Short-Short Stories

Pima County Fair – Animals

susanenholm321 Comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Fun time walking the fair grounds and taking pictures. Here’s a slide show and one video of what I saw. The fair lasts for 10 days every April. Animals win ribbons. Livestock are auctioned, and I can only guess what happens after that. The 4-H kids show their animal projects and take home ribbons, too. The fair is a totally feel-good experience for everyone.

(As usual I have had a hell of a time working with the Word Press layout. Wonder where my rooster video went. Will try to post Mr. Rooster separately.)

 

 

Women’s March – Tucson, AZ

susanenholm323 Comments

Tucson, AZ – January 21, 2017      An estimated 15,000 people attended the Women’s March that began in Armory Park and ended with a rally at the Joel D. Valdez Library plaza. The event energized those who wanted to dis the 45th President, the conservative Supreme Court Justices, and the GOP members of Congress. America has greatness and the potential to do much more for everyone. Political protests show that We the People must take precedent over We the Oligarchy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

img_1657

D.C. Go – Go

susanenholm324 Comments

Thanksgiving 2016 – Let’s visit Washington, D.C.

Richard and I put together a last minute trip that turned out great. (Almost as great as my Arts High School senior class trip from Newark to D.C. The girls dressed up and wore high-heeled shoes. Oh, I remember the pain of walking for hours in 3-inch heels.) These many years later, I still had an issue.  Since I didn’t bring my dog-walking shoes, my feet barked long and loud. On the plus side, our hotel was the right choice. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on H Street, Chinatown – our appetite for sashimi, saki, and rainbow rolls was satisfied within a few easy blocks.

Our five days covered the Woodrow Wilson House, the Library of Congress, the Newseum (ticket is good for two days), and the Lincoln Memorial. We walked the Mall, watched squirrels scamper in the leaves, and took a 2-hour Sunday tour of Georgetown with Dwane Starlin. We spent hours the National Museum of the American Indian. We stood in line for ninety minutes to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Good luck with that! See my comments on Trip Advisor.) On a rainy Tuesday we did the not-to-be-missed East Building of the National Gallery of Art. The building opened in September and added 12,250 sq. feet of new exhibition space. A movable walkway connects the new space with the West Building.

I took photos of the quirky, the creative, and the somber. The internet has a zillion pictures of D.C. places. My imagination tells me to consider the usual, but I’m more interested in the other.

* * *

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Error
This video doesn’t exist

Sand in My Shoes

susanenholm324 Comments

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cape May shines after Labor Day. When the beach vacation people fold their umbrellas and take the kids home, that’s a good time to head for the shore. In St. Mark’s Square tourists feed the pigeons. In Cape May tourists feed parking meters that could work until 10 p.m. Bring a bag of quarters or risk a $35 ticket. A line of parked cars, including our rental, were ticketed late one night next to Congress Hall. Parking meter money and  parking tickets bring in half of Cape May’s annual budget of $2 million. Happy to contribute to historic and ever-beautiful Cape May.

Richard and I flew in from Tucson to hang out with two cousins for a few days. We visited an alpaca farm (www.jerseyshorealpacas.com), the Cape May lighthouse, and the sunken concrete ship. We drove over to Villas to see my Aunt Dot’s old house and to walk on the bay-side beach. Memories of past summer trips came roaring back. Everything seemed perfectly in place — the dead horseshoe crabs, the men fishing, and the beach dotted with hundreds of shiny pebbles.

A Friday highlight – we attended the graduation ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center. Between college and grad school, Richard completed his training at Cape May and was assigned to Search & Rescue, Governors Island (N.Y.C.) Semper Paratus 1790.

 

When the trip was almost over, we drove north and stopped in Wildwood. A fireman’s convention packed the town and No Vacancy signs were everywhere. Ocean City was our destination for a final night at the shore. Another boardwalk with arcades, salt water taffy shops, and food stands. I had a yearning for one nostalgic treat, a waffle ice cream sandwich. Just the thought brought me back to teenage summers at Seaside Heights and the flavor of vanilla and the crunch of waffle. Now, I’m in Ocean City and the year is 2016. My eyes opened wide when the vendor asked for six dollars and seventy-five cents for a waffle ice cream sandwich. What??!!  Are you kidding me?  Nope, she wasn’t kidding.

