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Is there a lawyer in the house?! Well...almost.
Hackfester File Photo, November 2009 - Mavourneen, obstensibly writing a 75-page brief for Criminal Law but actually downloading a song from itunes, updating her
facebook status, browsing new netflix offerings, checking out a sale on gilt.com, ordering prints on shutterfly, reading juicy diplomatic gossip on wikileaks, etc.,
etc.... Well, this week, we learned (via twitter) that this remarkable dedication and tenacious singlemindedness have at long last paid off, and she has completed all
of her classes at DePaul Law School. Graduation, therefore, is imminent. Wow! Of course, now the real work commences...preparing for the dreaded bar exam
in February (it's always some damn thing). BUT, forget THAT and enjoy the moment. Congratulations on a most impressive achievement young lady.
Got thismiddle-of-the-night text from Amira a couple of weeks ago while she was in transit
to Paris for a quick visit with Pierre and the Carpentiers ...
"Hi mom and dad. I.m hungry and delirious in iceland"
Fortunately, the poor lass survived her stopover and her whirlwind vacation, and
things have returned to normal (that is to say, she is now hungry and delirious in NYC).
wom
HB, Pierre!
Down to his last buck and sporting a bandage on his wrist from his close encounter with American baseball
(scroll down for that story), Pierre heads into bankruptcy court hoping for a little love from Uncle Sam. "Hey, Chrysler,
GM, AIG, all zee banks! Tres ridiculous! Why not zee leetle people? Why not moi, I mean me? We need z'help as well, do
we not?! I can barely, how do you say, have enough extra for zee foie gras and zee champagne theese days! AND I have only
TWO t-shirts! Never forget to remember, if not for zee French, zthere would be noUSA! Can you say General Lafayette!"
Postscript: Sadly, the bankruptcy building was closed that day (it was Saturday), so Pierre got no immediate relief. But since then,
his wrist has healedand he has received his monthly stipends from home enabling him to live in the manner to which he has
become accustomed....
Joyeux Anniversaire à vous, Pierre!
Why is this man smiling? (Click the pic and find out.)
HB, Amira!
Is there really such a thing as destiny? You be the judge.
All the Best on Your Big Day, young lady!
Mavourneen's First Beer...
Meanwhile, Mavourneen didn't let being a really minor minor get in the way of her celebration of finally graduating from
counting her age in months (12) to years (1). Here she attempts to down the residual drops of a carelessly discarded bottle of
Shaefer beer. (Fortunately for her, the disturbingly warm suds missed her mouth and dribbled down her chin onto her baby food-stained mini-frock.)Still, even way back then, she showed clear signs of knowing how to party, an ability that she continues to hone to this day....The Paper Paradox.
The Big Announcement from the A2 News...except that everybody already knew this 24 hours
before, having read it on the web (see link, just below) which, ironically, is the primary reason for the paper's demise....
March 23, 2009 -- This postcard is from 1915 -- some 80 years after the founding of the A2 News, whose historic Alfred Kahn-designed building, btw, is on Huron St., not too far from the scene depicted here. The bricks and mortar will be sold in July, ending 174 years of continuous operation in downtown Ann Arbor.
I, William O. Marion, pray that I will not ever do the following:
Buy any more Clay Aiken cds
Get confused with Abe Lincoln, again
Eat a one pound block of government cheese in one sitting
Shoot 110 at Huron Hills
Buy any more kilts just because they are on sale
Forget to think of more things to not ever do
Do the Rhumba centercourt at half-time of a nationally televised NBA game
Imagine being on the trip of a lifetime and nearly missing the boat. That's what happened to Linda, who had gone up to the village to find a "facility" just prior to our being shuttled by rubber launch from the dock to the ship in which we would be touring the Galapagos. There were 25 or so fellow passengers, and we were being taxied out to the mother ship in groups of four or five. When just six of us were left standing there, I began to get agitated and took a quick walk back up the dock to look for Linda. Where the hell could she be!? I ducked into a small store and thena restaurant to ask if they'd seen her. They hadn't.I decided to check back at the dock, just in case she had returned in my absence. She hadn't. The last group had just pushed off, so I caught the mate's attention, and he motioned that he'd go, then return for me. Seeing my opportunity, I then immediately returned to the village, this time inquiring as to the whereabouts of the municipal restrooms. I was directed just across the road to a large building with a steel staircase that led up to the second floor. That's were the bathrooms were, I was told. Arriba. Upstairs. As it turned out THAT'S where Linda was as well, locked in when the door handle came off in her hand as she attempted to exit. I'll never forget the relief on her face when I rounded the corner and found her there, knob in hand. I was her hero, her savior. Well, sort of. When I tried opening the door, I found that it wouldn't budge. So I did the next logical thing...I took the above photo. Then I told her that I'd be right back, and I promised that I wouldn't take the trip without her. I hustled to the dock where the launch was just pulling in, this time with the captain board. "Que pasa?" he asked, a bit irritated. We were, after all, holding things up. I spelled out the situation for him, and rolling his eyes, he muttered, “Que cabron!” shaking his head wearily, as if this wasn't the first time one of his passengers had been held captive by that bathroom. Being a captain, he had connections, and we all traipsed over to -- where else? -- the mayor's office. Amazingly, it was on the main floor of the same building Linda was lodged in. The mayor, too, had connections; that is, HE had the keys to the village bathrooms. So the captain, the mate, the mayor, and I all marched up those stairs to save Linda, who was patiently awaiting rescue, door knob still in hand. And thatis the tale of the inauspicious start to our birthday week in the Galapagos.
wom
Sour Puss?
You've probably heard it said that the French don't like Americans,
and as if to prove the claim, are rude to us. I personally have never found this to be true
in any of my many interactions with French folks over the years. But then again, they probably sense
my innate "Frenchness" and go easy on Monsieur Marion.
Last fall, I learned that Pierre enjoys eating lemons, just as you and I might enjoy eating
oranges. "It's refreshing!" he claims. For most Americans, eating a lemon in the manner of
an orange is the culinary counterpart to running one's fingernails over a blackboard. It
occurred to me, upon personally witnessing Pierre eat a lemon wedge without a single quivver
of the lip (above), that I may have stumbled upon the core of this Franco-American disconnect.
(BTW, Pierre states categorically that it is not true -- that the French like, even love, Americans,
proving categorically that he's no fool.)
You see, perhaps it's only that many French folks
devour a lemon each day before heading out onto the streets of Paris or Lyon or Marseilles or wherever....
This lemon gives them their characteristically sour expression which, naturally, omnipresent American tourists –
hopelessly paranoid after the worldwide battering of the Bush years -- perceive to be directed at them.... And,voila!
After fours years at Parsons -- including one in Paris where this
shot was taken in 2007 at a lonely 4 am cramming session during which she was sustained
only by bottle after bottle of cheap Bordeaux -- Amira's diligence has paid off. On January 5th, she
began working for J Crew, assigned to the NYC company's exciting new affiliate, Madewell. As an
accessories' designer, she'll be solely responsible for saving the entire company in this economic
maelstrom that is plaguing us all.
Best of luck, young lady!
A paltry twenty years ago...
