The Sun Also Rises...
I’m living the last month of my 79th year. I’m somewhat surprised at the presence of the arrival of true old age. Although I’m sure there are many with whom I am friends who think they know better, I think and feel pretty much as I did at 40 or 50. My body is a bit battered but it works. I mean I can get out of bed and do various projects; cook, photograph, read, garden, a bit. In my memory I have all my grandparents, my parents, great aunts and uncles, all those old people. They seemed so old at this age. The beacon for me is my grandmother Haynes. I don’t mean I loved the others less. Grandma read the newspaper completely through 2 days before she left the planet, at 101. She was a problem solver and interested in everything pretty much. In the middle of loving them all she is that beacon. I think less about how to get through the day and more about what comes next.
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Franca and I are in the Third LaGrange Southeast Regional as I mentioned before. We went to the opening February 21st. They do such a good job there, especially Lanora Yates. The LaGrange Art Museum is a haven. Experience it. One hour west from Atlanta on I-85.
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And then there’s this… Over the last 3 years we have had our “yard,” “garden” transformed. We have had the good fortune to have a young woman who cares a lot about plants and the look of things to help us by planting a mixture of edibles and ornamentals all throughout the stonework we have had done by a singular crew, Armando, Serafin and Gary Johnson. Gary was born in England, had a tumultuous childhood, made it to this country and eventually was trained to be a stone mason. He was a good stone mason. I say was because Gary slipped away last week. He had carried a “monkey on his back” for years, alcohol. By the time he might have recovered, recently even, his body had been damaged beyond repair. He became a good friend. He was a character, good hearted, great story teller. I miss him and will miss him. Let’s look out for each other.
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The South Street Photography Group has started up again… many of the former members and a couple of new welcome additions. I’m looking forward to this year. We’re “studying” book making. I’ve been doing that a while and I find it like baking or woodworking, basic.
At Chip’s invitation David Laufer visited our last regular meeting. He is a book designer and artist in his own right. He was really informative and could be a good friend to us all.
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Some photographs from the first part of 2020 with a few I had never worked with before, Italy, France and Germany.
