Pumpkins

Last Fall, I was invited to meet a friend and former coworker at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. He was there to scope out a Halloween exhibit that the zoo puts on every year, to see if it's scaleable for the zoo where works.

He told me it was a Halloween event, and I knew it involved pumpkins, but wow. Just...wow. What a thing to behold. The exhibit itself was one thing. About a half mile trail, lined with pumpkins. Big pumpkins. Little pumpkins. Teeny tiny pumpkins. Pumpkins that are several times bigger than I am. Pumpkins up in trees. Pumpkins on the ground. All were detailed in their carvings. All were real. All were hand carved. There were thousands upon thousands of pumpkins, grouped into themes. There was an alien theme. A move theme. A political theme. Some were just nifty jack o lanterns.

The pumpkins themselves were amazing, but the real impressive part, for me, were the two men who showed us around. They are the contractors who bring this exhibit to the zoo every year. They commission the artists. They choose the music. They direct placement of the pumpkins. They know where each and every pumpkin is placed and how it should be presented. As we walked through the exhibit, if a guest had shifted a pumpkin even the slightest bit, these guys knew.

They knew about the artistry, about the sound, about the wiring, about where to acquire the requisite pumpkins. They were so proud of their work, and it showed. These men are true artists. This show was a thing to behold.

It's always a gift to meet people who are doing exactly what they should be doing in life.

Travel plans - 2017

Travel for this year thus far is as follows:

January:
Started the year in Florida
Ended the month heading to San Francisco and Sonoma/Napa.

February:
Quick trip to Maryland for Oscar weekend

March:
Florida

April"
San Diego

May:
Spokane, WA
Maryland

June:
Houston
Dallas
NYC

July:
Pittsburgh

August:
TBD (Woodstock, NY?)

September:
Heading to Italy

October:
Florence and Venice!

I have been working on honing my packing skills so that I can advance to expert level. I await compression cubes and a packing folder to see how those help me cram as much as possible into a small carry-on bag. I am also experimenting with toiletry bags, actual cloth vs plastic (for liquids).

I'm not sure what it is about this point in my life that is inspiring me to travel so damn much when I only took maybe 2-3 trips a year in the past, but I like it and hope I keep it going.

I [heart] art museums

Robert Indiana

One of my favorite things to do, especially when I travel, is visit the local art museums. There are always new exhibits to see, and as a former visitor services professional, I enjoy details that others tend to take for granted. For example, I notice where the trash cans are placed, and how accessible the space is. I really take note of the staff and volunteers and how they interact with guests.

Today, I went to the Baker Museum, in Naples, Florida. It’s a small museum with a very nice Robert Indiana exhibit. He’s the artist who designed the iconic “LOVE” sculpture that’s now associated with Philadelphia. Off to a good start, we were excited to head upstairs to join the tour in progress.

Art is all around us.

My background is in literature, not art, but I spent many years as an educational interpreter and I appreciate good educational zoo or museum experiences. This was not a good educational experience. This poor lady seemed so out of her element. She did not know the artworks at all, and would stop to read the card next to each piece, reading the name of the artist to us. She pointed to one painting, saying only “the broad brush strokes evoke the movement for which the impressionist period is known.” The piece was not an impressionist painting. And the brush strokes aren’t the hallmark of impressionism. And also … that’s it? The brush strokes? That’s all she had to say about this painting before moving on to a portrait. She read the name of the subject off the card, and then said, “And this is a very nice portrait of [subject’s name.]” And moved on. We didn’t follow.

Sometimes I do not get
modern art. 

What a contrast to a recent private tour I was lucky enough to receive when I met with the volunteer coordinator at the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire. This is a lady who not only knows the art in her museum, she loves the art in her museum. She took me around that museum, showing me all of her favorite pieces, telling me the stories behind them, and comparing one piece to another. It was fascinating. After we were done, I looked at my watch and was stunned to see I had been there for nearly two hours. It felt like minutes, that’s how interesting her tour had been. She also shared knowledge not just about the art, but also about the building itself, and the founders of the museum. I love that stuff.

