At the Old Ball Game

Big Frank became a Rockies' fan last night. In Denver with Dan they went to Coors Stadium with Dan's friend Brian to cheer on the Rockies. It was a good game in which the Dodgers took the immediate lead, but the Rockies came back with a couple of homeruns and despite a lapse in pitcher by their closer, Street, they went on to win 5 - 3.

On the good front. Both Big Frank and Dan had foot long hot dogs with tons of junk on top: onions, mustard, peppers, and (for Big Frank only) sauerkraut. Brian said that we covered all the main food groups with that meal, and it sure felt like it when they had been consumed. And, of course, there was beer and lots and lots of peanuts.

Today it was biking and tomorrow - Big Frank and Dan head up into the mountains.

Colorado!

Colorado here I come right back where . . . well, I didn't come from there, but that's where I'm going, so . . .right back where I didn't come from. Going to see . . . Dan the Man, doing what he can, even though he's not in Spokane . . . anyway . . .that's the plan!

Cough Cough!

[Photos: Big Frank Dickinson]

Big Frank has closed his windows and has battened down the hatches (well, he would if he had any). Super super windy day here in Spokane. The wind has kicked up dust and fanned wild fires across eastern Washington. The sky has darkened, the air thickened, and the sun turned a firey red. A terrible beauty.

The Financial Muddle sitting on top of unintelligent respect

Big Frank in going through Bertrand Russell's "In Praise of Idleness" and read a very interesting essay - "The Modern Midas". Now keep in mind that this essay was written in 1932, yet most people still hold finance and finaciers in, what Russell calls, "unintelligent respect". In many ways this is what led to the most recent economic crash; but, in its wake what has really changed - the general public's attempt to understand - their continued tolerance and even respect for the crazy financial gipperish that financiers use to mask shenanagans? No change!

Here's an excerpt from Russell:

"Wherever the few have acquired power over the many, they have been assisted by some supersitions that have dominated the many, Ancient Egyptian priests discovered how to predict eclipses, which were still viewed with terror by the populace; in this way they were able to extort gifts and powers which they otherwise could not have obtained. . . This condition of unintelligent respect on the part of the general public is exactly what the financier needs in order to remain unfettered by the democracy. He has, of course, many other advantages when dealing with opionions. Being immensely rich he can endow universities and secure that the most influential part of academic opinion shall be subservient to him. . . Being the possessor of economic power he can distribute prosperity or ruin to whole nations as he chooses. But I doubt whether any of these weapons would suffice without the aid of superstition. It is a remarkable fact, that in spite of the importance of economics to every man, woman, and child, the subject is almost never taught in schools and even in universities is learnt by a minority. Moreover, that minority does not learn the subject as it would be learnt if no political interests were at stake. There are a few institutions that teach it without plutocratic bias; but they are very few; as a rule the subject is so taught as to glorify the economic status quo. All this, I fancy, is connected with the fact that superstition and mystery are useful to the holders of financial power."

Impractical

[Photo: Big Frank Dickinson]

The House of Impracticality
by Big Frank Dickinson

In this house his pictures went unframed, but not his bathwater; although the matting was soggy. His apples tended towards soft all too soon, but his intentions kept their solidity day after day. Mornings were openings that he often let pass by, but he rarely ever missed a night - using them up dark to dawn. His carpets held their stains like Rorschach tests that he refused to take as consistently as he did unravel the shadows on his bedroom wall. The grass went to seed, the trees sprouted runners as he trimmed the soap suds in his kitchen sink. Knocks at the door went unanswered, but not so the groans in the basement, which he attended to as carefully as the spiders in his attic did their webs. The dust continued to settle and covered him as softly as he caressed his superstition that it was bad luck to chase someone with a broom. With piles of papers (bills and such) growing on each flat surface, he imagined peaks of impracticality still yet to reach.

Dorothy Parker

Big Frank has been dipping in lately to The Portable Dorothy Parker. Here are some gems:

Ornithology For Beginners
by Dorothy Parker

The bird that feeds from off my palm
Is sleek, affectionate, and calm,
But double, to me, is worth the thrush
A-flickering in the elder-bush.

The Searched Soul
by Dorothy Parker

When I consider, pro and con,
What things my love is built upon--
A curly mouth; a sinewed wrist;
A questioning brow; a pretty twist
Of words as old and tried as sin;
A pointed ear; a cloven chin;
Long, tapered limbs; and slanted eyes
Not cold nor kind nor darkly wise--
When so I ponder, here apart,
What shallow boons suffice my heart,
What dust-bound trivia capture me,
I marvel at my normalcy.

Pure Mermaid

[Photo: Big Frank Dickinson]

Big Frank came across this great poem in the most recent issue of the New Yorker. It is wonderful on so many levels. Read it and then read it again. Straightforward - the best way, the safest way, and the way that so many need explicit instructions in order to follow.

The Straightforward Mermaid
by Matthea Harvey

The straightforward mermaid starts every sentence with "look ..." This comes from being raised in a sea full of hooks. She wants to get points 1, 2, and 3 across, doesn't want to disappear like a river into the ocean. When she's feeling despairing, she goes to eddies at the mouth of the river and tries to comb the water apart with her fingers. The straightforward mermaid has already said to five sailors, "Look, I don't think this is going to work," before sinking like a sullen stone. She's supposed to teach Rock Impersonation to the younger mermaids, but every beach field trip devolves into them trying to find shells to match their tail scales. They really love braiding. "Look," says the straightforward mermaid. "Your high ponytails make you look like fountains, not rocks." Sometimes she feels like a third gender--preferring primary colors to pastels, the radio to singing. At least she's all mermaid: never gets tired of swimming, hates the thought of socks.

Congratulations Jill and Adam

Jill and Adam: joined in marriage on July 7, 2010. Congratulations.

"Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?"

---- Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road

In Minot

Big Frank and Gina are in Minot, ND (the Magic City) for Big Frank's niece's wedding. Jill and Adam marry tomorrow in a beautiful Norwegian church (pictures to follow tomorrow). For now lots of family talking, eating and making wedding preparations!

On the Centennial Trail

Big Frank was out on his bike yesterday with Gina. They hit the Centennial Trail, and it was a gorgeous day for biking: no wind high 70s, air recently cleaned by rain, and little traffic on the trail. Rabbits were hopping across the trail as were chipmonks, but we shared the trail nicely.