Focused at Fifty

A new segment in my blog will be photos, architecture, sculpture, and artwork that I have studied, admired, or just been blown away by! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. ***I do not own these photographs and are just displaying them for educational purposes. Man Ray "Tears" 1930 I have always been in love with the Surrealist photographer Man Ray. This is one of my all time favorites. Dorthea Lange "Destitute peapickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children, February 1936" 1936     I always felt the mother in this photograph looked so worn out, so sad, without hope. It conveys such feelings of struggle and emotional exhaustion. Charis Wilson "Nude" 1936 I love the angularity of the woman's body in this photograph. Robert Mapplethorpe "Grace Jones" 1988 I love this picture by Mapplethorpe. Grace Jones has such a haunting look about her. I particularly like her eyes.

One of the things I enjoy about getting older are the good conversations that I have with others. In my 20's and 30's, conversations could range from being passionate about causes or just gossiping with friends. I still do this, but I realize a couple of things. Even though I may be passionate about a cause, such as saving the rain forests, I now listen to the other side and think about what they are saying. I have learned that listening in a conversation is just as important as correctly articulating my point. I also still like to gossip. I admit it. But this gets rather boring after awhile. You hear the same stories: who is sleeping with who; who is heading off to rehab; what is the hottest trend; etc. etc. Since I have turned 40 and am progressing headfirst towards 41, I realize I enjoy really good stimulating conversation. I drive each day about an hour back and forth to work, the same boring drive 48 miles to Allentown. Before Mom passed away, I would have conversations...

I don't smoke, I never have. I really don't care if you do, that is your health and your decision. I know my mother's smoking directly contributed to major health problems including lung cancer, brain cancer, and liver cancer. Food for thought. Whoever delivers newspapers in the morning to the set of mailboxes in front of my house constantly drops their "butts" on the ground. Besides it aggravating me because it is littering, I hate the fact that those damn cigarette butts take years to biodegrade. Specifically, one butt can take 3-10 months to decompose. Some say it can take as much as 12 years. The filter, which if made up of acetate, will never full break down.  Information is available on this, look it up on the internet. The Palmetto Pride organization of Myrtle Beach, SC have a great campaign. Their website is http://www.palmettopride.org/ . Check it out. They have put out drink coasters at various bars which argue against littering with your cigarette...

Definition of a "pipe dream" according to Wikipedia: A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve, originating in the 19th century as an allusion to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes. I love the origination of this term! I used to think that writing on an active basis, much less having a blog, was my pipe dream. Now I just think getting paid for it is. Ha ha.  I still have other pipe dreams I have yet to see come to life.  I am afraid my pipe dream list may one day segue into a bucket list. Definition of "Shanghai'd" according to Wikipedia: Shanghaiing refers to the practice of conscripting men as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. Those engaged in this form of kidnapping were known as crimps. Until 1915, unfree labor was widely used aboard American merchant ships. The related term press gang refers specifically to impressment practices in...

My earliest memory was of my Mom and I. I was 2 or 3 and had managed to climb out of my crib in the apartment we were living at The Crossings in Glassboro, NJ. I clearly remember swinging one leg over and then the other and basically falling onto the 70's carpet below. I wandered down the hallway and surprised her in the kitchen. She wasn't upset but she was a little shocked that I had figured out how to get out. "What are you doing Marc!" she said surprised.  I said "I got out Mommy!" "You sure did!" Another of my earliest memories was drinking out of a glass for the very first time. It was apple juice, sweet, and I remember holding so tightly with both hands while in the kitchen. I was a green juice glass. It seemed so big and heavy at the time. In retrospect, I figure my hands were just so small. I was so proud of myself. I said to Mom, “Look Mommy I am drinking just like a big kid!” She smiled and agreed. No more bottle for me! I have fond me...

During this past week, the world experienced the 5th largest earthquake in recorded human history.  The Japanese earthquake registered 8.9 on the Richter magnitude scale. What the earthquake didn't topple, the tsunami afterwards swept away. As of this date, it is estimated that over 10,000 people have perished. It really makes you think how lucky you are. In an instant, everything can be swept away and destroyed. I am grief stricken for the Japanese people of Sendai seeing them try and cope with the devastation. They look in shock, they look helpless.  Everything they had was just gone in an instant. I have thought about what I have and surround myself with. What would I really want to save? What really means the world to me? My family heirlooms, family photographs, and scrapbooks of course. I would want to save my writing. But of the other stuff? It is all replaceable. I really don't need any of it. I mean I love my various antique collections but in the long run,...

A close family friend recounted a memory of her's of my Mom that I wanted to share. She passed it onto my sister and I leaving us both the other week in tears (good tears though, missing our Mom.) Even though we are going on 2 years on April 10th, it still seems like yesterday that she passed away. It was was such a special and nice memory that I wanted to share it with you. She wrote, "I'm going into the hospital for a routine procedure today. While I was getting ready, a vision of your mom popped into my head. I don't know exactly when it was. I was in late high school or early college. Your mom was in the hospital overnight for something and we went to visit her. I remember thinking "How can she be in the hospital and look this good?" I can *still* see her frosted pink nails; her face and hair were done to perfection. She could have jumped out of bed, put on a ballgown, and been good to go." That was my Mom. She always looked beautiful and always ...

Working out for an hour at a time gives you a lot of time to observe others' behavior at the gym. Enjoy. Please stop playing your music like it's Studio 54. I don’t need to hear the “thump thump thump” of your Ipod bass from the treadmill next to me. I would say something to you, but you can't hear me as you have probably already made yourself deaf. I appreciate the fact that you are spraying the exercise equipment down with disinfectant. But please remember that I am less than 2 feet away from you working my ass off and don’t need to be enveloped in a Bhopal-style chemical cloud. If we are the only ones in the locker room and you just come in from lifting weights or working out, please undress or change several feet down from me as I don’t appreciate being sprayed with your sweat. Grunting on an elliptical machine does not make me think you are “the man.” It makes me think you are "a beast." It doesn’t make you look cool either, just like an idiot. Plea...

The last couple of weeks have been stressful to say the least. John's parents have been living with us. His father, Joe, is 92, fresh off of surgery and rehab. His mother, Anne, is 89 and wants to do everything for us. I think I am going to start walker races and begin placing bets with the neighbors. Just kidding of course, it's quite obvious Anne would win every race. They are dears and I wouldn't want them anywhere else but it has been an adjustment for all four of us. I had originally started the following blog in January. I wanted to write about the annoying changes that we all are experiencing while growing older. Well ... having an 89 and a 92 year old living with you really puts things in perspective. When you see someone just having trouble getting out of bed, a couple gray hairs or creaking joints don't seem all that serious. It has actually inspired me to go to the gym again on a steady basis so that I can finish out my 40th year in better shape than whe...