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Steppin Out

Steppin' Out
By Jeff Jordan

There's a small rise on my road to recovery. It's neither a cliff or a curb. It's four steps leading out of the house. Navigating those four steps, both coming and going, is my path to freedom. So far, so good.

Well so good if you forget the first couple of times where I nearly knocked Maria down as I descended and had her lift me as I ascended. But clearly the last couple times, it's been more manageable, and I'm controlling the trip much better

I received an email from my artist, golfer, and Packer fan friend, Lenny Nagler. Each year Lenny crawls out of his self imposed hibernation from his studio. Bearing the fruits of his labor, he feels compelled to take the temperature of his associates as to the quality of his work. Artists in all fields of endeavor crave the validation of the audience. No?

Lenny calls this his "Preview Party" Taking a huge gamble f the weather, it is traditionally a cookout.  The highlights of the food portion are the serving of his wife's potato salad and real wieners from Jacobson's market.

He puts up the shelter he uses at all of the outdoor art shows he does each year. He mounts the results of his efforts, some 25-30 paintings. Len asks each of his guests to take a clipboard with a score sheet and rate all of the paintings he's done in anticipation of the next season's sales.

I must say, I haven't been to all of the preview parties, but I've been to a lot of them, and I'm determined that I will go to this years gathering. When I saw the email, I immediately thought, I was going to have to miss it. Then remembered that a mere three days later, I was flying to Stanly, NM, to visit my daughter, Mary Jo, her husband, Richard, their horse, dog, and cats. Not only did this put a silly ride across town to the party in a different light, but it also shamed me into pledging to Lenny my presence at the BBQ.

Now about those four steps....

Bonus: I've been editing my digital photo collection. I'm finding many images that bring back great memories. This one was taken from the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan a bit north of Two Rivers.




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