a lot of activity

[AlanM]

Hi Geoffrey,
I thank you for your continued presence here, but I must comment on a recent drawing.
In the artistic presentation of the man at the easel, you have given me too much hair and the stick figure is much better than I could come up with.
Otherwise, pretty good, especially the thought bubble - that bit is spot on.

Alan

[Geoffrey]

have just woken up to lovely messages (managed four hours sleep - a record! ).

i have no idea what to say, except maybe that the images above are just personal illustrations or interpretations. nowhere close to the colourful pictures that lisa and bev have posted - way ahead of anything i could manage.

it's almost 8:30 on a sunday morning, the sun is shining, it's summer, and i am having mackerel with cherry tomatoes on dry toast for breakfast - with a cup of hot black tea. have a great day, everyone. below a sketch from yesterday

pencil sketch

[dar]

Dar chants - "Graphic novel, graphic novel, graphic novel, G!" Maybe something for the future? I think it would be a perfect combination of your talents.
I decided to take a day trip to San Francisco on the Flix bus yesterday. No plans. Just a day to feel my way around on a low to no budget for the day. Walked and talked to couple waiting to board the Ruby Princess cruise ship with hundreds of others. (Learned about "cruising" and decided it's probably not for me.) Talked to folks on the buses as I rode around; just hopped on a few buses to get a feel for the transit routes. (Very expansive and many transit options.) Was going to take a ferry to Sausalito but how I missed the Ferry Building is beyond me because it's huge, but I talked to some people who owned boats and learned a bit about boat stuff at one of the piers.) Went to the Exploratorium (free for me) and I could bring in 4 guests so I took the group behind me in line for free. (I left shortly afterward because it was too crowded.) Ate lunch with my food card at a Safeway because there was no way I would pay Fisherman's Wharf prices. Walked and walked and walked. (Walking is not my thing but for a "walker" it's a great city to wander around.) Looked at window of real estate office and the prices of condos/apartments/houses was in the millions.
I'm going to keep going back (it's so cheap to get there - $25 round trip.) It will take me awhile to learn my way around. And G, you would have had lots of interesting subjects for your sketchbook. Great day trip!

[its4inthemorning]

Today was a rare day when I had no need to leave home, no humans to talk to or listen to save my dear wife. A perfect day to get caught up with some outside chores.

In March I started some lobelia seeds (not the red cardinal flower variety, these are blue and violet) and they were long overdue for planting in the garden. Starting them was challenging, as the seeds were like specks of dust, but I managed to wind up with about 30 plants. Deer love to eat lobelias, and this year we have had many cervine visitors, so I constructed crude wire cages to surround the plants to protect them while they take hold. Maybe I should have grown something more deer-proof...but I like lobelias. As I worked I was serenaded by the birds, many varieties, of which sadly I can only identify a few. I do not sleep as well or as long as I used to, so every morning I am treated to a symphony of bird calls and songs at the break of day. I am always reminded of Cohen's "Anthem' lyrics during these performances.

Our yard has always been a haven for chipmunks, but this year I notice that they are less fearful of humans than I remember. Normally they run like hell when encountered, but the ones we have now are quite content to stand their ground and just observe us. As they observe us, our cats sit on the windowsills observing them, the chipmunks are lucky our cats are indoor only.

Every day nature sits and waits to be noticed and admired, and today I obliged it. As stimulating and beneficial as human interactions are, solitude and nature also have their places.

4

[dar]

Nature nurtures 4. I often struggle with my priorities - the simple life, the smoky life, the creative life, the afterlife? LC seems to have wandered through many landscapes and lifestyles but it looks as if his life in art was a priority. Then again, at the end of his life, he put all of his energy into securing a financial legacy for his family. (I'm sure he knew he wouldn't be spending the money from touring, etc.) Did he finally figure out what they meant when they said "Repent"?
Any thoughts G?

[Geoffrey]

thank you, everybody, for allowing a little glimpse into your daily lives. i had not expected this. leonard, being the virgo that he was, was often more fascinated by peoples' trivialities than headline events - this shows through everything he wrote. he would have loved to read these 'diary entries'.

my thoughts about 'repent'? i never once questioned him about lyrics, the conversations were mostly humourous small-talk, although once or twice we did get into personal subjects, such as the stoltenberg connection, and his 'stirrings' - as he called them. i did ask marianne ihlen about 'bird on the wire', and she told me "det var en spurv!" (it was a sparrow), and also about the hot cocoa when leonard had the flu. if i know leonard, i doubt he would have given much importance to the act of repenting. "it doesn't matter what you do because it's going to happen anyway" he has been noted as saying. what would be the point of repenting? ok, on a spiritual level, perhaps. not many of us always make the right decision when we reach a fork in the road, and he was no exception. as edith piaf said: "non, je ne regrette rien".

here is lawyer ben chew, he has a tic that is identical to mine. billie eilish has tourettes, and that is a little different, but it's incredibly comforting to me to know that neurological disorders do not need to be hidden.
https://youtu.be/cINOt959Er4

[dar]

Love the laughing Lenny sketch G. I just lost a long reply post to you G.
No regrets.

[Geoffrey]

I just lost a long reply post to you G.
No regrets.

i have been there, dar. frustrating, but educational - mistakes help to build character. maybe what dylan meant with 'there's no success like failure'? anyway, here is someone leaving the busy shopping centre today, just turned his back on the crowd.

