Aloha, My Friend,
When I was about 8 or 9 my parents took the family to the Art Institute of Chicago, I guess to bore culture into us in both senses of the word. I have been fortunate enough to have been in a lot of the major art museums around the world and the piece that probably had the most effect on me of them all was a then recently acquire acrylic by Ivan Albright, an 8 foot tall painting called, “The Door”, or, “What I Should Have Done But Did Not Do.”
(Click here for Wikipedia Biography on Ivan Albright)
(Click here for link to “What I Should Have Done But Did Nor Do ” )
And now it is 2010. It seems like just hours ago we were partying like it was 1999. A decade is too much for me to get my convoluted grey matter around so, for the moment, let’s play, What happened in January, Bill?
Well, let me tell you, and, since Laine and I just had a movie date yesterday and we saw Sherlock Holmes, I will begin there – The Game is afoot.
According to fiction, Holmes and Watson met in January, 1888. Watson had returned from a British engagement in Afghanistan after having been wounded in battle off base from Kandahar. In the real life battle, the Brits, exhibiting the very definition of hubris, saddled up and led 2,476 men into a situation where they were easily surrounded by 25,000 Afghanis. They suffered over 60% causalities and the only thing that saved those remaining was apathy and humanity on the Afghan commander’s part.
As for the movie, it was an excellent escapist movie, fast paced in a family friendly way. But 2 mysteries were unasked and so unanswered, first, how horrible does a case have to be for Holmes to prohibit Watson’s request to tell the tale of The Giant Rats of Sumatra, and, how did our Sherlock thwart the gigantic, hostile force of the Cthulhu from taking over humanity?
1898 – Brooklyn was incorporated into New York City.
1902 – The first Rose Bowl was played.
1914 – The 1st scheduled air flight took place between, of all places, St. Pete and Tampa. They even charged for excess baggage.
1962 – The Beatles failed their audition with Decca Records and signed the next year with Columbia. The Decca executive claimed that guitar bands were on the way out.
December 9th, 2009- Linda Louise Friedling died. She was a wonderful woman and a very beautiful gal. She loved to laugh as much as birds like to sing and often when she was talking you would feel like she was letting you in on some minor conspiracy. She was that tall, lathe thin blonde girl at a party who let me believe that I was Superman once, when I really felt like I was Elmer Fudd in a blue t-shirt with a red S on the front. My first memory of Linda Lou was sitting behind her at an outdoor concert in Tampa and noticing that from behind, from her belt to the ground, her shapely Levi’s looked very much like a romantically curved letter W. I left the park that afternoon with a joyful appreciation for the alphabet. She loved to travel, mostly wheels on the ground kind of stuff, RVs and SUVs plowing forward into some adventure. I always wanted to sit and drink some coffee with her and hear her amusing yarns of misadventures and close encounters, but I never took the time. She always loved dogs and once had a wonderful co-pilot in a Golden Retriever named Sadie, and now I have adopted her Sheltie half-pint named Maggie. Well, I feed her and walk her; it is really my other 3 dogs that have adopted her into the pack. Some people carry their heart on their sleeve. Linda’s heart was too large for that, it beat with the rhythm of the wind at the tree line in the mountains and the breaking waves on any sandy beach. Linda’s heart was all inclusive and fearless and, not that I ever did notice, but now, I can almost see in the sanguine sky at sunset Linda’s heart embracing the world.
Linda Lou was Laine’s little sister.
She will be missed. She will be remembered. She is Loved.
So, did someone say, Soup? Wouldn’t a warm bowl of soup be just fantastic right now? Indeed it would. Now, imagine that you can warm your cockles and help some worthy causes at the same time. This Sunday, January 10th at Railroad Square, it is SOUPER Sunday – A bounty of tasty soup will brace you, including Laine’s acclaimed vegan Spanish Black Bean Soup at BALI HI and amazing tasties at The Other Side, all supporting Second Harvest and Spread the Love. Noon to 5pm.
A couple of weeks down the trail, on Friday the 22nd from 6:30pm until 9pm BALI HI in Midtown will be staying open to celebrate our Key West Artist, Alison Schaeffler-Murphy’s exhibit, “Key Inspiration.” This is in conjunction with the Midtown Design Special Art and Trunk Sale, so come on out to 1123 Thomasville Rd in Midtown on the 22nd for a full immersion of art and exotic wonders.
A plethora of parking in the front and back of Midtown BALI HI.
On Saturday, January 30th, Noon – 6pm there will be an all day concert with over 8 bands, a silent auction, raffle, craft sale and plenty of food and beverages. The proceeds will go to benefit Tallahassee Rollergirl, Danger S, with her ongoing fight against Stage 4 Cervical Cancer.
Mahalo Nui Loa.
Elaine & Bill Grace
BALI HI Trading Company