Cleveland Mayoral Race 1977 (My dad was 30)

I wrote this over a year ago and found it in my drafts. It is ironic, because I have been feeling the same way lately:

Last week, my siblings and I went to a fundraiser that my dad held for Tammy Baldwin.

I didn’t think too much about the fundraiser, as I feel like I have been to many in the past as our Dad was a former Congressman, but in truth I hadn’t been to a fundraiser in years.

There was a moment when my father was speaking that I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in where I came from. Being at this fundraiser reminded me that I was raised to believe I could make a difference.  That It was my responsibility as a person in the world to stand up for what I believed in, whether it is a fundraiser or one on one conversation.

I am grateful to my parents that they are brave enough to put themselves out there and support the things they feel strongly about. Thanks to them, I am able to do the same right here.

(Image via here)

I came across this quote today and thought about all that is going on in the world.  There isn’t much to it but it says it all, and I want to be reminded of it again and again.

Love one another and you will be happy.

It’s as simple and difficult as that.

-Michael Leunig

Click image to find its original source

I have been reading the book Zelda by Nancy Milford. It has taken me a long time. Sometimes I read it in bursts or one page 2 weeks later. This Zelda Fitzgerald, she surely is a mystery. People called her a spitfire, the most beautiful woman they had ever seen, the original flapper, nothing special, a drunk, a crazy person, etc. The list goes on and on. 

Click image to find original source

Amoung the many surprises about Zelda is that she herself had a knack for writing. She was fantastic at expressing herself through prose and I have loved reading her letters. Here are some of my favorite quotes by her:

“I love you, even if there isn’t any me, or any love, or even any life. I love you.”

“I remember every single spot of light that ever gouged a shadow beside your bones.”

“Isn’t it funny how danger makes people passionate?”

I just love that after reading her biography, I still don’t feel like I have her figured out. She is the ultimate character.

One thing I miss about living on the East Coast is the thunderstorms. I have loved them since I was little. They bring a calm and craziness at the same time. I love, love, love them.

I came across the Hector Thunderstorm Project, an exhibit of time lapse thunderstorms in Australia. Check out this amazing thunderstorm form:

(Image via here)

It just so happens that there are a lot of people who I love that had birthdays yesterday. Every year, it is curious to me why all these people happened to be born on the same day. The book The Secret Language of Birthdays now has a website where you can look up your birthday and it tells you all this crazy stuff about your birthday.

Here is my August 6-ers:

just the knowing
that some things grow fast while others go slow
says nothing to measure my speed

light years ahead
and buried below
say nothing of the speed which i go

before and after and future ahead
counter and measure the life that i know

wherein we went fast
wherein we went slow
changes nothing of the things that i know

*
image via here

I guess they’ve been out for awhile but I only recently heard about Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.  Apparently Seinfeld is a big car guy, so for each episode he selects a car that he thinks is fitting for his guest – always another comedian – and goes to pick them up for coffee.

There are a lot of little funny moments in each of the episodes but my favorite, by far, is the episode with Bob Einstein.  Other than playing the surrogate father on Arrested Development, a character I’ve always found hilarious, I’m not really familiar with Einstein.  Maybe that made his episode all the more funny to me.  Jerry starts their day by telling Bob about the car he selected especially for him.  “It’s special. It’s like you. You look normal but there’s something weird going on inside.”

My own selection of car photos from top to bottom: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

(image via here)

self-exam (my body is a cage)
by Nick Flynn

Do this: take two fingers, place them on
the spot behind your ear, either

ear, the spot where your skull drops off

into that valley of muscle
& nerve—that is the muscle that holds up

the skull, that turns the dumb bone
this way & that, that nods your face up &

down when you think you
get it—press deeper, touch the little bundle of

nerves buried there, buried in
the gristle—the nerves that make you blink

when the light bewilders you, that make your tongue
slide in & out when you think you’re in

love, when you think you need a drink, touch
that spot as if you have an itch, close your eyes &

listen, please, close
your eyes—can you hear it? We think our souls live

in boxes, we think someone sits behind our eyes,
lording in his little throne, steering the fork to

the mouth, the mouth to the tit, we think
hungry children live in our bellies & run out with their

empty bowls as the food rains
down, we sometimes think we are those

hungry children, we think
we can think anything & it won’t

matter, we think we can think cut out her tongue,
& then ask her to sing.

(Image found here)

I have been a part of a lot of party planning in the past 7 months and although I feel as though I was raised to be a host, there is a lot to learn. Here are some noteworthy lessons that I want to pass on to you.

Make sure everyone is included:

Whether it be age or preference, make sure to include everyone in the festivities. Never plan something that you know one person might be excluded from. No one likes to be left out.

Always have a game/gift exchange:

It is so fun to give gifts, especially ridiculous ones. Always try and plan the gifts and dessert when the party mood is just getting started.

You don’t always need to focus on drinking. 

Even if you know some of the party go-ers love to drink and be crazy, try and have situations with many options like swimming or bocce ball.

Don’t be scared of a little peer pressure. 

That being said, sometimes people need a little push to have fun. Make it a safe place to let your guard down 🙂

Always have fluid plans. 

You never know if the weather is going to cooperate or your party goers are going to be up for the next bar or another big meal.

Make sure to have an abundance of food. 

It’s a celebration, people want to eat!