Ten Books

 

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969) American classic and one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim’s odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most.

I Can't Wait Until Tomorrow ('Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day), by Joe Namath and with Dick Schaap (1969), published by Random House.

Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2018) published by Simon & Schuster

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001) Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction is a great work of art and a grandly entertaining overture to our new century: a bold, comic, tragic, deeply moving family drama that stretches from the Midwest at mid-century to Wall Street and Eastern Europe in the age of greed and globalism.

 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (1974) One of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century. A powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live . . . and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better.

 

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson (2002) A thrilling narrative recounts the spellbinding tale of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The fair marked the birth of a new epoch in American history. Dr. Henry H. Holmes marked the emergence of a new American archetype, the serial killer.

The Learners by Chip Kidd (2008) A young graphic designer fresh out of college in the summer of 1961 just landed his first job at a wacky advertising firm filled with eccentric creative artists. Everything is going great until Happy is assigned to design a newspaper ad recruiting participants for an experiment in the Yale Psychology Department. Happy can't resist. responding to the ad himself. Little does he know that the experience will devastate him, forcing a reexamination of his past, his soul, and the nature of human cruelty - chiefly his own.

Dethroning the King, by Julie MacIntosh (2010) published by John Wiley & Sons - How the King of Beers collapsed without a fight and what it means for America's place in the post-Recession world. How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over one of America's most beloved brands with scarcely a whimper of opposition? Chalk it up to perfect timing—and some unexpected help from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had run the company for more than a century.

The New New Thing by Michael Lewis (2014) - Michael Lewis set out on a safari through Silicon Valley to find the world’s most important technology entrepreneur. He found this in Jim Clark, a man whose achievements include the founding of three separate billion-dollar companies. An ingeniously conceived history of the Internet revolution.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885) Among the Great American Novels. It is told in the first person by Huck Finn. The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing satire on entrenched attitudes, particularly racism. 

Rowdy Golf 2020

Rowdy Golf Revisited: We played the 18-hole public championship golf course at Innsbrook. It's Carved out of the rolling wooded hillsides of eastern Missouri with dramatic elevation changes and scenic views.  

Conley is our starter with bottled water and insight into his family tree that assures us that the spelling of his name dates back to county Cork on the emerald isle. He’s a fan of westerns and remembers Rowdy Yates from the Rawhide TV series (late 50s early 60s) that still looms large in his consciousness. It is Conley’s 72nd birthday.

 

Dave is working on his self-affirmation in reverse. He can be heard from time to time uttering, “I don’t have this shot.” Tom has always had the parental judgement that knows when enough is enough. He opts out of a hole when he needs a break. Wes self-imposes the max 8 rule and occasionally gives himself a mulligan off the tee box. Rowdy treats us to peanut butter crackers. He address staffers at Innsbrook by name. (Rowdy could be mayor of Innsbrook if such a position existed.)      

Rowdy Golf is a tradition that originated with men wanting to be boys and obsess on golf over a few days at the Lake of the Ozarks. The orchestrated annual trips, for years the result of memorable bacchanals dating back to the early 2000s. Over a cold beer, we banter about Covid - 19, politics, our wives, our kids and Rowdy Golf episodes past. There is wisdom in the room but we are all still boys at heart. We are clearly adults now however. Rowdy Jones’ cottage at Innsbrook proves to be a perfect spot for our foursome to cool off after a round in the Summer heat (July 17, 2020). Rowdy Jones, Tom Shaughnessy, Dave Cox and Wes Morgan make up the band. We are back together.

Lawton is Four

Little things are big things. Lawton’s healthy checkup records that he is 4 inches taller and 12 pounds heavier. He has a high motor and doesn’t care for the confinements of global pandemic containment. His 4^th birthday on July 5^th was a full day thanks in no small part to his mom. Octonauts are everywhere: a mega Octopod playset in the living room area, yard signs, books, birthday cards to be opened and a Octonaut-themed birthday cake. It is fortunate that Papa studied the franchise before making the trip to Tampa.

Uber brother Greg was an awesome host for this cautious trip to Florida from Saint Louis. Keeping distance was accomplished by being captive in Greg’s car a good deal of the time. It might have been an Octonaut transport (we’ll call Gup X). You know what they say about “best laid plans” and this trip, which I tried my best to micromanage including plans to visit to the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale to study the work of Ashcan artist William Glackens. Reservations on Southwest Airlines July 4-July 9 are end-points that went rather smoothly. Lots of room on 737 aircrafts to and from Tampa.

