A Rainbow Tout

“Let no one who loves be unhappy... even love unreturned has its rainbow.” ~James Matthew Barrie

Upon leaving a coffee house in downtown Bemidji around 7 PM on Monday June 14th, we were greeted by a sun shower. I've always loved sun showers, they seem so counterintuitive. Seems like one shouldn't get wet our something. When we looked east toward the lake, I saw one of the more perfect rainbows I have ever seen. You could see the entire arc of the rainbow, don't ever recall seeing that before. To the left, it seemed to touch down in the water, indeed reflected by the water, and to the right it seemed to touch down just off the lake behind Ace Hardware.

Well, I had to google rainbows to find out more. First I learned why I couldn't photograph the entire arc...totally impossible it read, would need an extreme wide angle lens. Any complete rainbow photos I've seen have seen apparently have been done digitally or with the "stitch" method. It isn't often that I look at something and just can't stop looking. (The Grand Canyon comes to mind) I just couldn't stop saying "Wow", and took several photos. Unfortunately, just like I read, I couldn't come close to capturing the panorama. Sadly, I was also disappointed to find that the camera could not do justice to the spectrum of color and density of the phenomenon.

Sure enough, as we moved south and east to head home, the rainbow slowly disappeared we now not positioned in the right spot. Here's a little of what I learned about rainbows. My biggest surprise? If one was in a plane, one would see the complete circle of a rainbow, you just have to get high enough? Did you know that? Here goes, with some pix.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” ~Arlen, Harold; Harburg, E.y

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. They take the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outer part of the arch and violet on the inner section of the arch.
Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind at a low altitude angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays happen when half of the sky is still dark with raining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky in the direction of the Sun. The result is a luminous rainbow that contrasts with the darkened background.
A rainbow does not actually exist at a particular location in the sky. Its apparent position depends on the observer's location and the position of the sun. The position of a rainbow in the sky is always in the opposite direction of the Sun with respect to the observer, and the interior is always slightly brighter than the exterior.

The bow is centred on the shadow of the observer's head, or more exactly at the antisolar point (which is below the horizon during the daytime), appearing at an angle of 40°–42° to the line between the observer's head and its shadow. As a result, if the Sun is higher than 42°, then the rainbow is below the horizon and usually cannot be seen as there are not usually sufficient raindrops between the horizon (that is: eye height) and the ground, to contribute.

Exceptions occur when the observer is high above the ground, for example in an airplane, on top of a mountain, or above a waterfall. From an airplane, one has the opportunity to see the whole circle of the rainbow, with the plane's shadow in the centre.
It is difficult to photograph the complete semicircle of a rainbow in one frame, as this would require an angle of view of 84°. For a 35 mm camera, a lens with a focal length of 19 mm or less wide-angle lens would be required.

“We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that a savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter.” ~Mark Twain

“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work.” ~Unknown

“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.” ~John Vance Cheney

“If I traveled to the end of the rainbow -

As Dame Fortune did intend,

Murphy would be there to tell me -

The pot's at the other end.” ~Bert Whitney

“Don't miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold.” ~Unknown
Frequently, a dim secondary rainbow is seen outside the primary bow. Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops, and appear at an angle of 50°–53°. As a result of the second reflection, the colors of a secondary rainbow are inverted compared to the primary bow, with blue on the outside and red on the inside. The secondary rainbow is fainter than the primary because more light escapes from two reflections compared to one and because the rainbow itself is spread over a greater area of the sky.

“May God give you...

For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile,

for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share,

for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.” ~Irish Blessing

Busy Girl Maya's 4th

Busy Girl Maya celebrated her fourth birthday at her maternal Grandma's store in downtown Bemidji, a place called Glazed and Amused. Fun place to go because that's pretty much how I've felt since 1968. Barb and I have kind of adopted Maya as a grandchild until further notice. Someone told me recently that family is what you say it is, so if we want Maya as part of our family and a few other kids about town...and adults, well by golly that's what we're gonna do. So there!Pals. Bandita and Benson are left in charge of our home as we journey to the west side of the lake for a celebration of Maya's birthday.

There once was a cat and a dog,

Who slept on the couch like two logs,

With each other they sleep,

Hardly making a peep,

While they send out Barb to do jogs.
Maternal Grandma Sandy with new addition Madeline known aka Maya's sister. Sandy works in the back room of her store making molds, but takes a break to hold her granddaughter. Daughter in law meanwhile works up front. They broke the mold after Madeline.

