Jerry L Studio

Tortuga in the News!

2012-01-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

This is a cut & paste of the Palm Springs' Desert Sun Pet of the Week article featuring Tortuga, our African Sulcata Tortoise. I attempted to copy the article from the Palm Springs Desert Sun into this blog but it's just not cooperating. The article ran on Thursday, December 29th.

Les had submitted the article and a iPhone photo of Tortuga for consideration in the weekly feature. The Desert Sun was interested saying they had never featured a tortoise as Pet of the Week and would do so provided we could submit a good quality photograph. I guess iPhones don't provide good enough quality for newspapers.

I got out my camera and began taking photos of Tortuga. I cleaned them up and sent about five of them for the editor's consideration. This is the photograph and the article that ran in the Desert Sun.

THURSDAY, December 29, 2011

Submitted by Jerry L. Hanson

Meet Tortuga. The 17 year-old tortoise lives in Palm Springs with Les Zendle and Jerry Hanson.

Unlike other breeds of tortoises that hibernate, Tortuga is an African Spur Thigh breed who “spends winter days in the sun and winter nights in an underground ‘bunker' with heating bulbs to keep warm,” Zendle said in an email to MyDesert.

And when he's out and about, he is social.

“He is friendly and walks toward people, especially if they are wearing bright colors,” Zendle said.

Tortuga's diet consists of two heads of romaine lettuce and a few carrots a day, and he also enjoys Bermuda and winter rye grass.

Written by: MyDesert

Lost & Found

2011-12-26T01:01:00.000-08:00

Burn, baby burn. Uh... no!

I traveled to Black Rock City for the first time in 2011. I’ve been talking for almost a year about Burning Man. I talked your ear off about my participation in Burning Time: the 1MileClock project. We built the largest working timepiece ever built: a clock with a one-mile diameter clock face. It was awesome.

I talked about my art piece for the 1MileClock, a woven newspaper piece; a 4 foot by 6 foot weaving glued and sealed on a ¾ inch thick sheet of plywood. I hauled that heavy artwork about 800 miles up to Northwestern Nevada from Palm Springs.

In October, I wrote about having an early arrival pass to Black Rock City to work with the 1MileClock team to build the number towers for the clock. The lead-in photo for that blog is a photograph of my artwork. Stick with me. There’s a point to all this.

On the Saturday of Burning Man week, the BRC DPW (Black Rock City Dept. of Public Works) moved the 12 clock number towers to a designated burn area. Forty-five minutes after the Burning Man burned, the clock towers were torched. It was an awesome sight. There were fire dancers doing their thing before the burn. There was a large crowd gathered for the burn. I looked for tower #5, where my artwork was. It wasn’t there. There was a blank space where my panel had been.

My art piece, along with 7 other art panels had been stolen between the time the DWP moved the towers and the time of the burn. My art panel was one of those stolen. Someone took the time to unscrew an incredibly heavy 4’ x 6’ panel from the clock tower and carry it nearly a mile off the playa. Not just one panel, but 8 panels.

On one hand, I was very disappointed to have created a piece of artwork specifically for the purpose of being torched at Burning Man. On the other hand, it was somewhat gratifying to know that someone liked my artwork enough to go through all that trouble. On the other hand, (wait, I have three hands?) it bothers me greatly to have my artwork out there not knowing who has it or what’s being done with or to it. Is it proudly displayed in someone’s home? Is it being used to patch a hole in the side of a barn? Where did it go?

Yesterday, I received a FB message from James Bowers, the brain & driving force behind Burning Time: the 1MileClock project. Jim wrote: “Jerry, Merry Christmas my friend! Guess what!? I've recovered your stolen art panel. It's being safely stored at my house (and on proud display). Not sure how to get it back to you.... Ever make it up to NorCal? Hugs – Jim”

What a surprise! I thought they were gone and lost forever. Jim was able to track down the eight stolen panels and have them all delivered to him! I have no idea how he did it. I suspect he’s being discrete about it on FB. I will certainly weasel it out of him in 2012 when we're all home again in BRC.

Jim wanted to know about how to get it back to me & did I have any suggestions? After thinking about it, I wrote: Great recovery job, Jim! I am happy to know their final disposition! It was the "not knowing" that bothered me most. My suggestion is to burn it. Perhaps we can take them to BM 2012 & torch them? That was to be their destiny. Burn it.

I created this artwork with full knowledge it would burn. It didn’t burn. Even though it will be a year late. Burn it.

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Chain, Chain, Chain....

2011-12-05T01:01:00.000-08:00

In my art, I love to take small bits and work them into a whole. I work with beads. I work with tab tops. I work with any collection of items that can be pulled together into a larger piece: tin can lids, key chains.

My BFA in Education background is in weaving… textiles. You take thread or string and weave it into a larger piece. Take something small and create something big.

Early on, I enjoyed using traditional techniques such as bobbin lace to create my artwork. I would use non-traditional materials such as choir or sisal with bobbin lace techniques. The results were strange yet familiar. Most traditional weavers would look at my work and not believe what they saw. I loved the mind phuque.

The bulk of my work over the years uses newspaper as my media. Woven newspaper. People look at it and can’t get their minds around it. “Did you paint all those little squares?” “Did you cut out all those little squares of paper?” “WHAT is that????”

I love using every-day items in non-traditional ways.

For 30+ years, I’ve been interested in using wire to make “things”. It began with my student teaching days: I taught a class in Beginning Jewelry. I needed to come up with lesson plans to teach jewelry making that required no heating of metal. How do you teach jewelry making and keep the attention of both the boys and girls??? AND not melt metal?

Wire.

I developed a six-week lesson plan that utilized wire. The girls made earrings and pendants from wire. The boys made bracelets and, well, bracelets from wire (turned out they weren't interested in other forms of jewelry). I showed the girls how to make jump rings from copper wire and how to use them to make chains and other items. I showed the guys how to twist different gauges of wire into “wire ropes” and how to hammer them into bands for bracelets.

The students love the class. Everyone one left class with the jewelry they’d made.

Thirty years later, I’m still “playing” with wire. And newspaper…

I taught myself to make chain maille. I wove together links to make fabric. What I didn’t know was that I was making Japanese 4 in 1 chain maille. I knew it worked but it didn’t look like the chain maille I’d seen in medieval armor. I wanted to make THAT chain maille and I never could figure it out.

For years, I searched on line for instructions: they were so obtuse, no one could be expected to follow the instructions. And then… I found them! Thank you Ring Lord!

My 30-year (passive) quest for Chain Maille has come to fruition. I now know how to make the European 4 in 1 Chain Maille….

Now, what am I going to make???? Something totally useless.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Music Man (Virtual)

2011-11-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

I love music. I can’t sing but I love music, most music. There even a few (very few) Rap tunes I like.

I’m slowly going deaf. I stopped listening to the radio, records & cassette tapes. Records and tapes: that pretty much tells you how long ago that was!.

And then I got hearing aids. They changed my life. I could hear again. I rediscovered music and began listening to music on the radio again. We got a CD player in the early 90’s & I began purchasing CD’s I found interesting. Over the next 15 years, I purchased almost as many CDs as I did novels. Amazon.com loved me.

Three years ago, I got a Sony eReader. That changed my life too. I’ve read exactly two paper novels in the past three years. I read over 50 novels a year and no longer have to find space to shelve all those novels. Our bookshelves are no longer over flowing with pulp fiction.

I never thought about how many CDs I have or what kind of music I’ve collected. I hear music on NPR or KROQ & I go to Amazon.com and look for it. Amazon has that insidious “help” function, “People who purchased this music also purchased…..” I would purchase the CD I was looking for in addition to several others. Amazon .com really loves me.

In past years, I uploaded my CDs into iTunes on my PC. However, if you don’t purchase your music through iTunes, it’s not saved if your HD (Hard Drive) crashes and if you purchase a new PC, it’s not easy to transfer those saved CDs to the new PC. I switched to MAC when I retired and I am now able to back up my HD on the Time Capsule.

A week or so ago, iTunes began a new service where you can upload your CDs NOT purchased via iTunes and they will save them for you in the iCloud: costs $24.99 a year but it’s well worth it.

It was time to transition my music collection.

I spent last week uploading CDs into iTunes. I began with about 1 GB of music on iTunes (that was about 5 hours of music). It takes about 3 minutes to transfer a CD. I transferred 75 to 100 CDs a day for over a week. Where did all these CD’s come from? It took over 48 hours to upload the music into the iCloud. I have nearly 1,000 CDs! I think I’m getting my $24.99 worth.

I now have over 90 GB of music saved, which is over 33 days of music. If I put my entire collection on shuffle, I’ll not have a single song repeat for a month. That could make for a very strange mix: Bach followed by Macy Gray followed by Frank Sinatra & The Mutators. Yikes!

I have my entire music collection on my iPod and the entire collection backed up to the iCloud. I can purchase music from iTunes with assurances it will not be lost with a HD or iPod crash. Using Play Lists and Genius, I’m now utilizing my entire music library. There are no more CDs cluttering up the stereo cabinet. The CD player is no longer needed. The CD’s have gone into storage.

I’m not purchasing books anymore. I’m not purchasing CDs anymore. Amazon.com is no longer in love with me.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Dig It!

2011-11-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

One of two raised garden planters

I built a garden this past week. Tuesday, the lumber was delivered for building raised planting beds and 64 cubic feet of topsoil. We live in a desert. The ground is either rock, or sand or both. Our property is mostly sand which is not particularly good for raising vegetables. I’m glad it’s not rock: that’s too difficult to dig in.

We also have an unusual pet that has run of the back & sides of the property. Tortuga is a 75-pound African Sulcata Tortoise, which is the third largest tortoise species. He’s a tank that lets nothing get in his way. He will walk through it or over it: walking around it is his last resort.

We used to have lovely plantings in the back & side gardens. Tortuga either tromped through or ate every plant in his way. I’ve experimented with ornamental plants trying to find ones he will ignore and leave alone. I’ve had little success.

For a plant to survive in Tortuga’s realm, it needs to be protected until it’s large enough to NOT be walked over or through. This brings me back to the lumber & topsoil being delivered.

Raised gardening beds are a must with Tortuga on the prowl. They need to be tall enough to discourage his climbing into them. The ones I built are approximately 11 inches tall. Each planting bed is 4 feet by 8 feet, which need 32 cubic feet of soil each. This solves my poor sandy soil issue, too! I’ll mix in a layer of topsoil with the sand to ease the transition between the strata of soils.

On Wednesday, I constructed the two planters. While I was leveling one planter, I noticed Tortuga exploring the other. He managed to pull himself up over one 2 x 6 layer and got hung up mid way. He couldn’t go forward. He couldn’t go backwards. He was stuck. Thankfully I was there to lift him off. He is inquisitive but he has a very small brain. How did these marvelous creatures survive for millions of years? I quickly realized I needed to complete both planters to prevent a repeat performance of Tortuga’s balancing act.

