In SF by 8. We went to Lowe's for fertilizer and Costco to return a few things and by supplies for Alice's parents. We came back by 10:45 and had toasted open-face tuna and cheese sandwiches with sliced tomato. The rest of the day we hung out in the back yard, taking care of a few things and relaxing. We got the new Eero wifi system that blankets the house with wifi. It works well. For dinner we had chicken tikki masala cooked in our big skillet and ate in the back yard. So nice. For dessert, I made cowboy cookies. Alice took four big ones and dropped them off at Amy's house. I talked to mom for a few minutes. She's in Show Low now for a few months. I caught up on the news, then went to bed around 10.
Day - 1254
Friday, July 17, 2020
One last round of edits with Chris in the morning and Grandudes is officially done, barring proofing edits, etc. Moving on to the next project!
Day - 1255
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Zoomed with Chris and Fred for two hours to hear Fred's notes on Grandudes. Such a great list of edits. We wrote them all down and will put them into the script tomorrow. It's so nice to have this project behind us. I love it! Great script and so many fun lines and scenes. I'm really happy with it. It's been a full month of work.
Zoomed with the Petty family immediately after our talk with Fred. I have a few family members who support Trump and believe Covid-19 has been hyped up too much and isn't as big a threat as the media has made it out to be. I believe one of my family members called Covid-19 the biggest frauds in history. I asked where the evidence is to support his conclusions? Maybe he'll send a link or two. I won't hold my breath. Was the 1918 influenza pandemic a hoax, too? The things people say when the world has turned upside down. I get it, things are falling apart and the future is uncertain, but let's not jump on the propaganda bandwagon and spread misinformation masquarading as evidence and facts. Another famiy member said everyone's entitled to their own opinion and you can't prove who's right and who's wrong. Yeah, wrong. Actually, you can. It's called critical thinking and the scientific method, running experiments to see what works and what doesn't, like wearing masks, social distancing and not interacting with people while the virus is circulating. We had five months of data to study and various strategies that have been used by countries and states. From all that data, we can come to some informed decisions. Try explaining that, though, to folks after their third glass of wine. In one ear, out the other. I'll be ready next with a few more facts and figures at the ready if I hear more nonsense from the arm-chair Trump supporters. The heat's increasing and I welcome it.
Day - 1258
Monday, July 13, 2020
Chris and I continued our fine edit of Grandudes. Work was slow in the morning, so we were able to cover another 40 pages. We included a new character, Sophie, on the golf team, replacing Pete Putty, just to mix things up. We stopped at 1. The rest of the afternoon was busy until 5.
After work, I took a long nap before dinner and didn't wake up until 6:30. Alice wanted to pick up some rubbing cream from Jay for her mom, so we went out around 8:30 and stopped at Safeway for some turnovers for Jay in exchange for his homeopathic medicine. We were home by 9:30 and I soon went to bed.
Chris and I continued our fine edit of Grandudes. Work was slow in the morning, so we were able to cover another 40 pages. We included a new character, Sophie, on the golf team, replacing Pete Putty, just to mix things up. We stopped at 1. The rest of the afternoon was busy until 5.
After work, I took a long nap before dinner and didn't wake up until 6:30. Alice wanted to pick up some rubbing cream from Jay for her mom, so we went out around 8:30 and stopped at Safeway for some turnovers for Jay in exchange for his homeopathic medicine. We were home by 9:30 and I soon went to bed.
Day - 1259
Sunday, July 12, 2020
Another day of edits with Chris. We went line-by-line for four hours, covering the first 15 pages and final later 20 pages. We'll continue tomorrow. We need to shave off a good five-eight pages or so.
Spent a couple of hours outside in the back yard. The weather was so nice.
Another day of edits with Chris. We went line-by-line for four hours, covering the first 15 pages and final later 20 pages. We'll continue tomorrow. We need to shave off a good five-eight pages or so.
Spent a couple of hours outside in the back yard. The weather was so nice.
Day - 1260
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Up at 6, off to Costco for gas at 8, then in the city by 9. We visited Michael in Napa today. We had a wonderful lunch in his back yard. Hot, about 90 degrees, but also very pleasant in the shade. Home by 4:30. I took a two-hour nap, then revised Grandudes for tomorrow's final draft session with Chris. Stayed up until 11, then off to bed.
Up at 6, off to Costco for gas at 8, then in the city by 9. We visited Michael in Napa today. We had a wonderful lunch in his back yard. Hot, about 90 degrees, but also very pleasant in the shade. Home by 4:30. I took a two-hour nap, then revised Grandudes for tomorrow's final draft session with Chris. Stayed up until 11, then off to bed.
Day - 1262
Thursday, July 9, 2020
Updated our outline for Grandudes and will study where to cut, edit, tighten.
Watched The Goodbye Girl on YouTube. This is one of my favorite films.
Updated our outline for Grandudes and will study where to cut, edit, tighten.
Watched The Goodbye Girl on YouTube. This is one of my favorite films.
Day - 1263
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
On the phone with Microsoft for more than an hour, dealing with the keyboard cover that came with the Surface Pro 6. It hasn't worked all week, so I'm returning it for a replacement. Luckily, our warranty is still valid for another few weeks.
Trying out new screenwriting software. Writer Duet seems good. Still learning it.
Tech meetings at work. We're putting together training sessions on Word documents for IT to identify types of docs (PDF exports, docs created outside the firm, and internal firm docs).
Today flew by. Lots of work and little time for reading and writing.
On the phone with Microsoft for more than an hour, dealing with the keyboard cover that came with the Surface Pro 6. It hasn't worked all week, so I'm returning it for a replacement. Luckily, our warranty is still valid for another few weeks.
Trying out new screenwriting software. Writer Duet seems good. Still learning it.
Tech meetings at work. We're putting together training sessions on Word documents for IT to identify types of docs (PDF exports, docs created outside the firm, and internal firm docs).
Today flew by. Lots of work and little time for reading and writing.
Day - 1264
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
A few long jobs at work today. I'm reviewing Grandudes script and checking out a few online screenwriting services. Final Draft is expensive and won't allow us to PDF anything unless we buy the product. That's not cool. There are about 10 screenwriting programs out there.
With Sophie's great edits, I wouldn't mind hiring her to read all my manuscripts to get her take on things. She's such a bright, amazing talent.
Talked with Nicole today, who's still experiencing morning sickness.
