Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BB
My husband’s late father, may he rest in peace, offered me a drink every single time I was at his house in the ten years I knew him. At first my husband would say, “Dad, she doesn’t drink.” His dad would laugh and move on. As if that was just silly. After a while my husband didn’t say anything, and I’d just say, “No thanks.”
I figured, if you lived to be 93 like him, not drinking probably did seem silly. What the hell difference does it make by then? Have a cig too while you’re at it, old timer. Cripes. You’ve made it this far; go nuts, babe.
So I wrote this guest blog for the Drinking Diaries, right? The reactions to it, or lack thereof, from people, made me decide to do a postscript to it, about the reactions, or lack thereof from people, when I tell them I don’t drink.
Let’s start with the lack thereof variety. My father-in-law’s stands alone in its own category we might call “la-dee-dah.” So we’ll move on to the silent kind.
This reaction is characterized by a look, accompanied by silence. The look is usually one of surprise. I always imagine the person thinking, “Holy shit, what must she have done?” Or, “WHOA. PROBLEM DRINKER. Thank god that’s not me.” Followed by a deep slug of beer.
Another look, the look of fear, has a sort of silent thought tapestry attached to it.
“Is she judging me now?” (No. Well maybe. Depends.)
“Wonder if I should quit drinking too?” (How should I know? I was practically the last to know when it was my turn.)
“How did I find myself in the company of this fun-hater? What the hell’s she doing here?” (Good question, actually.)
“Is she one of those AA people?” (No.)
“If I drink in front of her, will she want one?” (No. You have no idea how much NO.)
A non-silent reaction is the kind from people who don’t really think you’re serious. “Oh, on the wagon?” When you say, yeah, for the past nine years, they might say something like, “Interesting. My uncle didn’t drink for 15 years, then one night he just had a beer. He’s a better drinker now.” Good to know.
Even more curious is the person who tells you that now that you’ve “gotten things under control” maybe you can drink a bit from time to time. I always want to suggest they find the nearest AA meeting, float that theory and see how that goes.
Some people think you’re embarrassed to say you don’t drink. “Oh, sorry! Didn’t mean to go there.” Where? To my new life? To my hangover-free world? It’s not so bad, it’s ok to go there. I go there all the time, in fact.
Honest, I’ve never ONCE been embarrassed about not drinking. Never. Not even when “friends” say, “Oh that’s right, you’re a teetotaler! I forgot! Ha haha.” Remind me to google that right after we’re done here, I’ve never quite known what that is; just that it breeds sneers.
“You’re so brave. Wow.” Brave? I don’t get that one either. Unless brave means giving up the thing that’s making you sick; if that’s the case, I’m not so brave when it comes to candy corn.
Seriously, my next to favorite reaction is the one that goes like this. “Really? Wow, congratulations, and good for you. Way to go. I support that. “ Followed sometimes by some questions about the why and how. I love that. I love it when people treat it just like a broken leg. A ‘when did you fall off that ten story building and break your brain?’ sort of thing.
I won’t lie, though, my very favorite -- and most rare -- reaction is this one. “Hey, me too. How long for you?” We exchange time frames, possibly a fist bump, and move on.
Let’s summarize. Let’s be clear. Not drinking doesn’t define me; it’s a small piece of my puzzle. It’s not nearly as interesting or mysterious as all these reactions warrant.
But don’t worry, I got this.
Kitty Sheehan
Sunday, December 05, 2010
June Margoles, savvy political activist
By PAMELA MILLER, Star Tribune
Last update: December 5, 2010 - 8:06 PM
Muriel (June) Margoles, who poured her political savvy and passion for social justice into campaign work for prominent political figures, died of cancer Saturday in her St. Paul home. She was 88.
"She had such a flair for life, and it shone through in everything she did," said her brother, Lawrence Cohen, a former St. Paul mayor and Ramsey County District judge.
Margoles was born in St. Paul and spent her entire life there except for a stint in the mid-1940s in California, where her husband, Simon, was hospitalized for wounds suffered in World War II, said her son, Alan Margoles, a St. Paul defense attorney. Her father nicknamed her June when her birth name, Muriel, became uncomfortably associated with a popular cigar, Cohen said.
