5/4/20: DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT READING THIS!

MAY 4, 2020: DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT READING THIS! TO READ PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. Click Here to Subscribe to the Blog. Left: On the Pemberton Steps I was talking yesterday with my oldest friend, LD. We were put together as roommates when we started college. She said, "I feel so guilty, I haven't kept up with your blogs!" That gave me pause. Not that she wasn't reading BaumBlog, but she felt GUILTY about it! Who can NOT identify with that feeling, "Oh, someone is sending me such wonderful information, but IT'S TOO MUCH!" And then the thought crosses your mind, "Should I Spam her?" I mean, I don't expect people to read the blog every day. Or even read the WHOLE DAMN THING when they do open it. Fine with me if they just look at the photos. But causing GUILT... That's not good. I myself just Spammed someone who sends out a blizzard of links. I would pore through the list and click on a few and often was very glad I did. But the blizzard has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger... and, yes, yesterday -- I put myself out of her misery, with great regret, because some of her info was important to me. But I couldn't handle the load. So I have a desire to express myself almost every day. But perhaps it's a bit much? I'd really like some feedback on this. Also on the length of the blogs. One friend said they're too long. Until now, I just wanted to write and not get any criticism. But now I'm ready. Be honest. Would you like it if BaumBlog was less frequent and less... copious? I'm very seriously considering just Monday, Wednesday & Friday. That sounds kinda nice to me. It would leave me time to do my taxes. ONWARD TO BLOGGINESS! Basically, I'm focusing this blog on my tiny little world, after being overwhelmed with the NY Times and having a good cry. I had a .... consequential weekend. In good and bad ways. SATURDAY: GOOD: I decided to observe the Sabbath by having a holiday from phone and all things electronic. The Jewish Sabbath has always been very compelling to me. It's the first labor law, ya know? And it took a few thousand years and a lot of struggle to add just one more day to the weekend. STILL GOOD: I accidentally made a butt call to Carolyn, and she called me back and we had a really good talk about the reality that I have veered away from our theater project into BlogLand, and what that meant to her since I was no longer fully collaborating on our work. SEEMED GOOD AT THE TIME: Right before I totally cut off my appliances, I got a text from a poodle-owning-friend (hereafter PAF) about meeting for an afternoon park date. I agreed, not informing her that I would thereafter be unavailable for communication on my appliances. This was rather unwise, given that she has a job and a wife and a child and often changes plans.

GREAT: Puttered about and sat in the garden. I believe gardens need to be sat in. The garden is getting very unkempt in a lovely way. Things are changing so fast now! It seems to me that the leaves on the sycamore next door (which is really more in my yard) went from small red-gold to large green overnight! Is that possible? GOOD & BAD: Made my way to the meadow, as PAF calls it, at the appointed time. Threw the ball & THREW THE BALL & THREW THE BALL for the pups. Unfortunately I was using a new ball that was much harder to throw. So by the time I left my elbow HURT. Waited more than 1/2 hour beyond our appointed time, and left, angry, elbow throbbing.

BAD: Encountered PAF on the way home. She was STARTING A FLOWERBOX which was why she was late! THAT totally enraged me. I walked by her in the angriest way possible. UNDERSTANDABLE: Got an email from PAF saying, since she had phoned to change plans, she thought my anger was completely undeserved. NOT SO GOOD: I wrote an email in response apologizing for my anger but then getting angry and ending with "I don't like coming in second to compost!" VERY GOOD: I decided to wait until the next day to send the email. You know, give me time to reconsider it. SUNDAY: VERY VERY BAD OR TOTALLY ENLIGHTENED: After reconsidering my email, I rewrote it to eliminate my apology and make it even more angry, ending again with "I don't like coming in second to compost!" I sent it. JUST GREAT: A wonderful long phone chat with LD. Just a long check-in about how she and her husband are dealing with life now, how I'm dealing. Plus her guilt about not keeping up with BaumBlog, which was VERY IMPORTANT info to me. NOT SO GREAT: In the end I veered off into a rant about the mainstream undoing of Bernie's campaign -- this AFTER she said she really didn't like to focus on political things now. So we both got down in the dumps, and I did a rather conventional but effective save by asking her about her very amusing Airedale.

JUST THE BEST: Long walk with the pups up to Tank Hill, with great views, and back down on the Pemberton Steps. Tuesday's blog will be about that. EVEN BETTER: Actually DID one of the things I recommended on Link Day, and Zoomed with Indivisible to write letters to potential voters.

It was a small meeting, everyone MUCH younger than me. But we were so on the same page, discussing the Biden/MeToo issue and Pelosi and all things political. These young'uns had so much insight and understanding. They really made me think. And they were actually INTERESTED in what I had to say and my stories about running for Mayor. Plus they had been working together steadily for four years. I mean, WALKING THE WALK. Whereas I have a tendency to talk the talk and blog the blog. So this was a very exciting chat for me. Which brings us to the end, Bloggelinis. But TOMORROW, the Pemberton Steps! Terry