Christmas, 1989-Four-year-old Mavourneen helps 9-year-old Annie get 4-month-old Nicole into the Christmas spirit, although Nicole appears to be more interested in Christmas spit.
A Monkish Gift.
Circa 1987. Worn once (this was it).
And she's off!!!
It was just her first Christmas, but already, Amira was in the spirit of things in
this 1986 photo. Although she hadn't yet graduated to a garment with individual legs, she still
managed to motor about with amazing facility in her one-piece garb, wreaking havoc wherever she went.
Human nature being what it is, she went directly to the largest package....
**Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, 2006 -This guy's parents had a wonderful sense of humor and
symmetry. We'll get Pierre to translate for us and post it later. wom
**Burial site of choicefor Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Freddy Chopin, and a bunch of other famous but really dead people. Click
on Pere Lachaise Cemetery above for more info.
Say it ain't so, Bo...
HackFester Hidden-Cam file photo: Mavourneen, caught in the act
The UM-Northwestern game (which Michigan lost) was well underway when I sent a text to MDM to ascertain where she was watching it. Normally, she'd be over at Duffy's, a UM-friendly Windy City tavern that draws a goodly, rabid crowd of Wolverine alumni on football Saturdays.
Not this particular Saturday, however. Here's the response I got: "I'm doing laundry. I have given up on Michigan football this season! We suck! I'm hoping we get better next season...How much time is left?"
Remember: Just two short seasons ago this week, UM was 11-0 and preparing to play OSU for a spot in the Nat'l Championship game. The hype was flying fast and furious all week long, but ultimately, UM lost a very tight, very exciting contest, 42-39.
The big back story, of course, was the passing of Bo Schembechler, whose untimely death just hours before that game failed to sufficiently rally the troops. Then on January 1, 2008 (in the Capital One Bowl), the Wolverines beat Florida, the defending Nat'l Champion, ironically, the team that pummeled OSU for the title in the game that UM just missed out on in 2006, as described above. It was embattled head coach Lloyd Carr's final game, and given the current state of affairs, his characteristic shit-eating grin has never been broader.
Fast forward to November 2008: Now, we're saddled with a team so pitiful and so painful to watch that, yes, some people -- formerly fine, stalwart fans even -- would prefer to do their laundry than to subject themselves to that pain.
Can you blame them?
Down and Out in A2
November, 2008 - General Bo died two years ago this week. He was actually lucky...this year's team
would surely have killed him.
Table with a View.
This rare, retro, pecan wood diningroom table (with four matching chairs) has been around. Once owned by G'Pa Bill, it somehow came into my possession years back and eventually, after much use (and abuse), ended up in our garage. There it languished for a generation (nearly), and was on the very verge of Salvation Armydom when it was instead diverted to Mavourneen's cool Lake Shore Drive digs, in the heart of Chicago's Gold Coast. It now has a phenomenal view of Lake Michigan and Navy Pier...as does Mavourneen. Both are extremely fortunate.
-cucuracha under glass-
The Welcoming Party -- Brooklyn Style.
This fine speciman of cockroachus disgustus showed up in Amira's brand-spanking-new apartment on
just hersecond night there. (Must have followed her down from Washington Heights, her old, more
cockroachy neighborhood.) Given the uproar it caused, you'd have thought it was a foaming-at-the-mouth rottweiler,
a gila monster, and an angry, wounded cougar all packed into into one disturbing creature.
Fortunately, I had the camera at the ready to document the discovery of the loathsome critter, which, after all,
wanted merely to grab a quick bite and maybe a short sauna in a steamy bathroom....
Linda and Amira, ignoring my suggestion that they "terminate it with extreme prejudice," chose instead to haul it
down four flights of stairs and out into the street where, two blocks away, they kindly released it curbside. It was
last seen scrambling repellently off into the gritty darkness mouthing the words..."I'll be baaaackkk...."wom
NoMoFo
(photos by LDM, fellow survivor)
No...those aren't the tracks of our tears (though they could have been) -- they're the tracks of our formerly-trusty Ford Windstar as it veered out of control on I-94 at 70 mph when the steering control arm snapped off the frame ("The WHAT did WHAT?" is what we said). It sounded like a shotgun blast, and suddenly we were off the road and on the grass, with a dead steering wheel. Linda and I were just entering Jackson, MI, on our way to Chicago last Friday when the fun began. I kept the brake to floor, and after mowing down the merge sign (which sprang back up and penetrated the radiator), we finally came to a halt without further incident. The airbags did not deploy, and other than being in a state of shock as we pondered what could have been, we were not injured.
Just like that, however, the van was totaled.
Here you can see the final resting place (so to speak) of the van -- exactly at the merging point of the entrance ramp and the right lane of I-94.
(At least there was no truck traffic that day. Not.)
Trying to convince the good officer that I was sober.
Old Faithful being dragged off to the salvage yard.
(Note tow truck driver rooting about for lost change.)
With our new best friends, Danny the tow truck guy and Officer England. As they say...all's well that ends well.
Word yesterday (6/5/08) from Amira: "je suis arrivée!!!!!!!"
(So begins two months in Paris -- her Parsons' grad-22nd
b'day present from mom and dad. Not bad. She'll be staying in le Maison Carpentier with Pierre. But of course!)
Jim's Shoe Repair, mid-town Manhattan, 5/17/08 - The Birthday Girl takes a ride in a wooden choo choo* back when she was a fun-loving, free-wheeling, carefree lass, less than 24 hours after her graduation from Parsons School of Design. Now that that's over, she has transmogrified into a career-minded, competitive, focused young designing woman who has no time to lollygag about. After all, there are places to go, people to meet, clothes and shoes to construct. And today, cake and ice cream to consume.
All the Best on your Big Day, Amira!
*actually, a quaint waiting/shoe-fitting space in this vintage cobbler's shop
photo has been enhanced for the hearing impaired
Amira's handmade sandals that she assembled from eco-astute recycled vegetarian leather. The cobbler at Jim's installed the soles, and we were there to pick up the finished product which, as it turned out, fit like a glove -- not a good thing since she wears them on her feet. A few tweaks will soon get them fitting like a sandal, the original intention and preferred fit.
What started here...
Brought us here...
(photo 1 - August 29, 2004) Amira walks confidently along Fifth Avenue and away from her parents and sister on her first full day at Parsons (she would trip on the opposite curb but pretend it didn't happen, which is what you have to do when you trip in NYC. Already she was adapting.)
(photo 2 - May 16, 2008, Madison Square Garden) Enough said.
HB, Mavourneen!
Mavourneen is now moving swiftly away from those callow early years of newly-bestowed expectation and responsibility. She, no doubt, enjoyed the date marking her ever-solidifying maturity in a calm, dignified manner...wrapped in an afghan, drinking cup after cup of spearmint-peppermint tea with honey, munching on graham crackers slathered with Nutella, and watching, once again, that old standard Gone With The Wind with a few close, temperate friends...NOT!!!
All the best on your Big Day, Mavourneen!
And the winner is...
There was only one Grand Prize Winner in this year'sProject Earth Dayeco-fashion student competitionin NYC, and that's where Amira comes in: She WON! As a result, her bare bones' bank account has been infused with a hefty $1,500, there will be a profile on her and her work in a major publication in the near future, and she nows has bragging rights for a full year. More on this to come....
