Tuesday, June 25, 2019

T Stands for Hic Sunt Dracones and Ted Geisel - Part 2


I mentioned in passing I had traveled to the Wilds of Western Massachusetts. To a Bostonian, this is the edge of the world. On a map, it would say Hic Sunt Dracones. Here There Be Dragons. This attitude comes from the simple fact that Boston is not nicknamed the Hub because the city is laid out in a spoke and wheel pattern. It's because Boston is the Hub of the Universe. Bostonians only need a brief walk or  a short subway ride (if the trolleys are on time and don't derail!) to art, history, sports, music, theater, universities. We don't really need to leave the city to find entertainment or education.

Bostonians also measure distance in terms of time. How long will it take me to get from here to there? !0 minute, 20 minutes, but if it's an hour or more, that moves into the realm of an expedition requiring snacks and a change of clothes.

As I am now used to (well, sort of) living in the Land of Hic Sunt Dracones, I bravely drove an hour West of where I live.

My friend, Al (now living beyond the end of the Earth in Portland, Oregon) was visiting her family homestead in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was house and fur baby sitting for her brother. She invited me for a play date at The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum and Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden.

Ted Geisel is better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, celebrated writer and illustrator. We started our visit at the museum with lunch at The Blake House Café. Rather than show you pictures of my half eaten lunch as I was too busy catching up with Al to take a picture, there is an image of a cup in the many photographs I took. That will be my drink reference.

Can you find it here or there? Can you find it any where?

Last week, we visited the area of the museum geared towards children. This week, we'll go upstairs to see Ted's studio and his amazing art work.


Memorabilia from Ted's days as a Boy Scout. Bow ties are cool.


He used Prismacolor pencils!


I wanted to rummage through his nibs to see what brands he used and maybe put one or two into a Nib Relocation Program. 😉



I thought the painting looked like cats.



A cat, of course.


These squiggles looked like flourishes or Lazy Eights from penmanship class. I loved doing those. (Still do.)


A note of encouragement: "When you fear you've been left in a Cave in Ga-zool, with your bottom bereft on an unfriendly stool.. ...Please know that I love you! I've been to Ga-Zool!"


Another cat.




"With or without eyedrops, writing and drawing is an unpleasant experience which I find myself avoiding. I am thinking of taking up paper hanging or mushroom farming as a new profession."






Commemorative stamp issued in 2004 at a first class postal rate of 37 cents. (The current rate is 55 cents.)


"Dear Fellow Toiler in the Vineyards of Ink...May your New Year be a great one." I want Toiler in the Vineyards of Ink to be my new title. I bet the Internal Revenue Service (U.S. tax agency) would love that one.


In Andy Fish's Pitch class, he had talked about using a to do list as a daily practice to be more productive.  What you don't accomplish one day you roll over to the next. I was amused by Ted's to do list and his revelation about his list.


"Your things to do pad is great! After writing down the same things to do 6 days in succession and running the sheets through my computer I discovered: 1. I hadn't cleaned the back closet. 2. I hadn't written to Katherine Findeisen. I now know that I probably never will and this knowledge gives me an enormous sense of satisfaction for which I thank you. Love, Ted"


We took the Oh, the Places You'll Go Elevator to the basement where there was an activity room for children. There were no children in sight and the staff was bored so they asked if we


wanted to make monster Father's Day cards. At 63 years old, I make a helluva  kindergartner.

Did you find the cup?


And Al had a little prezzie for me. She always brings me something. She's thoughtful like that.


A roll of ABC tape Just like the penmanship exemplar above the blackboard in school and some Stash Tea. From the package: "Portland Blend Black Tea in celebration of our rich history in all things tea, we've given a nod to Stash's own hometown, Portland, Oregon, the City of Roses. Rich black teas are blended with chocolaty cocoa nibs, the flavor of fresh raspberries, and visually accented with pretty blue cornflower and rose petals."

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page. 

39 comments:

  1. Good morning, this is such an awesome museum-thanks for showing us more. and I love the gift she brought you-enjoy
    Happy T wishes Kathy

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  2. what a thoroughly fun museum! Thanks for sharing all the marvelous photos. Thoughtful gifts from your friend too. Happy T day!

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    1. The museum did a great job of interpreting Geisel's fun art

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  3. I remember those above the blackboard in grade school! I even remember the grammar rules that hung there! "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." Thanks for the tag-along! I enjoyed my visit very much! :D

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    1. I don't think I've heard that grammar rule that way. I love it!

