Merrill? You continue to outdo yourself. This brightens my day. It enlightens me, too, because I didn’t know about all of these various historical people and their writings. You’re my only artist friend who is truly hilarious and also an intellectual. Rare combo.
One question: Where might I get one of those adorable snuggly stuffed crabs? I like little fuzzy lice. Pink ones.
"And now that I think about it, running from an inarticulate guy in a red cap wielding a shot gun is something that has really come into its own in recent years."
Brilliant. And here we find that p***sy grabbing has a long history too!
All terrific, but I wanted to give a shout out to your reference to the King's Physician as an 11th century Ronny Jackson. I'm gonna say that;s a rare reference in the annals of American humor. Ronny lives in my neighborhood in Amarillo. I've never met him, since he spends most of his time in Our Nation's Capitol defending Donald Trump's honor, but when he ran for Congress, a major news publication maintained that his district was the most Republican district in all of America, thus, presumably, the world and probably the universe. I'm just not a city boy, but this sort of thing explains why I feel like I'm in a witness protection program when I walk the dog.
Again with the painful and smart and funny mixed so perfectly. Made me laugh and cry in other words - and learn. ( I thought I knew about Mary W but damn -this wicked loving widower! was he really Mary Shelly’s father? You should write an opera about them all. )
ouch. Right now iI;m reading the wikipedia article on marriage in ancient greece, and wow. it was even worse if you can imagine. hers a snippet: "she was compelled by law to marry her nearest kinsman, usually a first cousin or an uncle that was capable of fathering children. If either the heiress and/or her potential husband are married they were required to divorce, unless the father had taken the precaution of adopting his daughter's current husband as his heir before his death.[11] Under Solon's reforms couples of this nature were required to have sex a minimum of three times per month in order to conceive a male hei'
We haven't been in awhile. Susan has a law school buddy who lived there, but they moved. The best trip sandwiched a Suzuki violin workshop at Stanford. We went on the boat trip around Alcatraz and discovered that Mark Twain wasn't kidding when he said "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco." They must sell thousands of those little fuzzy tourist jackets!
I'm mostly kidding. However, Homestead is doomed. It was basically right at sea level in 1958. Several friends and relatives are right on the ocean in Daytona Beach and the Tampa area. I would possibly be tempted by New Orleans because it's so cool, but I would insane to do so. Likewise, San Francisco because it's cool in the summer (huge consideration for me), but it's ridiculously expensive and it has changed a great deal. I live on the "High Plains" (elevation 3,671 ft.), not terribly far south of the geographic center of the United States. If you saw Tom Hanks' CASTAWAY (I only saw the end on TV), he ends up just as cast away as he was on the island, at a crossroads clearly symbolic of "the middle of nowhere." As soon as I saw it, I thought "That's got to be around here." In fact, it is about twenty miles north of Pampa, Texas, a place where Woody Guthrie lived when he was a young man, and where I taught art history at night for a few years. Amarillo is the nearest "big city," and it's *possibly* as big as Orlando was before Disney. Possibly. We have the "world famous Cadillac Ranch" and a few hundred signs all over the place that say things like ROAD DOES NOT END and THIS IS NOT A PIPE, created under the auspices of the same guy who made the Cadillac Ranch possible, even though he didn't think it up. It's hot in the summer, but you can walk the dog without discomfort early in the morning. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Just my wife and my kids (early middle age but nearby) and my dog (just one), art all over the place and a few thousand books. I was very social for a quarter century in the museum business, so I figure I don't have to be anymore. Likewise driving, which I did several hundred miles a week teaching around the Panhandle during my first "retirement." Time to start a diary, which I never thought of doing when I was a boy. I am greatly inspired by WE SAW SCENERY. My wife said, "You really have to read this." She was right. The pictures are perfectly in tune with the text. That's not always the case with "graphic novels." Excelsior!
Once again, Thank you!!! I'd have wanted to be friends with both you and Mary in high school.
Merrill? You continue to outdo yourself. This brightens my day. It enlightens me, too, because I didn’t know about all of these various historical people and their writings. You’re my only artist friend who is truly hilarious and also an intellectual. Rare combo.
One question: Where might I get one of those adorable snuggly stuffed crabs? I like little fuzzy lice. Pink ones.
