Archive for the ‘Charles M. Howell IV’ Category

Tomorrow just look at me and think… piano!

Tuesday, February 27th, 2024

February 27, 2024

Flowers From Charlie

Yep!  Tomorrow a piano and I will have a lot in common — and thankfully, it’s not our legs!   It’s the number 88!    Ye.ars for me, keys for the piano.  I was thinking about that today and remembering that once, long ago — maybe 80 years ago – my grandmother gave me the most fun treat.  I don’t think it was for a special occasion — more to keep me amused while she was busy doing something important.

She gave me a package of Nestle’s chocolate chips and told me to put one on each of the white keys of the piano.  Once I had done that, I was instructed to take one at a time, pop it in my mouth, and play the note it came from — in any order I wanted.  Well, of course, they were only for the 52 white keys.  I don’t think I knew about white chocolate then or surely I would have asked if we couldn’t do the 36 black keys next time.

Chocolates From Marta

I’m not just sure why that memory popped into my head except that I have had several birthday cards arrive which I’ve displayed on the top of that same old piano.  AND Florist Nansen delivered an absolutely gorgeous bouquet this afternoon from Charlie and pointed out that there were a couple of packages on the porch bench for me — which I did halfway open.  One had a gift card from Marta — a box of See’s Molasses Chips (speaking of chocolates) and the other what appear to be two lovely pinkish colored lipsticks — also I assume from Marta!  (We’d been having a discussion about chapped lips and she suggested.., and, of course, I never followed up, and so she did!)

Well, in any event, I can clear up all mysteries tomorrow evening when we have a ZOOM birthday get-together.  (I’ll try not to eat any of those Molasses Chips in front of them — if there are any left!)  What a lovely day to look forward to!  How incredibly lucky I am!

 

Birthday Greetings Atop The Old Piano

 

It just gets better and better!

Thursday, January 18th, 2024

This Week’s Front Page

I’m beginning to think those words — “better and better” are getting hard to come by in this old world of ours.  But I do want to give a bit of a shout-out to the Chinook Observer.  If you subscribe to our stellar weekly newspaper, I hope you agree with me.  If not, perhaps you’ll consider treating yourself to a weekly look at our area and the people who keep us going — and, of course, the occasional “baddies” who we should all be aware of.  Or at least, so I think.

Yesterday’s paper was a fine example.  Consider the front page headlines:  “Pet Hospital to serve peninsula and beyond,” “Sheriff facing inquiry,” “Willapa ferry study launched,” “Rookie U.S. rep reflects on 1st year,” and “Ellworth Creek plays key climate research role.”

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

Coverage of the local scene just doesn’t get better than that!  Topical, informative articles had my mind and emotions running the gamut.  “Good for the pet hospital!” thought I.  But what about the people needs of our area?  t just doesn’t seem to me that our OBH facilities are able to keep up…

And then the article about Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez who is finding that her colleagues in D.C  don’t really share her values or can even command her respect.  That information, while not surprising, saddened me.  I wonder how we can help — or if we can.  I think I’ll start by asking my son Charlie a few questions about possibilities in California.  He’s usually active during Presidential campaigns, at least in his own precinct which includes Congressman Adam Schiff.  I wonder if Marie finds Adam someone with whom she can work readily…

Cathlamet WA to Westport OR Ferry – photo by Matthew Pranger

The ferry study by the graduate students from the University of Washington is also topical, at least to me.  I’ve had numerous questions over the years about the old passenger ferries, the Shamrock and Reliable both of which operated all during my mother’s childhood and were the first leg of any trip to north county and beyond.  However, with our current population and transportation needs, my imagination shudders at the impact on our bay and on the potential ferry landings.  (I mean, have you been to Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island lately?  Or taken the ferry from Anacortes to any of the San Juan Islands?  OMG!  A ferry landing here on the Peninsula would swallow up a good chunk of our landscape.)  But maybe a small ferry like the one that operates between Cathlamet and Westport might work…

And above the masthead — a photo of my favorite local author and a blurb about the lead article in Section Two.  And that’s just the first page of our venerable newspaper.  So much more relevant to my life than any of the big city newspapers!  I highly recommend it — week in and week out!

