Whatever 2012

Yielding to the insistence of numerous friends, I broke my vow and voted for Obama. I’m not happy about this last, and since Obama definitely has California, I should have voted for Jill Stein. But it has been primarily the prospect of the Supreme Court and the pending nomination of new judges that was for me determinative. The final presidential debate will be in a few hours. I do not know what to expect. I feel I have been living with Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Mika Brzezinski for the last several months. After the second presidential debate, I dreamed that night that I was being served a glass of orange juice in an uncomfortable gathering that was headed by a Jim Jones-type character. I managed to pour the juice into a planter without being observed. But the implications have haunted me since. The irony is that Mormonism is essentially a pagan form of Christianity but not a form of paganism that is in any way acceptable. For a starter, I oppose the church’s anti-homosexuality as well as its championing of American Exceptionalism.

The first presidential debate was shocking. I could not believe that Mr. Obama performed as poorly as he did. The second debate was much better – as was the vice presidential debate, but the damage had already been done, and the initial advantage that the President had but lost has not been regained.

A highlight since my last update has been the visit from California of a long-lost friend of Richard’s from high school. I had had to cancel Maggie’s initial visit at the eleventh hour when I came down with the shingles. The peak summer season had passed when she finally arrived, but she brought the sun with her, and we were able to have some marvellous moments in Newport (the Cliff Walk, the Elms) and in Stonington, Connecticut (the Historic Homes Tour). As I already knew, Maggie is lovely, and it was fun to learn how well she knew Richard. She says that he has not changed at all from when she first knew him in their teenage years.

The days have been full. We had a wonderful dinner at Shirley’s with Maggie, Rosalind and Albert. We also got to go sailing on the Columbia which Rosalind and Albert had won through a charity bid. Following the death of her sister, we had to cancel on the visit to Susan in Woodstock, New York. We did, however, get to Chickie and Paul’s in Killington, Vermont. Their house alone is a fabulous modern art museum. The area itself is lovely, though we were shocked over the damage that still persists in the surroundings following Hurricane Irene in 2011. A presentation on owls at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, dinner at Café Provence in Brandon and the historic village of Plymouth Notch (Calvin Coolidge’s birthplace) were highlights as well as Chickie and Paul themselves and their stunning energy.

On the first night of Freeman’s arrival, we had what was supposed to be a full moon viewing party chez nous, but it was a new moon instead. I baked a scallop-shrimp-crab casserole for Shirley, Joe, Rosalind, Albert, Leilani and Nel. Shirley did dessert; Rosalind the hors d’oeuvres. It was a fun gathering. Richard Carrazza visited us the next day. Following this, we had a splendid day in Newport with Joe and Freeman visiting the National Museum of American Illustration (Matthew Parrish, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth) in Vernon Court followed by a long, lingering and lovely lunch at Castle Hill Inn and then a perfect walk through old Newport. This was all concluded at home with perhaps too much whisky, but it was a most memorable day in all. Freeman’s sister Janice was our next guest after Freeman had returned to New York. We’ve also had a another go with the invasive weeds at Canonchet Farm (because of my hernia, I was assigned to collect litter rather than pull on the entrenched roots of the invasive Japanese knotweed). Two weeks later there was a thank you reception in the South County Museum for all the Friends of Canonchet Farm volunteers. Three days later, John Boothroyd conducted a guided walk on “Aspects of the Geology of Canonchet Farm and Pettaquamscutt Area.”

All in all, the days race by, but they are beautiful ones that are filled with joy and gratitude.