Greg’s Gup-X is outfitted with technology that allows me to eavesdrop on the business of Real Estate Lives (Greg is President of the not-for-profit). I also witnessed the sweet guidance of my brother’s fatherly advice to Mia, who at her mother’s urging, was seeking Mr. Greg’s council on on whether or not she should transfer to Monroe Middle School for 8^th Grade. Headed to Fort Lauderdale the scenic way we learn in transit that the museum is closed due to Covid – 19 concerns and to a lesser extent to vandalism by protesters. My bad – I was sure my website research indicated they were “business as usual.” No turning back though. We have non- refundable hotel accommodations.

Greg thrives best in no-structure situations and the plan change results in a side trip to Pahokee, a city located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County (population 5,649). Incorporated in 1922, the name means "grassy waters."  Local residents refer to Pahokee as "The Muck" which signifies the mineral-rich dark soil ideal for growing sugar cane. We aimlessly are driven by vistas that allow Greg to capture big sky photos of a looming storm over the lake and birds and activity at a sugar cane plantation.

Our road trip is augmented by our shared pull south to visit Key Biscayne and Coral Gables. Reporter Bill Durham from the Islander News engages us at the Key Biscayne Beach Club.

He remembers dad and comments to Greg. “You look like your dad.”

Greg responds quickly that “He was a handsome man.”

“He was more than that” says Bill, matter of factly.

We re-board the Gup-X (Greg’s Volkswagon Passat) after we insist on arranging for a brick to be engraved Jim + Mary Morgan for placement at the beach club entrance. Now we know we have to come back to this site especially as we have learned that the Oasis, a Cuban coffee place and an old favorite on the Key since the 1970s, has recently gone out of business.

Over the duration between 7/4 and 7/9 the Gup-X took us to Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and the campus of the University of Miami. All of these places have special meaning for us, “the twin headaches.” We hit the Versailles Restaurant, The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant on Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana and The Columbia, traditional Spanish restaurant in Ybor City. We witnessed a dangerous fireworks display launched from a lot across the street from Greg’s son Wes’ apartment. We caught up with his other son Matt on his front lawn. Greg and Matt are considering a business plan to offer commercial advice on Zoom conferencing. A visit with Greg’s wife Ellen at the West Richardson Place homestead included a delightful dialogue around: framing Ellen’s daughter Lauren’s photography; the collection of local watercolors by artist/neighbor; art by Ashcan School artists Maurice Prendergast and William Glackens; and taking out the trash.

   

I landed for a night at the Tahitian Inn, now the home of the relocated Pach’s restaurant. My remarkable daughter Lindsey shared some quality time over bagels at Riverwalk with Lawton. Lawton’s mother (my daughter) is amazing. She is managing a two-career household with a firecracker 4 year old. She does everything with grace, without compromising any detail. The exceptions might be in a case where her tolerance is a bit thin for a local resident causing potential consternation on Dale Mabry Highway by not following rules associated with customer pick up at the Chick Fil A. 

July 4 and 5 - Hotel Alba Tampa by Hilton 5303 W Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33609-2414

July 6 and 7  Circ Hotel 1780 Polk St, Hollywood, FL 33020

July 8 Tahitian Inn 601 S, Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, Florida 33609 

Southwest on a Boeing 737 flights to and from Tampa

Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City 2117 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605

Tampa Museum of Art 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, FL 33602

Tampa Riverwalk

Pahokee, a city on the shore of Lake Okeechobe in Palm Beach County, FL (pop. 5,649)

Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park 1200 S Crandon Blvd Key Biscayne, FL 33149

Key Biscayne Beach Club

Versailles Restaurant on Calle Ocho in Little Havana

Glackens

William Glackens (1870-1938) was a member of the artists group, The Eight, who favored cheerful subjects of leisure activities over the dark manner and social realism of others in that circle. Born in Philadelphia, Glackens attended Central High School along with John Sloan and the collector Albert C. Barnes. In 1891 he began a career as an artist-reporter for various Philadelphia newspapers and in the evenings, attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. That same year Sloan introduced him to Robert Henri, with whom Glackens shared a studio for a year and a half. After traveling to France and The Netherlands in 1895, Glackens moved to New York, where he continued working as an artist-reporter, magazine illustrator, and painter. In 1898 he accompanied the U.S. Army to Cuba to record the Spanish-American War for McClure’s magazine.