[dar]

I don't know if it's just me or what but I see a lot in these simple sketches. Like, this guy seems to be slouching away from his shopping, head down and just a bit down in general. How the hell do I see that in just a simple drawing with so little to go on...but somehow it works like that for me. I like 'em G.

[Geoffrey]

I don't know if it's just me or what but I see a lot in these simple sketches. Like, this guy seems to be slouching away from his shopping, head down and just a bit down in general. How the hell do I see that in just a simple drawing with so little to go on...but somehow it works like that for me. I like 'em G.

could be just because it was a rapid sketch, and not loyal to reality. having said that, he was walking slowly, and did have an air of despondency about him, as if his mother or his cat just died. i must say, though, you do seem to have an astute eye. have you considered a career in forensic science? i would wager those street scammers wouldn't manage to fool you with their 'find the lady' card tricks!

[its4inthemorning]

Then again, at the end of his life, he put all of his energy into securing a financial legacy for his family. (I'm sure he knew he wouldn't be spending the money from touring, etc.) Did he finally figure out what they meant when they said "Repent"?

From what I have read, Ms Lynch's pilferage was to an extent that Cohen may actually have feared living out his life pinching pennies, or perhaps even worse in his mind--having to rely on financial assistance from others. Cohen never anticipated how successful his return to performing would be, he certainly could not have foreseen a three-year world tour followed up by another two-year version. When that success became evident Cohen ran with it, but I like to believe most of his later concerts--certainly the entire 2012-2013 tour--happened not because he needed the income for himself or for a legacy, but because he was absolutely enjoying himself. If that was not the case, he certainly put on one hell of a facade when he was on stage!

4

[Geoffrey]

hei. just walked in the door. a lot has happened today and it's only halfway through. much to sort out so will have to make this brief.

yes, i think leonard really enjoyed his final tours - no doubt about that. he said his only complaint was that while touring he and his entourage lived so enclosed, "insulated" was the word he used. the k lynch episode is an ugly story, but there was a positive outcome - as is usually the case. if tarantino's mother had not criticised her son so much for 'wasting' time writing manuscripts he might never have become a successful director. if putin had not attacked ukraine NATO would not be on the verge of becoming stronger. judas, of course, is different, because his betrayal gave birth to yet another religion - something we could happily have lived without. i am not saying we should thank ms lynch, or anyone else who does horrible things, i am just saying that a negative event often comes with a gift in its hand. not every cloud has a silver streak of lightning. we just need to stay alert and accept that there will always be deception. crabsticks have never been anywhere near a crab, a lead pencil has never contained any lead, etc.

will try to write later, maybe tell you what happened this morning, but you must kindly excuse me because at the moment i need to sort stuff out.
----------------------------------------------------
women have been exceptionally kind to my old age

[dar]

Always appreciate someone "bringing my groceries in". It's the little things...

Nice photo G. As handsome as the one of you in the tux years ago but this one has a few more shades of grey. (I've never even been curious about the book Fifty Shades of Grey that was so popular. I wonder why?)

Let us know what happened today when you have it sorted.

[AlanM]

Following on the journal/diary theme of recent times, yesterday I said goodbye to the last remnants of my childhood. Coming to terms with the realization that my grandchildren have no interest in my toys from last century, I sold my electric train and related bits and pieces.
I am at peace, knowing that they have gone to good homes.

Alan

[Geoffrey]

I said goodbye to the last remnants of my childhood. Coming to terms with the realization that my grandchildren have no interest in my toys from last century, I sold my electric train and related bits and pieces. I am at peace, knowing that they have gone to good homes.

Alan

that was both sad and funny, alan, a tragicomedy - with scant details that awaken tantalising questions. for example:

1. how did it come into your possession, and what age were you?
2. is it a valuable collector's item, or simply a sentimental keepsake?
3. did you approach both male and female grandchildren about their interest in owning this toy, and were they tactful when refusing to take ownership? can you remember exactly what they said, and how their negative reaction made you feel?
4. how did you sell it; newspaper advertisement, internet auction, to an acquaintance, etc.?
5. was the buyer a woman or a man?
6. why did you write 'homes' (plural)?
7. did the buyer try to lower the price, and were you satisfied with the sale?
8. what did you spend the money on?
9. why is there a green 'background' area beneath the train after the front wheel? (see picture)

if you feel this is an invasion of privacy your reluctance to provide revealing information will, naturally, be respected. it is just that to an enquiring mind a simple sentence "i have sold my train set" can be the key to opening up a whole universe of personality characteristics, and as a psychologist i am fully aware that many people prefer to keep private certain areas of their inner selves. being totally transparent can be a difficult and emotional journey. we like instead to project a socially acceptable image. the irony is that by telling the truth, by confessing a few secrets, a person becomes more exceptional. the less one is willing to disclose, the more anonymous one becomes, and i believe that by passing on to one's grandchilren treasured items suggests that one is keen to leave behind a footprint or two when one shuffles off this mortal coil. no matter what decision a person makes, what they say or do, the result is always the same - they tell others about themselves. in this egoistical society where everyone is occupied with their own lives. one person showing interest in another is a rare occurrence, unless of course we are talking about singers or movie stars and nonsense like that. you will have noticed that almost nobody ever asks you about anything concerning yourself, how you feel, how you came to where you are today. nobody cares, not even family - and this is where i come in - and try to open people . . . 'like a lily to the heat'.