A few long jobs at work today. I'm reviewing Grandudes script and checking out a few online screenwriting services. Final Draft is expensive and won't allow us to PDF anything unless we buy the product. That's not cool. There are about 10 screenwriting programs out there.
With Sophie's great edits, I wouldn't mind hiring her to read all my manuscripts to get her take on things. She's such a bright, amazing talent.
Talked with Nicole today, who's still experiencing morning sickness.
Day - 1265
Monday, July 6, 2020
Wow, what a busy day today, juggling work, meetings, phone calls, and Zoom meetings. The most important meeting of the day was of course my and Chris's Zoom meeting with Fred. We Zoomed at 1 and went over his comments and edits of Grandudes. He didn't have much, aside from a few typos and a few scene suggestions. He loves the script and has 12 contacts he's ready to send it to. We'll go through one final draft before sending to Fred to send to his contacts. How exciting to at least have the script land in readers' hands. It's commercial and has a few laughs so who knows. Big crap shoot but anything's possible. Fred suggested removing the hockey scenes with the football scenes we had earlier. We're transferring the text from Word to a screenwriting program called WriterDuet. I'm playing around with the software now. I like it.
I also spoke with Sophie Young, who read through Grandudes and gave me so many fantastic comments and suggestions. She has a wonderful ear for language and really knows how kids talk these days. I'll incorporate many of her suggestions into the script.
Chris and I will go through the script again this Sunday.
Work was demanding today. I'm hoping things will quiet down tomorrow. Busy times.
Day - 1266in
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Alice has a week to herself starting today, no Austin, no me, just a week of solitude and doing her thing, which she needs, just like me. I came home around 10 a.m. and started planning for the week and cleaning a little bit. We have our meeting with Fred tomorrow and will need revise Grandudes one more time.
Book club was today and we talked about Capital in the 21st Century. This is an important book. It's surprisingly readable and full of detail. I watched the documentary Capital, and though the film is a bit different from the book, it touches upon the primary theme of the disparity of income and wealth inequal in the country. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and according to the data out there, that's not good for society.
The book is 700 pages and apparently there's a followup that's 1100 pages. Wow.
Alice has a week to herself starting today, no Austin, no me, just a week of solitude and doing her thing, which she needs, just like me. I came home around 10 a.m. and started planning for the week and cleaning a little bit. We have our meeting with Fred tomorrow and will need revise Grandudes one more time.
Book club was today and we talked about Capital in the 21st Century. This is an important book. It's surprisingly readable and full of detail. I watched the documentary Capital, and though the film is a bit different from the book, it touches upon the primary theme of the disparity of income and wealth inequal in the country. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and according to the data out there, that's not good for society.
The book is 700 pages and apparently there's a followup that's 1100 pages. Wow.
Day - 1268
Friday, July 3, 2020
Set up our meeting with Fred for Monday at 1 on Zoom. It will be exciting to discuss Grandudes with him. Working with Fred is a treat! Thrilling.
Had coffee with Richard and Sophie at Peets, then chatted with Lisa, Richard and Margaret about the news of the day. So much fun chatting with them.
Came home and played bridge in Alice's place for three hours from 1-4. Enjoyable, though I am rusty, having last played bridge a month ago.
At 8, I headed over to the park in front of Richard and Lisa's to watch an outdoor viewing of Hamilton, streaming on the Disney channel. This was a 2016 performance with the original cast. Wonderful! Richard set up a large screen with a projector and good sound. We loved it. Watching the second time was even better.
Came home at 12:45 and went right to bed.
Set up our meeting with Fred for Monday at 1 on Zoom. It will be exciting to discuss Grandudes with him. Working with Fred is a treat! Thrilling.
Had coffee with Richard and Sophie at Peets, then chatted with Lisa, Richard and Margaret about the news of the day. So much fun chatting with them.
Came home and played bridge in Alice's place for three hours from 1-4. Enjoyable, though I am rusty, having last played bridge a month ago.
At 8, I headed over to the park in front of Richard and Lisa's to watch an outdoor viewing of Hamilton, streaming on the Disney channel. This was a 2016 performance with the original cast. Wonderful! Richard set up a large screen with a projector and good sound. We loved it. Watching the second time was even better.
Came home at 12:45 and went right to bed.
Day - 1269
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Not as slow at work as I would have liked.
We heard back from Fred today and will meet sometime next week on Zoom to discuss his thoughts and suggestions. Fred has many connections in the industry and is putting together a list to send the script and seek advice. Fred wants to play John and he'd actually be excellent in the role. He used to play along side Brian Taylor on a Canadian program called Jake and the Kid back in the 90s. He thought Brian would make a great Bert.
One thing Chris and I will need to do is place Grandudes into one of the screenplay software programs like Final Draft. The font in Word is not the correct Courier font, only Courier New.
Aside from script stuff, I responded to a message from my cousin Lisa on Facebook. She sent me a video by Candace Owens, who I've really really listened to before. I listened, then responded.
Here's what I said to my cousin Lisa:
Not as slow at work as I would have liked.
We heard back from Fred today and will meet sometime next week on Zoom to discuss his thoughts and suggestions. Fred has many connections in the industry and is putting together a list to send the script and seek advice. Fred wants to play John and he'd actually be excellent in the role. He used to play along side Brian Taylor on a Canadian program called Jake and the Kid back in the 90s. He thought Brian would make a great Bert.
One thing Chris and I will need to do is place Grandudes into one of the screenplay software programs like Final Draft. The font in Word is not the correct Courier font, only Courier New.
Aside from script stuff, I responded to a message from my cousin Lisa on Facebook. She sent me a video by Candace Owens, who I've really really listened to before. I listened, then responded.
Here's what I said to my cousin Lisa:
Well that was quite a month, June 2020. I'll reflect upon the past 30 days for the
rest of my life. I may need all of July
just to process all the news, reactions, protests, outrage, conversations and
newfound commitments that played out, both in my own life and around the
country. I'm still listening to all
perspectives and taking everything in, but every now and then I will articulate
my perspective as an American white male.
I don't speak for American white males, only as an American white
male. There's a difference. But because my life experience is as a white
male, I find myself compelled to push against my fellow white males from time
to time. I want to challenge my fellow
white males to become better white males, starting first with listening. White males, by and large, and not good
listeners. In fact, we're often the
worst listeners you'll ever find on the planet.
