Painting is a metaphor

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Fran Hart

When I first began water painting I embraced a 3″x3″ format, created by folding/tearing a 9″x12″ sheet into squares.

In preparation for selling art in Belize, each painted piece was to be put in a 3″x3″ sleeve, which quickly brought to my attention the larger sheet I was now using didn’t yield 3″x3″ pieces.

So, the next batch of 3″x 3″ squares were created with the help of a ruler and paper cutter, leaving behind 2″x3″ scraps.

The smaller the canvas, the easier it is to take risks, to try new things with little concern for potential failure. Last night I tried a couple of new techniques and practiced the big challenge of painting people. The results were mixed.

I remind myself: Patience, Practice, Persistence.

Painting is a metaphor for life’s ambitions. I don’t seek perfection but I do strive for continuous improvement. I try to be bold, daring greatly into the unknown, willing to fail.

To paint every day is my goal, as is to read and write every day. These pursuits support my greater goals. The right habits are necessary for progress.

In other forums I am learning to express my thoughts on life, politics, religion and other social issues. Here, I hope to maintain a space for reflection as I grow into myself again in this next phase of personal development.

Retirement from Engineering, Real Estate, etc. opened the door for new career opportunities which I’m now free to pursue. I’m forever grateful.

May we each find time and space to paint

Posted in adulthood, Adventure, blogs, commitment, discipline, Habits, Inspiration, life, Philosophy, Procrastination, quitting, reading, Wants, Wisdom, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Painting is a metaphor

This time I mean it

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Fran Hart

The year didn’t begin with any auspicious resolutions or a motivational word or any personal ambition; but, things have a way of working out.

Last month a friend and I chatted about goals, which led to her sharing a workbook of exercises to reflect on the past year and envision the coming year. As I shifted from reflecting to envisioning, I felt prompted to stop procrastinating and read Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy. Before finishing that I reopened Atomic Habits by James Clear. Both are on point with complementary methods for goal setting and procrastination-management.

I immediately began making adjustments in my habits and already I’m appreciating positive results. With clear goals, a plan and by being intentional, I’ve gained traction.

Two years ago I stepped away from my corporate career into an unknown, unplanned future. It’s been an adventure, literally. We travel a lot, mostly by RV but occasionally by air. We’re currently in Belize for a month. I love to travel, but travel isn’t my goal; my goal is writing and sharing my work.

I began water painting three years ago to break the monotony during quarantine. Last year I didn’t paint much. I wanted to, but I rarely made it a priority. By being intentional, I’ve changed that. For the past month I’ve painted almost daily and I’ve sold my first painting. My art is now available at a shop on Caye Caulker and a gallery in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize with potential for more. Etsy’s next.

I embrace the opportunity for transformation and growth.

Patience, practice, perseverance and God’s grace are getting me there.

I recently ran across 2 of my prior blogs:

I currently post irregularly on these 2 sites:

Showing up here, at FGHart.com, is a step toward my goals. A pile of half-written drafts are the unpublished evidence of prior revival attempts, but … this time I mean it. This post will be published.

With this post, I hereby renew my commitment to my own aspirations as an artist and author. I publicly declare my intention to post regularly. You can be my accountability partner.

Cheers!

Posted in adulthood, Adventure, China, discipline, Habits, Inspiration, Leadership, life, Procrastination, Transformation, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on This time I mean it

Apparently, the Civil War hasn’t ended

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Fran Hart

Scrolling through my Facebook wall, I cringe when I see yet another meme posted by a friend expressing condemnation of the South, supported by other friends.

Is it possible people still don’t realize how offensive this is? It dawns on me, perhaps they’re happy to offend. Maybe they need to feel superior.

Despite my campaign of shared facts, particularly around the hypocrisy of the Union and Northern States, they cling to their belief that they landed on the right side of history. Perhaps it’s a response to inner shame, knowing they didn’t?

