Author: Mary

Who needs a degree with this kind of talent…

This is John Todd, who I went to Pomona College with, balancing RPG dice on his nose, a talent he used to display fairly often when our group got together to play. I’m not saying that there wasn’t alcohol involved, but less than one might think. My friends really don’t need help to be truly silly; we are just wired that way I guess. That’s probably why we were friends. It’s too bad that I don’t get to see them more often.

I’m not exactly sure what year this was, but likely 1982 or ’83, in Harwood Lounge.

The Sail that Wasn’t

We were supposed to be sailing the Star of India today, but circumstances got in the way. In addition, this is her 147th birthday, so in her honor a photo from one of our past sailings. Those hard working folks in the red shirts are manning the fore braces, waiting for a command to haul like crazy. Just have to imagine what it would’ve been like out there today. Sigh.

Veteran’s Day

That’s one I’ve used before, but it’s my dad’s graduation photo from Officer’s Candidate School. There’s no denying that the military had quite an impact on my dad’s life.

So today I remember my father. my uncle Jack, my not-quite-an uncle Harry, my cousin David, my great Uncle Jack (who served in the Red Cross, but close enough to the fighting for me), my cousin Dick who died in a training accident in WWII, my great, great uncle Henry (WWI Army), my great Aunt Mary (nurse in WWI), and my great, great, great grandfather who served in the Missouri Volunteers in the Civil War. To these Veteran’s and all the Vets I’ve never known, that you for your service.

Now, I’m celebrating my going to Disneyland – have a good day everyone.

Costa Del Sol

This is at the table we have lunch on on the beach in Southern Spain. The name of the town eludes me, but it was wonderful. The small dot on the top of the hill is one of many watch towers that date from the Moorish period, that were used to watch for invaders. This was a lovely 65º day in March – tough living to be sure.

Generalife

This is the Water Fountain Garden at the Generalife (Spanish pronunciation of the Arabic Jannat al-Arif, meaning architects garden) in Granada Spain. The entire building is considered a garden, a different definition than I was used to. It is one of the oldest Moorish ‘gardens’ in the world. This structure is just a few hundred yards from the Alhambra, but it was used by the Emirs in the summer because it was cooler. The pool is traditional, but the fountains were added later. Since we were there in March, the plant life was not quite in bloom.

Time and Food

Since I spend a lot of time dealing with history, I often run into people who are nostalgic about the past. This article about misplaced nostalgia for ‘old’ food brings up an excellent point – the past we long for often didn’t exists.

This photo is food history though – it’s my family having Christmas dinner in 1980. Dig that mustache Uncle Jack!