Columbus with Janie (part 3)

 

"I feel like a giddy High School girl in love" was the P.S. on the Rebecca & Co. original design card. A Big Hug from me to you - was the message and it arrived in my mailbox about a week before Janie and I would be together again - this time in Columbus, Ohio. I too, feel like a high schooler. Well, in so many ways, it's as if no time had passed at all since we were a couple in High School. 

I flew to Columbus where I would visit with my nephew on Thursday night. Friday morning, Janie drove from Cleveland and we spent a lovely 28 hours together. The Columbus Museum of Art is hosting a special exhibition of Tapestries designed by High Renaissance artist Raphael. Columbus is a twin city with Dresden, Germany and, as such, is the only place in the U.S. showing these remarkable pieces (which once hung in the Sistine Chapel). After Columbus they will go to London.

One of Six Raphael designed Tapestries on view at Columbus Museum of Art

Coffee and Tea in the sculpture garden. In spite of weather predictions of cloudy day, the sun was shinning and the temps are in the sixties. Comfortable and adjacent to Aristide Maillol The Mountain and a reflecting pool.

Lunch at Ohio State Golf Course and a evening with Shadowbox Live regional theater sketch comedy production of Wicked Games. 

A visit with my sister at the Wal-Mart where she sells eyeglasses; The show and The Marriott Columbus OSU spill into breakfast and and pregame of The Ohio State Buckeyes at the Penn State University at JV's house. (JV is stressing a bit over his latest project to rehab and renovate a house in Upper Arlington). 

Janie left for Cleveland mid morning and we racked up a few more memorable moments before returning to our respective lives in Cleveland and Saint Louis (I flew back early Sunday on Southwest wanna get away trip that took me through Chicago).

Photo above: Janie photographed in the Lakewood High School cafeteria in 1974 where she had the same kind of charm, mystery and vibe as the character played by Ali McGraw opposite Ryan O'Neal's character in Love Story (1970). 

Photo Below: Wes and Janie at Ohio State University golf course where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch surrounded by the majesty of a Fall Day in October. 

 

Je t’aime Janie

 

I know you are capable of being alone;

I’ll just text you, so I’ll be on your phone.

I wish you more… You say I could always read you;

Your cards are on the table but never fully shown.

 

Children on hard wood floors making noise;

Five girls and no boys.

Grace Wren Mercy Rooney Prim;

Princess parade proceeding with poise.

 

Cleveland, Cincy and Columbus;

Can’t stop thinking of the two of us;

Old Immigrant brew-pub eclectic;

Divine Intervention…In God we trust.

 

Clifton Park, Edgewater Drive;

It’s great to be alive;

Embracing the moment;

Grateful, as we survive.

 

Consider the time and miles;

Kissing in the dark,   

We’re only dancin’ a while.

And I will always love your smile.

-----------

Love Story

 

They went to the senior dance;

Not ever thinking of an enduring romance.

That night came and went;

Marking time and another life event.

 

Ultimately going their separate ways;

It was a time and place. It was just a phase;

Unaware they were living the good old days.

Simple, present, in retrospect, it amazed. 

 

A reunion and a chance encounter;

Memories rekindle as he once again found her;

They danced around and round;

As the feelings and flames astound.

 

The bond was a magical kind of chemistry;

Familiar places, friends, a shared history;

The why and the how remains a mystery

What they were and are will always be.

Note: The poetry is one way for me to channel my sappy affection for this ironic set of circumstances that brings us together after so many years.

Drimer at the Wall - Jerusalem

 

Reflections on a Wall By David Drimer

Every time in Jerusalem feels like the first time.

But there is a force, a powerful magnet, always drawing me to the Kotel. No matter what prosaic thing I may be doing, it’s always on the fringes of my consciousness. As I wander the streets of the Old City, inching ever closer, the pull becomes stronger.

As much for this reason as for any other, this is the essence of why a Jew makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Finally, we approach in silence, if not awe. I enter, keenly aware of those around me. Immediately I put my forehead against the wall, by hands above my head, feeling the heat of the rock. I instantly marvel: “How many tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands – of my Jewish forebears have prayed here in this very spot?” Suddenly, I am – as the poem goes – “alone amongst them.”

Candidly, my thoughts quickly turn introspective and soon lead to grief. I unbury my personal pain, the pains of my loved ones, the pains of the world. I consider each in turn. My emotional response is far from unique. It’s been written, “If tears could melt stone, the Kotel wouldn’t be standing.”

