My Life

Not long ago I reunited with one of my college boyfriends through Facebook and made quite a fuss about it coz it was so exciting.  Now LinkedIn has led me to my other college boyfriend – Earl Singleton, the love of my junior and senior years.  And this week we caught up by telephone and OMG what a  trip it was! 

So first, I promised Earl I’d find some embarrassing old photos of him and post them and a short scanning session later, here they are!  Above you see what we dubbed our "Mod Squad" shot after the old TV show.  That’s my best-guy-friend Joe Blitman on the left.  We memorized the entire sound track of West Side Story and reenacted it frequently, with full choreography, to our own immense delight.  Joe went on to become a big name among Barbie collectors, having even written two books on the subject.  Me, I hated dolls as a kid but I’ll always love Joe (even though he doesn’t call me when he’s in town for Barbie conventions!)

But back to Earl, my heartthrob -"Link" in the Mod Squad analogy.  Raised in the South Bronx, Earl headed to the Midwest for college and decided to stay, apparently.  We met at Oberlin (where he shared a house with one of our more famous alums, Avery Brooks), and when I caught up with him on the phone I found out he’s teaching at the U. of Indiana Law School.  Runs the Community Law Clinic.  Has a daughter who’s a lawyer and a son who’s in IT and a wife of 35 or so years.  He’s done good.  

Now I just want to see him!  The Garden Writers will be meeting in Indianapolis in 2011 but that’s not soon enough. Earl, it’s time to come east for a visit, and call me!  And show this next picture to your family – it was my favorite of you coz it’s so sexy.

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I came to the Senate in 1971, right out of college, working for myriad committees as their "Official Reporter" - the person who creates the official verbatim record for their hearings and executive sessions.  So over years of working for the Judiciary Committee and especially the HELP Committee that he chaired for so long, I had a front seat – actually closer than the front seat – to maybe hundreds of meetings where Ted Kennedy either presided, questioned as a member or even appeared as a witness.  He was a HUGE presence, as the talking heads are all saying, and I won’t go near his accomplishments or legacy.  I just offer some personal memories, the ones that come to mind today as we’re absorbing the inevitable loss of a great senator.

The Brother.  My earliest memories are from the early ’70s, not really that long after his brothers were assassinated, after all.  In crowded elevators he always seemed – at least to me – nervous.  And once when he appeared as a witness before a committee that was assembled around a conference table, he was instructed to sit next to yours truly and seemed really  uncomfortable about it.  Despite my harmless appearance and committee staffers telling him I was "okay".   I felt so sad for him. 

The Chairman.  He was the best chairman I ever saw in action because he got things done while being friendly and respectful to everyone, even the famous bastards.  One famous bully I watched him interact with was Tom Delay, toward whom he showed amazing civility and warmth.  Unfortunately, some of the bullies chair their own committees, and what a difference they make.  I’m glad I’m not working there anymore, overall.

The Cigar-smoker. Oh, those were the bad old days – the ’70s and even the ’80s when there were NO smoking regulations in the workplace.  Then even after most workplaces had gone smoke-free, Congress maintained its lovefest with Big Tobacco, and committee rooms were still smoke-filled.  My absolute worst memory of that era – of a work assignment that brought me so close to puking as to bring back a mild sense of revulsion even today at the memory of it – is of Kennedy arriving at another small committee room for a closed-door business meeting and passing out cigars to everyone there.  Which cigars were all duly lit.  

The Dog-lover.  For years, Kennedy’s Portuguese water dog had the run of the place (rules be damned; who’s going to say  no to Chairman Kennedy?)  Even in the middle of a hearing – in a BIG, public hearing room – Kennedy’s beloved would run around freely, stopping to sniff me and everyone else, and generally living the good life.  That is, until he bit someone.  (Hope the one he gave the Obamas is better mannered!)

