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Julian Bond, 1940-2015
In the early 1990s I did a concert in Atlanta, Georgia. I was meet-and-greeting the audience after, shaking hands like a comedy minister after a stand-up service. Mercifully it was a pre-selfie time, so I was actually talking with people, signing a ticket or two.
Over the shoulder of the next person, I noticed at the end of the line an elegant, casually but impeccably dressed man chatting amiably with the people around him. It was Julian Bond.
I tried to focus but as Julian got closer my heart started hammering and my mouth went dry. I had flashbacks of the young Julian speaking to the Georgia General Assembly; Julian as head of the NAACP; Julian the kind but cutting, urbane guest on early TV talk shows.
At last we were face to face. As if I were telling him something he didn’t know, I blurted out, “You’re Julian Bond.”
He smiled warmly, “Indeed.” And reached into the inner pocket of his sport coat and pulled out a folded sheet of paper covered in writing. He showed it to me. “These are lines from your show. The first time I use them, I will credit you by name. The second time I use them, I will say, ‘As my friend said…’. The third time I use them, they’re mine.”
It still is one of the slyest, highest compliments I have ever gotten.
Adieu Julian Bond.
Uplifting Letdowns
Well I don’t know about you, but I am definitely having a post-Supreme Court Affordable Healthcare Act, post-Marriage Equality, post-Women’s World Cup Soccer, post-Serena Williams Wimbledon letdown.
And ‘letdown’ is the wrong word, for it suggests a soft, feathery zig-zagging descent. Picture a David Letterman watermelon tossed from a NYC rooftop. Actually I’m still having a letdown from Dave’s departure.
The rainbow lights on the White House have been turned off. The ticker tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes is over. The exultant lift of the trophy plate is over.
And I’m learning to love a letdown.
Next letdowns on the horizon?
Evan Wolfson, the early Futilitarian of Marriage Equality, agrees to take on the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Jill Ellis, cool-headed coach of the US Women’s Soccer team, designs a flawless strategy for the inevitable backlash to Marriage Equality. Karli Lloyd will handle offense. Hope Solo on defense.
Serena Williams, tennis Grand Slammer in the making, can take on anything she wants after the US Open.
I tell you. A girl could get used to such wonderful letdowns.
My Perennial Dilemma – The New York Times – Op-Ed – 6/2015
For one gardener, a lifetime of instant gratification yields to longer-term commitment.
Thank goodness for farmers. As a mere gardener, I don’t know how they do it. The heartbreak. My phlox had powdery mildew last summer and it about killed me. The worry. Was I applying the right mildew spray? The doubt. Had I read the Department of Agriculture’s official Plant Hardiness Zone Map correctly? Was Provincetown in Zone 7A? I had to remind myself that my life and livelihood did not depend on my phlox crop.
One morning I stood like a garden ornament among my plants trying to laser-kill mildew with just a look. I was also deep in a narrative about being down to my last… continued