Between Chaminox and Martigny, John Robert Cozens, 1776Jeff came over for dinner last night and selected the first Arty Calling Card. After flipping through the stack, it came down to Anselm Kiefer and John Cozens, but it was no contest: for a man who's about to explore the Pacific Northwest for 80 days on a NOLS course, what image could be better?
So the tradition - if I can keep up with it - is this: a snapshot of the location and exchange for each Arty Calling Card and a brief characterization of the recipient.
Location: The Kithchen. Our home on St. Claude in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Exchange: It's our last week living in New Orleans, and Joshua and I are saying goodbye. Jeff came over to an embarrassingly meager and humble plate of rice and vegetables, and we talked about the next six months, God, and canyoneering. Then we ate vanilla bean ice cream and apple pie from Whole Foods.
Characterization: Joshua purchased Jeff a hatchet for his birthday. Jeff purchased Joshua a hot wheels toy car. After our wedding, Jeff was among a group of our New Orleans friends that went camping with us on the North Shore in Minnesota. There, Jeff and Joshua tried to push down rotted birch trees while bellowing like apes. On the same trip, Jeff and I decided it would be a good idea to jump into Lake Superior. This was not, in fact, a good idea, and as Jeff scrambled to shore, he sliced his knee open and began spurting blood. His legs are so hairy, I had to shave them in order to get the bandaid to stick. Jeff has an app on his iPhone that charts his sleeping cycle, and he reads epic historical memoirs every night before he goes to bed. He promises to be a founding member of our non-creepy, mainstream but really left wing, off the grid, educationally ept, and highly functioning but totally fun intentional community commune. Jeff loves dogs. We love Jeff.
Hey, Ellie
ReplyDeleteI finally figured out how to get myself signed in as a follower. I also just spent a good hour of Hamline's prime office time reading all the postings I've not read before. Had fun reading your book comments and wrote down a few to get from the library. We're talking about Zietoun tonight at book group, and The Help next month. The Help was such an easy read it felt like eating candy. Too bad I don't know any southerners to see if there's any real in there. Even if there isn't it was such a great read. Eamon spent a hour yesterday reading in the HAMMOCK!! Yes, finally up in the garden.
I'm having such a good time reading your posts. I hope you write some more about New Orleans. Every time I listen to you I just feel like I can't hear enough.
Love,
Six months on a NOLS course sounds fabulous, even after a 10-month sabbatical.
ReplyDeleteAND THE IMAGE!!!! Yes. Lovely. And easy to do, no?
When do I get to select an artsy calling card?
Hurrah for new followers and new comments! Arty Cally Cards will be available NEXT WEEK! You can pick one when I get home :)
ReplyDeleteMandy-- What did you think of Zeitoun? It was selected for our freshmen this year for their reading project, I have to teach it. It gave me anxiety reliving some parts of that... the dogs especially upsetting.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I'll remind Mandy about this reply (I don't think she has seen it).
ReplyDeleteThe minute she finished it (actually, even before she finished it), I started to read it. Eggers is a great storyteller. He's able to set to one side and let the story breathe. I can't imagine what it would be like to have been through Katrina and then read this - it had to be close to the bone for you.
I thought Zeitoun was a metaphor for everything controllable and uncontrollable that went wrong, that can go wrong. I wrote a blog posting about it - http://mctccenterforcivicengagement.blogspot.com/2010/05/zeitoun-by-dave-eggers.html - but I have had a change of heart since I penned it. While set in New Orleans, I don't think the story is a condemnation of New Orleans per se (which seemed a popular pastime in the months and years after Katrina, and to which I fell prey in the posting). I think it is more of an allegory of human foibles, of how different people react to crisis: Zeitoun reaching out, mercenary law enforcement closing down, and lots and lots of people somewhere in between.
I'd love to hear about your experiences when you teach the book, Sarah.