Promise Me You'll Always Remember

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

(Christopher Robin to Pooh) -- A.A. Milne

Note to self.

Stunning Music.

I wrote a paper on this piece, way back in college when I was studying music ... the "Enigma Variations" by Edward Elgar. I'll let you Google it if you want to learn more about it ... but this is, hands down, my favorite movement. Lyrical, sad, pensive, heavy, powerful and uplifting. And the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, my hometown orchestra, whose sound can fill the earth like no other (in my biased opinion).

Four minutes and twenty seconds long. Spend that much of your life experiencing this.

What The Hell Is Wrong With Our Society??????

On Halloween night, two police officers parked on the side of a street near our home were ambushed, with one murdered. The city was in shock, with a huge memorial immediately forming at the site, candlelight vigils, the whole nine yards. Not just in our neighborhood - which is on and off a center of horrible violence - but everywhere. You just don't kill cops just because they're cops. You just don't.

Sunday morning at about 8:15, four police officers in a coffee shop in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma (about 30 miles south of here), were murdered. A man walked in, pretended to place an order at the counter, then turned and executed the officers as they were getting ready for their shift. The murderer is still not captured - although there was a night-long vigil at a home in the Leschi neighborhood (just south of us) where he was last seen, and apparently another surveillance tonight in Renton, just south of Seattle.

Now, I understand that there has been talk of retalliation against Seattle police for brutality in some arrests recently. I don't discount that. That, in and by itself, is disgusting. And hopefully, being investigated and corrected. I get it.

But "an eye for an eye" leaves both sides blind.

All of these officers were, quite blatantly, executed. These were not any officers who had any dealings, to public knowledge, in any case that would call for retaliation. These were hard-working members of a force that is sworn to protect us. These were fathers and mothers who leave behind families who will grieve for the rest of their lives. These were mentors, teachers, people who I wish I had known. These were people who were murdered for the mere fact that they wore a badge and had devoted their lives to the protection of people that they didn't even know. People like the cowards who decided that they weren't worthy of living.

This is all "alleged". Nothing has been solved. And I'm a pretty far-left leaning liberal, who is supposed to fight for the rights of anybody, no matter what they "allegedly" did.

But what the hell is going on in our society???

You kill because you have a beef with the police??? WHY DO YOU HAVE A BEEF WITH THE POLICE??? Is it perhaps possible that you did something that you SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE that got in into trouble in the first place??

I am less and less tolerant the longer I live in this neighborhood. Yes, it's true - you have been living a down-trodden, unlucky life. That in iteself is not your fault. Yes, you've been left out of the good-luck lottery. I get it. I DO get it. I support all kinds of things that will help you. I want you to succeed.

But really. Seriously?? This is what will lift you up, will make your life worthwhile, will show the whole damned world that you are as good as everyone else???

Our neighborhood, our city, our lives are in turmoil right now because there is no respect for authority, for right and wrong, for society, for anything but "an eye for an eye"?





This, truly, is our downfall. The idea that no one is better than "me". We're all in this together. C'mon - this isn't the way to do this. And the fact that this alleged assasin should have been put away for life (another idea that I strongly am disagreeing with - with some, there is no "rehabilitation") is even more dusgusting. How should this person have been "treated"? How far do we go in trying to rehabilitate someone? When do we know that someone should be released back into the world, with the risk that they're going to do something evil, and harmful, and life-altering to someone and to their friends and family and the world and that we should just take that risk???



I realize I'm ranting and am writing in frustration, so I'm ready to take my lumps. I just don't get it. I don't understand - or agree with - the "eye for an eye" mentality. You look at the pictures of these officers, of their families, of what this is doing to my city, and you explain to me that it's right. Please explain it to me ... I have no perception of this.

Goodbye, John Hughes.

His movies were usually set near Chicago, mostly in places that I recognized since they were very close to where I grew up.

This tribute rocks.

Matterdays Is Alive And Well And Bringing You Pictures, If Nothing Else.

Sometimes lately, I think that I don't have any intelligible thoughts or opinions or news to post. That makes me sad. My head seems to be constantly pre-occupied with work issues ... and once I get home, I'm either in decompression time, or doing chores, or worrying about not getting chores done. When I started this blog, I was unemployed and taking a long break, and had time to breathe and eat and think and write. I miss that. I miss writing things that people would actually read and think about. I miss being able to express myself that way.

I have had to accept some of my shortcomings lately at work and adapt to them, and I'm doing that here, too. I haven't had the time or energy to write and post the way I would like to, so I guess keeping this blog as a purely egocentric album of the passage of my days is what it exists as for now. It'll have to do. It still does me good to have it, and it always does me good to know the friends that I know from this blog experiment. I'm not planning on going away ... but I have to accept the fact that this forum isn't the cathartic outlet I had hoped it would be back when I had the time and energy for it to BE cathartic. Does that make sense?