The modest Grand Prize Winner being pestered by the fashion papparazzi just minutes after her collection took top prize. The gentleman seated on the right (in the grayish suit with hair of an identical hue) became instantly desconsolate upon the announcement of Amira's victory, muttering to himself 'Why couldn't it have been me? Why not ME?!' -- until someone reminded him that he was no longer a student, having graduated from college back in 1966. 'Oh,' he replied embarrassedly. 'Right.'
Mavourneen knew that law school would be stressful, but not in THIS way...
6:37 p.m.DePaul University has evacuated two buildings on its Loop Campus due to a bomb threat. This threat affects the Lewis Center and O'Malley Place at 25 and 23 E. Jackson Blvd. All evening classess have been cancelled in these buildings. This decision was made in consultation with the Chicago Police Department and affects only these two buildings at this time.
Please check back for updates.
You have received this message because our records indicate that you are a current student, faculty member, staff member, or retiree of DePaul University. Such messages are sent periodically to the entire university community on a need-to-know basis. Students, faculty, staff, and retirees may not choose to unsubscribe to these messages. If you are NOT a current student, faculty member, staff member or retiree: contact secretary@depaul.edu. Thank you.
Ed. Note: Fortunately, it proved to be a false alarm, but there was a period of uncertainty and fear that students and professors experienced. Terrible things have happened on several University campuses around the country in recent months (most notably VTech, Louisiana Tech, and nearby NIU), so nobody doubts that it could happen, and that plays into the fear factor. Sad.
2-12-08
BILL IS 58-YEARS-OLD TODAY!
And here is a list of the Top Nine good things about W.O. being fifty-eight:
9 - Can still run the 50-yard dash in under one minute.
8 - Can collect Social Security checks in only four more years.
A recent photo of the birthday boy shows that he is aging gracefully, with the wisdom of many years etched in his face...
Happy Birthday, Billy!
2-5-08
H.B., Linda!
Fall, 1975. This historic, recently discovered, long-forgotten photo shows a radiant 20-year-old Linda Dominguez encountering future husband WOM for the first time. Says WOM of this occasion: "I was walking to class from my residence on Greenwood on the fringe of U of M's central campus. As I neared Oakland St., I couldn't help noticing a sweet young thing practicing Ti Chi on the front lawn of the big white house on the corner. As I passed her, she saw that I was carrying my camera (a 35mm Yashika) and boldly suggested that I take her photo. Though I was running late and was quite leary of aggressive women (the evening before, I had seen the movie Play Misty for Me), I was so captivated by the autumnal scene that I agreed to do so. After taking the shot, I immediately continued on my way, lest I show up late for a mid-term exam -- or further encourage her. Surprisingly, the girl, who gave her name as Linda, began following me. Disconcerted, I stepped up my pace but was unable to shake her, and as I entered the classroom a few minutes later, I observed her stop just outside the door. Two hours passed, and having just completed the test, I was about to leave the room, but something told me not to be too hasty. So, I first peeked out. Sure enough, there she was, this girl Linda, hanging around a little ways down the corridor. Not wanting to create a scene, but feeling quite concerned, I ducked back into the classroom and surreptitiously exited through a window! That was the last time I saw Linda until we were formally -- and ironically -- introduced some seven months later by one of my roommates who, by chance, was in the School of Art with her. Since the introduction took place at my house, I was unable to escape the persistent young woman this time around, so we later decided to marry, have a family, and live happily ever after. So far, so good."
Tango Time
photo by Doc Marion
Well, we made it safely back from Argentina, so now you're going to have to put up with some of our photos, including this one showing me strutting my stuff on the streets of Buenos Aires. I most definitely wowed my professional partner, Matilde, who initially saw me as a clumsy, awkward, aging American who would embarrass himself AND her, by association. Although I did break all the rules by smiling,which is strictly forbidden while performing, I most definitely held my own during the nearly three minutes (it seemed longer) I was out there with her. At the end, she lifted her dress to promote air flow, a gesture of respect and appreciation for my surprising agility and unforseen magnetism.... WOM
Just not THIS white: 8.825 inches and counting as of 10:46 am, 12/16/07
Warrington Drive, A2, looking north towards the river
Dream Girl.
September 14, 2007 - After several weeks of roughing it on a blowup bed, Amira wastes no time in collapsing on her very own mattress, hauled just that morning from its 15-month hiatus in the bowels of Joe and Betty Tolerico's basement, then trucked up to her sixth-story NYC apartment at Broadway and 177th. Snoring contentedly, she was soon smiling serenely as visions of sugar plums -- and Pierre -- danced in her head. Abruptly awakened five minutes later by one of her own startlingly-loudsnorts, she was reminded that there was another little moving project still on the docket...
photo by JP Marion, September 2005
Amira's University of Michigan Art School lockers...still plaguing her father two years after their original move into her old apartment in the Upper West Side.
Leaves of three, let them be...
A Declaration.
Having contracted poison ivy for the third time in four years, and being in yet another miserable state of bodily overreaction, I hereby declare in this public forum that my pruning days are officially over and that I shall not attempt in any way to control Mother Nature ever again no matter how unruly she gets. WOM, 7/26/07 A ludicrous absurdity.
(left) Mavourneen and Linda attempt to show enthusiasm for one doll's new mane -- at least, I HOPE they were faking it.
Call me jaded or a spoil sport or a willful curmudgeon or whatever you wish, but this scene at the AmericanGirl store in downtown Chicago (don't ask), takes the cake: What you're seeing is a beauty salon for dolls. Little girls (LOTS of them) and their doting mothers stand in line to have the hair of their precious Molly or Samantha or Josefina or Felicity or whomever reconfigured (AKA, done) by a "professional" stylist. The price? A mere $20 (a buck more, including tip, by the way, than I pay my most excellent tonsorial specialist Bill at the State Street Barber Shop in Ann Arbor to reconfigure MY hair each month -- and he actually DID go to college to learn his trade. Okay, so it was a barber college, but still...).
The bottom line on the AmericanGirl doll salon: This is dinero that would be better utilized in the hands of one of the many homeless vets you encounter on the teeming streets of the Windy City. At least they could purchase some temporary solace from their multifarious demons in the form of a jug of rotgut and and some rollin' tobacco.
From Paris to Paris Hilton
The 263 pounds of personal possessions that Linda and I hauled back home for Amira on our recent trip to Paris. WOM
After 10 months of Parisian baguettes, fromage, chocolate, and nice little wines, Amira returns home today where she will not only encounter more baguettes, fromage, chocolate, and nice little wines but also her family. You can welcome her back at maria969@newschool.edu.
Turkish Delight?
Imagine THIS postcard arriving in Calumet 100 years ago. Heart attacks all around, if not arrests, trials, recriminations, scandal, convictions, community service.
Check out Islam 101 to learn what this young lady SHOULD BE wearing.
Got thismiddle-of-the-night text from Amira a couple of weeks ago while she was in transit
to Paris for a quick visit with Pierre and the Carpentiers ...
