Scribbles and Photos

So much for any commitment I made last year to either writing more or at least posting more frequently here at Scribbles and Photos.  *Takes break to tidy up apartment. I guess I really meant the "we'll see" at the end of Backend Housekeeping (on the blog)  in January 2020.   *Takes break to tweet sadness about how very few photos made the short list for a #500px quest. To be fair to myself, it's not like I haven't been writing or taking photos! It's just that I haven't been active on this blog since August 17, 2020. *Gets distracted by the end of the episode of the Waltons (S3, E2: The Conflict) playing in the background.  I supposed now is as good a time as any to reveal that in addition to binging many of the same things everyone else has binged during quarantine, I've also binged Gilmore Girls (reminded that Rory is a piece of work), Little House on the Prairie, the Waltons, and Dr. Quinn Medicine Women. Something oddly comforting about...

I am a facile writer – by that I mean I am comfortable writing a wide range of documents and can generally write pretty quickly. Lately, at work, I’ve been looking to make every word count, putting myself on a word diet as it were. That kind of work writing is always with purpose – I know where I want to go when I sit down to write. It’s about writing the most compelling grant proposal (show me the money!), the strongest letter of support, the best analysis of a piece of legislation, the most strategic memo. It’s not always easy to write with purpose but I always manage to get it done. I am also an omnivorous reader. It started in the first grade when I read my way through those laminated cards that we had instead of primers. Although I’ve slowed down a bit – too much else to occupy me (work, friends, newspapers, magazines, television), there is nothing I treasure more than a finely written book. I look forward to traveling because that is when I get most of my reading done. And, I ado...

I wonder if the founding fathers had alter egos -- inner personas that didn't believe in tea parties and freedom? This January,, in Chile, I started to sketch out an alter ego for myself -- the famously reclusive Chilean photographer Soledad Franco. She was named for our tour guide (Soledad) and our driver (Franco). Given that I speak no Spanish, it made sense that she would be reclusive. As the trip progressed, she became Soledad Franco the famously reclusive Chilean photograph who lived on Easter Island. Her photos were treasured by regular people and priced accordingly. She had an assistant -- oddly named Nancy -- who spoke only broken English and who would show tourists the grounds of her simple studio when asked to do so. Soledad's photos would be found in the local craft markets in Rapa Nui as well as in several smaller galleries in that delightfully arty little city by the sea -- Valparaiso. They were a steady source of income that supported her simple needs on Easter Is...