North To Alaska

Well, Peeps, this is my view as I write this…

I’m off Kodiak Island in Alaska, but let’s go back a few days, shall we???

I left Shreveport in the middle of a typical August heat and humidity wave.  And of course, that means the occasional pop-up thunderstorms over the plains… which means the occasional delayed flight into Denver (yes, Shreveporters- you read that right- a direct flight to Denver from  Hooterville-on-Red.  United.  No DFW.  No Atlanta. There was much rejoicing)…which means the occasional “I’ve got nine minutes before my connecting flight closes the door” sprint from one end of Denver International Airport to the other.

Kudos to my trainer Eric Murphy for those incline treadmill bursts and walks at Norton with weights. I know I complain, but THANK YOU.  I made it.

I arrived in Anchorage at 10:30pm and it messed with my mind to find it still light. 

 You know the feeling- you get in a big metal tube for 5 hours and you really have no idea what the latitude or longitude is going to bring you. 

But it was 55 degrees.

Alaska for the win!!!

Monday was just a running around and getting acclimated day.  I acclimatized quite well, thankyouverymuch. There is nothing like the glee of  a Southerner in August debating whether to take a sweater or a fleece out walking…..

Let’s just say that Anchorage’s flowers are stunning…

I was told by the Trolley Tour driver that it’s because of all the summer sun.

Lots of sampling of local beers and fish!

Took my opera buddy Steve Aiken’s advice on dinner at Humpy’s 

it’s named for WHALES, dearies…WHALES!

No, I did NOT try the Man vs. Food challenge.

Tuesday was all about the transfer to the ship in Seward.  It’s a three hour trip along the coast and through the passes to get to the Kenai Peninsula. 

On the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet, surfers can ride the bore tide for miles.  Bore tides occur when an incoming high tide collides with the outgoing tide.  The tides in this area are second only to the Bay of Fundy- they can drop almost 30 feet every 6 hours.

 Absolutely beautiful.

You will be seeing those words a great deal over the next few weeks, I imagine.

And, arriving at the ship, I found my Northwest Passage Parka waiting for me.

It's one of two things.  Either whoever okayed the parkas has one HELLUVA sense of humor.....or more likely, they have never seen South Park.

Diamonds are a plumber's best friend.....

Well, you probably know my First Tenet of Home Repair...

     "Can I make it any worse than it already is?"

When I went in the guestroom bathroom (which was my mom's for 15 or so years), I noticed that one of the faucet taps was very difficult to turn.  Now, this week I have a few guests staying with me, so I thought I'd try to loosen it up...

At 7 pm tonight.  When they arrive TOMORROW.

Lesson 1.  Yes, I can make it worse than it already is.

Lesson 2.  Plumbing issues sometimes cannot be fixed with WD40 and force.

Lesson 3.  Always know where the water shut off is.


Solution:

But, at least THIS would-be plumber is bedecked appropriately...

I mean, what other plumber wears sapphires and diamonds to trash a faucet???

Livin' the dream, peeps...Livin' the dream.

What's Stopping You???

Hi.

Yep, it’s me. Just E.

Surprised?

Did you think I’d dropped off the face of the planet? Moved to Bangladesh? Been eaten by tigers?  

Occam’s Razor.  The simplest explanation.

I just stopped writing.

Well, I guess it’s not quite that easy…..

I started writing this blog as  a way for my family and friends to keep up with the goings on of my family in Georgia. At Maison Cou Rouge (trans.- Red Neck House). Most of my extended family was in Louisiana, and it was a way of staying in weekly contact with them.  And as I began traveling with my mom, it was a way for my friends to see the world with me.

When I sat down to my computer, I imagined I was writing to my brother Ed.   Telling him where I was with Mom, telling him what my kids were up to, copying things that I found interesting, or angering, or funny on the internet.

Then Ed died.

He had some minor day surgery in April 2014.  He went to sleep that night and never woke up.

His wife Julie and son Austin refer to the time afterwards simply as “The Chaos”.

The wind went out of my sails. Every time I would think “Blog”….the answer came back “Why?”

And so I got out of the habit.  And life went on. 

I moved back permanently to Louisiana to live with my mom Jane (aka CruiseGran) and help her.

And life went on.

And we traveled.  A LOT.

In November, 2015, my son AJ and his wonderful wife, Anna-Grace had a gorgeous baby girl and named her Madelyn Jane, in honor of my mom.  Maddie Jane, they call her.  You’ll get to see a lot of her in the  coming days.

In January of 2016, my beloved stepfather D.R. died. A tower of strength- member of the Greatest Generation. My mom often said that she never realized how much she would miss him until he was gone.

On January 18th  of this year, my mom went to be with Ed and DR, her parents, and her beloved brother Bubbie and Aunt Eleanor.  She died on the same day as Eleanor did, nine years earlier. Two days before her 80th birthday.  It was my brother Ed’s birthday.

She was ready.  She was tired.  She was sad.  I don’t think she ever got over Ed’s death.  How can you endure the death of a child?  It’s a place my mind can’t even go…or actually, I won’t let my mind go there.

So, it’s been six months since CruiseGran died.  The day-to-day “to-do”s have kept me and my brother Will busy, and there’s still tons left to do.

But something weird happened about a week ago.  I was reading Anna-Grace’s blog (www.dailypryorisms.blogspot.com),  and I thought “Why not start writing again?”  It was as if a cloud had lifted off the fog of my brain.  Of course, my first reaction was “Why?”

I went over to Julie’s house for a glass of wine that evening.  Austin was  there.  He’s a writer (amongst other wonderful things), and so I mentioned that I was thinking about writing again.

“What’s stopping you?” was his reply.

What indeed.