There once was a grandma named Sandy,

In the back of the store she was handy,

She takes a break from her molds,

Her granddaughter to hold,

A girl who one day may be called Mandy.
Uncle Ricardo/Aunt Julie look glazed in the eyes,

Me thinks the darn camera did take by surprise,

It caught them eating,

At this birthday meeting,

Now photographers they clearly despise.

Having run out of limericks, the photographers eye is caught by an awaiting interview. Apparently everyone in costume had to sit at the little peoples table. The birthday girls sits at the right questioning her father. I don't think he's got the answer.
Barbara instructs her children and grandchild in the proper etiquette of eating with fingers. Note how Tonya and Ashley eat right handed with full hands, whilst Rachelle listens intently. Being a perfectionist, she does not want to start off on the wrong digit. Barbara clearly shows how to eat with two fingers with other fingers spread, arms off the table, and left handed...
Barbara shows younger women how to fold their arms when holding a baby. Concentration is on Rachelle who is out of practice.
Barbara points out to Tonya and Rachelle that babies have feet...I think that's what they're checking. Meanwhile Dustin is mildly amused off camera.
Tonya, a little perturbed, points Dustin to the corner where he will have to sit for the rest of the party if he is obedient.
Good boy. And the women seem satisfied that justice has prevailed. But wait. Oh noooooo

Defiant as ever, Dustin dons his Special "K" Man from the Caymans super hero outfit. He looks to the sky and prepares to fly. More powerful than three loco-women, faster than a speeding tongue lashing, able to leap tables and chairs with a single bound. Look, over by the shelves. Is it a man? Is it a father? Is it a husband? Yes!

Mother's Day: The Women in My Life

Mother's Day in my 65th year. I don't have a mother or a grandmother any more, haven't for years. But women have had a heck of an influence on my life. I quit smoking on Mother's Day more than a decade ago. These are my closest kinswomen, ascendent and descendent. I have been fortunate to have lived at least a time with all these women, including my grandmothers. Perhaps paradoxically, these seven gentlewomen have taught me much about being a man.

Paternal Grandmother. Rose de Lima (Rose "Emma") Goulet. Mother of nine, my Dad in the middle. She passed in her mid-60's in the late 1950's, not too long after this photo was taken. English was a second language for her. We can trace her French heritage back to the mid-1600's in Quebec. She and my grandfather never had a lot of money but raised some exceptional children and did just fine. She was widowed in the mid-1940's.

A house needs a grandma in it. ~Louisa May Alcott

Maternal Grandmother. Johanna "Jennie" Frazier. Mother of eleven. My Mother was the youngest. Lived into her very late 90's passing in the late-1960's. Born in Vermont of Irish immigrants. She lived her life on a large farm, and kept house for three bachelor sons into her 90's. Widowed in the mid-40's. Some of my fondest memories are of the farm and summer visits with scores of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Double washtubs full of ice-picked block ice with Dad's Root Beer and Nesbitt's Orange. Huge lilac bushes lined a long drive. Cows, horses, pigs, chickens, haylofts, and apple trees.

Grandmas don't just say "that's nice" -- they reel back and roll their eyes and throw up their hands and smile. You get your money's worth out of grandmas. ~ Author:unknown

Mother. Irene Cecilia Kelly. Mother of four sons. I am the eldest. Full-blooded Irish. She married a man she knew as a teen. She was baptized, married and buried on the grounds of St. Thomas church in a town called Corcoran, as was my father. She passed in her mid-70s, too young in 1986. She was a wonderful cook. She wore what she called a "house dress" as did most of the stay-at-home moms in the neighborhood. She was my confidant late at night after dates and dances in a darkened living room. She'd rock in her chair waiting up for me, mellow music playing on 33-1/3 LP's.

One of her most impressive feats was being a single mother in the early 50's to four boys as her husband spent 18 months in the far east during the Korean War. Sons at the time ranged from a brother born in Dad's absence, age three, four and me at age eight. I was the man of the family.

"Men are what their mothers made them." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wife. The woman stuck in the middle with me. The link between ascendent and descendent, Barbara Ann Olson of Fergus Falls. Of German and Swedish heritage. She married in August 1988, having met her husband a half dozen years before.

I’ve a wife her name Barbara Ann,

I love her, I’m her number one fan,

She gave me daughter,

After I caught her...

Made me not only a Dad but a man. ~Her Husband

A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time. ~Anne Taylor Fleming

Eldest Daughter. Kimberly Irene. A Mother herself, both a boy and a girl child had she. She loves animals, gardening, music, loves her job, and could probably tear an engine apart and put it back together. She knows a lot about me. She spent a lot of time with me during my 20's. She's listened to Magical Mystery Tour with head phones.