"Hi mom and dad. I.m hungry and delirious in iceland"
Fortunately, the poor lass survived her stopover and her whirlwind vacation, and
things have returned to normal (that is to say, she is now hungry and delirious in NYC).
wom
HAPPYBIRTHDAYAMIRA!
In this picture dating from the very late 1980's, we see Amira, with Mavourneen on her right and Nicole on her left, engaging in her favorite pastime - getting someone - anyone - to read to her. One of the books she liked most was William Steig's 'Shrek', excitedly chirping, "Again, again!", after the last page was turned.
Interestingly enough Amira is still enthralled by Shrek - and being read to. During a recent visit she cajoled Alayna into narrating 'Shrek The Third.'
Amira never seemed to tire of hearing the latest exploits of the Ogre's adventures, giddily yelling "Again, again!", then sat enthralled, sipping her half litre/single latte/no fatte/triple double/French Mocha cappucino, while a bleary eyed Alayna read and reread the sequel sixteen times! JPM
Mavourneen, finally getting to meet the man whose show has entertained her for years. When Mr. Springer discovered that she's not from Arkansas, has all of her teeth, doesn't have a single tattoo nor any "intimate" piercings, went to school beyond 7th grade, doesn't smell like Marlboro Lights nor drink Milwaukee's Best beer, and has never slept with a family member, he quickly lost interest in her. For that, we're all exceedingly grateful.
27 years,
1 month,
2 weeks,
and 3 days ago...
While traveling in Mexico with Bill in late December '79, there was one day I'll never forget. It went like this:
We'd spent Christmas in Trevino (a couple hours south of Laredo, Texas) with some of Linda's relatives. One crystal-clear morning (probably the 26th), we ended up driving around with a guy named Lalo. We cruised around Trevino for a while in his six-cylinder shortbed Ford pickup truck Lalo had a pint bottle of El Presidente brandy tucked neatlybetween his legs.We declined several offers to hit it. It was only about 11 am. He didn't appear drunk though he must have been wasted since the bottle was three quarters gone. The tipoff was that he'd already shifted into fourth gear by the time he got up to 20 mph. The truck would sputter and lurch, just on the edge of stalling. I felt a little better when he finally took the last swig, emptying the bottle, figuring now he'd start to sober up.
I was aghast when Lalo pulled off the road, got out, reached behind the seat and pulled out a fifth of El Presidente, refilled the pint, and resumed driving. After a while of driving along some two-track back roads we ended up at a small ranch house. There, we enjoyed the hospitality of Juan Roque, who promptly had us plow a couple rows in his field. No tractor. You had to steer the plow with one hand, and guide the two old burros with the other. After a couple runs up and down the field by Bill and me, the rows were so crooked it looked like Lalo had done the plowing. Next, we had a turn milking the goats, which went well until Billy's goat kicked the bucket over.
Our next event was taking a spin on one of the ranch hands' horse. This beautiful animal was used for herding sheep and could turn on a dime. Later in the evening we rolled back into Trevino, safe and sound, and headed to the Cantina for a cold cerveza.
Formerly a working farm for several years, Juan Roque's spread was switched to sheep-raising after the soil became depleted from supplying the world market with Pet Rocks. Vaquero (cowboy) Bill also showed us how to make the creature rear up by pulling on the reins, and then how to fall off. The important thing is that he got back on. How are you going to top all of that today, Guillermo? I suggest seconds on the ice cream and cake....
Happy Birthday, amigo! JPM
HB,Linda!
2/4/07 - Birthday Girl Linda cozies up to special guest celebrant George Clooney at her pre-party gala at Madame Tussaud's in London a few weeks ago. Dr. Marion talked medicine with the former Dr. Doug Ross (ER), and though he appeared to be somewhat unresponsive, it gave her the thrill of a lifetime just to breathe in the waxy air wafting about him. All the Best on your Big Day, LDM!
Still at it!
1/11/07 - Quite remarkably, the computer problem (corrupt SpellCheck program) that Amira experienced on her recent tour of Scandinavia, specifically in Oslo, has yet to be fixed (see "Special Report: Amira in Scandinavia" link below). Astounding! Last we heard, the reboot did not work, so they had to bring in some hotshot troubleshooter from the port town of Bergen to seek out the precise source of the glitch. We just got word that although he's nearly torn the computer apart (see photo above), still no luck. Bummer.
1/7/07 - so now i have checked into mystockholm hostel safely, and i can write you guys another email. so far our trip has been quite lovely and laid back. we spent a few good days in copenhagen, lovely city, then moved on to goteborg, which was veryyy cute, and basically we just walked around all day and went into little stores and talked to people, and of course while it rained, we sat in a cafe and drank hot chocolate for a good couple hours, which we seem to do every day, and is quite a highlight. i love the cafes in scandanavia! ok, so after this, we went on to bergen, not oslo, because we couldn't find a good hostel. oslo was super tiny though so it wasn't that exciting, but it was cute... and expensive. so we left! but it rains and snows 322 days a year there, so we were curious to see people living in such an environment. we did go to a cool museum in bergen though, about german fishermen from few hundred years ago, and saw all of their old stuff set up as a house. like real creepy old beds and trunks. it was cool. then this morning we woke up and caught a train to stockholm, where we just arrived a couple hours ago. i made friends with the guy sitting next to me on the train, and he basically told me WHERE to go in stocholm, from the vasa museum (viking boat museum, which i found out i s pronounced veeek+ing, not vike+ing, and then he pumped his arm like it sounds way more manly and forceful, but it doesn't--). and then he directed us to his neighborhood which is kinda of like the east village of stockholm. yaya! one thing i haven't used yet since i've been here are those damn handwarmers i've been looking forward to!! wahh! it's been raining everywhere! but we did see snow on the overnight ride from goteburg to bergen. when i woke up and looked out the window, it was like a magic snow fairy town. same thing this morning, on the trip to stockholm. everyone keeps saying the weather is super weird for this time of year, likely because of global warming. wah. but hey´at least we saw snow!! what's going on in ann arborr?? anything new??? AMM
Still a big topic in the coffee houses of Sweden: King Gustav III -- a wild and crazy guy? Or actually more gay than boa feathers, a murse*, or speedos on the beach in Miami ?
*man's purse
Holy Shit!
Somehow, our toilet paper dispenser ran dry in our hotel in London, so Linda ran down to the front desk to request a replacement roll. THIS is what they gave her – almost a lifetime supply. (How did they know we had sampled bubble & squeak for lunch?)
For the Ahole who has everything...
Clic the pic (but not if you're snacking). Amira passed this along, so to speak, so you can blame her.
December, 2006. Mavourneen, hobnobbing with facsimiles thereof at Madame Tussaud's in London. Amazingly enough, even in wax, Paul is still the "cute Beatle" -- though in real life, he's beginning to resemble his late grandmother Estelle.
Soliciting: Cards for the Homeless
For the first time in her 20 years, young Amira will not be home for the Holidays. However, given where she'll be celebrating
Christmas/New Year's Eve, sympathy will be difficult to muster. Still, if you can find the time -- and can spare the 84 cents for a stamp -- she can be found at...18 rue du Cardinal Lemoine Paris, France 75005
Merci beaucoup for your support.
