SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT

We decided to quit cable this past year.  Now, thanks to NETFLIX I have moved my HGTV TV (the Home and Garden TV channel) addiction to past and present seasons of mini series. 

My newest series this past week is a makeover of Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It"1986 movie. It's powerful, poignant and filled with more truth like only Lee can deliver through a variety of cinematographic techniques and interesting directing. Rated R due to language and sexual content, Lee directs each episode and has female input from playwright Lynn Nottage and Joie Lee, the director's sister who also plays Nola's mother in the series.

The protagonist, Nola Darling, (DeWanda Wise) a striking 27 yr old Brooklyn artist with 2 artist parents, 3 lovers at once in addition to her girl friends, wants us to understand who she is as she also figures it out herself. It's spot on revealing two truths; the universality of women and the particular of what Black women deal with daily. 

Without divulging too much Nola's art serves many purposes and if you decide to watch She's Gotta Have it, I hope we can share some discussions regarding your thoughts.  My favorite episode is 8. Thank you Mr. Lee for the insights. 

In the meanwhile the 3rd season of Broadchurch was just posted so in between reading my book club book you know what I'll be watching here in the End of the Rainbow Valley.

THE NOT SO HIDDEN GEMS IN SMALL TOWNS

Our Thanksgiving roadtrip was full of some past stops and some new ones.  One such past stop was on our return at the Franklin Hotel for lunch in the quaint town of Strawberry Point, Iowa, (pop. ~1000) , home to the largest strawberry sculpture I've even seen. 

Strawberry Point's Franklin Hotel (1902) is  listed on the National  Register of Historic Places and sits prominently on the northeast corner following the rounded corner of the town's main intersection.  

old switchboard

The charming two story brick building has numerous architectural details to admire. Gorgeous wood detailing and a main dining room with a pressed tin ceiling.  

The daily special was posted at its entrance and we were in luck with a reasonable priced good home cooked chicken dinner. Nothing could hit the midwestern comfort food better.

The showcased pies in its 50's counter area  indicated there would definitely be room left for dessert no matter what...

My pie decision - the sour cream raisin to share with Natureman. Somehow it disappeared even after clean plates of the baked chicken luncheon special. 

One just has to love small town's gems of places to eat...

MISSISSIPPI TRIP TALES

Not a stranger to Highway 61 from Iowa college days and later young family days, it also ended up being the quickest route from the End of the Rainbow Valley south to Little Rock via St. Louis. Over an hour north of St. Louis we passed signs advertising Hannibal, Missouri. Natureman, although an avid reader, wasn't interested in taking a tourist break and visiting the boyhood home of Mark Twain.  Truthfully, it would have jeopardized our St Louis arrival time and put us in at rush hour.  We didn't veer from the highway...

BUT it so happened we needed to end up past St Louis on our return trip and Hannibal would be ideal.  One 4 car pile up detained us some 20 minutes north of St Louis in addition to a back up from cars needing to take the Kansas City exit but we got into Hannibal just after sunset. Too late to venture downtown but perfect for dinnertime. 

After breakfast the next day we took our field trip to Hannibal's historic downtown. The photo op of sticking one's head through the head holes for Becky and Tom was no longer outside the famous picket fence next to Tom's Boyhood home but had been replaced with a paint can and paint brushes. 

Tom Sawyer's Boyhood Home sits across the street from Becky Thatcher's house. You remember them, right?

 These buildings were all part of Mark Twain's book settings with the mighty Mississippi in sight one block away where many other adventures from Samuel Clemen's books like the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Life on the Mississippi. 

An old mailbox sits street side . I wonder if it still is a working mailbox. Well, we didn't have time to write any postcards as we were anxious to get on our way back home...




Hannibal is a sweet historic town and maybe one day we will return for a root beer and a visit to the Mark Twain Cave...

It certainly brought back tales of yesteryear right there on the Mississippi... and now back to live upriver.

HARK THE DARK

The Pump House, our regional arts center is celebrating its 40th anniversary and Saturday night brought a folk legend to its stage who is no stranger to La Crosse, Claudia Schmidt. Perhaps you've even heard her on Prairie Home Companion... No?  Well, I hadn't been introduced to her music until about 15 years ago when I moved to this area.  Natureman, on the other hand, remembers her from some 30 years ago as she performed with her black lab in tow.

