The Anecdotal Life Part. 110

One of the books I read when I was housebound due to foot surgery was WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW. My foot will be fine soon, but the allergy season is in full swing and grumpier I don't get already. But what a relief to know there's a country without rules and regulations, or lists and agendas about falling in love or the inevitable care and maintenance of relationships. It's hard not to get caught up in all that baloney. I do know people who do believe that rules, regulations, lists and agendas really work. They think they can order up someone to love like they order up a pizza. "a little more on the top please and hold it on the olives." It just happens to us in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It's disorderly , and not what we ordered up.

I blame it on Moses and Martin Luther for establishing list-making behaviors in the first place. Maybe all the major religions are shot full of lists. WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW by Debra Ollivier grants one the freedom to laugh at all out desperate, controlling efforts.

I had the same reactions when I went to N.Y. to see art by Morris Graves. He gave me permission, so to speak, to do as I pleased art-wise.

I suppose I should have saved this till next Valentine's Day but it can't be too out of place in the spring....and it is a very funny book. I felt a little ashamed when I was done since I was never too fond of the French, but, not anymore, and it serves me right.

Generalizations are too often, dangerously stupid. Here's one example from the book; something called Pairs, which stands for the Practical of Intimate Relationship Skills. Most women's magazines are full of self-help advice or lists of questions regarding it. Ms. Ollivier states that,"they are designed to foresee, control, or prevent all emotional, physical, domestic, moral, spiritual, behavioral, or financial risks that might pop up on the road. .... Later, she quotes another French writer, Cristina Nehring, "Safe sex, fine," But safe love... is impossible."

Footnotes: to some degree, quite literally.

I am almost walking without a limp, tomorrow is Easter and we three, at this East coast end are going to "Skype/video the other half of our immediate family in L.A., particularly my grandson. After which my son and his partner and I are headed to Hell Point Restaurant on Ego Alley in the Annapolis Harbor for Easter Dinner. Annapolis is stunning in the spring. My daughter-in-law had a great story for Logan watchers. It even has a title, LEAVING LOGAN. She went on a trip to N.Y. to visit a friend and Logan, at three years of age, thinks he owns his mama and wasn't too happy about her going. Then his uncle came to town and invited his brother (Logan's dad) out to dinner. The babysitter had to peel him off his father so he could leave. That tore it as far as the kid was concerned. He flew out into his well gated ( thank heaven) courtyard , flung himself on the top step where he waits for everyone to come home and wailed loud and long, "My mom and my dad are gone, my mom and my dad are gone!" He held his head in his hands and kept it up for anyone coming in the gate. One special lady who always came in and patted him on his curls, didn't get by without his story for the day either. "Don't pat me on the head; my mom and my dad are gone!" The next day when his "errant mom"finally did show up and raced in the door to see him, she got an even bigger reaction. He howled," You can just take your suitcase and go right back to New York!" It all reminded me of a television ad by the Ames Company here on the East coast....with a perfect Baltimorean slant. A man rushes out of his home shouting, " My Doris is gone! Gone to the Ames sale and tonight is macaroni night and my Doris is gone!"

My boat is waiting for a mechanic to get it together and fix what he said he would fix, but, understandably, since his wife recently had a ruptured appendix, they're just getting back on track. I am going Monday to clear debris that somehow collected only behind my boat. I bought a crab net for the job. Who knows? ... If all goes well.. I will try to climb aboard. Some sweet person put out steps for me to use. Soooo Happy Easter!!!

It is easy to see that I was late getting this out. Easter is past; flowers and trees are booming forth, but that's what getting one's foot fixed can do to you. Hope your Easter was lovely. We made it to Hell Point (Ah, and don't tell me you knew we were bound to--) for a great time, but we couldn't quite swing our Skype plan. But! we shall overcome our technical glitches. Personally, I think Skype is quietly blindsiding cell phone minute usage.

As for the boat, it keeps getting tidier and more safely placed for boarding with a round of thanks to various dockhands from the Anchorage Marina in Baltimore. They have been wonderful. On Friday I went to the boat after checking with Weatherbug; seemingly the forecast was perfect. By the time I reached the boat, perfect had disintegrated to somewhat windy. By the time I released a line---25 mph gusts were slamming the boat around in the slip and there I was, holding one end of a line with no hope of realigning the boat. I was totally caught by surprise and soon, I realized, someone would be realigning me. I wasn't able to let go of the line enough to even wrap it back around the cleat or reach my cell phone. Like the boy who was stuck with his hand in the leaking dyke, I was stuck there beside my boat. So I hung on. After a muscle bruising time , and for a fleet second only, the wind let go and I leaned down, got two loops around the cleat, grabbed my cell phone and begged for help from the marina. A dockhand named Dave came in a hurry and I put him to work correcting and improving. "Tie me Kangaroo down boys" should refer to boats (if it doesn't already). My foot and I weren't moving around much the next day. But I was infinitely more satisfied and more convinced I had chosen a great marina. Today I want to get the last offensive looking fender replaced from the starboard side, and send this Blog forth... Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Wouldn't you know that in between the beginning of this blog and the end , two historical and major events slammed into the news creating enormous change and thank God, a sense of hope. THE ROYAL WEDDING, and THE DEATH OF BIN LADEN. It has been a lot to integrate. I go out and mess with my flowers when I feel overwhelmed.... Hope your flowers look like my azaleas do out front of the house.

Copyright: May 6, 2011.

AND ALSO: If you are into Facebook, I would like to recommend a segue to Stephen Hansen's Facebook page and his entry about new his business, DC HISTORIC DESIGN. Stephen has the depth of knowledge and the integrity of the finest academician. His sense of design and his pursuit of the perfect details in order to honor the history of a house or building is remarkable. His website www.dchistoricdesigns.com is worth the trip. He has done presentations in D.C. to people of stature in the world of historical restoration---as of late, and not the least of these, for"the Congressional Ladies". His former career in Archeology has given him a broader perspective to this new endeavor. There is some advantage to obtaining clicks on this Facebook entry that would be helpful to Stephen, so help him out by "giving a click."He would appreciate it and thank you.