Anyway - Life is okay these days. Work is work, and takes more of my waking thoughts (and indeed, non-waking thoughts) than I would like, but I'm employed. In this day and age, and in the industry I work in, that alone is a gift. Weather's been good. Scott is a rock for me, as always. I'm a lucky guy.

The current state of acceptance/broken promises/irrationality of my particular minority (I'm a big fag, if you don't already know) is annoying and tiresome. But this column by Mark Morford, whom I truly believe is a superhero and definitely an idol of mine, gives me a little hope, as he always does. (If you're offended by the title of his column, please ignore it and keep reading - it's actually not as blasphemous as it appears at first glance). The hope wanes when I start reading the 800+ comments to his article, but what can you do.

One comment that really stuck with me, though, was one that echoes a thought that I've heard a lot (or paid a lot of attention to) recently. The comment was, "You gays keep 'procreating' your way and see how far it gets you". The gist of this sentiment seems to be that we gays are pushing to have homosexuality be the norm, the majority, and to take over the world.

Even though I don't know what "The Gay Agenda" is, I'm pretty sure this is a big part of the definition. So I'll give the tired, Matterdays-is-sighing response. We don't want to take over the world. We accept the fact that we are a minority. We're okay with that - kinda like it sometimes, quite actually. We just want all y'all to accept - not tolerate, but accept - that we exist, that we are normal and natural, even as a minority, that there's nothing wrong with us, that we are who we are, and let it go. Just let it go. Quit making such a huge ugly deal of it and just let it go.

Okay. Now for a slew of pictures from the past few weeks.

What Have I Done?

This meme is making the rounds ... I actually have been tagged by a few recently, so I owe a few bloggers, but this was actually the easiest - so the others will have to wait.

The rules are relatively simple: bold the items you’ve done; don’t bold items you haven’t done. I won't tag anyone for this, but if you're inclined to join in, please let me know.

1. Started your own blog. You’re reading it.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band. Yes, big band geek here.

4. Visited Hawaii. Loved it.

5. Watched a meteor shower .

6. Given more than you can afford to charity. And it was worth it.

7. Been to Disney World / Land. Disneyland – my high school band played there my senior year, when I was Drum Major (see #3)

8. Climbed a mountain. Hiked in the mountains, but that’s it. And I only made it part way. Ask Scott – he has funny pictures.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo. In chapel in college. ‘Nuf said.

11. Bungee jumped. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. *whew* That’s funny.

12. Visited Paris. I want to live on Ile Ste. Louis.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. From a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. Then woke up to water sloshing in through the porthole.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. I’d like to, though.

15. Adopted a child. Only furry ones.

16. Had food poisoning.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. I stopped there my first time in New York, but continued on to see Ellis Island.

18. Grown your own vegetables. We used to have vegetable gardens as a child.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. Yes, it’s tiny.

20. Slept on an overnight train. From Paris to Rome. And yes, someone came into our compartment and tried to rob us.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Hitch hiked.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. Actually, a “mental health day”.

24. Built a snow fort. I grew up near Chicago.

25. Held a lamb.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a Marathon. I was never a good distance runner, but I was a good sprinter.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Both. I’d like to do that more often.

31. Hit a home run. In softball games at my cousin’s house.

32. Been on a cruise. The summer after high school – Greece, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Been to Amish community. In Iowa and Indiana.

36. Taught yourself a new language. Again, something I want to do.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. For a short while.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.

39. Gone rock climbing.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke. “Love Shack” by the B-52’s (with a friend). It was horrid. But I got a date out of it.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. I love Yellowstone Park.

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.

44. Visited Africa. Egypt, overnight. Alexandria, Cairo, and Port Said.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. *knock on wood*

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone deep sea fishing.

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person. It was being repaired, but I saw it through the scaffolding.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Twice. Ask Scott about the second time.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. Snorkeling, in lakes and briefly (very briefly) in Puerto Vallarta.

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud. We had a creek behind our house growing up.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater. An almost weekly occurrence during the summers in high school.

55. Been in a movie.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China.

57. Started a business.

58. Taken a martial arts class.

59. Visited Russia. I’d love to, though. I had a Social Science teacher in high school who showed us pictures of toilets from all over Russia.

60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.

62. Gone whale watching.

63. Gotten flowers for no reason. Scott’s a good guy.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. Not allowed to.

65. Gone sky diving. HUGE, paralyzing fear of heights and falling that gets worse the older I get.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check. Oops.

68. Flown in a helicopter. Unbelievably, yes. Three years ago along the Kona coast in Hawaii.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. It’s still at the house I grew up in, where my brother still lives, in the basement. Lots of them.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. I’d love to go back to D.C.

71. Eaten Caviar. No thanks.

72. Pieced a quilt.

73. Stood in Times Square.

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job. It was mutual really, but still a blow to my ego.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.

