Palmer House Chicago

It was 1964. I was 13. A skinny little vanilla wafer with long brown hair and a large leather hat - pointy red shoes and feather earrings. I must have looked ridiculous. My father had an important meeting of the Ceramic industry’s premier annual conference at the Palmer House in Chicago. I wanted to look cool but when I walked into the lobby with my three brothers and motherand could not contain my aloofness. I was stunned and awed by its beauty. I remember the high ceiling, the intricate, abundant and extravagant gold décor surrounding every wall, entrance and archway. The chandeliers were larger than my bedroom at home and the paintings on the ceiling made me feel like I was in Italy or France. I remember twirling in the center of the lobby while my parents checked in. I loved the click of my shoes on the tessellated marble floors.

I read about the history of the Palmer House. Giving the Hotel as a gift to his new wife, Potter Palmer spared no expense in design and size. The Palmer House was the largest hotel in the world. It burned to the ground in the great Chicago fire 6 weeks after it opened, only to be rebuilt in greater magnificence.

I remember walking down State Street to the record shop and buying my first Beatles 45. It was actually the first record I every purchased. I had been given records, but never purchased one. I couldn’t help myself. I had checked in. My transfer credit summit would begin in two hours. I had a direct flight from Tampa to Chicago. I walked into the Palmer House, I looked at the ceiling and had a sudden urge to twirl. So I did!

Isn’t it beautiful!

Reflections - Challenged by Christy

Okay, so I am a little behind and I did not do anyphoto touch-up. But I tried my hand at reflections. The first photo is the windshielf of Bill's old truck. You can see the reflection of the trees and see through the glass to the house. I think it is too busy. I would have like to park it where there is nothing but water or grass - but it was a good idea. I do not know what that little strip is in the upper right corner.

This is my favorite one. This is my thinking rock. I looked for a large rock to buy that was smooth and tilted just right so that it is comfortable to sit on. I found it and it was a job bringing it home! I surrounded it with lilies which are not yet in bloom. But it shows the reflection of the tree and I love the shadow of the lily leaf licking the curvature of the rock. Not particularly artistic but at least I now have a photo of my thinking rock.

This is my birdbath. I love the palm frond that is reflecting on the edge. I wish I would have gotten the entire round bird bath - I thought I did. I love my bird bath. I watch cardinals, doves, and finches bath. I also watch squirrels drink. All this from my lovely office at home.

The end!

Not the best of moods....

Once I listed nostalgic remembrances; the ones that made me smile. Today, I am enjoying a day off but my mood is one that is hard to describe. I feel nostalgic but pensive like the past is a pleasant aroma with tentacles of reeking emanations that actually came from the future. Perhaps instead, they are the future’s dirty roots growing around the past’s pleasant herbs and spices planting themselves so that when the future arrives (as it has) the thistles and stinkweed cannot be uprooted without destroying whatever remains that is good. Okay this is beginning to sound quite gloomy – I will make a list and see if you get the feeling when I am done.

I remember:
1. When before my eyes on national television I watched Chinese students die in massacre at Tiananmen Square – That was 1989.
2. I remember my father being upset because people blamed President Dwight Eisenhower for Joseph McCarthy’s political noosing of anything and anyone whom he chose to associate with Communism; and then the media began to dismantle his distinguished military career and demand apologies for his decisions as a military leader. I don’t remember much else other than I thought Eisenhower was a German word for something to eat that my father didn’t like. I was 3 or 4.
3. I remember when Elvis was censored on the Ed Sullivan Show and the pre-teens and teens were outraged. The parents were neutral but vocal in church groups. The grandparents were appalled and supported the censor. The teens said grandparents were too old to know anything. Forced retirement rid American Corporate Life of old ideas during that decade.
4. In 1970-2 a Dallas Football player was arrested for exposing himself to a child. He was kicked off the team but they won the Super Bowl.
5. January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court gave America the right to kill its unborn as it decided the case of Roe vs. Wade. The grandparent were appalled – but they had no more clout amidst the American Monied.
6. When John F. Kennedy was shot, and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. There was war every night on TV – soldiers were dying while we ate roast and mashed potatoes.
7. In the late 60’s daredevils like Evil Kneivel made the news breaking most of the bones in his body while doing something bizarre on a motorcycle. America wanted more.
8. When no one knew the ill-effects of drugs like cocaine or marijuana, or heroine – until someone you knew died.
9. When gas went from 35 cents to 40 cents in the 1970’s and we complained about inflation. It was called the Oil Crisis.
10. Three astronauts died in Apollo 1 but it wasn’t that big of news - America was more interested in the visit of the Beattles that year while Grissom and the others were buried with forgettable fanfare.
11. Flip Wilson cross-dressed – and America thought it was humor – the devil got the credit.


Okay so my mood – well – hmmm - my mood needs to change! I guess I need to stop this nonsense and get out my Psalms, take a ride in the sunshine, watch Julie and Julia again, or read the comic strips on the paper. I know – I will have chocolate….Mindy and Joe have me craving a certain chocolate bar!