Cuphand
July 30, 2003
Kira and I were rolling on the floor with this. I got a little of it on tape.
Apple Rears its Ugly Head
July 28, 2003
Amazing. I got back from vacation to this in my inbox:
Damon Wright -
I was busy being horrified by a creation "science" site when I discovered this libelous material about you:
http://objective.jesussave.us/propaganda.html#A6
Whether or not you are a creationist, I doubt you would like what they say. They should not be free to damage the reputation of an individual.
FYI.
Chautauqua Day 8: Going Home
July 26, 2003
Colleen Rowly is a cool lady. I sat next to her husband during the entire talk yesterday — the most down-to-earth guy whose family has just been thrust into the spotlight with not the most flattering of hues. He loves watching her speak, brought the kids along with them to Chautauqua for a road trip speaking tour at colleges around the East coast.
She’s a far better speaker in the small, intimate atmosphere of the Hall of Philosophy. She’s calm and cool, takes questions well, and really reflects here home-grown integrity through the passion of her speech. I caught up with her after the session and gave her my card — she’d said that she was interested in promoting her whistle blowing cause, but didn’t have any sort of web community set up to do so. I told her that Curt and I could take care of that no sweat. Maybe she’ll call… maybe she won’t. Good connection anyhow. All of this took place standing around with her husband, the couple who sponsored her talk, and the President of Chautauqua. The spark of online community ignited a pretty cool conversation between all of us, which I left in the middle of because they torpedoed the entire concept by attaching it to her potential publisher’s promotional endeavors.
We’re packed and heading for the airport, Meg, Ted, and Emma in tow. The girls are still feeling awful, we’re all sleep deprived and, as much as we love them all, it’s time for some time apart.
Chautauqua Day 7
July 25, 2003
I’ve skipped everything so far today to get caught up on this journal and relax a bit. I’ve finished my second book of the trip, “Deception Point,” great read, and moved into “Along Came A Spider.” Spooky.
Emma’s finally feeling better, and Sophie is at least sounding better, but she still isn’t sleeping well. We were up again at 3:00 with the Motrin, trying to bring that fever down. Good stuff, Motrin.
Chautauqua Day 6
July 24, 2003
Sophie has the croupe. Damned docs don’t know squat: not contagious my ass. I spent much of last night, midnight to about 4:00AM trying to get ahold of the advice nurse in Portland (taking advantage of the time difference). The problem is, I have no cell service. Kira had told me that I could find the number of the house where we’re staying on a slip of paper on the end table in the living room. I’m sure she was right, but there were about six numbers on slips of paper on the end table in the living room. I started by calling them to see if I got a busy signal, hanging up if not. Apparently, one of them was Bob and Bev’s place down the street. It rang, I didn’t wait for an answer, and hung up. 10 minutes later, Bob shows up at the door in the pouring rain, thinking something terrible was happening. He didn’t have our number either, so he just came over at about 3:00 in the morning. Kristin is a nightowl, she was up, and so was Richard (husband of Meg’s half sister). So there we are, staring at the phone, waiting for a callback.
The doc was great when we finally talked to her. Gave us some ideas of how to take care of this. We’re doing steambaths and Motrin to break up the congestion and help the fever, but mostly we just have to wait it out. I think it’s far worse for Kira and me than it is for Sophie. She sounds like a tractor.
Lecture today is Colleen Rowly, FBI whistleblower. More symphony tonight. Start packing tomorrow.
Chautauqua Day 5
July 23, 2003
It stopped raining for the symphony last night. What a refreshing breather that was. Now? Raining again. Emma was up all night, feeling terrible. This morning, she’s doing a bit better, though I’m sure she’d be feeling better if she wasn’t cooped up in this dark, damp house all day long, praying for sun.
The music last night was great. Jackson is young and spastic at the cello, but her sound is strong in a complicated piece. The bats are still here, hundreds came out of the roof vent just as predicted and flew off into the night sky on the hunt.
Chautauqua Day 4
July 22, 2003
Still raining. Still raining hard. Emma is still sick. Her fever was up, the cough still heavy and hoarsy. Meg, Ted, and Dettie raced her off to the hospital in Mayville this morning. As of the last call, she’s come down with the croupe: an inflamation of the vocal folds and congestion which sounds something like the end of the world. Turns out, it’s not the end of the world, she’s still getting plenty of air, but she’s really, really uncomfortable. According to the docs, it’s not terribly contagious.
David Cole, professor, Georgetown Law Center, is fantastic. His talk today was on “Enemy Aliens and American Freedoms: Liberty and Security after September 11.”
Chautauqua Day 3
July 21, 2003
Tom Ridge. I listened to him for an hour with the 6,000 some-odd others in the audience at the outdoor amphitheater. There was press, probably three or four cameras and a few photographers present. I could only see two secret service men flanking the stage in their slate grey suits, standing at attention.
More than anything else, I wish I could tell you what he talked about. Unlike most orators that take the stage at Chautauqua, Ridge has precious little skill at public speaking. Based on this speech alone — I haven’t seen him in public before — I can say I see precisely how he has been successful in politics. All sizzle, no steak.
Chautauqua Day 2: Ghost of Goering
July 20, 2003
It’s the first full day at the Institution and, being a Sunday, it’s starting out pretty lazy. Sophie slept in with me until about 9:00 making us both miss breakfast. We thought about hitting the sermon, but we were late for that too. Yesterday, I removed my watch in protest to anything scheduled and I’m paying the price a little bit today. Still, being a Sunday, it’s all OK.
Chautauqua Day 1: Gone Fishin’
July 19, 2003
I’m sitting on the plane now. We’re on the first leg of our dualie through Minneapolis (Small City, I don’t think I like it much) and finally into Buffalo, New York. Apparently, the in-laws have arranged for a limousine to pick us up at the airport there and haul us and our dog-and-pony show of children’s gear into our terminal destination of Chautauqua, New York and the Chautauqua Institution.
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