I’ve yet to come up with a positive spin for the apparent desire of some to suppress information that broadens our understanding of history. In fact, some people go so far as to propagate bias and prejudice about a war that presumably ended over 150 years ago. Why do people need to not just feel contempt, but proudly share it on Social Media, anticipating “likes” and feel-good support.

I’m starting to form my own feelings of contempt. You see, the framework of willful ignorance seems reprehenisble to me. I was raised to do better.

If Southerners were recognized as an ethnic group, which we are, perhaps we could sensitize our Yankee friends and make them aware of their double standards?

In practical terms, when a well-meaning person posts offensive condemnation of the South, is it better offer examples of nobility in the South or counter with examples of equally questionable actions of the North?

Our Founding Fathers benefited from slave labor while writing articles of liberation. Lincoln was racist, not believing blacks capable of equal outcome (although he supported equal opportunity). Lincoln advocated for colonization, exporting blacks “back home to Africa”.

{I fear hammering this point, lest the ignorant masses topple the Lincoln Memorial!|

Lincoln’s 1865 2nd inaugaral address digs on the South, still separated from the Union. It reads like propaganda. Etched in stone, memorialized at his side.

Andrew Johnson, God love him, had troubles of his own. But, I’ll be damned if he shouldn’t get credit for liberating more slaves than Lincoln! As General Marshall of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson freed all of the enslaved in Tennessee prior to the end of the Civil War. Yet, he gets no credit. Why is this?

Meanwhile, those seeking to condemn the South stand on the soapbox of the Cornerstone speech, orated in 1861 by the new VP of the Confederacy, whose name you probably don’t know because he’s a nobody. I’ll not stand condemned under the statement made once by one politician. Good grief!

Hey, Yankee friends, really? On that you make your case? That’s the best you’ve got! Have you read South Carolina’s declaration of secession?

It seems the North didn’t win the war afterall. Otherwise, why the need to post misguided, misinformed BS on Facebook?

Does America now admire bullies?

Posted in Class & Other Socioeconomic Factors, Critical Race Theory, Philosophy, Social Reform | Tagged | Comments Off on Apparently, the Civil War hasn’t ended

How do you define CRT?

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Fran Hart

“Critical race theory (CRT) is a school of thought meant to emphasize the effects of race on one’s social standing.”

Today’s theorists have drifted from the origins of Critical Theory discipline, perhaps evident and compelling in the rhetoric of the 90’s but not so much now.

“In both the broad and the narrow senses, however, a critical theory provides the descriptive and normative bases for social inquiry aimed at decreasing domination and increasing freedom in all their forms.”

Postulate a theory about socioeconomic inequalities. Explore the theory from all angles, considering all aspects. Define changes needed in order to achieve the desired objective, while considering factors that impact outcome.

Reference this article.

Critical Race Theory has become another point of passionate contention while remaining vague and amorphous. Smoke and mirrors?

What, exactly, is Critical Race Theory?

Critical Theory “must account for society within a historical context, and it should seek to offer a robust and holistic critique by incorporating insights from all social sciences.”

“A theory can only be considered a true critical theory if it is explanatory, practical, and normative. The theory must adequately explain the social problems that exist, offer practical solutions for how to respond to them, and abide by the norms of criticism established by the field.”

Critical Theory was introduced in response to Traditional Theory, to “question power, domination, and the status quo.” This is a call to action! I love it!

Critical Theory considers the role of intellectuals.

I’ve no less respect for the Enlightenment advocates who founded our nation, despite their duplicity. When viewed through the a contemporary lens, “there but for the grace of God go I.”

WIth that, I’ll attempt my own application of CRT discipline.

PROBLEM: Failure to launch. Despite almost 60 years of regulated advantage (Affirmative Action), a disparity of socioeconomic outcome remains.

THEORY: Systemic Racism causes disparate outcomes as measured by socioeconomic parameters such as income, equity, potential, education, etc.

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Where shall I begin?