They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him that little girl in pigtails. She makes him feel like Christmas. In exchange, he makes a secret promise not to see the awkwardness of her teenage years, the mistakes she makes or the secrets she keeps. ~Anonymous

Youngest Daughter. Erin Marie. She has a mind of her own, knows what she wants and goes after it. Very much in tune with her blessings. She has found a wonderful vocation and is good at it. She brought me to tears at her wedding when the Father/Bride dance song she chose was one of my favorites. "In My Life".

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life, I'll love you more ~John Lennon

Granddaughter. Kelly Jean. A neo-hippie. We went to see Barack Obama at Grand Forks together. She protested at the Republican convention in St. Paul and was one of hundreds to get arrested and kept on a bridge for hours. She texted me from time to time keeping me updated on her remonstration. I guess this kind of thing skips a generation. She lives life fully, I want her to be careful and listen to her vibes.

Strawberry creams and wonderful dreams,

Ladylike airs and teddy bears,

Fairy tales and wedding veils,

Thats what granddaughters are made of. ~Unknown

Epilogue

Women surround me. I have ten nieces but one nephew. After being raised with no sisters, I was blessed with a loving Mother, a wonderful wife who I can talk to about anything, and two lovely daughters who have taught me much. I have a granddaughter who pleases me more than she knows.

The Duet of the Double Duplet Print Pair

A Dyad of Two Things: So tonight the Turtle Lake Gang had a few folks over for a little bit of a "going away for awhile party", and to celebrate a bit of my brother's 60th birthday coming up on May 8th.

It was the usual good company and good food kind of evening, until I stood up. Then things got more peculiar than usual. It was warm and I started to pull off my sweat shirt, underneath of which was a t-shirt. Nephew Alex immediately noted that I had the same design on my t-shirt as I had on my sweat shirt. He went on and on about how eccentric it was to own both a t-shirt and a sweat shirt with the same logo on it, let alone having both on at the same time. Weird eh? Well, stay tuned.

Ashley, the daughter of good friends, noting Alex's incredulity, then stood up and started pulling off her sweat shirt to display her t-shirt beneath, and all present broke into madcap laughter whilst channeling Rod Serling before slipping into the Twilight Zone.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!

You know, I can't imagine the odds of a person having both a t-shirt and a sweat shirt with the same design/logo, let alone a person wearing both if they did have such an odd ensemble.

Why would they own such twin clothing? Why would they wear both at the same time? What kinds of conditions would be present to allow such a thing to happen?

But TWO people having twin t-shirts and a sweat shirts, and then both wearing both the same evening without coordination? On the same night? To the same event? Well, that's off the charts. It's just too strange to think about.

Poly Ticks: Convention Madness

I've been avoiding doing a post about my "old flame" Polly Tiks. Yes, I was addicted to her big time. I've got a political party activist resume as long as my arm. I won't sing my litany, not as proud as I used to be, and because I have finally broken free. It took me at least four years to recover.

2010 marks the first year since 1978 I did not seek election as a delegate to attend Congressional and State DFL conventions. And thankfully, I am not going through withdrawal, in fact it feels good...to be free at last. Of late, I find politics so maddening, that sometimes I can't even watch the news. I'm not that unusual, not the first to break the obsession,. I know at least two others who were in as deep as me and recovered. But alas, poor souls, most stay active in this addiction their entire lives - never realizing a problem - being surrounded by so many obsessed...as to validate their madness.

I take a certain risk for relapse in hanging around those still suffering and imbibing - a bit, mostly just to see old friends and participate in a few interventions. I go to fundraisers, but rarely if ever to darn old monthly meetings any more. This year I did go to local conventions, the county and district. One gets elected at caucuses to attend these local convocations.

What follows is my perception of the 2010 county convention. The purpose mostly, is to elect a local board of directors, attempts at additions to the state platform, and electing delegates to the next level of conventions. There are two, Congressional; mostly to endorse a Congressperson, and State; mostly to party endorse US Senators (not until 2012) and folks to represent the party for State-wide office, Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor. (this year)

It ain't all that funny...this addiction...never was, but now for different reasons. But just like all addictions, looking back on how mad it all was, one finds some humor if not cynicism. I left early at county, and came late to district convention. Unheard of in my past. I guess I have finally gotten the monkey off my back, livin' one day at a time.

Typical roles at a political convention. A reporter, a king/queen maker and an elected official. As politics is so confusing, all entering must wear a name tag with bus number, the reporter wears a symbolic name tag appropriate to his profession.

Hey! rub-a-dub, ho! rub-a-dub, three men in a tub,

And who do you think were there?