.”…with one a little backwards..”

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

The photo Marta took only tells part of the story!  “Here we be the Sapiens Three (with 1 a little backwards…?” she wrote.  Both she and Charlie understood why Marta’s photo (she being the photographer) was backward and I think they felt they could figure out the solution but we were running out of time.  And anyway, to my way of thinking, it represents the three of us quite well!

Marta’s the “Take Charge” one of the trio.  She sets up our zoom meetings choosing a time that will coordinate with her busy pet sitting business — usually Sunday, sometimes Monday evenings.  And she’s the one who is often gobsmacked by one of Harari’s revelations — like the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had and is still having on us and the planet.  She brings it “home” — right on down to Trader Joe’s and Jack’s Country Store!

Charlie is the “Voice of Reason” and also the one who can often bring deep historical perspective and classic literature into our discussions.  I am always amazed at his analysis of the ideas presented — often parsing the language and even the ideas with references to Latin or Ancient Greek.  (I forget that he took courses at UCLA  — or was it USC? — when he was writing comedy scripts for Disney and Hanna-Barbera.  He wanted to understand the humor of Aristogenes in the original, for instance.  (I hope he weighs in on the comments here.  I’ve undoubtedly misremembered.)

Even The Illustrations Are Evocative

And my contribution?  Probably the typical teacher tricks — asking for clarifications, explanations, getting us all to connect the dots.  But not to illuminate things for their edification as was my role for years in the classroom. In this group, I’m the learner as much as they and the one seeking explanations, or at least that’s how I perceive myself.  And, of course, I’m the one who sets the goals — how many chapters (or more like pages) for next week.

But we are seldom on the same page — in more ways than one!  And that’s the fun of it!

 

September 13, 1987 seems so short ago.

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023

September 13, 1987

Thirty-six years ago today

Nyel and I were married

At Croquet.

Gordon was my Bridesmaid,

Roy was Best Man.

Joel Penoyar did the honors

Much to Willard’s chagrin!

Wedding Picture by Kati Downer

It was a surprise to everyone

Except to my son Charlie

My mother had the vapors

Dad had another drink.

I gave Michelle my bouquet

And she took it to class for sharing,

Proceeds?  To Water Music that year.

It was the best wedding ever!

Wedding Pillow from The Franks

Sunday-Go-To-Meeting-Day!

Sunday, August 6th, 2023

Margot Merah and Kathryn Claire

It’s always hard for me to think of Sunday as the first day of the week.  After all, it’s the last day of the weekEND.  Even when I was a child I was confused by that.  And then the new school week (which became a work week when I began teaching) started on Monday — obviously the first day of the week.  Not Sunday.  Monday!

Well, first or last, today was a lovely day.  Vespers with Kathryn Claire and Margot Merah was spectacular!  Dayle Olson said afterwards that she had only heard such lovely harmonies when some sisters sing together, and I agreed.  Cate and Starla Gable are the perfect example of what I think of as “genetic harmony.” Kathryn and Margot must certainly be sisters in another dimension.  Once again I remember what “achingly beautiful” means.  So I think that part of my Sunday put a cap on a wonderful week (except for the plumbing issues) and set me up for a glorious week to come.

Zooming Into Next Week

Then — an early dinner at the Roo with Maggie Stuckey and David and Dayle Olson.  Great food.  Wonderful company.  Terrible ambiance.  SO SO LOUD.  But we perservered and enjoyed one another anyway.  When the immediate company is a delight, it’s easier to tune out the surroundings!  That part of Sunday was a mixed bag — a fine hullaballo ending to last week and a lovely conversation of mutual interests to start this week.

And finally — Marta, Charlie, and I talked and laughed our way out of last week and into this week with our usual Sunday Night Zoom Meeting!  Of Course!  It was Sunday-Go-To-Meeting-Day — almost all day long!