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Fran Hart

America’s past beckons, as we travel through space and time. We’re a week into a 31 day odyssey.

Another journey, my personal quest, began in fits and starts more than a year ago, most notably marked by events such as George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent riots, a MAGA hat, the ignorant and indiscrimant canceling of historical figures, including Nancy Green who was stripped of honor because she’s black and the BLM movement’s cool with that, Nascar’s decision to pull the Confederate flag, etc. etc. …and by the 1st Presidential debate I felt compelled to understand current events in the context of the New Revised Standard History.

Be concerned for our Nation. The new Progressive Left’s narrative is twisted and biased, an intrinsically racist ideology. What happened to equal opportunity and freedom for all?

Some thought I could be fixed with exposure to White Fragility and other Woke rhetoric. It didn’t work. But, I listened and kept listening. I noticed themes.

White Privilege appears to be Coastal Privilege, along the Northeast (Atlantic) and Southwest (Pacific). The epicenter might be the stretch between N. VA and MA.

There’s not much privilege the south. Not when you consider the relative principles of privilege. {Relative to South Africa and Liberia, American’s are holistically privileged.}

White Guilt can rest on the shoulders of the Union / Northern States, bearing the shame of their own hypocrisy (maintaining slavery until well after the war and enacting racist laws throughout the 1800’s). Union anti-South propaganda predates the war, veiling their own duplicity. The South took their whupping while the North swept dirt under their rugs and tucked skeletons into closets.

{You might be hollering about the racist South, but the South wasn’t all that racist before the war, believe it or not. (Some were, no doubt, but speaking in generalities.) They were quite classist, though. Their contempt of all poor, including slaves but especially the useless poor whites, is well documented. Sadly, ugly racism in the South began after the Civil War, when the freed blacks were dumped off the bottom rung of social order into the crowd of poor whites scrabbling the hard earth below.}

Systemic Racism is evident in the accepted practice of Affirmative Action, such as College Entrance requirements which favor blacks (perhaps to their disservice). Asians, however, are disfavored yet it hasn’t slowed them down much, as a whole.

Recently, a new theologist of CRT and BLM conducted our Monticello slave tour, confirming expectations. The true believers are performing parrots, not bound by facts or logic, and the doting sheep can’t get enough of it. Unable to defend their double standards, the parrots dance, blow smoke and throw darts. The sheep are mesmerized.

The double standards of today are rooted in our founding, in a declared independence established on a free-labor economy. Our foundation needs to be fortified by the truth. We must acknowledge the horrors of chattel slavery, but also consider the implications for *all* caught in the nets of poverty, prejudice and the laws and practices spawned by the oppressors.

Reframing ongoing problems of classist oppression as a function of race prevents resolution of the real issues; politicians will maintain their popular platforms. We need to break the cycle.

This blog’s coming back to life as a place to compile my research, develop my theories and freely speak my mind, away from the madding crowd.

I’ve heard there’s a broad Middle, mostly drowned out and deafened by the vocal Left.

Perhaps things will be quieter here, under my own vine and fig tree.

All are welcome.

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To Autocorrect or not to Autocorrect

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Fran Hart

 

Screenshot_20170613-201328

A few months ago I turned off the autocorrect feature on my phone. It was driving me crazy. Seriously, over the edge, with tourette’s tics, muttering and cursing. I’d grit my teeth as my phone insisted I meant to say something other than what I was typing, even when using common words and phrases. And for the uncommon? I could tell my phone repeatedly that I really did mean “(insert industry acronym here)”, but it would always want to autocorrect me.

I decided to see if life would be better without my phone’s attempts to out-think me. And, so far, the results have been mostly positive, with the exception of one growing problem. My phone’s dictionary has been “learning” all of my typos, and adding them to an ever-expanding list of foreign words, which now come up as valid options when I’m typing.