I brought little notes of prayer to place in the Wall; one is to my mother Doris/Devorah Rahel (z”l), the other is to my father Gideon/Moishe Gidon (z”l). What I know of unconditional love, I first learned from my mother. She was sick for a long time, suffering in acute pain daily for many years. I have often looked for meaning in her suffering; I have still not found it. On my father’s 90^th birthday, his last, I wrote him a card that said, “Whenever I have a tough ethical decision to make, I think, ‘What would my father do?’” It was true then; it remains true to this day. It’s a hard path; it has cost me. These are the mysteries of life; my road to travel. I consider the totality of their lives and speak my heartfelt prayers to them partially aloud, but sotto voce.

In this quiet period of meditation, I ask for guidance in solving my and my family’s problems, guidance on how to be a better man, a better father, a better husband. I seek guidance on how to best serve the interests of the Jewish community. It’s my career, it’s my calling, my hope is to do it the best I can. My single biggest remaining ambition is to bring my and my wife’s hopes for our Holocaust Awareness Initiative to full fruition. I pray unabashedly for help.

Time spent there sobers me up a little; I start to breathe easier and become more cognizant of the peace of the place; more aware of the simple grandeur of this plain stone wall, a literal wreck for thousands of years.  I begin to sense relief. I have put down my burdens.

I finally remember to pray for the Mets to win the World Series (it can’t hurt.) I don’t bother with the Jets anymore. That ship sailed long ago.

My feelings now drift towards an increasing feeling of serenity and joy. Look at this amazing place. This phenomenal tradition. The spiritual power of this Wall calls people of many religions to dip their toes in the waters of Judaism.

I no longer think of myself as an especially “spiritual” person. Figuratively, I’m the man who blocks the door, while others behind me pray, at least temporarily but blissfully unaware of the looming threat of the outside world. I choose to be alert while others seek transcendence.

But in this place, just before we greet Shabbos, its transcendental for me, as well. It has also been written, “If hopes and dreams could make these stones fly, there would be a wall floating around somewhere in space.”

Eventually – and I have no idea how much time has passed – I turn away.  The women of the wall (“My women of the wall”) have yet to emerge. I learn later my daughter went back to pray twice. My wife, who lost her mother just one year ago, finally emerges teary-eyed. I know precisely what she was praying about. But they are tears of joy. Her mother was a remarkable, powerful woman. My wife is the living embodiment of her mother’s very strong Jewish values. Ina Frey/Chaya Tsura (z”l) looms over our lives every day.

We leave, refreshed. Renewed. Reinvigorated. More inspired by our faith than when we entered. We exit more committed to our cultural imperatives of Tzedakah (Charity) and Tikkun Olam (Repair the World).

Such is my “tongue’s poor speech” on praying at the Western Wall.

Shalom. 

Note: David Drimer shared this piece with me. I read it on what would have been my 42nd snniversary. (October 8, 2022) So beautifully crafted. And for me incredible timing. Dave - you are amazing. So many stories that might begin "A wise dude I knew in college..."  

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Laumeier Sculpture Park Big Dinner September 17, 2022

The Aaronson Fine Arts Building proudly showcases a selection of artists celebrating the environment of trees. Gallery visitor traffic observe a range of works from figurative to conceptual. It is an ideal starting point as supporters check in for our fundraising diner. Laumeier Sculpture Park is a remarkable gem in our region. More than 275 citizens enthusiastically gather to support of the mission that merges art and nature.

 

The catering crew from Ces and Judy's have prepared each plate as if a work of art. The staff at Laumeier attend to a million details. The evening is mapped out to showcase the bucolic setting adjacent to the neon art of David Hutson, Big Deer by Tony Tasset, Ginnever's Crete, Alexander Liberman's The Way and dozens of other world-class pieces of monumental heroic contemporaty art in a very public place. We find ourselves dining at tables positioned in the heart of the midway that earlier this year attracted over 17,000 visitors to the juried show and Art Fair on Mother's Day weekend in May. 

The moveable feast guides guests from check in and gallery viewing to cocktails, diner, coffee/desert and the music by the Screechin' Halts on a stage in front of the estate house. The evening was lovely and the weather behaved as if Sumer would last forever. The fun included auction items and pledge opportunities that crushed the goal of $135,000.00 before the valet parking crew started the orderly end of a beautiful evening. Needless to say: A good time was had by all. Congratulations to Executive Director Lauren Ross and the staff at Laumeier Sculpture Park.