I know this because I'm often a horrible listener. I'm trying to become a better listener, and
oftentimes I succeed, but there are also days when I'm just really bad at
listening and really good at talking.
Oh, white males are great talkers.
OMG, white males can talk. We
know things, we have answers, and the best part of all is we're rarely if ever
called out for anything when we're talking out of sheer ignorance or
stupidity. Just look at Trump, the
greatest example of white male talking without consequence in modern American
history. I challenge my fellow white
males to do this one thing for the month of July. Listen.
Just listen. Listen to your
friends of color without debate, judgment or rebuttal. Listen and acknowledge what you've heard, but
don't talk. Don't add your two
cents. For one month. Give it a try and see if you can do it. White males are not trained to do this, which
is too bad, because conversations about race, racism, white privilege, white
entitlement, white arrogance and white supremacy demand good listening skills
from my fellow white males. They demand
it.
One last thing about Black Lives Matter: for my fellow white males who love to respond
with "All Lives Matter," you're missing the point. You're not getting it. "Black Lives Matter" is a phrase
that draws attention to the feelings and realities in America that "Black
Lives Don't Matter". They mean the
same thing. That's how the movement came
about in the first place. It's an
example of the beauty and power of language.
"Black Lives Matter" and "Black Lives Don't Matter"
are linguistic twins, and yet, there is a certain poetic majesty that comes
from dropping the "Don't".
Nearly every person of color gets this.
Some white males get this. Many
white males are not getting this. The
entire history of America is inundated with examples of "Black Lives Don't
Matter," so we now have a movement to confront this, called "Black
Lives Matter." Make sense, white
males?
Okay, I said my piece for the moment. Back to listening...
We had our regular Thursday night Petty Zoom chat for an hour. It was fine but a little boring tonight. After that, it was off to bed.
Day - 1272
Monday, June 29, 2020
Spent the day reading through our draft of Grandudes, looking for errors, cleaning up the formatting. Looks good. I'll send tomorrow morning.
Spent the day reading through our draft of Grandudes, looking for errors, cleaning up the formatting. Looks good. I'll send tomorrow morning.
Day - 1273
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Up at 5 to prepare for today's marathon writing session with Chris. Read through the script and took notes on all the lines and scenes that need editing. At 9, Alice drove me to Henry's to get a large latte. At 10, we were ready to edit.
We went until 8 p.m., ten solid hours of editing and revising, from page 1 to page 130. Chris and I reviewed every line, whittled down dialogue, changes words, took out scenes, condensed scenes, and when we reached the last page, it felt as though we crossed the finish line to a very long marathon. It was quite a feeling to go through the whole script and tighten everyone so carefully. Every word seemed to matter, every pause and phrase. I felt we'd accomplished something very special. This script is good.
Alice had roasted a lamb with potatoes and it was waiting for me upstairs. I ate slowly in a deze. I was wiped out. It's been a while since I've been so exhausted. But what a wonderful feeling. Now I need to do this with Julia Milan, Zombie Cookies, and La Strav.
Up at 5 to prepare for today's marathon writing session with Chris. Read through the script and took notes on all the lines and scenes that need editing. At 9, Alice drove me to Henry's to get a large latte. At 10, we were ready to edit.
We went until 8 p.m., ten solid hours of editing and revising, from page 1 to page 130. Chris and I reviewed every line, whittled down dialogue, changes words, took out scenes, condensed scenes, and when we reached the last page, it felt as though we crossed the finish line to a very long marathon. It was quite a feeling to go through the whole script and tighten everyone so carefully. Every word seemed to matter, every pause and phrase. I felt we'd accomplished something very special. This script is good.
Alice had roasted a lamb with potatoes and it was waiting for me upstairs. I ate slowly in a deze. I was wiped out. It's been a while since I've been so exhausted. But what a wonderful feeling. Now I need to do this with Julia Milan, Zombie Cookies, and La Strav.
Day - 1285
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Last day of the SYNLawn crew. The lawn looks fantastic!
Can't wait to hear excerpts from this:
I hope it's loaded with crazy.
Trump's Tulsa rally is Saturday night. It is such a gross spectacle from such a gross, tone-deaf, out of touch administration. Awful.
Last day of the SYNLawn crew. The lawn looks fantastic!
Can't wait to hear excerpts from this:
I hope it's loaded with crazy.
Trump's Tulsa rally is Saturday night. It is such a gross spectacle from such a gross, tone-deaf, out of touch administration. Awful.
Day - 1286
Monday, June 15, 2020
All full day of working and screenwriting when time allowed for it. The SYNLawn crew was at it all day today. They'll be finished tomorrow. We can't wait to see what the lawn looks like!
I love this scene in Unforgiven:
So inspiring.
Working through early scenes, marking what needs to be updated in Grandudes. The day flew by. Time moves so quickly when writing.
All full day of working and screenwriting when time allowed for it. The SYNLawn crew was at it all day today. They'll be finished tomorrow. We can't wait to see what the lawn looks like!
I love this scene in Unforgiven:
So inspiring.
Working through early scenes, marking what needs to be updated in Grandudes. The day flew by. Time moves so quickly when writing.
Day - 1287
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Last night I watched Mandingo, a film from 1975 about a black slave fighter named Mene who lives on a slave breeding plantation and endures all sorts of unimaginable horrors before eventually being boiled to death in a caldroun of water.
Venisa at work mentioned the film to me. She said her great-grandmother, who remembered that time as a young girl, found the film accurate.
It was something watching such a brutle depiction of slavery from a 1970s production. It had more in common with Ten Years a Slave than Gone With the Wind. Perhaps it will experience the opposite effect of what Gone With the Wind is currently facing. I read Roger Ebert's 1975 review of this film and it's very a interesting read: Roger Ebert's Review of Mandingo
I went to bed around 2 and woke up around 8:30.
After a few chores and items around the house, I spent the rest of the afternoon on Grandudes. I need to make this script a priority. There's so much left to be done. Scenes 5-7 have been on my to-do list since last week. Reimagining some of the details is tricky.
For dinner, Alice made her absolutely delicious chicken katsu dish. I just gobbled it up it was so good!
Venisa at work mentioned the film to me. She said her great-grandmother, who remembered that time as a young girl, found the film accurate.