Because my thumbs lack a rubber nub, for graceful and accurate tapping of each letter as I type, I often hit adjacent letters, and come up with words like “tge” and “jyst” and “yiu”. I’ve recently discovered I’m much more proficient with Swype, sweeping my thumb around the keyboard and *mostly* coming out with the right word. However (and this is a biggie), my dictionary now includes tge, jyst and yiu (among a plethora of other gibberish words). Surprisingly, those are often coming up as the primary option.

I am now going through the tedious process of making my phone “unlearn” all of these new words. As I Swype, word by word, I check to see if egregious variations are offered. If so, I stop and go through the process of deleting any that are.

I suppose the lesson here is, if you’re going to turn off autocorrect, and you’re a reckless typist, Swype might be the way to go immediately, before you’re typing in a different language. I wonder if I can default back to the factory-installed dictionary….

Have you dared to turn off autocorrect? How was that experience?

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Stiff, by Mary Roach

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Fran Hart

20160628_204954I have no idea what prompted me to bring my recent impulse-buy, Stiff, with me on a cruise, but I did. As Mr. H and I headed to the deck for a little sunbathing on our first day at sea, I questioned myself. With some trepidation, I opened the book and read the first paragraph of the introduction, which erased any doubt:

The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back. The brain has shut down. The flesh begins to soften. Nothing much new happens, and nothing is expected of you.

Yes, this book was perfect reading material for my first cruise.

I don’t necessarily have a fascination with death, although I do love crime shows, such as CSI, NCIS and Criminal Minds. And, similarly, I tend toward dark novels, with an absolute love for Stephen King and a recent penchant for Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series.

Perhaps because of this interest, I have full appreciation for Mary Roach’s professional, respectful, and occasionally humorous review of the many options to be considered for post-mortem disposal. Burial? Sure. Embalming? Yes, with information on history. Or, cremation, with a great perspective on recent shifts in popularity of these options.

More fascinating, though, are the myriad of paths that open up for the cadaver that is destined for science and research. For example, what good is the data gathered by analysis of a crash test dummy, without the relevant analysis of human limitations, provided by research done of crash test cadavers? Or, consider how forensic scientists (so popular in my TV dramas) are able to ascertain time of death, without relative information from “control” subjects (aka cadavers left baking in the sun or shade, or buried in shallow graves or cemented into concrete or dumped in ponds or…let your twisted imagination run amok). Cadavers are used to help scientists understand the many variables of decomposition in a plethora of environmental conditions.

Cadavers are also useful subjects in analysis of passengers of failed air travel. Whether by bomb, or fire, or other causes, for air crashes, especially those which occur over sea space, without benefit of black box or aircraft remains, bodies are the best source of forensic information.

Mary Roach’s work even touches on the touchy subject of cannibalism, with her research into various myths and legends. And, she explores the relatively recent trend toward the idea of composting our loved ones, which, as recently as last year, was still a “hot topic” for consideration.

Personally, I am grateful for her insight, as well as the benefit of her research. I am much better prepared for my next murder mystery, and have a greater understanding of the options (and implications) for my own “beyond.”

I’ll close with words of Mary Oliver, in a poem I fell in love with today, discovered independently, When Death Comes:

When it’s over, I want to say all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

Because … what will always be more important than death, or what happens after, is the life we’ve lived.

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It started with a flat tire

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Fran Hart

20160415_150323Have you ever experienced a weekend that felt like one very long Monday? This one started with a flat tire, resulting from brief inattention, resulting in tire-meet-curb (and curb won).

Then I sang “I am Woman!” while I dealt with it.*

I left work early (but later than intended), to get home, pack, and hit the road as soon as possible (after the kids arrived from school) going to Port Aransas for business/vacation. Tire change meant delayed departure.

BUSINESS: Take Golf Cart II to our short-term-rental beach house. Golf Cart I, a lemon, relentlessly backfired. Multiple trips to the shop didn’t give confidence that this would be anything but trouble, so…we traded up.

20160415_073648Meet “Greased Lightening”!