She went to St. Paul Central High School, where her soaring soprano graced many a musical, her son said. For 70 years, that voice also rang out at St. Paul's Temple of Aaron synagogue, where she joined the choir at age 16.
She and Simon had two children, Alan and Susan. Susan died of ALS in 1994. Alan said the only time his mother's activism waned was during the time when she cared for her dying daughter.
His earliest memory of his mother's activism was the League of Women Voters meetings she held in their home. In the early 1960s, she ran her first political campaign -- for Katie McWatt, the first black woman to run for St. Paul City Council.
Other campaigns she ran included those for Sandy Keith in his 1966 gubernatorial primary campaign and for Don Fraser in his 1978 U.S. Senate primary campaign. Most prominently, she oversaw Eugene McCarthy's 1968 and George McGovern's 1972 presidential bids in Minnesota's Fourth District.
Most personally, she oversaw campaigns for her brother, who was elected Ramsey County commissioner in 1970, served as St. Paul's mayor from 1972 to '76, and was appointed a judge in 1988.
Margoles also served on the board of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union and on the DFL State Central Committee's executive board.
"In many houses, politics is a no-no to talk about. The politics was always discussed at our house," Alan Margoles said. "But she had a way of doing it where nobody would get angry. ... I never saw her angry, either. She was firm in her convictions, but she could do it without nastiness.
"One of my strongest memories is of how she'd run campaigns out of her kitchen," he said. "Those were the days before cordless phones. She had a 26-foot cord on her phone so she could race around the kitchen cooking and talking. That cord had burn marks all over it because she was always on the phone while she stood at the stove."
In addition to her son and brother, Margoles is survived by three grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Temple of Aaron, 616 S. Mississippi River Blvd., St. Paul.
Pamela Miller
Last update: December 5, 2010 - 8:06 PM
"She had such a flair for life, and it shone through in everything she did," said her brother, Lawrence Cohen, a former St. Paul mayor and Ramsey County District judge.
Margoles was born in St. Paul and spent her entire life there except for a stint in the mid-1940s in California, where her husband, Simon, was hospitalized for wounds suffered in World War II, said her son, Alan Margoles, a St. Paul defense attorney. Her father nicknamed her June when her birth name, Muriel, became uncomfortably associated with a popular cigar, Cohen said.
She went to St. Paul Central High School, where her soaring soprano graced many a musical, her son said. For 70 years, that voice also rang out at St. Paul's Temple of Aaron synagogue, where she joined the choir at age 16.
She and Simon had two children, Alan and Susan. Susan died of ALS in 1994. Alan said the only time his mother's activism waned was during the time when she cared for her dying daughter.
His earliest memory of his mother's activism was the League of Women Voters meetings she held in their home. In the early 1960s, she ran her first political campaign -- for Katie McWatt, the first black woman to run for St. Paul City Council.
Other campaigns she ran included those for Sandy Keith in his 1966 gubernatorial primary campaign and for Don Fraser in his 1978 U.S. Senate primary campaign. Most prominently, she oversaw Eugene McCarthy's 1968 and George McGovern's 1972 presidential bids in Minnesota's Fourth District.
Most personally, she oversaw campaigns for her brother, who was elected Ramsey County commissioner in 1970, served as St. Paul's mayor from 1972 to '76, and was appointed a judge in 1988.
Margoles also served on the board of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union and on the DFL State Central Committee's executive board.
"In many houses, politics is a no-no to talk about. The politics was always discussed at our house," Alan Margoles said. "But she had a way of doing it where nobody would get angry. ... I never saw her angry, either. She was firm in her convictions, but she could do it without nastiness.
"One of my strongest memories is of how she'd run campaigns out of her kitchen," he said. "Those were the days before cordless phones. She had a 26-foot cord on her phone so she could race around the kitchen cooking and talking. That cord had burn marks all over it because she was always on the phone while she stood at the stove."
In addition to her son and brother, Margoles is survived by three grandchildren. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Temple of Aaron, 616 S. Mississippi River Blvd., St. Paul.
Pamela Miller
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Presenting for the first time: Addison Anne Barnett!
Born December 2nd, 2010
9 lbs, 4 oz
21 inches long
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)