Tag Archives: Venice CA

History Is Myth

Posted on by
1

It’s been Old Home Tour this week. Ventura, LA, Orange Counties.

I would’ve gone with “History is Selective” and/or “History is Contested”, but who am I to argue with her.

Speaking of history, here is where I took my first college history class, “Western Civilization A” with Geoffrey Symcox in the fall of 1980. The Neolithic Revolution, Hammurabi’s Code, Gilgamesh. May sound cliche, but life changing.

Fave “Western Civ” memory. One winter day in “Western Civ B” our whip smart,Turkish Ph.D. student discussion section leader got so disgusted with our lack of preparation, he suddenly announced, “You guys haven’t read! There’s no point in continuing. Class is cancelled!” And then proceeded to pack his leather shoulder bag and walk out. Badass to the core. It’s a real shame I’ve never honored his memory by doing the same.

Speaking of history, last night the GoodWife and I had dinner with SWright, KBabb, and CBabb in suburban Irvine (redunant). After a wonderful dinner and desert, KBabb busted out some Cypress High School memorabilia including the 1979 Varsity Water Polo Team stat sheet.

I coulda sworn I scored more goals at a higher clip, but the history in my head is myth. It will come as no surprise to RZ and other PressingPausers who know me best that I rocked the second-to-last shooting percentage on the team. Major props to Eric Candelaria for having a slightly worser shooting percentage and saving me from bringing up the absolute rear.

To Dan, Dan the Retired Transpo Man and everyone else laughing at me right now, get back to me on how easy it is for you to dominate in the water and on the golf course at damn near the same time.

A Writer Threads The Needle

Posted on by
Reply

As a writer, there are some impossible assignments. Where the degree of difficulty is just too great to put pen to paper.

You can’t write anything sympathetic to Republicanism in The New York Times, just as you can’t write anything sympathetic to the Left in The Washington Times.

If you identify as male, you can’t write about the “female experience”. If you are rich, you can’t write about the poor. If you’ve never had kids, you can’t write about parenting.

I mean, you can, there’s a First Amendment after all, but good luck to you.

And if you’re on “the tenure track”, or a tenured professor, you can’t complain about anything higher education-related without understandably unleashing the growing army of adjuncts who struggle to feed themselves and make rent. They. Aren’t. Having. It.

Unless you were an adjunct before you landed your tenure-track position? And you acknowledge your good fortune. More than once. Then, just maybe, you can pull off the rarest of feats.*

Cue Sarah Emanuel’s essay, “The Deflating Reality Of Life On The Tenure Track” with the provocative subtitle—”Walking dogs helps me make rent.”

Props to Emanuel for her hustle and her risk taking as a writer. And her good humor.

Historical footnote. The Good Wife and I started our journey in a one-bedroom Venice apartment.

*I haven’t read the comments yet. Kinda afraid to.