It was something watching such a brutle depiction of slavery from a 1970s production. It had more in common with Ten Years a Slave than Gone With the Wind. Perhaps it will experience the opposite effect of what Gone With the Wind is currently facing. I read Roger Ebert's 1975 review of this film and it's very a interesting read: Roger Ebert's Review of Mandingo
I went to bed around 2 and woke up around 8:30.
After a few chores and items around the house, I spent the rest of the afternoon on Grandudes. I need to make this script a priority. There's so much left to be done. Scenes 5-7 have been on my to-do list since last week. Reimagining some of the details is tricky.
For dinner, Alice made her absolutely delicious chicken katsu dish. I just gobbled it up it was so good!
Day - 1288
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Up at 6:45 to draft a few Grandudes scenes before meeting with Chris at 10:30. But before 10:30, I wanted to respond to a couple of texts received yesterday that were part of a group text involving 20 people, many I don't know whose only info are their phone numbers. I think my friend Jamil may have created this text string. I'm not sure. At any rate, a day or two ago the 6-minute video featuring Kimberly Jones was sent on this group text.
One text said this: "I understand her point. But burning and looting are not going to resolve the issues. That frustration and rage being vented. After the riots the problems still exist. It doe force those in charge to look for solutions. Unfortunately we've been down this road so many times in the past. Hope this time some real change will occur."
A second text said this: "I agree with Larry. There's no justification for looting. It not only provides a rationale for maintaining police forces, it results in the destruction or damage of innocent businesses and their owners. How can the police be defunded when the survival of busInesses in our inner cities is threatened by looters and other people who want to burn them down? Ironically, many of the businesses that were destroyed are owned by people of color who can least afford to recover from that damage. I saw a photo of a female looter leaving a Victoria's Secret with about 30 bras in her arms. No one can credibly argue that she "needed" all of those bras. The looters are plain and simply selfish and irresponsible opportunists who are undermining the legitimate messages of the protesters"
I admit, I was annoyed. I drafted a response to this that wasn't very nice. Then I toned it down a bit and tried to make things less personal (hard to do, unfortunately...old habits die a slow death). Still, my words still held a lot of sting. I wanted them to.
I wrote this: "Michael Hagan here...looting and rioting focuses on the what (what are they doing?). What about the why (why are they doing it?)? Kimberly Jones effectively articulates in six minutes an economics lesson about America from the Black American perspective. Rather than targeting the conversation on the what (i.e., looters stealing bras), a more challenging and compelling conversation might be gained from Kimberly Jones's focus on the why. Her Monopoly analogy illustrates the consequences of her premise that "Economics was the reason that black people were brought to this country." She is critiquing an economic system that from her perspective is "a fixed game" in which implicit social contracts between Black Americans and America itself is broken. She is questioning why people that poor, that broke, that food and clothing insecure loot and riot. Rioters destory and looters take. I don't riot and I don't loot, in part because I don't need to. I'm good with how things are. I have no issues with Target. The system has my back. The game works just fine for me. But Kimberly Jones is not speaking for me. She is speaking for those who are beyond fine, who are shunned and ignored from a system that does not have their back. She is going deep into the core of American history and bringing to the surface some bitter, awful, ugly truths that we as Americans must finally confront. We can't hide behind looted bras this time, America. I suggest another listen to Kimberly Jones's economics lesson. However, if you really want to focus the conversation on looting and rioting, sure, we can do that. Let's talk about Tulsa. Let's talk about Rosewood. Let's talk about the origins of our American economic system, along with centuries upon centuries of the looting and rioting that history has recorded throughout the African continent. If that's where you want to go, let's have that conversation. I'm in! But I'd much rather focus on the heart of the matter. The why."
Almost immediately, someone responded, "Can I be removed frmo this thread plz?"
I'm finding my purpose in all this. I'm finding my voice. I'm the white guy who puts pressure on white people, not with a chainsaw, but with a wooden Board of Education paddle. I'm the sheep farmer moving sheep from one sheep pen to the proper sheep pen, called, apparently, the "Authentic Allyship" pen (just learned that term today (see pic).
No one likes to leave a comfortable pen, espeically white Americans.
Anyway, met with Chris at 10:30 and we FaceTimed until 12:30 about Grandudes and the state of the world. Our Grandudes rewrite is really coming along. I'm enjoying it and love where it's going.
Our Thursday night Zoom sessions with the Petty family are really getting interesting. Work is really getting interesting. Our upcoming Wednesday afternoon Town Meeting will be one of the more charged and compelling Town Meetings the firm will have, I'm guessing.
It's the afternoon and I'm planning to catch up on this journal, read, revise a few more Grandudes scenes, then call it a day.
Up at 6:45 to draft a few Grandudes scenes before meeting with Chris at 10:30. But before 10:30, I wanted to respond to a couple of texts received yesterday that were part of a group text involving 20 people, many I don't know whose only info are their phone numbers. I think my friend Jamil may have created this text string. I'm not sure. At any rate, a day or two ago the 6-minute video featuring Kimberly Jones was sent on this group text.
One text said this: "I understand her point. But burning and looting are not going to resolve the issues. That frustration and rage being vented. After the riots the problems still exist. It doe force those in charge to look for solutions. Unfortunately we've been down this road so many times in the past. Hope this time some real change will occur."
A second text said this: "I agree with Larry. There's no justification for looting. It not only provides a rationale for maintaining police forces, it results in the destruction or damage of innocent businesses and their owners. How can the police be defunded when the survival of busInesses in our inner cities is threatened by looters and other people who want to burn them down? Ironically, many of the businesses that were destroyed are owned by people of color who can least afford to recover from that damage. I saw a photo of a female looter leaving a Victoria's Secret with about 30 bras in her arms. No one can credibly argue that she "needed" all of those bras. The looters are plain and simply selfish and irresponsible opportunists who are undermining the legitimate messages of the protesters"
I admit, I was annoyed. I drafted a response to this that wasn't very nice. Then I toned it down a bit and tried to make things less personal (hard to do, unfortunately...old habits die a slow death). Still, my words still held a lot of sting. I wanted them to.
