50 Shades of Green

I made it about 39% of the way through Some Desperate Glory. The character Kyr has penetrated into the Wisdom Node and with the help of Avi and a majo are trying to navigate an alternate reality.

Rob Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton arrived, so I switched over to read that book in preparation for attending the musical in August. I am 210 pages into the book. I read about the time that Hamilton served as Aide-de-Camp for General Washington. The perspective of Hamilton, given his background is quite interesting. On November 4, 1854, Eliza Hamilton, the oldest Revolutionary War widow, died at the age of 97. She longed to see her dear Hamilton, always pausing to gaze at a bust of her husband during tours.

During Hamilton’s college years, his benefactor was William Livingston, who attended the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, and eventually become the first governor in 1776 of an independent New Jersey. Sleeping in the same household, Hamilton was enamored with Livingston’s daughter Kitty. He also befriended Livingston’s brother-in-law, William Alexander, who styled himself as Lord Stirling, riding about in a coach emblazoned with the Stirling coat of arms and possessing a princely wardrobe of 31 coats, 58 vests, 43 pairs of breeches, 30 shirts, 27 cravats, and 14 pairs of shoes.

On August 17, 1776, after war broke out. Hercules Mulligan transmitted a plan drafted by Hamilton and Reverend John Mason to one of Washington’s aids on how to draw off the Continental Army from Long Island, but to no avail. All the British needed to smash the revolt at that point was one decisive blow. On August 29, Washington crossed the East River at their backs, taking one of the last boats, and avoiding that fatal blow.

Hamilton was there, when after dark on October 16, 1781, the allied army pummeled Cornwallis’s position without mercy. The next day, tens of thousands of people watched in amazement as the shattered British forces marched out of Yorktown, cordoned between the ragged American troops and the handsomely outfitted French soldiers; however, the British still occupied New York City, the fighting persisted in the West Indies, and war dragged on for two more years after the fall of Yorktown.

When Hamilton wrote a letter to his brother after the war, the letter turned heartbreaking when it came to the subject of their father. Indeed, the letter shows that he felt more tenderness and sorrow than anger toward his estranged and feckless father. Hamilton also sometimes met with his cousin Ann Mitchell in Philadelphia, trying to prop her up with financial and legal help after suffering hardships related to poverty; her first husband died and her second husband had declared bankruptcy.

Sunday's service was the UUA General Assembly, which I watched via Zoom. The message was on interconnectedness, mending, and weaving. The metaphor is that our interconnectedness gives us both strength and pain. The web is strong, but is also used by predators. The reverend spoke of how in her family, they were taught how to mend before they were taught how to weave. Sometimes, the pain gets to be so bad that we try to cut ourselves out of the web, the web that we need, that we are dependent on. The reverend taught that we are all in it together, including the greedy-rich, the corrupted leaders, the authoritarians with the poor, the disenfranchised, and the victims. We must reject the Empire that would cut us apart, and focus on mending before we can weave something greater.

I finally had my first kayak adventure. I had to wait until the Stonewall Dems Board meeting was over first, and then pack my needed supplies, including the kayak in its box, a backpack with my water socks, a towel, a brush, and a change of clothes, and the personal flotation devices. Then I went to pick up my kayaking partner.

Once we left her place, we drove the long stretch to Dimple Dell Recreation Center in Sandy, where we didn’t find any water, only trails, and a deer. A quick google revealed my actual destination was actually Little Dell Reservoir. So after following winding roads from the South East of Salt Lake County, we followed winding roads up the mountain to the other side of Emigration Canyon.

Once I opened the box, and pulled out the instructions in probably 13 languages, I realized that only half of the instructions were available. It only mentioned inflating the outer shell, assembling the paddles, and the fins. It mentioned nothing about the inner floor or the seats. So after pumping it up about four times, and watching the video, we took it out on the water.

It was beautiful. We practiced rowing out and tandem turns, and then headed off in the general direction of the dam. We then targeted a white pole on shore, and then turned toward an oak tree, where we each grabbed a leaf, before turning back and padding to the boat launch, where another adventure awaited us in breaking down the kayak, and stowing it in the provided bag. We paddled for about 30 minutes total, and traveled across 5500 feet of open water in the interim. I was definitely feeling it in my muscles. I decided to take a break the next day to heal.

This last week my youngest daughter turned 21, and it also marked the Summer Solstice. I prepared Quinoa Tabboleth and Lightning-Fast Veggie Chili in celebration--fun recipes.

It's hard to believe I finished Battlestar Galactica Season 2 this week. The show has shifted into a new occupation and resistance motif in the new season.

Yesterday after work, I attended an ACLU EDIB Committee Meeting, and wound up being tasked with identifying priorities for EDIB. After a quick run to the grocery store to pick up supplies and ingredients for Cajun-Style Beans and Sausage, minus the spicy chicken sausage links, I attended the SVUUS Book Club meeting at the church, where we discussed the book The Personal Librarian. After a hearty discussion we decided to take a break for July and resume in August.

This morning the roofer came by for me to approve the color of the rain gutters they plan to install. The tentative date is set for next month, leaving about a week before I need to send the photos of the repairs to the insurance company in order to not have my insurance lapse. Since these are repairs to existing damage to the home, I am not filing a claim at this time to cover the repairs, but will definitely do so for any future work.

Truly, being interconnected in so many ways brings value to life. May we continue to mend our tears and weave a future together.