Friday, I turned and dug into the sandy soil, mixing it in with new potting soil. That 64 cubic feet of soil was a lot of work! Damn! My back was all out of whack… thank god for Pilates. I begged my instructor to go easy on me Friday afternoon.

Saturday, my husband & I headed over to Lowe’s Garden Center. I’d been asking him, “What do you want to plant in your new garden?” “Vegetables.” “OK!”

Doc filled a shopping cart with plants then into the trunk they went. We planted 7 tomato plants, 8 lettuce plants, 2 peppers, 4 pimento (why pimento???), dill, 4 zucchini, 4 cucumbers, basil, green onions, & Greek oregano. All were planted in two 4 feet by 8 foot planters.

So many plants in such small planters. Cozy. I am praying for a bountiful crop and wondering how all those plants will co-habitat in such tight quarters! Is that a tomato or a red pepper? Bite it & find out!

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Art & Friends

2011-10-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

For 7 months, I had been focused on creating an art piece for Burning Man. I was invited to participate in a project: Burning Time, the World’s Largest Working Timepiece. Forty artists created over sixty art pieces for the One Mile Clock. I created one panel for the clock – 4 ft by 6 ft.

I then volunteered to bring my artwork and work on the construction of the clock at Black Rock City. I received an early arrival pass which I now know is highly prized. This was my first time going to Burning Man. I have friends who have been going for years and have tried unsuccessfully to score an early entry pass. Perhaps I am blessed, or stupid. I think the latter is closer to the truth.

I arrived on Tuesday morning & spent the day setting up my camp: there was nothing for me to do on the clock. Wednesday; however, there was a lot to do! We dove into the construction project and worked 12-hours every day through that week. We worked our butts off that first week!

I worked primarily with the principle builder of the One Mile Clock clock towers. Arlen is a carpenter, 13 years younger than me yet he seems older and wiser than I ever expect to be. Arlen is a perfectionist who knows when to be a perfectionist and when to “let it go.”

After the first day working together, I began to anticipate his needs. I’d be connecting the nail gun to the power source, winding up the cord and getting ready to hand it up to Arlen about the time he’d say, “Jer! Hand me the nail gun!” Arlen would be rummaging around in his toolbox. I’d spot the screwdriver & hand it to him. “How the f**k did you know I needed that!” I don’t know… I just knew he was looking for that screwdriver. We worked well together.

Arlen is a seasoned Burner. This was my first Burn: I was a Burgin (Burner + Virgin = Burgin). I sensed that Arlen was truly at home in Black Rock City but was still holding back. But, that wasn’t my concern. I was workin’ my own experience processing all this new stimuli.

Arlen and I worked every day building that Clock. He told me much about his life and his girlfriend, Shannon. He brought tears to my eyes, the way he talked about her. I couldn’t wait to meet her.

Sunday evening, the gates to Black Rock City opened and Burners began to pour into Black Rock City. I didn’t see Arlen after Sunday morning and didn’t see him for several more days although I looked for him. I didn’t meet Shannon until near the end of that week. That was OK. They needed their time together. My Palm Springs friends had arrived and there was plenty to occupy my attention.

On the Saturday the Man was to burn, I was out on the Playa taking photographs of artwork installations. I turned around and there was Arlen! He was in his truck, doing maintenance on the One Mile Clock numbers. It was as if I was running into an old friend. We hugged & I asked Arlen about his reunion with Shannon.

Arlen apologized for not being around, that Shannon & he needed their space. He told me that he & Shannon were using their time at Burning Man to re-align their lives. He told me their story of addiction, how they’d hit bottom and how their Burning Man experience is pulling them through detox. I could tell this was difficult for Arlen to talk about. I offered assistance; whatever they needed. He told me I’d already done that by listening and being non-judgmental.

I pulled Arlen into a hug - thinking about yellow tutus and tiny top hats – and thanked him for being honest & including me in his life’s story. I said he & Shannon would be in my thoughts for good karma and, “Get your ass back to Center Camp and be with Shannon!” He smiled and drove off towards camp.

What do you do in situations like this? I took a swig of water, headed for the Temple of Transition and wrote a note on the wall sending Arlen & Shannon good thoughts.

I saw Arlen only once more that week: during the clean up of the Clock burn site, my last full day in Black Rock City. Three weeks later, I received a letter letting me know they were well, “ Burning Time and enjoying life.”

You never know from where friends come. Be well, my friends and welcome home.

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson

I Just Need a Hug

2011-10-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

Photo from the day of the Black Rock City Naked Pub Crawl

I arrived in Black Rock City on Tuesday, August 22^nd. I receive an early arrival pass for Burning Man to assist with building the One Mile Clock which is the world’s largest working time piece. On Tuesday, there was nothing for me to do which allowed me to set up my camp out on the fringes of Black Rock City.

On Wednesday morning, I arrived at center camp ready to work. My fist assignment was to remove the tie-downs from “that trailer” and get “those bicycles” off the trailer. There were two 20-foot sections of steel tower that needed to be moved out onto the Playa. They were buried under bicycles and securely strapped to the trailer.

As I’m studying the trailer trying to decipher the chains, straps and cinches holding the bicycles and equipment, I spotted a woman wearing a very short tu tu and nothing else walking towards me. Oh, she had a ridiculously small top hat pinned to her hair. And boots. She had on boots.

With outstretched arms and crying, she pulled me into a ferocious hug. She sobbed onto my shoulder. I wish I had worn a shirt. She cried and sobbed for several minutes, her chest heaving next to mine. All I could think was, “this is the first time EVER I’ve had a woman’s naked boobs pressed into my naked chest.” OK. I’m shallow.

I just held her as she cried. When the sobs subsided, I asked her if she was OK. She shook her head “yes” and then shook her head “no”. “I just need a hug,” she said, “I’ve had a very bad morning.”

She looked me in the eye, smiled, gave me a great big sloppy kiss and walked away. I never saw her again.

Welcome to Black Rock City!

Oh, and the woman in the photo? I have no idea who she is. I just had to get a photo with her since she had on the same ridiculous top hat.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Burning Man & Spider Man

2011-09-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Temple of Transition at sunset

It’s been a while since my last blog. Lots has happened. There’s still a lot for me to process. My Burning Man experiences are swimming around my head, so I’ll get one or two of those images out of my head and into print.

Thursday, August 25^th: after a day working on my Burning Man art project, the One Mile Clock, I was back in my camp out in the middle of nowhere. I was actually out on the edge of Black Rock City but it felt like the middle of nowhere. Four days before the gates opened to the general public, my area of the city was totally undeveloped. My nearest neighbor was over 10 blocks away.

From my camp, I could see all the way across the city where the Burning Man was standing on his pyramid. The Temple of Transition was visible off in the distance looking like a Salvador Dali painting. The sun was setting with the Playa dust playing havoc with the light. I was sitting there enjoying the sight, the sunset and a martini.

I had just finished washing 18 hours of accumulated Playa dust off my body and was enjoying dust free skin. It was relaxing: Ice cold martini, clean skin, the Burning Man glowing in the distance and the Temple of Transition glowing beyond the Man.

Out of nowhere, I hear, “So! How are you enjoying your Playa TV?”

I was so engrossed in the view, I didn’t hear him pull up. OK. I’m partially deaf. That could have had something to do with it. I’m just sayin’…

Without my noticing, a Cushman three wheeled vehicle pulled up next to me. A life sized Spider Man was mounted on the back of the Cushman. It looked like Spider man was humping the rear window. Question: Was Spider Man mounted or was the Cushman???

I burst out laughing. Playa TV! Perfect! And I’m watching the Playa like it’s the most engrossing TV show ever!

And you know? It was.

Spider Man and his Cushman driver drove off and I settled back into my camp chair waiting for the next program.

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

I Love Those Gaudi Things!

2011-08-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

( I wrote this blog in early July before we joined the RSVP Cruise. I neglected to post it! So, here it is - out of sequence.)

Doc & I spent three short nights in Barcelona. Most of that time was spent at tapas bars and, well, bars. In addition to traveling with Ronny & Hernan, we met up with friends from Cleveland; friends we’ve known for 20+ years. At the hotel we stayed at, we ran into even more people we know. And then we met more guys from the States.

Seems the Axel Hotel was/is a popular hotel stay to adjust to the time change (8 hours later than SoCal) and a great staging area for the RSVP cruises. Most of the guests staying at the Axel Hotel were booked on the RSVP cruise! In one evening, I met no less than 6 guys from Palm Springs!

With all the Yanks, it did not feel like Europe on the 8^th floor rooftop sun deck, bar and pool. If you looked through the glass railings, you would certainly know you were not in the USA. Only Europe has spectacular rooftops like these. English was the predominate language at the hotel: American English. There is a difference. It doesn’t often translate.

Yo no hablo Espanole, especially bar Spanish. Try ordering a dirty martini; up with extra olives and see what you end up with. Martini is a brand of vermouth and evidentially people DO order a glass of vermouth straight up or on the rocks with an olive or twist of lemon. The bartender thought I was an idiot. I SHOULD have ordered a DRY Gin Martini, dirty with extra olives. I sent it back and was duly chastised. It still came with a twist. I drank it anyway.

The highlight of our stay in Barcelona, for me, was our visit to Gaudi’s Sangrada Familia Church. I don’t know if it is considered a cathedral or just a church. Doesn’t the church need to be the seat of a Bishop in order to be called a cathedral? It’s been too many years. The building is absolutely stunning, none-the-less. And it’s not finished! Estimated completion date is about 2030.

Friends told me that the stained glass windows are being built and installed. For that alone, I wanted to see the church. I last saw the “work in progress” in 1987 or 88. Most of the roof was missing; everything was covered with dust. Although impressive, it was hard to get your head around Gaudi’s concept. There were all those marvelous towers with no point of reference. Only one of the façade’s was completed, but it was still jaw dropping stunning.

They’ve made great strides in the past 20+ years. The building is even more awe inspiring: the stained glass windows are spectacular. I’m guessing that only 25% of the windows are completed. Even so, they dramatically change the “feel” of the interior of the church. It is difficult to describe.

Check out the photograph above. Don’t the windows to the right of the pier give a warmth to the space and feel like a church? Where as the windows to the left of the pier feel stark and cold.

Even Doc was impressed with the space. He was impressed enough to say, “I’m going to sit over there with the other penitents and contemplate. Come get me when you’re done gawking.” I spent another 45 minutes taking it all in before collecting my contemplating penitent & dragging him down the crypt.

The crypt is currently a “museum” dedicated to the history of the building of the church. Lots of interesting history there and Doc was loving it, especially the films. That made me happy. And the crypt is huge! To date, there’s just one body in the crypt: Gaudi. I thought it interesting that he is interred directly behind a closed circuit TV monitor. What is the unintended message here? Is he watching us?