In addition, our newly upgraded Smart Home Hub drops offline ~daily. Called tech support, was told we needed to be at-the-hub to work-on-the-hub, to take the first step: “reboot the hub”.

VACATION: If we don’t spend at least an hour on the beach, our resident grandchildren have been robbed! So we spent an hour on the beach. And, we went to/from the beach in the aforementioned golf cart, which was totally rockin’. We also ate out a lot, and went to the park, so there was plenty to offset the business.

REALITY: We arrived well past the kiddos’ bedtime Friday night. After our best rush-job to get through PJ’s/teeth-brush/bedtime story/prayers/nursery songs, which are all things better left unrushed, we finally got the kids to bed. Soon after (but not soon enough), we went to bed.

Saturday morning, I was up and at ’em by 6:30am. The kids were waiting for me. Lovely. Can’t blast them out of bed with dynamite all week long, but give them sleep deprivation and vacation, and they are MACHINES!

My day, after an injection of coffee and breakfast, began with a call to tech support for the Smart Home Hub. This support tech was way smarter than the last support tech, as evidenced by her first statement of “let me reboot your hub.” Wait! What? You mean, I didn’t have to drive 4 hours to get to the hub in order for said hub to be rebooted? Grrr.

Later, in the early afternoon, we lost our cable connection. Intermittent disconnects interrupted Netflix, ending with a final fatal no-more-worky-end-of-movie.

Great. Call TWC and walk through trouble-shooting. Net result (no pun intended)? Need to replace the modem. And maybe the splitter (although failure persisted without the splitter in the mix, we won’t let logic slow us down). So, Mr. H. hauls @$$ to Corpus Christ’s TWC location to swap the modem (for one that lacks landline support, which means “to be continued” in the language of tech support). AAAANNNNNDDDD….new modem doesn’t work, either. Better yet, when I connected it up, the direct cable in the master bedroom went out. Wha-?

We have paying guests coming Thursday. We have no cable. Without cable, the Smart Home Hub doesn’t work. Wait… You know, perhaps all of the hub’s drops are not the fault of the hub. Darn you, TWC!!! And, the tech that did the activation of the new hub (that didn’t result in fixing the issue) implied the issue is probably TWC’s, but … 2-3 customers without cable do not a “cable outage” make.

On top of all of this, 5YO is running a low grade fever and not eating because her tummy hurts. Trip to pharmacy for thermometer, Tylenol, pepto.

Sunday morning, up and at ’em … and once again, children await the wakening. Can’t catch a break. But, at least Sunday was un-tech-eventful.

*CONFESSION: I flagged down young muscle to wrestle the bad tire into the trunk, at the end of the tire-changing ordeal. No way was I going to mess with that heavy, dirty, beastly thing. I still get street cred for the tire change.

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my to-do list is ridiculous

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Fran Hart

20160410_164448If you’ve spent much time with me, perhaps you know that my weekends are managed by my to-do list. Every Saturday morning I rise, and put pen to paper, creating my weekend. Sort of.

The Important and the Urgent compete for time and attention. Finally, as the sun sets on Sunday, I have to accept defeat for all of the uncrossed-off-lines of unmet responsibilities and obligations.

It’s too much! And, it’s not like the list is unreasonable!

The list, and the day, invariably begins with “laundry” (mine and the grandchildren’s). Although the wash/dry times are fairly predictable, the grandchildren fold their own clothes, so the dining room “folding” table might be occupied for up to 4 hours (depending on the level of supervision & focus).

The list includes “Crossword,” as my parents and I complete the NY Times puzzle via remote collaboration, finishing every Sunday afternoon either before or during a 3pm phone call. That’s not something I’m willing to sacrifice, and I don’t consider it a time-waster. The NY Times puzzle might be recreation, but we treat it as business.

In addition, I have a full-time job that doesn’t always get done within the bounds of Mon-Friday, so I often need an hour or 4 on the weekend. Business.

