More about that later. (First the activity, then the philosophy.....)
Where did I leave off? I think I had just taken friend Dee to the airport on Monday, after her whirlwind visit (or at least it seemed that way to me...)
Tuesday, I went on a long anticipated excursion of desert discovery. Those of you who know me know that I am not really an outdoor kind of a person, nor am I a hiker, really. (It is my firm belief that if god had meant us to hike, he would have given us hooves, like a mountain goat.) However, I am fascinated by all the flora and fauna in the desert, and take every opportunity to explore them. This particular excursion was sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (hereinafter referred to as Olli), where I take my classes.
Our first stop was the Coachella Nature Reserve, quite close, actually, but a resource I didn't even know about.
Our guides.....
This ridge was actually created by an elidement (I think that is the right word) of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate (I am sure you all know that we are living on the San Andreas Fault....)
There is actually water (hence the name, Palm Springs...)
In spite of the fact that we have not had one bit of rain in 2018, there were still some desert blooms to be seen....
I keep on talking about the desert, singular. The experts actually consider this to be the confluence of four deserts, the Sonora, Mohavi, Chihuahua and Grand.
Those of you who have been in the neighborhood know that we have wind farms at the approach to Palm Springs. We headed there next, and learned about renewable energy. (....including the fact that by 2020, 33% of California's energy requirements will be met by renewable energy, including wind, sun and hydrothermal. I was impressed...)
Then off to the Whitewater River (no, not that Whitewater, for those of you of a certain age...), one of two major sources of our water supply (the other being The Colorado River).
And then back to civilization... We were all intrigued enough to want to learn more. Which was the point, I imagine..
And when I say civilization, I mean civilization. I had been invited for drinks and dinner that evening, by Louise and Charles, acquaintances from bridge. I forgot about the camera - you'll have to trust me when I tell you that their place is very very civilized. As are they. Theirs is an interesting story, and they don't mind if I share it. She is 90, he is a bit younger. They were both widowed, having lost their respective partners to illness. They met on the Internet, 20 years ago, in the early days of Internet dating. She confided to me that her only regret is that she is deteriorating (cancer, macular degeneration, etc.), and she did not want him to have to be a nurse, again. He does it happily, though, as he is devoted to her, and she is amazingly active, in spite of her ailments - playing bridge three times a week (and no, she doesn't drive) and baking and cooking. Really, they are both an inspiration.
After more zumba and training and bridge (I will spare you the details), friend Chaya and I went to see an encore of National Theater Live 's production of Hamlet, with Benedict Cumberbach. God, it was even better the second time around. Written 400 years ago, and, with the right staging and acting, it still resonates! I highly recommend it. (We're off to Julius Caesar in a few weeks...)
Friday night's excursion, on the other hand, did not resonate at all. It was a benefit for Olli, a play written by one of its instructors, Frank Torino, called Marylin, Madness and Me.
.....hypothesizing a meeting - in the last months of her life - between a low-life mechanic and Marylin (and yes, this is how they spelled it, explained in the play but not worth repeating.) I could barely stand that breathy voice in real life. A bad imitation? Yuk. In any event, I had already done my part - i.e., donated my money.
Generally speaking, I hate intermissions anyway, especially at functions like these, where it is doubly hard to be alone. Anyway, I have long since discovered that plays rarely get better in the second act, which are inevitably too long. The best part of the evening was driving home in the balmy desert night with the top down....
Saturday, Geoff and Marvin came by for dinner and Scrabble.
I really do enjoy entertaining, and should do it more often, and they are great guests.
And today Sunday, I did - well, absolutely nothing. I went out to get the Sunday New York Times with a jacket over my pajamas (they were Calvin Kleins, all right, no one could tell), got home, made a fresh cup of coffee and some toast, and sat around in the sunshine all day reading the paper and daydreaming....
I did have some company....
(actually, there was a veritable bunny convention on the lawn, but this guy will have to be representative, as he posed so nicely...)
There was an outing tonight, to Woody's, a Palm Springs favourite that has music on Sunday evenings. Howard, the leader of our gym group, arranges these outings from time to time, and it is always a shock how good these people look when they are wearing real clothes...
The music tonight was MoTown. at least part of the soundtrack of our youth...
.....at least for folks in our 70's.
Once again, a good time was had by all.
I can't drink like I used to though, so I am off to bed (didn't stay for the second set...). I leave you with this final thought from our Behavioural Economics instructor: Each of you is entitled to your own opinion. However, noone is en titled to his own facts...
Oh, and I guess I should explain the title. David used to complain that I was always in a rush. He was right. One of my goals this year is to slow down and smell the proverbial roses (that is really a terrible metaphor for me, as I actually hate roses, but that is another story, and, as mentioned, I'm tired...
Where did I leave off? I think I had just taken friend Dee to the airport on Monday, after her whirlwind visit (or at least it seemed that way to me...)
