RainyDay

People who load and unload their kids on the traffic side of the car. This cuts across all socioeconomic lines and is unbelievably, outrageously, irresponsible. In this area, there are so many fatal gruesome hit and run accidents you would think that people would take extra care with the most valuable things in their lives, their children. Part of me wants to stop my car, get out, and kick their ass around the block (after handing their kids to some responsible adult who will shield them from witnessing mummy or daddy's corporal punishment). Gad, that irks me.

I guess I understand what you're saying, though I believe we're all basically invisible to others... Believe me, it is not the same thing.

Interesting comment, Rainy. As far as Black American achievements, you could very well be right. The media and public do seem to ignore great achievements on the part of Black Americans. However, from a political and media sense, Black Americans are far from invisible. They are very visible, at least from my point of view. It seems that that segment of the population gets more political and media coverage than you would otherwise expect from 12% of the population. One could even argue that White America is absolutely obsessed with Black Americans. This would be the Jimmy Baldwin argument. Ellison wrote "Invisible Man" in the 1950s or early 1960s, didn't he? Hasn't the American zeitgeist been modified since those times? On a personal note, I remember, I couldn't finish Ellison's book, though I had no trouble with Baldwin's, Walker's, Toni Morrison, or Richard Wright's books. Should I give him another try? Is it still relevant? Trust me, on a day to day basis, I am still invisible in many ways. It's just the way it is. The hip hop frenzy that is given so much attention in the media and that seems to define the black experience for mainstream America does not reflect anything about my life or for that matter, the lives of most of the black people in my life including my family. My young cousins don't even listen to rap music. In a lot of ways, blacks are invisible if we don't appear in the roles to which we have been assignd by mainstream America. Actually, it is tiresome.

Talk about perpetrating a major fraud. Yorkshire pudding is not pudding. It's a dinner roll. I remember the first time I had some with prime rib, I felt I'd been cheated.

I haven't been back since 2000. Another old neighborhood in SE off Hawthorne, was a nice middle to working class neighborhood that went skinhead and is now gentrified. I remember going there in the 1990's to see another of my grandmother's old houses. It was a wreck, no more neat garden, just a run down mess. But her lovely crystal chandalier was still visible through the window, hanging from the living room ceiling. That was pretty strange. I wondered if skinheads lived there and if so, hoped Granny made occasional ghostly visits to make their life interesting.

Danasgoodstuff: The first house I lived in was on Going. Gentrified, huh? The more things change, the more they go back to how things once were. If you are a Jay Collins fan, he will be playing at Produce Row on September 6.

North Portland in Oregon? My home town. What's wrong with NE Portland? My Granny owned a house on 20th and Knott for over 25 years. Lovely neighborhood. Currenly going through my periodic phase of wanting to move back. Do you ever go to Produce Row on Monday nights to check out Ron Steen's jam session? Very cool event.

This reminds me of Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man." It's like a whole segment of the population doesn't even exist, even in an area where that group has made major contributions. It is hell and gone beyond clueless.

Bev: Cool swimming pool in your backyard.

Come to England! It's been raining all summer! We're all building arks! Jeez, I saw some tape on the news over the weekend of a colossal flood somewhere in England. There were torrents of water rushing through (and over!) a town nestled in a valley. I couldn't believe no one died.

I thought they were trying to impress sombody.

Bingo! WHAT is up with that? You are soooo right. They're practically laying all over you. Comic Richard Jeni referred to it as having both knees in different time zones. It looks so ridiculous. Does a person's privates ever need to be aired out quite like that? And on public transit at that?

What about "The Lark Ascending"? The Dance Theater of Harlem does an exquisite classical dance piece to this music. I bought a St. Martin in the Fields CD of Williams' music that included this piece. Such a lovely song, honestly, it brings tears to my eyes to hear it.

