RBG hung on for a very long time through multiple bouts of cancer. What a trouper she was and what a magnificent justice and advocate for equal rights! Such an impressive woman. Thank you, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for your powerful intellect, your undiminished passion, and for all you achieved. You will be missed.
The Chief Penguin and I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of hearing Justice Ginsburg speak in Aspen a few years ago, and it was both: a privilege and a pleasure.
A RESTORATIVE
Selby Gardens in Sarasota is a favorite place of ours and we often take family and visiting friends there. Since Covid, we had not returned for a long while, but today made a brief visit. I wanted to see the glass art on display and was very ready for a change of scene.
Artist is Duncan McClellanGreen Farm by Duncan McClellan
We arrived about ten minutes before opening and joined three other masked couples ahead of us in line. The experience was wonderful. Very few people, lots of plants in bloom (can’t recall ever coming in September), and I saw the glass on the exhibit’s last day.
Shallow glass bowls on the pond
It was overcast with a light breeze and not at all hot. We meandered through the conservatory and then outside among the plants, claiming a bench to take in this view of the bay. I left feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. For a time, life seemed normal.
Sarasota Bay from Selby Gardens
NATURE ON SCREEN
Islands of Wonder: Madagascar (PBS)
This is part of a series on unique islands around the world. The listing caught my eye because the Chief Penguin and I spent three weeks in Madagascar in 2009 when we worked at the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy had several research projects underway there, and our fellow travelers were the chief botany curator, a trustee, their wives, and a local guide. We flew in and out of the capital city airport in Antananarivo, informally known as “Tana,” and then traveled by van to rainforests, desert, and mountains.
Madagascar, east of mainland Africa, is the oldest island on earth. Due to its isolated location, it has an astounding number of species found only there. Perhaps best known are the many varieties of lemurs, and they feature extensively in this visually stunning show. From ring-tailed ones to dancing sifakas, one learns how lemurs have adapted to challenging habitats. Add to that unusual lizards, strange birds, and the cute, hedgehog-like tenrec.
Madagascar’s topography is also awe-inspiring from its dense rainforests on the east to the spiny desert in the west to the needle-sharp limestone Tsingy mountains. For anyone interested in nature and biodiversity, this is a fascinating introduction to a very special place!
Note: Photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is the bay and Sarasota skyline.
When it comes to nonfiction, I read more biography than anything else. I find historical biography often compelling and am regularly drawn into memoirs written by contemporaries. The past few weeks, I’ve been dipping into two works in this genre.
The True History of the First Mrs. Meredith and Other Lesser Lives by Diane Johnson
Novelist Diane Johnson wrote this biography in 1972. New York Review Books re-issued it this year with a new introduction by critic Vivian Gornick. Mrs. Meredith, or Mary Ellen Meredith, was novelist George Meredith’s first wife. She ultimately left Meredith for artist Henry Wallis, with whom she’d been having an affair—a scandalous act for a woman in the 1850’s.
What makes this biography unconventional is Johnson’s attention to other individuals in Mary Ellen’s life, even those to whom she had only the briefest of connections. Mary Ellen’s journals and quotes from poems are included as well as tidbits of history and lore. Johnson was fortunate in her search for material to locate a cache of letters from Mary Ellen to Henry secreted in the former home of their son Felix.
It’s a quirky book and quite delightful, a bit like exploring an old-fashioned desk with pigeonholes filled with seemingly unrelated items. It was also an inspiration for Phyllis Rose. She’s the author of one of my favorite collective biographies entitled, Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages, published in 1983.
Flowers at the botanical garden
The Shadow in the Garden: A Biographer’s Tale by James Atlas
James Atlas was a publisher and biographer whose works include the life stories of novelist Saul Bellow and poet Delmore Schwartz. His Schwartz biography was nominated for the National Book Award. In this work, Atlas talks about his approach to writing a life and, along the way discusses classical biographical works by Samuel Johnson, Elizabeth Gaskell and others. He also shares his conversations and encounters with noted critics of the 20th century such as Elia Kazan, Philip Rahv, and Allen Bloom.
It’s a chatty book, written in an informal style. I quickly found myself warming to this self-effacing man who was persistent when on the hunt for source material. I have yet to finish it (have been happily distracted by my granddaughters) but will enjoy continuing his journey. The book was published in 2017 and, I just learned that Atlas died in 2019 at age 70.