Off to Laurium for a little roots' digging and to give the good Dr. Marion some much-needed R & R after the successful completion of her one-year Geriatric Fellowship at WSU. (Applause Sign ON) Nobody's happier for her than me: Now, she's not only fully prepared to take care of me in my drooling, dribbling elder years, but also, I'm no longer married to a fellow -- and that's the way I prefer it. In truth, she worked day and night and deserves a tropical getaway. Having failed to arrange that, I'm taking her on a tour of the Keewenaw Peninsula, the Motherland of the O'Brien-Harrington lines. Forget that the area was just hit with the most intense October blizzard in decades and already boasts 15 inches of snow underfoot (see above). All that counts is that it's filled with familial heritage, and that we'll be spending our nights, at least, out of the cold and inside the stately Laurium Manor Inn, just a block or two from the home of M.E. and Nell O'Brien and brood on Pewabic St.
Vinny and Teddy
Paris transplant Amira is proving to have quite an ear for photography, having recently submitted this grave shot of the Brothers Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, France. She took the photo on a school field trip -- which sure beats the pants off of any field trip I've ever been on, including that one of the Michigan State Capitol Building (now that was a doozy, let me tell you). Merci beaucoup for sharing mademoiselle.... WOM 10/06
And now back to baseball...Go get 'em Tigers!
Dirty, Pretty Things
photo by Amira Marion
Paris, France - This finger-lickin' good shot illustrates why the French are the culinary kings of the civilized world -- and why after taking this photo, Amira immediately entered this very store, puchased a juicy filet poulet of her own, repaired without delay to her Latin Quarter apartment, and cooked up a transcendent coq au vin, before suddenly coming to her senses and realizing that she is a vegetarian! Se la vie!
How Do They Do It?
Happy 25th Anniversary Linda & Bill
Suspicious Activity
The above itinerary shows that three women -- Antoinette Buford, Lina Galleo, and Monisha Hayden -- were scheduled to travel first class to Indianapolis from Tallahassee on Friday, June 23. It also shows whom should be billed...Bill Marion. (Yeah, me.) The total? $2300. By the time we received this document on 6/26, a fraud investigator at Travel Advantage (a discount travel agency) had already called us and left a message on our machine: Smelling a rat, she had gone ahead and cancelled the tickets. Good job, but this was just the start of a tangled web of deceit and deception....Stay tuned.
A Stylish Departure
May 3, 2006 -As Mavourneen and her two roommates, Kristi and Carly, moved out of their UM campus pad, this designerly pile of refuse and recyclables spontaneously accumulated on the porch.
Fashion Alert
Puerto Rico, 2/2006 - This cheeky senorita and her more modestly-attired companion were just ahead of me, as I walked along San Juan Harbor innocently in quest of photo ops. After I surreptitiously snapped this shot, she put her left arm down, her bag slipped off her shoulder, and she bent over to pick it up, cracking me a broad smile in the process. Ayyy, caramba! The decent chap that I am, I refrained from shooting that scene, which is just as well, as her mate turned a suspicious gaze my way right at the moment in question. By then, of course, my camera was trained far to the left, on the sea beyond, and he was none the wiser. She, too, was clueless, and short of help from Project Runway -- and/or Amira -- will probably remain so ad infinitum. WOM
"Didn't even notice...I was too busy checking out the cool tattoo, man." Tommy Lee, degenerate drummer, Hollywood, CA
"Is that legal in this country? Puerto Rico IS this country, right?" Anyway, there's got to be a law against that, right? Right? Ralph Nader,perpetual rabble-rouser and government watchdog, Washington D.C.
"I did NOT have sex with that woman. Nor did I inhale." Bill Clinton, ex-president, professional politician-prevaricator, NYC
"Poor lass. Probably a victim of the worldwide denim shortage." JP Marion,Long Drive Champion, GFI'04, Ann Arbor, MI
"Nice tush on that adorable Puerto Rican boy! A shame that he's with her, the tramp!"
Lance Bruceman, hair stylist, San Francisco, CA
Grunt Work
photo by JPM, September 2005
Amira stifles a laugh watching her Papa struggle mightily to hold up his end of her special art supplies'/clothing storage unit -- formerly property of the U of M Art School -- that she insisted on moving into her posh Manhattan suite last fall. The fate of these retro-cool lockers is now in question, moving them back to Ann Arbor seems impossible, if this picture is any indication of the excessive labor involved. Keeping them seems unnecessary anyway since Amira is now safely outside of the jurisdiction of the ever-vigilant NYC fashion police, so there's no need to save all of those pastel walking suits made popular by Ron Neal. Stayed tuned...
Lockers live to see another day!
(6/20/06 - NYC) Manliness seeping from every orifice, Michael J catches his breath after single-handedly hoisting Amira's pride and joy from her third floor apartment down to West End Avenue to be loaded into the waiting van. Ironically, the very next day, his father-in-law, Big Joe Tolerico, got the hernia!
HB, Amira!!
It hurts so good!
Although it pained her immensely, two-year-old Amira bravely polishes off a bowl of her Baskin-Robbins' ice cream-birthday cake in this May 21, 1988, photo. Here's wishing her more of the same agony on May 21, 2006, her 20th birthday.
Graduation from UM? A foregone conclusion.
Mavourneen, in her mother's UM Med School convocation attire, 1994
Fast forward twelve years...
9:15 am, April 29 - Michigan Stadium, under massive reconstruction, begins to fill up 45 minutes prior to the commencement ceremony honoring the 10,000 graduates of the class of 2006. The UM band was there performing on stage at the far end of the field.
9:40 am - The honorees are slowly herded through Gate 1 into The Big House. Mavourneen, in her cap and gown, can be seen just to the left of the bearded guy in the cap and gown who's standing on the far right next to the girl in the Ray-Ban sunglasses who is also attired in a cap and gown. In the distant background, Central Campus and Medical Center; just in front of that is the athletic complex, including -- in the top, right corner -- the Old IM Building and Ferry Field, where Ohio State's Jesse Owens once ran wild against the Wolverines.
11:25 am - The event is coming to a close with a rousing rendition of "Hail to the Victors," even though the football team ended the season a pathetic 7-5 and the basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tourney once again.
12:03 pm - The proud parents posing ever-so-proudly with their equally-proud progeny. We were just three of thousands of such proud peoples pridefully expending megapixels at that same moment in the shadows of a very proud UM Stadium.
12:30ish - On to a table in the back garden at Dominick's for sangria and pizza, and later that night, a filet for the graduate at The Chop House. After four years of UM tuition and dinner at AnnArbor's most expensive restaurant, we are offically broke.
Sure, the move into mature adulthood is painful. We know. Congratulations, you two on yet another baby step in that direction! Happy B'day Mavourneen (22!) & Chris (19!).
At last, at last...Spring, 2006
(Off on a little R & R...Hasta la vista, baby.)
