Years ago, when Shirley and I lived in Quebec, we regularly took a few days off during the winter to stay at a country inn in the Laurentians, north of Montreal. It was run by a German family, and the hearty food—schnitzel and kartoffelklöße—was a big part of the attraction. So was the cross-country skiing. We could ski out of the front door of our house in Hemmingford, but it was quite flat so hilly terrain was more fun. The trails were long and the area was quite wild. One day we went out, and after several hours I had to admit that we were quite lost. It was the end of the afternoon and getting cold. We soldiered on. At one point I felt very tired and just wanted to lie down and rest. Just for a short time, I said. Shirley would have none of it. She scolded me, and made me get up. We finally made it back to the inn at nightfall; I think they were about to send out a search party.
That’s what she would tell me today. “Now, go on.”
Oh by all means go on. So few these days do what you do, and your latest several posts show that you haven’t lost your ability to write well and engagingly on the state of architecture and design. From your articles in the book review papers, through Slate and now your blog you have raised the spirits of your many readers over the years. No small achievement.
So where has architectural beauty gone? Do they even teach aesthetics in school anymore? Asking for a friend.
Yes, you must go on. We must all go on. My friend in another state is preparing to spend her first Christmas as a widow. She must go on. I just sold my family farm from 1834 because my husband and I have no one to leave it to…I imagine it will be developed by the developer who bought it one day. I put in the trash six family Bibles because I have nobody anymore on either side as relatives, no one to leave them to. I go on.
When Covid hit, it closed all the restaurants and malls and movie theatres. Looking back on that time, I would normally have said, I am a rather down person anyway, and 3 or 4 matinees a weekend, 3 restaurants a weekend and walking through a mall for exercise (climate control) was my exercise. But, we slowly evolved into eating more at home, we starting watching foreign mystery series on cable TV (something we never did before), made ourselves address tasks around the house and yard. We didn’t even miss those other things because we had moved on…and are still moving on, living a different life, much to my surprise.
We both are loners and still are. We just started doing different things, I enjoy your column. Thanks to you we went to the Davenport House..it’s not far from where we live. Try to make yourself go on and try talk therapy of some kind if you haven’t already, These people have seen and heard it all, tend to have lots of good ideas and help make people feel good about what they are trying to do. Good luck!
Hello; I’m back. I’ve been thinking about you and hope you are going on. I’m the one who wrote the first comment. Soon after that my husband and I were trying to catch up on recorded/taped “60 Minutes” episodes…yes they were nearly a year old but we are disorganized. Anyway, here was a story about a sportswriter named Dave Findlay, I think his name is. I am afraid to leave this and check the spelling. He retired, then he lost his mother, then his grandson, then his wife had a catastrophic stroke….that’s a lot of bad luck. He somehow pulled himself together and got into following the local girl’s basketball team. Look up that episode…it’s from back in the spring of 2021. Margaret Huff
I will send something next that I just saw….separately….about the same man.
https://www.si.com/media/2021/07/07/dave-kindred-where-are-they-now-2021 Looks like the man’s name is Dave Kindred. Sorry! I’m not the best with computer skills. Dig around on the internet for that 60 Minutes story about him…it’s so inspiring. Remember this, you are far from alone or unique in your situation. To top it off, just two days ago my husband got a call from a former colleague. Her husband had dropped dead from a heart attack back in October. Death is everywhere. The rest of us have to figure out what to do with ourselves. I have another idea also, this involves our long time arborist, a real intellectual. He and his first wife divorced. He was cranky and a bit snappy. We’ve had him now for 27 years. Then, guess what, he had a girlfriend. How did he find her? he was ashamed to admit, he joined some kind of online dating thing….I will quiz him about which one. He is big in astronomy, may be the head of the Indianapolis Astronomy Club, helps at Butler University with the telescopes, travels all over when he can to do stargazing, is an avid stargazer. He put his likes and dislikes in this dating site, the main interest he put was camping. He was paired up with a person of like interests from Louisville (two hours south). They met for the first time halfway from here…I bet you’ve been there…Columbus Indiana. Fast forward…a few years, they are engaged and will be married soon. She is the daughter of a retired (now dead) paleontologist from the University of Louisville. he has never been so happy. I will find out how he did it, what he used.
Or ‘Just get on with it” , “Carry on then.” the Brits would say. Yup.
I have a funny story about my grandson imparting just that sentiment when we were lost in the Cotswolds He was 4.