GJ Willis' Art Notes

Even though I’m not a Catholic I mourn the death of Pope John Paul II. I feel that in the end his legacy will be that of a paradox. He fought against communism yet he was resistent to church reform.

His criticism of such dictators as Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Ferdinand Marcos in the Phillippines encouraged opposition movements that eventually brought down those corrupt governments. The Pope’s support of the Solidarity movement in Poland was key in bringing an end to communism in the region he once called home. He was also the first Pope to visit a synagogue and the first to visit the Memorial at Auschwitz.

All in all, I have no idea who will be named Pope John Paul II’s successor. The only thing I do know is that there are two individuals who are frequently named as possibilities, Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Vatican official from Nigeria and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the archbishop of Milan.

If Arinze succeeds he will make history as the first black Pope. I’m not quiet sure how this would go over in Rome or in the Catholic community.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
I’m still sick as a dog. However, my fever has gone down a bit. Right now I have on a purple pajama set along with purple fuzzy slippers.

I didn’t go into work this morning because I’m sick. Sick as a dog. My mother who was from Virginia and would often say colourful things would say, “Sicker than ten dogs.” I have no idea what that means but I can imagine that it means you’re feeling pretty darn sick.

Frankly, I’m surprised by the whole thing. I take massive amounts of vitamin C daily and yet I still get sick.

ANATOMY OF A COLD
It all started on Wednesday at work. I was feeling cold and shivering throughout the day. I was even rubbing my hands together to keep warm. I took the chilliness I was feeling as a possibility that the heat was turned off in the building so I paid no heed to it. As I looked around the office later in the day I noticed that no one else seemed especially cold. I took this as possibly meaning that I was overly sensitive to changes in temperature. Now that I look back on it, I had chills and didn’t realize it! I can’t believe I over rationalized the obvious!

Yesterday, at work my nose was running a lot and felt stuffy. All day I felt as though I was wading through oatmeal. Around 9-10am at work yesterday I knew I ought to be home. I had the distinct feeling that I had a fever. Luckily, at work yesterday, we were given the option to leave early. Since I felt, “Sicker than ten dogs.”, I took it. When I got home yesterday afternoon I checked my temperature it was running at 101!

I would have gone into work this morning if it wasn’t for the fact that I couldn’t get to sleep the night before. My nose was stuffy and I found it hard to get to sleep with my mouth open. In total last night I only got about two to three hours sleep.

All in all I think it was best that I stayed home today rather than suffer two days in a row of below standard work due to working with a fever.

In hindsight I still can’t believe I missed the obvious sign of chills on Wednesday! Here’s hoping that I’ll soon be back on the road to recovery.

DAILY COMMUTE:
I got on the #2 bus marked City Hall. It was driven by the small thin man with the pencil mustache. He kind of reminded me of a black John Waters. The light rail train was on time. The shuttle bus again was on time. It arrived at it’s usual 5:50. It was driven by the gray bearded man.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: The Odd Man Strikes Again!
Again I saw the odd man at the light rail shuttle stop in front of the Meyerhoff. I first saw him on Monday. When I saw him on Monday he looked vaguely familiar. I couldn’t be quiet sure because it was dark and rainy. The only thing I knew for sure was that he had a very thick Baltimore accent. This morning however it’s bright and sunny outside and I can now tell that I’ve never seen him before prior to Monday. He again was talking to the chubby gray haired man who looks like Wolf Man Jack or a blue collar Santa Claus gone to seed. He was talking about the shuttle bus. This time he wanted to know about the shuttle bus to Hunt Valley. The man with the beard reminded him about Penn Station. The shuttle bus to Penn Station was what he asked about on Monday. As the shuttle bus was coming down the street the odd man cheerfully walked off in the direction of Penn Station.

The odd man had on very thick glasses, a baseball cap, a backpack, and an MTA pass around his neck. He looked possibly developmentally disabled. I don’t understand his fascination about asking about a shuttle that he apparently doesn’t need. After seeing him in broad daylight I feel sorry for calling him a doofus in a previous post. I don’t normally beat up on the disabled.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, in honor of business casual day at work I have on blue slacks, a blue pullover that has bell sleeves. I’m not sure if it’s still in fashion. I don’t like to buy too many trendy clothes. Over the pullover I have on a black sweater in case I have chills again today. For some odd reason I felt very cold yesterday at work. No one else seemed to be affected. I hope I’m not coming down with something. In case you’re wondering, the shoes I have on are blue suede shoes.

