Wright breakfast and mid-morning snack

 In the City of the Future, only breakfast cereal will snap, crackle, and pop.  Well maybe my brain cells, too, if any are left by then ...

• A middle-school student came to the library seeking information about city planning, earthquakes, and schools for his City of the Future project. A sad reminder of  the collapsed schools in China in 2008...

• My sons did that project, and my youngest made an awesome underwater city. Here he is with a fish balloon tied to his umbrella stroller eating Goldfish crackers outside the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonion House installation on the National Mall in D.C., 1988.

• On my birthday I took a special snack for the children at school that included Annie's Cheddar Bunnies and S'Mores Goldfish crackers. Yes! Graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow Goldfish. What will they think of next?

• A college friend is touring West Coast architectural sites with an emphasis on Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.

• Shopping for a birthday gift for my youngest son I had a difficult time tearing myself away from the Lego Architecture sets, particularly Wright's Imperial Hotel.

• Wright's hotel in Tokyo was destroyed by an  earthquake in  1923, the year my dad was born. Buildings damaged by earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters really riled my dad. That old structural engineer hated when the best engineering practices and sensible zoning were not applied to construction. He would be furious about the damage to schools, nursing homes, and residences in the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion.

• My son does not remember visiting the Usonion House in his umbrella stroller, which is not surprising. I have trouble remembering the self that was me sitting by the fountain outside the National Gallery.  I do remember that striped shirt because it was one of my favorite possessions of all time!

National Building Museum 

On my most recent visit to D.C. to see that son in July 2012, I grooved on the Lego Architecture exhibit at the National Building Museum.

1988 Wright Usonion house on the National Mall

My maternal grandparents lived in McCook, Nebraska. That city had few charms or diversions for children in the early Sixties. There was a tall slippery slide in Norris Park, and a Frank Lloyd Wright home across the street by then turned into a doctor's office.

Friends have encouraged me to add Loving Frank to my book list.  I already know Frank was quite short and supremely egotistical. Geniuses can be real jerks.On this Easter Sunday I viewed the exterior of Wright's Gordon House near the Oregon Garden. A new little dude was fussing in his stroller, and not feeling a bit Usonion. We did not go inside. The Gordon House was moved to the garden site for preservation.

Taliesin East, Spring Green, Wisconsin, 1979

Visited Taliesin East in Spring Green, Wisconsin in 1979 on the road back from visiting a dear college friend.  We did not imagine ourselves ever being in need of preservation and restoration. Two young married couples, no kiddies in strollers, no s'mores. Wright for that moment.





© 2013 Nancy L. Ruder