On a Good Day, Podcast News, Presidential Felonies, Peonies, and Chocolates

Glenn and I at Meydenbauer Bay Park

On a Good Day

You wouldn’t know it, because right now it is below 50°F and pouring rain, but we did actually get a couple of nice, normal May Spring days this week, and we got out to make the most of them. On one, we checked out a local park, Meydenbauer Bay Park in Bellevue, and stopped by a place I hadn’t been in person in years, Fran’s Chocolates (located in Old Town Bellevue). The sun felt good, I got to reminisce with one of the Fran’s employees about the old days when they made terrific burnt sugar ice cream and Fran wasn’t really famous yet, and I sat outside sipping hot chocolate and feeling the sun and feeling happy.

On Thursday, I had another terrific day—the sun came back out for us after a terrible wet cold May, got to talk with a cool podcast about a very cool poem, and then got a strawberry Frappuccino and gluten-free safe sweet potato fries (both rarities for me—food allergies make eating out at all a risk) And got an armful of peonies. Also, there was a guy convicted of a bunch of felonies which hopefully will lead to better people in our government overall (if you don’t do crimes, you’ll be better off, and we could use a less corrupt government right now, don’t you think?)

Now, for the rest of the week…I found out, in the same day, day my hairdresser of 20 years was leaving, my allergist was quitting (this is after losing an allergist of 20 years during the pandemic and getting this new one sigh) and going to the East Coast, and I also had some bad news about a family member, all while battling a fever, sniffles, and cold gloomy weather.

I have to remember that on a good day, my body isn’t failing at everything, people aren’t always leaving, the sun really does shine once in a while, and the right chocolate at the right time as well as an armful of pink peonies can really be magic.

And here are some pictures of birds:

Podcast News

Rufous hummingbird in flight

I learned a lot about podcasting this week as I was interviewed (can’t tell you which or why yet, it’s a secret, but I’ll tell you when it is supposed to be on) and got to chat with two of the podcast’s producers. For instance, did you know, for a fairly successful arts podcast, at least ten people work on it to get every episode, besides the person you hear talking? It takes a lot of work to make those things work.

I also thought about how podcasting poetry has maybe replaced what we used to think of as radio show poetry, like The Writer’s Almanac—now we might listen to The Slowdown or The Commonplace or podcasts of friends or the Poetry Foundation. There’s so much out there, and such a lot of voices, in some ways it’s overwhelming, but it also gives the feeling of a bigger, more inclusive community of poets.

Grumpy Great Blue Heron

I’m also reminded that the “news” that we get—whether from local newspapers, or television channels, or on Twitter or other social media—so much of it is so specific now, targeted in a way it didn’t used to be, that you have to really work to get outside the bubble of your own friends or region or party or whatever. People have talked about how depressing the news can be, which is true, but have you ever noticed some news sources are way more depressing than others? That some echo your own belief system more than others? I’m someone who studied journalism a bit in college, and getting what I can consider “unbiased” sources has become difficult, maybe impossible? Propaganda and “fake news” is everywhere, and most people, I’m afraid, will believe propaganda over truth if they never get a chance to see truth but their social media keeps showing them propaganda bots information.  But if that’s the case, then maybe this blog and its news about the birds and poetry and health—could be considered news, if only from on person’s very limited perspective? I’ll think about this some more. I mean, we tend to think of “news” as—I don’t know, crime waves or politics or wars. I remember the day the Iranian president went missing, someone I knew in Iran, as the “news” talked of Iran grieving, showed fireworks and people in the street dancing. What is the real news there? Is the official party line or is it one person’s street full of celebration? Which is more truthful? It’s why I think it’s important to travel, to read widely, to talk to people who might be different than us—different religions, races, countries, jobs, sexual orientations—because it’s too easy to only see our own point of view, or that of the dominant culture where we live. It’s like, we have the opportunity to think more widely than AI or algorithms might tell us we can, but sometimes, we have to take the time to look for those opportunities. It’s why I like to read people’s blogs, even now that some people consider them obsolete—because the personal take might look closely at just one area—say, the viewpoint of a librarian in Chicago or an academic in Virginia, or a clergyperson in North Carolina—but every take helps me understand the world from their eyes. Plus, I can only take so many reels about recipes or personal style before I go insane. I wish there were more videos of people’s home libraries instead. Hey, can we make that a trend?

This is your neighborhood poet reporting from Woodinville, Washington in the rain, and saying, be safe, happy June, and have a pleasant tomorrow.