Working out the Week
Posted By Kathleen David on January 5, 2008
Since Ariel went to school for two days this week, I have almost gotten back into the groove of things. By Monday, I think I’ll have the day in my head when I wake up rather than when I look at my calendar on my computer. I like time. I like knowing what time it is. I like knowing where I am within a month or a year. It has always been a comfort for me. I can trust that 9 AM will occur after 8 AM and so forth.
Then there are schedules. During the School Year I know that Ariel will be leaving the house at 6:50 and returning home about 2:35. Right now she has her high school bowling team so she either has a match or practice so she doesn’t get home until between 5 and 6. Peter goes to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday pretty regularly and Caroline goes with him to childcare. He has bowling leagues Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have a bowling league on Monday. The summer is much more fluid but that is fine too.
I have to create some structure for myself because, as those who know me well, I can be a champion of time frittering. Some of it is constructive time frittering but a majority of it is rather pointless. And I can see myself falling into that rut. I no longer make excuses for myself but try to break myself out of my fritter mode. But with the wonders of the Internet that can be hard. Because you can find such cool stuff that you want to take time to look at.
For example, there were these puppets of a girl and an elephant that were made to celebrate the life of Jules Verne which were these amazing puppets. Well now there is a whole exhibit of their work which is quite amazing.
Steam Driving Animals?
and if you speak French, the catalogue of the exhibit itself
Les Machines-Nantes
I wish I could see the exhibit in person but these photos give me the scope of what is there to look at. And I have a number of search terms I can use to find more information and pictures of the exhibit.
And with that I have taken up about 40 minutes of my day that did not further anything but an interest. That is what I need to avoid or limit so I can get other things done outside the Internet which I am trying to incorporate into my daily and weekly schedule. I have a little list that I want to get done in 1001 days and so far I haven’t been able to strike one item off the list. I can say that I started a number of them but nothing is done. And I can’t say that I am happy with myself over that.
I am grateful for the cool things that I do find on the Internet or others point out to me.
Hi Kathleen. I just found out that you were Frank Wittow’s daughter and that he had died in 2006. I worked at the Academy Theater in its Buckhead location from 1958 to 1963 or thereabouts. Your description of him is perfect and comports with my memory of the big, curly haired, burly Frank. He smoked a lot (though he kept trying to quit), drank a lot, and popped Tums a lot. I’m amazed he lived to 76. He was a genius, in my opinion, and I count myself among those who loved the guy. We did some of the earliest Pinter plays produced in this country, Shakespeare in the summers, and (you’re wrong about this) a money-maker for Christman (such as “Peter Pan”). Frank had a tall, thin, blonde girlfriend when I knew him, although I can’t recall her name. My last correspondance with him was when I was a graduate student in theater and wanted to write my Master’s thesis about the Academy. Frank demurred because someone had gotten there ahead of me; he thought one examination was enough. Recently, a member of the current Academy staff, Deborah Lipshitz (sp?), had a play done at my college here in Maryland. Reading of her connection to the Academy brought back a flood of memories. Frank accomplish a great deal with very few resources. For a time in the the 50s, I was one of those.
David Kross (davidkross@hotmail.com)