Short-Short Stories

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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Silhouettes & Exhibits

The current exhibits at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art fill the mind, eye, and heart with wonder. When I needed a time-out, I sat on a bench near the 7th floor elevators. I photographed people who walked from the elevators to the galleries. In silhouette they created an unexpected exhibit with the right elements – light, dark, lines, and tension. I sat there fascinated by the people who wandered in front of my camera as I clicked away. An apartment building adjacent to the museum provided vertical lines and rectangles to create a background of convenient abstraction. The public area was filled by some who sat on a ledge and also wanted down-time. Others walked passed with intention to enjoy the “Soundtracks” exhibits available until January 1, 2018.

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Not to be missed: Celeste Boursier-Mougenot’s water with bowls and sound, clinamen v.3. The zen-like combination of sound, movement, and color quieted my mind. At best I wanted an hour to contemplate and slip into a quiet space. Several YouTube videos offer a chance to experience the beauty of clinamen v.3.    https://youtu.be/_wdltDfs-F4.

“The Visitor” by Icelandic musician/artist Ragnar Kjartensson created a music video that rings uniquely atmospheric and sensual. The setting is an Astor family mansion in upstate New York.  Hypnotic and mesmerizing describes what I felt. Lynea felt close to tears from the haunting sounds – cello, drums, piano, and more. Truly a knock-your-socks-off experience. I must say that Kjartensson does look better dressed. He’s the guy in the bathtub playing guitar. Videos on YouTube:  https://youtu.be//lcwGnWuXJuU.

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#MeToo

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When I was a 16-year-old high school student, I worked part-time at Sears (Newark, NJ). Since I could type Louise Gleason hired me to work with her in the personnel office. After graduation and on to Rutgers, I kept my little job. On Saturdays I finished clerical work for the store manager’s secretary. The upstairs offices were empty, few people were around. The telephone operator and I might be the only employees on the 3rd floor. Merchandise managers and the store manager rarely showed up. Saturdays were quiet.

Harry P., the manager of store 1044, was a good-looking guy in his 40’s, married with kids. On two separate Saturdays he interrupted my work by inviting me into his office. Each time he began with small talk, then wanted to know what my boyfriend and I did on our dates. (I was dating a Sears management trainee.) I figured Harry out for a voyeur and decided not to feed his perversion. The next Saturday he evened the score. I had stacks of paper and five file cabinets in front of me – sort and file, that was my job for the next few hours. Harry, the snake, approached silently from behind and clamped his hands on to my breasts. I swung away and screamed. His response: “I just wanted to see if they were real.” I don’t need to explain what “they” were. That Saturday Harry P. showed himself to be a predator. I needed my job and I loved working at Sears. That’s my store. The secret had been mine alone until #MeToo became an option.

Mr. Griffith, the previous manager, had a carved wooden sign above his office door. The sign read: A Peacock Today, A Feather Duster Tomorrow.

As women continue to react to sexual injustice, more men will become feather dusters – a euphemism for all washed up.

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Alaska – The Inside Passage

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On to explore Alaska with Un-Cruise Adventures, a small-ship company that stamps a capital A on activities. Wilderness Discoverer left Juneau on a rainy August afternoon and docked in Sitka one week later. Except for a stop at Glacier Bay National Park, we were out there beyond towns, people, and wifi service. On rainy days, and that meant most days, the A’s put on their REI rain gear and took off to kayak, bushwhack, paddle board, explore, and skiff the shorelines. On the last day, 18 passengers put on bathing suits and took the Polar Plunge into dark, cold water.

Excursions took us to desolate islands and inlets. We watched brown bears catch salmon and whales take a breath of air. Mussels, barnacles, crabs, and all sorts of sea creatures met us on shore walks. Our one fun salty, edible was pickle grass that grew above the high tide mark. (I’ve since learned that pickle grass also grows in Death Valley.) Into the forest primeval of Emmons Island we walked – a thicket where trees, moss, vines, insects, and pesky mosquitoes live in harmony.

 

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My Mother’s Prayer Book

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The last days of an Alaskan vacation ended in Sitka. On a Saturday I visited St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral as a  tourist, but one familiar with the history and traditions of Orthodoxy. Sunday I stood with others during the two hour liturgy. Childhood memories unfolded among the icons, incense, candles, and choir voices. I remembered the words. I knew the drill.

In the Cathedral, I began to think about my mother’s prayer book – again. The question I have often asked myself, who might want Our Daily Bread? The first edition book with 655 delicate pages, published in 1938, belongs in a special place. Certainly not on an eBay auction block. Through the digital world I reached a priest at St. Michael’s. Ana Dittmar, the Cathedral’s heritage museum curator became my go-to person. Although the prayer book is not related to the history of the Cathedral, Ana accepts ” . . . Orthodox items that are of sentimental significance . . .  .”

About the prayer book – The book begins with 49 pages of morning and other prayers, followed by the Divine Liturgy. Evening prayers, prayers and devotions before and after Confession and Holy Communion come next. Psalms. Prayers for special intentions. Prayers and liturgies for the dying and the dead. Child’s manual of prayer. Fast days. Pages on the left were printed in church Slavonic. Pages on the right were printed in English. Ten years ago a Tucson bookbinder repaired and restored the cover.

Mary Lissik Lulic never traveled beyond Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. What a joy to know that her prayer book found a home at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Sitka.

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Abby & A Busy Box

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Today I made a video of Abby and a busy box. She knows to open the box and retrieve a biscuit or two. When I leave her alone, she goes outside and gets busy taking a box apart. Sometimes I put a small box inside of a larger box. Great distraction before boredom arrives. Then she uses the dog door and jumps on the living room couch for a nap. (That’s Dave Brubeck’s music playing in the background.)

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Jackson Hole & Other Places

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First impressions — the city center plaza of Jackson Hole reminded me of Santa Fe. Western art galleries, shops ’til you drop, and restaurants line the square and trail along the side streets. Tourists love the place. In winter elk do, too. They live outside of town on the vast National Elk Refuge. To get started we drove straight to the visitor’s center for information and maps. Our list of places to see — National Museum of Wildlife Art, Grand Teton National Park, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, Teton Village tram ride, and the byways that took us away from the main road.

Snowmelt cut our Snake River float trip time in half. The water raced along carrying logs, branches, and debris. Eagles, herons, pelicans, and beavers didn’t seem to notice the high water and flooded riverbanks. On our fifth and final day we returned to an old favorite, Yellowstone and the Hayden Valley.

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Pima County Fair

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Tucson, AZ — April 29, 2017

Fun rides. Arcade games. Live on-stage entertainment. Gigantic roasted turkey legs. Steam-driven machinery. Art and photography exhibits. Needlework. Small gauge model trains. Face painting. Camel rides. Perfect weather. You’re invited to visit Tucson next April – come to the county fair.

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