So there you go.  I’m back.

Howdy.  Hi.  Howyadoin’?

The cast of characters that was Maison Cou Rouge has changed quite a bit.  I’m now living at “The Dacha”- named so by my high school friends who nicknamed me “Czarina” waaaayyy too many decades ago.  It’s definitely not a palace, but a smallish getaway and haven. Which, of course, is what a dacha is.

Let’s see- who’s around in my life.

Son AJ and his wife Anna-Grace have moved back to Georgia from Los Angeles.  They live in Woodstock, Georgia, about 25 miles north of Atlanta.  He's about a year out on finishing his dissertation  in physics at UCLA.  Maddie Jane is almost two (TWO? how did THAT happen?)

Alix graduated from Georgia Tech in December with a degree in computer science.  She’s happily in Atlanta, too.  I’m glad its a non-stop flight from Shreveport to Atlanta (thanks Delta) so I try to get over to see them every 6 weeks or so.

Nephew Austin graduated from Rhodes College last year with a degree in creative writing. He substitute-teaches while he figures out where to get his Masters.  Niece Emerson is heading to University of Arkansas next week (wait? WHAT? Isn’t she in middle school???) Niece Ella lives at Holy Angels here in Shreveport.  

My brother Will and I run the family plantation (golly, that sounds so pretentious if you aren’t from around here, but that’s what they are called) with my cousins.  I know more about the oil and gas business and cotton and cattle than I ever thought I would.  (Remember, my degrees are in Theatre and Russian……….)  His son, my nephew Hutch, is in middle school and growing like a weed.  

You’ll get to know my dear friends Kris and Jenifer- friends from high school when we all sat in a row for four years…Hill-Holman-Horne.  Foxhole friends who have carried me- mentally and physically- through the past 3 years.

And then there is my sweetie. Sorry, I don’t know what to call him…. boyfriend sounds so high-school.   I mentioned him once, I think, in one of the last of the “old posts”.   He is probably the wisest, most honest, and kindest man I have ever met.  He does a great deal of good around the world, and knowing him has made me a kinder, gentler, more honest person.  His strength and encouragement helped both my mom and me through her last months, and because of that, I am at peace with my mom’s death.  Laird, as I think I will call him, is  a very private man, so, unless you are a close friend or live in Shreveport,  you probably won’t be able to identify him or know that we are together. And that’s just as it should be.

I’ll fill in snippets here and there as I get back into the swing of things.  There’s lots of needlepoint to be displayed, books to be discussed and pictures of my granddaughter to be shown (I’m her “Honey”, bytheway).

Oh, and I have a trip or two up my sleeve.  As a matter of fact, I leave in 10 days!!!!!!

Soooooo….well….

Hi!

2014 South Pacific Cruise- More Tahiti

 Just something to look at on a cloudy, rainy Sunday morning here in Hooterville-on-Red.

CruiseGran and I took a half-day tour around the island.  It seemed like an full-day tour, as the tourguide got a little carried away, and we ended up back at the hotel 90 minutes late (I pity the couple who had a plane to catch!), but, in the end, it was worth it to see the sunset on the beach.  I love the couple swimming and the boy fishing.... and the sunsets......

Some of these have my particular "eye" (as Jan-Olav would call it) about them.  Working on them, I've realized how much I've missed photography.....  So they are dedicated to YOU, Captain!!

Enjoy!

Open Up That Can of Worms

My dear friend Andy  always makes me think.

You might remember him. He's AJ's English godfather,  and he  squired us around England on several occasions.   He's also one of the most well-read, well-spoken, and deep-thinking people I know.

( I just realized that I have very few pictures of him on the blog.   I must rectify that.)

This morning, before I'd had more than two sips of coffee, I opened up my email. Andy had sent me a link to a BBC article about the movie "12 Years A Slave."


Louisiana Legacy of "12 Years a Slave"

Well, even in my semi-somnambulant  state, it got me thinking.   Below is my quick reply to him, although I want to ponder it more.   Stir up the proverbial pot, so to speak.  (I know that pot-stirring  is usually the area of expertise for my brother Ed... nevertheless...)

Thanks for that article.  I have, on many more than one occasion, had that schizophrenic discussion with myself, as the descendant of slave owners who still owns a working plantation that is, in turn, the employer of many people who are the descendants of the slaves my ancestors owned.

While I in no way condone the "ownership"  of a fellow human being (In some small way, is that not how I was looked upon for 25 years? As a possession? I did what I was told, obeyed even when I objected, and was punished when it wasn't sufficient. After years of verbal abuse, I dreamed of running away, but thought that a possibility no more than a slave might have...yes, I had no physical chains, but the legal, mental and economic chains were just as binding... But that's another discussion)

As I was saying...While I in no way condone the "ownership"  of a fellow human being, I think "we" in the 21st century have the habit of looking back on history through 21st century lenses.  When I regard history, whether reading personal accounts, or those of a third party, I try to removed those 21st century glasses.  

And, as you so often remind me, America is quite a young country. We will need much longer than 150 years to heal those wounds. 

I know I write from a very privileged vantage point.  That is purely by chance...or God's will, or Karma, or whatever one believes.  All I can do is to try to make the world I live in a better place...to try to change the world for good, and to right the wrongs that I perceive in the world around me to the best I can.  Moreover, I have done everything in my power to make sure that MY  descendants see the world through different eyes than my ancestors did.  

As Gen. Robert E Lee said....

"The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow, and our desires so impatient; the work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope."

Hmmm. Flawed I and my argument are,  I know...but you got me thinking this morning!!!  

So, I've gone and done it.  Opened a can of worms.  

Think on it.

Ponder it.

Let me know what you think.