After 3 ½ to 4 hours wandering through Gaudi’s masterpiece, we headed back to the hotel & a bite to eat. Doc & I found a great tapas bar where we whiled away an hour outside on the sidewalk with our beers and assorted tapas thingies. We somehow manage to find these incredible tapas bars where we eat & drink our fill for the cost of one mixed drink at whatever hotel we happen to be staying at.

So, of course, we headed back up to the rooftop bar, sun deck and pool for an expensive cocktail before dinner. Hernan and Ronny were heading back to Ghent the next morning. Doc and I were joining up with the cruise the next morning. We planned an early dinner. An early evening in Spain means: before midnight.

Thank God for alarm clocks and wake up calls!

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson

London Calling

2011-07-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

House of Parliament, Big Ben and the London Eye from the Thames

This is the first time Doc & I have visited London without the jet lag battle. Generally, Doc is falling asleep over afternoon tea during the first few days of our London visits. This visit, Doc is also not haunting the house wide-awake at 2:00 AM. We’d been in Spain for two weeks and are well acclimated to the time change.

I sorely under-packed for London. I brought no cold weather clothes. I have a light jacket, t-shirts and shorts. I packed one pair of Levis: no long sleeved shirts. I did, thankfully, remember an umbrella. I did not need the swimsuit in London.

Doc & I generally visit London in autumn, winter or spring, not summer. This is our first summer trip to London. It is July! How cold can it get? It’s been cold and rainy. I don’t know if it’s been exceptionally cool this summer or if this is normal weather. It explains the pale pallor of the Brits and everyone’s comments about our having been on holiday.

I absolutely love London. It’s the one city in the world I’ve visited most often. I don’t know that I could actually LIVE permanently in London but I do love visiting. We generally stay with our dear friend, Peter. in Islington in a home older than the United States. The home is in also in better shape than the US, I’m afraid.

From Islington, we make our daily excursions into London. This year, we are traveling primarily by bus, as the Underground seems unusually crowed. I don’t know why. I enjoy the busses as it affords a view of London unavailable by tube. It’s rather like traveling the surface streets of LA instead of taking the freeways. You get to “see” the city.

Doc and I do our best to not be burdensome house guests. We are definitely NOT labor-intensive house guests. We are quite capable of entertaining ourselves during the day. Doc & I are off to museums, galleries and theater most every day. We meet up with our hosts for dinner often and make sure we top off the fridge with wine, milk, bread, cheese, pate, butter, etc.

We seem to have had more Asian food than usual: Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese: repeat often. We also made it to a great fish & chip shop in Islington (Central Fish) only to find out it is owned by the cousin of our neighbor in Palm Springs!

This blog was posted on Monday, July 25^th. We return to Palm Springs tomorrow. We need to be on the tube to Heathrow at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in order to check in on time. I’m ready to return home; it’s been a long trip with lots to do, see and friends to catch up with. Although it does not feel like it, we’ve been to four countries in two continents.

I hope I can still close that suitcase.

I’ll talk to you on the other side of the pond AND thank you for listening.

Jerry L. Hanson

Cruising

2011-07-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

Returning to the Nieuw Amsterdam in Tunis

In Barcelona, Doc & I joined up with the RSVP cruise on a Holland America Cruise ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam on July 9th. This one-week cruise of the Western Mediterranean was our primary reason for the month in Europe.

The beauty of a cruise is that you check into the “hotel” and take the hotel with you to all these marvelous places. We unpack our bags in the stateroom and then visited four countries on two continents over 7 days! And what a week it’s been! We left Barcelona, traveled to Tunis in Northern Africa, then on to Sicily then Rome then Florence & Pisa & Lucca with a last stop in Marseille, France before returning to Barcelona.

The ship is over 11 stories tall with a passenger capacity of 2,500 and a crew of over 900. That’s a lot of people in one space! Before our fist excursion, I was dreading the dis-embarkation process with so may people on board. Holland America has it figured out. We met at the designated meeting site and within 10 minutes 400 passengers were on busses and we were on our way. Easy.

The only day we skipped the excursions was the day we docked in Rome. Doc & I spent a week in Rome some years ago and decided it wasn’t worth the 3 hours ride into Rome on a bus in 100+ heat. Besides, we’d been up until well after 1 AM and that 7 AM departure for Rome was just too early. Our day aboard ship sitting around the pool, sipping Bloody Mary’s and/or G&T’s was far more relaxing.

Everyone who has taken a cruise on one of the large cruise ships goes on & on about the food aboard ship. And with good reason: it is amazing. There is food available somewhere aboard ship at any hour of the day. Breakfast is from 5AM until noon. Lunch is from noon until 5PM and dinner begins at 5PM and goes on until 10 or 11PM. Then there are deserts from 10PM until 1AM with the midnight breakfasts available from midnight until 5AM. If you go hungry, it’s your own damned fault.

I vowed to gain not one ounce while on vacation. I don’t think I did on the cruise; however, I’m not weighing myself until I get home. Often during breakfast, would have a bowl of cottage cheese and a cup or two of tea. “That’s all you’re eating?!?!” Doc would ask. “Yeah. I’m full,” I’d reply. Doc would scowl. Just because it’s “free”, you don’t have to eat everything! And, to be honest, we did pay for all that food if you look at the cost of the cruise. I still don’t have to eat it all. I was content with my portion. I did not go hungry.

I did have my moments. There was sushi at lunchtime and there was tomato, cucumber & shrimp salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. Lethal. I went back for seconds on both and then thirds. I admit to an urge to waddle. One dinner, I selected two starters and seconds on the gazpacho. I skipped desert to compensate. The food is good on the Holland America Line. Yes.

The entertainment was just as good as the food. We were entertained by Chita Rivera, Bruce Valanche, Rosemary Ashe, Amy & Freddy, and the amazing Holland America ensemble. We enjoyed Amy & Freddy, enough to go to all three of their shows. Doc & I saw Chita Rivera in a one woman show about 20 years ago. She is 76 yrs old today and her voice is still wonderful although she’s slowing down and no longer does those amazing kicks. Still, she is graceful and spry. I wish I could move as gracefully. Pilates can’t do everything…..

The week went incredibly fast. We had seven incredible days on the water with great weather and no rain. We met wonderful people and had a good time. I will admit to being glad to leave the ship just to catch up on my sleep!

We docked 24 hours ago. I still feel the rocking of the ship.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Don't Let the Rain Come Down!

2011-07-10T12:50:00.002-07:00

A month in Europe – Part II

Don't let the rain come down. Oh, No! Don't let the rain come down.... Remember that song?

We left Madrid this morning (Monday, July 4^th) catching the fast train to Barcelona. We transferred to a commuter train & arrived in Sitges just after 2:00PM. A short taxi ride later & we were in our seaside hotel, the Platjador. We are across the street from the beach. The only thing between us and the water (other than the road, of course) is a bar/restaurant. Convenient, no?

Madrid was a whirlwind of fun, alcohol and Madrid Pride. Everywhere we went in Madrid, we were told “Happy Pride”. At the local Mac Donald’s, we got a free Madrid Pride fan. It was unreal with virtually every shop displaying a rainbow flag or some other acknowledgement of Gay Pride.

On Saturday morning, Doc & I met Ronny & Hernan for breakfast. We got there early: 10:30AM. Yeah, that’s early for Madrid. Over breakfast, we discussed the day’s schedule. Ronny & Hernan needed to be to the Madrid Pride Parade staging area around 5 PM. Doc & I decided we needed to be on the parade route around 6PM to ensure a good seat. There were about 2 million visitors to Madrid for Madrid Pride. They were ALL going to the parade, right? We needed to get there early.

We walked the two blocks to the Calle Gran Via & found a great spot with a great view of the street. I noticed that there were not many spectators lined up along the street. Most of those we saw were strolling down the street towards the beginning of the parade route – about 10 blocks from where we’d staked out our seats. I began getting suspicious.

As the time for the parade’s beginning approached, the crowds grew. They took to the street crowding Calle Gran Via. Police cars & motorcycles patrolled the calle pushing the crows back. Still, Doc & I had plenty of room on the side of the street. I’m still suspicious. Something’s wrong.

Madrid, at 7:00 PM was hovering around 95F. The crowd was feeling the heat. I’m from Palm Springs. 95F is cool and comfortable. The crowd along the street is looking up towards the balconies overlooking Calle Gran Via. I’m clueless.

Without warning, a bucket full of water came flying over the balcony railing just to the left of us. The people sitting next to us were soaked. The crowd on the street was ecstatic. A chant of “Agua! Agua!” began.

I’m still clueless & I let the people above us know I was not pleased. The young woman indicated she wouldn’t drench me. Could I trust her?

Another shower rained down to the right of us. I then noticed water raining down from the balconies all along Calle Gran Via. A couple came and sat down next to us. The woman said to me, “Isn’t the water refreshing on such a hot day?”

I’ve always been a slow learner, but I’m beginning to catch on. The crowd is enjoying the cooling rain of water in the heat of the street. I’m already enjoying the cool 90 degree temperatures and the added “precipitation” is not cooling. It’s damp and cold!

I’m beginning to appreciate the fun the crowd is having both on the ground and above. The spectators directly above us are honoring the request of the Yanqui grumpus below them. Water rains down to the right & the left of us. I decided to walk out to the center of the street to see if I could take a picture of the “rain”.

Before I could even turn on the camera, a bucket of water was poured off the balcony directly above us, right on to Doc’s head! A young man three floors up is giving me a huge shit-eating grin. I wanted so badly to laugh: if I did, Doc would never forgive me. I gave the guy a bug grin and a thumbs up…...

Doc was soaked through to his undies. He dumped the water out of his boat shoes and scowled at me as if I’d planned it!

I didn’t get a photo.

While Doc walked the two blocks back to the hotel to dry off & change, I loosened up, dropped the Yanqui attitude and enjoyed the parade. Happy, Pride, Madrid!

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Packing

2011-07-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

On June 27^th, my husband and I took off for Europe. We will be visiting three or four countries over a four-week period. I’m calculating we will have to pack/unpack about six times in four weeks. That’s less than a week in any one place.

My ideal vacation is to spend the entire time in one place. My husband’s preference? Pack as many stops into a vacation as humanly possible. We’re at an impasse here already.

This month-long trip began as a one-week cruise in the western Mediterranean. As Doc researched flights to & from Europe, the itinerary expanded. OK, we are using airline miles so that does require some flexibility in scheduling. Every day brought a new “issue”. “You know,” Doc said, “as long as we are flying all that way, we should visit Peter in London.” “OK,” I said, “It would be nice to visit Peter.”

A week later, Doc tells me our friend in Ghent is visiting Madrid for Gay Pride. “Wouldn’t it be great to go to Gay Pride in Madrid with Ronny & Hernan?” “Yeah, that would be nice,” I say. I add, “I don’t want to spend the entire summer away from Palm Springs.”

