Author Archives: RegenAxe

Myers Creek Beach

Posted on by
Reply

Myers Creek Beach, OR

This morning, I asked Harry if he was woke? He said, like he frequently does, “I’m awake.” I explained that I didn’t mean the past tense of wake, but rather woke as in “alert to injustice in society, especially racism and sexism.” Along this vein, in Berkley, CA, its woke city government is planning on renaming all the city’s manholes to maintenance holes. Heaven forbid that a non-male gendered city employee be asked to climb down into a male gendered hole in the ground. But on the other end of the spectrum, at the Soo Walmart today, woke thought faced a whole new challenge. When Anne got in line at the pharmacy, there was already a woman at the pickup window and a man was seated at the bench beside it. Anne asked the man if he was in line, but he said, “No, that’s my girl there.” Anne explained that she hadn’t wanted to butt in line. He answered, “That’s OK Miss, you can have cute girl privileges.” This conversation occurred within earshot of “his girl” and while Anne was picking up her first Medicare prescription. Anne never felt offended by any of this, instead she was simply amused.

Mountain Pasque

Posted on by
Reply

Crater Lake Mountain Pasque

Anne and I went to town: Walmart (food and drugs), The Quilted Moose (fabric) and Karl’s (lunch). Normally, we prefer to grocery shop up here at Meijer’s, but Walmart is a preferred provider on our new Medicare plan. We didn’t need the prescription filled until next week, but as it turned out, they called to say that it was ready, the moment that we got back to the cabin. We’ll be back.

The Quilted Moose is not to be confused with the Quilted Fox, which is in Saint Louis. It is also not the Sick Moose, as Harry choose to refer to it. I waited in the car, while Anne shopped. Ashmun Street is undergoing major roadwork and the Quilted Moose was at the center of it. I kept getting distracted by the flash of a yellow Cat, as its bucket arm waved back and forth in my mirror. It was very disconcerting seeing that huge mechanical claw moving over the stenciled “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” lettering.

Karl’s was our reward for doing all of this consumerism. This is what members of the credit card elite like to do. Reward themselves for spending, by doing more spending. I had their Rueben and a pint of cherry cider. The Rueben was excellent, but the cider was a knockout. Anne had their chicken sandwich.

The Pasque flower is a traditional medicinal herb of the mountains. It is a powerful plant that is used for high blood pressure and as a nervous system remedy. The flower appears before the leaves.

Nights in White Satin

Posted on by
Reply

Knights in Shining Armor

Last night, I watched Secrets of the Shining Knight, a PBS Nova show, where a modern day master armorer and his team recreate parts of a knight’s medieval armor and test its strength, while rediscovering centuries-old metalworking secrets. A knight in shining armor may sound like a character out of a storybook, but once upon a time, knighthood was serious business, and for countless medieval fighters, their armor was what stood between life and death. This show asks the questions, what was it really like to live beneath the metal? How was that shining armor crafted, and how strong was it? Could it withstand impacts from the lethal weapons of the day, like crossbows and early guns?

The photo is of the armory in the Tower of London, from our trip of a couple of years ago. Today’s highlight was dinner. Anne made Chicken Tartarin, which was yummy. After dinner Anne acted as impresario and squired her folks through a slide show of her mother’s European vacation, from the fifties.