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August 29, 2005
Oh no, Toto! We're not in Grand Rapids anymore!
This is preposterous! Who would have the gaul to steel one of only four remaining pairs of the very ruby red slippers Judy Garland wore during the filming of The Wizard of Oz?!
The following taken from the esteemed Mesabi Daily News, out of Virginia, Minnesota:
Garland 'Ruby Slippers' stolen
One of four pairs from 'Wizard of Oz' film taken from locked display case
Bill Hanna
Mesabi Daily News
Monday, August 29th, 2005 12:15:07 AM
GRAND RAPIDS — A pair of the Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” aren’t in the Children’s Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids any more, the Mesabi Daily News learned on Sunday.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Leigh Serfling, the city’s mayor, Sue Zeige, and John Kelsch, executive director of the museum, confirmed on Sunday evening that one of four pairs of slippers from that movie still in existence had been stolen from a locked display case. They were insured by the museum for $1 million.
The slippers were on loan from their owner, Michael Shaw of Los Angeles, for 10 weeks this summer — from days of the Judy Garland Festival in June through Labor Day. Shaw had planned to travel to Grand Rapids on Sept. 5 to pick them up. It was the second consecutive summer season that the Ruby Slippers were in Grand Rapids.
Law enforcement and museum officials would provide no more details on the theft Sunday night. A press release was to be issued today.
The Children’s Discovery Museum — which houses the Judy Garland Museum — is located adjacent to the birthplace of actress Judy Garland, who was born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids on June 10, 1922.
A pushy stage mother steered the Gumm siblings toward an entertainment career. Frances was clearly the most talented, and was signed by MGM for a movie career in 1936 as Judy Garland.
She was cast as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. Her character was spun by a tornado from her Kansas home to the mythical Oz. The wicked witch in the movie, in a mean and nasty voice, told Dorothy she wasn’t in Kansas any more. Dorothy would finally return home by clicking the heels of a pair of Ruby Slippers.
Garland died from a drug overdose on June 22, 1969, in London.
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Beth Bily, editor of the Grand Rapids Herald-Review, a sister paper of the Mesabi Daily News, contributed to this story.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 04:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 28, 2005
Suspicous activity
There's been some highly suspect things happening around the house lately. I present to you, the evidence:
Given the evidence, I can only come to one conclusion:
Somebody's been sleeping with the enemy again.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 10:43 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
My friend Richard
My friend Richard H passed away 8 days ago. He was 55 and died, unexpectedly, of a heart attack. I knew Richard for only about a year's time, but within that short window he affected my life in great ways.
He examplified what humbleness means. He practiced anonymous generosity on a daily basis. He was a man of much means, yet took the time to listen to everyone he met.
Richard invited some friends and I to his house for Easter Dinner this year. I had never visited his house, but upon entering the 5,000 square foot piece of modern architecture, I was in complete awe. His art collection consisted of original Warhols. I mean really, who has an original Warhol in their home? He had a female manequin dressed in a flowing peach-colored gown and matching hat, looking down on us from an interior balcony on the second floor. But I'm rambling. His posessions were not what defined him. The truth is he had 20 friends over and prepared a five course meal for all of his, on his own. It was spectacular.
About four weeks back he asked a friend and I if we'd like to join him and a few friends for dinner and a show at the new Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. We obliged and met him at the restaurant before the show. Much to my surprise, it wasn't just "a few friends" he had invited, but roughly 30 people from the gym we both held memberships at. Richard quiety paid for both dinner and the theater tickets.
Such wisdom, intelligence, compassion, generosity, sweetness, and most of all, love. All of these things eminated from him as freely as one breathes the air.
Upon hearing the news, and the following days, I couldn't help but think that Richard wasn't done living. He had so much more to do. How sad that he left us so early. I also had never lost a friend. My grandfather, grandmother, and great grandmother had all died when I was a child, but they didn't affect me like Richard's death did. I didn't know how to deal.
On Tuesday evening, Leo G put it into perspective in a marvelous way. He said that we can be sad, but this isn't about us - it's about Richard. And Richard lived wonderfully.
Goodbye, Richard, and thank you for all of the gifts you gave us all.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:57 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 20, 2005
Business and friends don't mix
Recently a friend approached me about doing a project for him. I was honored that he thought enough of me to ask. Shortly after we sat down together, outlined the work that needed to be done, and kicked off the project. A few days later I got an email saying that he wanted to pull out and cancel.
I was perplexed, stunned, shocked - it was the last thing I thougth would happen. I asked him about it and he said that I offended him. I feel very badly about this, but don't know how else I could have handled the situation.
Losing the project was a bummer, because I was really looking forward to it for the fun factor more than anything. But more importantly, I feel like the friendship has suffered.
I guess it's sort of like living with someone. You may be the best of friends, but after moving in together you find that you really aren't a good match.