A week later, Doc informs me that, “Ronny & Hernan are going to Sitges after Gay Pride. I told them we’d go with them.” “WHAT??!?”

Our trip is expanding rapidly.

I put my foot down when the trip expanded to 7 weeks. “You can stay in Europe for the entire summer. Just book my flight back to Palm Springs before the end of July! I’d rather leave Palm Springs when it’s cold!”

So now I’m packing for a month in Europe with six pack/unpacks. I’m taking one medium sized suitcase and trying to cover all contingencies. We’re going to nude beaches. We’re dining at an upper crust club in London. We’re going to Gay Pride in Madrid. We’re going on a week-long cruise with 2,500 other gay men. How does one possibly pack for all this in a smallish suitcase?

I packed my suitcase. I had to use that handy expansion zipper to get the suitcase closed. That did not bode well. It meant I could not possibly purchase one souvenir in Europe without adding a second suitcase. Not good.

I took out all those items I’d packed. I counted the t-shirts – 15. I pulled 8 of them & returned them to the dresser. Next were shorts – 6 pair. I returned 3 to the dresser. Did I really need 8 tank tops? Six are staying home. Same with socks: I don’t need 12 pair. Four should do it. My suitcase is remarkably thin! I took out 6 of the 12 collared shirts. They DO have laundry service in hotels and aboard ship, no?

One pair of casual shoes will have to do along with only one swimsuit and one pair of sandals. I don’t know these guys on the cruise. Why do I really care if anyone sees me in the same lousy swimsuit or shorts day after day? I’m going for a good time, not to impress anyone with my fabulous wardrobe.

My suitcase is now down to BELOW 50 pounds with room to spare for any souvenirs I just cannot live without!

Doc was complaining about his suitcase being too small. “Since yours is so empty, can you carry my three pair of dress shoes?”

Bon Voyage!

Mercado de San Miguel

2011-07-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

I’m in Spain as I type this: Madrid to be specific. My husband and I are on a month vacation to Europe. We left the US on my 62^nd birthday and I spent my birthday doing two of Doc’s all time favorite things: sitting in first class lounges and flying. He thought he’d died & gone to heaven. I had no illusions: this was NOT heaven.

We met up in Madrid with Ronny, a dear friend from Ghent & his partner from New York, NY, USA. How many bi-continental couples do YOU know????

We are starting our month attending Madrid Pride, one of Europe’s largest & wildest Pride events with about 2 million attendees. Yesterday, we attended the Pride Parade down on Calle Gran Via. I think more than 2 million came out for the parade. The parade began at 6PM and was not over until well after midnight. Madrid KNOWS how to party! And party we did!

But I am getting ahead of myself.

We arrived three days before the Pride Parade & met up with Ronny at the airport. Hernan arrived two days later from New York City.

Ronny showed Doc & me the sights of Madrid from his point of view. We visited his favorite haunts and squares. We had a great time. In addition to learning that “Happy Hour” begins at 11AM in Madrid AND that lunch is around 4 PM with dinner on the far horizon of 10PM, I discovered the necessity of the siesta.

What I really want to talk about in this blog is our discovery of the Mercado de San Miguel. We made a point to be there for our mid day meal three days running. The Mercado is an old market place that’s been rehabbed into a trendy food court. Think of a tapas bar with separate food stations. The place is not huge but it is large: seven isles of delicious. There is everything from specialty olives to Kobe steak and caviar to sardines.

Three days running, we met up at Mercado de San Miguel, securing a table and fanning out assembling our feast. The first day, we had an incredible tapas meal of olives, pork sausages, squid, a plate of 10 different cheeses and wine.

On day two, we limited ourselves to olives, grilled steak, caviar and wine. Would “limited” be the correct word? It was an incredible meal. Decadent & delicious

Hernan arrived from New York and the four of us met up at the Mercado for another incredible meal. Again, we had wine, olives and sausages. We added the 10 cheeses and a mushroom dish. We experimented again with the fish. It was a successful, delicious experiment! We added a second bottle of wine to “clean up”.

After these meals, we would either venture into the “ghetto” for the evening or return our hotel for a siesta. We are on day 5 in Madrid… I opt for the siesta.

As incredible as our tapas lunches have been at the Mercado, they pale in comparison to our dinners!

Will you believe me if I tell you I’m watching what I eat?

As always, THANK you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Dog Tags

2011-06-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a while back that my niece gave me the idea of making ceramic dog tags as gifts for Burning Man. I thought it an excellent idea and as I have access to a kiln, it seemed easily do-able. To make it simple, I made a stamp to stamp them out. I roll out a slab of clay and go to town stamping my design in the soft mud. Then I cut them out.

In a 4-hour session, I can roll, stamp and cut several hundred dog tags. I began making them in February & now have about 1,000 made up. To keep it even simpler, I left them unglazed but used various oxides to color the white clay.

I was sitting in Open Studio making several hundred dog tags one Friday and my introvert’s brain began telling me, “These things are really stupid. No one’s going to want one of these things!”Yikes! Self-doubt crept into the room. What was I doing?

The following Saturday, I showed them to my friend Sy. Sy is painfully honest: tells the truth no matter how brutal it may be. And he has good taste, too! Sy looked at my bucket of hundreds of dog tags and exclaimed, “I want one! I want one now!” So I strung it up on a length of hemp and he’s been wearing it ever since.

He reports back whenever he gets a compliment. Sy & I are in Pilates class three days a week and in every class he’s telling me about another compliment received. Yesterday, another friend begged me for one & immediately tied it around his neck.

Self-doubt has been chassed from the room.

One Monday, during virtual cocktails with our friends in Seattle, Garret asked, “So, Jer, are these dog tags you’re making like for a dog or like a military dog tag?” Now, that never occurred to me! I call them dog tags only because I used my military dog tags as a reference for size. And, yes, I still have my USAF dog tags issued to me in 1970.

I now have a box of 1,000 Burning Man dog tags individually strung up and ready for Burning Man. I’ve been talking with a veteran burner who’s giving me pointers on the protocol for giving. I appreciate Jim’s advice. I don’t want to just “hand them out”. There should be purpose behind the giving of gifts.

Today, I was thinking about the money I’ve put into making these dog tags, not that THAT would stop me. Breaking it all down, it comes to about 3 cents each. That doesn’t include my time/labor.It is certainly affordable and I’m now wondering why I made only 1000 of them!

Chelsea, that was an excellent suggestion!

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Why Hike

2011-06-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I love to go hiking in the hills that surround the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs. Sometimes, my love of hiking clouds my thinking.

Last week, I received an e-mail notice from one of my hiking groups. Steve wrote: “Celebrate the Summer Solstice. It may be heating up in the Valley, but up Highway 74 temperatures are still in the 70's…” I’m suckered in & reply that “Yes! Of course I’ll go! See you there!

Today being the Summer Solstice, I notice Palm Springs temps are expected to be 113F and I’m supposed to go on a hike. As I’m driving to the usual meeting point, I realize I can always back out. I committed to show up but did not commit to actually, like, hike. Several of the other hikers had this same thought.

Our group leader reminded us that the temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees cooler in those elevations. Well, OK! Let’s go! We did not stop to think: 10 to 15 degrees cooler than 113 is still hovering around the 100F mark! Ah, well, I have my 2-liter camelback, a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a baggie of M&M’s.

We drove the 22 miles out of Palm Desert up into the hills along State Hwy 74. We parked in the convenient parking lot near the Elk’s Club and Cactus Canyon. Sixteen of us headed into the canyon: beautiful blue skies, warm weather and sun-caressed skin.

In my infinite wisdom, I had decided to wear my new Doc Marten boots – to break them in for Burning Man. These boots are way cool. All leather, steel toe, water proof and just too cool looking. Thirty minutes into the hike, I notice my feet are on fire. These damned boots are hot as hell! They don’t breathe. There’s no air circulation. And I’m working on a blister on my right heel. What was I thinking???

We’re hiking in a spectacularly beautiful canyon. The yucca is in in full bloom. There is brittle brush past their bloom tempting us with seedpods. The Manzanita’s red bark is just too beautiful. We’re hiking down hill most of the way into the canyon but I’m distracted by the flora.

We hiked 2.5 miles down to Horse Thief Creek. The trail is well maintained and clearly marked. Steve, our guide, spent much of last year creating the trails we hiked. Clearly, he loves this area of Cactus Canyon. We hiked down 2.5 miles and 900 feet into the canyon to the creek where we stopped for lunch.

This was the turn-around point. We lingered for an hour & a half. Most of the guys took a dip in the river to cool off. My refrigerator is set at a higher temp than the creek. I decided NOT to freeze off various sensitive body parts. I hung out on one of the huge boulders soaking up the heat & sun.

And then it was time to head back. Sixteen guys, just finishing lunch, drinking our share of water: time to walk back up the hills – 900 feet of hill. It was 1:30 PM; the sun is high in the sky, We are an older group of men. OK! We’re old farts with a median age of 55 or better. This hike back was no easy task.

I imagine the Butana Death March felt much like this. Several of our group are not seasoned hikers. The hike in took about 90 minutes: the hike out too more than twice that long.

I have COPD… There I’ve said it. I have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Twelve years ago I quit smoking after 32 years and it’s taken its toll on my lungs. I did it to myself. So, if you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start! This brought to you by the American Cancer Association…

I have lots of strength. I have little stamina. I can pick up & move 5 tons of rock: just not all at one time! Space it out over the day & I’m OK. Same with the walk back UP the 900-foot rise. I needed breaks along the way: along with Mark and John and Jay and Joe. To complicate matters, they ran out of water. You do NOT want to run out of water on hike in 100-degree weather.

We plodded on stopping in the shade as it presented itself. Why do you not notice there are few shady spots on the way down?

We all made it back to the parking lot and our cars AND more WATER by 3:30PM. I had another three bottles of water in my truck and thankfully drank one down even though it had the heat of tea without the Earl Gray.

This is not the first time I’ve been on hikes with these guys. This is not the first time several of our group had difficulties hiking back from the turn-around-point. Why do we do this???

We go on these hikes because we still can. It may be difficult but we can do it. Jay had a rogue virus 6 years ago and was paralyzed from the waist down. He had to learn how to stand up; how to walk; how to use the bathroom;. Mark nearly died of HIV, and through modern medicine his life has changed. John is 75 years old, healthy and determined. I have COPD and refuse to let it stop me. We go and support one another. We can do this.

These hikes are a bitch and I love them. If I can do these hikes, I can do pretty much anything.

Oh, and those M&M's? They melted into a messy glob at the bottom of my backpack.

Thank you for listening.

Jerry L. Hanson

Camping in Yucca Valley: Part III

2011-06-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

The last time I went camping was in 1977 or 78: just me and my dog, Zeke. We used to take off across the desert with a backpack for me & saddle bags for Zeke. As Zeke ate his kibble, I off loaded my stuff into his saddle bags. Hey! He’s a dog! What did he know? He loved it.

