My Adidas

my adidas
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Today a panhandler said to me, “Don’t look so sad; just think, you could be in my shoes.” So I went out and bought some new shoes. But before that, I reflected on the fact that apparently I look sad when I am trying my best to look neutral. But what can I do? When I see a person walking down the street alone and smiling it makes me feel uncomfortable because smiling to your self is kind of like talking to yourself. I am trying to learn to raise the corners of my mouth but not too high. If I’m not careful I’ll look annoyed or – I hesitate to use the word crazy- unstable? Whatever it is I do not want to look it. If you want to put someone in a bad mood tell him to smile or better yet ask, “What’s wrong with you?” If you want to put someone in a good mood, wear these shoes. (Although a woman almost threw up when she saw me try them on.)

Katydids

The "crickets" that I mentioned earlier were shieldbacked katydids (family Tettigoniidae, subfamily Decticinae), scientific name: Anabrus simplex Haldeman or "Mormon Crickets." But I call them simply, "Crickets of the Church of Latter Day Saints." I've heard that the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons, is the fastest growing religion. Do the Crickets count? Because I do not think it's fair if they do. They are lowly insects with little free will. They should not be forced into a religion that they may or may not understand.




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A Birthday

Stephen
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

The child pictured is my brother I believe. If the photographer were to ask for advice I would kindly give it to her/him as I am a photo teacher. But he/she has not asked and I am fairly sure the photographer is no longer with us. I am positive the man is my father, also not with us, and the woman is my mother. She is in California. August 29th is my brother’s birthday. Happy Birthday Big Brother.

Why am I still awake?

We drove from Jackson, Wyoming to Chicago in two days. “We” are Pam and I. In Jackson we visited Oona who took us to Grand Teton National park where we heard elks bugling.
But what really interested me was the giant crickets in Idaho. We saw them running across the street and they looked like small mice. I tried to pick one up but it was eating a grasshopper and it occurred to me that if it could eat a grasshopper it could bite me. There is a possibility that it was not eating the grasshopper but was just standing on it. You know how that is, sometimes it looks like you are eating something but you are just standing on it?

Which reminded me of a few days previous. I was driving north on Highway 14 in New Mexico and as I rounded a corner there was a tarantula crossing the street. I tried to swerve but I needed to swerve left to avoid the spider. There was a car coming toward me on the left - I had to decide - me and the person in the oncoming car or the spider? It was a split second decision but you know the result. I backed up my Taurus to checked on it just in case. The tarantula almost made it; I only ran over the head.

Book review: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks sucks.

Fish

fish
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Back from fishing. This is all I caught. Or bought. I realized after getting there and buying a one day fishing license for $14.00 that what I really wanted to do was hike. A man from Albuquerque named Justin, I know - not a “man’s” name, met me at the lake on Sunday. He had never fished and it was a joy to show him the ropes. “That’s right, put your finger through the ring and pull back. Well done!” Justin’s a quick learner.

I leave tomorrow.

Gone Fishing

Diddy? He did.

I realize, as I am sure you do, that Cabin is lacking in political and pop cultural content. Today I read a news story that I could not ignore: P. Diddy dropped the “P.” His name is Diddy now. He said the “P” was getting between he and his fans. He also said that all of his former names were confusing even himself and that it took too long to explain who he was when he called someone. I admit if someone called me and said, “Hi, Jon, this is P. Diddy,” I would wonder who it was. If someone called and said, “Hi, Jon, this is Diddy,” I would say, “Oh, hey what’s up Diddy.”

Produce

produce2
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Thought you might like to see the results from my garden.

Untitled (no subtitle either)

The internet no worky in Albuquerque – at least not at our house in Albuquerque. I had to go to the Flying Star to check my email.
One thing I think we can all agree on, whether democrat or lowly republican, doctor or lowly mechanic, professional athlete or lowly amateur, is that Milwaukee is easier to spell than Albuquerque. Not much easier but easier. Do you think I’ll get more mail when I move? I do not think so but I do not blame the spelling of city names. I blame the Internet. I moved to easy to spell Boston after the Internet was pretty well established. I did not get tons of mail in those days. Sadly this missive offers no answers to the lack of real letters in my real mailbox. My address? Yea right. Next thing I know I’ll be getting offers to buy stocks from companies no has ever heard of delivered right to my house. Not this time bialzibub333x2!

Diane had a suicide, maybe.

Diane?
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Somehow Diane ended up about three feet from the pond. It reminds me of the David Sedaris story, “Get Your Ya Yas Out,” about his Greek grandmother. Her gold fish jumped out of its bowl and Ya Ya says, “He think to have a suicide,” and “Why he have a suicide?” I am not sure how Diane died. Was it a suicide? We may never know.