The night's performance included old and new music, poetry and stories we haven't heard before as she shared the stage with talented guitarist Minnesotan Dean Magraw.  

The duo did not disappoint with Schmidt's   

 insightful original lyrics and musicality accompanied by both guitar/mountain dulcimer. Both shared their passion, artistic talents and energies with us through folk, gospel and jazz selections. 

The audience is drawn in during her concerts without much resistance to participate with a chorus/ phrase.  Otherwise one sits mesmerized/ tapping a foot. 

Schmidt, a Michiganer by birth is no stranger to the four seasons especially winter which is the subject of her newest CD release, Hark the Dark.  The stories in her music definite struck a chord  (not intentional pun)  as we caught ourselves with numerous glances at each other, understanding first hand what winter entails living in the woods.  

Schmidt's powerful voice range can't help but transport one through different moods and life's experiences. Isn't that the power of music?

Here's a sampling of youtube links:

one for you to share  Claudia Schmidt's love of winter from 2011 but also showcases her performing joys. You'll love the layering story.

Winter Love

The second Claudia playing with Dean 3 yrs ago 

 MPR's youtube :    Already

and the 3rd from a different 2017 concert. 
Enjoy.

Make it Across the Road

Schmidt, a seasoned performer, doing what she obviously loves...

NICE RACK

In the Midwest you'd know it's a special season whether it's marked on the calendar or not. Just try to get a workman to make a house call and after numerous calls to discover you are out of luck because it's one of the hunting seasons. Yep, if you haven't figured it out Saturday marked the beginning of deer hunting season.

As if  the alert sign wasn't clear with the numerous Wonderland Craft Festivals/seasonal sales to lure the feminine population to shop while the males in their households are out hunting.

Saturday I stopped by Timmer's Ten Mile Pub  to see what the local crafters were selling. The parking lot was pretty full and although I didn't find any gifts to buy, my real prize was awaiting me in the parking lot with one very happy 'FEMALE' hunter coming to celebrate. There in her truck bed was her buck , a perfect 10 pointer. One shot straight to the heart.

To be sure the exclamation "What a nice rack! "will not receive any repercussion for sexual harassment... Seems to be the season, doesn't it?  Deer season is upon us. 

FOTO FRIDAY: QUALITY CONTROL

FOTO FRIDAY time and the girls are helping me with this one. I call this photo Quality Control because we just wonder who is in control... 
Take a look and let me know if you think there's a quality control issue in the coop.

Also if you have a Quality Control pic to share, please do...

Did anyone catch the extra something in last week's CANDID SHOTS?

TBT: MARSEILLE(S) WITH /WO THE 'S' AT THE END

Life has deterred me from finishing my French summer adventure last July but why not use TBT: Throw Back Thursdays for  finishing that journey with you. 

Last told we were celebrating my birthday in Sault, Provence, continuing the gastronomic adventure toasting champagne while viewing the lavender fields below. The next morning we headed southward for Marseille, Jim's hometown for our next destination. 

A hired driver drove us to the closest train station and we hopped aboard a commuter train to catch the fast speed train in Avignon to Marseille giving us more time to see this port city. 

I would be remiss to omit mentioning my favorite bathroom stall in France in the  Avignon train station no less. It was well worth the fee to use the facilities. What a goodbye to the lavender region!

The high speed train ride south had us in Marseille, the second largest city in France in a little more than a hour.  The first order of business was to take in the city view from the train station. About 850,000 people call Marseille home. 

Atop the city sits Notre Dame de la Garde.  We were content to just take in the architecture from afar and enjoy the bustle of this Mediterranean port by foot. We were all cathredal'ed and museum'ed out by our previous full week and a half.

Most Marseilles streets have inclines and the calves (not small cows) got a great workout. 

View from Jim's 3rd flr apt./ was that 4?

Yes, those are a lot of stairs ...

Since we were a bit early for our nearby hotel check in,  we dropped off our bags at Jim's studio apartment, and headed out to do some local gourmet grocery shopping for lunch.  


During the heat of the day the streets were empty but our stomachs dictated otherwise. 


First stop was for fruit
and olives in a very tiny store, followed
by the infamous Bataille upscale deli... 

 Gorgeous, n'est pas?  It was great to eat at Jim's place as it seemed like forever since we sat around a table without a waiter. After a yummy lunch of cheeses and desserts, we checked into the conveniently located modern hotel (only 2 blocks away) called Mama Shelter. Contemporary, clean and unusual. 
'Wasn't sure what to expect by the name and the 'unusual' were


the Tweetie and Darth Vader masks hung in the room.  Go figure. Role playing? Hmmm.