I wrote this: "Michael Hagan here...looting and rioting focuses on the what (what are they doing?). What about the why (why are they doing it?)? Kimberly Jones effectively articulates in six minutes an economics lesson about America from the Black American perspective. Rather than targeting the conversation on the what (i.e., looters stealing bras), a more challenging and compelling conversation might be gained from Kimberly Jones's focus on the why. Her Monopoly analogy illustrates the consequences of her premise that "Economics was the reason that black people were brought to this country." She is critiquing an economic system that from her perspective is "a fixed game" in which implicit social contracts between Black Americans and America itself is broken. She is questioning why people that poor, that broke, that food and clothing insecure loot and riot. Rioters destory and looters take. I don't riot and I don't loot, in part because I don't need to. I'm good with how things are. I have no issues with Target. The system has my back. The game works just fine for me. But Kimberly Jones is not speaking for me. She is speaking for those who are beyond fine, who are shunned and ignored from a system that does not have their back. She is going deep into the core of American history and bringing to the surface some bitter, awful, ugly truths that we as Americans must finally confront. We can't hide behind looted bras this time, America. I suggest another listen to Kimberly Jones's economics lesson. However, if you really want to focus the conversation on looting and rioting, sure, we can do that. Let's talk about Tulsa. Let's talk about Rosewood. Let's talk about the origins of our American economic system, along with centuries upon centuries of the looting and rioting that history has recorded throughout the African continent. If that's where you want to go, let's have that conversation. I'm in! But I'd much rather focus on the heart of the matter. The why."
Almost immediately, someone responded, "Can I be removed frmo this thread plz?"
I'm finding my purpose in all this. I'm finding my voice. I'm the white guy who puts pressure on white people, not with a chainsaw, but with a wooden Board of Education paddle. I'm the sheep farmer moving sheep from one sheep pen to the proper sheep pen, called, apparently, the "Authentic Allyship" pen (just learned that term today (see pic).
 |
| I got this from Margaret Grimsley |
No one likes to leave a comfortable pen, espeically white Americans.
Anyway, met with Chris at 10:30 and we FaceTimed until 12:30 about Grandudes and the state of the world. Our Grandudes rewrite is really coming along. I'm enjoying it and love where it's going.
Our Thursday night Zoom sessions with the Petty family are really getting interesting. Work is really getting interesting. Our upcoming Wednesday afternoon Town Meeting will be one of the more charged and compelling Town Meetings the firm will have, I'm guessing.
It's the afternoon and I'm planning to catch up on this journal, read, revise a few more Grandudes scenes, then call it a day.
Day - 1289
Friday, June 12, 2020
Up early at 6 and downstairs by 7:15 a.m., drafting Grandudes scenes and revisions. The three SynLawn workers arrived around 9 and it was a full day of hauling in gravel and sand to fill the two areas where the synthetic lawn will go. I didn't mind the noise or distraction. It all goes with the territory of creating a nice space.
Chris and I met at 10:30 and had to stop around 10:45 because I had a work-related task to complete. We resumed around 11:30 and went until 1. We decided to talk daily until every scene has been drafted or revised. The sooner we can get the script into Fred's hands the better.
Meanwhile, the drum beat resumes at work. The new leader of the RACE Task Force, Jennifer Martinez, sent off a very detailed list of planning group ideas that she'd like Task Force members to consider. I'll respond Sunday. I need a day or two to think of the areas to focus on. I know I'd like to help with Lunch & Learn Sessions and Guest Speaker visits, but I could also help in other ways that might demand more hours and commitments on my part. I don't want to spread myself too thin, but also see opportunites to gain experience and work with people I like to work with.
Throughout the week, I've been talking with colleagues who call me about software-related questions. Often, we spend a few minutes talking about Word, then 20-30 minutes talking about race, the police, white privilege, and the state of the world. It's really an amazing time.
The afternoon flew by. Alice went to Japantown earlier in the day and brought home California rolls for lunch. So good! For dinner, I made our wonderful chicken tikki masala dish. Yum yum yum! In the evening, I took a nap for an hour or so, then worked on Grandudes until 11:30. Bed soon followed and quickly, sleep.
Up early at 6 and downstairs by 7:15 a.m., drafting Grandudes scenes and revisions. The three SynLawn workers arrived around 9 and it was a full day of hauling in gravel and sand to fill the two areas where the synthetic lawn will go. I didn't mind the noise or distraction. It all goes with the territory of creating a nice space.
Chris and I met at 10:30 and had to stop around 10:45 because I had a work-related task to complete. We resumed around 11:30 and went until 1. We decided to talk daily until every scene has been drafted or revised. The sooner we can get the script into Fred's hands the better.
Meanwhile, the drum beat resumes at work. The new leader of the RACE Task Force, Jennifer Martinez, sent off a very detailed list of planning group ideas that she'd like Task Force members to consider. I'll respond Sunday. I need a day or two to think of the areas to focus on. I know I'd like to help with Lunch & Learn Sessions and Guest Speaker visits, but I could also help in other ways that might demand more hours and commitments on my part. I don't want to spread myself too thin, but also see opportunites to gain experience and work with people I like to work with.
Throughout the week, I've been talking with colleagues who call me about software-related questions. Often, we spend a few minutes talking about Word, then 20-30 minutes talking about race, the police, white privilege, and the state of the world. It's really an amazing time.
The afternoon flew by. Alice went to Japantown earlier in the day and brought home California rolls for lunch. So good! For dinner, I made our wonderful chicken tikki masala dish. Yum yum yum! In the evening, I took a nap for an hour or so, then worked on Grandudes until 11:30. Bed soon followed and quickly, sleep.
Day - 1290
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Drove to SF this morning through fairly thick traffic through the toll and onto Fell St. It was so warm and sunny in Oakland, but foggy in the Sunset. I arrived at 8:15, before the work crew arrived to begin work on Alice's backyard SynLawn project. We're covering to large patches in the back with synthetic lawn. It should look very nice. The crew will work through Monday, maybe Tuesday.
It's been a busy week, so I wasn't able to get too much screenwriting in. The day flew by.
We had panko chicken for dinner (so delicious!). I went downstairs around 7:30 to log into our Petty Zoom chat. Talk of police violence, George Floyd, and confederate statues dominated the discussion. I was livelier than usual, throwing in my two cents on my thoughts on all these old Southern statues being removed. Most were constructed around WWI, apparently, to keep black officers from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether that's true or not I'll have to verify. I read this detail in the NY Times or Washington Post.
I chatted with the family until 9, then called it a night.
