday

Friday Afternoon, September 28

1) Quote of the Day: “An evil soul producing holy witnessis like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart.” — William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

1a) This courtesy of my Shakespearean Insult a Day calendar, one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever received (and this from Oldest Nephew Who Must Not Be Tagged).

2) A gray day requires rainbow umbrellas.

3) Over the last few weeks I’ve tried to institute a weekly review period on Friday afternoon, to clear the decks and prepare for the week ahead, and it really helps.

Friday Morning, September 28

1) I’d made sort of an informal New Year’s resolution to get more comfortable with uncomfortable conversations. It’s not working.

2) Thinking of yesterday’s hearing, and the fact that National Coffee Day is tomorrow (on the internet, anything can be a holiday), a new response to an old meme came to my mind: “I like my coffee like I like my men: ethically sourced.”

3) This weekend is the first two-day weekend at home in six weeks, and to the extent possible I intend to be a hermit!

3a) It hasn’t all been drudgery; the first three of those six weekends were beach weekends at the home of friends. Then a rare work trip to DC, then a one-day memorial service at the office, and last week’s conference on Saturday.

Thursday, September 27 - Quotes of the Day

1) From Hamlet: “O Hamlet, speak no more! Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul, And there I see such black and grainèd spots As will not leave their tinct.”

2) From Soapdish: “I was very young then!” “Not anymore, babe.”

3) Actually, that’s quite enough, don’t you think?

Wednesday Evening, September 26

1) Met a colleague for drinks after work at ye Cytylystte, which I always enjoy - and don’t do nearly enough of.

2) Apparently that was during the time of only the President’s second press conference in less than two years, and it sounds like it was a complete embarrassment for the nation.

3) Walking home past the high school I looked up and stopped dead in my tracks - completely smitten by the beauty of the full moon with clouds between the stadium lighting. Simply beautiful - but we can’t put our faith in the inconstant moon.