Anyhow, down time before hitting the pavement again. Sally, I learned, is a champion nap taker, sets her alarm and uses 20 minutes like a charm before the next trek.

Jim showed us his 'hood and daily walk where he has worked as an opera singer for the past 30 years at the present Opéra Municipal de Marseille, built in 1924 with a seating of 1,800. It features a classic urn-shaped auditorium, three rings of boxes, two balconies and a gallery. 

The Opera house is closed for the season but we had an 'in' to take a look around and enjoy the art deco/  interior...






En route to the waterfront one stop included the impressive modern city library where books are automatically scanned in when you return them...

We also perused the Arab market quickly being the only 2 women in a sea of men. 

And we  joined a more co-ed group at the French version of the Chicago Bean

under a giant mirrored canopy with views of the harbor and  ferris wheel...

Restaurants, cafes and bars abound in the harbor district. Dinner was at an Algerian restaurant with a bit of big city excitement. An outside dining patron had left his cell phone lying on the table while he was eating and a youth had lifted it.  A chase ensued as the fit seventy year old male caught up with the young thief who sprayed the phone's owner with mace. The patron returned without his phone and burning eyes. It could happen anywhere. Probably a good reminder to keep one's valuables out of sight.

Many choices for ice cream lovers...

Even full bellies couldn't deter my traveling companions from Italian gelato for dessert before an uphill 20 minute walk back to the hotel. Okay, I must add one more memorable big city moment were rats sharing those sidewalks with us scurrying back and forth amidst the shadows. Ratatouille, were these your friends? :)

Jim had ensured we made the most of our first day in Marseille. Stay tuned for day 2 in Marseille(s) next TBT. 

WARRING AGAINST... EVERYBODY

Pictured here is a little island in the northeast Carribbean Sea. Do you recognize this internet map image? For those of us who have visited it, we certainly wouldn't recognize how it looks looks in person today. This is Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico has been on my mind a lot lately as its people continue struggling to survive 2 months after the destruction by Hurricane Maria. Even before this natural disaster took out its infrastructure, this U.S. territory was suffering from bankruptcy and its treatment of residents as second class citizens. It didn't just start with Donald Trump showing up 2 weeks after the disaster and mocking the severity of the island's devastation. But his attitude and treatment of people being without vital necessities like clean drinking water certainly didn't help. 

We can pretty much live our daily lives without acknowledging the suffering our country's actions have caused/continue to cause elsewhere and even within our own country. Is it that we choose not to know what our country has done/are we as citizens deceived of the truth/perhaps both? 

Unfortunately, the more I learn about our presence worldwide it is much less than a rosy picture of good will. Perhaps our patriotic naivete doesn't allow skepticism regarding incentive. Before calling ourselves global economists we were imperialistic and before that colonists. 

Doubting our presence and involvement in wars that aren't ours in the name of humanity when closer viewed expose underlying interests of our capitalism. 

Nelson Denis, award winning screen director, former New York State Assemblyman, writer and author of War Against All Puerto Ricans was a guest speaker at Viterbo University thanks to the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics and Leadership just a little over a year ago. Nelson Denis didn't mince words as he spoke about the demise of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. 

Denis is a first generation American raised by his Puerto Rican grandmother and mother. His mother came to this country at 16 and worked in NewYorks's garment district as many other immigrants for 20 cents/hr, $8/wk. Her 23 years of savings enabled her son to go to Harvard College and then Yale Law school. He did practice law in addition to being a prolific writer.

Starting with the Spanish American War Denis illustrated how the U.S. made sure this country's statehood's power and wealth were usurped. By law, Puerto Rico could/can not even choose their own governing body, it has been appointed for them.  U.S. mega million dollar companies i.e. Colonial Bank owned half the island. Companies like American Fruit, took over businesses including sugar, coffee and tobacco.  forcing the businessman both small and large out of business, minimum wage salaries, property taxes sky rocketed, no employee benefits,  their economy plummeted into insurmountable debt with the help of natural disasters, bonds, etc. Today that debt totals 72 billion dollars.

Need we wonder how we have failed and continue to fail our own citizens in Puerto Rico? Shame on us because this is the government we elected whose policies we have allowed...