The Bad Dresser.  The last memory I have of Senator Kennedy is almost intimate, it’s so up-close-and-personal.  We were all crammed into yet another small room for another conference committee (where a handful of Senators and Reps meet to hammer out the differences in the bills they passed in their respective bodies).  I was jammed between Kennedy and some staffers, holding my breath and trying to function just inches from the Chairman, where I got a very close look at his suit, and what a sorry sight it was.  This man of privilege I’ve been hearing about all morning on MSNBC was wearing the most frayed and darned old clothes I’d ever seen on a fully employed person.  No kidding – you could see the very amateurish stiching-up of some tears in his suit coat.  He clearly didn’t care (man after my own heart on that score, even though in my income bracket it’s less of a surprise).

That’s all.  It’s not as though he ever shared his lunch with me, but just watching such a masterful, compassionate and personable leader in action and making such a difference in the world was a great privilege.

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This story manages to be uplifting and discouraging at the same time – about Joan Pick, a retired scientific advisor on energy efficiency.  She hasn’t flown since ‘71 or even been in a car since ‘73, except for one trip in an ambulance and another in a funeral car.  No TV, no heating, no cooking.

 Her personal mission in life?  To be a "pioneer of personal energy efficiency."

It raises some super-sticky questions:  Like what IS sustainability and is does anyone even come close to it? Are most of the changes we’ve made so far just feel-good measures that don’t mean much?  After all, most of us are sure as hell still on the grid.  In other words, compared to Joan Pick, are we all frauds?

Photo and original story from EcoStreet.

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Seen on a Georgia bumper

A family wedding took me deep into the belly of the South – to South Carolina. Not exactly battleground territory.   Conservative enough that it DID cross my mind someone might see my bumper stickers and slash my tires or otherwise vent their anger at my politics.  Then to my surprise, THIS car brought out my own inner tire-slasher.  Gathering photographic evidence proved satisfying enough, as did high-tailing it home.

Also of note were billboards for “The World’s Largest Tobacco Outlet!!” and more than one smoke-filled restaurant, still.  And topless truck stops right there along I-95.

But that’s all minor stuff compared to Spanish moss, magnolias, 75-degree sea air and family.  Especially the bride, who belted out “Me and Bobby McGee” accompanied by the awesome Bee Bop Hoedown Band out of Roanoke, Virginia.  

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Gardenbloggers may not be in it for the money – hope not! – but we happily lap up any smidgen of recognition that may come our way, so thanks, y'all!  Now winning for Best Organic Gardening Blog raises the question of how organics and sustainability are connected, so here's what they mean to me: 

Principles of organic gardening are basic, the very foundation of good gardening.  Then sustainabile gardening goes on to pay attention to protecting and improving water and air quality, and providing for wildlife.  It even pays attention to the homo sapiens who create gardens and keeping them going.  So another area of overlap is with permaculture, also a big-picture approach that includes humans in the equation.

Now excuse me while I peruse the other finalists for ideas.  The full results are here. 

Next up, GardenRant also won a Blotanical -  for Best Design – so thanks again!  I'm happy to recommend the folks who created our header – the very cool House of Tears Design in Kansas City, MO.  I found them via either eLance or CraigsList – I used both and don't remember which they responded to.

Oh, and a big thank-you and virtual hug to Stuart Robinson, the wizard behind Blotanical.com and these awards, for his hard work.  He's a true mover and shaker in our little world.

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Can you tell something about a politician by the way he treats the little people?  Sometimes.  And in the case of Joe Biden, I think so.  He arrived in the Senate just a year after I began working as a "court" reporter for their committees, sitting just below the dais at hearings or alongside the senators at their business sessions, traveling with them to field hearings.

Still, senators talking to me directly was a rare occurrence, and in their defense, their schedules are crazy and these meetings aren’t exactly social events.  (Traveling offers much more contact, of course, like the time I was introduced to a Wisconsin senator in his living room, him standing there in his bathrobe, then barnstormed across the state in a tiny plane with him and 2 staffers.)  Occasionally someone would ask me about a book I was reading, and Dale Bumpers always did that, and he clearly enjoyed book talk.  Others would comment on what I was reading with undisguised surprise that it was more challenging reading than a Danielle Steele paperback.