Then, there’s the part-time job of real estate, which is mostly bookkeeping, but I’m currently under the gun to finish 20 hours of Continuing Education by June in order to retain my license. So, ~4 hours for CE, plus 1~2 hours for various bookkeeping duties. Business.

We’re past the hurtle of tax prep, thankfully. That business consumed 2 weekends and most of Spring Break.

The backyard is once again a jungle wilderness in need of taming, which is next to impossible to do in bits and pieces. Last year, I worked my way through the flower bed pictured above, spending about an hour per day, as I was able. By the time I finished, the first patch was already under renewed attack, because of the invasive nature of the Bermuda grass and dwarf bamboo and nutsedge and the other unidentified intruders. These days, this is neither business nor recreation. It’s a nightmare.

On top of all of this, I’ve got to purge two overstuffed closets in order to consolidate a guest room and an office, to create a second bedroom for the grandchildren, who’ve shared a room for the last 2 years. That effort hangs like a dark cloud overhead on a windless day, with growing urgency.

At the end of each weekend, when I’ve done all that I can do, it’s never enough. Yet, it is what it is. It’s time for the next week and I haven’t finished last week. Meanwhile, …

The truly bitter pill comes from my desire to spend time sewing for my grandchildren. What can I do to make sure this effort makes the cut (literally!)?

 

Posted in adulthood, angst, Challenged, child-rearing, children, chores, commitment, deadline, discipline, employment, faith, family, Is it just me?, life, Lingering thoughts, not writing, obedience, parent, Puzzles, quitting, Rant, reward, spirit, Spring Cleaning, Venting, Wants, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on my to-do list is ridiculous

Paying by phone

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Fran Hart

Samsung PayI’ve not typically played “early adopter” for new technology, but sometimes the change is so remarkably compelling, the convenience and ease-of-use so stunning, that I’d be remiss *not* to make the change. Using my phone to make credit/debit card charges falls into this category.

I stumbled into my first use of this feature, having recently set up a card in my phone, when Mr. H. and I were checking out with our merchandise and he said, “Oh, no! I left my wallet in the truck!” and I said, “Hey! Let me try this handy new app!” (Or something to that effect.)

And so, at the IGA grocery story, in the small island town of Port Aransas, I launched the app, held it over the card-reader, and we paid for our groceries.

However, it was many months before I tried again (at an Einstein Bagels), and the cashier was unable to get it to work, and there was a line, so we aborted the effort. It was even more months before the next attempt. Coincidentally, it was, again, at the Port Aransas IGA. This time, the experience was completely different.

In the trial run, the experience was low-key (I’m not even sure if the cashier noticed). The second IGA encounter involved a hostile cashier who was outraged at my attempt to hold my phone over the card reader. She shouted and waved her arms, telling me it doesn’t work, and they don’t support it, and blah, blah, blah…while the register registered my card and I approved the transaction.

She called over the front end manager who took the receipt (and a copy that he insisted she print) to the office while muttering about how they don’t support this. Meanwhile, I pulled up my bank account app, logged in, and tried to show the still-hostile cashier that the transaction had already posted to my account. She was having none of it. She proceeded to be hostile to the customer in line behind me. (Who knows? Maybe she was hostile to the customer in front of me, too.)

The manager returned, gave me both copies of the receipt, explained that they were burned by someone who used their phone to pay and somehow escaped with $100 worth of unpaid for groceries, and so they don’t support the technology and he didn’t think it worked.

Technology proved victorious, and I was allowed to leave with my $12 worth of merchandise (sunscreen and a bag o’ ice).

Now, I am itching to go shopping (completely out of character), on a mission to explore various venues with this newfangled app, replacing my wallet with my always-handy, ever-ready phone.

Let the games begin!

Posted in adulthood, Adventure, Is it just me?, Port Aransas, Rant, reduce/reuse/recycle/reinvent, Review | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Paying by phone