Thursday, August 26, 2010

A Car Accident, An Anniversary, SharePoint and White Cliffs

No, it wasn’t my car accident; our friend and Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday founder Duane Scott is recuperating after a car accident yesterday. There won’t likely be the usual weekly links but Duane would want us to carry on. So here’s to a speedy recovery for him. And please pray for him; his injuries weren’t serious or life-threatening but they were injuries and his car looks totaled (and it wasn't his fault).


Yesterday was our wedding anniversary, and the weather decided to do something totally bizarre for late August in St. Louis – it dramatically cooled off, with a high of around 80. We ditched the plan we had for eating at a local restaurant and instead went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, which is open late on Wednesdays. We walked and walked through what has to be one of the most beautiful places in St. Louis. The "gardens," as we call them, are filled with memories for us. We've been members since 1979 and the only photo we have of my wife pregnant with our firstborn was taken there; we also have a photo of our daughter-in-law pregnant (with grandson Cameron) taken in the exact same spot.

After the gardens we ate at a new tapas restaurant in our suburban town of Kirkwood. Splendid evening.

It’s been an intense seven days at work, and we’re beginning to see the end of it. Beginning last Wednesday, our team has been transferring text files, photos and videos from the current company web site to the new site, which is scheduled to launch on Sunday. We’re learning how to use Microsoft’s SharePoint platform at the same time. Very full days, sitting in front of a computer screen all day in a boiler-room like operation, trying to keep your other work going or at least left not far behind, looking at your calendar and realizing you’ve been tripled-booked into meetings and having to skip all three because of the web site project. It’s almost over.

In between days packed with transferring text files, I’ve been reading The Apple Trees at Olema: New and Selected Poems by Robert Haas. Virtually all the poems in the volume are story poems, and I’m enjoying how he tells them.

Several people asked me about the poem I posted yesterday, “Running Back Roads.” Specifically, they wondered about the little tagline at the end – “From The White Cliff Poems.” Well, it’s a slight conceit of mine. There is no published volume called The White Cliff Poems. It is a group of poems (18 so far) that I’ve written to help me structure and develop this novel I’ve been working on. A few of the others include “The Cemetery Attendant,” “The Silence of the Trees,” “From a Blessing Destroyed,” “Country Store” and “The Solace of the Woods.” I’m not sure if all or any of these will surface in the manuscript, but they are providing considerable help. There are more to come.

And please pray for Duane.

9 comments:

Michael said...

Will be praying for Duane as well as the novel you are working on. I'm really excited about that for you.

S. Etole said...

Good to be back and enjoy your random thoughts ... prayers for Duane continue. {The White Cliff Poems would be high on my priority list!}

SimplyDarlene said...

Yes, prayers for Duane here too.

Between you (this novel in-progress) and Billy (his Snow Day) and L.L. (you know, that book she is really not writing), I am very nearly drooling here.

Happy Anniversary.

Blessings.

Maureen said...

Happy Anniversary and wishing you many more years of wonder together.

Duane posted to Twitter this a.m. How he can do that when he's on Vicodin is beyond me. We offer our prayers for his speedy and complete recovery.

I've heard very good things about the Haas collection. Perhaps we can all do a Fall Reading Roundup.

Anonymous said...

that is fun to hear the choice you two made on the gardens and the history behind it.
i bet the staff didn't know that they let two love birds into the botanical gardens.

and the poems. wonderful :-)

Anonymous said...

We have a place called Glacier Gardens here in Juneau that sounds like the same idea. You made me want to go back there! Glad you had a great anniversary and praying for DS as well.

Duane Scott said...

thanks to each of you. glynn, youre like the grandpa i never hasd. sorry for the basd typing skills. vicodin and one arm dont always produce beauty. love to each one!

Sandra Heska King said...

Happy anniversary!

I think I failed randomness this morning, but I could still probably slap a PDT on it. ;)

I have room on my to-read stack for yours. Hurry up!

Love ya, Duane.

L.L. Barkat said...

what a sweet anniversary you had!

the other day I was thinking about one of the pictures you posted of your wife (with the boys and you). She is a truly vital person... it comes through even in two dimensions. Lucky you. :)