I've just completed the second week of a fifteen week intensive art course taught by Anthony Ryder in Santa Fe. Tony, as we students call him, has developed a well thought through curriculum.
The focus is on realism and learning the ins and outs of figure drawing and portrait painting. Sixteen students gather in his studio for six hours, five days a week. Students come from all over the world to study with Tony, a disciple of Ted Seth Jacobs. Jacobs is known for his major contribution to the revival of traditional drawing and painting. He taught in NYC at the NY Arts Student's League during the 70's when Tony studied with him.
In our course we have artists from New Zealand, The Bahamas, Holland as well as all corners of the United States. There is a diverse age range. Most have studied art extensively and some are outstanding in their own right. A few, like myself, have had limited training. All of us are totally focused and intensive in learning as much as we can.
During our first week we did some (approximately 4" by 6") poster portrait paintings in oil. Here the emphasis was totally on color with demonstrations focusing on value, hue and intensity of each brush stroke. Some students came with their own palette of colors. Being totally new to oil I choose 20 colors from Tony's list and it was quite exciting to open my tubes and start my palette.
The second week included three demonstrations related to figure drawing. Early in the week we learned to do "envelopes" and "block ins" of 40 minutes poses. By mid week we expanded to three hour poses which added gesture curves and finally on Friday, shading.
The high level of teaching reminds me of Juilliard and the opportunity I had to study with some of the masters of modern dance such as Martha Graham, Helen Tamiris, and Louis Horst. Classes at Juilliard as well as other venues of master classes were filled with strongly thought out concepts and beautiful philosophy as well as an encouragement to reach your highest potential. It is quite wonderful to be experiencing this excellence again.
In addition, the atmosphere at the studio is not one of competition, but of acceptance, and warmth with everyone focused and eager to learn. I am so grateful to be able to be part of this program!
And of course it is really neat to be in Santa Fe. The weather has been great with mostly blue sky days and temperature getting into the 50's. We are wonderfully located close to the Plaza but exploring our own neighborhood will have to wait awhile since Murray is dealing with Sciatica and finding it hard to remain standing or walk more than a short distance. He starts physical therapy this week and we are hopeful that it will help and it won't be long til the evenings and weekends will be spent exploring Santa Fe together.
My mother-in-law loves insurance agents, and they love her. They offer relief from the hassle of deductibles and coinsurance that is most appealing to an 88-year-old. But the hassle-free life is brief. Soon she hears, “We don’t cover that,” or “your doctor did not provide one of our diagnostic codes,” aggravation and an unhealthy rise in her blood pressure follow. Can we eliminate this conundrum that constantly repeats itself?
We’ve tried. In 1947, President Truman presented a plan. The AMA railed against it as “socialized medicine.” In 1971, President Nixon put forth a program to provide a public plan that is better than most of what is now considered "progressive." The insurance industry and Congressional Democrats led by Ted Kennedy, defeated it. Hillary Clinton oversaw development of a broad coverage plan in 1993. Because of a proposed increase in employer funding, business lobbied against it. The insurance industry that had the most to loose led a lobbying attack that was championed by Congressional Republicans and some disaffected Democrats.
Every year financing health care has become increasingly more difficult. More and more Americans are no longer insured (47 million according to the Census before the latest downturn in the economy). About the same number are considered to have inadequate coverage.
Increasingly the electorate is asking our representatives to do something. But they seem to be stymied between the veritable rock and hard place. The rock is “how do we fund a program that will cost over $1 trillion,” and the hard place is “how do we counter the insurance lobby’s power.”
The largest insurer, Aetna, gathers more than 20 cents of each premium dollar for "administration." The proportion of an individual premium that goes to administration increases as the number of beneficiaries in an insurance pool decreases. Thus, small employers find that their premium per worker is much higher than larger competitors. Younger workers often opt out of employer plans because they view their share of the premium as “not worth it.” They’d rather risk the possibility of a heavy medical expenditure against paying the monthly premium. The loss of this healthy group increases the premium that must be paid to cover older workers. And we pay for these uninsured when they get sick, $43 billion in 2005.
