4/27/20: Got More $ Than You Need? & Protest & Lotsa Art

APRIL 27, 2020: Got More Money Than You Need? & A Protest & Lotsa Art TO READ PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM  PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. Click Here to Subscribe to Blog. LEFT: AN EARLIER SPRING. THE TWO TREES ARE NOW GONE. FIRST: GOT MORE MONEY THAN YOU NEED? Not all Bloggelinis have more money than they need. In fact that is the point. Some people now have a LOT LESS money than they need. And some of those people were employed before The Pandemic, performing personal services for the folks with MORE. I am a "more" person. Yes, I have less money than I had before but I still have more than I need. There are a lot of different pleas on the internet for money for people in need. I've decided that the charity I give to will be the people I paid before the pandemic, whose services I'm not using because of social distancing. I definitely would have gotten a haircut by now. So I phoned Peter, who has been cutting my hair (and very well) for decades. I'm going to send him a check. I am paying my dog walker, who walked the pups once a week. I am paying my house cleaner, who used to come every other week. These two would be very happy to continue doing this work. But I'm careful about people coming into my house or touching the pups. For me, the more I isolate myself, the more I can relax. My landscaper and friend, Michele, has stopped sending her crew. Certainly gardening is not an "essential" activity right now. And there's no way to the garden except through my house. I've phoned her about making a contribution to her crew. For me, it makes more sense to give money directly to people I know, who I paid until recently to make my life better, than to send a donation to an organization dedicated to helping those in need. It's more efficient, and I have personal relationships with all of these people. I care about them. To the extent that I can, I want to help them. I'm suggesting that you consider doing that too, if you've got more money than you need. SECOND: A PROTEST I know, I know. I cancelled the protest at Pelosi's office. But then Mary Merryman said she was going anyway, because it was the right thing to do. So I HAD to go. And then Carolyn said, "Oh goody! If it's just the three of us, then I can go too! I'd love to see Mary!" So went we did, in Carolyn's car. When she drives, I sit in the back on the right with the windows open. Not quite six feet maybe, but close to it. Then Carolyn had to find parking, which is STILL impossible downtown! So she dropped me off. The Federal Building, where Pelosi's office is, was not a very well-traveled location. Desolate, even. Mary was waiting. I gave her signs.

Finally Carolyn arrived. She had had an anxiety-filled journey from her car in the parking garage, which included avoiding two people arguing and refusing to get in an elevator with three unmasked men. Oy vey. It's hard leaving our nice little neighborhood for the world. But she was glad to see Mary again and to hold a sign.

We shouted slogans at those who wandered past. None of the wanderers looked like they were doing well. I realized that they probably didn't even know what PPEs were! After all, it's only recently that I found out that stood for Personal Protective Equipment. So shouting to them about PPEs was pointless. I mean, how many people DO know what PPE's are? Maybe all the Bloggelinis, but then again maybe NOT! Whoa, I don't even have the right slogans on the signs I labored to make. I mean, this was surely a very unproductive protest. But it was nice to chat with Mary, who is the kind of person who WOULD insist on doing something just because it's RIGHT -- because she devotes her whole life to figuring out how she can help people. After a very short time of standing there, the three of us decided to call it a day. THEN came the fun part. I had passed some wall art I really wanted to capture, and Carolyn was excited to show me the art at the entrance to the parking garage. THIRD: LOTSA ART Catty-corner from the Federal Building is Sixth Street Photography Workshop, two powerful photos on the outer wall, and many beautiful possters behind glass.

Mary Reesman was a veteran and a serious artist dedicated to organizing art activities for children and veterans. The photo on the right is a very disturbed woman who the photographer saw step into traffic. The writing describes what he witnessed. Below are the posters, a bit distorted by reflections on the glass.

Nextdoor to the gallery was this sign:

Check out their website. It's for girls of color 14-18. Lots of mentoring and creative after-school programs. It sounds pretty wonderful. Looks like they're continuing programs online during The Pandemic. I made a little donation. Then it was on to the parking garage. "Vigil for Democracy." That's what we three had attempted.

Carolyn told me she'd read a plaque that said this gate was a map of the city of Genoa.

And through the gate, you could see the most amazing gigantic statue.

Carolyn led me around the corner to the parking garage...

...And in the courtyard were two astonishing sculptures.

According to the plaque, all three sculptures, titled "Once Upon a Time," were inspired by Canova's "Dancer with her Hand on her Hip" from 1812. You see it on the right.

And behind the two glass sculptures, you could see the enormous Dancer in the garden, whirling like a silver cyclone ...

So, although the outing was a bit of a failure as a political event, it was quite as spectacular as any museum visit. And, since all the museums are closed to this museum-lover, I was thrilled. Without further incident or inspiration, we went home. Well, Bloggelinis, I promised you an Adventure in Buddhism, but this was pretty cool, wasn't it? You gotta love the creativity of San Franciscans, creating beauty everywhere for everyone.