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker,

And all of them gone to the fair. ~Nursery Rhyme

The party Treasurer for life gives a report while the Chairman looks on, appropriately an empty seat in between. Some think the Treasurer is less interested in money than gathering information for his vocation as an anthropologist.

Well you started out with nothing,

And you're proud that you're a self made man,

And your friends, they all come crawlin,

Slap you on the back and say,

Please.... Please.....

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,

I got the feeling that something ain't right,

I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,

And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs, ~Stealers Wheel

The reporter takes his seat, coffee and snacks at the ready, then patiently waits for something interesting to happen.

A former Chairman and spouse. He wears a hat which is never removed and of which he is very proud. More often than not he has this look about him, like he sees things the rest of us do not. Here we can only assume that he tells a story of Goobernatorial candydate, Terrible Tommy who is out of range.

Laugh, Laugh, I thought I'd die

It seemed so funny to me, ~Beau Brummels

Strategy being discussted on the far side.

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. ~Sun Tzu

At a political convention, delegates and alternates must ink certify with one's signature in order to substantiate that one is a duly elected delegate bestowed with that distinction at the earlier precinct caucuses.
These two as children got on the wrong bus, not sure who made the mistake. She on the bus for attorneys, he on the bus for twenty-hour day delivery drivers. Funny are the ways of Providence bringing this unlikely couple who garden and entertain in a dining room bigger than a house. But that ain't all, they find common ground as members of a fast-draw western group, oh how I wish I could remember their aliases.

Political madness envelops a room full of people. Scary indeed.

“'But I don’t want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can’t help that,' said the Cat. 'We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.'

'How do you know I’m mad?' said Alice.

'You must be,” said the Cat. 'or you wouldn’t have come here.'” ~Lewis Carroll

Politics brings together, young and old, experienced and neophyte, male and female, gay and straight, white and brown. Here Chelly See, exempted from wearing a bus tag, still too young to be too confused, observes the back side of politics.

District Chairwoman, Green Eyed Lady directs.

Green eyed lady ocean lady

Child of nature friend of man ~ Sugarloaf

A smile confuses an approaching frown. ~Author Unknown

The Chairman takes command, flanked by Part-lament-aryan, Co-Chair-woman, and Secretary, Alright!

“When the chairman introduced the guest speaker as a former illegal alien, I got up from my chair and yelled, "What's the matter, no jobs on Mars?" When no one laughed, I was real embarrassed. I don't think people should make you feel that way.” ~Jack Handy

The Lowyer, moves a rule change for the greater body that will not affect the smaller body from which he belongs. A closer look from the Part-lament-aryan may have ruled the Lowyer out of order.

I was gambling in Havana

I took a little risk

Send lawyers, guns and money

Dad, get me out of this ~Warren Zevon

Terrible Tommy, self-described as "refleshingly honest" tells the truth.

The whole world is shaking now. Can't you feel it?

A new dawn is breaking now. Can't you see it?

I said see it, yeah, can't you see it?

Can't you see it, yeah, can't you see it?

I can see it, yeah.

Tell the truth. Tell me who's been fooling you

Tell the truth. Who's been fooling who?

Hear what I say, 'cause every word is true.

You know I wouldn't tell you no lies.

Your time's coming, gonna be soon, boy. ~Eric Clapton

To be or not to be? That is the question. The answer is 2B.

Seldom stumble, never crumble

Try to tumble, life's a rumble

Feel the stinging I've been given

Never ending, unrelenting

Heartbreak searing, always fearing

Never clearing persevering

Sail on, sail on, sailor

I work the seaways, the gale-swept seaways

Past shipwrecked daughters of wicked waters

Uninspired, drenched and tired

Wail on, wail on, sailor ~Brian Wilson

After a few political speeches, ones eyes begin to glaze over and politics takes on it's true form, just a little out of focus.

Finally on his own. This Rep cools any political hot air with a windmill atop his wigwam.

Glazed and dazed if not amazed.

Standing around, waiting for something to happen, it appears a Chauffeur awaits at an airport for the Reverend John.

His mother told him "Someday you will be a man,

And you will be the leader of a big old band.

Many people coming from miles around

To hear you play your music when the sun go down

Maybe someday your name will be in lights

Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight." ~Chuck Berry

Please.

I've tried so hard, hard to be patient

hoping you would stop this infactuation

but each time we are together

I'm so afraid of losing my mind forever

stop in the name of love before you break my heart

think it over, ooooh think it oh oh-ver ~ With apologies to the Surpremes

The End

And in the end

The love you take

Is equal to the love you make. ~Lennon/McCartney

There's a New Girl in Town, Madeline Kay

Greetings all I'd like to announce the entrance of our 7lb 14oz 19.5 inch baby girl, born today, Sunday March 21, 2010 at 12:22 PM. Pics comming soon!