 

 

 

Big Boom, Old Lace, and Evening Fire Circle

Tuesday, July 4th, 2023

July 4, 2023

“Oh say can you see…” we all sang, even though some of us could scarcely hear at that point.   The Honorary Oysterville Militia’s Fourth of July Firing Crew had just completed their salute to our nation’s birthday.  For those who had forgotten their earplugs, that BOOM was still resounding even as the smoke cleared!

Developing a Strategic Plan

The ceremony began with a reading of James Swan’s story of the first Fourth of July on Shoalwater Bay in 1853.  “The party broke up at an early hour,” he wrote, “and all declared that, with the exception of the absence of a cannon, they never had a pleasanter Fourth.”  I’m quite sure that the firing of T.H.O.M.’s replica 1842 mountain howitzer made up for that 170-year-old oversight!

Marta and Old Lace

Marta, Charlie, and I then fortified ourselves with a bit of lunch and began a task I’ve been putting off for ten (or maybe twenty!) years.  We took down all of the lace curtains in the living room, washed them, and put them back up — not an easy task, but oh! what a spectacular difference it made!  Three more rooms to go before the best help ever leaves on Saturday!

Charlie and Tucker

Then we went over to Tucker and Carol’s for a spectacular evening of tacos (soft or hard, take your pick), a choice of ice cream sundaes or root beer floats for dessert and then storytelling out by their fire circle.  The battlefield noises from the beach seemed to surround us as it grew dark and, tired though we were, we wondered if we’d get to sleep tonight.  But once back home and inside the house, the sounds were marvelously muted.

Four at the Fire Pit

Marta and Charlie headed for a few games of cribbage and I am heading for bed.  Tomorrow:  more curtains and a celebratory birthday dinner for Marta at the Depot with friends Noel and Patty Thomas!

Party! Party! Party!

Over the river and out of the woods…

Monday, July 3rd, 2023

We had designated today as “Errand Day” — looking for a new stove to replace the dual-fuel one that is so scary to me; searching for comfortable slippers for Charlie — he-has-serious-foot-problems-probably-genetic-don’t-ask; a stop at Verizon with cell phone questions, and, best of all, lunch at the Bridgewater Bistro.

But Marta woke up feeling puny after a dreadful night of vertigo which attacks when least expected.   Charlie and I left her home to recover but we apparently couldn’t get away from the house quickly enough — not before a lens fell out of my glasses adding a stop at the optician’s to our list of errands.  It seriously promised to be “one of THOSE days!”

As it turned out, though, the day was wonderfully successful!  My glasses were fixed before we left the Peninsula.  I found an electric stove on sale at J.&S Appliances — 1/2 price during their Happy Fourth of July Sale.  It will be delivered in August.  Both Charlie and I got satisfactory help with our Verizon cell phone problems, and although Charlie didn’t find the slippers he had hoped for, the sales people at Gimre’s had some good ideas for him to follow up on when he gets home to L.A.

Best of all, we had a fabulous lunch at the Bistro — Charlie’s treat, as it turned out! I am still replete — Caesar salad, steak frites, creme brulé, coffee for me and for Charlie a house salad, salmon with several vegetable sides, and a fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream drizzled with both chocolate and caramel sauce and with an extra cup of chocolate fudge sauce on the side.  And coffee.  And a coke.  OMG!  SOOO good!  Having said all that though, we truly missed that special something that Ann and Tony provided for so many years!

Before we came back to our side of the river, we stopped to get a little bubbly to top off the cannon shooting tomorrow!  AND festive holiday cups to drink it from!  Let the Good Times continue!  Especially with my one and only son!  I am so blessed!

May 30th! Always a CMH4 Holiday to me!

Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!

Did you know that I got to choose the day we met, Charlie?  About the middle of May, the doctor said, “Any day now, I’ll expect your call, Mrs. Howell.”  But you seemed content to stay where you were.  Then, toward the end of the month, I was told that you were getting too big for your allotted space and we would have to “induce” your entrance to the world.   I was a bit upset about that until the Dr. said, “What day would you like for this baby’s birthday?”

