Closing The Books

For those of us who labor in the belly of the beast, The All Saints Hunger Booksale starts in late June and concludes in early August. This over thirty-year-old tradition started with a challenge from a pastor to his congregation to do something for the less fortunate. As it has ever since, the group accepts donations, sorts, prices, and displays them. The group of volunteers assembles in the basement of the church Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

I started volunteering two years ago at the invitation of my friend Michelle Mooney. I found that the skills I acquired working at the bookstore and my lifelong love of reading made me useful with this gang. I was hampered a little this year because of radiation treatments, but I was a full-timer for most of the trip.

We are on a route toward another record year and will contribute to Milwaukee's various food assistance programs, something north of twenty-five thousand dollars.

Silly Aside About The Booksale:

Jeanne ad I met working at the book sale. When asked how we met, we respond that we met in church.

On The Easel:

Dockside

Pastel 12 x 16

Good News on the Health Report:

With all of the hoo-hah about my Bladder, you may have forgotten the doctors thought they saw a suspicious mass on my pancreas.

The original image, a CT scan, showed what they thought was a mass. The doctor thought it might be a cyst. A subsequent MRI showed nothing.

Out of concern for error, we waited three months and took another MRI. It showed that there is no mass. They will scan me again in December, but it's doubtful it will change anything.

Time for me to take a breath.

I'm taking a little vacation next week. I might not be publishing a blog. (I find my vacation photos are kind of boring to other people.)

I'll leave you with this in-progress piece.

I haven't titled it yet. It needs a little futzing.

And This Version Of the "I'm With The Banned" T-Shirt.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One of my latest efforts. Sketch: The Lady Is Blue Gouache 9 X 12 Reporting: I enjoyed a pleasant evening with my friend Michelle Mooney. I took her out for dinner to celebrate her birthday and to thank her for the many first-rate haircuts she's given me. We were surprised at the number of people who dined alfresco in the balmy night air. Whatever we've done to please Mother Nature, she had deemed acceptable by giving us a shot of summer just when late fall weather was wrapping her fingers around our throat. If I have one complaint about the friendly confines of The County Claire, it's the noise level that makes it difficult to converse. The rumble is an acoustical problem with the customers speaking in normal conversational tones. This is without audible TV showing some game or background music selected by a dance DJ. I know! We should have eaten outside, where the only noise is the occasional 14 bus snorting by. Maybe It's Me Since my two soccer teams are not doing...

Watching the Oldies

Note: Last week's post was late. There is a reason. Read on. Classic Film: From Here To Eternity The film opens in Hawaii in 1941. The film stars Bur Lancaster, Mongomery Clift, Deborah Carr and Donna Reed. It is before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The only scene I remember is a scene many people who never watched the entire film have seen. It shows Bert Lancaster and Deborah Carr lying on a sandy beach, kissing as an incoming washed over them. Given the popularity of that scene, it was amazing to me that that iconic image is only seconds long in the film. The story is about the innocence of army personnel with no idea what's coming. Lancaster literally runs the squad while his Captain lets him take charge so he can campaign for his promotion and cheat on his wife. To make up for the disrespect he has for his commanding officer, Lancaster beds his Captain's officer's wife only to fall in love with her. Clift's character suffers the humiliation of an offic...

Once A Young Man

My late friend Jack had a saying that's lost on young people; it sure was lost on me. With his version of a Finnish accent, he'd say, " We are too soon old and too late, smart." I've never heard anybody answer the question about returning and reliving their youth that didn't include the covariate that they would know what they know now. Maturation and accepting the onset of the later years of our life goes a long way to mellowing our passions. Chicago Bear fans are less intimidating, and the members of the opposite sex who are age appropriate are far more appealing than we might have thought in our youth. Yes, I will admit some men still try to relive their youth in ways that defy logic. This facet of two late smart prevents athletes from realizing when their best years are behind them. More men than women seem to delude themselves into believing that members of the opposite sex half their age are suitable mates. I'm not going to deny that some of us old...

Point Made

Search This Blog