DAILY COMMUTE:
This morning I got on the #2 bus. I didn’t take much notice of the driver. The light rail train was on time. The car I was on had about seven passengers on it. The shuttle bus was also on time. Yesterday, the express shuttle bus that I take home was 40 minutes late. This was highly unusual. I hope it doesn’t happen again.

Johnnie Cochran is Dead:(
This morning as I was listening to my walkman on the way to work I was shocked by the news that Johnnie Cochran died. He was 67 and died of an apparent brain tumor. When I came into work a woman who rarely talks to me asked, “Did you hear the news about Johnnie Cochran?” I told her that I had. Then she said, “They are killing us all!” I thought this was an odd thing to say. Cochran died of a brain tumor not as a victim of a drive by shooting. A brain tumor is uncontrollable. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to prevent it from forming. I have heard that you can get brain tumors from cell phones. I’m not quite sure if this true. However, just to be safe I don’t own a cell phone.

I’m saying right here and now that I have always admired Johnnie Cochran. He seemed like the the lawyer to go to if you were rich and guilty as hell. With Cochran’s expert legal know how you knew that against all odds you would get off. Who can forget during the O.J. Simpson Trial, “If the glove don’t fit. You must acquit!”

Even though I’ve never met Cochran or needed his legal services, I will miss him. It was nice knowing that if I was in serious trouble and rich that Johnnie Cochran was the lawyer to call. Now who will people like P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, and Todd Bridges have to turn to when they are in trouble? I have a feeling that Lil’ Kim is kicking herself for not calling Cochran when she was in trouble. Anyway you cut it it’s all so sad....

Good bye Mr. Johnnie! :(

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I’m wearing a long sleeve green plaid shirt, blue jeans, and brown lace up shoes.

MORNING COMMUTE:
I woke up a little later than usual but still managed to get to work on time. I ended up taking the #2 bus to the light rail station. The light rail train was on time. The shuttle bus was also on time. However, there was barely anyone on it. This was very unusual. I suppose that maybe a bus connection was running late for some of the passengers. In case you’re wondering, the shuttle bus was driven by the man with the gray beard.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
Lingering in restrooms
I’ve never understood why some people seem to linger in public rest rooms. I’ve never looked at public restrooms, especially at work as being places to socialize.

There was once was this woman who worked at the company who seemed to always hang out in the restroom. She was a tall older woman who liked to wear gobs of make up. If she saw you she would engage you in conversation about something. You’d talk to her for a bit then leave. She however, never seemed to leave the rest room. I found this behavior very very odd. It was like she was living in the ladies room. I always avoided her. To me her behavior seemed freakish. I believe it is best to use the restroom then leave. You should not hang out there waiting for unsuspecting victims to engage in conversation.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a sage green pullover, blue jeans, and brown lace up shoes.

MORNING COMMUTE:
This morning it’s raining outside. I just missed the #2 bus but got on the #1 bus. The #1 bus was driven by a heavy set woman who wore a blue knit cap. She said, “Good morning to everyone who got on the bus. She was very cheery. She must be filling in for someone else. Regular drivers are not usually this chipper in the morning.

The light rail train was also on time. It’s being driven by a gray haired woman. To the best of my knowledge she is the first older woman that I’ve seen drive the train.

At the light rail shuttle bus stop there was an unusually large throng of people waiting for the bus. This could indicate only one thing, the previous shuttle bus was late.

The only odd that happened was that this person with a very distinctive Baltimore accent asked two men standing beside me, if you could take the shuttle bus to Penn Station. This was very odd because I would believe that by now everyone knows that the light rail still runs to Penn Station. In fact there are two trains that run northbound, one is marked North Avenue while the other is marked Penn Station. I could have sworn the doofus got off the Penn Station light rail train.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: The HFSTival
I’ve never been to an HFStival. In case you don’t know an HFSTival is big concert that’s given every year by radio station WHFS. This year’s line up looks pretty good. I’m very interested in seeing They Might Be Giants, Coldplay, and The New York Dolls. Of all the artist performing, I’m most interested in seeing the New York Dolls. I can’t tell you a single song they’ve done. The only thing I know about them is that they are all very old and it would be a good thing to see them before they all die.

The festival this year is going to be held at M & T Bank Stadium, the home of the Baltimore Ravens. I could probably walk to and from the stadium from my house. If I went I would probably want to get club level seats. I would want these seats so that I could be kept away from the dirty unwashed masses. Regular seats are $40. Club level seats are $60. I sat in club seats a long time ago when David and I went to the O’s game with a friend of his who’s a doctor. The only reason we had these seats was because his friend paid for them.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a periwinkle blue pullover, blue jeans, and brown lace up shoes.