֎

After the Rains . . .

susanenholm323 Comments

Tucson, AZ – When two inches of June rain drenched our parched landscape, flowers bloomed everywhere. My favorites — pin cushions – tough out life among the stones and crown themselves with a halo of pink flowers. On hot, sunny afternoons quail and rabbits give up the desert. The barrier to lush, cool grass is easy to breach. They hop right in and settle on the lawn as if relaxing at a 4-star resort.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Meet Abby

susanenholm326 Comments

When Abby swiped her Get Out of Jail Free card, she began a happy, new life. At the end of April, a Pima County dog catcher picked her up as a stray — no collar, no tag, no chip, no name. A staff volunteer approved her adoption since I’ve owned dogs and have a fenced yard. Best yet, she said all dogs over six months old went to new homes for free.

Abby’s muzzle and ears say German Shepherd mix. She seems to be a reincarnation of Amber, our beautiful girl that died six years ago. Abby does show separation anxiety. Unless I close doors she gets into unrolling toilet tissue. She likes shoes, boxes of Kleenex, and wicker. Yesterday she chased and killed two quail chicks. Abby’s instincts took over — chase, capture, and bye-bye birdies.

Next Sunday she graduates from the Petsmart beginner’s obedience class. We’re going right on to the intermediate class and, eventually, if she’s smart enough, to a therapy dog program. Abby has lots of love to give. I wish she could tell me her life story . . . .

Memories of First Grade

susanenholm324 Comments

How many of us remember our First Grade? Luckily, I have newspaper clippings, report cards, and letters. I decided to post a photo and text from the Winfield Park (NJ) annual school report. The school is gone. Destroyed in a fire years ago.  Where am I in the photo? I’m in the second row from the top – bows and braids atop my head. I’m standing next to Carol Simon. The cute kid behind me is Robert Peters. Marie Lupo is in front of me. I loved school and, amazingly, I remember the names of so many kids.

FirstGrade.Best

Miss Beck

How exciting First Grade has been. At first we studied about the dairy farm. We made a large frieze with cows, chickens, ducks, and other farm animals. One day we visited the Walker-Gordon farm. We saw real baby calves and big cows. Miss Pietrowski and Mrs. Lulic ( Mary, my mother) took pictures of us at the farm.

We enjoyed very nice parties at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. Miss Holton helped us make Jell-O for one of our parties.

Playing in our grocery store was fun, too! Our own churned butter made a big hit and was pictured in the Newark News. We had real cans, all kinds of groceries, a register for money, and a telephone in our store. Each day two children were storekeepers.

In March we studied about the wind and airplanes. Our kites and windmills were very gay. In April, we took a trip to the Newark Airport. It was thrilling to see the big airplanes land and take off.

Spring came and we studied about the circus and the zoo. Our frieze of lions, monkeys, tigers, and giraffes made our room look like a real zoo.

Our best trip was to the Bronx Zoo. We talked about this trip for days and days. Then along came the great day for our May Festival. Will you ever forget our Tom Thumb Wedding with Miss Pietrowski’s First Grade?

It’s been lots of fun this year! We hope that Second Grade will be just as exciting next September.

Miss Pietrowski

This was the very first year we attended school both in the morning and in the afternoon. This was the first year we became such good actors and actresses. Just read on and you shall see what many different roles we played.

First of all, we were farmers who took good care of their farm animals. And since we like farms so much we went all the way down to the Walker and Gordon Milk Farm to see the cows and calves as well as the Rotolactor machine.

Next we were Indians who lived in wigwams and beat upon tom-toms. We made feather headdresses and painted our faces for our program.

Right before Christmas we decided to stop acting for awhile and be as good as we could –for Santa Claus was coming.

Santa was very good to us and so we decided to resume our acting. This time we were Eskimos who made igloos and loved the Northern Lights.

Last of all we were animal keepers at the zoo. We got to know all these strange animals quite well, especially when we visited the Bronx Zoo.

For the May Festival we helped Miss Beck’s first grade with a Tom Thumb Wedding but no one really got married.

Actors and actresses must be kept busy. We learned to read, to write, to count, and to work together cooperatively.

We are really very good at our play-acting and since school must go on, we are ready now for Second Grade.

♥