Sweet Memories
Julie surprised me on my b'day with this bit of nostalgia, the same style cake that my attentive godparents, the Kellys, used to send me every February 12th during my formative years. As a kid, my Big Day wasn't complete until the doorbell rang and the Sanders cake box -- tied tightly with string, Julie reminded me -- was handed over by the uniformed company deliveryman. I must have sent Anne and Harry thank yous (well-prodded by Mom, no doubt) because I kept getting those cakes, year after year. What a memory! (Thanks, Julie, and sorry RJ that you were stuck with such deadbeat godparents, you poor deprived soul.) WOM
Birthday Boy WOM, seen here with Patrice, his neighbohood squeeze, and sister Julie, serving as chaperone. April, 1952, Detroit, MI.
Ye Old Depot
Remember this place? Site of historic HackFest '92, where a ripe and ready Maggie scarfed down her first taste of chocolate...and where, just a few short years ago, Jason spent a very rugged winter amid the incessant revs of the passing snowmobiles? Well, it's still going strong, this time in its latest incarnation as a canoe livery. Lots of memories, down by the River Sturgeon....
*****
Hackfest '92. A crew of cousins congratulate the newly-initiated cocoaphile, Maggie, after her gluttonous first foray into the addictive brown stuff.
*****
The last hurrah - JJ & WOM, the day they dismantled the depot, April 2002.
Star Power
Title:
Playboy's 7th Annual Super Saturday Night
Subject:
Arts, Culture and Entertainment
Caption: DETROIT - FEBRUARY 04, 2006: University of Michigan seniors Kristi Paris, left, and Mavourneen Marion -- special guests of the original dirty old man himself, Geezer-Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner -- graciously grant Grey's Anatomy co-starJustin Chambers' request for a photo at Playboy's 7th Annual Super Saturday Night party at a Detroit City Airport Hangar , the night before the Big Game. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
People:
Kristi Paris, Mavourneen Marion, Justin Chambers
Copyright:
2006 Getty Images
By/Title:
Evan Agostini/Staff
Date Created:
4 Feb 2006 12:00 AM
City, State, Country:
Detroit, MI, United States
Credit:
Getty Images
Collection:
Getty Images Entertainment
Source:
Getty Images North America
Date Submitted:
5 Feb 2006 02:20 AM
File Size/Pixels/DPI:
829K/2187x3000/300
Keywords:
EOS1DMkII-220539 56667333, Half Length
Orientation:
Horizontal
Object Name:
56667333EA026_Playboy_s_7th
Restrictions:
Contact your local office for all commercial or promotional uses. Full editorial rights UK, US, Ireland, Canada (not Quebec). Restricted editorial rights for daily newspapers elsewhere, please call.
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No release.
Note:All editorial images subject to the following: For editorial use only. Additional clearance required for commercial or promotional use, contact your local office. Images may not be altered or modified. Getty Images makes no representations or warranties regarding names, trademarks or logos appearing in the images. See Editorial License Agreement.
Amira wuz here.
Parents all over the country were buoyed with the arrival home of their beloved collegiate/out-of-state offspring over the recent Holiday Season, now but another fuzzy spot in the ever-bloating memory bank. Actually, we here on Warrington were left with more than just fond remembrances of Amira's return to our daily lives...she also left her mark on our van, having suffered a "failure to yield right of way" brain glitch (and having been ticketed for the same) while visiting friends in Kalamazoo, just hours before she was to return to school. Naturally, we were relieved that she was not hurt. (She is, after all, a blood relation.) We were also relieved that she had a safe flight back to NYC the very next day and is now a comfortable distance from our fleet of formerly pristine vehicles.
The lesson to be learned here: While at a traffic light, it's ALWAYS advisable to actually look before attempting move from one lane to the other, as Amira's "close-your-eyes-and-hope-for-the-best" method can sometimes have undesired ramifications, including the aforementioned ticket ($130, payable to the 8th District Court of Kalamazoo); the AAA Collision Deductible ($250); and an
advanced/images/spacer.gif" title="undefined"align=center>UM senior Mavourneen, caught here sticking out her tongue to check the temperature after the season's first snowfall, 11/24/05. Although an unusual method of determining just how cold it is "out there," it does beat placing that same tongue against the aluminum downspout as she used to do in her naive and callow dorm days of freshman year.
Vegetarians Beware!
photo by LD Marion
Home for Thanksgiving, Amira displays one of the classic symptoms of Anacarnivore Derelictus, or in layman's terms, an extreme dearth of meat in her system. Besides exaggerated digititis (seen above), an uncontrollable desire to knit is also present in victims of this nefarious but fortunately easily-curable disease. A common home remedy is to surreptitiously stick a turkey drumstick under the sufferer's pillow while she sleeps and leave it there for a period of not less than than eight and not more than 12 hours. I'm pleased to report that it works! WOM
9/4/05 - Amira rests against her building at 225 West End Ave. at 70th in New York's toney Upper West Side, all tuckered out from dragging discarded furniture up into her magnificent new apartment. As the saying goes...one person's trash is another one's treasure. For the sharp-eyed, the streets of the City are goldmine as old tenants move out and new ones settle in....
The mess they call Atlanta.
photo by Amira Marion
Twenty-five miles north of the city, the traffic remains bumper-to-bumper on a typical Thursday morning inbound commute. Bill and Rose lived in Marietta -- quite near this very snarl -- for some nine years before the swiftly increasing population and its accompanying morass of hyperkinetic vehicles eventually drove them out. Moving further south to Jacksonville, they improved their lot somewhat, but in the end, that city was nearly as challenging for elderly drivers.... (Shot taken on our trip back from Longwood, FL, Thursday, May 26, 7:45 am) WOM
We were greeted at the Quito airport by this muchacha, representing our hotel, the Posada del Maple. She wasn't an especially good speller (but she could have been even worse, as I was one "i" away from infamy). WOM
Blue-Footed Boobie
Ecuador, February 2005 - Anybody smart enough to make it through 4th grade geography class knows about the gigantic tortoises found in these here parts (and recently featured on this very page), but how many of you know about this curious creature? The fact is, Boobies are among the best-loved birds in the Galapagos. We saw all three kinds (red-footed, masked, and the above-pictured beast), on our recent visit to the eastern half of the archipelago. We also saw a t-shirt in every souvenir shop that read: "We love Boobies." And, no, as much as we admire the entire family of Boobies, we did not purchase such a shirt.
A Tale of Two Cities
1/23/05
Union Square, NYC
Warrington Drive, Ann Arbor, MI
Dueling ibooks
Thanksgiving '04.Home for a few days of R&R, these dutiful college girls rev up their laptops and tend to the academic side of things in the comfort of their own livingroom. With just three weeks remaining in the fall term, every minute counts at this critical juncture. Fortunately, there was plenty of leftover turkey and vegetarian trimmings (see photos below)and an overabundance of cranberry-white chocolate cheesecake and Starbucks to see them through these trying times.
The long period of anticipation and growing excitement is gone. Left behind are the carcasses of boxes and gift bags, crumpled wrapping paper, wayward bows, and ribbons. A plethora of presents -- carefully chosen, hastily ripped opened, temporarily forgotten -- lay waiting to be reclaimed and carted away. The tree, its days numbered, remains in place, needles dropping daily, a prickly reminder of the job at hand: Dismantling the entire Christmas stage and storing its props until next year's encore performance.