Forty-plus years later, I’m going camping again. This time I had a truck loaded with supplies. How can you go camping without that portable iPod speakers? Or an eight-man tent for two? Or a down comforter? Sheesh!

We went camping at Star Struck. The name sounds idyllic. Names and places are often not in synch. At this campsite, the stars were definitely the draw. (Read my prior two blogs to catch up, if you’ve not already.) Steven & I retired to our spacious, luxurious accommodations after an evening of gin rummy, dinner and two bottles of wine. OK, we drank three bottles of wine if you count lunch.

The wind had kicked up while we were playing cards and having dinner. The wind was howling by the time we returned to our tent. The tent was holding up to the wind and performing admirably. AND it was cold. We hung a spotlight from the center point of the tent and placed other on each “night table”. The tent was aglow with warm light.

Then we dove under the down comforters for warmth. We talked for what seemed like hours. “Hey, Steven. What time is it?” “9:30….” “That’s ALL??” We both dozed off. I dozed off… Steven is a light sleeper. He didn’t doze off.

I awoke with a start and a bladder in need of emptying. Steven was still awake. The lanterns were still alight. The tent seemed alive. It felt as if we were inside a living, breathing being. The tent’s walls were expanding. Contracting. Expanding. Eerie

“I gotta pee.”

“Me too.”

“It’s cold out.”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet the stars are incredible.”

“Let’s go.”

We did. The stars were incredible! We identified the Big & Little Dippers, Orin’s belt and others Steven knew. The lights were also on in the neighbor’s cabin. Curtains open. Yikes! Back into the tent and the warmth under the down covers.

I fell asleep. I can always fall asleep. Although, I woke often during the night to the breathing of the tent and the wind. Canvas tents don’t’ make much noise. These modern nylon/plastic tents make a hell of a racket. I’m half deaf. If it can wake ME up, I can only imagine how noisy this tent was! Did I say Steven is a light sleeper?

I woke again with the tent aglow with dawn’s light. I knew I was awake for the day. You know, it’s the type of awake where you just know you’ll not roll over for another 30 minutes of shut-eye. The kind of awake where you just gotta get up & moving.

Steven was awake. “So, What would you like to do this AM?” I asked. There was a brief pause. “I want to break camp & have breakfast in the truck on the way back to Palm Springs.”

I volunteered to head up to the kitchen with the tea kettle to boil water for our tea while we packed up. That done, we packed up our belongings, carried it all up to the truck, stuck the tent & folded it up in the howling wind. It was an excellent exercise in folding up that tent. We were able to get it down, folded up and stowed in its bag within 15 minutes! AND in howling winds! We froze our butts off in the process. Thankfully the sun was warm.

We were up at 7:55 AM and on the road back to Palm Springs by 10 AM. We dissed Star Stuck campgrounds all the way back to Palm Springs. We both agreed the experience was fun and “trying”. I gained a lot of useful information about my camping gear. Steven lost a lot of sleep.

That evening, Steven & I talked on the phone. “You know, Jer, that campsite just might be fun if you went with a group of guys you knew.” “So, Steven, are you saying you’d be willing to go again?” “Yeah. It was kinda fun in a weird kind of way.” “I know what you mean. The desert there is stunning!” “We did have a good time.”

Is that why the place is called Sun Struck?

Star Struck

2011-06-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

The view from our campsite

Last week, I talked about my idyllic camping trip to Star Struck, a 10-acre campground in Yucca Valley. The surrounding landscape is breath taking, wild and relatively untouched by man. Yeah, there are houses dotting the landscape but for the most part, it is untouched.

Steven, my camping buddy, and I pitched the tent on flat piece of ground a bit removed from Sun Struck’s infrastructure. We had a wide-open view of the surrounding mountains and could see for miles and miles. There was only one Sun Struck structure visible from our camp sight. We count our blessings.

After our simple lunch of turkey sandwiches, potato salad and chips, we decided it was time to head out into the countryside. We had pitched our tent along the pathway down to the valley below. Our tent became the reference point for our hike: if we can see our tent, we know where we are. And at times, the tent was several miles away.

Walking down into the wash, I felt as if I was walking back in time. There were no telephone poles. No roads. No tire tracks anywhere we could see. We could see our tent off in the distance but there were few other traces of man. OK, you cannot ever get away from the jet contrails. There were contrails.

We followed animal trails through the brush. We watched jackrabbits nibbling flowers. We frightened a bevy of quail: two adults and about 15 chicks. We watched Red Tailed Hawks circling overhead. We did not see Rattler Snakes, thankfully!

The desert is in full bloom this time of year. The creosote bushes were covered in yellow blossoms and the honeybees were in full attendance. Steven is allergic to honey bee stings. We retreated. I carefully avoided stepping on any of the plants blanketing the desert floor. At times, it was impossible.

After about two hours hiking in the sun, we were ready to head back to base camp. We could still see our tent off across the arroyo. We set our course and began the return trek. If you have ever hiked in the wide-open deserts of California or Arizona, you will know that it is impossible to walk in a straight line to that point off in the distance. There are just too many impediments in your way.

The hike back was nearly as long as the hike out. Sounds like a no brainer…. However, on the hike out, you’re meandering up the hill, smelling the flowers, backtracking, photographing one other, the rock formations and the plants. On the hike back you’re making a straight line for camp. Screw this meandering crap! You want to get back to camp and a martini.

That “straight line” back to camp slogs through the erosion gullies, cholla cactus patches, steep hills and cats claw shrubs. The Cholla cactus and cats claw shrubs should warn you off if the unstable terrain doesn’t. Especially if you are hiking textile free. We took the meander trail back to base camp.

We loved the hike. It was stunningly beautiful. It was sunny and warm. It was exhausting. I needed a drink.

It was too early for dinner so we grabbed a bottle of wine, chips, salsa, a deck of cards and headed to the multi-purpose room. The tent site was hot with no shade and the wind was kicking up. The communal kitchen was being used and we figured the dinning room would be occupied soon after. The multi-purpose room was cool and it was empty.

Empty is a relative term. There were tables and counters and couches and bookcases. Every horizontal surface of the multi-purpose room was covered with…. I don’t know what it was covered with…. dreck? It was just junk; bits of this and bits of that. Ok, it was trash. One could have swept it all into the trash can and no one would have been the wiser.

We cleared off a 3 ft by 6 ft folding table. We washed the surface of the table. We washed it again. We set out our chips & dip and cracked the bottle of wine. Steven dealt the first hand of Gin Rummy after we’d spend 20 minutes talking about how to play the damned game. That settled, we talked, laughed, drank and munched on those corn chips & dip. We had a grand time. And we played Gin Rummy not keeping score or worrying about who was winning.

At about 8:00 PM we realized we’d not prepared our dinner. Back to the tent, we trekked. We gathered up our dinner “stuff” and headed back to the multi-purpose room. Steven had prepared an incredible meal of basil pesto chicken, herb sautéed green beans and salad. Camp may have been squalor, our meal was not. It was yummy.

We dined, drank the third bottle of wine and cleaned up after ourselves leaving no trace – other than an unusually clean and empty table. We headed back to camp. The wind was howling and the air temperature had dropped about 30 degrees.

We had another embarrassing moment walking past our closest neighbor’s window. We’ll not go there,.

The tent was a welcoming sight. We dove through the tent flap & zipped up the windows and doors, sealing ourselves in for the night. We turned on our lanterns, which gave a warm, diffused light. We crawled into bed snuggling down into the warmth of down & flannel. And then we talked into the wee hours of the night. No horror stories, though.

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson

Camp It Up!

2011-05-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

I’m headed to Black Rock City for Burning Man this year. Have I told you this? This isn’t new information, is it?

Anyway, my friend, Steven, called me a month or so ago and told me I needed to take my camping gear on a practice run before heading out to the playa. Absolutely every piece of camping equipment I have is brand spanking new. Steven doesn’t want that new equipment to spank ME. My new tent had never even been unwrapped. I had no idea what color it was.

I thought it was a good idea. “Great,” he says, “Lets go camping!” We decided Memorial Day weekend would be good; lots of other campers taking advantage of the sun & warm weather and it was a long weekend. We found what sounded idyllic: private camp ground – Sun Struck – It is clothing optional with the wide open deserts to hike through, communal kitchen facilities, showers, etc. The website looked great with verdant, peaceful looking campsites.

I called & made a reservation for one night with the option for a second night. I modified my Burning Man list (read last blog) for this trip, culling out all the unnecessary items like a solar shower, bicycle, wild Burning Man costumes. I shared my list with Steven to see if I’d neglected anything.

He laughed. OK, I will admit my list is a bit OCD-ish. His only comment: “Honey, I thought you would have at the least put it into alphabetical order! AND you forgot the tent stakes.”

“Um… no, they are on the list. See? Rebar stakes, tent.”

“OK,” he says, “if a towel is a towel, hand or towel, bath, then the damned stakes should be stake, tent, rebar!”

“Yeah. He’s right. Now I need to re-do my Burning Man list.”

We did our food shopping on Friday. Next morning, I picked Steven up at 8 AM. We packed up Steven’s gear and off we went to Yucca Valley and Sun Struck, our idyllic campground out in the wide-open space that is California.

We arrived at the Sun Sturke gate - at the very end of a long corduroy dirt road. The directions were clear: enter through the gate and bear left at the old tractor.

Sounds clear, but, which of those old rusted out hulks was a tractor? We made a guess and arrived at a building Jedd Clampett would have been proud to own when he was still shootin’ for some grubb.

There were supposed to be cabins. All we saw were those 8 x 10 garden sheds from Home Depot. They were set about the grounds without rhyme or reason. Oh… those WERE the cabins! And those trailers sitting cockeyed by one flat tire? Those were the other accommodations! Thank god we brought our tent and booze!

We checked in. Our host looked absolutely comfortable in these surroundings. Scary thought.

We asked where we should pitch our tent. “Oh, just about any where.” We looked around. Just about anywhere looked undesirable. We asked if we could camp off a bit from the center of the grounds. Yep. Clem took us on a tour of the property. Clem pointed out the sites: “That there’s the spa. No one can figure out how to turn it on. You’re welcome to use it.” “Don’t camp there. cuz there’s a leak in the septic system somewhere over there.” “There’s the garden spot. We’re trying to save that there tree what fell over 5 years ago.”

We settled on a spot around a hillock from center camp. The only building in sight was the only occupied guest cabin. The interior of the cabin was taken up by a huge king size bed. We could tell because that side of the cabin was a sliding glass doors that remained uncovered and open the entire time we were there. That door/window WAS the end wall of the cabin. Small. We had to walk right by that open sliding glass door every time we headed towards the main buildings. It got to be embarrassing. I think the occupant enjoyed it. Sun Struck.