In these troubled times, universal health care makes even more sense because more services can be purchased for less! According to The New England Journal of Medicine, Canada’s single payer plan spends 17 cents of each health care dollar on administration. The comparable U.S figure is 31 cents. The potential saving is 14 cents of each health dollar or $280 billion. The bargaining strength of a universal plan would reduce the price charged for all types of services similar to what Medicare has done, an estimated saving of $200 billion.
Employer and employee premium payments reduce income before tax. This tax advantage, amounting to $200 billion, would end and lead to increased income tax collection. The end of the Medicaid program would produce a saving of more than $200 billion. Without an income tax increase, general revenues would increase $400 billion.
The current method of financing health care is inefficient. How would the program be funded? We are already paying for it, in fact, as shown above, we are overpaying. Allocating for the program would continue to need contributions from employers, employees and government.
THE FRENCH EXAMPLE
France’s health care system provides an example of what can be done. In 2000, the World Health Organization rated the French system the best in the industrialized world. (The U.S. ranked 37th of 191, just ahead of Cuba).
The French system is only partially publicly funded. Individual responsibility for paying for care increases with income. Individuals use private insurance, similar to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, to supplement public contributions. If a person falls below an income ceiling, stays more than 30 days in a hospital or has a chronic or debilitating illness, financial exposure is minimal. The equivalent situation for an American is often bankruptcy.
Almost all French providers accept the fee schedule set by government. Patients are responsible to pay providers directly, receiving reimbursement in about 10 days.
Based on studies between 1997 and 2000, the French have more resources per person than the U.S. Per 1,000 people, France has 3.3 physicians and 4.0 acute hospital beds; in the U.S., those numbers are 2.8 and 3.0, respectively. The only place the U.S. far exceeds the French is in nonphysician personnel: 1.9 in France, 5.7 in the U.S. Personnel who handle administration and billing account for the difference.
The French have twice as many office visits per capita, longer hospital stays, use more pharmaceuticals, but only half as many expensive MRIs as Americans.
Tax revenues fund 75 percent of the French health care program. Over half comes from a tax on employers and about 35 percent is from general revenues. Additional amounts come from taxes on automobiles, liquor, cigarettes and pharmaceutical companies and a 5 percent tax on earnings.
Why are we troubled about our health care system? After all, 83 percent of Americans have some form of third party coverage, yet only 40 percent are “fairly satisfied.” Are we more critical than the French, two-thirds of whom give high ratings to their system?
I submit that the U.S. system is balkanized and more bureaucratic than the French, the country that created bureaucracy. Our private insurers (there are about 1,300 of them) determine whom they will pay, for whom and how much based on contracts that change annually.
In the U.S., if you have the ability to pay, you can receive first class health care. But, a significant portion of our population (between 16 and 30 percent) is locked out and must resort to inferior, often more costly services, or none at all.
In 2006, more than 16 percent of our GNP went for health care; the French laid out less than 10 percent. While the French government funds 75 percent of services, the U.S. funds 50 percent. Yet, on a per-capita basis, we are spending more public funds than the French.
Looking at systems like France, I can see the possibility of providing access to first class care to everyone with the financial resources we now use, maybe even less.
On Monday, August 31, 2009, Paul Krugman wrote an article on the Nixon Proposal. I have been touting this proposal that is more progressive than anything that has been put forth, so far. I urge followers of this blog to view it: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/opinion/31krugman.html?hp
Incentives in our public and private health insurance are skewed away from prevention. The incentives for a medical graduate are to go into specialization. This incentive system has led to an excess of specialists and a paucity of preventive care primary care physicians. A recent survey of 1200 graduating medical school students indicated that only two percent were oriented to primary care. (TIME, 9/10/09). Because we have an excess of specialists, we don’t have the lines for elective surgery that exist in other countries. That is why a Canadian with means comes to the States for elective surgery. That is also why specialists, trained in Canada, come to the States to practice. To a great extent, that is why we spend over 16% of our GNP on medical care and most other countries spend (on average) 9%. That is also why our health statistics lump us with third world countries on such indicators as infant mortality. In addition, Dartmouth researcher, Elliott Fisher, M.D. suggests that too much health care may actually be killing us. His research indicates that as many as 30,000 Medicare recipients die annually from too much doctoring.