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  4. Such a fun post! I loved visiting the exhibit with you, so amazing 😁. It looks like you had a wonderful play day with your friend! I hope you have a lovely week and wishing you a happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x

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    1. We had a perfect weather day and a lovely visit together

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  5. Prismacolors! I now have something in common with an icon of art and literature ;)

    Surely the gift shop sells pen nibs. They're missing out on a great opportunity if they don't stock some, along with Prismacolor sets. Happy T Tuesday!

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    1. Nope, no nibs. Pencils, pens with character toppers (I got an Oh the places you'll go pencil, and a pen with the Cat in the Hat. I don't remember seeing art things, T-shirts, totes (got one of each of those, too), jewelry, stuffed animals, books.

      I was happy to see he used Prismacolors.

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  6. Love that museum! Measuring distance in time isn't unique to Boston. We do the same thing here. Maybe because we have so many lakes the roads wind around?
    Happy T day!

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    1. Well, we probably picked up the time-distance measuring system from you. =^,.^=

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  7. Terrific and funny post, CJ. You know I love your sense of humor.

    I enjoyed your tale about Boston and Bostonians. Dr. Seuss used Prismacolors - how cool! I really enjoyed the exhibit too. It surprised me that he had moments when he disliked what he was doing. But of course we all have those moments. I Think Toiler in the Vineyards of Ink would be a great blog name for you some day. Funny man, his To-Do is priceless!

    Kid at heart - yes you make a great kindergartner.

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

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    1. You shouldn't encourage me. =^,.^= I got the impression from the note where he says he though about going into mushroom farming, that he was experiencing health issues and couldn't do the things he really loved to do.

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  8. Replies
    1. It was. Put it on your To Visit list. The museum isn't too far from the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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  9. What a super fun place! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Out of frustration, I am at my neighbor’s house across the street using her computer. I told her I would be brief and leave this quick message. I have been without electricity AGAIN, this time for over 18 hours. I can’t ask my foodie friend Sally, because she lives on the same side of my street and her electricity is out, too. I will be by to visit once my electricity has returned, but for now, please be assured, I would be sharing a drink with you right now, if I could. Thanks for understanding.

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    1. Oh no! I hope the electricity comes back soon.

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  11. Thank you for sharing more photos from the museum. It's great to get to see the pens he used, and his works. I like all of the cats he drew. His todo list and comments about it were funny. I like the monster you made. That was nice of your friend to give you a gift.

    With regard to your comment about Prometheus: it was a sci fi movie where they traveled to a planet that was identified by cave drawings found throughout the Earth. They find a spaceship that looks like the one found in Alien. It is a prequel to Alien, but it doesn't completely fill in the blanks. I think the miner film you were thinking of was Outland, which starred Sean Connery. "A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io, uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder."

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    1. Neither of those movies are familiar to me 😄

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  12. s DUPER POST, i loved the photos that allowed us to take the trip around the museum with you.
    Happy T Dday wishes
    YVONNE XX

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    1. I had asked if photos were allowed and told yes. There was a tiny sign. On the second floor no photos. i was snapping away and there was a security guard next to me, but he never said anything.

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  13. wow what a fun post - all that art by the Seuss artist - ...very cool. Loved the past where you said if it takes more than an hour to go somewhere you need to pack snacks and a change of clothes....lolololol...too funny. loved the post.

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  14. His studio and drawings are fascinating. I'm glad you had an opportunity to do this. It looks like so much fun.

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    1. I really liked seeing his studio set up. It’s a very cool museum

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  15. So many interesting things at your museum. Love the Dr. Suess items!
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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    1. This isn't the museum where I teach. Ted Geisel was born and brought up in Springfield, Massachusetts. This entire museum is dedicated to him and his work as Dr. Seuss.

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  16. Oh, I absolutely enjoyed your posting, fantastic exhibit, thank you so much for sharing! The tea sounds heavenly! Happy T-Day!

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  17. What a great museum, thanks for sharing all the photos. So interesting!
    Have a great T day plus one, ran out of time to finish visiting everyone yesterday
    Jan x

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    1. No worries. I'm happy you were able to stop by.

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  18. I would love to go! Such an amazing place to go and visit! How fun! You did a great Father's day card! How cute! Big Hugs CJ!

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