The Visible Woman...July 9, 2000

Sunday

July 9, 2000

"The fundamental problem is that we want things to last forever and they never do...nor would we really want them to if we thought about it."

Anon

frogti

Wearing: For dog walk: Levi's 560's, New Balance 971 Hiking boots, UT Women's Tennis T-shirt; For house lounging and a casual birthday party: California Crazee Wear shorts, Museum of Neon Art T-shirt, New Balance 752 walking shoes, tennis socks with the Tasmanian devil playing tennis.

past and future

I get a nice early start again. Out of the house with the dog and gear before eight. We park at the bank east of Expo on Windsor, go a little south on Stamford, over to Expo, back north to Cherry and across to Rockmoor and cut over to Bridal Path and down to Mozart's. It's quiet on the way except for the occasional SUV or giant pickup roaring by and a pair of Snauzers straining at their leashes to play. At Mozart's we see another girl poodle, a silver, belonging to a friend of SuRu's.

Along the way, I see one of those giant recreational vehicles in front of someone's house. On the back they have a BMW motorcycle with a seat with a booster for a passenger and a bicycle built for two. Life on the road would be appealing, don't you think? Do you think they have high speed Internet access in RV parks? Do you think they wire the things with Ethernet? You could get a wireless connection and then put a WEB cam on the front of the thing and .... Of course, I'm sure someone is doing it.

We discuss digital video cameras and editing equipment with a couple of friends. This technology is incredible. In between I watch part of the Wimbledon Men's final and sort some of my mom's old slides. Some of these old images of me and other people take me back. And let's not even mention a picture including my 1962 VW Bug which was a rusted out mess when I got it and didn't improve in the decade that I owned it. Hey, though, before you criticize...I never made a single car payment in my life. Yeah, I know, the neighbors planted red-tipped Photinia to block their view of the monster...that stuff will grow to be ten-feet tall if you let it. And they did.

We drive way out to Spicewood Vineyards for a 50th birthday party. Our friend is a food writer and her restaurant buddies have come up with some good grub. Roasted corn on the cob and other vegies, tomatoes and mozzarella (tomatoes from Boggy Creek Farm). A good party makes being 50 easier.

This dynamic tension between what's permanent (nothing really) and what's ephemeral (everything really) has been on my mind a lot lately. I've been shedding old things mercilessly, but appreciating them, too. I've been planning to buy some new electronics. And considering transfering old, bad 8MM and Super 8 films to VHS. I've been planning for the future, one always does, but living more and more in the present, the now.