Short Long

My family name was “Long” which I NEVER liked. First, I was always small for my age, so the name just didn’t fit. Here's a photo with my cousins Steve and Bob. Steve was 3 weeks younger and Bob was 6 weeks older, but as anyone can see I was the "runt" of the family.

I was teased a lot about my size and name---somehow the teasing was OK once I made friends with the tallest girl in our class---Donna Short. Our teacher always shook her head and called us “the Long and Short of the matter.” We loved telling people our names and asking them to guess who was who. I was very sad when we moved away from each other---she went to Ferguson and we went to Bellefontaine Neighbors---not because we were such great friends but because we were a team---together we could tolerate the teasing that we had to endure.

I feared that someday I would acquire the nickname "Shorty" Long. My legs were so short that my dad had to bolt wooden blocks on my bicycle pedals. That was embarassing, but not as embarassing as when he had to put blocks on the gas and brake pedals when I first started driving!

Contemplating Death in the Garden

Rachel and Kyle thought my "Grace" jumping in the water was creepy, so I'm sure they'll think the same about this sculpture also by Niki at Shaw's Garden (Missouri Botanical Garden). The first time I saw it was on the news---they were having a hard time getting it over a bridge. I thought, "That just creeps me out." Then, we went on a tram tour at the garden and found out that Niki created this when she was actually dying. There is a doorway behind the jaws. She wanted everyone to go inside, sit on the bench to contemplate death.
(double click to see close up, then use arrow to get back to main screen)
We went on a weekday morning before there were a lot of people at the Garden. I went inside and my mouth dropped open with surprise. While I was a little fearful and repulsed by the exterior, the interior was magical. I could feel myself unwinding and relaxing. The inside is beautifully decorated with mirrors--colors and images dance around from facet to facet and yet through the teeth, you can still see the real world and are reminded that your are sitting inside a skull. Then my eyes travelled up to the ceiling.

In contrast to the garish exterior and the exciting interior, the ceiling was very calming. It was covered with smooth blue stones encircling a pale moon. A calm settled over me. I felt like she was trying to tell us that eventhough we are repulsed by the thought of death, once we pass we experience something unexpected and beautiful. Perhaps the mirrors represent the reflection of our lives---the many facets of it. Finally comes a calming peace and sleep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_de_Saint_Phalle

Howdy Doody

One of the characteristics of the Baby Boom generation is television---again, I straddled two worlds. While my husband (a few years older) remembers listening to radio and not having television until he was 8 (1951), we had a television in the late 1940's before I was in school. Dad had won some sort of lottery and used the money to buy a television which had a round screen with about an 8 inch diameter. Having a television was so unusual that we had company almost every night---friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors. Mom finally put her foot down to the constant stream of visitors when it started stressing me out.

I loved Howdy Doody and would invite the children in the neighborhood to sit in little chairs in front of the TV. It was the Sesame Street of the day---puppets and actors.

Nothing interfered with Howdy Doody. Mother said I would get dressed up, would line up the chairs for my friends. The excitement would build as we sat in our chairs. Then we'd hear those magic words, "Do you know what time it is?" We'd yell, "It's Howdy Doody Time!" We were mesmerized for a half hour watching the antics of Howdy Doody, Clarabelle the clown, Buffalo Bob, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, and Chief Thunderthud.

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/howdydoodys/howdydoodys.htm