Or when you're friends with somebody and one night you have sex. The entire dynamic around your relationship with that friend and mutual friends changes.
Well, shit happens. I guess all I can do at this point is know that I apologized and continue to try to be a good friend.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 11:21 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Sponsoring
In the last month I've been asked by two people to be their sponsor. A sponsor is someone with more sobriety time than you who can help you work the twelve steps of AA. They're there to listen and offer their experience to you in the hopes that it might help you recover. That said, being asked to be a sponsor is really cool. I feel honored and grateful more than anything. I know that the relationship I've developed with my sponsor has been invaluable in my recovery, so it's nice to think that perhaps I can help somebody else with their's.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 11:16 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
BlogMap
Posted by SparklesMpls at 10:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
I'm no Photoshop pro ...
... but I sure had a lot of fun putting these together for a friend's going away party.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:51 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
Hippies
I was sitting at the coffee shop doing coffee and crosswords last week (just like I'm doing right now), when a full size, late 90s model cargo van pulled up right out front. No windows aside from the two front passenger portals and windshield, it had New York license plates.
Driver and passenger exited the vehicle, and upon doing so each stretched as if having just awoken. Mid twenties or so, each wore white t-shirts, jeans, and sandals; disheveled hair and a few days of facial growth covered their chins.
They came inside and studied the menu board - an obvious sign of their amateur status in the shop. Those who come here know what they want; the blackboard menu never enters their focus.
Ordering cereal and juice they took a seat near me. Shortly thereafter I noticed the side door of the van out front open up and a third guy emerged by throwing his flipflops outside and carefully manuevered his bare feet into them from the safety of the van. He had longer, approximately shoulder-length hair, and wore a loose-fitting linen shirt with cargo shorts.
The door to the vehicle still open to allow a fourth to come into the daylight. This fellow also stretched and went immediately for his front pocket for a morning treasure - a cigarette inserted into his lips and promptly lit.
The two latecomers joined the first two inside for some breakfast after spending some time studying the menuboard.
They sat there for about an hour. Quiet discussions took place, but nothing overly zealous or dramatic, just low-key conversation. Comfortable with themselves indivually and as a group, they integrated themselves into the energy flow of the cafe quite well.
I imagine they're on their way to Seattle or Portland, or perhaps heading back to New York from the west.
No real responsibilities or obligations, just the freedom of the open air. Sounds like paradise, doesn't it?
Posted by SparklesMpls at 10:25 AM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
August 11, 2005
Miss Ellie is gone forever
Poor Miss Ellie, dead at 82 of lung cancer.
She was probably the only character on Dallas who was rarely angry. Never involved in any of the scandals (she did give John Ross back to Sue Ellen, afterall), and always the voice of reason. How could you not like her?
She was preceded in death 30 years prior by her husband, whom also died of cancer. She went broke paying medical bills for her husband's illness, but by 1980 she'd received an Emmy for her role on Dallas. 25 years later, she's still the only nightime soap actress to ever receive the award.
We'll all miss you, Miss Ellie!
Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:12 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 06, 2005
Lasse faire fire
The roomie and I were lounging around the house this morning waking up, showering, checking email, shoving yogurt down our throats, painting our toenails - you know, the usual weekend morning stuff. And then it happened. An extremely loud and obnoxious noise was emanating from the hallway just outside our door.
"Is that the fire alarm?" I asked.
"Yes. This is the third time in the past couple of weeks," he answered.
The roomie works different hours than myself, so he is often home during the daytime hours when I'm away at work. Subsequently, he gets to see more of the action in the building.
We didn't put on clothes and shoes and head for the door. Instead we opted for the balcony.
"Wanna make a bet on how long it takes them to get here? I'm guessing two to three minutes, tops," Roomie challenged.
I countered, "No way. At least five minutes."
Not 20 seconds later we heard the sirens, and by 30 seconds past our challenge, there were two fire trucks in front of our building and more on the way. We watched from our balcony high above as the firefighters in full gear took a very lasse faire approach in responding to the alarm. At their own pace they hopped out of the truck and proceeded to the rear to grab some equipment, and then almost lazily walked towards the main entrance of the building.
In my astonishment I exclaimed, "How in the hell did they get here so fast?"
"They're here within two minutes every time. I don't know how they do it, but they must just be sitting at the fire station in anticipation."
We watched for a few minutes, went to the bathroom to examine the other side of the building. Saw a few of the older residents crossing the street like you're supposed to do in a fire. Then we went back to our business. The buzzing still giving us a headache from the hallway.
Now, I know that the nearest fire station is approximately 10 blocks away. Even IF these firefighters were sitting around in full gear, sitting in their truck, and were able to respond as soon as our fire alarm went off, there's NO WAY they would have made it to us in the 30 seconds it seemed they responded. It's just not humanly possible.
As I continued to sit around casually I pondered the possibilities of the extremely fast response time.