Also terrific was the tour guide/educator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She had several specific pieces of a modern art exhibit chosen ahead of time, and walked us through each one, asking leading questions, and encouraging us to come to our own conclusions

about the pieces before telling us more about the history of them. She had chosen pieces that were drastically different from one another deliberately to highlight the different elements that can go into creating a work of art. My absolute favorite was Chuck Close. He made the most incredible large format portraits. They look so realistic that even up close, I would have bet money it was a photograph. My eyes said, “photograph” even after my brain read “portrait with oils” on the info card. Chuck became paralyzed and couldn’t paint the same way anymore. The educator took us around the corner to look at a large portrait done mosaic style. It was huge, and gorgeous, and impressive. And it was done by the same artist. After his paralysis, he found a way to create within and around his physically limitations. Thanks to that educator, my eyes were opened in a way they would not have been without her information and enthusiasm. Thanks to her, I saw more than two styles of portraiture, more than two lovely if slightly different ways of depicting a person. I saw the will of the spirit. I saw perseverance and beauty. I saw the way that art will find a way.

Rock Paper Scissors

Want to know the best part? At the Baker, I saw some abstract paintings by Willem de Kooning. When I looked up Chuck Close’s name to make sure I was getting it right, I learned that he was influenced by de Kooning. (I need to learn more about this, as Close made exceptionally realistic portraits, but de Kooning is known for abstract works).

Art and the spirit and humanity – it’s all connected, even across time and geography.

Peabody Mill - An Afternoon Hike

I live an hour to an hour and a half away from points in the White Mountains. There is some great hiking up there, but I am inexperienced and not a fool so I do not hike there alone. Since I don't yet have a network where I have hiking buddies, I continuously look for ways to get outside on the weekends without risking my life.

Not too far from where I live is a wildlife preserve type area called Peabody Mill. There is an education center, plus lots of hiking (and snowshoeing, if you do that sort of thing) trails. There are also hunters in the fall, prompting lots of signs at the education center reminding hikers to wear their orange. That gave me pause.

There are enough different trails to keep every trip a little different, and the place is close enough that I can go on a weekend and enjoy being outside. Here are a few pictures of an outing from last fall.

Can you guess what made the holes?

There has to be a name for it

There has to be a name for it. We all know what man-spreading is. What do we call the phenomenon when men encroach on a woman’s space in a more general way? This happened to me on a recent flight when I realized that the man sitting in the middle seat – I was on the aisle – shifted in his seat and moved his laptop left by several inches to encroach on my space, instead of shifting right towards the man seated by the window. He had a choice: stay centered and make do with his own space, or shove over into someone else’s, and the someone else was me. I feel certain that this is a micro-aggression, something that women deal with so often we don’t even realize the sexist basis of this action, and something that men are so conditioned to do, they don’t do it consciously. I’m willing to bet that Mr. Middle Seat did not sit there and think to himself, “hm, I need extra space. I know, I can squish over and inconvenience this small woman. If I lean towards the man, he might think I’m – gasp – gay.” Yet, subconsciously, that’s exactly what he did. It’s cultural, and it’s sexist, and it’s homophobic, and I’m really tired of it.

Today, my friend was standing by a charging station near our gate at the airport. She was watching our bags while I ran to the restroom before our flight. Her phone and mine were plugged in to the outlet. A man came over and, without saying a word, sat down on the stool directly in front of the outlet. Granted, the stool was available. But this man had a choice. He could sit on the stool that crowded my friend, who clearly wasn’t going to be walking away anytime soon since she was using one of the phones that was plugged in, or he could choose the stool that meant he would have to it next to a young man. Once again, guess what, he thought nothing of choosing the seat that crowded the woman. Her personal space is apparently up for grabs. But crowding another man? Goodness, no. Unthinkable.

