Tweet

“Tweet, Tweet … Tweet” by Resito Pecson. twigs and moss

“Tweet, Tweet … Tweet” is a Christmas wreath designed by Resito Pecson. It is constructed from twigs and moss. It is my favorite wreath in the garden’s display of holiday wreaths. I love its delicate birds nest appearance. It is on the more eclectic end of the spectrum in this show’s collection. Most of the wreaths are more traditional in nature and usually rather ornate. The show is on the upper level of the Ridgeway Center.

On Tuesday morning, I saw and tweeted about a school crossing-guard being hoisted onto a gurney by four EMTs. There were at least that many emergency vehicles on the scene, all with their lights flashing. I don’t know if he had been hit by a car or had had a heart-attack. He was a big man and not a particularly young one either. I’m leaning towards the heart-attack explanation. His post is on Wydown, just east of Hanley, in Clayton. Traffic is usually backed up there. I can’t believe that a car could have been moving fast enough to strike him, but of course, it could have happened. I guess that it just was not his day.

For most of my tweets, I try to elicit pithy sayings somewhere or someone and then fling them out into the ether. I do this because this is how I imagine that one should use twitter. Anyway, when I see tweets reported that is how they appear to me. I think of them as haikus or more generally poetry, all in 140 characters. When we were walking up and down the street in the Loop, last Saturday, we saw a car that had been plastered with bumper stickers. I took a photo of it, with the full intension of mining it for at least a half-a-dozen tweets. I must admit though that I don’t really have this whole twitter thing puzzled out yet. I’m kind of new to twitter. It is a good thing though that I’m beyond my child rearing stage. I might have named one hash tag, or should that be #hashtag? Like I said, I’m a newbie.

Cocoa for the Soul

Monday night, we took Dan to the airport. On Sunday night, Dave drove back to Purdue. Anne and I went to school and work respectively, on Monday morning. As I write this we are an empty nest again, at least for a few weeks. Sunday morning went out to breakfast at the City Diner, the original one on South Grand. Afterwards, we went to the gardens, walked around a bit and took plenty of photographs. Anne took, selected and processed all of the pictures with this post. After the gardens, I went for another bike ride in the park. I was four for four over the four-day holiday weekend.

Keeping You in the Loop

Moose Head at Blueberry Hill

First off, Anne and I went to get our heads shaved today. This may not sound like much, but hear me out. I went in and got my basic haircut, but Anne wanted a haircut like Jane’s. Anne didn’t have a picture to show the stylist, but in the end came away with a pretty accurate rendition. Next, we did some grocery shopping, sailed by the post office and then swung home again and picked up Dave.

We drove to the U City Loop and had lunch at Blueberry Hill. The moose is part of this establishment’s rather eclectic decor. This being Small Business Saturday, we walked up and down the Loop and shopped. We didn’t buy anything, but it was interesting trying. The Loop is a way cooler shopping experience than any old mall could be.

Next, I went biking in the park. The wind had died down, but it was a lot colder than it has been. The combination of the cold weather and the already setting sun caused me to cut-short my ride. I’ll have to dig out the lights, so that getting caught out after dark isn’t such a big deal.

Last night I watched “The Conspirator”, Robert Redford’s movie about the trial of Mary Surratt, the sole woman accused in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. It is free to Amazon Prime subscribers. As near as I can tell Redford’s movie starts where Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln” ends. When I see “Lincoln” it will be interesting to compare and contrast some of the historical figures that surely will appear in both movies. Of particular interest will be the “Lincoln” portrayal of Secretary of War Stanton. Kevin Kline rather evilly plays him in “Conspirator”.

Redford’s movie is a scream of outrage at the miscarriage of justice by the military tribunals that were used to convict the Lincoln conspirators. Just when you think that this kangaroo court cannot run any further off the rails of justice, it does. The historical echos for our modern-day tribunals at Gitmo are unmistakable. I believe that the Lincoln tribunals have even been used as precedent for the Gitmo ones.

Black Friday

McDonnell Planetarium’s Christmas Ribbon

Thanksgiving’s frenetic feasting is behind us now. All that’s left are the leftovers. So, with a clear conscience, we can dive into the Christmas season. Today, Black Friday is the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving came as early as it can this year, we will have a longer than usual holiday season. Still, it was not long enough for some merchants. Both Walmart and Target led the charge on so-called Grey Thursday. No longer content to incite to riot in the wee hours of Black Friday’s morning, they simply jumped the shark and opened on Thanksgiving. Christmas creep has gobbled up the turkey. Starbucks rolled out their holiday decorations the day after Halloween. Sears had artificial Christmas trees for sale on Labor Day. ‘Tis the season for run amok marketing and consumerism.

Today, all these excesses are in the past. Let the cash registers ring. Every time a cash register rings, an angle gets its wings. Shop ‘til you drop. Buy! Buy! Buy! Ignore the mutterings of a stingy old Ebenezer like me. You’re doing the patriotic thing. You are restoring our economy. Just beware of the rum-pum-pum-pum of the little drummer boy. He’s waiting for you out there. He may be right around the next corner, or maybe he’ll wait. He can afford to be patient this year. He has lot’s of time to get you.

I elected to eschew the holiday season, at least for one more day. Maybe it was my inner Scrooge, but no, it is still too early for me. I went for another bicycle ride in the park, hence the planetarium picture. The park was much quieter than yesterday. A stiff north wind stirred up the leaves and drove everyone else to the malls.