And the mean old racist warrior Jesse Helms surprised the hell out of me with his courtly jumping up to pull out my chair, every single time.  I’d rather have equal rights anytime, but it’s cool seeing a politician pay a little attention when there’s no political gain in doing so, right?

My Worst Behavior Toward the Help Award goes not to any senator but to the young staffers handling the details of committee hearings – the self-important but well-dressed keepers of the realm that I had to interact with the most.  Ugh.  And through my 30+ years working for Senate and House  committees, as a group the most courteous people and winning my Best Behavior Award are members of the military – all branches, all levels, from the Joint Chiefs on down.

But what about Joe Biden, Obama’s pick for Veep?  His committee assignments and mine always seemed in sync, so I’ve seen a whole lot of him in action, and he was my top choice among the many Democratic contenders this year – because of his impressive performance as a lawmaker.  That’s what my head tells me; my gut remembers him as the least imperious, friendliest politician I’ve ever had the pleasure to chat with.  And those bagels he was giving out to the media throngs outside his house all week?  They reminded me of the time he and I were chatting, waiting for his subcommittee hearing to start, when he pulled his lunch out of a brown bag and offered me half.  I’ve always been a sucker for people who feed me.

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Being interviewed by other gardening bloggers is so much fun, I just keep saying yes.  Recently it’s been to  Robin Wedewer, of Bumblebeeblog and now the National Gardening Examiner, and to Stuart Robinson, everyone’s favorite Australian gardener and author of Gardening Tips ‘n’ Ideas and the gardenblog directory on steroids, Blotanical.

• Robin’s interview is here on Examiner.com.

• And Stuart’s is here on Gardening Tips ‘n’ Ideas.
  

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As I told Christopher C of Clyde, NC, when it comes to blogging memes I’m a virgin (no jokes, please).  But because he "tagged" the GardenRanters in a nice way and practically begged us for a little more information about ourselves, I promised him I’d play.  And while this meme calls for 6 "random" things about the blogger, I notice that participants list 6 potentially interesting things because truly random things might be how many toothbrushes they own and similarly forgettable details, so to hell with that.  Anyhoo, here goes.

1.  For readers who’ve noticed me asking about every social event "Will there be dancing?" here’s the story behind that.  It started, as it does for so many girls, with ballet, tap and "modern jazz" but then progressed to swing, Cajun, Zydeco, Texas two-step, contra, squares, Appalachian clogging, African, assorted ballroom, and other categories I may be forgetting, and Israeli folk dancing could be in my future for all I know.   I used to write about "participatory dance" for DanceView Magazine.

2.  I also used to be an adventurous world traveler but trekking in Nepal – in January no less – and then touring India ALONE cured me of that particular obsession.  Now I’m a total homebody.

3.  To prove the point, my only sibling has lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for 7 years now and I’ve only visited once.

4.  I did have ONE terrific business trip -  to work at the World Court in The Hague, after which I spent a fun-filled weekend in Amsterdam on my own dime (thus staying in a $12/nite flophouse).

5.  In my career as a court reporter in D.C. I’ve had lots of boring assignments and a few really juicy ones involving famous people, important events or scandal.   Want some names?  Okay – Monica Lewinsky, Bill Cosby, Claus von Bulow and Liv Ullman come to mind.

6.  Warning to parents of preteens and teens: This story could keep you up at night.  At 12 or 13 I routinely climbed out my bedroom window to joy-ride across the countryside with a bunch of neighborhood hellions, but never got caught.  My dad found out about it decades later from my sister and was FURIOUS. 

There, I think I’ve answered the meme without getting in trouble with anyone or telling on any of my husbands.

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