9. FAIRYTALES

Was Isabella Horton my fairy godmother?   Were Isabella Horton and Edward Everett Horton my fairy godparents? Maybe, yes.   By the time my parents got to the San Fernando Valley they, their friends, government, industry, developers, chambers of commerce, had been busy making the Valley suit us.  Good works of Horton described in Chicago…

8. EDWARD EVERETT HORTON HELPS

in case you wonder why you know this name: Fractured Fairytales Ifyougobackfarenough.net is an evolving project. During June, I\’ll try writing two posts a week: the first outlining the facts I want to inquire about in the second post. This week, I\’ll expand on how my parents came to the San Fernando Valley. When they decided…

7. WORKS AND PROGRESS

When things are bumpy between me and someone I care for, it helps if we undertake a project together: plant a garden, or make a cake, build a block tower, or just take a walk or drive. We remember the scent of “on the same page” which then can help place the conflict in greater…

6. WE\'RE IN THE ARMY NOW

Officers at Fort Eustis VA, Dad with big head and round face, fifth riser from the front, fourth in from the right. That first year at college, although I’d moved some 375 miles from their home, my parents’ own personal histories kept flavoring my life. For my mom, I agreed to live in one of…

5. HUM

Cute kids with carbs We’ve gone on a diet, omitting carbs and sugars for a while, part of our return to a social life where we imagine people care what weight we’re carrying. It’s the end of the second week and while I’m not losing weight–maybe because we are terrible at portion control doh!–my body…

4. Not winning

My father John Lawrence, with Rick James on his shoulders, from the photo shoot for Street Songs. I want to think about two provocative pieces at one time: Joan Williams’ TED talk about roots of our divided politics, and 40 Years A Prisoner  streaming this May on HBO. In the latter, it is 1978, and…

3. "American"

Looking up lyceums I\’m especially interested in the Hillsdale College lyceum. Because Hillsdale College is in Michigan, where I know my family is from.And right away, I\’m intrigued. Because Hillsdale College started off as one thing, and became another.  Mom in Michigan I see I\’m identified with being \”American\” and with \”American\” meaning striving for…

2. Lincoln, libraries, and lyceums

I\’d never heard of the lyceum movement, but an early speech by Abraham Lincoln was given to a lyceum in Springfield Illinois. In 1838, Lincoln was 29 years old. His speech is called The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions and it was inspired by racially motivated mob actions which Lincoln felt weakened the institutions of the country,…

1. Popular Peets

These are my cousins, the \”pleasing\” and \”popular\” Peet Brothers of Ithaca, Michigan. Ithaca is in the central part of Michigan, the center of the palm. The photo dates from approximately 1901. what a treat to find their photograph! The full brochure for their act is available on the web thanks to the University of Iowa. I\’m…

exposure triangle and beyond

Now that I feel some mastery of the exposure triangle controls on the camera (knob atop the camera for aperture, ring around the lens for shutter speed, OK button + arrows for ISO – in the manual Olympus calls things you can do from the OK button the “live control”, obtusely) I’ve started playing with…