The four-year ritual is upon me, renewal of my Minnesota state driver’s license. I turn a whopping 56 in February (but don’t feel, or act, a day over… well– it’s all relative, I suppose :-)).
As I suited up (long underwear, scarves, double mittens) and went to jam my foot in my right insulated boot, I felt something I had not noticed yesterday. A round, red, sparkly cat toy! Bagheera’s favorite! Long-lost, apparently since the boots were worn last winter. Looking for him, I could see he was already dead to the world, buried under a quilt. Play-time would have to wait.
The birth certificate
This year I go to the DMV armed with my birth certificate. At some point I became “Chris Louise…” on my license. The dreaded nickname– ‘Chris’; the name that causes airport security to look me over thrice because it does not match the name on the ticket; the name to which Chris Alfieri ( a BOY) and I both responded when the teacher called upon us (to our mutual horror) in the 3rd grade.
Happy endings
The woman at the DMV was lovely, my name is now amended and Bagheera is, once again, in possession of the fave toy. My boot fits better, too.
It is already old news. Minnesota, and much of the upper Midwest, is really in the deep freeze. With the backyard thermometer reading -20 (Fahrenheit), I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to visit The North Pole – restaurant, that is, in Newport, MN, a few miles outside of St. Paul.
Mary North and her husband David (pharmacist/ owner of the attached drugstore) are proud to be the third generation of Norths to operate the family business– in the present location since 1952. Once a general pharmacy with soda fountain for patrons, the restaurant business became an entity in its own right in 1958. The North’s son Brian serves as Manager, while daughter Tricia is a pharmacist, working with her dad.
The North Pole is a community hub; a place for regulars to meet and enjoy a home-cooked meal. Mary knows many by name– and the frequency with which they visit.
Dawn Plessel and family
This morning, budding novelist, Dawn Plessel, was having breakfast with her husband and son. “I often come here to work on my book…it is half-way done!”
My friend Holly, who was with me, shared that places like The North Pole are central to the life of small towns and communities. Growing up in the rural Midwest, she recalled a café that was the heartbeat of her hometown. “Everybody watched out for each other…”
When I was 20 and a grad student at the University of Michigan, I worked as a Domino’s Pizza™ ‘phone girl’. Seriously. It was safer in the shop that delivering to drunken frat boys.
Memories of this job popped into my head as a new Domino’s commercial sped by on the TV screen just now. It is ‘football Sunday’. I don’t usually watch football, but I am alternating between a great book (more about that later), baking– and the pre-game show…while temps hover around -10 outside.
But I digress.
Flash back to 1981:
“Domino’s Pizza, may I take your order please?”
“Yeah, hey, we’re havin’ a group over at Beau’s and need 25 pies…”
I took the order and went to rally a driver for the delivery. Mayhem ensued.
“Jesus girl, do you know whose order you just took??!!”
“The one for 25…”
The manager cut me off. “Call the number back and make sure it’s on the up-and-up.”
It was.
(Beau Schembechler coached football at Michigan from 1969 to 1989 (he infamously turned down a $3 million offer from Texas A&M in 1982). He began his tenure as head coach at Michigan with a rallying cry to his players: “Those who stay will be champions.”) Wikipedia
The new ad suggests that it is best to place your order online; calling in is just a bumbling process. Ha!
WOW! I am starting off the New Year with a bang. The results are in from the latest job entries:
*In house Travel Writer: “Thank you for your interest in the Associate Travel Writer (in-house) position at D****P***G*. We have reviewed your application, and unfortunately we are unable to offer you a position at this time.” (I suspected this would be the outcome due to a rather nascent interest in travel writing, but one never knows.)
Rockers at Chestnut Street Inn
And then…
After an amusing visit to the post office, I also decided to apply for a position as a part-time mail carrier. This is a very straightforward process, all online. After a standard employment application one takes an exam via a computer delivery method. 180 (or so) questions later, I just knew, unless I lied through my teeth, the outcome would be bleak. The (desired) employ-ability factors seemed to be: absolute emotional fortitude– no matter what scenario might be unfolding, accepting authority without question, saying yes to repetitive tasks, and so on. Here is a snap shot of my immediate, automated rejection letter (in PDF format). I will not bore you with all three pages…
CITY CARRIER (2310-2009) INELIGIBLE
CITY CARRIER ASSISTANT 1 (2310-0045) INELIGIBLE
Brava! My sense of humor is in great shape and I am on to new adventures. Day 3 awaits!
The New Year is already hours old in Australia and coming quickly to friends in Europe.
I am thinking in terms of retrospective. How did I get here and where am I going? What started the writing/ blogging life?
In first grade it was “The Busy Bee” poem, published on the ditto machine by Mr. Polakis. I can’t even recall the stories I wrote for the High School paper… Somehow, I lost my way in college (so many of us did in the ‘70’s– ;)). And then, ‘grown-up’ voices whispered about practicality and a degree in social work followed.
Fast forward to 12/31/13…a dozen years volunteering for community newspapers and over the last fourteen months, attempting a freelance business launch and helping out local organizations and individuals with photography services. Recently I decided to add travel writing and photography to my repertoire– with stories about Minneapolis and Asheville, NC, St Augustine & Tarpon Springs, FL and Rte 61 Minnesota.
