The next morning we had breakfast with Senator Diane Feinstein, D-CA.
Friday, 27 May 2016
DC Assortment
DC experienced a record nineteen days of rain. What a delight to feel the warm air and see blue sky and to watch Bennett Ziggle. He took his new transportation device to the local park to test it out.
He and his friend had a contest to see who could get the most height from his birthday rockets.
Robert, a former student of Anna Lee’s, was in the area for an International Council on English Braille conference. The three of us met for lunch at our new “to go” place, Olde Ebbitt Grille.
We had a great time catching up and then walking along the DC streets.
The next morning we had breakfast with Senator Diane Feinstein, D-CA.
The breakfast was just rolls but we enjoyed talking with a couple of UC interns and a young woman and her grandmother from Elk Grove. The Senator's talk was informative, not a stock talk, which surprised and pleased us. She was subtly critical of Obama for not having more social contact with his opposition in order to make things happen. She lamented Sen. McConnell’s blockage of hearings on Judge Garland Burrell for the Supreme Court. She talked about the need for Dems to get along with Reps AND the Reps to get along with the Dems! At the end of the talk we went from favorable support to strong support (okay Harold she still can’t do math) because of the work she is doing and her opinions (okay Eddi one of her interns wears a kippah). This was our prize for being the last people to leave.
The next morning we had breakfast with Senator Diane Feinstein, D-CA.
Thursday, 26 May 2016
He's Four
Bennett had a birthday weekend starting with a small class celebration on Friday.
On Sunday, his party was planned for a park, but, as we said before, it has been raining, so the party moved home. Children and their parents filled the house with birthday fun. The children buried themselves under cushions,
crawled through a tunnel, bowled and bounced balloons. No one seemed to miss being in the park.
Fortunately, cousin Robyn helped with the children and used her talents to keep them enchanted with stories when they needed to quiet down.
This is the aftermath.
Barbara and Bob brought the Spiderman birthday cake from the fabulous Night Kitchen Bakery.
Bennett blew out the candle
and we all savored the delicious chocolate cake. Then Bennett distributed the gift bags to his guests.
Surrounded by family he tore into his presents.
He can never have too many books.
He and his dad will enjoy hours in the yard playing with the remote controlled front loader and dump truck, a gift from both sets of grandparents and his Aunt Karen's family.
Afternoon led to an early evening family dinner.
Barbara and Anna Lee posed for a belated birthday photo.
crawled through a tunnel, bowled and bounced balloons. No one seemed to miss being in the park.
Fortunately, cousin Robyn helped with the children and used her talents to keep them enchanted with stories when they needed to quiet down.
This is the aftermath.
Surrounded by family he tore into his presents.
Afternoon led to an early evening family dinner.
Monday, 23 May 2016
Back in DC
Back in DC
And back on grandson duty with such “chores” as reading, going to the playground and, generally having fun.
One of the other benefits of having “DC connections” is learning about special events. The American History Museum had an interview with Norman Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Commerce.
For this interview, he is a former Japanese internee who along with his family was forcibly removed from his home in San Jose, CA to Heart Mountain, a relocation camp north of Cody, WY.
He talked of wondering why, as a ten-year-old born in the USA, he was being referred to as an enemy alien. His family went to Hialeah Racetrack, where they were lucky enough to be too late to be housed in a horse stall. In early winter, with only their “California clothes” they were moved to the barren, cold area of central Wyoming. His father required the family to gather each evening for the communal dinner whereas other children seemed to run wild and depart from their family connections.
One of the good parts of the camp was the forming of Boy Scout troops where the boys had constructive outlets for their energy. The troops met with troops from town and shared in scouting experiences. Former Senator Alan Simpson was one of the young scouts Mineta met and they have been good friends since that time.
We had considered the relocation as much a land grab of Japanese owned farm land as a “security measure.” We were interested in learning of a local real estate attorney in San Jose who enabled Japanese to buy before and to regain their homes after the war. The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited non-native born citizens from owning land. Ben Peckham, a San Jose attorney, helped families get around this law by buying property in the name of young American-born Japanese children and transferring the title when they turned twenty-one. Peckham also bought homes from Japanese families forced to relocate, not charging a fee for this service. He then returned the homes to them when the war was over.
Another topic of the interview was the lack of Japanese-Americans to hold top power positions in government and industry. One of the museum curators did a “rap” on Japanese power seeming more technical than cultural.
After the discussion we had a delicious and discussion-filled lunch with Don and Barbara, friends whom we enjoy meeting each time we come to DC.
We needed to do some chores on the RV parked Elks Lodge and wanted a reward of doing something enjoyable. We chose a tour of The Inventor’s Hall of Fame which is located in Alexandria.
Patenting goes back about 5000 years to when pottery had an identifying label. Our Constitution protects innovation
Abraham Lincoln, the only president to hold a patent, got #6469 in 1849 “For Manner of Buoying Vessels.” He made the model himself.
We enjoyed seeing the vast range of items that are patented, from Sesame Street characters to electronic ink to leak-proof diapers to game boards.
Acting the proud parents, we went through a security ordeal to “kvell” (Yiddish for to feel pride) at seeing Jeff’s name followed by a patent number.
