USING TIME WISELY

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

For several weeks now we've been home and indoors much of the time, for reasons having as much to do with weather as anything.  There's still plenty of raking to do, and other spring yard work, should the temperatures warm up.  Last night, the 20s brought skim ice in this corner of the harbor, and shaded ponds and hollows are still iced over.  Looking across the harbor now in the late afternoon we see snow squalls, brief, intermittent, but enough to discourage us from getting back to that yard work.

One activity I've done more of this winter is carving.  I can go to the basement and, while listening to a book on CD, design, carve and, depending on the project, add color paints.  The time goes quickly and it's soon late afternoon.



 I use a basswood board, trace my design using carbon paper, and begin making small wood chips.   Ten, 20 or more hours later I reach a point where I've done enough, the detail is what I hoped it might be, or I just get tired of the same theme and want to move on.  Maybe it's time to write, walk or take a nap instead.



There is no time clock structure to my day, these days.

Shown is an example of an early stage in carving the voting piece. The concept uses old-style voting booths with curtains, but with the modern-day addition of voters wearing face masks for protection against contracting or spreading the coronavirus.

The long lines of Wisconsin voters we saw on April 7 on TV, snaking down the sidewalks and around the corner in very unpleasant weather, amazed me.  Citizens displayed an unbelievably strong desire to vote, despite challenges that included the lurking danger of corona virus infection.

I began with a couple of ideas for a caption, spoken by the lady at lower left:

1).   "I think he's confused.  He asked me, 'Who should I vote for?' and I said, 'Just vote your conscience'."

2). "We've been standing in line since 8:00 am."

3.). "Shouldn't he be wearing a mask?"

Still in the early drawing/concept stages, I asked for help.  Daughter Evy quickly responded with these:

4).  New virus symptoms discovered at polling center.

5).  A new Write-in this go-round.

6).  Polling centers lure in voters with full rolls of TP.

7). If the candidates look like crap, sound like crap, and smell like crap, it's probably crap.

8).  Politics have taken a real dump lately.

     Thor got in on the fun one day later with his suggestions:

9).  "Aren't they glad we didn't vote by mail?"

10).   "Participating in this process is just so liberating!"

11).  "What can I say?  He always speaks truth to power."


Maybe you have other suggestions?  Let's hear them!

And now, before closing, I'll post a close-up of the previous piece, a summer beach scene titled, "Norskies at the beach."

I was inspired by a story the late Dr. Rod Johnson told me of his childhood on a Minnesota farm when he and a brother visited an old Norwegian bachelor who lived in a one-room shack.  Inside, in one of the dark corners, was a huge pile of empty sardine cans.



Enjoy these days while they last!  -  Dick Purinton