Tuesday, I went on a long anticipated excursion of desert discovery. Those of you who know me know that I am not really an outdoor kind of a person, nor am I a hiker, really. (It is my firm belief that if god had meant us to hike, he would have given us hooves, like a mountain goat.) However, I am fascinated by all the flora and fauna in the desert, and take every opportunity to explore them. This particular excursion was sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (hereinafter referred to as Olli), where I take my classes.
Our first stop was the Coachella Nature Reserve, quite close, actually, but a resource I didn't even know about.
This ridge was actually created by an elidement (I think that is the right word) of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate (I am sure you all know that we are living on the San Andreas Fault....)
Then off to Desert Hot Springs (still with the spring theme....)
In spite of the fact that we have not had one bit of rain in 2018, there were still some desert blooms to be seen....
In addition to the aforesaid springs (open to the public, including one called, fittingly, Two Bunch Palms), there are at least a few of the original homesteads which can be visited. The one we saw was called the Cabot Pueblo, all built from scraps from the railroads, nearby mines, etc.
I keep on talking about the desert, singular. The experts actually consider this to be the confluence of four deserts, the Sonora, Mohavi, Chihuahua and Grand.
Those of you who have been in the neighborhood know that we have wind farms at the approach to Palm Springs. We headed there next, and learned about renewable energy. (....including the fact that by 2020, 33% of California's energy requirements will be met by renewable energy, including wind, sun and hydrothermal. I was impressed...)
Then off to the Whitewater River (no, not that Whitewater, for those of you of a certain age...), one of two major sources of our water supply (the other being The Colorado River).
And then back to civilization... We were all intrigued enough to want to learn more. Which was the point, I imagine..
And when I say civilization, I mean civilization. I had been invited for drinks and dinner that evening, by Louise and Charles, acquaintances from bridge. I forgot about the camera - you'll have to trust me when I tell you that their place is very very civilized. As are they. Theirs is an interesting story, and they don't mind if I share it. She is 90, he is a bit younger. They were both widowed, having lost their respective partners to illness. They met on the Internet, 20 years ago, in the early days of Internet dating. She confided to me that her only regret is that she is deteriorating (cancer, macular degeneration, etc.), and she did not want him to have to be a nurse, again. He does it happily, though, as he is devoted to her, and she is amazingly active, in spite of her ailments - playing bridge three times a week (and no, she doesn't drive) and baking and cooking. Really, they are both an inspiration.
After more zumba and training and bridge (I will spare you the details), friend Chaya and I went to see an encore of National Theater Live 's production of Hamlet, with Benedict Cumberbach. God, it was even better the second time around. Written 400 years ago, and, with the right staging and acting, it still resonates! I highly recommend it. (We're off to Julius Caesar in a few weeks...)
Friday night's excursion, on the other hand, did not resonate at all. It was a benefit for Olli, a play written by one of its instructors, Frank Torino, called Marylin, Madness and Me.
.....hypothesizing a meeting - in the last months of her life - between a low-life mechanic and Marylin (and yes, this is how they spelled it, explained in the play but not worth repeating.) I could barely stand that breathy voice in real life. A bad imitation? Yuk. In any event, I had already done my part - i.e., donated my money.
Generally speaking, I hate intermissions anyway, especially at functions like these, where it is doubly hard to be alone. Anyway, I have long since discovered that plays rarely get better in the second act, which are inevitably too long. The best part of the evening was driving home in the balmy desert night with the top down....
Saturday, Geoff and Marvin came by for dinner and Scrabble.
I really do enjoy entertaining, and should do it more often, and they are great guests.
And today Sunday, I did - well, absolutely nothing. I went out to get the Sunday New York Times with a jacket over my pajamas (they were Calvin Kleins, all right, no one could tell), got home, made a fresh cup of coffee and some toast, and sat around in the sunshine all day reading the paper and daydreaming....
I did have some company....
(actually, there was a veritable bunny convention on the lawn, but this guy will have to be representative, as he posed so nicely...)
There was an outing tonight, to Woody's, a Palm Springs favourite that has music on Sunday evenings. Howard, the leader of our gym group, arranges these outings from time to time, and it is always a shock how good these people look when they are wearing real clothes...
The music tonight was MoTown. at least part of the soundtrack of our youth...
....and we got pretty wild....
.....at least for folks in our 70's.
Once again, a good time was had by all.
I can't drink like I used to though, so I am off to bed (didn't stay for the second set...). I leave you with this final thought from our Behavioural Economics instructor: Each of you is entitled to your own opinion. However, noone is en titled to his own facts...
Oh, and I guess I should explain the title. David used to complain that I was always in a rush. He was right. One of my goals this year is to slow down and smell the proverbial roses (that is really a terrible metaphor for me, as I actually hate roses, but that is another story, and, as mentioned, I'm tired...
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