Nathan Bedford Forrest Removed

In September, we visited Memphis, ostensibly to see the Motel, Graceland and Sun Records. Arriving early for our tour of the place where Elvis recorded, we walked to a nearby park which had been the subject of litigation and consternation over a monument erected to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest.

An American flag flew over the statue’s base. I was appalled. Here is a man who massacred 300 helpless black Union soldiers and served as the first wizard of the KKK and not only do they have a monument to him, but after it is removed they fly an American flag.

As an artist, I love to look at statues, reminded as I am of their three dimensional quality,  a level of visual arts not allowed to photographers, as well as their historical value, but they belong in  museums where people have the choice of looking at them or looking away. And parks, nature parks, educating people about nature and schools, where people learn to read and think, should not be named after them. 

Yes, he is an historical figure and someone who should be studied. But so should Dr. King who was murdered in the same area. No statue stands at the motel, a place our tour guide neglected to have the bus stop. I wouldn’t want one there either, but I would have wanted to step out on the terrace and cry.

Yesterday, I watched The General, one of the greatest films ever made, starring America’s leading comic actor. But, is it still relevant as it portrays a Confederate victory, a Rebel outsmarting the Union Army? Yes, as a historical artifact. Not worthy of a statue, though.

 

Morikami Reopens

Morikami Museum and Gardens reopened today. It is like we were reconnected to our lives. We see new things every time we go and never seem to stop loving being there.

Summer colors on the way. Plants haven’t really awakened, but will as the rain and sun return. The reds aren’t that red and the yellows are a little green, but who cares.

Not that I know what the symbolism of all the sculpture or the shapes of the gardens, but I feel it.

Overflow

Not that we don’t have enough problems, but it is now Hurricane Season. Covid causes death, despair and disease. Rain and wind destructs, demolishes and decimates. Any way you look at it, society gets eradicated in an unpleasant way.

The canals await the rainfall, already over their early June limit. Deadly frogs live around them. Lizards and geckos which didn’t die due to climate change (no cold spell) abound and there is no species to eat them or drive them away. Unbelievers continue to ignore the signs, partying on the beaches and in the clubs. Well, so-be-it.

Boca Museum Reopens

 

We went to the early opening for members, but the power was out due to a thunder storm. Felt normal being able to visit a cultural institution in the midst of Corona and Black Lives Matter. We even dressed for the date.


We returned the next day. Only a few people present. Museum show featured Self-Portraits from the National Gallery and prints by Steichen. We dressed again.

I got to see a Chuck Close, one of my favorites and pose with him. Too complicated to explain here.

But Steichen will always be the start, the greatest portraitist of the 20th Century. He invented it. Here is a self-portrait where he photographs himself as a painter. He preferred photography and destroyed many of his paintings.

 

 

 

 

Chuck Highstien, Artist



My next-door neighbor, Charles Highstien, MD is or was an Otolaryngologist, ENT. Helped heal many people during his medical career. Now he makes art.

His stuff comes from nature, birds, snakes, imaginary creatures. He builds forms, covers them with bubble wrap and paints them.

The lanai onside his home serves as his studio. Weather permitting he works the plein air, watching the birds land, fish jump and trees blow in the wind.

Cannot say there is a market for his work. He does commissions and would like to show. As with the rest of us aging artists, no one is going to buy our work and no wife is going to let us clutter the home with it.

 

Trump’s Ignorance

What a waste of a human being Donald Trump is. He still has supporters, haters all in their own little way. He wants US to die, so he and his buddies can have more and more and more and more easily recognize each other, because who remains will be white and not old.

His latest solution for a Covid-19 cure is right on your kitchen counter and can be combined with two previous suggestions. I don’t want you doing it. Maybe he will, using Jared or the Baron as test subjects.

First, write out a will using a bleach pen and write your name down on your forehead. Inhale a little in each nostril to get you going. Drink a little Fantastic, after spraying it on your clothes, removing any dirt or grease or grime you missed while washing.

Then insert the fork into your toaster.

 

What Now

Now what? I always wanted to make a contribution. Now, all I can do is survive. Can’t go out. Cannot volunteer. Don’t have all that much money to donate. I just have to not get sick, er sicker. I have been reading and writing, wondering what the meaning of life is. A lifetime learner, what will my knowledge mean to anyone other than me?

Duckman Tilts Left

I don’t gamble and I cannot play sports. I have problems with the political process, having been killed by the system, a condition that bars me from commenting and having my thoughts considered. I have basic health care and maybe just enough money to make it. My cancer doctor says my immune system is working, but I am not prepared to test it. Not going to a gym or a night club. But I do miss museums, watching people who know more or less than I do about art, look at framed images, sculptures and whatever they call the rest. So I wonder.