THE MAINE GARDEN
Aluminum sculpture panels by Meg Brown Payson
The website for the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is mainegardens.org so it seems appropriate to call it the Maine garden. Despite all the restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, the garden is beautiful and a draw for locals, tourists, and kids. I was concerned that our granddaughters would be disappointed since the playhouse, story barn, and water pump in the Children’s Garden are not available. They loved the Fairy Village, however, and requested a return visit. The village was the highlight, but they were also entranced by a waterfall, intrigued by hunting for and counting frogs, curious about the honeybee exhibit, and happy to traipse along the woodland trail noting the occasional sculpture or rock outcropping.
The Chief Penguin and I were last in Israel in 1999, and then only in Jerusalem. He had been several times before and to Haifa and Tel-Aviv. The trip was for a library conference for me and he was the accompanying spouse. For my librarian friends, it was the annual IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) Conference and, I served on a committee representing the American Library Association. We stayed at the elegant King David Hotel, had a private tour of Jerusalem highlights, and enjoyed an exhibit of Chihuly glass at one of the museums. It was late August and very hot and dry.
This time on our cruise, we docked at Haifa and Ashdod, the country’s largest port.
Gardens in Haifa
Haifa is Israel’s third largest city after Jerusalem Tel-Aviv and, at one time, was a center for preparing dyes. Like many cities in this part of the Mediterranean world, it has was ruled by a succession of foreign invaders: in their case, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, Egyptians, and British. Its importance as a regional port city was greatest during the British mandate period. Today the port mainly serves only Israel. Industries here include oil refineries and chemical plants.
One of the many terraces on the way down to the shrine at the Hanging Gardens
Built on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, Haifa has lovely setting overlooking the water. We decided to visit the Baha’i Gardens (also known as the Hanging Gardens of Haifa) and initially thought about walking the roughly one hour up the hill to the entrance. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and we decided we’d taxi up and then walk back down to the ship. Our taxi wound up and around and let us out at one of the garden entrances. We assumed we could explore them on our own, only to be informed that you only went with a tour group. The next English tour was in two hours! But we could join the Russian tour if we wished.
Shrine to founder Bab at the end of the garden terraces
So, Russian tour it was, and we followed the guide and his group, looking around and taking photos, but understanding not a word! The terraced gardens are really more of a memorial to the Baha’i founder, Bab, ending in a stunning gold-domed shrine, than a garden. There are red geraniums around as well as zinnias and pampas grass along with a lot of greenery, but the focus is the different levels of staircases leading down to the shrine. 700 steps done in about 45 minutes! (Fortunately, there are handrails most of the way.) The views of the dome, the city below and the harbor behind are quite spectacular and worth seeing.
View of the terraces all linked by descending staircases
After this endeavor, we were hot and a bit worn out. No walking back to the ship, just another taxi back to the port.
Ashdod and Jerusalem
From Haifa we sailed overnight to Ashdod, the country’s sixth largest city and biggest port. Tankers, cranes, and rows and rows of new cars fill this port; the cars waiting to be shipped to Europe or Asia. Located in Israel’s Southern District on the Mediterranean Sea, Ashdod is between Tel-Aviv in the north and Jerusalem in the east.
We and our friends had signed up for private all day tour of Jerusalem and were met at the port by our driver and guide, Avi. Avi is an Israeli Jew, who lived during his youth in Paris and Belgium among other places. He speaks fluent French and Arabic besides the usual English and Hebrew. He was a terrific guide: knowledgeable, easy going, and accommodating!
This was one of several days of holiday for Jerusalem and we had been warned to expect heavier than usual traffic and crowds. The traffic was a mess (a “balagan” as Avi called it) and the crowds extremely dense. Some roads were blocked which limited our van’s access to certain sites.
We began at the Mount of Olives (see header photo) where parking wasn’t too difficult and the crowds were okay. We spent 15-20 minutes there overlooking the old Jewish cemetery, Dome of the Rock (Muslim shrine dating back to 691-692 CE) with its lustrous gold dome, and the ancient walls surrounding the old city.
Visitors in the Old City
Getting into the heart of the old city required patience and persistence. Avi dropped us off near the Jaffa Gate and instructed us to go wait at the Aroma coffee bar. He thought he would be back in 20 minutes, but it was more like 35, given where he finally found parking! In the meantime, we watched Israelis of all flavors stream by, some dressed up, some carrying palms for the religious holiday, some Orthodox Jews all in black with top hats or fur hats (the latter only worn on special occasions), and some few just ordinary tourists like us.
