31 October

Day Stop. Bedlam. Simon’s Eyes

by Jon Katz
Day Stop: Bedlam

 

Got back through snow-blasted Massachusetts – in parts, the power will be out for days – to the farm, which had a few inches, mostly gone. Went through the mail, greeted the dogs, picked ticks off of everybody, and then went to the farm to check on Simon (his eyes are light sensitive on his meds so he has to stay inside during the daytime). He looks good, Jessica Barrett and our new vet (we will meet her tomorrow afternoon) did a good job cleaning up a swollen and leaking eye. Looks a bit red but in good shape and he takes his medicine three times a day.

Tomorrow, dogs to the groomer, many chores, bills, shopping, cleaning, interviews, and then Thursday afternoon to Wilmington Vt. to cheer Lisa Sullivan on as she rebuilds Bartleby’s Bookstore, nearly destroyed by Irene. The event will be at the Deerfield Elementary School at 6:30. Saturday, 2 p.m., Saratoga Springs, Barnes and Noble, signing books.

Battenkill Books has Paypal now, and is giving away either a signed Bedlam Farm notecard or a signed “Going Home” video. Going to sign 20 books in the morning. We are steaming towards 1,000 building up as the holidays approach. You can also call Connie Brooks to order “Going Home” to be shipped anywhere in the world (with free notecard or video_. 518 677-2515.

31 October

Monday Morning

by Jon Katz
Plans

 

It was strange, watching the Northeaster howl through our plans. I see plans as wishful thinking, a way I’d like to see things go, but rarely do. E-mail goes out,  storms come in, animals get sick, fences and pipes bust. Glad to be heading home. The book tour is winding down but a couple of weeks more or less, to go. I love the beauty of the Vineyard, but I know I could not live here. Upstate New York is very real to me, and I think I need that. It inspires and informs my life, my work. Herman, my scary voice in the night came to visit and he told me I was sick, dying, broke, in danger. Go away, I said. You really need to find somebody else to be with.

And then I realized that I love Herman, he has been with me more than anybody, my parents, siblings, friends. I’d like him to find somebody else to be with, but there is a part of me that would hate to see him go, I suppose, or he would be gone. I think we are winding down our time together, a ballet of love, need, fear and life. I am going to the next place, and I wish the same for him.

30 October

Follow The Light: Blessed are those who love their lives

by Jon Katz
Follow The Light

 

Thanks. To the people who paint pictures.

And take photos.

And make pottery.

And write songs.

And sew and knit

And summon the heart to take their work out into the world

Even when it seems that no one wants to see it

Or buy it. And who sit alone at tables

With crackers and soda,

And smile and wait

And listen to the creative spark

And the light within

And do not tell their struggle stories

Or complain about getting old

And give up on love

And don’t have all of the answers

And seek out the mystery and magic of the world

And are warriors for light and beauty.

And who do not sell angst and lament.

Blessed are those who love their lives,

For they are sacred to me.

30 October

Coming Home with Steve Jobs to an ailing donkey

by Jon Katz
Coming Home

Got a ferry reservation for noon so tomorrow we head back to the farm. Got a day home and then off to NYC on Wed and Wilmington, Vt. on Thursday. Simon injured his eye, possibly on some hay and has been treated for a deep ulceration. Probably got himself poked in the eye with some hay. The eye is swollen, and some oozing. Should be fine. The farm was spared the worst of the snow, just got a couple of inches. I’ve enjoyed the Vineyard, though I think I would not care to live on an island, even one as beautiful as this.

Been reading the Steve Jobs biography and many people have asked me if I thought it was worth reading. I do think so. The writing and research are both terrific, I think although at times I wish the book has been written by someone a bit closer to the Silicon Valley culture. Walter Isaacson has said he believes Steve Jobs was a genius and has elevated him to the status of some of the world’s greatest minds. I don’t know about that, but Jobs is a fascinating character, a brilliant digital entrepeneur in world of corporation caution, a visionary in a culture that doesn’t seem much past today’s bottom line, a tormented and driven orphan who wept when confronted and who tortured, a risk taker who rejected market research, a breathtaking intuitive, a passionate defender and protector of the consumer, and a conflicted human who insulted and destroyed too many people to count. And I’m only halfway through the book.

It is a great tale and a tough book to put down. Mostly, I kept wondering how any human being who pursued a spiritual life as intensely as Jobs did – gurus, Buddhism, meditation, Yoga, veganism – could possibly have remained so aspiritual and messed up. Talk about a Shakespearean character. I wonder if we can ever really change our basic nature. I also wonder who so few corporations – none that I know of – see the profit potential in creativity, risk-taking, hiring good people and standing behind the things they make and sell. Apple makes great stuff, but I have seen few writers discussing  Jobs who mention the extraordinary connection Apple has with its consumers – they answer the phone. He always thought of us – how the computer would look, how he could make it easier to use, how he could help us use the things he made and we needed. He put himself in our head, something that seems almost unheard of in contemporary corporate culture. A great and unanswered question of the book: why aren’t there more like him?

I’m nearly halfway through and will write about the book when I’m done, but I wanted to tell people who had asked that it is worth buying and reading and very well done. An amazing story, right from the first page. And so relevant to the times we live in. The book is doing well and needs no more hype from me. But it’s very good.

Email SignupFree Email Signup