 Photo by Anjali Anjali and family are in Evora, a picturesque town, with its Roman temple of Diana. Anjali spotted the ducks, venturing out of the shadows, as well as the reflection in the pond. The stones look old. It’s Portugal. When Laura was covering the great Algarve soccer tournament two years ago, she sent us daily photos of the specialty at her restaurant: O Rei dos Frangos – The King of the Chickens, printed on every plate. Today she sent us a photo of the main course in an outdoor cafe in Evora. Cada um na sua, as they say in Portuguese. To each his own.  Photo by Laura Friday evening I was hugging them goodbye at JFK Airport. Eighteen hours later, I texted with my grand-daughter. “Yo Kid,” I typed. “How’s Lisbon? Send me a photo every so often.” “Okay, I will,” she said. But you never know. “Hills. Old buildings. Flowers. Photos!” I urged. “Not any that are impressive,” she said. “You’ll find stuff,” I said. I know her. Pause. “Hold on,” she typed. Then this popped in:  Photo by Anjali “Real peacock?” I asked.
“Yah.” “What I’m talking about,” I typed. She’s on notice.  Anjali and family were in Key West  She took a walk in a park. .  No Burmese pythons spotted.  Plenty of other stuff.  Marianne Vecsey/Private Collection, Norcross, GA The latest output from the family is by David Vecsey, who normally spends days and nights editing others but occasionally exercises the writing part of the brain. David made a journalistic foray into the heart of darkness known as sports fantasy gambling. He emerged with his shirt still on his back, plus a story describing mood swings based on the doings of athletes, some previously unknown until he drafted them. His article on Gothamist: http://gothamist.com/2015/11/30/daily_fantasy_sports.php Then there is my wife’s cousin, Paul Grundy, MD and MPH, IBM's Global Director of Healthcare Transformation. He and two colleagues have written an entry-level primer on the mysteries of health care including trends toward industrial-size health complexes, concierge doctors and the vanishing of the actual family doctor. (You noticed.) The book is: Lost and Found: A Consumer’s Guide to Healthcare by Peter B. Anderson, Paul H. Grundy, MD, and Bud Ramey (contributor). Next is Laura Vecsey, former sports columnist and political columnist, currently covering the U.S. women’s soccer team, World Cup champs, on their victory tour of America, for Fox. Her latest article on Carli Lloyd’s candidacy for player-of-the-year: http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/carli-lloyd-and-jill-ellis-have-chance-to-make-more-history-for-uswnt-113015. The family legal wing is in Pennsylvania, where Corinna V. Wilson is the energy behind the consulting firm Wilson500. Corinna helped write the Pennsylvania right-to-know act of 2008, and she flexes her writing skills when that important law is threatened by nervous politicians: http://pafoic.org/2015/02/commonwealth-court-decision-in-psea-case-eviscerates-right-to-know-law/ Finally, my book that has done the most good for others has been revived. I helped Bob Welch write “Five O’Clock Comes Early: A Young Man’s Battle With Alcoholism,” first published in 1982 soon after Bob’s return from a rehab center, to be a star pitcher for more than a decade. My friend Bob passed in 2014 – a lot of us are still reeling from it – but his book, updated, is a handbook for anybody, particularly the young who cannot believe they are powerless over addiction. I’ve heard from people who say Bob's book helped save a life. The new e-book version is from Open Road Media: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-oclock-comes-early-bob-welch/1120190861#productInfoTabs Fortunately, some of us also have visual talents. Marianne Vecsey is a painter (above) and Anjali takes photos with her smartphone (below)  Saratoga Lake, Upstate New York, Thanksgiving, 2015. Photo by Anjali  It was fixing to rain, somewhere south of Lexington, when Anjali snapped this photo. I heard the girls were heading south on I-75, known in the mountains as Hillbilly Highway because it takes people home on weekends and holidays.
Get off and take the Valley View Ferry, I urged. I used to do it whenever I could, from Louisville to Eastern Kentucky. Stop at the Kentucky Horse Park, I insisted. Don't forget the Boone Tavern at Berea. I sometimes forget how much I love that part of the world. * * * It's not Appalachian, per se, but treat yourself to the Gary Bartz version of "I've Known Rivers," adapted from the Langston Hughes poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9WCFQzznC4  Anjali was looking into a pool and saw the sky.
