January 2020

We hit the streets of Philadelphia in early January.  What a marvelous city!

Garbage day reveals that these homes are both historical and current residences.

Asphalt covers the original cobblestone-brick on this narrow street.

Soon after our arrival we walked the half-block to Hawthorne's.

Celebrating our safe arrival with a local brew.

While Felicia and Sam enjoyed the sites of Italy, Rusty and I spent two glorious weeks with Ruby in Philadelphia.

I was very impressed by Ruby's ability to manage herself on a daily basis.  On school days she gets herself up, dresses according to the weather, eats breakfast if she's hungry, packs her snacks for the day, packs her book bag with homework, remembers her viola when needed, zips a house key into her coat pocket, checks the clock to see if it's 7:00, and then heads out the door towards the bus stop a few blocks away.  She needs no prompting or coaching!  Amazing for a 9-year-old.

Ruby read for us the book that she wrote during first semester.

Happily using her logic to solve the homework problem of the week.

There are no yards to play in, so kids in her neighborhood go to the local park just a couple blocks away.

After school Ruby often plays at Palumbo Park.

View of the city skyline from Palumbo Park

Palumbo Park

On a Friday evening we took a long car ride outside the city to attend a Pet Expo.  Ruby is crazy about dogs, so it was good entertainment.  The car ride in 5:00 traffic on a Friday afternoon to a place that was unfamiliar to us was not so entertaining.  :(

Ruby loved every dog she saw.  This guy recognizes a dog lover.

This Newfoundland's head is bigger than Ruby's.

While Ruby was at school, Rusty and I visited museums and took long walks in the city.  The National Jewish Museum was hosting a special exhibit about Ruth Bater Ginsburg.  We enjoyed both the special exhibit and the Jewish Museum. NMAJH.org

One day I walked to the Delaware River just to see what I might see.

The New Jersey Battleship is on the other side of the river.

Masts of a "tall ship" in front of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

A much shorter walk (1.5 blocks) was to the local beer distributorship.

This store has beers from all over the world.  The entire store is beer!

I've known since early history classes that the first national capitol was in Philadelphia.  (Washington D.C. did not exist before 1800.)  It had not actually occurred to me that our first two Presidents lived in a house in Philadelphia.  The first President owned slaves.  The second President was an abolitionist.

A representation of the first White House on it's original site.

We also visited the Woodmere Art Museum where they were hosting a special exhibit of Edith Neff's paintings.

A leading realist painter of her day, Edith Neff (1943–1995) was praised for her dynamic compositions, her sophisticated use of color, and her ability to portray drama in everyday life. She explored questions of race, gender, and identity, probing the social and cultural fabric of Philadelphia.

The realism of her paintings and vibrant use of color spoke to me.

Selfie with Edith

While walking in the neighborhood near the Caviezel home, I found many signs about people and events that had much to do with accomplishments of Black people in this area.  Since we celebrate Martin Luther King Day this month, I decided to collect information from these signs.

We attended Sunday service at the A.M.E. Mother Bethel Church. 
Paster Mark Tyler gave a very moving and inspirational sermon!

This is the home of William Still, "Father of the Underground Railroad."

My foot on the original steps of Still's home.  Harriet Tubman would have stepped here many times while escorting runaways to Still's protection.

One day I insisted we have bakery from Isgro's.  Each purchase is nestled into a crisp, white box and tied with string.  Delectable indulgences like no other!

Felicia arranged for us to take a bus into NYC and see "To Kill A Mockingbird" at the Shubert Theater.  It was the middle of the week and the theater was filled with eighth graders who had just finished reading the book.  Cool!

The Aaron Sorkin play is significantly different from the book, but still enjoyable in every way.

One day Ruby and I had a Ladies Day Out.

We got dolled up...

Ruby got Gel Nails for the first time.

I too got a nail re-do.

Then we stood in line to get the best Philly cheese-stakes in town, according to Ruby.

Ruby and I played many games of Cribbage and Rummy Cub.  Rusty and Ruby were always trying out new things.

researching something...

New challenge:  reading upside down.

We returned home from Philadelphia after a hectic flight that included spending an hour on the tarmac and then running from one end of O'Hare to the other.  Our baggage took a much slower trip.  Ice, ice, snow, and more ice greeted us in Lincoln.

We were happy to spend a quiet night in front of the burning home fires.

We attended an Abendmusik concert of The American Spiritual Ensemble.  This group was founded by Dr. Everett McCorvey in 1995 to honor the American Negro spiritual.  He says, "The American Negro spiritual is the mother music that gave birth to jazz, blues, gospel, and pop.  The spiritual was born in America during the most difficult time in our history, and helped America find its voice.  Even as our country was being formed, slaves were not allowed to cover their own music or speak their own language, and in many cases, they were separated from their families.  They had to learn new way of communication.  The melodies they sang in the cotton fields, in their homes and at camp meetings became the American slaves' musical expression."

The American Spiritual Ensemble

Rusty took an unfortunate spill on the ice and hurt his shoulder.  Hopefully the MRI results will help the doctor determine the course of action.  He's ready to let the healing begin, whatever that involves.

We heard four interesting, unique, and challenging pieces played by the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra.

And we joined friends to see the Nebraska Wesleyan production of "Much Ado About Nothing."  This Shakespeare play was set in post WWII--what an interesting twist!

For canoeing enthusiasts such as we, there's always a need for one more canoe.  Out latest purchase came in handy this past week.  Our 17 year-old dryer finally bit the dust.  The replacement won't arrive for another week.

The canoe suspended from the basement ceiling provides a good spot for hangin' out to dry.