Primary care physicians report that up to sixty-five percent of what they are paid goes to administering their office. (Read Shannon Brownlee, July & August 2008 AARP Magazine, Why Does Health Care Cost So Much? Also read September 2008 AARP Bulletin.
In central New Mexico south of Albuquerque lies a premier spot for one of the most spectacular birding sites of North America. The Bosque del Apache is a National Wildlife Refuge in which you will have no trouble during the winter seeing bald and spotted eagles and hundreds if not thousands of Sand Cranes and white Geese.
I am not a great birder, but I enjoy the outdoors, and this year has been special in New Mexico. While the rest of the U.S. has suffered winter, temperatures have climbed to 60F with clear dark blue sky and no crowds.
The pictures on this page were taken by me and demonstrate the abundance just waiting to pose.
The Bosque is about 100 miles south of Albequerque just off of I-25. If you get a chance, don't forget your camera.
This year's matchup between the Steelers and Cardinals should have been a repeat of one 61 years ago. As discussed in my father's biography, two coincidences are hard to ignore. In 1947 the Cardinals,led by Pitt All-Star Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg,knew the Steelers' offense and trounced them in the regular season. Then, Steelers' field goal expert, Joe Glamp, hit the cross-bar on a thirty yard attempt against the Redskins. Winning either of these games would have placed the Steelers in the championship game against the Cards, then from Chicago. VISIT http://www.murraytuckerwriter.com
Oh well, that was then, this is now. Again the Steelers are up against a Pitt great,Larry Fitzgerald. The only way to stop him is to get to the quarterback. Let's hope that a great officiating team is sent to this game. I'm tired of throwing my yellow flag at the TV when Harrison is blatantly held.
[Joe Tucker would be 100 this year. Here he relates his disappointment on the missed field goal. Myron Cope, longtime friend, introduces Joe].
As the snow kept coming in Steamboat we were very glad that we had planned to spend five weeks in January beginning Sunday, January 11th in Placitas,NM. Luckily we had a sunny day between snow flakes the Thursday we left. An easy leisurely drive was highlighted by a short side trip to a castle made of beer cans in San Antonio, CO and a tour through the Earthship Visitor Center It was fascinating to see how discarded tires stuffed with mud were a key part of the construction materials used. The Center itself is "a fully functioning Earthship that combines passive solar architecture with thermal mass construction, uses renewable energy, integrated water systems and is made out of natural and recycled materials." Check out their website www.earthship.org.
We have been settled in our 100 year old abode house for a week. The house we are renting was built by the grandfather of the owner who welcomed us and showed us around. Friends who live in Placitas had found the property and checked it out. As you can see from the pictures, the house is nothing to speak of from the outside, however it is furnished in a lovely and comfortable way. About the only challenge is that the bathroom is through the kitchen and up stairs, rather than conveniently off the bedroom.
The village of Placitas has a long and interesting history going back to Spain. I have taken several interesting walks around our neighborhood, passed horses and a winery, strolled on dirt roads, and up hills to vistas.
Placitas, itself is a community 15 miles north of Albuquerque and six miles east of I 25 at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. Lovely housing exists on each side of the main route back and continues past the village for several miles. We have wandered into a few open houses and home prices range from $300,000 up to several million. Most sit on an acre or more and are nestled into the hills.
There isn't much commercial businesses in Placitas, just one small shopping area about three miles in and then a mini mart, gas station and post office in the village. However, all that one could wish for is a short drive to Albuquerque. We have discovered both Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, a good place to work out and a movie theatre with 24 screens and lots of diverse restaurants.
We look forward to discovering more about this area over the coming weeks.
While in Steamboat Springs we have enjoyed Sunday Brunch or Late Lunch at the Tap House that has about 15 flat screen TVs. Other than when the Broncos played, Steelers fans dominated.
But, as usual, we traveled. For each Sunday we sought out a place to watch the Steelers. In Fruita, CO, I sold three books and yawned through the drubbing of the Bungles. On return from a family reunion in Lost Wages (thanks Aunt Bess Tucker-you really had that place pegged right) we stopped east of Grand Junction, CO. The bar there had seven screens-six covering the Broncos, one on the Steelers. Another easy day.
