An Abundance of Riches

When my friend Julie emailed me to say she would be in Washington, D.C. the same week as Tim and I, we made plans for a girls' day out.

Foregoing the sights most tourists see down on the Mall, we paid a call at Hillwood Museum and Gardens, one of the homes of Washington socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post.  Too bad we could not also plan a stay at her winter residence in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, which is now owned by President Trump.  Maybe next time, Julie!

Marjorie Merriweather Post was the only child and daughter of C.W. and Ella Post.  In 1914, when her father died, she at age 27 inherited Postum Cereal Company and through her business acumen, spun the company into the General Foods empire.

She became the richest woman in the United States with a fortune worth $250 million.

Married and divorced four times, notably to financier E. F. Hutton with whom she had one daughter, the actress Dina Merrill; and later to Joseph E. Davies, a Washington D.C. lawyer picked by President Franklin Roosevelt to be the U. S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Marjorie developed a discerning eye for art.

Marie Antoinette's swivel hairdressing chair, diamond-encrusted Fabrege eggs and jewelry, a chalice once owned by Catherine the Great, silver tea set and French porcelain. 

She accompanied Davies to the Soviet Union in 1937 and for the 18 months they were there, she rescued treasures by purchasing jewels and art that the Soviet government had seized from the church, the imperial family and the aristocracy.

These, along with her collections of French porcelain and furniture, she showcased in Hillwood, the home where she entertained the power brokers of Washington, D.C. and later turned into a museum.

"When I began [collecting] I did it for the joy of it, and it was only as the collection grew and such interest was evidenced by others that I came to the realization that the collection should belong to the country." ~ Marjorie Merriweather Post

Julie and I took the house tour and then wandered through the gardens riotous with spring blossoms.

Tulips, azeleas and redbud trees painted the grounds with vibrant colors.

The orchids that Marjorie loved dazzled us in the greenhouse.

Riches were everywhere the eye looked inside the house and out.  I might not be as wealthy as Marjorie Post, but I, too, am rich--rich in friendships I've made in every season of life.

Julie and I have been friends for more than 30 years, beginning when we played on an intramural soccer team sponsored by First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs.  I think our friendship began the way C. S. Lewis describes it:  "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What!  You too?  I thought I was the only one."  We've had lots of those moments over the years.

Although we've texted and emailed each other, that pales in comparison with the chance to spend time face-to-face.  She inspires me with her deep faith and challenges me to live my life in greater devotion to God.  Looking at the worldly riches of Marjorie Merriweather Post, we were reminded of Christ's words in Luke 12:15, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

True happiness is not found in possessions but in pursuit of the abundant life promised to us by God.  Having a friend who encourages me in that direction makes me rich indeed.

Our Nearest and Dearest In D.C.

Tim and I finally made it to Washington, D.C. just in time for our annual physicals.  So far this visit, we've been peered at, poked, prodded and palpated by our internists, dentist, dermatologist, optician and for me, my audiologist, ophthalmologist, gynecologist and the dreaded mammogram technician.  We've logged 12 doctors' appointments in ten days.  I'm sure our health insurance benefits representative is going crazy trying to keep up with our claims.  But it's been worth it!  We got to spend precious time this weekend with our son and daughter.

Richard lives in D.C. just a few blocks east of the Capitol.  Because he teaches school and coaches extracurricular sports, his free time is practically non-existent so I made sure we claimed a spot on his calendar well in advance for this past weekend when his sister Jillian could join us.

Jillian was transferred to Philadelphia earlier this year.  Like so many other urban dwellers in the northeast, she's selling her car and plans to use public transportation to get around.  Tim and I met her when her bus rolled into D.C.'s Union Station right on time Friday afternoon.

We dropped her bag at her brother's rowhouse and walked over to the National Gallery of Art, stopping to take the requisite snapshot of the Capitol along the way.

Paul Cézanne.  Self Portrait On Rose Background, 1875-1877
Private Collection

There was an exhibition of Paul Cezanne's portraits that we wanted to see, the same exhibition that Melania Trump brought French First Lady Brigette Macron to view just a few days prior to our visit.  The First Ladies had a private tour with the curators of the exhibit.  Our visit found the gallery much more crowded, but still there was room to stop before paintings that captured our attention.

Paul Cézanne.  Boy in a Red Waistcoat, 1888-1890Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

One of Cezanne's greatest masterpieces is Boy in a Red Waistcoat.  Unlike many artists commissioned to paint portraits of wealthy patrons, Cezanne painted his family, his friends or working class people of his native in Aix-en-Provance.  I'm not certain who this boy was but both Jillian and I agreed that Cezanne captured the angst of an adolescent boy.