Glackens gave up illustration in order to devote himself to painting in 1904. He made a second trip to Europe in 1906, returning to New York to prepare for an exhibition of paintings by The Eight held in 1908. In the same year, one of Glackens’s paintings was shown at the National Academy of Design, where the New York public was surprised at the change in the artist’s palette. After nearly a decade and a half of producing paintings that reflected the influence of Robert Henri in their muted colors and gestural brushstrokes, Glackens, inspired by his visits to France and the Netherlands, had turned to depicting outdoor scenes, using bright, lively colors. His change in style was reinforced by frequent trips to France, including a 1912 journey sponsored by his friend Albert Barnes, who sent Glackens to France as his agent to purchase contemporary French paintings, including works by Cézanne, Matisse, and Renoir. Glackens served as chairman of the committee that selected American art for the Armory Show in 1913, and later, in 1917, was first president of the Society of Independent Artists.

Glackens’s mature style suggests Monet’s paintings of the 1860s in the broad and direct treatment of color, quick touch, and jewel-like dashes of color that denote foliage and the sun’s shimmering reflections on the water. Glackens distinguished himself from impressionism, however, by not allowing light to dissolve the contour of his forms. From about 1925 to 1932 he divided his time between New York and France, but he continued his involvement in the New York art world and his friendship with other artists associated with The Eight until his death in 1938.

Film Noir

It was a dark and stormy night;

She walked in. She was a sight.

In an instant a story unfolds.

Familiar, curious, sepia-toned, old and cold.

The nature of the crime – a person to be found…

The dank city office downtown.

Burning time as a low lamp shines on a bottle of wine.

In retrospect she shared the best of times.

A surveillance gumshoe investigating tracks;

A twist and a turn of improbable facts;

Neatly tied up in a package just right;

As the tiny room fills with dawn’s early light.

Beginning, rising action, conflict, resolution;

The due diligence leads to a solution.

No DNA, no technology, no database clues.

The newspaper arrives with the news.

A script on 20-pound bond at a manual typewriter;

Proof positive that the pen is mightier;

Rolling film on a Hollywood lot;

It almost writes itself…or maybe not.

Wednesday Club Invite

A postcard arrives in the mail:

Yellow and quaint.

The Wednesday Club inviting me to write.

What kind of picture, with words, can I paint?

Contest number ninety-four: how to begin and what to say…

Something that happened:  Before or after today?

The beat goes on. Let the words just flow.

Something important that we all must know.

Who am I to presume;

Composing on an Autumn afternoon?

During the week I attempt to preach

But I always learn more from those that I teach.

A poem needs to ring a bell;

It must have a message to tell;

Be crafted with care and presented well.

Will it ring true? Will it sell?

This first poem of two is now done.

Warming up. Having a little fun.

Like testing the color before I paint;

Red, blue, yellow so quaint.

Stag at Sharkey's

Stag at Sharkey’s by George Bellows, American (1882-1925)
1909 Oil on canvas 36 1/4 x48 1/4 in. (92 x 122.6 cm)
Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection - Acquired in 1922
© The Cleveland Museum of Art

The greatest period of activity and influence for the American artists known as the Ashcan School was prior to World War I. The name, taken from the ever-present urban image of the garbage can, wasn't actually coined until the 1930s. The Ashcan School first came to the public's attention as The Eight, but was soon after known by the more colorful moniker "Apostles of Ugliness."

George Bellows, the semipro baseball player-turned-artist responsible for the enduring Stag at Sharkey's, was a disciple of the Philadelphia-born artist Robert Henri (pronounced "hen-rye"). Henri, educated in art in Paris and America, led a movement that rejected French Impressionism and American painting that glorified the American West. Henri and The Eight, a group which included John Sloan and George Luks (Bellows joined the group later) sought realism in art, finding their muse and their home in New York City. At the turn of the century, the reality of urban slums became a more compelling subject for artists than the open prairie or grand Western landscape. Coming about 10 years after such writers as Mark Twain and William Dean Howells had embraced realism in literature, Henri's circle produced paintings that were dark, dirty, and reflective of life in a changing America.

Despite a short career -- he died at 42 or 43 -- Bellows was one of Ashcan's stars. Stag at Sharkey's embodies the grittiness, violence, and masculinity of the new city. In 1909, when Bellows completed this painting, prizefighting was illegal in New York. Athletic clubs such as Sharkey's were the equivalent of Prohibition's speakeasies -- illegal, but they did a booming business. In Bellows's boxing match, the spectators are vulgar; their expressions indicate that they are at least as violent as the match they are watching. But the boxers themselves are reminiscent of stags in nature, still graceful while locked in combat.

Stag at Sharkey's has been part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's permanent collection since 1922, three years before Bellows' death.

This article is from a broadcast of Sister Wendy on American Art. Sister Wendy became well known initially on PBS in England in the 1990s

NOTE: The bald head in the lower right hand side of the painting features a self portrait of sorts - the artist himself at work.