Yesterday morning was a real treat, as I ‘met’ with a Fayetteville h.s. orchestra to talk tunes. One of our administrators has been reaching out to schools throughout the state to offer engagement with faculty (who offer themselves); and a few teachers (Fayetteville, Raleigh) have expressed an interest in a composer talking to their students. This particular group was really engaged, curious, and present, and I was terrifically impressed. Like many schools, any arts classes have to happen outside normal school hours–and these students meet at 7:30am! Teenagers, up and ready to participate, at 7:30am! As I say, I was terrifically impressed. Looking forward to more time with them in the coming weeks.

Up in NY, our little star had his first visit to the Bronx Zoo.

A beautiful morning, another in a series of days with summer-like temperatures here in eastern North Carolina. It’ll be another day during which I try to avoid news about the coming election. We’ve voted; the constant advertising–radio, tv, web, US Mail–just creates anxiety as I, like so many people everywhere, fret over what November 4 will bring. There is little to do in preparation (buy more toilet paper?), and the only productive step seems to be to encourage people to vote. That is a step I take, and will continue to take

Reading the polls? Reading the constant lies? Listening to statements by voters asked about their views? No, these things just make my blood boil, and can only bring on anger and depression...

A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

trumpery 

PRONUNCIATION: (TRUHM-puh-ree) 

MEANING:
noun:
1. Something showy but worthless.
2. Nonsense or rubbish.
3. Deceit; fraud; trickery. 

ETYMOLOGY:
From French tromper (to deceive). Earliest documented use: 1481. 

USAGE:
“The room was crowded with a chilly miscellany of knick-knacks and ornaments, gewgaws, and trumpery of every kind.”
Leo Bruce; Case for Three Detectives; Academy Chicago; 1980.

“History, made up as it is of so much trumpery, treachery, and tyranny, needs deeds of valor, of sacrifice, and of heroism if it is to be palatable.”
The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond; Zenith Press; 2014. 

See more usage examples of trumpery in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. 

Yesterday was a pleasant day away from the news, a welcome break.

Pattie and I wanted to retrieve our scuba gear from where we’d left it stowed in Surf City. We’re still hoping against hope that a trip to Bonaire in December will actually happen, and that’s really a trip that’s all about diving, so we’ll need the gear. I’m also hoping to take a dry-suit class (cold-water diving) in November, as well, so another reason to have the gear on hand in G’ville.

The vet had given us some medicine to help Frankie with car sickness, and we think she’s at an appropriate weight finally, so we gave that a shot. So very happy to say that she didn’t get sick, and also wasn’t really lethargic from the med, either. So that’s a win.

The drive to SC was pleasant, no traffic, no hassles...

Never said better than this.

And this article by David Brooks so deeply disturbing, and so very important to read.

apoc·​a·​lypse | \ ə-ˈpä-kə-ˌlips  \plural apocalypses

Apocalypse comes from Greek apokálypsis “uncovering,” a derivative of the verb apokalýptein “to take the cover off,” a compound whose first element is the preposition and prefix apó, apo- “off, away.”
The second part of apokalýptein is the simple verb kalýptein “to cover, hide.” 
The variant root kol- becomes hal- in Germanic, and the derivative noun haljō, literally “hidden place,” is the source of Old Norse Hel, goddess of the underworld, and English hell (the bad place).
The earliest recorded meaning of apocalypse (in Old English) was in reference to the name of the last book in the New Testament, also called Revelation. It recounts several prophetic visions of up...

This has been a wonderful visit, with lots of time spent with Jackson (and his parents), and some productive time helping out with some home repair matters. What a joy. The only thing missing was Pattie and Frankie, and hopefully we’ll all visit next month, as Joe, Cristin, and Jackson make their way south to visit Greg and Kathy in Florida.

Today, driving back home, and looking forward to seeing my loves there before the night arrives.

Drove up to Scarsdale yesterday, a few days of watching Jackson while his folks attend to some social obligations. [We’re all disappointed that Frankie’s really not doing well in the car-ride department, with quite regular car-sickness. I think we’ll really have to start over from scratch on that; training her to just like getting into the car, etc., as now she runs away from the car. Perhaps when she gets a bit more weight on her, it’ll be ok to use some medication to ease the ride, but right now she’s still a little nothing (8 lbs). So, Pattie stayed in NC with Frankie, and it’s a solo weekend for each of us.]

Can’t bear to sully the wonderful mood of spending the evening with Jackson by even bringing up the absurdity of political matters...

Yesterday’s main event was selling the Honda (to finance the Triumph). The Honda, which Pattie and Tim found/got me in Jan, 2019 as a starter bike, was an absolutely perfect starter bike. On that bike, I put on about 2000 miles, and gained a ton of confidence in riding, putting everything learned in the rider safety course I took Dec., 2018 into practice. The bike’s been up for sale for about a month, since i got the Triumph on Sept. 6. And I’m happy to have made $600 on the sale of the Honda.

The woman who bought it came up from Wilmington, and I enjoyed getting to know her a bit over the few hours she was here–test-driving, getting $, notarizing title, loading bike onto a trailer, etc...