Have you read that the federal government has just placed a ban on new construction of solar power plants (there's a wave of proposals now before it) until it studies the environmental impact?
Link: Siliconvalley.com
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By Kendra Smith
It’s finally summer. Magazine and newspaper articles have been touting it for a while now, with their advice on affordable vacations. “Take a road trip, it’s cheaper.” “No, don’t take a road trip, gas is too expensive. Take a package tour.” Now, with school out, graduations past, and the solstice upon us, it’s time to seriously think about some time off.
Thumbing through the Sunsets and Travel & Leisures lying in a pile on our living room floor (next to the overstuffed magazine bin; come to think of it, I should probably take a day off to clean those out), I realized I already have my own guide at hand. In our glove box, a little notebook from a small letterpress company in Petaluma, adorned with butterflies and the word “Observations.” My husband and I picked it up last year at a late spring street fair, to carry with us as we travel around the west and note places we want to go back to.
It has been handy, say, for keeping track of that little café we visit twice a year on the way to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival (Common Grounds, in Willows) and knowing just how far down Highway 1 you’ll find delectable berry goodness (Swanton’s Berry Farm, just past Davenport). We sleep under the stars and the next day note better campsites than the one we’re in—for next time.
So, as much as I like so-called “travel porn,” I’m going to look to my own observations for trips close to home this summer. And hopefully find something to leave undone for next year.
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By Dale Conour
emerson featured artist Laura Levine (see Q&A at right) is opening a new exhibit of her "Tweet Suite" at the Varga Gallery Woodstock beginning May 24 if you find yourself in upstate NY...
Songbirds of the Catskills, by Laura Levine
Link: Vargas Gallery exhibitions
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By Kendra Smith
How much more motivated would I be to ride to work if,
instead of my green guilt and that bag of Lay’s I ate
this week calling me out of bed and onto two wheels,
there were people standing on the corner cheering,
offering me free bananas and bagels and entering me to
win prizes? This is why Bike to Work Day is heaven.
And today was so gloriously warm, no wind. I learned
something about myself, too: I am a cyclist. The ride
actually felt easy. I had been dreading it, putting
off my first ride of the season until I could no
longer fake it. "I have to go. It’s Bike to Work Day."
I may have stood out at the Energizer Station as the
only person whose bike had a kick stand (don’t ask),
but it just shows that you don’t need fancy equipment
to cycle anywhere. Although I did finally get those
pants with the puffy crotch. You need those pants if
you’re going 13 miles. Trust me.
My favorite moment: As I turned the corner onto the
Bay Trail by the Marriot Residence, 2 bikers passed
me, then 2 more, then 7 (all in a line, wow), then 2,
then 3. Usually I pass just one other cyclist and a
guy exercising his collies. For a second there, I
thought I was in Holland. It was awesome.
So, thank you to those sweet Peninsula Bicycle
Coalition volunteers from San Bruno, the guy in front
of Summit Bicycles in Burlingame, and all those other
bikers who waved at me as I made my way.
And now, my wish: Can’t every day be like Bike to Work Day?
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By Dale Conour
I wore my headphones on my walk to work once. And didn’t like it. I couldn’t hear the birds. Couldn’t hear the leaves rustling. Couldn’t enjoy the relative quiet of the morning. Couldn’t have my tunes and be in tune.
The other day, just for kicks, I fired up the ’pod on the way home from the train. Not much in the way of birds, leaves and quiet at that time of day, especially along El Camino Real. What was there to lose?
Once again, I felt the distance, the removal from the environment. The lights progressed through their colors. The traffic flowed (a distant murmur). People made their way home, strolling with their heads down. Leaves shimmered silently in the late afternoon sun. I followed my route by rote.
Even though I had The National on, what I couldn’t get out of my head was:
A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway.
And I couldn’t decide if I was more disconnected or less.
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By Dale Conour
My mom’s in the hospital
She was helicoptered from the coast to a larger city hospital for surgery after a couple of crazy-ass EKGs
My mom’s in the hospital
And I’ve spent a few days here seeing people wheeled in and wheeled out (including one covered head to toe by a green cotton blanket)
My mom’s in the hospital
And it’s probably been the most quality time I’ve ever put in with her
My mom’s in the hospital
And I’m thinking that no matter how old we get or how independent we feel or how mature we become or how many kids of our own we have or how gosh sorry just so busy we get or how little we call our mother
That when you write
My mom’s in the hospital
You become one of those people who have had the meaning of Mother shoved in their face
She was our gateway from nothing to something, from the ether to life
And it might seem like they cut that cord
But when they say each and every one of us is all alone in this great big universe they’re wrong because we’re not really alone
until our mothers are gone
My mom’s in the hospital
But this time, I get to take her back home
Let’s stay in touch.
By Dale Conour
Love Joseph Romm’s commentary in Salon, Let’s Dump Earth Day (subscription only). He says we need a name that gets to the real point: We’re trying to save ourselves, not the Earth. The Earth will go on just fine without us:
"...What the day — indeed, the whole year — should be about is not creating misery upon misery for our children and their children and their children, and on and on for generations. Ultimately, stopping climate change is not about preserving the earth or creation but about preserving ourselves. Yes, we can't preserve ourselves if we don’t preserve a livable climate, and we can't preserve a livable climate if we don't preserve the earth. But the focus needs to stay on the health and well-being of billions of humans because, ultimately, humans are the ones who will experience the most prolonged suffering. And if enough people come to see it that way, we have a chance of avoiding the worst.
We have fiddled like Nero for far too long to save the whole earth or all of its species. Now we need a World War II scale effort just to cut our losses and save what matters most. So let’s call it Triage Day. And if worst comes to worst, at least future generations won't have to change the name again..."
It’s a good reminder how blind earnestness and a lack of pragmatism can torpedo the best intentions. When environmentalists allowed Conservatives (what an ironic label) in the Reagan era to frame environmentalism as a debate about spotted owls, a war between hard-working Americans and nutty treehuggers, the damage to their public image took decades to undo.
People consumed with the desire for power and money will always have the advantage over those with ideals. If you don’t even know you’re in a game, you’re gonna lose fast.
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Inspired by the Crane wife folk tale. Desktop image available for download at Decemberists.com
By Dale Conour
I’ve been listening to the Decemberists’ Crane Wife 1 and 2 a lot lately. If you know the song(s), then you’ll remember that at the end Colin Meloy repeatedly belts out "heart" like he’s reaching in and pulling back his rib cage to bare a wounded heart and soul. It moves me every time, and I’ve found that singing along with it, imagining I, too, am opening my heart to the world (even if I’m singing the notes a bit flat), is great therapy. (And seeing them live is great fun, by the way, don’t miss the opportunity).
I think we respond, in part, to the creatures of the world with such wonder and affection because that’s the way they live all the time: Not necessarily soulfully, but truthfully. They are what they are. Of course you could say the same for young children, and often, for the elderly. There’s such honesty there and I hunger for it.
It rakes at my heart.
Links: The Decemberists Crane wife 1&2 , from their website
Let’s stay in touch.
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