Happy New Year!
Fashionable Feets: This was the choice of footwear to ring in 2005 for three party participants on Torrey Street in A2: From left to right, JP's industrial-strength dancin' dogs; Mavourneen's cockroach-in-the-corner killers; and Amira's mechanical bull-ridin' Urban Cowgirl shitkickers.
The Road Not Taken, Part I Little Known Fact: While on an Australian Boondoggle (AKA, Study Abroad Program, summer 2004), Mavourneen flirted with an attractive offer to run away and become a carnival snake charmer. After many torturous days of indecision and conflicting emotions, she finally chose to return to Ann Arbor and resume her studies at UM. The determining factor? The ancient, battered trailer that she would have been living in while on tour of the Outback didn't have the proper electrical circuitry to accommodate her 2,500 watt hair dryer! In this photo, she shows her ease at dealing with one such loathesome creature, a talent that she acquired at Community High, whose male population was particularly reptilian.
The Road Not Taken, Part II This astonishing photograph captures the moment just before this normally tranquil and passive serpent (nicknamed "Fuzzy" for its warm and loving nature) turned suddenly psycho on Mavourneen, wrapping its repulsive form around her neck and squeezing agressively. Passing out from the pressure and lack of oxygen, the poor lass was brought back to life by emergency mouth-to-mouth, administered by the brown-bearded and fast-acting park ranger standing watch behind her. It was when she came to and observed the hirsute one hovering (and drooling) in her face that she began to consider snake charming as a profession (see Part I, above), probably only to escape the ignominy of the moment.
That Durned Neighbor...
Things just haven't been the same on Warrington Drive since Joe Bob Watkins moved in down the street. Fortunately, he's a good-hearted feller and voluntarily clears off our driveway. Here's a shot I took from our front window yesterday after a pretty good blanket of white had fallen. I've got to say, although he IS a super nice guy, he CAN be a bit of a blowhard....
Arrival.
Union Square Residence Hall, August 26, 2004, NYC. After disgorging Amira's possessions onto the 16th Street sidewalk, we had to wait for a trolly-bin to haul everything up to her 6th floor room via the freight elevator. Here the girls pass the time most productively...Mavourneen catching a power catnap and Amira touching base with her hairdresser/pedicurist. Activity swirls in this neck of Manhattan, with a bustling Union Square just a few yards up the block and hordes of NYU and Parsons students infiltrating the area. In the background is the popular Blue Water Grill, a trendy seafood restaurant that we wanted to go to but couldn't because, alas, Amira loathes fish and anything resembling, smelling, or feeling like it.
Departure.
August 29, 2004, NYC. Free at last, free at last! Crossing 14th Street at 5th Avenue, Amira leaves her sister and her teary-eyed, soon to be bleary-eyed, parents behind after the mandatory parting hugs, kisses, and photos. While she strolled casually onward to her new life as a student at Parsons, the three of us circumnavigated Manhattan in our quest to reach the Lincoln Tunnel. An estimated 400,000 anti-Bush marchers and untold thousands of police officers, and their strategically placed barricades, made our exit from the Island a particularly long one, but not nearly as long as the 12-hour, 620-mile epic trip westward that we later endured, our heavy hearts weighing upon us.
Amira and her seven roommates share this wonderful facility, sink included; as well as a second, adjoining, equally attractive bathroom that also contains a sink AND a shower stall. It is just one of the many perks offered by the Union Square Residence Hall to its privileged Parsons' tenets.
After seven-and-a-half years of reliable service, this battered workhorse of a '91 Riviera is hauled out to pasture by Charity Motors. Originally my ride, it got Mavourneen (only three accidents) through high school, and then her sister (no official accidents, only a couple of suspicious scrapes and dents that she avowed no knowledge of). Even in its absence, it will continue serving us...as a modest tax deduction next April.
Frosting on the Cake
Looking like a coupla Cosmo Girls, Amira and cohort Julia stand side-by-side, stuck in a sickly-sweet pose. After brilliant high school careers, the twosome celebrated by devouring portions of themselves and then washing themselves down with milk. Ahhh, free at last!
Amira's Grad Party
Saturday, 6/12/04
Celebratin' 13 years of readin', writin', and 'rithmetic.
Day One: September 1991
The Graduate
On her Big Night, June 1, 2004, Amira poses with cousin Nicole (CHS class of 2005) and sister, Mavourneen (CHS class of 2002), on the steps of UM's Rackham Auditorium, where Community High School held its Commencement Ceremony. The Burton Belltower stands in the background. Linda and I are happy to report that Amira did not trip on her way up the steps to the stage...although she did announce to the massive audience that she thought she "...may have left the electric hair straightener plugged in and hoped the house hadn't burned down yet...."
One can only imagine how long this poor, unfortunate critter held on, chipmunk-paddling furiously to stay afloat, finally succumbing to the peace and tranquility of chipmunk heaven (no predators, lots of miniature pre-cracked nuts). I found it (him? her?) in our crystal-clear pool just today, being gently pushed along by the water's circular flow. This is victim number four of 2004 (or one about every three days). Luckily, tomorrow is trash day, so we can give this sorry little landlubber a proper sendoff.
Loaded with Shock and Oxidizer, Algicide, Total Alkalinity Increaser, Calcium Hardness Increaser, and Baquacil Sanitizer (an alternative to Chlorine), the old swimming hole is already beginning to resemble something we might consider dipping a big toe into -- if it weren't for all those damn chemicals and the carcasses floating on the surface!
Nessie In Ann Arbor?
Days 1 &2, The Unveiling.Having a swimming pool would seem to be a good thing, a private getaway just steps from the back door, the perfect place to beat the heat, far from the teaming, leaking, babbling masses generally found at public lakes and municipal pools. This part of it is hard to dispute. But then there's the flip side...the maintenance, the expense, the time it takes to get said pool in shape for swimming...and to keep it that way. We will chronicle this effort right here day-by-day until we have achieved clarity. Currently, after its 8-month hiatus, our algae-laden pond is rife with bloated, floating, dead worms and decaying organic matter. A neighbor even reported seeing a creature resembling the Loch Ness Monster surface briefly. Who knows what else lies unseen below the disturbingly murky green surface? Stay tuned.
Amira Marion, fortunate daughter of William and Linda, clearly inherited some of her parents' abundant creativity, as displayed in this stellar silver print, taken through a store-front window in Leizig, Germany, just down the block from Cousin Annie's apartment. Amira was honored with a Merit Award for the second straight year, one of just 17 winners in the Ann Arbor Art Center's annual Potential! competition. Some 120 artists and photographers from eight high schools around Washtenaw County were selected to participate in this exclusive exhibition. (Note: The above shot is a poor representation of the original due to file compression and faulty contrast, but it does give you an idea of the subject matter.)
2003
2004
Before and After. The above two shots show Mavourneen's most recent residences on the UM campus: the Delta Gamma sorority house, where she lived last year in the lap of luxury with 50+ fellow DGers; and her current, exceedingly more modest abode, which she shares with three amigas. Although her new place is a much smaller, much more compressed space, she does have the fringe benefit during football season of getting to listen to the Michigan Marching Band as they practice each day just a block or so away. This is especially appreciated on game day Saturdays when they start getting warmed up at 8 am with a run- through of their program. Another good thing: Michigan Stadium is less than a ten-minute walk away.