Drove to SF this morning through fairly thick traffic through the toll and onto Fell St. It was so warm and sunny in Oakland, but foggy in the Sunset. I arrived at 8:15, before the work crew arrived to begin work on Alice's backyard SynLawn project. We're covering to large patches in the back with synthetic lawn. It should look very nice. The crew will work through Monday, maybe Tuesday.
It's been a busy week, so I wasn't able to get too much screenwriting in. The day flew by.
We had panko chicken for dinner (so delicious!). I went downstairs around 7:30 to log into our Petty Zoom chat. Talk of police violence, George Floyd, and confederate statues dominated the discussion. I was livelier than usual, throwing in my two cents on my thoughts on all these old Southern statues being removed. Most were constructed around WWI, apparently, to keep black officers from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether that's true or not I'll have to verify. I read this detail in the NY Times or Washington Post.
I chatted with the family until 9, then called it a night.
Day - 1291
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Today got away from me. Our racquetball conversation with Glenn, Dorian, Tiger, Xavier, Ron, Steve, Jamil, Ari, Robbie and me was at 5 and I decided to make two batches of cookies. I went to Safeway at 7:30 a.m. and got the ingredients I needed. I made the cookies in the afternoon, but had to take plenty of work-related calls. I finished baking at 3:30 and left my apartment at 4:50. I arrived at Steve's at exactly 5. We started around 5:15. Steve has a great backyard setup and we all gathered together while social distancing, sharing stories and reflecting upon the events of the past two weeks. It was a very positive, very informative, very inspiring conversation about race, white privilege, and the country we live in. X said he's experienced more racism in California than in the South because it's so hidden here. Whereas the South had to atone for its past, California hasn't had to atone for anything. He had several interesting points to make. Ari shared how frustated he felt the first year he arrived here beause he was failing as a teacher and not connecting with the students. He had to rethink how to connect. Glenn didn't know what he didn't know, but was ready to begin his journey learning more about race and the privilege that was sometimes not easy to see. Robbie had a few Army stories to share, but said the Army protected him. We all ordred dinner for ourselves, but Steve had beverages ready. It was a nice evening that lasted until 7:30.
When I got home, I watched the documentary 13th. I'd seen clips but not the entire film. Very good. I like that it's generated the kind of following it has.
It's only been a few years since Birth of a Nation has been discussed as a racist revisionist propoganda tool of the early 20th Century to promote white virtues at the expense of black evil. That's a fairly new thing. Before, say, 15 years ago, Birth of a Nation was revered for its technical brilliance and cinematic mastery. It would be interesting to visit earlier film books to see how the film was talked about in the 30s-90s.
Love this article in the NY Times re LeBron James and other stars getting involved in this year's election. LeBron James Voting Rights Group.
Today got away from me. Our racquetball conversation with Glenn, Dorian, Tiger, Xavier, Ron, Steve, Jamil, Ari, Robbie and me was at 5 and I decided to make two batches of cookies. I went to Safeway at 7:30 a.m. and got the ingredients I needed. I made the cookies in the afternoon, but had to take plenty of work-related calls. I finished baking at 3:30 and left my apartment at 4:50. I arrived at Steve's at exactly 5. We started around 5:15. Steve has a great backyard setup and we all gathered together while social distancing, sharing stories and reflecting upon the events of the past two weeks. It was a very positive, very informative, very inspiring conversation about race, white privilege, and the country we live in. X said he's experienced more racism in California than in the South because it's so hidden here. Whereas the South had to atone for its past, California hasn't had to atone for anything. He had several interesting points to make. Ari shared how frustated he felt the first year he arrived here beause he was failing as a teacher and not connecting with the students. He had to rethink how to connect. Glenn didn't know what he didn't know, but was ready to begin his journey learning more about race and the privilege that was sometimes not easy to see. Robbie had a few Army stories to share, but said the Army protected him. We all ordred dinner for ourselves, but Steve had beverages ready. It was a nice evening that lasted until 7:30.
When I got home, I watched the documentary 13th. I'd seen clips but not the entire film. Very good. I like that it's generated the kind of following it has.
It's only been a few years since Birth of a Nation has been discussed as a racist revisionist propoganda tool of the early 20th Century to promote white virtues at the expense of black evil. That's a fairly new thing. Before, say, 15 years ago, Birth of a Nation was revered for its technical brilliance and cinematic mastery. It would be interesting to visit earlier film books to see how the film was talked about in the 30s-90s.
Love this article in the NY Times re LeBron James and other stars getting involved in this year's election. LeBron James Voting Rights Group.
Day - 1292
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Our Hanson Bridgett statement came out today:
June 9, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Over the past week, while we grappled with our response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, we have taken stock of our own failures to speak publicly about the injustices in our society and the civil unrest experienced in our communities. As lawyers, we cannot and will not remain silent as our employees, clients, and fellow Black Americans are denied their most basic human rights.
When we were admitted to the practice of law, we swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees equal protection of the laws to all American citizens. In our chosen profession, we use our voice and our power each day to advocate on behalf of clients in courtrooms and conference rooms, but all too often silence ourselves when it comes to issues adversely impacting our most vulnerable fellow citizens. While we hold diversity, inclusion, and equity as core principles at our firm, we understand that we need to do much more. We have a duty to speak up and work further to more aggressively address the illnesses of racial inequality and police brutality devastating our Black communities.
Just as the three officers who passively watched the murder of George Floyd were complicit in the violation of Mr. Floyd’s humanity, our past silence on these issues has revealed our own complicity. We cannot stand by and watch these atrocities against the Black American community, against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all other named and unnamed victims, and remain silent. The murders of these Americans and countless others remind us of the unequal protection under the law that people of color, and especially Black people, experience each day. Even while we praise ourselves for the social and economic progress we have made in other aspects of our society, we must acknowledge that many still struggle daily to achieve even the most basic of human rights.
This time must be different. We cannot simply compartmentalize our frustration and return to our usual routines. To our loved ones, friends, and colleagues who have been committed to this fight all along, we promise to join you, to reject silence, to confront and end racism and white supremacy, and to do everything in our power to end the injustice.
As a society, we now know this can be done. We are in the midst of witnessing an unprecedented investment of resources by our government to confront COVID-19 and to confront protestors seeking justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. We must now demand and be a part of an even greater societal investment to eradicate the far more pernicious scourge of racism in our country, which has and will continue to cause the death and murder of millions.
