“Just Chillin’ A little History...& More


Maximum Merriment for Upbeat May!


by Ellie Schmidt ~ eschmidt@upbeattimes.com


Santa Rosa, CA. ~ May is bursting with memorable events every year.


Happy


Mother’s Day to ev- ery mom in the uni- verse! Memorial Day observances share the top of the list. Tose who have served so bravely in the military are honored by us all. Te end of May marks the return of sunshiny celebrations from shore to shining shore…and barbecue days again! If you have reached a satura-


tion point and feel drummed and flogged by too much grisly news and multiple pulls from politics, some Maytime escape is a necessity. Dancing around a maypole may not be to your liking, though. Let’s recall the joy of British Gavin Pretor-Pin- ney when he looks up at mar- velous clouds. He says he’s not a meteorologist nor scientist but “just likes clouds very much.” His book, “Te Pig with Six Legs” keeps gaining popular- ity. Te cover photo shows an unusual cloud formation look- ing startlingly like a chubby pig chugging along against a bril-


liant, bright blue sky. Pretor-Pinney understands a


fundamental truth: looking up we realize how mag- nificent clouds are in their kaleidoscopic presentations--a great giſt from Nature. Do you recall flopping on a patch of grass on a wonderfully


fresh,


sunny, May day, as a very young child, exhausted from rac-


ing about with your very best pals, staring up at clouds? ~Say, we even managed to do that in Central Park.~ Exchanges such as “Hey! Do you see that camel?” or, “Look, look, there’s a Mickey Mouse!” or “Naahh. I think it looks more like our English teacher.” Or “Nope. Tat’s a fat teapot!” Ten we laughed until one of us got hiccups and then even more. ~Tat has to be a universal joy. ~Why limit it to kids? Tinking of the past, I cher


ish the memory of two greatly giſted singers who added me to their vast circles of friends. Shirley Verrett, whose opu- lent, rich mezzo-soprano voice


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“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • May 2016 • 5


UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • May 2016 • 5


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