Mmmmm, mmmmm good!In an act of heartwarming generosity, Mavourneen -- having stopped by the house for a quick bite before returning to her studies -- left this delightful surprise for me, rather than wastefully throwing it out. Clearly, she has learned her "millions of starving children in India" lesson very well, and Linda and I are now reaping the delectable benefits of our parental success on this score. WOM
Aunt Char with dapper BaltiMarion rugrats Chris and Matt (attired in the rare red bowtie/suspenders-white socks combo), circa 1990. At the time, she was residing in nearby Richmond, VA, and it was from there that -- much to our good fortune -- she migrated south to Florida, giving manyof us yet another reason to plan vacations to Orlando in those deepest, darkest, coldest days of winter.
All the Best on your Big Day, Char!
The Bionic BaltiMarion
RJ checks in with these exclusive shots in the wake of his recent knee replacement surgery
(Warning: May not be appropriate for pregnant women, vegetarians, and children under 14)
Fresh off the operating table, RJ gives his replacement part a spin. Unfortunately, he got stuck with a guy rehab specialist instead a the hot little blond one. (Ed. note: In order to keep fingerprints from sullying his beloved UM shirt, he requested that the therapist wear rubber gloves.)
Some might exclaim, "Ewwww!'
But I say, "Cool! Looks like a football from the 1920s!"
(After all, it IS football season....)
RJ, resting comfortably post-op thanks to a generous dose of Vicodin -- or had he been
watching a Lions' pre-season game?
We're all pulling for you, Richardo. Here's to a rapid and complete recovery.
-stick this in your cell-
Got a question? Get an answer.
ChaCha.com...think of it as google on steroids, and it's just a quick text away.
After years of hanging by its fingernails, old Tiger Stadium becomes the late, great Tiger Stadium.
Click the photo above for the whole story.
"Adios old friend," says Ernie Harwell.
The Many Faces Of Maggie
photo montage by RJ Marion, Special HackFester Correspondent
Yes...at 17, she’s now turned the corner on her teen years and is forging forth towards a newfound maturity, well, sort of. Still, we’ll always remember the B’Day Girl as she was back in the days when the only thing she tried to parallel park was her tricycle; the only boys she chased after were her brothers; and her favorite reality show was Mr. Rogers.
Yes, the times they are a changin’, but no matter what, Maggie will always be the youngest of the current crop of cousins, always the One and Only….
I love genealogy because of all the amazing info about our family that's out there just waiting to be dug up...like this astonishing photo (circa 1857) that I recently came across entirely by accident on Ancestry.com. If you look closely at the chap sitting in the middle (the one with the shit-eating grin), you'll see that he has a remarkable resemblance to the Birthday Boy (or vice-versa, in reality). Well, this is no coincidence...the lad is none other than Mathias O. Marion, a great-great uncle (brother of our great-great-grandfather James)!
Yes, it IS difficult to believe, but it's the rock-solid truth.
Now, little is known of Mathias...only that he was a gregarious grifter who made his living gambling on the riverboats that meandered in and out of Mobile, Alabama. He was short (5'4"), but because of his charismatic personality, people thought of him as much taller (more like 5' 7") and called him "Slim," though that nickname is generally reserved for tall, lanky sorts. He was an excellent dancer (particularly clogging), and despite chewing his share of tobacco (or "tobacky" as he called it), his teeth were brilliantly white, an aberration in those days. Unfortunately, that is all that is known of Mathias, other than that he died prematurely when he fell out of a top bunkbed early one morning in March, 1877, and fatally hit his head on the rotgut whiskey bottle he had been sucking on the evening before. He was 46 at the time and a lifelong bachelor, but as the quintessential 19th-century chick-magnet, he did leave behind an estimated 12 Marion bastards by nine different women in six different states, perhaps the principal reason there are so damn many Marions out there to this day....
But enough about the late Mat O. Marion...today is all about the present Matt O. Marion: All the Best, Matty! wom
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home...
Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as "substandard. "
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas was 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire country.
HackFester B'Day Profile:
Rich Marion
TheHackFester: Tell us something most people dont know about you.
RJM: "I love to sing opera."
TheHackFester: What was your favorite moment in sports?
RJM: "The time about four years ago when I walked up and hit a bull in the butt with a banjo. You should've seen the look of surprise on his face! Struck a nice E chord too."
TheHackFester: What you hope to be doing in ten years?
RJM: "Well, I'm getting too old for this crap. I'll probably take up something safe like freestyle rock climbing or skydiving."
Bronco buster RJ Marion calmly subdues another wild stallion, all but assuring at least a share of first place in the 2008 Parkville rodeo. All that remains is the bullriding competition, which he has won for the last eight straight years.
"I hope I draw Dandelion. He's the toughest of the bunch, but they all want to roll over and play dead when they see me coming."
What better way to celebrate a birthday? How about some cake & ice cream?
HB, Mary Ella!
-Amazingly, this vintage photograph was recently discovered in a Ypsilanti, MI, second-hand store-
The Birthday Girl herself (#10 above) in her Mercy High playing days, several decades ago. Back then, the team was called the Mercy Nurses, and the girls wore nurses' uniforms instead of conventional shorts (this was not long after WWII, and many young women still aspired to careers in health care). While together at practice and during the games, team members even prefaced their names with "Nurse" as in Nurse Mary Ella, Nurse Brenda, Nurse Nancy, etc., etc.. Today, of course, the squad is coached by Mary Ella, includes daughter Maggie, and is called the Magic, having moved away from the nursing theme entirely when that vocation waned in popularity after word leaked out that novice nurses got stuck changing bedpans as part of their training...although Mary Ella has been known to pull out her yellowing Mercy High Nurse's uniform on Halloween, just for old, reallyold, time's sake.
All the Best on your Big, that is to say, your Really Big Day, Nurse Mary Ella!
Belle Isle, summer 1910
Found this in Dreamland - America at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, a book of remarkable
photographic views of our country and its people taken a century ago by the Detroit Publishing
Company.It's difficult to believe now that Belle Isle was ever such a swimming mecca for Detroiters,
but the cheek to jowl congestion shown here says otherwise, conjuring up a beach scene at Coney
Island or Atlantic City. Note the two rafts in the background, both loaded to the gills.)
I'll be posting 2-3 more striking shots of Detroit from this book in the near future.Stay tuned.WOM
HB,Rose!
Rose, 25-years-old
Rose Julia is 85! Although Alzheimer's has
distanced her from us even further than her move to Florida with
WJM did, we can still take a few moments to remember her as she
was...a warm, caring, good hearted woman who was a wonderful
partner for WJM in his retirement.
All the Best on your Big Day, Rose!
Happy Mother's Day
to all you happy mothers out there...
Char and Rose, Spring 2008
Drop a line
Rose Marion
Arden Courts, 1057 Willa Springs Drive, Cottage Place #36, Winter Springs, FL 32708
shortbed Ford pickup truck Lalo had a pint bottle of El Presidente brandy tucked neatly