My friend was standing in between Mr. Striped Shirt and the person on the right.
She had her phone and mine plugged in to the outlet the man is now using. Seeing as he plugged
in as soon as she left, he was clearly angling for the space. Interesting that he chose to crowd
her for outlet space rather than the man using the other outlet. 

Random Travel Tips

- Download your airline's app

- Sign up for text alerts on your phone of any flight changes. 

- The second you receive an alert that your flight has changed, make a beeline for the nearest counter for your airline to discuss your options. The quicker you do this, the more flexibility the gate agent will have to get you rebooked and home quickly before everyone else on your original flight does the same thing and snatches up the seats.

- Use a backpack as a carry-on. One-shoulder bags start to hurt pretty quickly.

- Even better, get a bag with a sleeve so it fits over the handle of your wheelie suitcase.

- Drink as much water as you can stand. Pee at every opportunity. 

- When a woman walks into the bathroom and says, "My flight is boarding right now, is there any chance I can jump the line to go?" Do her a kindness, earn yourself some karma, and let her jump the line. Next time, it could be you. Get rid of the "We all have a flight to catch, why shouldn't you have to stand in line like everyone else?" attitude from your head and from your heart. Because, seriously. We all know it take 15 minutes, minimum, to board, and then it's another half hour, at least, before you are in the sky, and then good luck to you because you may get a flight with a lot of turbulence. Just get out of her way and let her pee. 

- When you're all lined up to board Southwest and people are checking boarding numbers, don't be the guy who says, "You know it doesn't matter, right? We're all going to the same place." Of course it matters. If it didn't, southwest wouldn't make a ton of money charging extra for people to board in the first 15 spaces. Besides, if you don't want to be the person in the middle seat next to the guy eating onions with his shoes off while your bag is gate checked because there is no more room in the overhead compartment, why would I?

- If ever you are in line at security, and someone is frantically asking if they can go ahead of you to make a flight, step aside and let them go. One day it could be you who needs to make a run for it. 

- Spend the $85 and get registered with TSA Precheck. It will be the best $85 you ever spend. Trust me on this. Keeping your shoes on, leaving your damn liquids in your bag, and not taking out your stupid laptop at security is a beautiful thing. Especially the shoes. And the belt. And your coat. Seriously. Just get the Precheck. Get it. Go.

- Keep an eye out for healthy snacks at the airport. They exist, you just have to look for them. I almost bought a perfectly decent-looking Cesar chicken wrap today, even though the container said it has 710 calories in it. But it looked fresh and was reasonably healthy. Then, I noticed the snack pack with two hard boiled eggs, a mini whole wheat pita, cheese, and grapes. That was only 380 calories and was much healthier, and tasted better. 

- Be the person who brings the stinky food on the airplane. It's a bummer when the guy next to you is eating something gross, and no one wants to be that guy, but you need to eat and sometimes healthy food is stinky. People can deal.

- Don't recline your seat back unless a) the seat behind you in empty, b) the person in that seat is sleeping and/or very small, or c)... Yeah, that's about it. Especially don't do it with a bang. The person behind you might have their laptop out or a drink on their tray. So recline if you must, but don't be a jerk about it.

- Drink more water. Get a refillable water bottle and a carabiner. Use the carabiner to clip the water bottle onto your backpack. Once you're seated on the plane, clip the bottle to the magazine pocket in front of you. You will drink more water because it is so handy and accessible. Still accept water from the flight attendants when they come around. Don't think "But I already have water." Instead think, "But now I have more water."

- If you decide to use your tray table as a sleeping table, be mindful of the people to the right and/or left of you. The lady in the middle seat today put her head down to nap and was so far onto my tray table that I had to move my drink lest she knock it over with her head. And her husband is in the seat on the other side, so encroach on his space if you're going to encroach, lady. Geez.

- Use headphones. Because, duh.

- Are you traveling with a small child? I have nothing but respect for how difficult that must be. But, seriously, if you're going to let precious princess walk on her own and la-di-da pay no attention to her surroundings as kids tend not to do, don't be surprised when the person behind you shoves past you shouting, "I have to make my connection!" Please work to be just a little more situationally aware. I know your kid doesn't know how to do that yet, but you do. I don't like shoving by little kids, but I like spending the night in the airport even less.