We pitched the tent. It took 10 minutes to erect a 12 foot by 16 foot tent. From unzipping the tent bag to driving the last stake: 10 minutes. Our view (other than the show going on in the cabin) was of the wide-open valley. Stunning view, in that direction. We had our camp chairs out, beds made up and gear sorted out by 11:30 AM.

Camp was set. We ate a simple leisurely lunch and were ready to explore and hike the surrounding landscape. We zipped up the tent and took off to explore. I’ll continue my story next week.

Oh, the tent is green & gray. The photo is my tent pitched next to some sort of sculpture. At least I think that’s what it is.

As always, thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson.

Musak to My Ears, Those Liszt....

2011-05-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Had I’d known about Burning Man 40 years ago, I would have checked for gas money and taken off for Black Rock City thinking I would pick up the “crap I need” on the way. And I would have been perfectly happy and content. I would have had a great time.

Not today.

I’m older, but not necessarily wiser. I’m going to Burning Man this year. That’s probably NOT a wise decision. I’m over 60 years old, for crying out loud! I need more assurance than enough gas money. I need a list…

That list protects me. I check it daily – yes, you’re right; I’m not heading out to Black Rock City for a few more months. What’s your point? I need to know what I need to take and I need to know what I’m taking. The list is fine tuned daily as I accumulate the “crap I need”.

Forty years ago, I used a hatchet to pound in tent stakes, chop fire wood AND open the Pork & Beans. Today, I pack a rubber mallet, a 3-pound hammer, can opener and cork screw. No hatchet. Swiss Army knives are so out of vogue these days. I tossed one into the tool bag none-the-less.

Forty years ago, my tent was a pup tent: a flap of oiled canvas, two 3-foot poles, rope and 6 stakes. No floor; open on both ends. It worked and kept me dry. Sometimes.

Youth and ignorance seem to protect the young: I’m not so hardy these days. I have a real tent for Black Rock City which requires its own subheading on my list. It documents everything I need for this tent including tennis balls and clothes pins. There are fifteen separate entries under “tent.” I’m not sure it’s complete.

My list has over 160 line items. My mentors, Joe & Bill, have nearly 1,000 items on their list! I figure I’m roughing it. Last evening, I ordered a solar charger for my iPhone, MacBook Pro, camera and Nano. I need to remember to add those items to my list along with the music to bring. Franz Liszt is an obvious choice. It’s rough.

This excursion to Black Rock City may be the most challenging trip I’ve taken in my 62+ years. I’m looking forward to new experiences and challenges. I’m looking to re-connecting with that 22-year old geek who could take off for a weekend with a few cans of beans and a case of beer to explore the unknown. And I plan to have the time of my life!

While I’m obsessing about Burning Man, check out my web site at www.JerryLHanson.com . Contact me if you see something you like.

Contact me if you want to buy one of my pieces or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind!

Lastly, I apologize to any lovers of classical music or of Franz Liszt. I couldn’t resist the word play.

And thanks for listening!

Jerry L. Hanson

Now, Read This...

2011-04-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

This was an eventful weekend. Or, shall I say, a weekend full of events? We had a house full of out of town guests. We attended the dedication of our new Synagogue building, theatre at the Mark Tapor Forum and my book club evening. All this in two days.

I belong to a book club that has been around for about 16 years. I’ve been a member for 14 of those years. I initially joined to broaden my reading experiences.

The vast majority of the members of this book club are physicians. Initially, I was one of only two non-physicians. Even today, there are only 3 or four non-physicians. Their busy practices mean they have limited free time to read. We meet every other month to give every one an opportunity to complete the book.

For me, that meant that I would have read at least 6 more novels by the time we met to discuss the chosen tome. I often re-read the novel to refresh my memory for the characters and the plot.

Over the years the format of the discussion groups has changed.

In the early days, we met at someone’s home. We still do. However, what began as a Saturday afternoon discussing a novel over cheese, crackers and wine, developed into an evening sit-down dinner.

What began as a discussion of a novel, changed to include wine tasting with vintages chosen based on the novel. A novel set in France guaranteed French wines. I had some difficulty picking a wine when we read “Little Dorrit.” I took Sherry.

About 5 years ago, someone had the brilliant to idea to select a movie for discussion in addition to the novel and wine tasting. The difficulty level increased significantly.

We were to read a novel, watch a selected movie that somehow related to the novel AND select a wine that had some connection to both the movie and the novel.

That poor novel was often left un-discussed after 14 members tasted bottles 14 wine. I am not a moviegoer. I do not have a palette for wine. Often, I did not see the selected film and I don’t enjoy wine tastings. I enjoy wine. I cannot taste the damned apricot or smell the soil of the Rhone Valley. I’ve been to the Rhone Valley: smells just like dirt.

I stopped participating in the book club. I continued to read the selections. I always welcome a suggestion for a novel or author I’ve not read. I continued to make suggestions for the next meeting. I just didn’t attend the discussions.

I missed my friends. I missed that bi-monthly event where we could all get together outside of work, let loose and have a good time. That was a revelation. This incredibly busy group of physicians scheduled one evening every other month just for this purpose.

The book was the catalyst for bringing everyone together. And isn’t that why I initially joined: to widen my experiences; to break out of my normal routine. I began attending again. I read the book and if we didn’t discuss it, that was OK. I was spending time with friends, friends I seldom see other than at the book discussions.

Oh! The book we read for Saturday’s discussion was “A Thing of Beauty” by Steve Martin. The play at the Mark Tabor was “Burn This.” I don’t know what movie we were supposed to watch and I have no idea what wines we drank…

I can’t wait to hear what the next reading selection will be! And, I’m bringing a wine totally unrelated to the novel just to see if anyone notice and mess with their minds. They’re physicians; it’s easy.

Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com. Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my works or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind.

And thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson

Blood, Sweat & Tears (of Joy)

2011-04-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

I have two things dueling for my attention these days: Synagogue Art and Burning Man. The past several weeks have been about creating art for my synagogue. Burning Man is on the back burner, so to speak.

I’ve been in Los Angeles nearly every weekend since the end of February working collaboratively with my artist friend, Davi. She and I have worked together creating art since 1997. I love this woman! However, we are both married to a wonderful man & woman. We even celebrate our anniversaries 10 days apart – same number of years too!

So, Davi and I have been building the Eternal Light for the sanctuary. I’ve written about our process several times. I spent several weekends cutting large panes of glass into one-inch squares: about three thousand of them. It’s the kind of mindless Zen process I enjoy. It’s a meditative exercise for me.

It’s not unusual for Davi to slap me up side the head saying, “Jerry! We needed 20 of that color. You’ve cut about 200. Stop!”

We began constructing the light last weekend. Our goal was to complete it this weekend. Actually, that was MY goal. Davi’s goal was to complete it by 4:00 PM Saturday. She is a bit more OCD than I.

I arrived in LA Saturday at 9:30AM and we were in the studio working by 10:00 AM. At 10:45 AM I cut a piece of glass and sliced my finger open. The cut wasn’t “bad”. It wasn’t deep: it didn’t require stitches. It just wouldn’t stop bleeding. I was leaking all over the place. I wrapped a paper towel around my finger & kept working with Davi scolding me for “turning everything red.”

I managed to cut myself three more times before we completed the Eternal Light. Yeah. I’m a klutz, sometimes.

We finished the glass portion at 8:00 PM Saturday with Davi reminding me several times that we’d missed “our” goal.

We missed Davi’s goal, but not dinner. We closed up the studio in record time and were sitting down to dinner within 15 minutes. I crawled into bed exhausted at 9:30.

Sunday morning, I was up & showered by 6 AM. Davi was up early, too. We were both outside admiring our work in the sunlight. Natural sun through art glass is bliss. We walked around and around our work until we were both dizzy & teary eyed. We are both pleased with our work. Can I say that? Yes! I love what we created!

I glued in the light fixture and once the glue dries, I can attach the hanging mechanism and deliver the Eternal Light for installation. The building dedication is next Sunday.

And now we are onto our next project: making the mezzuot for the building. Rabbi Edwards asked us to make one. Somehow, it’s morphed into 20. Knowing me, we’ll end up making 50. It’s a Zen thing.

On a different subject, I‘m offering a couple of special deals on my artwork. I have pricing for most budgets – check them out here: http://dld.bz/KxWff. Contact me if you see something you like and please visit the rest of my website while you are there. Take a look at my artwork. And, while you’re checking things out at http://dld.bz/KxWf, sign up for my Newsletter. Add some spice to your reading life….

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Playa Bike Bling

2011-03-28T01:01:00.000-07:00

The first thing I got for my trip to Black Rock City (BRC) was a bicycle. It seems to be on the top of every Burner’s “Must Have” list. So, that was my first Burning Man supply item. And then, I learn I need to trick it out.

This is my first trip to Burning Man and this bike thing had me stumped. “Can’t I just write my name on it?” Apparently not. Even the Burning Man Survival Guide says, “… decorate your Bike and the more lights, the better.”

With no city lights in BRC, being seen after dark and seeing others is an issue. So I now have front lights that go bright to BRIGHT and a rear lights that flash white & red lights in 4 different combinations. I got LED spoke lights that turn the spinning wheels into light discs.

The lights take care of the night but not the daylight hours. I want to be able to spot my Huffy Beach Cruiser easily among the plethora of bikes on the Playa. I’m SURE I won’t have the ONLY green Huffy on the Playa.

I got my Craig’s List bike checked out for Playa-worthiness. The brakes work, the handle bar is now perpendicular to the wheel and frame. I replace the old sticky plastic seat. Who or what sat on that thing to get it that sticky? On second thought, I’d rather NOT know…. And I had a basket mounted up front.

I still have months to ponder a carrier over the back wheel & fender. Yeah! The bike has its original shiny chrome fenders! Cool! I have a bell and the lights I mentioned earlier. Still: not enough Playa Bling. I’m an artist. It should not be this difficult.

I took a virtual stroll through the 2010 Burning Man Year Book looking specifically at bicycles. They pretty much run the gamut from Ho-Hum Boring to Holy Crap Cool! Then it hit me: my art is recycled junk. I didn’t have to look any further than my studio, my own artwork!

I’d made a shower screen from tin can lids. I made a room divider from Tomato Juice cans. I use soda can tabs in my artwork. There must be a way to incorporate some of these materials.

I experimented with chainmail inserted in the frame opening. The attaching wire was more prominent than the chainmail itself. Reject.

I experimented with jump rings and soda can tabs attached to the handlebars and frame. It was not very visible and very boring. Reject.

And then I spotted the basket. There was the perfect place! I am proficient using an ice pick to poke holes in tin lids and make jump rings from scrap wire: the idea is to recycle. I embellished the lids with soda can tabs. I used a couple hundred tin can lids and even more tab tops. I attached tin can lids to the basket in a design pleasing only to me.