A Day in Cleveland with Janie (part 2)

A Day in Cleveland 8-20-22

Divine Intervention

Sunrise 6:45am - Pier W is truly a one of a kind place for a beautiful sunrise. It's been a landmark restaurant since 1965 and its architecture is designed to resemble the hull of a ship. Set within a cliff overlooking Lake Erie, with a panoramic view of Cleveland. (The photo my brother Dan captured of Janie and me is a kind of magical documentation of what I later claimed as Divine Intervention. (Janie’s border line agnostic text response - Divine Intervention: Sometimes that works.) 

Breakfast - The Dinerbar on Clifton serves tasty, high quality American fare with health conscious options for breakfast in a sleek & stylish retro diner. I wanted coffee. She wanted Tea. We lingered over breakfast for over 2 hours. OMG it’s 11:00 already.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - A highlight of our visit was An immersive complement to Peter Jackson's docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back.” We are fans experiencing The Beatles on film, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon and even Billy Preston on keyboards. The film takes us to the rooftop of Apple Studio in January of 1969. 

The Cleveland Museum of Art – I am delighted to visit the Cleveland Museum of Art with Janie. She has agreed to be a student and I cannot resist being a docent. This is the place where as a youngster I was introduced to Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period La Vie, George Wesley Bellows Stag at Sharkey’s and of course Rodin’s Thinker. Janie smiles as she continues to struggle for appreciation of the abstract expressionism of Mark Rothko. Dan embraces his “side hustle” as a part time museum guard in addition to his ongoing career as an extraordinary photographer.

Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park - The perfect day included a finale sunset at Lakewood Park’s Solstice Steps. We stopped to reflect at Coach Angelo Privetera’s lovely tribute to his wife Karen at the Pavilion between Foster Pool and a baseball diamond. Clouds and a light rain caused us to cut it short but we agreed to get a bite to eat before calling it a day.

Immigrant Son Brewery - Janie suggested we visit this place at 18120 Sloane Avenue. Years ago this was a common hangout where the McDonald’s restaurant nearby attracted students from Lakewood High School. On this night it was busy and so we elected to sit at the bar. Perfect! We found ourselves adjacent to a social media couple just getting to know each other. (He was divorced and she was a widow.) They were a kind of proof positive that people deserve happiness. It is beautiful when people find each other and extra special if you are fortunate enough to rediscover one another. "How long have you two been together?" she asks. Well, we first dated about 48 years ago. (Ha) Again we lingered effortlessly (until after 10 pm).   

Back at the Winton Place we said goodbye in the darkness of the parking lot. I had an early flight back to Saint Louis the following morning. Divine Intervention? Yeah, I think sometimes that works.

 

 

 

Texting Janie (part 1)

The Medium is the Message

I am communicating almost exclusively via text message with Janie, having seen her again in Cleveland on what happened to be my birthday more than 2 months ago. She and I attended our senior prom together in 1974 (48 years ago). She joined me (and my brother Dan) for diner at The Pier W restaurant overlooking Lake Erie. The reservation is late, due to my flight in from Saint Louis. Dan’s wife Annette had to work a shift and was unable to join us. She is a nurse. I am tickled that Janie agreed to meet for diner. It was as if no time had passed at all.

Janie is everything she always was. She is a bit guarded but she sparkles in the low light of the outdoor waiting area overlooking the Lake. She smiles easily. We hugged before our table is ready. The Cleveland skyline is in the distance as we enjoyed our meal near the window. The conversation is largely dominated by me. I came armed with index cards designed to get some answers from the woman. In my way of thinking, time is of the essence. She told me she was divorced three years ago at one of those sort of contrived High School reunions. I only have a sketchy idea about details of her four children and five grandchildren. I noticed early on that she didn’t really want to focus on my iPhone images of my amazing two children and my wonderful two grandchildren. I get it. The family stories and pics are fun but you cannot make up for lost time this way. She did warm up, however, to the gamesmanship of the prepared interview questions on my list. It’s good fun because most of the questions are either trivia or subject to our collective memories. The real purpose, perhaps, is just to get reacquainted for what it might be worth.

Dan was a good sport, sensing correctly that I just really wanted to take advantage of this short window of time with Janie before I filled the balance of the weekend with the Cleveland Museum of Art, Dan’s travelogue of Lakewood haunts, and the St. Luke grade school (1-8) reunion which kicked off with a 4:30 Mass followed by festivities at the school Gymnasium.

So the texting becomes the way for Janie and I to keep talking (sort of). It is apparent that the nuances of communication without regard to punctuation, sentence structure, and subject to fumbling thumbs and auto-correct is gonna be flawed at best. But I kinda love it nevertheless.