A. We have an incredibly performing fire response team full of guys nicknamed Nancy and Mary. As soon as the alarm went off in the Loring neighborhood, they knew they needed to respond right away, lest their wigs burn.
B. Someone called 911 and the operator kept them on the line for a while, and then said person went to the hallway to pull the alarm.
C. The fire dept actually knows about a fire in our building before we do. That's scary.
The alarm was finally shut off about ten minutes after it began. The roomie and I were both ready to head out for the day shortly thereafter and headed for the elevators.
The elevator opened and we joined the sole inhabitant - a lady who lived upstairs. The doors closed and she spoke aloud, "I wonder if the elevators work during a fire."
In my disbelief I asked her, "You mean you didn't go rushing for the exit when the alarm went off?"
Posted by SparklesMpls at 10:48 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
August 05, 2005
A frick'n day off
As unserene as the headline might suggest I'm feeling at the moment, I'm actually quite happy! It's Friday and I am enjoying the beginning of a three day weekend here at, you guessed it - Spyhouse. Just finished my attempt at the crossword puzzles and reluctantly forced myself to put them down after unsuccessfully attempting to solve the NYT grid today. Damn - I must need more culture, history, reading, or something ... I can't be that dumb, can I? Okay, I'll stop there. Don't answer that.
It's a beautiful 65 at the moment, with a high in the low 80s. I slept with the windows open last night, and there's no rain in sight for days! I love it when you can leave the doors open and walk freely between inside and out. It doesn't seem often that you can do that - either raining, or so humid you feel like you're walking through a thick cream of mushroom something-or-other.
Work has been both good and bad as of late. Why, oh why am I writing about work on my day off? Well, I can't stop thinking about it, I suppose. We've had some senior folks leave the agency, which leaves us somewhat directionless, unmotivated, leery and nervous of the future - you know, shit that everyone deals with in everyday life is now entering my work life! Something that's supposed to be structured and consistent, right? I should know better. The only constant is change, right?
Well, I'm trying to make the best of it. It forces you to pick up some of the slack and make up for the holes in personel. I'm sure it will all turn out okay. Now I'll just have new people to impress.
I've got my first sponsee in AA. It's really quite an honor to be asked. I will have 18 months sober on Tuesday, and my sponsor has been bugging me to get a sponsee for months now. Of course he was hoping I was going to end up with somebody very challenging, but I think this guy's going to make it. He's determined, seems willing, and so far, has been honest as far as I can tell. Cross your fingers he stays sober or I'll never hear the end of it from the Legion of Decency.
I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day. Hope you're not all at work ;-)
Posted by SparklesMpls at 08:59 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 03, 2005
meme meme meme
I've been tagged by Matt. Luckily this is a rather short one!
I'm it.
Now I'm tagging Michael Guy, Chad Fox, and Rotten Ryan.
How long we have been with our partner/significant other/boy/girlfriend?
Too long.
How we met?
Mutual friends.
What we like to do together?
Talk to ourselves.
If we are single, what life with our ideal spouse/partner would look like?
Summers in the Hamptons, vacations in Mykonos, a condo in Monaco, a house on the hill in Laguna Beach, and an apartment on the Upper West Side.
No, really - just a nice guy who turns me on and I feel comfortable with. They'd have to be self-sufficient. Have their own interests. Not too clingy - they lead their own life, too. A home with a small lawn and garden. Maybe a dog. Oh, and a neighbor who's a little leary of the boys across the street.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 11:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Serial foreign caller
My caller from the other day has struck again. This person obviously isn't the brightest bulb on the tree ... you'd think they'd realize they weren't calling the right number by my voicemail greeting. I wonder if they'll keep calling.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 02, 2005
Bangkok
Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dress Your Gay Dog
No, really - dress these dogs up and get to the next level. I can't even make it past level two, so I guess I'm not all that gay.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:13 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
Agency life is so glamorous
An all-agency email was sent out my the time-sheet lady today. Emails of this sort end up in your inbox about once a pay period. When I received my first note of this type I thought, "Oh shit, I've gotta get my timesheet in." Now that I realize it's commonplace, the urgency level doesn't quite reach DEFCON 4.
I should also note that the person who sends these out is really quite sweet, which I think just adds to the somewhat comedic nature of getting such threatening emails at work.
Subject: IN RESPONSE TO .08 AS OF AUGUST 1.
Importance: High
Now that Minnesota has caught up with the rest of the nation in changing the blood alcohol limit to .08 it would be very helpful if you would all consider getting those July timesheets done right away. *
You know how overwrought I get on a normal month end and now I have to worry about limiting my alcohol consumption...its not going to be an easy week!
So, please could we get them all in by noon tomorrow....Month end reports will be run on Wednesday.
Thanks a bunch, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE ALREADY DONE THEM!
*This includes Friday the 29th, even if you didn't work - please submit it - and any weekend hours.
Posted by SparklesMpls at 11:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