“Really?  Wow!” I thought.  That seemed to put a whole new spin on things and since May 30th was a holiday (and I thought it always would be)  I said, “How about next Wednesday?”  And so it was that you were born on Wednesday, May 30, 1956!

However, I do believe I went to the Redwood City Hospital about 8:00 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday the 29th.  I don’t know if the doctor had forewarned me or if I just realized that you were going to continue to take your time, even when urged.  I remember asking if I could speak to the doctor sometime that afternoon and was told that he was on the golf course.  I think I was a bit anxious about that…

Daddy Morgan, Son Charlie, Mommy Sydney

But he arrived in time to introduce us at 8:30 in the morning on May 30th and we had a whole glorious holiday to get to know each other!  You would have 15 years of your birthday always being a holiday and then… well sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.   Once in a while it’s even part of a three-day weekend!

Whenever it is, Charlie my son, it is always the best day of the year for me!  Many, many happy returns!

And speaking of nicknames…

Monday, May 15th, 2023

Charlie, 1974

Perhaps you’ve already read Cate Gable’s “Coast Chronicles” column which will be out in print on Wednesday.  Right now, you can find it online by googling chinook observer coast chronicles the indomitable Pat Akehurst.  It’s a fun article about a wonderful woman who came to the Peninsula in the seventies and who remembers it all — the people, the places, the views and vistas, the jobs she had and the paintings she made.  She is remarkable and, if you have been here for even half that long, you will find yourself nodding about things you lost sight of long ago.

Writing Partners Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell with their first (of many) Emmys

For me, it was Pat’s fond memories of my son Charlie.  “He just shimmered,” she said!  I knew he would do something wonderful with his life!”  Just the words any mom wants to hear — especially when it has turned out to be true!

But… she remembered him as Quad or Quaddie.  That surprised me because, indeed, that was his nickname, but I thought that he became “Charlie” under the rather gimlet eye of Miss Blewitt, his Kindergarten teacher in Castro Valley, California.  By the time Pat met him, he was in high school and I can’t imagine that my mother (who Pat also remembered) was still calling him “Quad.”

He was named Charles Morgan Howell, IV after his dad and since his dad went by “Morgan” and his grandfather Howell was called “Chick,” we somehow connected the IV with the Latin for four and he became “Quad.”  Besides, he was born on May 30th of my Junior year and he and I spent many hours in and around the Stanford Quad (short for Quadrangle) during his first year.  It’s where he took his first steps.

Sydney and Quaddie in the Stanford Quad, 1957

It was such a delight that Pat remembered “Quad.”  I must remember to ask Charlie just how long Granny (and maybe Grandpa) called him by that name and how he felt about it.  (I never did have a nickname except for the butcher at the  corner grocery in Alameda who always called me “Syd, Syd, the Chinese Kid” which I didn’t get at all.)

Come to think of it, my father often called me “Syd” — but somehow I never really thought of that as a nickname.  I wonder if that’s how Charlie felt about Granny calling him “Quad.”

On being a Mom for “quite a many” now!

Sunday, May 14th, 2023

Charlie, 1956

For me, the greatest joy of my “golden years” has been sharing adulthood with my children — with my son Charlie and my bonus daughter Marta both of whom are well into their retirement years!  Who woulda thunk it!

Marta, c. 1959

The basics of young motherhood never go away, of course.   I still worry and fuss (hopefully to myself) when they are ailing, feel like I’ve failed them if they bump into obstacles (literal or figurative), and want to brag and shout to the world about their successes.

Charlie and Marta, 10/11/21

But an added pleasure — and one I couldn’t have imagined fifty or sixty years ago — is seeking their opinions and advice on all sorts of concerns and having righteous discussions about the things that really matter.  “The gift of time” has been good to me in many ways, but it is in my ever-developing friendship with my children that I feel most blessed,

And so, on this Mother’s Day 0f 2023, I have to say “Thank you, Charlie and Marta, for being such great ‘kids’ and for all the years you’ve put up with me “no matter what!”  I love you to the moon and back.