Paul Cézanne.  The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement", 1866

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

One portrait we all liked was the one Cezanne painted of his father.  The painting pokes fun at his father's aspirations for his son whom he'd hoped would become a lawyer--not a painter.  Despite that disappointment, Louis-Auguste Cezanne supported his son financially for years while he experimented with art that found few buyers.  In this portrait of his father, Cezanne shows him reading a journal that was known for its defense of avant-garde art.  Undoubtedly, that was the opposite view of his father who wanted his son to make a decent living painting conventional images popular with the masses.  I could just hear his father saying, "All this is fine, Paul, but it won't pay the bills!"

Saturday after a delicious brunch at a restaurant Richard wanted to try, we wandered through the National Arboretum for a couple hours.  The Arboretum's annual Spring Plant sale was in full swing.  Richard picked up a few pots to set out on his patio.

Then on to the Kennedy Center where we had tickets to the improv production of Shear Madness, a whodunit comedy that's been running there for more than 13,200 performances.  In fact, Tim and I first saw the show back in 1987 when we initially came to D.C.  The insider jokes about D.C.'s politics have changed but the laughs are still plentiful.

Sunday morning church, a leisurely brunch and then it was time to take Jillian back to the station.  I can hardly wait to see her again next weekend in Philadelphia.

Wired

Garrett, Kate, Richard, Cindy & Tim

Who in this picture is wired for sound?  That would be me!

There's a full set of circuitry in my head.  Last Thursday my audiologist switched on the electrodes embedded on a tiny thread that were inserted into my right ear during my cochlear implantation.  And guess what?  The electrodes worked, although what I heard was nothing more than gobbledygook!  Words were unintelligible and voices sounded like that of a garbled Donald Duck.

Now I have to train my brain to adjust to a whole different kind of sound input.  Instead of sound waves, these new electrical impulses that stimulate the auditory cortex need to be processed and linked to sounds, words or music just like a baby learns to discern speech.

Consequently, I'm practicing.  During the past 10 days, I've used only my right ear, leaving my left behind-the-ear processor off.  My audiologist told me that by using only my right ear, I could bring it up to speed with the left, although it will probably always lag behind; after all, my left ear has had years of practice hearing mechanically.  Sure enough!  Slowly but steadily over the course of this week, I grew to understand Tim's speech (even though he still sounds like Donald Duck).  But with time, that will improve.

To up my game, I listened to books-on-tape for hours each day.  I tried to check them out from my public library using the app Overdrive, but I needed to have the book as well as the tape so I could follow along.  Coordinating those checkouts was almost impossible.  I had the same difficulty using audiotapes from Hoopla, another app that streams ebooks, music and videos.

ComPilot

So I signed up for a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited and Audible.  Not only could I borrow books synced with narration, but the words were even highlighted as the audio streamed, making it easy to follow along.  And best of all, I could use my ComPilot to stream the audio directly to my processor.  My reading list included the following books.

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore is a thriller that pits a young, untried defense attorney against the legendary Thomas Edison in the copyright infringement lawsuits Edison made against George Westinghouse.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham.  Since President Trump identifies himself as Jackson's 21st century equivalent, I thought I'd see if I agreed.

The Tea Planter's series by Janet McLeod Trotter follows the lives of three British women who are tied to the tea trade in India during the years preceding World War II.

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter.  The title says it all!

TVLink

For additional listening practice, I tried using my new TVLink while Tim and I streamed the Monuments Men movie.  As with the ComPilot, the TVLink provides stereo sound quality directly to my processor.  Although I could watch any movie that stars George Clooney, I much preferred the book's more in-depth details about the personalities of the Men and the history of the Allies race to Berlin in the final months of World War II.  Meryl Streep is another of my favorite stars so it was delicious to watch her as the indomitable Florence Foster Jenkins in the movie of the same name. 

Remote Mic

This weekend we dined out with friends and family, including the crew pictured at the head of this post. Using both CI processors and the Remote Mic, I was pleased to find that I could hear much of our conversation.

Yay!  I'm wired!

Cherry Blossom Time in D.C.

April 12, 2014

When I scheduled the date for my cochlear implant surgery, I wasn't trying to coincide with the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., but our timing couldn't have been better.  We arrived right when the blossoms were at their peak.

April 12, 2014

This year's display was not as brilliant as ones we've seen in the past.  The cold spell of March 2017 wrecked havoc with that.

This plus the following photos are this year's blossoms.

Still, the pale pink and white blossoms herald the beginning of spring; their fragile beauty a reminder of the brevity of life.