As a firm, we are taking immediate action to re-evaluate and improve our own investment in and commitment to justice and equity by:
1. Forming the Real Action Calling for Equality (RACE) Task Force, co-chaired by our Managing Partner, which will be charged with developing and implementing our action plan;
2. Empowering our attorneys to use their individual voices and unique legal expertise to speak up and work aggressively to address racial inequality by forming new relationships and reforming existing relationships with public interest organizations for increased pro bono services related to racial justice and equity;
3. Further increasing racial and ethnic diversity within our firm, especially within leadership ranks, by supporting the retention and promotion of attorneys and staff members of color, and addressing reasons for attrition among those groups;
4. Identifying opportunities to support minority-owned businesses as vendors, suppliers, and prospective clients; and
5. Pivoting our community investments to substantially increase financial support for organizations that work to advance equality, end police brutality, and right the historical wrongs visited on Black Americans.
We are also exploring opportunities for impact litigation and developing a fellowship program to give our attorneys the opportunity to devote a year of practice full-time to working on civil rights and social justice issues, such as reforming qualified immunity laws and strengthening police accountability programs.
These are first steps, and we commit to transparently accounting our progress in these efforts. This will not be a one-time statement from us, but is rather the first of many as we take the "real action" contemplated by our task force. As a California law firm, it is our responsibility to lead and support our allies in this cause, and we will not fail again.
Andrew Giacomini, Managing Partner
Kristina Lawson, Managing Partner-Elect
Our Hanson Bridgett statement came out today:
June 9, 2020 (San Francisco, CA) – Over the past week, while we grappled with our response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, we have taken stock of our own failures to speak publicly about the injustices in our society and the civil unrest experienced in our communities. As lawyers, we cannot and will not remain silent as our employees, clients, and fellow Black Americans are denied their most basic human rights.
When we were admitted to the practice of law, we swore an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees equal protection of the laws to all American citizens. In our chosen profession, we use our voice and our power each day to advocate on behalf of clients in courtrooms and conference rooms, but all too often silence ourselves when it comes to issues adversely impacting our most vulnerable fellow citizens. While we hold diversity, inclusion, and equity as core principles at our firm, we understand that we need to do much more. We have a duty to speak up and work further to more aggressively address the illnesses of racial inequality and police brutality devastating our Black communities.
Just as the three officers who passively watched the murder of George Floyd were complicit in the violation of Mr. Floyd’s humanity, our past silence on these issues has revealed our own complicity. We cannot stand by and watch these atrocities against the Black American community, against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all other named and unnamed victims, and remain silent. The murders of these Americans and countless others remind us of the unequal protection under the law that people of color, and especially Black people, experience each day. Even while we praise ourselves for the social and economic progress we have made in other aspects of our society, we must acknowledge that many still struggle daily to achieve even the most basic of human rights.
This time must be different. We cannot simply compartmentalize our frustration and return to our usual routines. To our loved ones, friends, and colleagues who have been committed to this fight all along, we promise to join you, to reject silence, to confront and end racism and white supremacy, and to do everything in our power to end the injustice.
As a society, we now know this can be done. We are in the midst of witnessing an unprecedented investment of resources by our government to confront COVID-19 and to confront protestors seeking justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. We must now demand and be a part of an even greater societal investment to eradicate the far more pernicious scourge of racism in our country, which has and will continue to cause the death and murder of millions.
As a firm, we are taking immediate action to re-evaluate and improve our own investment in and commitment to justice and equity by:
1. Forming the Real Action Calling for Equality (RACE) Task Force, co-chaired by our Managing Partner, which will be charged with developing and implementing our action plan;
2. Empowering our attorneys to use their individual voices and unique legal expertise to speak up and work aggressively to address racial inequality by forming new relationships and reforming existing relationships with public interest organizations for increased pro bono services related to racial justice and equity;
3. Further increasing racial and ethnic diversity within our firm, especially within leadership ranks, by supporting the retention and promotion of attorneys and staff members of color, and addressing reasons for attrition among those groups;
4. Identifying opportunities to support minority-owned businesses as vendors, suppliers, and prospective clients; and
5. Pivoting our community investments to substantially increase financial support for organizations that work to advance equality, end police brutality, and right the historical wrongs visited on Black Americans.
We are also exploring opportunities for impact litigation and developing a fellowship program to give our attorneys the opportunity to devote a year of practice full-time to working on civil rights and social justice issues, such as reforming qualified immunity laws and strengthening police accountability programs.
These are first steps, and we commit to transparently accounting our progress in these efforts. This will not be a one-time statement from us, but is rather the first of many as we take the "real action" contemplated by our task force. As a California law firm, it is our responsibility to lead and support our allies in this cause, and we will not fail again.
Andrew Giacomini, Managing Partner
Kristina Lawson, Managing Partner-Elect
Day - 1293
Monday, June 8, 2020
I worked all day and composed a few scenes. The SynLawn workers will arrive Thursday instead of today. A few big jobs have come in. That will keep me busy. I left after dinner tonight so that I could have a few days in Oakland and take care of the garbage cans. I'm meeting with my racquetball buddies at Steve's backyard Wednesday night. That'll be fun. I'm realling looking forward to seeing them.
I'm waiting to see the firm statement on the events of the past few weeks. It hasn't come out yet. Soon, I'm guessing.
I worked all day and composed a few scenes. The SynLawn workers will arrive Thursday instead of today. A few big jobs have come in. That will keep me busy. I left after dinner tonight so that I could have a few days in Oakland and take care of the garbage cans. I'm meeting with my racquetball buddies at Steve's backyard Wednesday night. That'll be fun. I'm realling looking forward to seeing them.
I'm waiting to see the firm statement on the events of the past few weeks. It hasn't come out yet. Soon, I'm guessing.
Day - 1294
Sunday, June 7, 2020
We prepared the downstairs for the SynLawn guys will be installing the synthetic lawn this week. That took most of the afternoon. At 3, I met up with my Bellingham Gang to discuss the week's events and hear how everyone's managing their thoughts and reactions. There sure is a lot going on right now.
For dinner, we cooked steaks on the Blackstone Grill. Wow, they were good! What a great little grill.
We prepared the downstairs for the SynLawn guys will be installing the synthetic lawn this week. That took most of the afternoon. At 3, I met up with my Bellingham Gang to discuss the week's events and hear how everyone's managing their thoughts and reactions. There sure is a lot going on right now.
