--What would happen if I carried a poetry notebook with me everywhere I went? Actually, let me be more precise. What would happen if I carried a poetry notebook to work or kept a purple legal pad there? I want a more daily poetry practice, but I don't have as much time with my legal pad at home as I would like. I will begin this practice today.
--I have ordered a Fitbit. I am hopeful that it will spur me to healthier actions throughout the day. Stay tuned!
--We have been hearing things that go bump in the night for several weeks. Earlier this week, my spouse caught sight of a mouse. I'd rest easier if it was a big roach or lizard making those rustlings, but at least it's not a rat. We set out some traps, but we won't put the actual bait in them until tonight, when tomorrow morning my spouse will have time to deal with a catch.
--You don't catch much with an unbaited trap--seems like a basic life lesson, in pest control and other types of behavior modification.
--The ever wonderful Barbara Ehrenreich is overturning what we might think to be basic life lessons. In this article, taken from her new book (she has a new book!), she argues for less medical tests: "Suppose that preventive care uncovered some condition that would require agonizing treatments or sacrifices on my part—disfiguring surgery, radiation, drastic lifestyle limitations. Maybe these measures would add years to my life, but it would be a painful and depleted life that they prolonged."
--In later years, as I look back over my writing, I may wonder why I'm not writing more about Paul Ryan's announcement that he's retiring. I'm amazed he has held on this long. I feel a bit of sadness for some Republicans these days, even if I don't agree with them. I can't imagine how it must feel to have come through these past 18 months with very little legislative success, despite controlling 2 branches of government. And for politicians who believe in items of faith, like not blowing up the federal deficit, these must be very difficult days.
--We could argue that these Republicans brought this situation on themselves, but I don't think that's true. I imagine that many of them are as baffled as I am about how we got to this place in the life of the nation.
--But instead of pondering the puzzles of the nation's political life, let us celebrate the 102nd birthday of Beverly Cleary. I just wrote an e-mail to a German friend to explain who she is. Here's what I wrote:
"Beverly Cleary is a WONDERFUL writer--she wrote a series of books about a self-determined girl named Ramona Quimby--very warm look at life in an American family, from the point of view of the girl who is about 8. She always seemed like a realistic girl to me, not an idealized girl, and for that reason, I was always grateful for Cleary's books. Ramona seemed to be a girl like me, frustrated with her sister, a bit baffled by the adults, finding lots of joy in ordinary life.
I also remember a story line about a mouse in an inn that rode a small motorcycle. I try to remember that mouse when we have a rodent control problem.
Cleary has also done a lot to promote children's literacy.
May we all live to be 102+ years old, still doing vital work, work that inspires people like me to remember us fondly."
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