20 Cents A Toe [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Kerri rarely buys herself anything. Shoes have to fall off her feet before she will allow herself to buy another pair. And so it was with her flip-flops. Meant to be worn for a single season, her old pair had seen several seasons. They carried her for many, many miles. The heel was so thin it was nearly transparent when held up to the light. It’s worth noting that our summer footwear consists almost entirely of flip-flops. Recently, on every walk, on almost every step, she’d grit her teeth or squeak, “Ouch!” She felt every pebble, every uneven crack in the sidewalk. She was the Princess-and-the-Pea of footwear.

I was stunned when we went to the Old Navy outlet to take advantage of their $2 flip-flop sale and she walked out the door with three pair! “Who are you?” I asked, deeply concerned that she was experiencing a severe medical event. She explained that she couldn’t decide so in an uncanny, unusual and unfamiliar act of self-care, she splurged and bought all three.

“Six bucks!” she told 20 as she was modeling her footwear-coup. “Six bucks!”

“Wow,” he said, “That’s incredible. Catching my eye he added, “That’s 20 cents a toe! Good job!”

She beamed. Three pairs of flip-flops and deep inner satisfaction – all for six bucks! Worth every single penny spent on every single toe.

read Kerri’s blogpost about FLIP-FLOPS

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PJ Days! [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

The very first time I ate breakfast on the deck, the morning after we first met, we sat and talked all day. We never moved. We ate breakfast. Then lunch. And talked and talked the afternoon away. For an introvert like me, it was nothing short of a minor miracle to lose all track of time. Talking. Basking in the sun.

Little did I know that days lost-in-time on the deck would become a norm. And, yes, sometimes on the weekend we don our PJs all day long (writing and talking and writing and talking does not require a costume change. Saturday is smack-dab and select-the-melange-for-next-week day. And, let’s face it, we are artists…’nuff said).

So. What’s for dinner?

read Kerri’s blogpost about PJ DAYS

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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Be Woke [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Tonight we will go to Pride-Fest Milwaukee to see our son Craig perform. He’s an EDM artist. His star is rising. This night, he’s performing with his friend and collaborator. Together, they perform as The Doggpound. We couldn’t be more excited or more proud.

This morning I read an angry response to a post (not mine). As a conclusion to her tirade, the woman wrote, “Aren’t you ashamed to be woke?” I admit to being perplexed to the point of mystification. Why should I or anyone be ashamed to be alert, aware, and concerned about all forms of discrimination and social injustice in our nation and the world? My idea of a better world means “liberty and justice for all.” Equality. It is the vibrant promise of this nation. It is the ideal behind our struggles. It is, after all, our pledge. Indivisible with.

I would be ashamed if I wasn’t woke. I find nothing to be proud of in dedicated ignorance.

read Kerri’s blogpost about PRIDE

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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Those Ubiquitous Carts [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

In some ways the grocery store is the last vestige of a by-gone era. A gathering place. A commons. A place of spontaneous conversation with neighbors and acquaintances – nothing transactional, not facilitated through a screen. A chinwag surrounded by vegetables, boxes of pasta and bags of chips. All made possible by the weekly necessity of pushing the cart.

We lost track of time in our most recent grocery-store-dialogue. We laughed heartily. We left the store with our groceries and giddy with delight at bumping into old friends. There is so much misunderstood power available in those ubiquitous carts!

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE CART

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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Prepare For The Freeze [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

In our home there is no task so daunting as the cleaning-out of her closet. We’ve had several near-attempts. Occasionally, small dents have been made to the outer layer. But, in the end, all forward progress shuts down. This mountain is too formidable to climb. With the closet door open she stands staring in; frozen.

I understand. It’s not simply clothes to be tossed. It’s memories. Associations. The archeology of a lifetime. For my story-thready wife, taking her old clothes to the Goodwill is like tossing her memories into an abyss.

I’ve suggested leaving it alone and building another closet to make badly needed new space for the present-and-future clothes. My suggestion always inspires THAT look. So, I’ve learned to keep silent. Hold my tongue. I’ve learned the art of the silent head-nod.

Now I know, on those dubious occasions she declares, “This is the day…” my job is to prepare for the emotional-lock-up, the mental freeze. The inevitable zombie-stare of defeat. I fluff extra pillows for her favorite chair. I position the hassock so I can rub her feet. I open a bottle of wine.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE CLOSET

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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The Stream [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

A wedding brought us to the mountains and within reach of a trail sacred to us. It never fails. The hike meanders through aspen groves, opens onto meadows with vistas that take our breath away. And then we come to the stream. Our stream.

Stepping on rocks in the rushing water, fifty yards up stream there is an ancient log straddling the crystal clear glacier melt. It provides a perfect mid-stream seat and has become a place for quiet reflection and insight. Three times in our eleven years together we’ve stepped up the stream to the log, stepped out of time and into hushed conversations and whispered revelations. By the time we return to the trail the world is different, better. Or we are different and somehow better.

I’m not sure what to call the previous phase of our time together. I am excited to welcome The Sweet Phase.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE SWEET PHASE

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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NoDoubtAboutIt [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

If a picture is worth a thousand words, take a look at our website box below. NoDoubtAboutIt. None at all.

Happy Mother’s Day.

read Kerri’s blogpost about MOTHER’S DAY

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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Experience It [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

“In a Google world, we are all experts for a moment,” she said. Somewhere out there, in the ethers, I heard Marshall McLuhan applauding. I heard Neil Postman guffawing. It was the perfect statement encapsulating our times. The medium of our message. Knowledge need not stick. No need to remember. Teflon brains.

And, because I had no idea what it was. And, because I suddenly needed to make a statement to myself about living, I ordered it. I happily mispronounced it. So I might experience it firsthand with no intermediary. No curator. Unprotected. So I could have the experience first – before my machine made meaning of it for me.

All the way around, the experience was mysterious and delicious. Unforgettable.

read Kerri’s blogpost about GOOGLE KNOWING

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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It’s About Time [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

What more is there to say?

read Kerri’s blogpost about LOVE MORE NOW

smack-dab © 2024 kerrianddavid.com

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Let The Show Begin [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

She only calls me “Schnuckums” in the cartoon. It makes me laugh every time, the nuance in this alternate-cartoon-reality of ours.

What is true in both realities is the delight I take in our fashion shows. She regularly asks my opinion about her clothes, “This or this?” Sometimes it’s about her shoes, “These or these?” It’s a riot when we are in the ladies clothing section of a store because other women stare in horror when Kerri asks my opinion – and then their mouths drop open when I actually answer with something aesthetic…style-informed…and not merely a caveman grunt.

Once, when we were shopping for new jeans, she came out of the dressing room and asked, “Do these make my butt look big?” and a women emerged from the next dressing room and said, “Girl! Big butts are in!”

Imagine my dilemma.

read Kerri’s blogpost about FASHION SHOWS

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