"Nobody likes a poor girl. She is just a drag." -Helen Gurley Brown
Gee thanks for the advice. I'd better practice flirting while I'm refilling every guy's coffee cup at the Bob's Big Boy counter.
"And now that I think about it, running from an inarticulate guy in a red cap wielding a shot gun is something that has really come into its own in recent years."
Brilliant. And here we find that p***sy grabbing has a long history too!
Merrill, every one of these installments has been an absolute, not to mention filled with wisdom. :)
All terrific, but I wanted to give a shout out to your reference to the King's Physician as an 11th century Ronny Jackson. I'm gonna say that;s a rare reference in the annals of American humor. Ronny lives in my neighborhood in Amarillo. I've never met him, since he spends most of his time in Our Nation's Capitol defending Donald Trump's honor, but when he ran for Congress, a major news publication maintained that his district was the most Republican district in all of America, thus, presumably, the world and probably the universe. I'm just not a city boy, but this sort of thing explains why I feel like I'm in a witness protection program when I walk the dog.
Many thanks for your entries. Love these SO much. Also, my wife and I want to get your take on the new ‘Love is Blind’
Matthew?!
Wonderful! Although now I’m filled with rage for all Godwin’s, past, present and future. A pox on their families.
Again with the painful and smart and funny mixed so perfectly. Made me laugh and cry in other words - and learn. ( I thought I knew about Mary W but damn -this wicked loving widower! was he really Mary Shelly’s father? You should write an opera about them all. )
ouch. Right now iI;m reading the wikipedia article on marriage in ancient greece, and wow. it was even worse if you can imagine. hers a snippet: "she was compelled by law to marry her nearest kinsman, usually a first cousin or an uncle that was capable of fathering children. If either the heiress and/or her potential husband are married they were required to divorce, unless the father had taken the precaution of adopting his daughter's current husband as his heir before his death.[11] Under Solon's reforms couples of this nature were required to have sex a minimum of three times per month in order to conceive a male hei'
Hi, Merrill!
Thanks again for the historical education and the smiles!
“Give me an “M;” give me an “E;”. Give me an “R”. . .way to go, Merrill.
It is not very improbable that I found this essay hilarious.
Still appealing but too pricey, and I'm told that bums poop on the sidewalks all day and all night. Ronny Jackson's lawn person told me so.
We haven't been in awhile. Susan has a law school buddy who lived there, but they moved. The best trip sandwiched a Suzuki violin workshop at Stanford. We went on the boat trip around Alcatraz and discovered that Mark Twain wasn't kidding when he said "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco." They must sell thousands of those little fuzzy tourist jackets!
I'm mostly kidding. However, Homestead is doomed. It was basically right at sea level in 1958. Several friends and relatives are right on the ocean in Daytona Beach and the Tampa area. I would possibly be tempted by New Orleans because it's so cool, but I would insane to do so. Likewise, San Francisco because it's cool in the summer (huge consideration for me), but it's ridiculously expensive and it has changed a great deal. I live on the "High Plains" (elevation 3,671 ft.), not terribly far south of the geographic center of the United States. If you saw Tom Hanks' CASTAWAY (I only saw the end on TV), he ends up just as cast away as he was on the island, at a crossroads clearly symbolic of "the middle of nowhere." As soon as I saw it, I thought "That's got to be around here." In fact, it is about twenty miles north of Pampa, Texas, a place where Woody Guthrie lived when he was a young man, and where I taught art history at night for a few years. Amarillo is the nearest "big city," and it's *possibly* as big as Orlando was before Disney. Possibly. We have the "world famous Cadillac Ranch" and a few hundred signs all over the place that say things like ROAD DOES NOT END and THIS IS NOT A PIPE, created under the auspices of the same guy who made the Cadillac Ranch possible, even though he didn't think it up. It's hot in the summer, but you can walk the dog without discomfort early in the morning. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Just my wife and my kids (early middle age but nearby) and my dog (just one), art all over the place and a few thousand books. I was very social for a quarter century in the museum business, so I figure I don't have to be anymore. Likewise driving, which I did several hundred miles a week teaching around the Panhandle during my first "retirement." Time to start a diary, which I never thought of doing when I was a boy. I am greatly inspired by WE SAW SCENERY. My wife said, "You really have to read this." She was right. The pictures are perfectly in tune with the text. That's not always the case with "graphic novels." Excelsior!