our little girl is growing up

Here's Ella!



Peace,
Milton

two new things

Today holds two new things.

The Chef I work for is quite the entrepreneur. She not only owns the restaurant, but also a long established and well known catering company, and contracts with Duke to run a small restaurant on campus that serves faculty at lunch and students in the evening. The student venture is new this year and still finding its way. Thursday she asked me to take it over to see what we could do. What that means is I become a salaried employee (hooray!), I won’t be at the other restaurant any more (the hard part) and I have a shot at doing a really cool thing. The place is small and, for now, only feeding about forty or fifty people a night. I will start with a dishwasher/prep cook and me. I’m excited. I think this is going to be good.

Now for the second thing. When we moved from Massachusetts, we took our two Schnauzers, Lola and Gracie, to Ginger’s parents to stay until we found a permanent home here. (The Schnauzers are not so good at transition.) They arrived there just before Thanksgiving. As I have written before, my father-in-law has Alzheimer’s and has been declining steadily, particularly over the past six or seven months. Since the pups arrived, he has been so much better. Instead of sleeping most of the day, he is up early and awake petting and playing with them. It has become increasingly clear to Ginger and me that we can’t take them away from him. We’ve had a hard time coming to terms with that, and we are full of gratitude for the gift the little dogs have given the whole family.

Yesterday afternoon when I got home from work, Ginger was standing in the front yard to greet me with this little one.


We have yet to name her, but we are quickly falling in love. I’ve been fighting off a bit of a bug, so I came home from work to sleep. The pup curled up on my chest as I lay on the couch and helped me feel better.

New year. New things. Many stories yet to unfold.

Peace,
Milton

schnauzer nap

One of the best parts of my day is coming home to Lola and Gracie, our two miniature Schnauzers. In the midst of all that is going on, I offer a poem on the lighter side because it's where I needed to go today.

taking a nap with my schnauzers

tuesday afternoon
my day off
we have finished
our lunch and retired
to the sectional sofa
some people are at work
others are out walking
both people and dogs
but we are not concerned
we’re going to sleep

my dogs rest more
easily than I
they don’t weather
any guilt for the birds
who won’t be chased
the passers-by
who won’t be scolded
the toilet paper
that will go unshredded
while they slumber

Gracie lies with her head
tucked in behind mine
she whispers her secrets
then stretches out
on her back
all four feet
flying in the air
as though the couch
were a magic carpet or
a slow moving raft

Lola climbs on top
of the back cushion
a little night watchman
taking her station
not wanting to miss a thing
when I have settled
she will move down
next to me
spine against thigh
and snore

once I’ve dozed off
they wake each other
and watch to see
if my leg twitches
or my arm jerks
and turn to each
other and say
“people dream,”
then they slowly
close their eyes

Peace,
Milton

aging, grieving, dreaming, and laughing

I have several disconnected things on my mind, so here they are in no particular order.

_______________________________

I got my first birthday-related piece of mail today: an invitation to join the AARP now that I am turning fifty. I am old enough to remember when AARP stood for the American Association of Retired Persons, but that didn’t bring in enough money so now the letters are the official name, the same way Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC so you would think they quit frying stuff.

In the course of conversations a couple of weeks back, I talked with an eighteen year old and an eighty-two year old. I got to thinking about it later and realized I am exactly the same number of years from either age. I don’t really have a point here, I just thought it was interesting.

_______________________________

I also got a package in the mail today from my friend, Billy Crockett, who has a new instrumental CD called Passages that is fourteen original pieces for classical guitar. (Listen to an excerpt of "Pilgrim I." There is also a companion score available. To quote him:

My hope is that you will, with Passages, be reminded of the wordless ways of the heart, of midnight voyages on the water, and of the simple gifts of old architecture and strings on wood.

You can purchase the record through his web site.

_______________________________

I read last night that Robert Altman died a week ago of leukemia. He was eighty-one. Altman was a creative and unique voice in American filmmaking, hitting some out of the park and striking out brilliantly with others. His last movie, A Prairie Home Companion, is a gem. His first breakthrough, M*A*S*H, is worth a look, along with The Player and Shortcuts. CNN has a nice video tribute here. He never won an Oscar, but was given a lifetime achievement award this past year. "The major studios, since I've been involved with Hollywood . . . they make shoes and I make gloves," he said.

_______________________________

Speaking of movies, one of my favorites kept coming to mind today. I think I'm going to watch it tomorrow: Miss Firecracker. It is the story of Carnelle, a struggling girl who thinks winning the Miss Firecracker Beauty Pageant in her home town of Yazoo City, Mississippi will set her free to leave town "in a blaze of glory." Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Scott Glenn, and Alfre Woodard are also in the cast. It was directed by Thomas Schlamme, Aaron Sorkin's partner behind The West Wing and Studio 60 fame.

In the closing moments of the movie, Carnelle says, "I just want to know what I can reasonably expect out of life." Scott Glenn's answer is worth the trip.

_______________________________

I close with a video clip I Stumbled Upon: Tyson the Skateboarding Bulldog.