Do people give up their seats these days? I hope so. That and holding doors open, which I try to do for ANYONE, male or female. I always feel better when someone does a little courteous act for me (and knowing that I try to do it for others)- it gives me a little hope for our society. Yes, it's fairly insignificant, but for some reason it helps a bit. Generally, no. I'm not old or frail enough. Every now and then some nice young man will give me his seat. I did see a parent make their kid stand up for a senior the other day. That's pretty rare too. By the way, you know that red-haired girl from Oakland who spoke at the Democratic Convention? She and her mother sat across from me on BART the other day. Cute kid, even if she kicked the mess out of me and never said excuse me. B-)

Before they relocated it and turned it into Fort Knox, I'd sneak into the old Southern Pacific yard with my camera and take pictures. No one ever kicked me out. They'd point out the mainline and tell me not to go there and then leave me alone. In Oakland, the train tracks go right through Jack London Square, which is on the waterfront and is a shopping, dining, entertainment area. Yoshi's is right next to the right of way. The trains share the street with cars so they go pretty slowly through there. If you are in Yoshi's, the club not the restaurant, you will never hear the train whistle or the sound of the wheels on the tracks, but all of a sudden, there will be this vibration and you know a train is going by. It adds a particular charm to hearing jazz. Two of my favorite things, trains and jazz. Wild.

When I stayed over at my great aunt and uncle's house as a little girl, he would take the cousins down to the Willamette River so we could watch the 9:00 PM train go by and wave at the crew. But my best train experience was taking Amtrak from Oakland to New York. I stopped over in Denver to visit friends and stopped over in Chicago to see the sights. It was an incredible trip. I woke up the first morning and opened the shade and there was the Great Salt Lake. When you first see Denver, you are up around 10,000 feet and all you see is a small cluster of lights. Going through the Rockies was spectacular.

Getting a seat on BART in the morning. Yeeeeeesss! Falling back to sleep for another couple hours on the weekend when I wake up too early. Chocolate.

Trains! How could I forget trains? I'm a train nut. My boss has annual potlucks at his house where he invites all us foamers to show our slides from chasing trains around the world. I love riding them, talking about them, looking underneath them, etc. My grandfather used to work the railroad and I could ride for free when I was a little girl. All the porters and kitchen personnel treated me like a little princess. Yeah, trains.

Aw, shucks. (insert blushing smilie here)

Riding the cable cars at night. I love it. The interior lights are dim, the gripman closes the door so you don't freeze from the breeze coming through the car. It feels like traveling through another era.

Okay, so I've kvetched about a million and one things but here are some things that make me sigh and feel fortunate to be alive right now. The sounds, or lack thereof, of early morning before people wake up and start moving about. This is my favorite time of day. Sitting in the shade in San Jose for the Saturday line-up of the jazz festival. Just sitting listening to Steve Turre, not having to make a decision about anything, eyes half closed. I remember thinking how lucky I was to be able to do that and how good it felt. Surfing the radio FM dial and catching Billy Stewart on the oldies channel. Chocolate Fantasy and Raspberry Marble ice-creams from Tuckers in Alameda. Winter light. I love the long shadows and how things look golden almost all day long. And how clear the skies are. Spending time with my godchildren. Going out for drinks with my boss and co-workers. I work with some truly wonderful people whose company I really enjoy. Laughing at something so hard I cry. Gad, I love a good laugh. Dinner for Five on the Independent Film Channel. The best talk show on TV. Sitting at the bar at Yoshi's eating dinner before the show while reading or chatting up friends who stop by to say hello. Carmel, California. Spectacularly beautiful and absolutely my favorite place to vacation.

You go, Mom!

That Jamie Cullum kid is very cool. Very nice sound.

Original documents for copy machines and faxes should all face in the same direction, not down for faxing and up for copying. Or is up for faxing and down for copying?

I was sorta a BNBB refugee but I also hung a lot at JC when I signed up here. Except for Dennis Gonzalez's thread at JC, and occasional posts at AAJ, I mostly hang here. Been posting less lately. Concerned I may not have a life. B-)