We text about the weather. We text about art. We text about movies and theater. We text about family and all in all we’ve covered a lot of ground in staggered exchanges that may be choppy, disjoined and a kind of shorthand. 

ABOVE: Rothko Painting at Saint Louis Art Museum

BELOW: Snail-mail card (front and inside) for Janie mailed in July 2022 commemorating the flavor/flaws of our textmessaging.

Sonoma Valley Wedding of K-Mo and Mad

 

The Last Dragon finds his match

K-Mo (Kevin) and Mad (Madelyn) are to be married on July 9, 2022 at Beltane Ranch in Glen Ellen, California. He is the youngest of my youngest brother Rob’s kids. Morgan uncles from Tampa (Greg), Cleveland (Dan) and Saint Louis (Me) are happy to travel west to be a part of what is sure to be a storybook event in the heart of Northern California wine country. I cannot resist another opportunity to see my brother Rob cry as he tries to express his heartfelt emotion. His wife Joy knows well the bitter-sweetness of watching as the dragons of Southlake making their way in the world.

We have already enjoyed the magic and chemistry of Rob and Joy wedding celebrations of Megan (to Parker in Nashville) and Tara (to Adam in Oklahoma City). Showing up for Kevin’s wedding, like the other two weddings, is rewarding beyond imagination.

Beltane Ranch, the 105-acre venue nestled in the Sonoma Valley, was founded by business-woman and abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant in 1892. This dreamlike place is augmented with string instrumentation, catering, tables, music, a dance floor and a hundred other details managed expertly in a setting of an extraordinary beauty. Clearly the wedding planner, behind the scenes, earned her stripes. Timeless elegance and pure joy surrounded a remarkable collection of beautiful guests, all with utmost confidence in future Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Morgan.

We are a family separated by time and geography, but an occasion like this allows us to fill in some of the stories of our individual lives. Greg is joined on this trip with has his stepdaughter Lauren, son Matt (and sweet Bianca) and son Wes (traveling via RV with his quirky plus one, Alexis). Dan drops knowledge of photography on us in impromptu Masterclass episodes and select memories (his own brand). I was lucky Denise (a San Francisco resident) was willing to indulge my desire to visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (where we were able to ponder, among other works, the a remarkable Mark Rothko #14 from 1960). Denise and I also had lunch on Thursday at ATwater Tavern (founded by Lakewood, Ohio pal John Caine who joined us at our table).  

Kevin and Madelyn are are a beautiful couple and their marriage was pure joyfulness from start to finish. Kevin is flanked in picture above by his sisters Tara on his right and Megan on his left,  

Denise (my plus one for the wedding) is flanked by Morgan brothers Dan, Wes, Rob and Greg,

AMA GOLF AT CCGC 2022

Well, we did it again. A core group of hearty golfers came out to celebrate the study and practice of marketing with the American Marketing Association of Saint Louis at Creve Coeur Golf Course. 

Nick Niehaus, our AMA chapter  president was on hand to kick of the afternoon round on Friday July 1, 2022. I rode with the incomparable Bob Mogley who flattered me twice (first by suggesting that I inspired him as he has made a career change that he absolutely loves. secondly, suggesting that our annual outing might be named the Wes Morgan Open since I have been determined to keep this little tradition alive). 

It was a glorious sunny warm day and while we were a mighty few relative to other years when our outing attracted 40+ (enough to justify a shotgun start) but this was kind of a special year as we emerge from global challenges, political divisiveness, and challenging times overall. Tim Brinks made sure we were well taken care of at the course (in spite of our random organizational details). Dave Shogren managed to deliver goody bags for all golferrs (even as he and his wife just returned from an amaging trip to Zanzibar, Africa). Rowdy Jones managed to take a break from his new positionn at BJC signage shop to contribute to our prize pool.  

Randy Niederer of Cambridge Engineering, Ted Ruzicka and his playing partner Bill Potthoff, Tyler Kelly of SLAM! agency and his brother, and Tom Ferris of Watlow rounded out the field. I was touched by the reflections live and via messages of RSVP regrets of what our annual folly has enabled over the years. Mark Bretz regrets Covid 19 is in his family precludes his paticiptaion this year,  Brian Dwyer hopes to return maybe next year (as a returning champion), UMSL's Perry Drake broke both of his arms in a motorcycle acident and regrets that doctor appointment eliminnates even a cameo as a posibility.

Thanks to AMA, CCGC and players. A good time was had by all. Again!