I took my newly decorated bike for a test spin. I thought I’d be jangling and clanging all over the place. I was surprised! It sounded more like falling rain. I was reminded of the Apache Burden Basket: they have leather fringes with a tin cone at the end of each fringe. They, too, sound like falling rain. I cannot sneak up on anyone day or night!

Now I’m rethinking that back carrier. Can I incorporate more tin can lids on the back of the bike? Hmmmm… You can never have enough bling!

While I’m obsessing about Burning Man, I‘m also offering a couple of special deals on my artwork. I have pricing for most budgets – check them out here: http://dld.bz/KxWff. Contact me if you see something you like and please visit the rest of my website while you are there. Take a look at my artwork. And, while you’re checking things out at http://dld.bz/KxWf, sign up for my Newsletter. Add some spice to your reading life….

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

One Week Only: Black Rock City!

2011-03-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

Black Rock City

For one week each year, Black Rock City is the third largest city in Nevada. The other 51 weeks, Black Rock City does not exist. Entry to the city is strictly controlled. If you do not have your “passport”, you cannot enter the city. I have my “passport”, (aka ticket). And I am excited to be going.

Black Rock City is the annual home of Burning Man and is considered one of the harshest environments in the US. Considering there are no utilities or other amenities, they may be right! Black Rock City (BRC) is about 4,000-feet in elevation, in the Nevada desert.

Phsssst. I live in the desert 52 weeks a year. I know desserts.

Palm Springs is at or below sea level, depending upon where one stands when measuring. It’s stinking hot here in August, day and night. It’s stinking hot in BRC, too. Only during the day: at night the temperatures can drop into the 40’s or even lower. THAT desert, I am not used to! Coping with a 60 to 80 degree temperature change is a challenge.

I’m a Burning Man Virgin: this will be my first Burn. If you are a Burner, please don’t laugh too loudly at my naiveté. Next year, I shall know better.

My friend, Joe, has gone home to Burning Man for years. He is my Mentor. “Wear fur,” he says. “FUR?” I ask incredulously. “I would worry about all the PETA people! And, I’m sure they are there!” “Faux fur…” “Oh……” Again, my naiveté For those cold nights on the Playa, one finds ways to express one’s self through creative dress. Faux Fur… Dress is art. Or, sometimes, it’s just a dress…

I shop on-line. If it’s not the local thrift store (read second-hand), I’m shopping on-line. Love Amazon.com! I found faux fur, burgundy & grey, 3-inch fur for $15.00 a yard AND that yard is 60 inches wide! I purchased 4 yards! That’s a lot of faux. Now I have to figure out what to make with all that fur. I’m thinking a cloak. I can use it as a blanket during the night, Sew……..

Four months ago, I was cleaning out my studio, getting rid of all those useless things I’ve been holding on to. I took my Singer Sewing Machine to the second-hand store since I’d not used it for over 20 years. Damn! WHAT was I thinking?!?!

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

On the Road Again...

2011-03-14T11:36:00.001-07:00

My husband, Doc, returned from a week in Puerto Vallarta yesterday. He had a wonderful time. I stayed home and I had a wonderful time. Doc spent his time on the beach, eating and bar hopping. I spent my time making art in my studio. I picked Doc up at LAX & we drove home to Palm Springs last night.

At the end of this week, we both fly off to Ft Lauderdale, FL. I was last there in 1958. Doc has never been. It will no doubt feel as if I’ve never been: I was eight years old then. Fifty-three years later, I’m sure my memories of Ft Lauderdale no longer reflect reality.

We are going to visit long time friends from Cleveland, OH. We met Gregg & Howard in Amsterdam twenty-one years ago. We’ve kept in touch through the years. Gregg & Howard travel to the west coast far more than we head east. It must be something about the snow. Yeah, I don’t do snow well.

Awhile back, Gregg & Howard bought a house in Ft Lauderdale with two other couples. I remember sitting on their patio as the six of them drew up legal a documents and hammered out their limited partnership agreement. This past December, Gregg reminded me that that was 12 years ago! 12 years ago!?!? Where does the time go?!?!?

Every year they invite us to spend time with them in Florida. There has always been a reason why not: all legitimate, although after the 6^th time, ANY reason sounds lame. I was either traveling for work or Doc couldn’t rearrange his schedule. It’s so embarrassing. We planned vacations 18 months ahead in those pre-retirement days.

I’m looking forward to this sojourn as a way of clearing my head. I’ve been working this past month on art projects for my synagogue. A week away will do me good. When I return, I can dive back into those synagogue projects with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

So, we’re flying to Ft Lauderdale to visit a week in their new/old vacation home and I’m looking forward to spending quality time with Gregg & Howard. I truly enjoy their company. I do hope it’s warm there. I am going with no pre-conceptions of Ft Lauderdale. Fifty-three years ago, I remember touring Thomas Edison’s laboratory.

Oh, wait! That’s in Ft Myers Sigh. Was it Ft Lauderdale I visited in 1958 or was it Ft Myers?

While I’m obsessing about a trip 53 years ago, I‘m offering a couple of special deals on my artwork. I have pricing for most budgets – check them out here: http://dld.bz/KxWf. Contact me if you see something you like and please visit the rest of my website while you are there. Take a look at my artwork. And, while you’re checking things out at http://dld.bz/KxWf, sign up for my Newsletter. Add some spice to your reading life….

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Fired Up

2011-03-07T01:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been busy, fun and productive. I took my husband to LAX and he flew off to Puerto Vallarta for an eight-day sojourn on a tropical beach. It’s his first vacation since 1982 without me. He’s only called once; I assume he’s having a good time

From LAX I drove into West Hollywood to friends Davi & Bracha. Since my move to Palm Springs, we don’t visit enough. Bracha, Davi & I are having a great visit, too!

Davi and I collaborated on a stained glass project for our synagogue. I saw Davi every week for 7 years as we built those windows. We are again collaborating on a project for our NEW synagogue building. I wrote briefly about it two weeks ago. We’re making doors for the new Ark, the Eternal Light for the new sanctuary and the Eternal Light for the smaller chapel.

We are also making markers for the Yarzeit Board (Memorial Board). Our new building will be the second Synagogue in California certified green. To reduce electrical use, we are making fused glass markers for the Yarzeit Board to be used instead of light bulbs. The glass for the markers come from the shards left over from the stained glass window.

Neither Davi nor I have ever taken a class in how to fuse glass. Ten years ago, we just bought a small fusing kiln and gave it a go. We received two pieces of advice when we purchased the kiln: 1. Use glass from the same manufacturer, and 2. Keep an eye on that kiln.

Sage advice. We have forgotten that advice on occasion to disastrous results. One time we set our work in the kiln, turned it on and got sidetracked. We were reminded of the kiln when we smelled the tabletop burning. The kiln was lost but the house was saved from certain disaster. We purchased another kiln AND a timer.

Another time we neglected to pay attention to the source of the glass we used. We fired the glass, let it cool and set it aside for another day. A week later, as we were having lunch in the studio, those pieces spontaneously exploded! We dove for cover thinking there was a drive-by shooting! Yeah, our studio was in that sort of neighborhood.

Today, we set up the kiln and turned it on, remembering to set the timer. Timer went off. We checked the kiln. Needed another minute or so. Then we got sidetracked and forgot about it. Fortunately, we remembered before we ruined the kiln. The 9 pieces in the kiln fused into one large blob but the kiln was saved.

Making these Yarzeit markers is addictive. The synagogue needs only 15 markers for any given week. We’re making 100 of these puppies. They are just too much fun to make! And we have been making art these past two days. I’m in heaven. Beats Puerto Vallarta.

I‘m offering a couple of special deals on my artwork. I have pricing for most budgets – check them out here: http://dld.bz/KxWf. Contact me if you see something you like and please visit the rest of my website while you are there. Take a look at my artwork. And, while you’re checking things out at http://dld.bz/KxWf, sign up for my Newsletter. Add some spice to your reading life….

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Burning Man - Getting Ready

2011-02-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about getting a ticket for Burning Man. I got the ticket at 8:45 PM after being booted out of the queue twice. I finally got back into line shortly after noon. There were more than 27, 000 persons in the queue ahead of me. Over eight hours later I had my ticket. The first hurdle was jumped.

My friend, Bill, a veteran Burner, gave me a copy of his Burning Man checklist. It has been a godsend! I studied that list crossing off items I don’t need, then I retyped and reformatted the list several times. I then panic and cross check it against Bills original list fearing I’d deleted something really important like that rubber mallet. Why the hell would I need a rubber mallet? Bill’s checklist comments are clearly inadequate on this detail.

I crossed off the extension cord for the RV. I am not getting a 30-foot RV for Burning Man. Perhaps next year but not this year. So I added a tent to my list with a checkmark in the “To Buy” column. I found a sale at Big 5 Sporting Goods. I picked up a 3-man tent for $40.00! It was more than 50% off and it’s a great tent! Score! I put a check mark in the “Have” column and dutifully record the cost in the “Cost” column.

A couple of days later, I’m telling my friend, Ron, about my incredible tent deal. “You got only one tent?” Ron asks. “One? I need more than one tent?” naively says the Burning Man Virgin. Seems you need a sealed tent INSIDE the main tent to sleep in. It’s about the only way to ensure dust free sleeping. That RV is looking good.

On Craig’s List, I had found a Huffy Beach Cruiser and it was my first acquisition: a single speed bicycle. It’s a woman’s bicycle but no one would hold that against a 62-year-old man, would they? After all, it is painted a manly forest green. With whitewall balloon tires. Another Burner veteran asked how I was planning to personalize it. What? I can’t just write my name on it??? With over 40,000 old bikes on the Playa, you need to be able to find yours without reading every one of them. Who knew? Something else to think about!

I’m actually having fun pulling together everything I need for my week in Black Rock City. Oh, and I need to figure out how to take a shower & get rid of the water after. You can’t just dump it on the ground. Damn! That RV is looking better and better!

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Traveling Windows

2011-02-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

Prototype for an Eternal Light

(A work in progress)

Six posts ago; I talked about my artistic endeavors with my synagogue. Four of us collaborated to build 12 stained glass windows for our humble temple. Those once ugly windows are now the focal point of our sanctuary.

Each of us developed a thumbnail design for the windows. We then worked together to draw a 1/3^rd scale cartoon of each to further develop the designs. When we sat down to critique the four designs, Davi’s design was clearly “it”. Davi’s design was perfect. It still is.

Davi Cheng, a member of the congregation, is the artist who designed our windows. At the time, Davi knew absolutely nothing about stained glass. I was the only one who had worked in stained glass and had to figure out how to translate her design into glass

We worked on the windows for the next seven years. I taught. Davi, Haim & Victoria learned hands on. These windows were a labor of love for us. We worked together nearly every weekend over the years. We laughed and we argued. We became fast friends. Seven years later, with our scars as proof, we were seasoned stained glass artists and our spiritual home had a stunning set of windows.