Times, Dimes

This afternoon I overheard a couple of laborers talking to a carpenter about wages. The general consensus was that they weren’t getting paid as much as they would have a few years ago. I decided to throw in my two cents: “When I was your age you could get two nickels for a dime. Now it’s the complete opposite; now you need two nickels just to get one dime.” I think that helped put things into perspective.

undisclosed

undisclosed
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Please excuse my lack of entries over the past few days. I have been in an undisclosed location. The attached photo is the only hint I can give of my whereabouts. Okay, one more, the location is on the West Coast in the Sierra Nevada. And the building that I occupied was not Internet ready - nor was it electricity ready or phone ready. In other words the building, the cabin, was not ready. Hopefully it never will be ready.
And in other news, I did get the job in Milwaukee. Of course this means I will be moving to Wisconsin and leaving my beloved Robert in Albuquerque. I already left my beloved Taffy the yellow dog in California. All of which reminds me that Robert and I need to eat lunch.

Baby Carrot

carrot#1
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

I picked this little carrot a few moments ago. I couldn’t resist. Yes, it is just a baby. A delicious baby.

Jerry

jerry
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Here is a picture of Luke’s father. We were out target shooting in the desert in Western Idaho. He died this morning. I only met him once but I will never forget the experience. Luke and I drove to Idaho for his sister’s wedding but first Jerry managed to round up the family, a sizable amount of guns and ammunition, and take us to the desert for a day of target practice. We shot at plastic gallon jugs full of water. Water would come out of the hole so we knew whether or not we hit the target. It’s hard to see a bullet hole at 300 feet. We also shot bottles and cans. After a few hours of shooting, Luke’s brothers and nephews and in-laws went home. Luke and I had planned on camping that night. A while before sundown Jerry said, “I am going to go home and get some steaks and some more ammo and spend the night out here with you.” He came back with a tent, lawn chairs, a BBQ, steaks and more ammo. It was pitch dark by then. He drove his car up to where the targets were and aimed his headlights so we could continue to shoot in the dark. In the morning he loudly admonished his poodle for breathing too loudly (or some such offense) saying, “BE QUIET. YOU’LL WAKE THE BOYS. TOO BAD THEY'RE STILL SLEEPING; THEY'RE MISSING A HELL OF A SUNRISE.” Two seconds later we got out of our tent and Jerry said, "You just missed a beautiful sunrise."
He’ll be missed.

Idaho

I am in Chicago. Luke left this morning for Boise. His dad is not doing well and is not going to get better. I do not know what more to say, what I should say, or if I should say more. A guess the point of this post is to let Luke know that I am thinking of him and his family.
Luke, you are like a brother to me and I feel like I should have gone with you.

Interview

Some of you are aware that I interviewed for a job today. It was in Milwaukee and, you’ll be happy to know, I was the tannest one in the room. It was really no contest.

Kehlsteinhaus

alpine_cough
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

Here is a picture from our recent trip to Europe. This is an Alpine Cough, a member of the crow family. This picture was taken at the Eagles Nest or Kehlsteinhaus, high in the Bavarian Alps. This teahouse was a birthday present for Adolf Hitler who is famous for being evil among other things. These birds apparently fill the niche that House Sparrows fill in lower altitudes – that of begging for food at outdoor cafes.




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Music Appreciation

I am in my house listening to records (Queen, Sheer Heart Attack at the moment).
During lunch today we were talking about people we had known who had been in a coma and became Christians afterward. I said, “That’s when Jesus strikes, when you are at your weakest.” *
As we left the restaurant, J. noticed Robert still had his napkin in his hand. It was a linen napkin. I tried to get it and he said, frustrated, “I’m taking this to UCLA. Every time I have a banana . . .” He trailed off and I can’t recall what else he said but he was not going to let go of that napkin.

Now I am listening to Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92. I know what some of that means. “Beethoven” is the composer. “Symphony,” I think, implies that it was written for a large ensemble and “A major” must be the key. I am not sure what Opus 92 means. Is that part of the symphony? In other words, did the orchestra just play a section of a larger piece?

*To you Christians out there, that was not meant to be offensive - just an observation on how your savior operates.

Bat

batt2
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

I found this bat on the side of Highway 14 Sunday afternoon. Are you starting to think that my interest in natural history has gone too far? Perhaps too many dead animals?
My other question is, do you or any of your friends know what kind of bat this is?

Lee Friedlander

Friedlander-Self_PortraitPS
Originally uploaded by Jonathansadler.

This is for Mr. Holmes. I understand your indignation. My fault. Here is a picture of Lee Friedlander by Lee Friedlander. This photo alone does not explain why he is one of my favorites. My admiration of Lee’s work has developed over years of study and a picture, being worth a mere thousand words, must therefore fall short.