Pelican kitsch
Capt. Andy Galliano, Grand Isle, LA
Tarpon Springs nightfall
North Loop Gallery Minneapolis
Mississippi
It really is all about soldiering on, and capturing moments. Here’s to the next 12 months!
P.S. I just applied for an assistant Travel Writer position– I never get my hopes up these days– but it would be exciting to get a chance!
I took this picture today (not knowing the photo challenge topic :)).
The photograph lends itself to the introduction of a topic that really intrigues me– using photography with therapy to improve self-esteem. This is not a new concept, but one about which I hope to learn more. The woman in the photo, an acquaintance, struggles with a mood disorder.
Glidden Parker had much to do with the Twentieth Century history of fine ceramic art. Most of us, unwittingly, know him for the legacy of the pieces left behind in a drafty barn; pieces sold in the 1950’s to Paul Secon, co-founder of Pottery Barn. But it was Glidden’s research and work which served as the academic and artistic foundation for the study of ceramic arts at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.
I grew up with Glidden Ware Pottery. Mother served gravy in it at the holidays. My father was a native of Alfred, NY as was Glidden. Alfred– a sleepy college town that borders Pennsylvania; a place in the middle of nowhere, some might say.
Glidden Parker’s influence on ceramic art is renowned. With comparisons drawn to Chinese Dynasties and work on display in museums, it is likely that Glidden serves as inspiration to scores of students and emerging artists shaking off the dust of the southern tier of New York and moving on to the fertile grounds of Asheville, NC, the Coasts, and the Twin Cities to make their own mark.
Glidden Pottery is described as “the American equivalent of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960-1279) …The Chinese people’s ware was a stoneware product made for the upwardly mobile merchant class.” It is unique for the glaze, process and affordability: “Glidden Pottery, produced in the United States nearly a millennium later, utilized modern production methods of slipcasting or ram pressing, but each of the more than 200 shapes were individually glazed and decorated. And most pieces were intentionally marked with a Glidden Pottery signature or backstamp which varied over the years… Gliddenware was affordable for many.” (Credit: Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art Gallery guide)
The New Kids
David Swenson
On a recent December evening in Minneapolis, Minnesota, two events brought ceramic and glass artists together to showcase their talent– some of whom developed their creative gifts at AU. Winter Wares at Circa Gallery and Pairing Pottery Dinner at Sapor Café and Bar provided unique opportunities for a melding of cuisine, art and community. Similar events are happening around the country, but none quite like this; a traveling show, so-to-speak, the artists moving from venue to venue, shifting the quality and tone of the event in progress.The dinner, which drew upon visual and culinary themes inspired by the textures and colors of Peru, Japan and India, provided a perfect palette for the artists to show off their stuff. AU Alum, Nick Moen (Nick Moen Studios, Asheville, NC) and Kathryn Adams (Manager, Asheville Glass Center, Asheville, NC), collaborated with fellow artist, AU Alum David Swenson, of The Northern Clay Center, and restaurateurs, Tanya Sienbenaler (chef and co-founder) and Julie Steenerson to createPairing Pottery Dinner. The fine art, and function, of the work would have made Glidden proud. Each uniquely sculpted piece was used to serve and feed guests. Following a thorough cleanse– in a most modern dishwasher– many pieces were prepared for sale, diners already anxious to own the very plates upon which they had recently eaten.
Venue Shift: Circa Gallery
Circa
Glidden’s work may have been left to a drafty barn, but Tom Lancaster, friend of artist Nick Moen, and host of the Circa Gallery event, was determined that the ceramic artists on view be duly celebrated for the vision and functionality of their labors. Artists mingled with guests, sharing stories about the design and creative labor of specific pieces.Tom shared a story that highlighted the accessible, multifaceted nature of ceramic arts. “A guest of the show arrived and indicated that she was visually impaired. She was worried about experiencing the show; how she would ‘look at it’”.“I told her not to give it a second thought. We walked through together and she marveled at the pieces that were so ‘visually tactile’…like a mug with an intricate, patterned surface and the plate by Victoria Dawes that has a bite mark constructed in to the design– she was just blown away by those pieces and bought them to add to her collections.”
Back to the Gravy
In reality, this is all about gravy. Yes, the functional, museum worthy piece in which my mother served the holiday sauce; the legacy piece of ceramic art, reborn on the table at Sapor Café and Bar and then held in the hands of the woman at Circa Gallery, proving that art and function, design and genius are alive in the hands and hearts of the artists throwing plates and pots and cups– and blowing glass in studios around the country. Art does not need to be beyond one’s reach, nor should it be. The simplicity of shared experience does much to level the playing field and reminds us that Glidden Parker; obscured in history by the shimmer of the Pottery Barns of the world, wanted to craft beautiful, functional art, unique, yet noteworthy. The art on display, and on the table, in Minneapolis, Minnesota is a tribute– and new chapter in the world of ceramic art.
The four-year ritual is upon me, renewal of my Minnesota state driver’s license. I turn a whopping 56 in February (but don’t feel, or act, a day over… well– it’s all relative, I suppose :-)).
West Seventh Freelance 
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