Photos from Summer 2021

A LOOK BACK AT SUMMER 2021 IN HARRISBURG

Photos by Jon Klemme

THE GIST OF THE LIST

Last night at mealtime my son told a story about how he lost a phone number he needed … said he researched it, wrote it on a box at work, then turned around and the box was gone. That kid was speaking my language . I’m often on a near-constant pivot counterclockwise, seeking a list I prepared and feeling frustrated because it did not reappear when I needed it . For this reason, paper lists have gone by the wayside for me along with rotary telephones and manual transmissions .

There is one mental list I continue to maintain . It is known as my intolerable list. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a checklist of laundry detergents I think are stinky or foods that cause heartburn. Nope, this is a list of people who drive me slowly insane .

Jane Klemme

Now consider that guy at the office. Yes, the one who knows EVERYTHING. Super interesting how he graduated high school just last week but with him, there is nothing left to ponder because Google figured it all out. Unbeknownst to him, there are a few of us who were born before Google birthed YouTube and we like to gather information from others who have personal experience with the project we are undertaking. Of course, that guy will always be more tolerable than my secondcousin Ida. She’s so intensely funny! She makes comments all evening long that build herself up while cutting me down . Perhaps she can’t see that I’m not laughing . There is vacancy on my list for both of these characters .

Not too long ago, I became aware that keeping a long list of these characters can be emotionally quite draining . The goal is to recognize our differences and find common ground. Someone formerly intolerable may move to tolerable with ice-cold caffeinated beverages . Debate is healthy because iron sharpens iron. When it comes to friends and acquaintances, we need to diversify our portfolio . Surrounding ourselves with people who think like us and act like us, those whose actions we can predict and comfortably anticipate, is not in our best interest .

Dealing with the intolerables can seem like trying to uproot a thistle. Thistles are scratchy and difficult to uproot. When you find new ways to understand and communicate with the scratchy people in your life, it can be as rewarding as chopping down a thistle with a weed-eater – truly satisfying .

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH & TAXES