Tag: photos

A morning lost in someone else’s past

I woke up thinking of envelopes of newspaper clippings, short stories typed on yellowed paper, and some handwritten reminiscences–all written by my father. Tom helped me find the collection in the garage before he went to work. I’ve been jumping from one story or clipping to another, wondering if I can finally edit it all into some kind of order, a project my mother handed off to me in the late 1980s.

One legal pad made me smile as it contains such an accurate glimpse into what occupied my parents’ thoughts on a particular day. My father had listed his predictions–including scores–of the football games Alabama and Auburn were scheduled to play in 1982. On the next page were price quotes my mother wrote from Mayflower, Allied, and U-Haul–planning yet another move.

In the same notepad: an account Daddy began of a train trip he took when he was five and a half. His age was important, because as Mr. Hasten Byrd–the ticket master–told my grandfather, my father could ride for free until he was six.

His tale begins…

She was my old maid aunt, my mother’s oldest sister. The man she was to marry had been killed when he was thrown from his horse. And lo these many years later, tears still came to her eyes when she talked of Mr. Stablefield.

Most of what Daddy told me about Aunt Jo has left my memory. An exception: She scandalized the family by walking to town barefooted. In the draft of an introduction I wrote when I first began compiling his papers, I comment, “I believe [my father] thought I might grow up to be a character, someone like his Aunt Jo, and he couldn’t decide if he wanted that or dreaded it.”

I’ve always known Aunt Jo would be okay with my late-night forays to the grocery store in my snuggly warm house shoes.


I wish you a happy morning.

Work of Art 2:7

Dear Fiat:

Last week on Bravo’s Work of Art, the artists were given time to grab auto parts for your Fiat 500 and turn them into a work of art. Coincidentally, I received a packet in the mail advertising the Fiat 500. I believe this was a sign!

I decided to use bits and pieces of your sales material in my creation for the Follow Work of Art blog. Lindsey suggested that since we wouldn’t have access to Fiat car parts, we should do a sculptural piece inspired by a car or any part of a car. Mine is not a sculptural piece. It’s a fabric-and-paper-on-foam-board tribute to the Fiat 500. Here’s how it turned out:


“Hole in My Heart”

What may not be immediately apparent is that the center Fiat is actually a cut-out through which you can see cracked concrete. That, and the title, are meant to convey to you how my heart is still not over the loss of my Honda CR-V after it was totaled in April 2010. As I considered this challenge, I realized my most immediate connection to a car is: I DON’T HAVE ONE. In Houston! A city that’s just as car-centric as Los Angeles!

I figured I’d write you a letter and show you my tribute and promise you that if you give me a Fiat 500, I would blog about an adventure in it EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR! That’s advertising for you at the cost of a (reasonably priced!) car, which is probably a hundredth of a second of Super Bowl ad time.

I know what you’re thinking: We haven’t even given those Work of Art people a car, and who the hell are you anyway?

While it’s true that I don’t have the readership of some popular bloggers, let’s take a look at a few of them.

First, there’s dooce.com. Sure, Heather Armstrong has a ton of loyal readers, but she already does product endorsements. I’d be exclusive to Fiat! Also, she’s a mommy blogger. That means she has kids. She doesn’t need a Fiat 500, she needs a minivan or an SUV. If you gave her a Fiat, she’d probably just turn it into an apartment for her Mythical Bobcat.

Then there’s Hyperbole and A Half. When Allie Brosh posts, she gets like five thousand comments, but she blogs only every two months or so. I’m promising you 365 blog entries! Do the math: more blog for your buck.

Of course, The Bloggess also has a large readership, and Jenny Lawson would probably even promise to wear a wolf pelt while driving her free car. I don’t own a wolf pelt. I also don’t own a car. Jenny Lawson does. Enough said.

Finally, there’s The Pioneer Woman, who I don’t read. All I can say is: Look at her blog’s name! Free covered wagon? Yes! Free Fiat 500? I think not.

Clearly, in every way, I’m the more deserving recipient of a free will-blog-for car.

If you don’t agree, does one of your executives have his or her deceased aunt’s Oldsmobile taking up space in the garage? I’ll accept it in lieu of a Fiat 500, but I can’t promise that My Adventures in Aunt Susan’s Olds will have quite the appeal of My Adventures in a Fiat 500.

Sincerely,
Becky

Magnetic Poetry 365:341

I’ve told you before that I love the photography and creatures on the site Plastic Animal A Day. A couple of times she’s shot animals through her window. It made me want to do the same, but her photography skills are way better than mine. She asked me to give it a shot, though, so now I have. Of course, Ram is leading the parade.

Only in Plastic Animal World is a hamster as big as a raccoon, or a unicorn and a wolf the same size. Check out her site for the good stuff; I am but a fan-girl.

Magnetic Poetry 365:340

I often think of a student I taught who could never be convinced that “more better” wasn’t correct. Each class, she’d crack me up with a new example: “This milk shake tastes better than an Orange Julius but more better than a Coke,” or “I like this poem better than the one by Emily Dickinson but more better than the one by Matthew Arnold.” As I recall, she made a good grade in my class (naturally, she never used “more better” in any of her essays).

I was trying to think the other day if I could remember any student I actively disliked, and I can’t. I’m sure there must have been some; teachers are only human, and some students are disruptive or lazy or manipulative. But I seem to remember only the bright, funny, and diligent ones.

And the plagiarist. Can’t forget her.

If you need some dog happiness…

I love this photo from the Scout’s Honor photo shoot the other day–Santa hugging a mastiff. I was amazed how good all the dogs were. Only one dog was super wary of the man in red, and even he was enticed by a treat from our jolly (and brave) Santa. Apparently all the dogs–and the one cat–and the kids know Santa makes a list and checks it twice this time of year. If you’d like to see more of the photos, they are in this Flickr set. Not a bad way to spend some Monday time.