An evening of culture

On one of our recent date nights we had what I like to term an "artsy fartsy" date.  Certain aspects of our evening were more cultured than others.  Dinner was 'campers in a sleeping bag' (hot dogs rolled up in crescent dough).  I had had enough with attempt to make nutritious some-what upscale dinners so I reverted to what I do best which is quick and easy.  I do happen to have the reputation of making some stunning creations from crescent rolls.  After dinner we began our evening at the library for a lecture on the life and work of Henry Varnum Poor, a somewhat famous artist who was born in a nearby community.  (Interesting side note: His uncle, also Henry Varnum Poor, was the founder of the company that become Standard & Poor's.)  The lecture focused on his artwork during WWI and WWII.  He was primarily a painter but also practiced a wide variety of mediums including ceramics, murals, sculpting, and even architecture since he design and built a handful of homes.  I found it interesting the role that artists had in the wars.  One job he had was to design and paint camouflage.  On the front lines in WWI cameras were not allowed so he had a side business of doing portraits for fellow soldiers for them to send home to their families.  Even in WWII cameras were not reliable enough for the action of battle, didn't work in many weather conditions, and didn't shoot in color so artists could better depict the scenes of battle through their work than film could.  Poor's role during WWII was in Alaska helping arm the natives in case of a possible Japanese invasion.  (I often forget Alaska was one of the spots in the US most at risk for invasion.)  After the lecture it was such a nice evening we went down to the park to listen to the city band concert for awhile which we really enjoyed.  Following the concert our evening became less refined as one of us was anxious to watch the NBA draft. Omnia Vincit Amor.