What else does a photographer need? She is embarking on a soccer road trip that will include rivers -- the Susquehanna, the Monongahela, the Allegheny, the Ohio, the Kentucky and the Tennessee. I have ordered up photos. That reminded me of "The Water Song" by the Incredible String Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZG5is9QqrE&list=RD8ZG5is9QqrE  The Cat Had Her Own Priorities. Photo by Anjali Anjali was looking deep into Cupcake's eyes..
Cupcake was looking somewhere else. A lawn chair, matter of fact. Isn't that how life is, really? "You're just seein' things through a cat's eye, baby." ---49 Bye-Byes, Crosby Stills & Nash, 1969. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQwOpl1QhQ Anjali was in biology class with her nice teacher. Somebody came in and told the students to look out the window, at a red-tailed hawk with the remains of a pigeon. http://photographybyanjali.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=43010&Akey=M235PYD5  Photo by Anjali, from her classroom window  Photo by Anjali, January 2015 At first it made me think of the cave paintings at Lascaux, France, not far from where our rellies Jen and Sam live. But when I asked Anjali about it, she reminded me that she had been to upstate New York over the holidays.
So it wasn't Paleolithic work by early humans from 20,000 years ago? "We went for a walk in the woods," Anjali told me. She spotted some wood by the side of the path. "It was termites," she said. Termite art. Happy new year. More photos by Anjali: http://www.photographybyanjali.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=43010&AKey=M235PYD5  Photo by Anjali The glow of the galaxies, during the longest nights of the year up north? Celestial Hanukkah candles perhaps or star of wonder, star of night?
This could be a job for Neil deGrasse Tyson. I called Anjali, our grand-daughter. "What is that?" I wondered if she had been fiddling with some supra-lens, up in some observatory, aiming toward the night skies. "I was hungry," she explained with a giggle. "I was making some mashed potatoes in the microwave." Okay. She used a glass plate to cover the dish. When she took out the plate, there was condensation on it. "I went outside and got some leaves and put them on my table. Then I put the plate on top of it." She usually takes about 15 seconds for a photograph. She points her iphone 5s and knows something will come of it. No re-takes. She just knows. "I was just messing around," she said. So life is not a fountain, as the guru maintained. Instead, life is a plate of nuked mashed potatoes. Happy solstice. Happy carbs. Happy comfort food. Happy New Year. Happy mysteries. * * * For more photos by Anjali, please see: http://www.photographybyanjali.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=43010&AKey=M235PYD5 8 Comments Mendel 12/25/2014 10:04am Got yourself quite an improvisor there, George. Happy Holidays! Reply George Vecsey 12/25/2014 11:32am Dear Mendel, thank you for noticing. We just put away our menorah, all is well. Happy Holidays, GV Reply Alan Rubinlink 12/25/2014 11:21am Anjali has a wonderful combination of imagination and a keen eye. Thanks for the link to her web site. We do not have to depend upon your occasional postings to enjoy her work. Reply George Vecsey 12/25/2014 11:35am Dear Alan, thanks for the nice words. She gave us actual photos of 20 of her best....Our best to you both up north. Happy Holidays, GV Reply Sad Quoteslink 12/27/2014 1:53am Really interesting article!The quotes here you mention about happy new year messages for friends are really great and i like it.Thanks for sharing the article about happy new year messages for friends and happy new year in advance:-) <a href="http://dailyhindisms.com/happy-new-year-2015-sms-messages-in-english/">happy new year messages for friends</a> Reply Thor A. Larsen 12/29/2014 10:31pm Dear George Enjoy this relaxing post-Christmas period and encourage your very talented grand-daughter Anjali to keep them coming! I love her beautiful, imaginative creations! Very Best Wishes to all for the New Year. Reply Brian Savin 12/30/2014 9:35am Figured it couldn't be a golden sun shining through dense leaves at this time of year -- pretty cool. But inasmuch as we just cleaned up 22 multi-course place settings over two days of holiday feasting, your granddaughter just gave me an idea......a very bad idea...... George, it might be of interest to take your granddaughter to see something we just saw week before last at the Met Museum that blew us away. They recently created a room to house the Thomas Hart Benton mural he had painted for the New School. What a incredibly moving story it tells of our country during the depression years. An inspiration piece! Reply delhi vidhan sabha chunav parinam votes gintilink 02/07/2015 3:44pm Here is Delhi election survey opinion exit polls results seats vidhan sabha CM candidates date prediction news assemble announcement manifesto aap vs bjp final party budget chief minister government Reply |