For dinner, we cooked steaks on the Blackstone Grill. Wow, they were good! What a great little grill.
Day - 1300
Monday, June 1, 2020
I won't forget this day anytime soon. Having spent the weekend gardening, reading, relaxing with Alice and not paying too much attention to the news, this morning I read the NYTimes and WAPost, then went onto Facebook, something I rarely do. My niece Nicole posted her reaction to the George Floyd killing.
It was powerful. She received a few comments, which prompted me to comment as well. I posted this:
"As a white male, in my 57 years of life, I've had exactly zero negative experiences with the police. 0. As in none. When I ask my black friends about their experiences with the police, it's like hearing stories from another world. That's because it is another world. When you dig deep and read the various chapters of the long history of this country, you will discover 400 years of the worst kind of racism, oppression, and hatred against black people. It's all there and as voluminous and never-ending as the stories of our greatness and love of freedom and democracy. And now look who currently occupies the Oval Office after Barack Obama, a guy who's become the greatest influencer of white supremacy in a generation. The George Floyd video has been an endless 400-year loop that in terms of race defines this country. How do we change that? Speak out. Vote. Tell your friends of color that you're with them and have their back. Read your American history. Recognise and become aware of the internalized institutional racism all of us have been subjected to and must work on very hard to overcome. Open your eyes as wide as they'll go. Challenge white people to push beyond their own life experience to that other world where non-white Americans live vastly different life experiences each and every day."
I liked it enough to post on my Facebook page. Then I talked to Lillian, my friend at work who I've known for almost a decade. We've been talking about race issues since the beginning of our friendship. She said Jerri, a black attorney at work, sent out an email and a link to an article to all the black attorneys and support staff at the firm, acknowledging what everyone was going through and reminding everyone to be mindful and protective of their own mental health. Here's the article Jerri shared:
Maintaining Professionalism in the Age of Black Death
At 2:33 p.m. our managing partner Andrew sent out an email titled Special Firm Meeting: Response to Current Events:
HB Team, we are all aware of recent events impacting all of us. Right now, many of you are personally being impacted by all of this, every day and many people around our firm are hurting, are angry and are exhaused. I expect some of you are finding it very hard to work as you deal with so many emotions and with how much is going on around us. We are scheduling a special meeting today at 3 to check in with you and to hear from you. I hope you can join us. If you can't join today, we will arrange another time to connect.
At 3 p.m. we had our WebEx meeting. It got real in a hurry. One of our partners Jahmal Davies, a black man who looks a bit like Michael Jordan in his prime, said his chest was tight and he found it hard to breathe. He said the events of the past week have overwhelmed him. He shared a few stories from his life, and it all set the tone for what had followed. Other folks shared their stories, some going back to childhood and the terror they experienced from the KKK. I reiterated what I'd posted on Facebook. It was unlike any firm forum I'd experienced. It lasted two hours. It was something.
After work, we got the Blackstone going and cooked rice and pork belly Benihana style.
It was delicious!
I won't forget this day anytime soon. Having spent the weekend gardening, reading, relaxing with Alice and not paying too much attention to the news, this morning I read the NYTimes and WAPost, then went onto Facebook, something I rarely do. My niece Nicole posted her reaction to the George Floyd killing.
It was powerful. She received a few comments, which prompted me to comment as well. I posted this:
"As a white male, in my 57 years of life, I've had exactly zero negative experiences with the police. 0. As in none. When I ask my black friends about their experiences with the police, it's like hearing stories from another world. That's because it is another world. When you dig deep and read the various chapters of the long history of this country, you will discover 400 years of the worst kind of racism, oppression, and hatred against black people. It's all there and as voluminous and never-ending as the stories of our greatness and love of freedom and democracy. And now look who currently occupies the Oval Office after Barack Obama, a guy who's become the greatest influencer of white supremacy in a generation. The George Floyd video has been an endless 400-year loop that in terms of race defines this country. How do we change that? Speak out. Vote. Tell your friends of color that you're with them and have their back. Read your American history. Recognise and become aware of the internalized institutional racism all of us have been subjected to and must work on very hard to overcome. Open your eyes as wide as they'll go. Challenge white people to push beyond their own life experience to that other world where non-white Americans live vastly different life experiences each and every day."
I liked it enough to post on my Facebook page. Then I talked to Lillian, my friend at work who I've known for almost a decade. We've been talking about race issues since the beginning of our friendship. She said Jerri, a black attorney at work, sent out an email and a link to an article to all the black attorneys and support staff at the firm, acknowledging what everyone was going through and reminding everyone to be mindful and protective of their own mental health. Here's the article Jerri shared:
Maintaining Professionalism in the Age of Black Death
At 2:33 p.m. our managing partner Andrew sent out an email titled Special Firm Meeting: Response to Current Events:
HB Team, we are all aware of recent events impacting all of us. Right now, many of you are personally being impacted by all of this, every day and many people around our firm are hurting, are angry and are exhaused. I expect some of you are finding it very hard to work as you deal with so many emotions and with how much is going on around us. We are scheduling a special meeting today at 3 to check in with you and to hear from you. I hope you can join us. If you can't join today, we will arrange another time to connect.
At 3 p.m. we had our WebEx meeting. It got real in a hurry. One of our partners Jahmal Davies, a black man who looks a bit like Michael Jordan in his prime, said his chest was tight and he found it hard to breathe. He said the events of the past week have overwhelmed him. He shared a few stories from his life, and it all set the tone for what had followed. Other folks shared their stories, some going back to childhood and the terror they experienced from the KKK. I reiterated what I'd posted on Facebook. It was unlike any firm forum I'd experienced. It lasted two hours. It was something.
After work, we got the Blackstone going and cooked rice and pork belly Benihana style.
It was delicious!
Day - 1302
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Alice and I hit Home Depot early to pick up her raised garden boxes and more mulch for her garden. It rained today so we didn't do too much in the yard. Tomorrow should be more productive.
Our Blackstone griddle arrived. We'll set it up tomorrow.
My Lorrie Moore collected stories book also arrived. Nice!
Alice and I hit Home Depot early to pick up her raised garden boxes and more mulch for her garden. It rained today so we didn't do too much in the yard. Tomorrow should be more productive.
Our Blackstone griddle arrived. We'll set it up tomorrow.
My Lorrie Moore collected stories book also arrived. Nice!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)