BTM ! Well, all right. Your book sounds like a lot of fun---and the choice of how to proceed through it is a novelty I admire and haven't encountered before. Congratulations ! So glad you're on top of the world---where we should all aspire to find ourselves ?
I find that "old age" is a delight: my time is my own, and I can do my work better and more easily than ever before. As for the physical side of things, "use it or lose it" is the operative prescription. Rock on . . .!
New tumblr blog: SdrewR First entry:
What is the difference—ethically, morally, as a matter of human rights—between the Taliban in Afghanistan decreeing that a woman will not be seen on the street if more than her eyes are uncovered, and the US Supreme Court decreeing that a woman seeking an abortion may be prevented by law from having one—that she or anyone assisting her might be prosecuted as a result ?
SDR, I'm going to be in SF in late July with my wife and sister-in-law. I'm slightly familiar with the Duboce area, perhaps we might stop in the shop and say hello if you're going to be in the fix-it space around that time. Sanchez? 14th? Market? Whereabouts is the location, and only if your comfortable in going from a virtual acquaintance to a real world acquaintance. All the best, BTM aka JK Duval 🙂
Hey, @SDR, just scrolled through older threads and got curious. What‘s up? All good? Haven’t heard from you in a while!
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
Thanks, Herringbone. I'm good at 81, making a new suite of furniture for my apartment and keeping up with Wright at Wright Chat. Helped restore a fire-damaged Usonian last year; nice to do something more for the community than just pontificate !
How are you, and what's up ? My sister is coming from the other coast to visit, and she sent a couple of her haiku. I said I used to be in a group that communicated by haiku, and she asked to see samples. You appeared at the right time ! I'll send her a link.
Best---Bender
@SDR Haha! Great to hear you’re good! And I’m very impressed that you helped to restore something that might be called a national treasure. Of course I‘ve never heard about Usonians before - Wright wasn’t very active around Germany - but I learned a lot about them in the last couple of minutes. Thank you for that!
As far as haikus are concerned: I‘m afraid none of the regular attendees here is in the game anymore. But we sure could try.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
Yes, I miss the old times as much as anyone. It's a different world now. I wished it would be different but, instead, I weep for our children. I offer sincere gratitude to all who have made DA an informative, helpful and friendly forum. It has been a respite for me and I am grateful to so many of you!
Bon chance, y'all, and thank you. I'm afraid we'll need it.
Always,
Tom
Tom, that sounds too much like a farewell . . .! But I agree with you, especially after yesterday. Wish us all luck.
Herringbone, I like your signature. I'm reminded of something another professional said, that many (including architects) buy chairs for their looks, disregarding comfort. Two sides of the same coin ?
What did we have that
we don't have ? What have we got
a great big lack of ?
. . .
Wish we could be the
same great We---but tell me how !
We sure could use it . . .
. . .
now.
May I call you Steve?
In a way, it's more me trying to convince myself that it's time to retire from not only my professional life but old habits as well. It's not been easy or going particularly well on either front, I'm sorry to report.
As for this forum (and real life), change was always inevitable. But the coincidence of new ownership and the pandemic has made for an agonizingly slow-motion and depressing decline, I'm afraid. Except for continued efforts by a few hardy stalwarts, any sense of community once shared here seems irretrievably lost now.
But, hey, it sure was fun while it lasted, right? Don't let it get out, but I am an eternal optimist despite popular misconception!
If I ever make it back to San Fran, I'll know more-or-less where to find you, old pal, and promise I will try. Meanwhile, all the best with keeping on keepin' on, brother! Oh, and stick it to The Man whenever you can, too!
-TK
Tom, of course you may call me Steve, and thank you for that reply. I am sorry to hear that there are difficulties afflicting you, in these already troubled times. When it comes to retiring from full-time employment, I can report that keeping one's hand in the game, one way or another, has proven to be both satisfying and crucial to mental and physical health. I am the same age as the current President and I find that "use it or lose it," while essential, is not the whole story. I have just forwarded a piece that appeared in the local paper yesterday, to a number of people on my list. Here is a link https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/biden-age-health-president-19563556.php
I left full-time employment earlier than I had planned, due to an unfriendly climate at my last job. I was 64 and ten months. Since then a local building contractor has been my colleague and sometime employer. This has been a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The changes here at DA have made it impossible to maintain the former ambience, I agree. And yes it was sweet while it lasted. Isn't it amazing how a community can arise organically and spontaneously when the right ingredients and personnel are present ! But, like any ephemeral occurrence, the arrangement is fragile. My only other Internet family is at Wright Chat, and I guess that will have to do--for now.
Bon Voyage, my friend. I will be around if a miracle should occur . . .
sdrdesignsdr@gmail.com
Please do not fret! I'm fine and remain the luckiest guy I know. Attempt at retirement (I'm 67) so far is like being tired all over again. Busy as ever! I just wonder how we used to do it every day, and for so long! I need a day to recover from a day's work anymore is all.
It's just hard to shift perspective, sometimes, when it seems it's been a relentless "string uh reel stinkahs" (as we old New Englanders might say). Only lately it feels like I live in NO
Hey you two, still great to have you here. Times may be exhausting and unpleasant, but at least I know that I can pop in here regularly and hope for an entry from my old pals. That's worth a lot and means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. Even though the forum is no longer what it was and the once so lively and colorful community has shrunk to five people or so, I wouldn't want to miss it. And now carry on.
"People buy a chair, and they don't really care who designed it." (Arne Jacobsen)
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