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walkitoutI sent email to T.’s teacher explaining about yesterday, and asking for what her / the school’s recommendation is. T. is going to get a covid test later today because that was scheduled so he could go back Tuesday. However, after what happened yesterday, I figure the school should have an opportunity to be a little more demanding. We’ll see!
I also texted my walking partner explaining things.
I fed the sourdough; it thawed beautifully.
ETA:
I posted trip reports.
I walked with M., and we had an indoor visit. I wore a mask while indoors.
I did book group (zoom). It was delightful.
I got a same-day pickup slot at Roche Bros., so we are set for groceries.
T.’s teacher opted to have him return on Thursday, assuming he has a negative test by then. I moved the test to after 5 pm, to make sure that we would not have the result in time for a return by Tuesday, and also because I thought R. was not going to return from his bike ride in time to bring T. to the test as scheduled.
A. and I went out so she could play Pokemon Go. There are a couple stops on the way to the school campus entrance and also one by Mt. Calvary on the corner.
We had a sunbasket for dinner; that was nice. Ahi tuna, black rice, sweet potato, jalapeno, cilantro and lime. It was quite tasty.
While at the airport and the day before, I finished reading Marc Levinson’s _Outside the box_ and Michael Cameron Ward’s _A Colored Man in Exeter_ (the first volume). They were both really enjoyable reads, altho very different.
Levinson writes about container shipping. His _The Box_ is the story of the beginning and growth of container shipping and the development of complex global supply chains. _Outside the Box_ continues that story, through what I call, “Commodity Hell”. If you remember the decades of airlines not making any money because they constantly engaged in fare wars to try to gain market share, or have ever looked at the dynamics that cause fisheries to collapse, or any number of other examples of overproduction of a commodity in an effort to make up on volume what one lost in pricing power, you more or less know how this goes. It’s just sort of weird to realize how those massive ships run by enormous shipping concerns and backstopped by various governments are just another fragile example of gargantuan impoverishment. Levinson comes to some very strange conclusions (his comments about housing — an off the cuff observation, well outside his area of expertise — are absolutely looney, for examples) at times, but his description of the fragility of these complex supply chains which hopscotch the globe repeatedly is without peer. Totally worth the time.
Ward’s memoir, mostly of his father’s life, is a rollicking good read — a lot like an old-skool adventure tale, a hero’s journey, of a plucky young man from a dangerous and unlucky background who goes out into the world to make his way, raise his family and pass on the wisdom he acquired over the years. But instead of someone heading off into the wilderness or out to sea or perhaps getting onto a rocket to the moon, Harold joined the Navy, fought in WW2 and the Korean War, then worked a variety of jobs in New Hampshire where he moved his family away from the dangers of city life. There terrifying threats of sea monsters or aliens or wild animals in the woods are instead a bank trying to foreclose (illegally) on his house when his business went under, hostile whites who don’t trust a black electrician, and a large cast of other characters each with something they want from Harold — or don’t want. Just as those heroes conquered the obstacles on their path to gain the object of their quest, Harold uses his considerable intelligence, honor and persistence to methodically improve his own life, the life of his family, other veterans and the community at large. Like every great hero, he does many different things, and does them all honorably and well. Whether he wins, or loses in any given encounter, his shows integrity, and he learns carefully and next time, he comes out further ahead.
Michael’s presentation of northern racism is unflinching, but it is not pain porn or there for pity. Michael shows his father Harold as a person with great power and agency, and a full range of human emotion as well as excellent relationships with other people of good will.
The Wards are the finest of people. It’s really a joy to spend time with them through reading this memoir. I highly recommend it.
I also texted my walking partner explaining things.
I fed the sourdough; it thawed beautifully.
ETA:
I posted trip reports.
I walked with M., and we had an indoor visit. I wore a mask while indoors.
I did book group (zoom). It was delightful.
I got a same-day pickup slot at Roche Bros., so we are set for groceries.
T.’s teacher opted to have him return on Thursday, assuming he has a negative test by then. I moved the test to after 5 pm, to make sure that we would not have the result in time for a return by Tuesday, and also because I thought R. was not going to return from his bike ride in time to bring T. to the test as scheduled.
A. and I went out so she could play Pokemon Go. There are a couple stops on the way to the school campus entrance and also one by Mt. Calvary on the corner.
We had a sunbasket for dinner; that was nice. Ahi tuna, black rice, sweet potato, jalapeno, cilantro and lime. It was quite tasty.
While at the airport and the day before, I finished reading Marc Levinson’s _Outside the box_ and Michael Cameron Ward’s _A Colored Man in Exeter_ (the first volume). They were both really enjoyable reads, altho very different.
Levinson writes about container shipping. His _The Box_ is the story of the beginning and growth of container shipping and the development of complex global supply chains. _Outside the Box_ continues that story, through what I call, “Commodity Hell”. If you remember the decades of airlines not making any money because they constantly engaged in fare wars to try to gain market share, or have ever looked at the dynamics that cause fisheries to collapse, or any number of other examples of overproduction of a commodity in an effort to make up on volume what one lost in pricing power, you more or less know how this goes. It’s just sort of weird to realize how those massive ships run by enormous shipping concerns and backstopped by various governments are just another fragile example of gargantuan impoverishment. Levinson comes to some very strange conclusions (his comments about housing — an off the cuff observation, well outside his area of expertise — are absolutely looney, for examples) at times, but his description of the fragility of these complex supply chains which hopscotch the globe repeatedly is without peer. Totally worth the time.
Ward’s memoir, mostly of his father’s life, is a rollicking good read — a lot like an old-skool adventure tale, a hero’s journey, of a plucky young man from a dangerous and unlucky background who goes out into the world to make his way, raise his family and pass on the wisdom he acquired over the years. But instead of someone heading off into the wilderness or out to sea or perhaps getting onto a rocket to the moon, Harold joined the Navy, fought in WW2 and the Korean War, then worked a variety of jobs in New Hampshire where he moved his family away from the dangers of city life. There terrifying threats of sea monsters or aliens or wild animals in the woods are instead a bank trying to foreclose (illegally) on his house when his business went under, hostile whites who don’t trust a black electrician, and a large cast of other characters each with something they want from Harold — or don’t want. Just as those heroes conquered the obstacles on their path to gain the object of their quest, Harold uses his considerable intelligence, honor and persistence to methodically improve his own life, the life of his family, other veterans and the community at large. Like every great hero, he does many different things, and does them all honorably and well. Whether he wins, or loses in any given encounter, his shows integrity, and he learns carefully and next time, he comes out further ahead.
Michael’s presentation of northern racism is unflinching, but it is not pain porn or there for pity. Michael shows his father Harold as a person with great power and agency, and a full range of human emotion as well as excellent relationships with other people of good will.
The Wards are the finest of people. It’s really a joy to spend time with them through reading this memoir. I highly recommend it.