Then a near death experience in Atlanta (picture). This was truly Steelers country-Large screen and several 32 inch plasma screens provided more than adequate coverage. The old 14 inch screens provided coverage of the other games. It was close, but we prevailed.
CBS in Denver prefers airing infomercials to Steelers games, so back to the Tap Room for the second near death experience- the Ravens II, seemed to have creamed Ben.
The last bar was in Sarasota. Almost all the patrons were Steelers fans, but we had to argue to get a screen on the game.
Nothing really compared to watching the AFC championship and Super Bowl XL in Ushuaia-the most Southern city in the world.
Yes, JoAnne and I are part of the Steeler Nation and proud of it.
Over the holidays we spent a week in Atlanta visiting with grandkids, daughters and son-in-law. Accompanying our daughter, Julie, from NYC was her 8 month old Yorkie, Izzy, the first dog in our immediate family. According to Julie, no tranquilizer was needed for the 2 hour flight, but they did fly first class.
Well... need I say that Izzy was clearly the center of attention. Everyone wanted a turn to play with her and what I found most interesting was how Izzy adapted to each one of us. The 8 year old "loved" her .... hugging her tightly and she tolerated it from him and would play the roughest with him. She was also smart enough to welcome time in her crate knowing that it was a time out from Brandon.
I had grown up with dogs as a kid but once married, Murray and I preferred cats. Walks were fun except the one time she decided she didn't want to walk with me and just went belly down on the sidewalk. She made her point and back to the house we went. The rest of the time she was a delight to walk sniffing from side to side and playful, especially to other people and their dogs regardless of size.
At first she was reluctant to go the stairs at the house but that lasted only a day or two and she was soon bounding up and down making the whole house her own.
A slice of carrot was her treat and she got lots of practice on commands of "sit", "down" and "paw" as all of us wanted a chance to interact with her in this way.
I came away from the week with a deeper understanding of why the relationship between dogs and their owners becomes so important.
At our condo in Steamboat over the years we have had countless "dog" issues. Originally there was a no dog policy, but two owners found a way around that and managed to have their dogs grandfathered in. One of those dogs is still here and royally patrols the property. Now we have a policy that an owner can have a dog on the premises for up to 60 days which works fine for non-resident/second home owners. Renters cannot have a dog and it is amazing how many people attempt to sneak a dog on site for a few days rather than selecting a dog friendly advertised place.
Now the 60 day policy will work for us. Izzy can be our "registered" dog and visit us any time.
We returned to Steamboat Springs five days ago just in time to experience the beauty of winter. Experiencing snow here is different. The lighting at this time of the year enhances the shadows and provides contrast of the whites and grays. Sometimes I find myself just sitting at the window, watching the patterns the snow has made on the pine trees.
Saturday Murray and I enjoyed a brief walk outdoors near our home. Despite the fact that the temperature was in the teens, we weren't cold. At one point I went to make a snow ball, but the snow was so powdery it just fell apart.
We suffered through a Steelers (Wrecklessberger) debacle on Sunday after which we worked out at the Health Club. For a grand finale, we went outdoors (17 degrees F) and into the Hot Springs (103 degrees). It is an amazing experience to soak in the hot sulfur water with lots of steam, surrounded by the snowy landscape.
Steamboat's economy depends on tourism and skiers enjoying the slopes. The city plows the roads efficiently and at least the locals know to drive slowly and respect the conditions. We live on a hill 900 feet above the valley. The road has lots of curves but is plowed regularly. And people celebrate snow falls because that means fresh powder! We are not skiers but our snowshoes are in our mud room and we have a trail right across the street that is calling us for a excursion before we fly off to celebrate the holiday with our family in Atlanta.
(It appears that in yesterday's post the text did not consistently appear with the picture. We haven't figured out why and are instead reposting the text that should have accompanied the picture.)
My mother-in-law, Janet Klineman, will be 88 in February. You wouldn't believe it to look at her, nor would you think that a lady of her young years could do so much. This diminutive four foot ten ball of fire paints, plays bridge and mah-jongg, drives everywhere, shops and takes care of her minimal health care needs. But above all, she is a Tai Ci devotee.
Starting three years ago, she took the beginning class of three months, three times. Now in her third session of the "continuing" class, she thinks she has progressed to her apex. Who knows?
