Dirge without Music.

It's hard to be happy today. We are burying four police officers.

"Down, down, down they go into the darkness of the grave,

Gentle they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;

Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.

I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned."

-- Edna St. Vincent Millay

"Be happy. It's one way of being wise." -- Colette

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. I had an early morning tea with Fred, friend and colleague of many years, at Peet's near Green Lake. His observations, especially in the area of marketing where he is the expert, were both reassurance that I'm on the right track and a reminder of what is left to do.

Suzie, another friend of many years, is pictured here grabbing me branches of holly for my house. We had a wonderful lunch in Madison Park, rounded out with shopping for holiday decorations at Martha Harris Flowers. Martha is currently recovering from a bone marrow transplant for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but the news that she is doing well made me very happy.
Here's some of the holly that Suzie cut for me, by the fire -- along with a new decoration gracing the mantleplace that I found on our travels today. The "Merry Christmas" piece is covered with bells, which are hard to see in this picture.

And here's even more of the ivy, on the front porch.

It goes well with a beautiful swag sent to us last week by another set of old friends, Hazard and Diana. With friends such as these four, how could one not be happy?

"Build, therefore, your own world."

I write mostly to please myself, at least in this journal. But here's one for those of you looking to be inspired tonight. I have been reading a small book called "First We Read, Then We Write," by Robert D. Richardson. It is a book on Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the creative process.

I often quote short pieces of Emerson. But here is a longer effort that shows off his brilliance and his spirit at the same time. It comes from the essay called "Nature" and is quoted by Richardson in the epilogue to his book.

"Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house a world, and beyond its world a heaven. Know then, that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect. What we are, that only we can see. All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobbler's trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar's garret. Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs, though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world."

Let there be light.

Violence seems to be all around us, whether in Texas or Washington State. The murders of military personnel or police officers seems beyond the pale, and one wonders whether media stories just increase the possibility of more such behavior. I was shocked yesterday to find that the police were searching Cowen Park, midpoint between my office and my home, for the suspected killer of four police officers on Sunday.

Based upon the amount of time I spend at work and that we are coming up upon a full moon, I've installed a small holiday tree in my office to remind me that, here at least, "all is calm and all is bright."

Almost December.

Last week was extraordinary, by any account. There were any number of ups and downs, including having to call Metropolitan Sewer on the day before Thanksgiving. Having James here for such a nice long week was outstanding. We had eleven around the table for Thanksgiving, some of whom are shown in the photos above, with treats from both Iran and India to savor along with all the American standards. Unfortunately for the bird, I did not think to take a picture before the carving had begun.

Then keeping with 25 years of tradition, we had our holiday photo taken yesterday -- Suzie came and snapped some 15 or so photos, any of which we could use. The most likely candidate is shown above.

We are buttoned up for winter, with the sprinklers cleared and shut down, and a nice thick layer of compost on everything. Bring on December!

Almost Thanksgiving on the way to Christmas

Every year I have a little discussion with myself, which leads eventually to me pulling out just a few of our favorite holiday ornaments....before Thanksgiving has arrived. Above, brass French horn and trumpet with wreath of bells. They've hung in that same place on the fireplace all the years we have lived here.

Here's a music box that Sabrina gave James for his first Christmas. It plays "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

Front hall doesn't get creche and other items until later -- but there's enough here to let our Thanksgiving Day guests know that the holidays are upon us.

Piano photos and poinsettias....Sabrina and family on left, and Cassandra and family on the right.

Holiday photos from previous years, including the small one which must be somewhere around 1990 when the whole crew was here.

James' train from his first Christmas, with a small assortment of other items we've had for years.

In this house, Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday of the year. This year, we will be something like 10 around the table and the conversation will go on and on. I wish for everyone who reads this the same kind of happy and certain day.

Giving back.

When I started ASA, I was determined to observe a better balance between the new company and the rest of my life. We talked a lot about that at the Santa Fe think tank. I am honored to be part of the board of the Seattle Public Library Foundation. Together with Friends of the Library, we have been able to lobby the Seattle City Council to restore $800,000+ of the $2.4 million cut from the 2010 budget. The budget for purchasing books and other materials remains untouched by budget cuts. I consider my commitment to the library to be a form of giving back.

Now I've found another way to give back. I have accepted an appointment as an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington, whose spring campus is pictured above. I'm going to teach once in awhile in the University of Washington's Information School, and be included on selected research projects. This fits well with ASA's Institute for Research and Innovation, but also becomes part of my long term strategy to give back to the region that has enabled me to grow and thrive.