Shortly after completion of the 12 windows, our congregation began a search for a new building. We found and purchased a building two blocks west of our current building. Construction is nearing completion and we move to our new home in six weeks.

The 12 windows are moving to the new building too. Davi and I worked with the architects (Lewis/Schoeplein, Architects) to incorporate the windows into the new sanctuary. Marc and Toni have worked miracles with their design.

And now Davi and I are once again collaborating on creating art for our synagogue. We are building the doors for our new Ark. We are also building the Eternal Light to hang over the Ark. It’s another labor of love and I welcome the opportunity to hang with Davi in her studio.

We worked together last week developing our designs for the Eternal Light. We laughed and we argued. It was great! It feels good to be cutting glass again. Now, where did I put those Band-Aids???

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

An Itch to Go

2011-02-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

My husband retired 45 days ago. God help me!

Actually, Doc’s doing much better in retirement then I feared. He’s kept himself busy and is much less stressed than he was pre-retirement. He’s joined a gym/spa and has been going three days a week for water aerobics. After working out, he “takes the waters.” I had no idea what that meant. I assumed it had something to do with a high colonic. Apparently, not.

Pre-retirement, Doc kept talking about travel. He has visions of spending three months in Italy in a Tuscan villa, or renting a beach house in Ventura for the summer. He’s talked about a six month around the world tour. That’s this year. I have no idea what he wants to do next year.

Last time he talked about getting out of Palm Springs for the summer, I told him that was fine with me. “Really?” he asked. “You’d go away for a couple of months in the summer with me?” “Who said anything about ME going!” said I, “I love the summers in Palm Springs but I’ll come visit a couple of times where ever you go for the summer.” That won’t happen…. Doc won’t travel alone.

We’ve already scheduled trips for this year. We’re spending a week in Ft Lauderdale in March, two weeks in Northern California in April, then a month in Europe for July. I’m going to Black Rock City for 10 days in August/September and then we fly off to Cape Cod for a week in Mid September. That’s nine weeks of vacation already planned for 2011; tickets purchased, accommodations booked.

I put my foot down; said I’m not going on any more trips in 2011, I want to spend some time at home in the heat. If we’re going to travel, make it in the winter. And tropical: Tahiti, Australia, Costa Rica. You know, someplace WARM! I can even take the rain if it’s stinking hot outside. It’s nice sitting on the lanai in a sarong or a Mai Tai, watching the rain come down.

For the past several days, Doc has been on his computer & on the phone. Nothing unusual there. He’s a phonaholic, he’s always on the phone: but the phone AND the computer? Not so much. I knew he was up to something with those travel sites and airline schedules flashing across the screen.

If Doc hadn’t gone to Med School, he would have been a travel agent. Thankfully, he chose well. Perhaps he was tweaking one of our 373 flights booked for 2011? Or assisting another friend with travel plans? I know better than to ask. Besides, I’m maxed out with travel in 2011.

Doc came in into my studio excited & anxious to talk. He found a great deal on a week’s trip to Puerto Vallarta in early March he’s interested in. WHAT??? Then he asked did I mind if he & a buddy went without me? I think Doc is finally beginning to figure out he can vacation without me and, perhaps, still have a good time? Retirement IS good, no?

GO! Have a great time! I’ll be perfectly happy working in my studio.

I ‘m offering a couple of special deals on my artwork. I have pricing for most budgets – check them out here: http://dld.bz/KxWf. Contact me if you see something you like and please visit the rest of my website while you are there. Take a look at my artwork. And, while you’re checking things out at http://dld.bz/KxWf, sign up for my Newsletter. Add some spice to your reading life….

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Return of the Prodigal

2011-02-06T01:01:00.000-08:00

In October (or was it November?) of 2009, I decided I wanted to try my hand at making a mosaic. At the urging of @TheDeeView, I joined an Open Studio in the home/studio of mosaic artist extraordinaire, Jennifer Johnson. Her mosaic art adorns many public spaces in the Coachella Valley. She’s also an incredible teacher.

I spent 9 months in her Open Studio working on a mosaic. Although I liked my project, I was not enamored with the process and nearly abandoned it on several occasions. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of Jennifer and the other artists who attend Open Studio. It was their encouragement that enabled me to continue through to completion with that mosaic.

I completed the mosaic and am very happy with the results. It now hangs in my living room. I am not interested in making another mosaic. I like the medium. It is not for me.

I attended another one or two session but have no desire to make another mosaic. I have my own studio, after all. Jennifer suspended Open Studio when she and her husband took off for Mexico and Europe for an extended vacation. When Jennifer resumed Open Studio, I did not return.

A while back, I was talking with my niece in Indiana. She had been planning to travel to Black Rock City this year until her life changed to keep her in Indiana. She was telling me she wanted to make medallions for gifting. We discussed the various ways she could make them and from what materials. Chelsea gave me the idea of making ceramic dog tags.

Warning: By year’s end, you are going to be sick & tired of me talking about those self-organizing artistic groups in the desert.

I missed Open Studio. I missed the camaraderie, art talk and artistic stimulation. And I had nothing to work on at the studio that interested me: no projects I couldn’t do in my own studio. Until now. This past Friday, I returned to Jennifer’s Open Studio. I have my project: making high fire ceramic Burning Man dog tags.

I love being back in the midst of creative people; love hearing about what they’re working on; love hearing about their next project; love to hear their comments about their own work and mine. I took it all in as I worked my clay making my dog tags. The time passed quickly and I’m looking forward to next Friday’s Open Studio.

I love knowing I’m no the only artist who is totally fed up with a project (my mosaic). I overhead this: “ I’m slopping down glue and slapping this shit on any which way. I’m so tired of this thing!” I laughed ‘tillI thought I’d pee! I know her finished project will turn out to be a masterpiece because that’s the type of artist she is. Oh, the irreverence!

I walked into Open Studio on Friday. Jennifer saw me and said, “Welcome home!” And, I was.

OK! I’m obsessing about Burning Man! Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com. Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my pieces or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me in my studio: 760-992-3157. You can call me, I won’t mind!

And thanks for listening!

Jerry L. Hanson

Burning Man

2011-01-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

I never heard of Burning Man until I met Joe & Bill. For three years I’ve been talking to them about Burning Man. They tell me mostly about the art. I am an artist, after all.

Joe is a quiet man. Like me, Joe is an introvert and reserved. I’ve always liked Joe: looking into his eyes, you know there’s a lot there to discover. I hope that’s what others see in MY eyes. I don’t know….

However, talking about Burning Man, he comes alive. “Jerry, you need to go to Burning Man. You’re an artist. You will love it.” “Tell me why as an artist I’d love it,” I say. We talked for hours about Burning Man and the art. And I fell in love with the concept.

I met up with Joe & Bill at another party. “So, did you go to Burning Man?” I asked. Joe entertained me the entire evening with stories of Burning Man. Again, Joe said, “You are an artist. You need to go. You will love it!” The “You NEED to go” captures my attention. I was not able to pull it together to go last year.

I Googled “Burning Man” and found a number of vids: all of it rather confusing yet intriguing. There is something off center about the whole thing. That alone, pulls me in. I think I’m a bit off center, too.

Joe & Bill are “burners” & have been to Burning Man for the past four years. I’ve met other burners who love it. I’ve not met a burner who did not like it. Each person I talked with had a totally different slant on what Burning Man is about. It is clear that Burning Man is not for everyone. My husband would hate it: no room service or CNN.

This year, I’m going. I said this last year but chickened out. No excuse this year. I visited Joe & Bill with specific questions based on what I’d been reading & hearing for the past three years. I wanted to know the basics of personal survival…. How do I heat water for tea? How do you shower? What are the camp arrangements? What, exactly, do I need to take to Burning Man to survive?

God Bless Bill… he’s as OCD as my husband. He e-mailed a spreadsheet listing vital information to take. His list even records the number of spoons required for the week! I feel confident, now, that I can go with everything I need for the week, including those spoons.

Last week, I purchased a used Huffy Beach Cruiser single gear bicycle and an oversized Zero-rated sleeping bag (both on the spreadsheet). There is a whole lot more I need to collect but I have months to do that.

Tuesday, I was having lunch with my husband & one of his colleagues. I mentioned that I was number 27,989 in the queue for Burning Man tickets. Oskar looked at me, paused, and said, “Why do you need to go to Burning Man? You can run around naked here!”

OK! Now, I see there’s a whole other side of Burning Man I need to explore! But I am in queue for a ticket!

While I’m obsessing about Burning Man, please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com. Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my pieces or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me

And thanks for listening!

Jerry L. Hanson

Cobalt Dreams

2011-01-24T01:01:00.000-08:00

Cobalt Dreams

Several weeks ago, I received an invitation from DeAnna, Member Relations Manager of the Citrus Club, La Quinta Resort & Club, to participate in their annual Food, Art & Wine event.

As an artist, I was both surprised and honored to receive the invite. DeAnna had not seen my work and extended the invitation solely on the recommendation of Will Schinsky.

If you read my blogs, you may remember that Will is the Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Arts Alliance and he wrote a blog for me several months ago

I was one of eight artists invited. The event was Saturday evening and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I arrived to the Citrus Club with ample time to set up for the event. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t rushed. I wanted it to be a relaxing, enjoyable evening for myself as well. I was definitely not rushed. I’d brought my woven newspaper fabric and assemblages.

I visited a bit with DeAnna. As she looked through my photo album of artwork, she insisted I return home to pick up the paintings as well! So off I went. It’s an hour round-trip drive, La Quinta to Palm Springs. NOW, I’m rushed.

I packaged and packed up my truck with 15 canvases and headed back to the Citrus Club & arrived shortly before the start of the evening. I unpacked & re-arranged the display in record time. I spread out my artwork and incorporated a grand piano for display duties.

Thankfully, I brought a change of clothes. A fresh DRY shirt has such a calming effect. And I remembered Dee Dee’s advice from the prior month: “Breathe!”

I spent the evening visiting with the attendees discussing my artwork and process. They were an interesting, engaged and fun group of club members! I have to say, they have excellent taste in art! OK. I’m biased: I sold several of my pieces. "Cobalt Dreams" was purchased this night.

For this introverted Artist to be alone among a group of total strangers, putting my art out there is terrifying! AND I totally enjoyed myself. I had a great time interacting with the club members. I enjoyed meeting my fellow artists. I enjoyed my interactions with the staff of the Citrus Club. They were all wonderful! What a great evening!

Please take time to visit my website at www.JerryLHanson.com. Take a look at my artwork. Contact me if you want to buy one of my pieces or if you have any questions about a specific piece. My contact information is on my website or you can leave a comment on this blog site for me to contact you (include your contact info!). You can e-mail me at JeryL@JerryLHanson.com or you can telephone me on my studio phone 760-992-3157. You can call me. I won’t mind!

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson