IntrinsicTina

Dear Renee', I saw you today, actually, I saw your image today. You were, pretty in pink, standing in front of a weeping rock wall, arms upraised, smiling to the Heavens. Wow! I cannot be sad when I see how much you enjoyed life. We were in Hawaii, on the island of Maui (your favorite), on the road to Hana with Dawn and Mark, myself, Rodney and yourself. But, this one is just you. The year was 2006, your first trip to the Islands, and you were ready to embrace the spirit of aloha. What fun to spend that time with you! Everywhere you went, you were decked out in flowers and/or a sarong. You were living in California, the rest of us were in Washington, thus we were Renee'-deprived. How fortunate we were when you decided to move to Washington. (I digress.) I remember your pedicure, shocking orange with white hand-painted plumeria, the exact shade as Mom's nails, though the two of you did not confer. I remember your toes in the sand, I should, I photographed them. It evok...

I had the privilege to be born in the richest and most powerful country on the planet. I was lucky enough to be birthed, uneventfully, in a hygienic, sterile, modern hospital, close to adequate resources in the event that labor and delivery went badly. RH-factor was already known thus measures were taken. My parents were, and remain, white, whatever that means anymore. Back in the early sixties, in America, it meant that though we were poor in the socioeconomic strata, we were automatically afforded privileges denied to other segments of our society. About the time I was toddling around with a fistful of Gerber biscuits, black Americans were fighting for the right to vote and my daddy was fighting the Viet Cong. I was lucky enough to be insulated from the ugliness. As the firstborn child, and the first grandchild, I basked in the glow of adoration, given attention, unquestioned love and affection. I imagine I wanted for nothing much until my first sibling arrived. I was lucky enough ...

During my recent trip to Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to cross off a few items from my "bucket" list. Admittedly, some are tiny little things like eating a Deep-Fried Twinkie at "Mermaids" and finally having the chance to savor Cioppino at La Village in the Paris Hotel and Casino. I like mussels. No small wonder there as I love oysters, scallops, and most anything from the ocean I've eaten. More significantly I got to take a ride in a helicopter. It was a short ride (about 5 minutes) a gloriously smooth and fascinating lift over Lake Mead to float purposefully over the Hoover Dam. I got the front seat and despite my recently-acquired fear of heights (usually manifesting in high windy places out of doors) I did not flinch. I'm certain my eyes were wide with wonder and I felt an unusual calm and joy at the new sensation.

Resorts can be a lovely thing. Sparkling pools, maintained and walkable pathways, a clean room with space to live and breathe. Ours was in the form of a timeshare owned by my sister and brother-in-law and was right smack at the southern end of the Las Vegas strip. (Just far enough away from the "action" to be relaxing yet close enough to grab hold of the action when the mood struck.)

Gladly leaving downed trees and a 3-day power outage, we embark on our vacation to Vegas, Baby! Of course I brought along some Cascade 220 SuperWash to knit up a mens hat while on the airplane. Unfortunately, I didn't bother with a picture of my project-du-jour. Instead, here are some sights on that first night (or should I admit that it was the wee hours of the following morning?) (Pictured are New York, New York , Caesar's Palace , and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino) My husband and I were amazed to find that this new Vegas-on-Steroids since our last visit 10 years ago.