77. Broken a bone. *knock on wood again*

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. I’m scared of accidents, too.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. Well, from a plane a few times. The first time, we were ahead of schedule, and the pilot made a go-around so everyone could see it.

80. Published a book.

81. Visited the Vatican.

82. Bought a brand new car. Joe Jetta.

83. Walked in Jerusalem. Very cool.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper. In high school, pictures of me as Drum Major from our Homecoming performance (see #3 and #7).

85. Read the entire Bible.

86. Visited the White House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Ick. I prefer meat that comes pre-packaged at the grocery store.

88. Had chickenpox. So I’m told, when I was about two years old.

89. Saved someone’s life. Not that I know of.

90. Sat on a jury. Served jury duty, but didn’t make it past voir dire. I think the public defendant knew I thought he was an asshole.

91. Met someone famous. Somehow I lost the Seagram’s 7 bottle that Joan Rivers signed after seeing Forbidden Broadway in New York. Oh, and ask Scott about Eartha Kitt.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one. Sadly.

94. Had a baby. Not that I know of …

95. Seen the Alamo in person. I hear it’s made of adobe and has no basement.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.

97. Been involved in a lawsuit.

98. Owned a cell phone.

99. Been stung by a bee. Luckily not since I was in fourth grade.

Taking Care Of Your Neighbors

Last night, a few houses on our block - and the reflector signs on the traffic circle by our house - got tagged. This pisses us off like crazy. The tags don't seem to be from any known local gangs, just random crap. It's just some people being disrespectful, ignorant, petty and childish. But it really hurts, to have someone deface your property for no known reason.

One of the houses tagged is right across the street from us. Two women in their 80's live there. Their house is modest, but always well cared for, with a neat lawn, carefully-groomed rose bushes, and small pots of geraniums on the porch.

It broke our hearts when one of the women said that she was worried she had been targeted for her race. She and her housemate are black - and while the neighborhood as a whole is a historically black section of Seattle, our block is sometimes called "the white block" by people passing by. We reassured her that their house was not targeted for any reason at all, that there were at least two other houses tagged on the block at random, and that it was a good thing Scott hadn't seen who it was or he woulda knocked their blocks off. She smiled at that.

We ran down to Lowe's and got some GoofOff and rags and a wire brush drill attachment. Then, with our neighbor George, we got to work. We scrubbed and sprayed and buffed for an hour or two. George's kids and some other of the neighbor kids came out and scrubbed with us. Finally, it was looking a little better.

While I was cleaning the reflectors at the traffic circle, a thuggish-looking guy drove by and said "That won't last, man". I said I guess I'd just come out and clean it every time it happened. But as we were all scrubbing our neighbor's garage, a young black woman (I only mention her race because of our neighbor's fear that the graffiti may have been racially motivated) walked by and mentioned how horrible it was that this house had been tagged, but how great it was that we were helping out by cleaning it up.

And that's what we told our neighbor. We need to watch out for each other. They aren't capable of getting out there and scrubbing graffiti off of their walls, but we are. You do what you can to take care of the people around you. Not because we expect them to do something for us, but because we're all in this together. When someone shows disrespect for our neighbors, they show disrespect for us, and we stand together and do what needs to be done.

After we were done, and had hosed down the driveway and promised to come back to re-paint the garage door if it needed it, our neighbor thanked us and wished us a blessed day. We knew that had already happened.

One Day More

Hat tip to AmericaBlog:

Although I do agree with one YouTube commenter that "Do You Hear The People Sing" would be even more appropriate ... (I chose the version with the more hopeful words, although both work).

Picture it ...

Goodbye, Estelle ... I've always had a soft spot for "The Golden Girls". This is sad news. At the risk of repeating every other blog tribute, thank you for being a friend.

(Video is 7' 52", but so worth it ... )

Attention: Anyone NOT in the choir.

I've read a few similar posts about this (thanks, Pam) - the idea that since one is a Hillary Clinton supporter, and the fact that now Barack Obama has won the Democratic Party's nomination, then one will vote for McCain, over their dead cold body, rather than Obama. Or - will ONLY vote for Obama if Clinton is his running mate.

I'll try to put this delicately, as well as I can in my current state of mind.






WHAT THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING?!?!?!?!?!?



Seriously. What direction do you really want this country to head towards?

Economic disaster? War mongering? Civil rights that return us to the Stone Age? Unlimited power to the priveleged? The most hated big bad-ass bully on the planet? More of the same ol', same ol', SAME OL'???? The rich, white, old, conservative, oil-industry-fed, "You're either with us or against us", "Bring it on!", "If-you'd-have-gone-to-college-and-made-something-of-yourself-and-invested-wisely-you-wouldn't-be-poor" mentality that has made a mockery of what this country is supposed to stand for? Is that what makes you proud to be an American??