Due to my recuperation, we were unable to join the thousands who trekked to the Tidal Basin to view the trees, gifts from Japan in 1912.  Instead, we enjoyed their cousins planted throughout Cherry Hill Campground where we stayed during this visit just as we did last November.

Billings Administration Building
Johns Hopkins Medical Center

We chose to return to Cherry Hill Campground even though my surgery was done at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore.  For one, the distance between the two was only 30 miles.  For another, this gave us several prized chances to see our son who lives in D.C.  Richard is in the midst of a career change so we hoped to encourage him during this stressful time.  The only downside of our choice was waking early to be at JHMC's Outpatient Center by 5:30 a.m. the day of the surgery.

Despite the arrival of spring in our nation's capitol, the overnight temperatures this past week have not caught up.  They hovered in the upper 30s, making it easy to understand why the campground owners insulate and heat the water spigots at each campsite. 

Insulated water spigot with 110-volt bib heater

 That chore makes it possible for the campground to remain open year round.

Part of the recovery process from my surgery is to get up and walk as soon as possible.  That helps diminish the dizziness brought on by the drainage of fluid in the inner ear.  

It's difficult to do much walking inside an RV so with Tim's help, I navigated the roads within the campground and even ventured out to the nearby Paint Branch Trail.  At my post-operative appointment a week after the procedure, my surgeon was pleased with my recovery so far.

Now all I have to do is wait for the swelling to lessen over the next four weeks until the implant is finally turned on.  Hopefully, this implantation will be successful, making it possible for me to begin the task of learning to listen electronically with my right ear.  But I've done that before when I received my first implant in my left ten years ago.  Surely I can do it again!

The Ins and Outs of Washington, D.C.

After this year's rancorous presidential campaign, it's over.  "Thank God!," many are saying!  Whether your candidate won or not, it's time to look past those loyalties to the common goal of  strengthening our democracy.  It's time to work together to build a future that is brighter for all Americans.

Just like the Obamas, it's also time for many Washingtonians to look for another residence.  The District of Columbia and its surrounding suburbs are a transitory location.  Over the 14 years we lived here, we had many friends move in and out of the area.  It was difficult to say goodbye to these intimates with whom we'd shared life.  Still, we've been fortunate that with our current lifestyle, we've been able to rekindle some of those friendships as we've traveled the country.

This week Tim and I moved back to D.C. temporarily.  Rather than go through the hassle of finding a new healthcare network, we kept our doctors here. Over the past four days and between the two of us, we've had 11 medical encounters with doctors, dentists, imaging centers and my audiologist.

The historic domed Billings Hospital at Johns Hopkins Medical Center

In spite of the good health we both enjoy, I must confess--most of those appointments were mine.  Due to my progressive hearing loss, I've decided it's time to have a second cochlear implant.  I've scheduled this surgery for next March at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore.

There are few campgrounds in the D.C. area, but we found a fine one in College Park, MD just northeast of the district.  Cherry Hill Park has full hookups, pull-thru sites and spacious campsites.  

Best of all, public transportation is right there.  Every hour the Metro bus makes a regular stop within the premises of the campground, picking up tourists and dropping them off at the College Park Metro Station four miles away.  Anyone who has dealt with the clogged Beltway and District streets knows what a wonderful boon that is.

Once campers have visited all the museums and monuments that D.C. has to offer, they can return to Cherry Hill Park to soak in the pool or hot tub or play a few rounds of (miniature) golf.  

In addition, just down the road is the pedestrian/biking Paint Branch Trail.  The trail is part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System which leads 15 miles south to the District.  

Tim and I walked a portion of it last Sunday.  We've made plans to return to this campground next spring; it will be a good home base while I recover from surgery.

Richard

However, the most important part of our stay here were the opportunities to visit family and friends.  Our son Richard and his girlfriend Montana joined us for dinner at El Centro, a restaurant in the District that not only features delicious Mexican entrees but also has a rooftop bar and a basement tequileria where one could order over 200 tequilas or Mescal drinks.  Not that we tried any of those!  We were too busy talking and tasting the to-die-for guacamole.

Sunday morning we worshipped the Lord and reconnected with friends at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA.  We also finalized our plans to have dinner with four couples who were our closest friends during our last stint in D.C.  It was wonderful to catch up on the events in their lives over the past year since we left.  But those ins and outs of Washington, D.C. were once again evident.  Two of the couples are moving out of the area.  Steve and Tami are counting the days until retirement when they'll relocate to the home they've purchased on Cape Cod.  Jim and Karen are anticipating their cross-country move to San Francisco where their son, daughter-in-law and grandchild live.

Today we are leaving D.C. after our brief stay to travel south to Florida, chalking up another in & out to our list of stays in Washington, D.C.