She feels that continuing to perfect the 108 movements is a challenge in itself. Probably the most difficult part of Tai Chi for those her age (and much younger) is the movements requiring balance. But balance is one of the reasons Janet started on this journey. "Lift your leg like a dog finding its favorite hydrant!" What a mental picture.
Beyond the physical challenge, Janet loves the diversity of working in groups with people her daughter's, granddaughter's and great-granddaughter's ages. Besides age, the group varies size, sex and culture.
Her daughter, JoAnne wishes she will be able to remain as active as her mother when she achieves this age.
In August 2004 I retired as founding artistic director of The Avodah Dance Ensemble. It was a wonderful thirty years and I had pretty much reached a point where the dance muse was no longer a burning passion. I knew it was time to move on. Luckily at the same time a delightful and enthusiastic young woman expressed interest in Avodah and I was thrilled with the possibility that Avodah might have a future.
This past Friday we had an Avodah board meeting where I participated via phone. It was quite special for me to see that Avodah is alive and growing in wonderful new directions under the guidance of Julie Gayer Kris. For the first few years I was actively mentoring Julie. I am still there for her when she wants it, but it is less often now. It is exciting to see how Julie is developing her own voice and operation. The Board composition is beginning to change to reflect the new perspective. This year three new Board members became involved, bringing new ideas to the company.
Avodah began as a modern dance company rooted in the Jewish tradition. During the first fifteen years the program emphasis was in interpreting Biblical text and liturgy. In 1989, Avodah created a piece called "Let My People Go" with Louis Johnson, outstanding Africian American choreographer, to explore the Exodus text from both a Jewish and African American point of view. This piece successfully toured for over 10 years creating an new emphasis in Avodah and building bridges between communities. Collaborations with Linda Kent introduced pieces presented at both Hebrew Union College and Union Theological Seminary.
In 2002 Avodah did a residency at York Correctional Institution, Connecticut's only facility for women. It was an amazing experience for those of us involved. The program has grown to where Avodah is active in three different prisons.
At the Board meeting on Friday Julie discussed the different programs that are on-going or being developed. It is clear Avodah is growing. The prison program is taking on new dimensions having added a performance with inmates for their families. A collaboration with a new Board member/rabbinic student is being developed looking at Jewish text and body image especially for bat mitzvah age girls. A collaboration with the Mark Lamb Dance Company is in the works. In a discussion of our mission statement there was a clear consensus on keeping the idea of Avodah working with diverse communities and building community energy, an important part of Avodah programming.
After I got off the phone, I felt a wonderful sense of fulfillment and gratitude to see something that I began in 1972 continuing to have an exciting future. I am grateful to the many dancers and collaborators who over the years gave so much of themselves. And I am especially thankful to Julie Gayer Kris, the current dancers, collaborators and Board members who continue to give Avodah new vitality!!
Check out Avodah's website at: www.avodahdance.org. Avodah welcomes bookings and volunteers. If you are interested in being involved please email me and I will pass the information along to Julie.
My granddaughter Jessica will be 16 the end of December. Living in Georgia, she was able to get a learner's permit at 15. Last week when we gathered for Thanksgiving I had the thrill of being the licensed driver with her as she drove from our restaurant back to her other grandma's house. She is a confident, responsible driver and it is quite wonderful to see her so grown up. Time does indeed fly. Both my husband and I remember a great picture of Jess when she was three with a cute purple hat pretending to drive our Dodge minivan. We still have that minivan and love to tease Jessica that we have kept the car just for her.
Certainly feels like a "coming of age" for us grandparents as Jessica can now chauffeur us around.
The election was three weeks ago-hard to believe the long wait is over. Finally I have time to write about my reactions. Right after the election I still had to wind up things as campaign manager for Ken Brenner. He along with two other local Dems were not successful in their races. While our county Routt did favor Obama and Udall (Democrat for Senate) by 62% the local candidates were not able to overcome the overabundance of Red in the surrounding counties. And then there was so much catch up to do in the house to prepare for this trip that writing on our blog has had to wait til now.
Both of us were busy the entire election day, volunteering. I was in the Obama office all day phoning to get out the vote, Murray was a poll watcher for over four hours. The snow managed to hold off in Steamboat until 7 pm exactly when the polls closed. We, along with Obama volunteers and supporters, headed to a local bar. It was packed. A mighty cheer went up as Pennsylvania was called for Obama. And the snow was really coming down. We stayed for just a short while longer and then headed back home.
When we got home, Ohio was called for Obama and it was clear that he would win! Somehow we needed to do something special so we found a bottle of champagne in the frig and as soon as Obama was announced we uncorked the bottle and enjoyed toasting our President Elect. And then the tears started. And in fact even writing brings the tears again. I had not anticipated that I would find myself so emotional but indeed it was. And then as I saw Jesse Jackson with tears streaming down his cheek as Obama spoke at Grant Park I realized that we had indeed arrived at an amazing moment in our country's history.
The tears continued on and off for the next few days. It was comforting to read an article in the New York Times about how many people were emotionally impacted by the election. I found myself reflecting on my work as choreographer on multicultural projects particularly between the Black and Jewish communities. One performance particularly stood out. It took place in Chicago at the synagogue across the street from Obama's house. Avodah Dance Ensemble's performance of Let My People Go was shared with a gospel choir. The synagogue was packed. After the performance the entire audience stood and sang "We Shall Overcome". This happened back in 1990. At Grant Park on Election Night, someone had a sign that said "We Have Overcome." That said it all.
At last with the election over and the house reorganized, we are back to traveling. We are completing four days at Zion National Park and have taken three wonderful and easy hikes that we want to share.
To find our legs , we strolled along the River Walk. At the end of the Zion Canyon Road, it is accessed either by taking the shuttle or if you are there off season, you can drive to it. Parking spaces were easy to find even on a beautiful Saturday in November. This is more a walk than a hike, easy for kids and people of all ages. It runs along the very beautiful, clear Virgin River. It is also the access walk for those who plan to hike in the river. We saw one couple with their boots and sticks take off to slot the slot canyon. The hike is a favorite, cameras clicking, a very pleasant experience.
On day 2 we challenged ourselves with a hike to Watchman's Tower. Taking off from the Visitor's Center, the path is steep A section of switchbacks gives this hike the moderate rating from the park service. While I occasionally had to rest it was not overwhelming. We particularly liked the section where there were birds chirping close to a small stream of water. The end is a easy gentle up hill with an outstanding view that makes the whole experience quite enjoyable. We did not see too many people on the trail. When we arrived at the top we meet a delightful woman from Park City Utah who, when she saw Murray's Obama hat, struck up a conversation. Hearing that we had volunteered for the Obama campaign, she thanked us. After she left and we were still enjoying the view and some snacks a dad with two kids arrived. He too had comments seeing Murray's hat referring to our current president as Dummie and looking forward to Obama's inauguration. He had lots of comments about the economy and the real estate crisis. We continued the hike making the circle at the top... but found it not particularly rewarding as compared to the view upon arriving.
Day 3 we did a circle hike making the easy trip to the Lower Emerald Pool without any need to rest. After taking some pictures we continued on a trail to the Grotto picnic area. On the trail there are some great views of the river and valley. We then found the trail linking the Grotto to the Lodge and in just 12 minutes were back to the Lodge (where we had parked the car). We then treated ourselves to lunch in the outdoor dining deck of Zion Park Lodge... the only facility inside the park. Every table was taken. While the service was a bit slow, it was a wonderful way to end our hike!
All three hikes were wonderful for us since we had not hiked all summer and there were three great hikes that were not strenuous and yet quite rewarding.
Wow... now that I have a job my painting time is becoming more and more precious. Yesterday I finished a picture that I have been working on for the past five weeks. It is done in Genesis Heat Set Oil which enables me to work on it for a short period of time each day. I call this work "And we came upon them deep in the forest." It was fun to work on this different size canvas of 12" by 30".
I am also pleased to share a recent picture of my Mom, Janet Klineman. Her medium of choice is water color. I really love this pet portrait. The personality of the dog is jumping off the page!
I look forward to sharing one of my sister's new work in the near future.
I am pleased to share that one pastel and one oil have been accepted into the Steamboat Springs Arts Council's member show which opens on June 6th.