What was your life, your country, your future like eight years ago? What did you hope for? What did you think was possible?

What are your answers to those questions now?

Do you honestly, truly, in the deepest part of your heart (and even better, if you truly posess it and are capable of using it, in your logical, rational mind) think that we're on the right track to produce the kind of world and country and culture and society that you really, really want to be a part of?

Who do you think you're gonna "show who's boss" by voting for McCain? What are you actually going to accomplish???

Think about that. A little more. AGAIN. What are you actually going to accomplish?????????

I know what I'm writing is divisinve, to a large extent. But how can anyone be a staunch supporter of Clinton (as I was), believe so heartily in her stance, her position, her beliefs, and HONESTLY think that McCain more truly and honestly holds her same views and vision and future than Mr. Obama??

It completely boggles my mind. I don't see the logic, the rationale, the reality, the anything behind that train of "thought".



*heavy frustrated unbridled SIGH*






Help me understand this. If you're one of those who decided, at whatever point in time, that Ms. Clinton was the best choice, but that McCain will be better than Obama, please PLEASE tell me why. What political/economic/world-affecting/equality-inducing/civil rights/personal life-affecting issues made you decide that McCain will bring about a better future than Obama?

I know I'm spouting off at the heated, liberal mouth here, but y'all know if you've read my blog much that I welcome, in fact NEED, to hear opposing views. Convince me why this makes sense to you.

As always - keep it rational, logical, fact-based, and respectful. Even if I've ranted insanely here - hey, it's my blog, I can do whatever I damned well please. But, I will respect your opinions and welcome dialog and open minds. I'll react in similar fashion. Truly.

*whew*

Thanks, all.

Change, and Hope.

He's MY candidate.

What I DO have.

Big, big thanks and hug to Claudia. She had left a comment a while back that I just re-read today, which made me go back and watch a so-unbelievably-cool video.

The song is "Ain't Got No" from "Hair". The artist is Nina Simone, who I absolutely revere.

The title is so misleading ... half the song is singing about what she doesn't have. But it's really about the second part of the song.

I know that I more often than not feel that I ain't got enough money, enough time, enough friends, enough family, anough of anything that I want. Enough energy. Enough gas in my car. Enough food in the kitchen. Enough laundry detergent, enough sunshine, enough ability, enough patience, enough anything. On any given day, what I don't have changes from one thing to another and never seems to lessen.

What do I have? I have my eyes, my ears, my mouth. I have my mind, my home, my freedom. I have my arms, my hands, my fingers. I have my legs, my feet, my feelings. I have my background, my past, my future, my "me". I have my Scott, my failings, my forgiveness, my hope. I have more than I can count at any given moment, more than I deserve, more than I need. I have more coming in than I do going out. I have the ability to give others more than they have.

No, I ain't got one (two) things she sings - I ain't got her boobies. But I can live with that.

What do you have?

Hot Time, Summer in the City ...

Scott and I had the day off together. After finishing cleaning the house, we realized that we still needed to find something to replace the dead plants in the front hall:

Yeah, pathetic. We haven't gotten around to finding the right plants.

So off to run errands. We needed to go to Lowe's and a nursery.

It was a hot, record-breaking day today, so a lot of people were out on boats in Portage Bay:

Up we went onto I-5, crossing the Montlake Cut with a view of the University of Washington:

Scott thought I should take pictures of every nail salon on the way. That would have been about 4,000 pictures. But nails and joys? And facial waxing? (!!!) I couldn't resist:

I know gas prices are worse other places, but this is pretty high:

Pretty flowers in the window boxes. Hey - those are plastic!!!:

I told you it was hot:

First stop (after Jack In The Box for lunch) - Lowe's:

The Dynamic Duo at Lowe's:

Passing the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man:

Cool pedestrian bridge:

Next stop - Sky Nursery:

On the way home - Jesus not only saves, he bobbles:

You have to love Aurora Avenue. It's so classy. Nails and love. What could go wrong?

Typical of Aurora Avenue - a "No Tell Motel". Or maybe the billboard is their sign:

The Dancing Bare Burlesque Theater. "Clumsy Jugglers. Fat Comics. Ugly Musicians. Beautiful Women." My kinda place:

Ooooohhhh - a waitress contest. I could win that. Ummm ... why are there no windows on that ... ummm. Never mind. Let's keep driving ...

Let's get off of Aurora, shall we? Heading home through the University District, past the Seven Gables Theater ...

... and the University branch of the Seattle Public Library ...

... across the University Bridge, with a view of the traffic-clogged I-5 bridge ...

... in the Montlake neighborhood with the huge I-5 bridge overhead ...

... heading up Capitol Hill, where you have to stop for pedestrians 'cause IT'S THE CLAW:

Home with our purchases. Mr. Planter is now happy:

More pictures later ... I hope y'all are having a great weekend!