~ Daddy Dustin

And with that email, Barbara and I knew our good friends had a new daughter and a little sister for Maya. No, she didn't have a name, but several hours later she did, and she shall be known as Madeline Kay. Mommy Tonya went to hospital around 4 AM, but decided to put together a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle until late morning, Madeline not quite ready and waiting for Spring. Who can blame her? Weren't we all? The babe born...close enough...to be an Aries/Pisces cusp promises to be an interesting person. Both fire and water. Feminine and masculine. Balanced.

And Madeline will be wonderful. For she could not have picked a better man and woman to be her parents. I thought of writing a litany of reasons why Barbara and I care for this family, but quite frankly I couldn't think of where to begin and or where to end. There are not enough and too many adjectives to describe this exceptional couple. Suffice to say, they are true friends, they are as relatives, and we love them.

D-D-Dustin and the Girls. The new and happy family. Big sister Maya, Mama Tonya, Papa Dustin, and Baby Madeline. A picture is worth a thousand adjectives is it not?

So your baby is here!

What joy and what pleasure!

Now your life is expanding,

To make room for this treasure.

A darling newcomer

To have and to hold--

Her smiles are more precious

Than silver or gold.

She’ll demolish your schedule

Though she’s helpless and small;

She’ll make her needs known,

And she’ll rule over all.

See, a new parent’s work

Is just never quite done,

But you’ll never mind,

‘Cause it’s all so much fun.

When you hear her cute giggle

You’ll start "aahing" and "oohing,"

And she’ll soon reply back

By "ga ga" and "goo gooing."

Those big innocent eyes

See a world strange and new;

To make sense of it all

She’ll look only to you.

So cherish this time

Of miraculous things--

The excitement and wonder

That a new baby brings. ~ Joanna Fuchs

Fresh out of the oven. Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice. Madeline Kay.

A baby girl knows from the very beginning

How to play life’s game and come out winning.

Her pink-cheeked face, her adorable curls

Will reel you right in; that’s the way of girls.

She’ll flutter those lashes in a wide-eyed stare;

It’s all calculated to make you care.

And those baby girl noises, the sigh and the coo...

She’ll play baby poker, and the jackpot is you! ~ Joanna Fuchs

Mother and child. How curious. One day three, the next day four.

If nature had arranged that husbands and wives should have children alternatively, there would never be more than three in a family. ~Lawrence Housman

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity. ~Albert Einstein

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle. ~Vincent Van Gogh

Rachelle. Experienced. Blessed. A four-timer. Barbara, Rachelle and Ashley dropped over with a gift from the No-Name Book Club...so they say. I think they just wanted to hold a new baby.

Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething. ~Mark Twain

Ashley. She's a natural. Soon, too soon, she will be a Mother too.

Every child begins the world again... ~Henry David Thoreau

I envy women, and their ability to bear children. What a blessing. What a windfall. What a head start in understanding the value and importance of life. What a gift you have. And I shall never know. Sigh.

A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life. ~Irish Saying

Always a Mother. Pictured, a wonderful Mother who blessed me with a wonderful daughter.

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Amazing! Amazing indeed!

PADDLIN' MADELINE HOME

I love a girl named Madeline

I know she loves me, too

For ev'ry night the moon is bright

She rides in my canoe

At midnight on the river

I heard her father call,

But she don't care and I don't care

If we get back at all

'Cause when I'm paddlin' Madeline home

Gee! When I'm paddlin' Madeline home

First I drift with the tide,

Then pull for the shore

I hug her and kiss her

And paddle some more

Then I keep paddlin' Madeline home

Until I find a spot where we're alone

Oh! She never says "No"

So I kiss her and go

Paddlin' Madeline

Sweet sweet Madeline

Paddlin' Madeline home

'Cause when I'm paddlin' Madeline home

Gee! When I'm paddlin' Madeline home

First I kiss her a while

And when I get through

I paddle for one mile

And drift back for two

Then I keep paddlin' Madeline home

Until I find a spot where we're alone

Oh! If she'd only say "Throw your paddles away"

Paddlin' Madeline

Sweet sweet Madeline

Paddlin' Madeline home

~(Harry Woods) (1925)

Recorded by :

Authentic Band Organ; The Charleston Chasers;

Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards; Jackie Gleason;

Fred Hartley; Spike Jones; Anson Weeks.