And so yesterday afternoon Marina gave her encore presentation of her book, Gretel and Andy, God’s Gift; The Lives of Two Seeing Eye Dogs, as the Osceola Senior Center. It was a potluck, so the good food and good people were there, as well as a few of Marina’s swimming pool buddies. I read a selection of the book in Gretel’s voice (not falsetto) [I Go To The Zoo] and a section of Andy’s [I Go Shopping] and then Marina took questions. Per usual, she did a great job and also per usual, she left people wanting more. She has a compelling way of speaking that draws people in. I am very proud of her.
We began a new chapter in life today when Lacey came for the first time to clean our place . What a difference! Everything sparkles! I find it a pleasure to see people do just about anything extremely well. Mid-cleaning, I absented myself for a mens’ meeting that took up the topic of people who don’t do much of anything well, especially when it comes to people other than themselves.
And as I write this, we–finally–have some snow falling. What a contrast to Los Angeles, where what Marina and I knew has disappeared in flames. Fortunately, the Getty Villa has been spared (so far). It was there in Mr. Getty’s seldom visited home that I had an arts education. It was a cheap date: no admission charge but you had to make a reservation because parking space at the house was limited. Each of my visits featured a tour led by a different docent, who usually came from a University faculty, most often UCLA. Seeing Greek and Roman sculpture through the eyes of different people illuminated new and different aspects of the art form, and learning about the mercury process involved in gilding Louis IV furniture gave me a “by the way” observation that my future boss said instantly focused his attention on what I might bring to the job he eventually hired me to do. So, thank you, Mr. Getty, for sharing your house and your personal taste in the fine arts. I pray that the Getty Villa (which had no sign out front to announce its presence, as I see it has now) will continue to be spared from the flames.