One of them is a pastel called "Morning Dew" which I created last winter while in Spain. It was based on a photo that Murray took one morning when we were saying at La Serrania in Mallorca. Of course what fascinated me the most was the dew on this flower. I have occasionally been asked what kind of flower it is.. and I don't know. This painting was also accepted in last fall's Colorado Pastel Society Show in Aspen. It is 17" by 12".
The second painting accepted was done in Genesis Heat Set Oil and I call "Canyon Rose." It is based on a picture that Murray took of a rose at Havasupai Canyon at the Lodge we stayed at in Havasupai Village last November. It is 30" by 30" on a gallery wrapped canvas. What fascinated me was how the yellow shadows in the rose took on the lush rust color of the canyon.
Yes.. that's right, I am now back to work. Just four days after returning from Pittsburgh, I ran into an acquaintance who is running for Colorado state senate. When I was sharing with him my enthusiasm for my experience in Pittsburgh working on the Obama campaign, he asked me if I wanted to be his campaign manager.
We met the following morning to seriously talk about it and I agreed. I would never had thought that all my experiences with the dance company would actually prove to be a good background for being a campaign manager but it has.
My time is spent between phoning, fundraising, event planning, data base design and management, and supervising volunteers. And I am thoroughly enjoying it. I love the diversity of the job and it feels good to be so busy. Ken is running for the Colorado State Senate District 8 which is the North West area of Colorado. It is an interesting and beautiful area including Glennwood Springs, extending South to Basalt which is close to Aspen. Vail, Edwards, Minature and Red Cliffs are also part of it. Then it goes up to the Wyoming Border and over to Utah including Steamboat Springs and Craig. Already I'm learning lots about the area and attending all kinds of events.
Ken's area of expertise is water issues and he has been working actively in this area for years, particularly during the seven years he was on the Steamboat Springs City Council.
For me, I was quite surprised that I was so enthusiastic to join the work force again. But the truth is that the timing was right for me and I like the fact that the job has an end point... November's election.
It is important to balance my time by painting so I am managing to get in an hour or so most days. I look forward to posting my new art works, but at a slower pace and I'll also be sharing some of my campaign experiences. In the meanwhile I encourage you to check out Ken's website and his blog.
On entering Pittsburgh's Airport, I was amazed to see a life-size replica of Franco Harris scooping up the ball before it hit the ground. Not losing a step, he ran with that ball into the end-zone to cap off a 13-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders for the Steelers that had won its first Division Title in its forty year history just weeks before. For those of you who have not seen the statue, I have attached the picture. The entire play is presented here.
Murray and I decided to put our feet where our mouth is and so we have flown to Pittsburgh to work on the Obama campaign. While we both grew up in Pittsburgh we have not lived there for over forty years. And other than working for Kerry and some local candidates in the 2004 election in Steamboat Springs this is the first time we have been committed and excited about working for a candidate.
We first became interested in Obama when we listened to CD's 0f him reading "Dreams from My Father" as we were driving cross country in December. Moved by the story of his life, we eagerly followed the first primaries and began checking out his website on a regular basis. The grassroots energy, reflected in the website, hearing him speak and debate we continued following his progress during our month in Panama. We were thrilled to see that our community caucus in Colorado went overwhelmingly for Obama. Knowing how important the Pennsylvania's primary is, we decided to return to Pittsburgh and help out.
Our trip quickly fell into place. A call with the Obama headquarters office in Pittsburgh was welcoming, a cousin of Murray's had an extra room and bath that we could use, and we were able to use frequent flyer miles for our flights.
We arrived on Saturday, April 5th, and after checking in with our cousins we headed to the Obama office. The energy in the office is great. We were the 118th and 119th out-of-staters to register and meet with the out-of-town coordinator. Now five days later we feel a real part of the team. We have canvased door to door, phoned, entered data and attended events. At first phoning and canvasing felt awkward, but no longer. We are learning how to handle the difficult questions and to not take it personally when someone is rude.
Best of all, the energy in the office is a great example of team work reinforcing the message in Obama's speeches.
On a different note, for three days we were dog sitting. Now Murray and I have never had a dog but Tucker (that's really his name) this cute Yorkshire Terrier has won our heart. We have even taken him canvasing!
