Archive for December, 2002
Tuesday, December 31st, 2002
Note: An Interesting New Year’s
Via troubled diva, I came upon the Mayfly Project, an exercise in describing your 2002 in twenty words or less. Since I usually engage in some kind of “take stock” ritual on the last day of the year, I gave it a shot and came up with:
“Worry, inheritance, hope, relief, disaster, incomprehension, terror, fear, anxiety, [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Random Stuff by Rana
Monday, December 30th, 2002
rana k. williamson politics of
rana k. williamson politics of
In reviewing site statistics, I discovered someone found their way here by searching on Yahoo for “rana k. williamson politics of.” Back on December 13, I wrote: “At some point over the last few years I formulated set dinner-party rules: never discuss religion or politics and only make polite, murmuring noises [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Random Stuff by Rana
Sunday, December 29th, 2002
Uncle Alf and Grandma My
Uncle Alf and Grandma
My photo album contains a sepia image of my great-grandparents taken sometime around 1926. They stand beside a makeshift table with sawhorse legs set out in the front yard of their ranch home. He would have been 74 and she was 68. At 6’6” he towered over her. The top of her [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Family History by Rana
Saturday, December 28th, 2002
Getting Old In A Little Town
Winter or summer Mr. J. drove an open yellow jeep with a tarp cover. When I knew him he was well into his eighties and actively cultivated the eccentricities of the very old. A long-time board member at the local bank, he parked his jeep at his nephew’s car dealership across the street and without [...]
Comments Off - Posted in The Little Town by Rana
Friday, December 27th, 2002
The Race Meet
You may recall that Lester, the Rainbow Goat (see entry below) received his dye job in order to participate in the annual race meet parade. Of all the local festivities, the race meet was my favorite until the advent of paramutual betting in Texas doomed the little tracks to extinction. When the local “fair association” [...]
Comments Off - Posted in The Little Town by Rana
Thursday, December 26th, 2002
The Christmas Party Cranky Chic
The Christmas Party
Cranky Chic described her traditional family Christmas as follows: “Lots of family, friends, food, fun and presents; children running amuck, flash bulbs popping, videotape rolling, story telling, and the ever popular emotional blowup towards the end of the evening that leaves at least one adult reduced to tears, threatening never to attend Christmas [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Family Life by Rana
Wednesday, December 25th, 2002
Lester, The Rainbow Goat
The men in my family traditionally belong to the Masonic Lodge and the women to the Order of the Eastern Star. At the appropriate age, I joined what could more or less be considered the junior league of such organizations, the Order of the Rainbow for Girls. This I truly did of my own volition. [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in The High School Years by Rana
Tuesday, December 24th, 2002
Miss Gun and Ammo
To the great delight of one of my few beloved professors, I once created a fictitious social event in my small town called “The Welcome The Hunters To the County Ball.” It had that same sort of absurd ring as Margaret Mitchell’s Association for the Beautification of the Graves of the Glorious Dead. Dr. B. [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in The High School Years by Rana
Monday, December 23rd, 2002
Storming the Beachhead of Time
Storming the Beachhead of Time
After I shared my memories of my father and the men of the Round Table, Susie kindly wrote to me about the piece and my Dad’s waggish habit of referring to the local mortician as “Digger.” I didn’t ask her if she knew that the nickname referred to the 1940s radio [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Family Life by Rana
Sunday, December 22nd, 2002
Eclectic Book Notes In keeping
Eclectic Book Notes
In keeping with a long-held dream to run a bookstore, I’ve settled for an online version since I can’t immediately move into 84 Charing Cross Road. I won’t put any volume in Eclectic Book Notes that I have not personally read and found to be noteworthy. A new permanent link now resides at [...]