We have had really poor weather since we arrived, rainy and cold with only a handful of sunny days. But when Bennett wanted to fly a kite at the Washington Monument after school one day, the weather obliged with light winds and sunshine.
And back on grandson duty with such “chores” as reading, going to the playground and, generally having fun.
He talked of wondering why, as a ten-year-old born in the USA, he was being referred to as an enemy alien. His family went to Hialeah Racetrack, where they were lucky enough to be too late to be housed in a horse stall. In early winter, with only their “California clothes” they were moved to the barren, cold area of central Wyoming. His father required the family to gather each evening for the communal dinner whereas other children seemed to run wild and depart from their family connections.
One of the good parts of the camp was the forming of Boy Scout troops where the boys had constructive outlets for their energy. The troops met with troops from town and shared in scouting experiences. Former Senator Alan Simpson was one of the young scouts Mineta met and they have been good friends since that time.
We had considered the relocation as much a land grab of Japanese owned farm land as a “security measure.” We were interested in learning of a local real estate attorney in San Jose who enabled Japanese to buy before and to regain their homes after the war. The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited non-native born citizens from owning land. Ben Peckham, a San Jose attorney, helped families get around this law by buying property in the name of young American-born Japanese children and transferring the title when they turned twenty-one. Peckham also bought homes from Japanese families forced to relocate, not charging a fee for this service. He then returned the homes to them when the war was over.
Another topic of the interview was the lack of Japanese-Americans to hold top power positions in government and industry. One of the museum curators did a “rap” on Japanese power seeming more technical than cultural.
After the discussion we had a delicious and discussion-filled lunch with Don and Barbara, friends whom we enjoy meeting each time we come to DC.
We needed to do some chores on the RV parked Elks Lodge and wanted a reward of doing something enjoyable. We chose a tour of The Inventor’s Hall of Fame which is located in Alexandria.
Patenting goes back about 5000 years to when pottery had an identifying label. Our Constitution protects innovation
We have had really poor weather since we arrived, rainy and cold with only a handful of sunny days. But when Bennett wanted to fly a kite at the Washington Monument after school one day, the weather obliged with light winds and sunshine.
Saturday, 21 May 2016
Philadelphia
Our whole family gathered to spend time with cousins Barbara and Bob. The missing members are taking the photo.
We started with a brief catch-up conversation before Barbara had a meeting. Bob took us to Flying Fish where he and Jerry enjoyed crayfish left from Barbara’s ??? birthday celebration. The owner is not only a great chef but a charming individual.
Our “campground” was a parking lot for UPenn Medical Center employees and those who are in motorhomes while visiting or getting treatment at the hospital. Location, location, location...power, water and much easier to get around the city, except during the awful rush hour.
We enjoyed more delicious dining at Zorba's where each of us decided we ordered the best dish.
Jerry and Bob went to work on a community concert stage, while Jeff, Cheryl and Anna Lee went to the farmers’ market.
Pat’s and Gino’s are famous Philly Cheesesteak rivals. We ate at Pat’s before going to the Chinese Lantern Festival.
The festival filled a park with flowers
dragons
penguins,
pandas,
pagodas,
other delights,
and most delightful to Bennett, a carrousel.
Sunday morning we savored Bob’s waffles followed by a birthday cake for Anna Lee’s ??? birthday. Celebrating with family was the best present she could get.
There was a great art and craft festival around the corner from Bob and Barbara’s home. They live in a wonderful old neighborhood where almost everything is within walking distance and people really do walk about.
A couple of years ago, we misread theater tickets for a matinee in Ashland, OR and were a half hour late for the performance. We got to repeat that again for Jeff, this time for a delightful one-woman show called “I Will Not Go Quietly.” The half we saw was great. Then we tried to find a way to see the wonderful murals, didn’t work. Dinner was okay but the wait was far too long, fortunately, the five of us enjoyed good conversation. In fact the weekend was filled with conversation; we never ran out of things to discuss.
The evening ended in a most peaceful and colorful manner. The Quaker Meetinghouse has a James Turrell Skyspace, an opening in the ceiling to view the sky while lights around the room change shades. Turrell followed his grandmother’s advice on the way to a Quaker meeting “to go inside and greet the light!” The fifty-minute program is visually calming, silent and meditative, a most unique experience. To get an idea of what this is like, check www.turrell.utexas.edu
We enjoyed more delicious dining at Zorba's where each of us decided we ordered the best dish.
penguins,
A couple of years ago, we misread theater tickets for a matinee in Ashland, OR and were a half hour late for the performance. We got to repeat that again for Jeff, this time for a delightful one-woman show called “I Will Not Go Quietly.” The half we saw was great. Then we tried to find a way to see the wonderful murals, didn’t work. Dinner was okay but the wait was far too long, fortunately, the five of us enjoyed good conversation. In fact the weekend was filled with conversation; we never ran out of things to discuss.
The evening ended in a most peaceful and colorful manner. The Quaker Meetinghouse has a James Turrell Skyspace, an opening in the ceiling to view the sky while lights around the room change shades. Turrell followed his grandmother’s advice on the way to a Quaker meeting “to go inside and greet the light!” The fifty-minute program is visually calming, silent and meditative, a most unique experience. To get an idea of what this is like, check www.turrell.utexas.edu
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