Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Sailing, Sailing

We took a boat trip on the bay, to celebrate the month of May..

Well, technically it was for my birthday. So much fun! The weekend turned into a nice sunny one at the very last possible minute, at 6pm on Sunday, when we lined up to board the catamaran.

I posed with Aidan, Jeremy and Ariana.


The kids loved the "trampoline" part of the boat, and fearlessly danced, jumped and rolled on the deck. There were some whitecaps, but only occasionally did people get soaked with a wave...


Our yummy French pastries augmented the so-called "appetizers" provided by the crew! Here Heidi, Betsy & Stella lick their lips.


The music was good, and there was some fancy dancing. Dan & Jen do the tango.


There are some interesting perspectives to be had when one goes UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge.

Leah Brooks at 5:04 PM

Friday, May 21, 2004

What is a cowboy?

I finished reading "The Time of Our Singing" - in tears, which, by my rules, means that the book has ascended to the "all-time favorite" list. It is such a good book that I find it hard to review. I read the review written by the NY Times, and it is almost as beautiful as the prose in the book! But I wouldn't read that review until you have finished the book - it gives too much away.

Anyway, I do have a lovely pile of books sitting by the bed to pick from, but after reading an excellent book like that, I'm afraid that nothing will quite measure up. I switched genres to speculative fiction and am now in the midst of "Oryx & Crake" by Margaret Atwood. This is a post-apocalyptic story. Reading it makes me think about how quickly cultural references can be lost.

The other day at the table, Aidan (aged 7) asked us, "what is a cowboy"? A bit stunned, but realizing that he has never seen a cowboy movie or been to a rodeo, I started to list the attributes. For every one, I had to build the context - when there used to be cattle that weren't fenced in - when they had to mark cows with brands, because the cattle were free to roam, and so forth. I started to mention Indians, and realized that there is really no need to continue the movie myth that Indians & Cowboys really were in constant battle. I thought about how I have never met a cowboy, so in fact the cowboy reality is now several generations removed from Aidan.

What is cultural literacy? this question has resulted in lists and books on the topic. In order for someone to seem intelligent, one has to know the cultural icons of several generations back - so that any reference by someone living will draw up an image. Do you think that cowboys still belong on that list?
Leah Brooks at 1:52 PM

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Ducks

There were a number of ducklings on the pond this morning. Is there any baby more cute than a duckling? One family of four was still egg-sized and shaped. They bobbed and frantically paddled after the mom. They bumped their tiny bills up against a rock, little feet churning. Their brown fuzz was vaguely marked with yellow. Soon their necks will elongate and the legs will grow a little stronger. They will have that look of the surprised young duck as their heads swivel to and fro.

I am drawn to the duck. Their feather colors thrill me. The sound of their wings and voices while flying reminds of something that I may never be able to remember. I wish I could put my head under my wing and stand on one leg in solidarity with them.
Leah Brooks at 10:34 AM

Monday, May 17, 2004

Spreading the love

We are reading with joy about the folks lined up to get married in Massachusetts today. We get to re-live, through them, our day at City Hall. Mixed with the joy, I feel a little sad that somehow, these same-sex marriages will have more legitimacy than ours, but I know we are all going to have to wait until the supreme court speaks on this.
Leah Brooks at 8:51 AM

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Dealing with change

Barb's dad is in crisis...there was a call from the bank this week, saying that they have frozen his funds because of all of his excessive check-writing. Jane has a plan to get someone in his home to supervise him. I imagine that it feels pretty lousy to be old, out of control, and forced to give in. I know he won't go down that road without a fight. He won't even agree to go to a restaurant that someone else has chosen, let alone have live-in care chosen for him.

At work, friends have given notice and, simultaneously, management is being juggled and tossed. One of the hardest things I've had to learn about working at a company is that people always come and go. Most of the friends I made when I started 5 years ago are no longer here. When reorganization happens, it always makes for a queasy feeling.

Also, my friend James has lost his mother yesterday. The biggest change of all: when the family structure is altered. Perspective is skewed, and proportion is out of whack. How can the world go on, when someone that important is gone? And yet on we spin.
Leah Brooks at 8:45 AM

Monday, May 10, 2004

Birthday fun

I've had a lovely birthday week.. with song, friends and relaxation. L'Attitude came on Saturday for a day-long rehearsal and coaching session: just that alone (the gift of being able to sing with this group) would have been enough of a gift. But they also took me out to lunch! Then the next day, Barb and I had an enzyme bath (like a mud bath) and a massage.

It is so beautiful in May. I think I would love May best, even if it weren't my birthday month. The sun is especially bright, the air more clean, the breeze just fresh enough. And the grass is still green and dressed with purple spring flowers.
Leah Brooks at 9:36 AM

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Great read

I am engrossed in a novel called The Time of Our Singing, by Richard Powers. If you are possessed with a passion for music and science, like I am, you will find this book fascinating. The writing is so beautiful - I am reminded of the intricate word weavings of Salmon Rushdie, without the overseas color. I began the book and couldn't resist reading some passages aloud to Barb. What I found is that the prose is even better when read aloud - the richness of the writing requires a slower pace than my silent-reading will allow. Read aloud, you have time to pause and let the emotions and the concepts flow over you. You can hear the rhythms and tempo of the sentences, that brilliantly reflect the music to which Powers is referring.
Leah Brooks at 4:45 PM

Saturday, May 01, 2004

Venture Forth

I had a dream about names last night. In the dream, I met someone who had been famous in the 70s for being a guru who would "find your true name". People would pay him to go into a trance and he would "name" you. Perhaps I had even been tempted to use his services. At any rate, I was very eager to tell him the whole story of how I had found my name.. without paying for his help. I embellished the long story with many sideways turns and twists. I really wanted him to see that he had been a scammer. I invented a story about how I even had found more than one name. Neither name was revealed in the story, saving them for the grand finale. As I approached the "reveal", I got nervous because I realized that I had lost track of my own story and wasn't sure what my name was, especially the extra one I had embellished with. The grand revelation is the funny part of the dream, because the names seem so ordinary and odd. My "inner" name was actually 'Brady', and my "true" name was 'Venture Forth'.

Perhaps this came bubbling up because of a conversation I had with JL and Dan the other day- about funny-named people we had known. JL wins the prize with a co-worker named "Harry Butz".
Leah Brooks at 3:09 PM