The Idiots are on the road again… migrating birds avoiding the frigid North. They plan to share occasional episodes on an irregular basis with their readers.
They have found it difficult to start this chronicle. Writers need to choose their audience. The Idiot blogs began as disjointed travel notes to a small group of family and friends, but the network has extended to a diverse web of people around the country and around the world. If a writer tries to write for everyone the result is usually not interesting to anyone.
The Idiots value all their readers, but early on, when they started posting on the Hallson Garden Bench forum, a “target reader” appeared. Phyllis Kedl – GrannyNanny – read every episode. She was one of the “seedy fellows” (her term) that “met” online to share affection and information on gardening. She was a former English teacher, an avid photographer, and a had a great love for language and a voracious hunger for knowledge. She always commented upon, often expanded on, and occasionally corrected the Idiots’ commentaries. She understood the challenges of combining writing and photographs that both entertain and inform.
As the Idiots wrote, they often thought of Phyllis… what she would want to know, what she would like to see, what turn of phrase might please her playful love of words… and they felt they had to “up their game” to justify her faithful attention.
This amazing lady died recently. She fought her first round with cancer over thirty years ago, and when it returned eight years ago, metastasized stage IV, she pursued difficult and painful treatments. She lived so fully that she wasn’t willing to go until she’d exhausted all the alternatives. She recovered from four rounds of chemotherapy, returning to her family, friends, and activities. The fifth chemo proved too damaging and it was time for her to make her peaceful exit.
With great affection, the Idiots dedicate “Idiots without Borders” to Phyllis. If there is a heaven, she is there and following these adventures.
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Phyllis already made her first contribution – correcting the title. It seems like all the words should be capitalized – but they were reminded that Phyllis corrected them previously… conjunctions, articles, and prepositions in titles are not capitalized… so “without” gets a small w… Thanks, Phyllis!
Phyllis was a talented and experienced photographer. A long-time award-winning member of the St. Paul Camera Club, she understood the idea of finding a subject and “working it.” Some pictures just happen, but often a photograph has to be “made.” Starting with an inspiration, the process becomes an exploration.
The Idiots thought of her when they found a single small Madrone tree with its twisting red and gray wood and green leaves. How best to capture its essence? The overall… the base… the node… the “eye”… the captured rock… the colors… the curves… the textures in black and white???
One bush… many aspects…
Interesting tree there...