With Avi, we walked through the Armenian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City including the Cardo, or old Roman main street, and inched our way up and along the Via Dolorosa (supposedly where Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion). After a tasty lunch of salmon and quiches, we went to the Wailing Wall (part of the Western Wall and a very holy site for prayer), and then back to the Christian Quarter for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Wailing Wall is divided into one section for men and another for women. Since we had eaten on the early side, the crowds at the wall were a bit less, and Ellen and I could actually get right up to it to touch. There are tiny slips of paper available for anyone who wishes to write a message and stick it in the wall.
An observant Jew
Appropriately, our last stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to tradition, it’s the site where Jesus was crucified, called Calvary or Golgotha, and also that of his empty tomb. With the crowds, moving along was slow and it was occasionally hard to see, but we got the general idea. I had been to the Wailing Wall on my last visit, but not to this church.
Avi was prepared to take us to see more, but given the crush of people and everything, we opted to end our tour early. I also took fewer photos than usual because of the crowding. (And the ones I took on my iPhone don’t upload to my iPad, where I compose the blog, because of slow WiFi speeds, hence fewer photos of the Old City.). Back in the van, it was about an hour’s ride back to Ashdod and the ship.
Jerusalem is often crowded, people get pushy, and visiting can be a strenuous exercise. Yet, for anyone brought up in a faith, be it Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, it is a powerful experience to see where the events of the Bible, in my case, took place. And to get a sense of the geography and particulars of the ancient world.
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is ten years old, and it keeps getting better each year. We visit on our own and also bring all of our guests. Our granddaughters are especially fond of the play house where there are kitchen appliances, a cupboard, and a small table and chairs where you can serve tea and cupcakes. Also a draw are the two old fashioned water pumps, a laundry tub with a washboard, a rowboat to climb into, the puppet theater, and a sandbox.
Steve Tobin sculpture
For adults, the scent garden is always worth wandering. And there’s also an outdoor art exhibit, “Unearthed,” a series of towering root sculptures by Pennsylvania artist Steve Tobin. The sculptures are made of metal and placed throughout the grounds. Some are realistic colors (brown and black) while others are bright such as a mustard yellow one and a glossy white one. The sculptures will be on view into 2020. A few years ago Lehigh University presented an outdoor exhibit of Tobin’s impressively large “Termite Hills” sculptures.
MAKING MEMORIES
Our son and daughter-in-law and two granddaughters were here for the week. E is a poised seven and F an active three, the age at which most kids form lasting memories. The Chief Penguin and I very much enjoy their annual visits to Maine and know that even when we’re gone, they will have Maine memories.
Memories of making blueberry pancakes with Grandma, of sampling Grandpa’s muffins, of visiting the botanical gardens, of clambering on the rocks at Molly’s Point for sea glass, shells, and smooth stones, of checking out the books and toys at Sherman’s, and memories of riding the narrow gauge train at Railway Village and more.
E is a voracious reader and quickly devours chapter books. F is at the “why?” stage and is a fan of trains and motion. Together the girls and I read umpteen stories, played with Josie and Rosie, their dolls, and colored and created with construction paper using an assortment of pencils, pens, and crayons.
There was no set schedule and the mornings flowed from a leisurely breakfast, to a walk in the yard or games on the deck, followed by an afternoon outing, and then dinner, be it pizza with friends and their grandkids, hot dogs and lobster rolls on the deck at Cozy’s, or comfort food here at Grandma and Grandpa’s. It was about as perfect a week as could be!
RECENT READING
America’s Reluctant Prince: The Life of John F. Kennedy Jr. by Steven Gillon
Much has been written about JFK Jr. and the Kennedys in the twenty years since his tragic death in 1999. One might wonder why we need yet another tome, and this one is a tome. Gillon was the graduate assistant in an undergraduate course Kennedy took at Harvard. Only a few years older than John, he became a friend and the two got together occasionally over the years. John sought out Gillon’s advice and writing suggestions when he was editing George magazine. While John was alive, Gillon respected and protected his privacy; now he feels comfortable sharing his perspective and his knowledge of the challenges John faced as a Kennedy, the standard bearer after his father’s death.
What was most interesting to me was the account of Kennedy’s years founding and creating George and struggling to make it a truly viable proposition. There is new information on his wife Carolyn’s inability to adjust to being trailed by the press, her volatile behavior, and her drug use, all of which made a marriage fraught with tension more tumultuous. It is in this context of daunting issues at work, difficulties at home, and the prolonged dying of his closest friend (his cousin Anthony), that John Jr. takes off on that fateful flight. The book is overly detailed and, sometimes tedious, but I found myself modifying and enlarging my view of this Kennedy. (~JWFarrington)
