Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Pals
It’s a rare thing, friendship, and so very difficult, finding like-minded people with whom we can hang out. In college, Karen and I knew a lot of people who were “our kind of people” (an elitist phrase, perhaps, but that’s how we think about it). Even by the time I got into med school, it had become harder to make friends. They were different, these medical students. Residency was worse, and private practice? Forget it. Most of the docs I know are Republicans.
That’s why it was such an unexpected pleasure to meet Kenney and his wife, Val, four or five years ago. We met them through our friends Stan and Elissa, who used to live in the condo below Kenney and Val. Stan and Elissa have moved on, but Kenney and Val have roots in the area.
I remember thinking, This is great. We make it down here [the Bay Area] at least once a year; now we’ll have some friends to visit. And, indeed, we did visit Val and Kenney the following year; but as y’all know, Karen broke her hip two years ago, and that threw a wrench into our usual travel habits. We haven’t seen them in ages.
Here we are (minus me. Until we figure out the timer, someone has to clicky clicky) in Kenney’s studio.
I had very particular ideas about the composition of this photo: I wanted to capture the assy assness of the painting behind Jake. It’s a lovely ass, don’t you think? Here’s a better view. I suggested to Kenney that he do more S&M-themed work. Maybe I should commission it?
Kenney has an interesting attitude toward modern art, which we discovered when we told him about our trip to MOMA today. I’d say more, but I don’t want to get him into trouble with his peers. Anyway, MOMA wasn’t terrible. We liked the Olafur Eliasson exhibit (the yellow room was our favorite) but the rest of that place was, well, meh. “How did they do that one?” Jake would ask. I’d say, “They smeared blue paint on a dog’s ass. Dogs don’t like paint on their asses, so he wiped it off on the canvas. Best I can tell, they did it to the poor dog three times.” “Okay,” Jake says, “then how did they do this one?” “They smeared gray paint on a cat’s ass. Cats don’t like paint on their asses, so . . .” and so forth.
Kenney tried to explain why there was a urinal prominently featured in the middle of the permanent exhibit, but all this art stuff goes over my head.
Here’s a cool photo from the ground floor of MOMA. After the ground floor, the docents wouldn’t let me take any pictures. How annoying!
What’s up for tomorrow: breakfast — dim sum if we can find it — then the Exploratorium, then Corn Dog’s place for dinner. More pals.
D.
You lucky bastard. I think Kenney is freaking awesome. He did an interview on my blog a few months back.
And I, like you, love assy assness. It makes life worth living.
Great interview, Steve! And a damned good idea, too. I’ve interviewed authors here, but I never thought to interview Kenney.
I know what you mean finding someone who is “your kind of people” – it’s always so gratifying! In “Anne of Green Gables” Anne referred to people like that as “kindred spirits” and I think it’s a good way to think of it.
Kenney’s art looks great, very interesting. As for the modern art of the type you saw at MOMA, it’s not my thing either…
Sounds like a fun day, bad art, assyness and all.
BTW, I would love to hear the kind of dinner conversation you an Corn Dog would come with, although I expect it would be edited with Jake around.
Mauigirl: “kindred spirits” works for me . . .
DN: you would expect wrong! We don’t hold are tongues around Jake. We figure that part of our job as parents is to teach him to swear correctly.
Doug, the Foreign Service used to be the place for “our kind of people”! It was like grad school without the pressure to do research. Everyone is smart, most of them are well-educated, and a good share of them enjoy discussions of the type we used to have back in the day. It helped that everyone moved every couple of years, so people were always looking to make friends.
It’s not quite the same now (of course, when I joined the old-timers said that), but maybe that’s reflecting the tenor of the times, which are a far cry from the heady days after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
My dear, you have to tell us who you’re going to vote for in the primary. I’m dying to know 🙂
You’d like Kenney and Val, by the way. If we’re ever all in the Bay Area at the same time, we should have a big get-together.
Still thinking about which primary I’m going to vote in. Last election was my first crossover (too bad I wasn’t voting in Ohio or some place where it might have counted). If only it didn’t require work to switch my registration to Dem…
Me, I’m thinking I’m an Obama girl (even though I’m curious as to whether he has dual citizenship with Kenya).
If you’re stuck in the Rep primary, have fun with it and vote for a real loser.
Oh, wait. They all are. My bad!