Archive for the ‘Friends’ Category

FriendsTravel

May 5, 2012

Postcard from Walla Walla

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I am taking a break from raging against the Catholic church and breathing feminist fire to sing a little song of Walla Walla, Washington.  I am here to do a book signing at Book and Game Co on Main Street and to stay with my college roommate Putzer, the attorney, and her husband, Jim. My  Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityFriends

April 14, 2012

Computing a Crash

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Enough time has passed since my computer crashed that I am thinking it wasn’t so bad after all.  It’s like one of those awful vacations that ten years later is described as “that wonderful trip to Spain when our luggage got diverted to Iceland.” It was a Thursday evening.  I had just installed Google Chrome  Read the Rest…

FriendsMovies

October 10, 2011

Evenings at The Gwen

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This is a companion to my previous post illustrating how much I am benefiting from having no television. https://www.elenalouiserichmond.com/2011/10/going-to-the-dogs/ .  It stars that well known personage, Gwen, my neighbor who knows something about just about everything. Gwen used to be the head designer Opus 204, an exclusive Seattle boutique from 1968 to 2009.  By day  Read the Rest…

FriendsTravel

July 14, 2011

A Day in Ketchikan

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There’s a candy store in Ketchikan called KetchiCandies. “Oh, that’s .  .  . clever.”  I said The owner looked up dolefully, “Yeah,” he said. “I was drunk.” It has a reputation for the rough and rowdy, does Ketchikan. The stormy afternoon we arrived, four ships had already tried to dock, had given up and moved  Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityFriendsTeachingTravel

July 10, 2011

People of the Boat

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On my recent stint as a water-colorist on board a cruise ship, Nancy, my traveling companion and occasional container for my mental health, took photographs to preserve her impressions.  I wrote.  Here are some vignettes: *                            *                            Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityCurmudgeonFriendsTravel

July 7, 2011

Nancy to the Rescue

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In our entire week aboard a cruise ship (the S.S. Wish-I-Was-Home), Nancy and I did not use the Fitness Center once.  I wasn’t even sure where it was.  However, except for the day we came on board after a cold, wet 8 hours in Juneau, we did not use the elevator either.  We used the  Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityFamilyFriends

May 1, 2011

We Are Family

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Mai La was 18 years old when she got off the plane at SeaTac wearing her little Chinese pajamas.  I was 27 and waiting with Nghiep, a Chinese friend, and a photograph of Mai, courtesy of World Relief Refugee Services. It was 1981.  The “boat people” from Viet Nam were flooding the U.S. west coast.  Read the Rest…

Choir SingingDogsFriendsHolidaysPosts

April 24, 2011

Choir Dogs

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I’ve been waiting for the traffic on my last blog to slow down before I posted another.  I don’t know if it delivered all that it promised, but “Sex and Betrayal at the OK Chorale” sure got a lot of hits. (www.elenalouiserichmond.com/2011/04/851/) If that’s what it takes—a racy title—I was toying with the idea of  Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityChoir SingingFriendsPoemsPsychoanalysisSingingSpirituality

February 6, 2011

Away With Discrepancies

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  When I was at Whitman College in Walla Walla (not Spokane, that’s Whitworth) I was part of a recurring act called the Temperance Union.  Four of us donned the frumpiest outfits we could put together and performed “Away with Rum” to whoever would listen: We’re coming, we’re coming, our brave little band, On the  Read the Rest…

Ah, HumanityFriends

January 24, 2011

Dining With Nina

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If you ever meet my friend Nina, don’t rhyme her name with Deena because I will be hearing about it for a month.  Her name rhymes with Dinah. We went out to dinner the other night.  We talked about a dismal blog entry I was wrestling with.  By the time we had turned the topic  Read the Rest…