We don't fit on airplanes anymore

Dear man on the airplane,

Air travel sucks these days. Planes have not gotten any bigger, while we all have. I am a relatively small person, so I fit into the standard airplane seat well enough, though it never feels as though I have enough leg room and I always feel crowded. I have genuine sympathy for bigger people, and by “bigger” I don’t even mean all that big. I’m talking about the man who is six feet tall or taller, or the woman whose jeans are in the double digits (which, these days, is most of us). There is just no way to be comfortable. I get it. I also really sympathize with you in particular, because, for whatever reason, you got stuck with a C boarding position and were one of the last people to board a very full flight. You made your way to the back of the plane and there were scant few middle seats left. You chose the one in between me and the big dude by the window. Neither you nor the dude really fit in the seats. I felt bad for you, but not enough to offer to move, because, think about it. If you were me, would you really want to be squished in between two large men? Thank you, but no.

So you sit down. You shift in your seat to try to fit. It’s obviously you really don’t. I feel sympathy for you. I shift so I’m sitting as far to the aisle as possible, to give you a little extra room. Just a little, because it’s all I have, but I really try to be considerate of you. I was surprised when you pulled out your laptop, but whatever. If you want to try to get some work done in that too-cramped space, more power to you.

In hindsight, I’m actually embarrassed with myself for how much consideration I offered to you. I really thought, oh, you poor guy, being a normal-sized dude in a small airplane seat. Here, let me be courteous to try to help you feel comfortable.

Did I contribute to what happened next by being overly accommodating? Was trying to help the person sitting next to me really to be avoided in the interest of self-preservation?

At one point, I realized that my middle-seatmate was leaning into my space. He had his laptop on his tray table so far to the left that the cup holder on the right of the tray table was accessible. He was left-handed, and we were on the right side of the plane, so every time he would type, his elbow tapped my side. I hate to be touched there. Though, honestly, on a plane, I hate to be touched anywhere by a perfect stranger, especially one who doesn’t seem to care just how much of my space he is invading.

I shifted my right arm so it was at my side, taking up the space his elbow was usurping. He stopped typing, but didn’t move that laptop the extra few inches to the right that were available.

For the remainder of the hour-long flight, this guy leaned left, with his laptop shifted several inches to the left off his tray. Why left? Why, when give the choice of leaning left, or right, or just keeping the laptop as centered in his space as possible, did he find it acceptable to lean into me? Because I am female? Because I was considerably smaller than the uncomfortable-looking big guy in the window seat (who definitely had some girth on Mr. Middle Seat), so there was simply more room to be had by leaning my way?

I have a hunch that if I polled the men that I know, they would have no idea what I am talking about, because this never happens to them. Yet, the women I know would find this scenario very familiar. It is as if it’s an unconscious movement for a man to take our space. We’re smaller, we’re quieter, it’s less creepy for him to lean into my space than another dude’s.

Here’s the thing: It’s actually not okay for this to happen. It’s also not okay that I didn’t feel comfortably saying hi, could you sit up a little straighter because, seriously, dude, we’re all crammed in here.

I do wish the airlines would recognize that American adults are, for the most part, bigger than we once were, and that isn’t likely to change. I know it would cost a lot of money for planes to be retrofitted to accommodate bigger people, but there is a point where that really does need to happen. There should not be a reason or opportunity for anyone to encroach on my space when we are both seated in the seats for which we paid. I should not have to scrunch over practically in the aisle because the guy next to me doesn’t really fit in the space. But since this is the reality of airline travel as we currently know it, gentlemen, please, I ask you to consider how you move within the space. Consider not man-spreading your legs. Consider that if you need to lean and encroach on someone’s space, what does it mean for you to take the space of the woman next to you and not the man? Consider that there is a reason women are aware of this type of micro-aggression, and men are oblivious.