My friend Gloria is staying with me while she recovers from surgery. To get her up and walking, which the doctor ordered but which she seems loath to do, I gave her an assignment to walk around and take 10 photos a day. So far she hasn’t walked far, but here are some of the photos, more to follow:
The patron saint of my little town is St. John the Baptist and his festival has been going on all week with the most fireworks I’ve ever heard.. No pretty colors. Just NOISE–by the thousands. Here are some photos of the parade. Click on any photo to enlarge all and read captions.
Click on any photo to enlarge all and read captions.
Malina Rose photo
Four Feet off the Ground
He loved her khaki overalls, her hiking boots and hat,
so altered his agenda to be where she was at.
He knew she was the girl for him, and though he’d never met her,
he knew at once he was in love and that he’d not forget her.
He tracked her to the lunch room, sneaking down the hall,
keeping so far behind she didn’t notice him at all.
He followed her to English class, then slipped into his own.
If it had been left up to him, she never would have known
the strength of his affection. Nor would she have met him.
She would have had no choice to remember or forget him.
From the start, he thought that she clearly walked on air
and one day without knowing it, he followed her up there.
She was two feet off the ground, and with him, it made four.
All across the campus, they were seen to soar.
But when she stopped abruptly, he simply could not miss her.
He forged ahead, bumped into her, and when she turned, he kissed her!
And though at first it seemed that she merely was astounded,
in time, they formed a pair and then they were more firmly grounded.
Pilot Error
His vulgarity made her bashful,
his irreverence drew tears.
He had inadequate finesse
to soothe away her fears.
So though he wished to woo her,
in the end he failed.
When he tried to fly her to the moon,
his passenger just bailed.
Prompt words today are finesse, irreverent, vulgar and bashful.
I’ve been saying for some time that it isn’t enough to rail against the conditions in the concentration camps currently being filled with those seeking asylum in the U.S. We need to propose some solutions. Today I received a communication that offers solutions–or at least ways in which we can support those attempting to institute measures to end the atrocities in these camps. Here is a link to view what is happening in the camps–many of them run by a big-time contributor to Trump and several senators as well as a list of things you can do to help.
Some excerpts from the link above:
But why are these camps any different from the detention centers we’ve been hearing about for the last year? Elizabeth C. McLaughlin explains why:
“These concentration camps (let’s call them what they are) will be under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, but within the Department of Defense. Unlike ICE facilities, which allow site inspectors inside, there will be no inspection of military-run camps.
The military will be able to deny access to anyone it chooses. No media. No oversight. Lawyers will not be allowed in. Human rights monitors will not be allowed in. The camps will also be protected airspace, meaning that no drones can fly over them to take pictures of what’s going on inside. The Trump administration will be able to conduct itself in whatever way it wants to without anyone knowing what’s going on inside.”
Teenage Fashionista
She layers on her makeup, gussies up her hair,
then faces indecision over what she is to wear.
It is an epic battle, trying to decide
inside which current fashion her body will reside.
She asks no one’s opinion. She’d rather try and pile
garment after garment, not quite today’s best style,
on bed and chair and carpet, in crumpled little heaps
until she finds the outfit that she will wear for keeps.
There is no dearth of choices of every hue and kind,
which makes it even harder—this making up her mind.
Crop tops, skirts or Levis ripped in the right places
are surveyed in the mirror as she strides off her paces.
Lip poochings and selfies help to make the choice.
When she finally picks her costume, all of us rejoice.
Into the car and speeding to get to school by nine,
both of the kids delivered, back home I guzzle wine.
Raising a fashionista is something short of fun.
I swear I won’t go shopping with the younger one.
I’ll build her fascination with reptiles or bugs,
go hunting in swamp waters for snakes or frogs or slugs.
I won’t encourage fashion sense or darling little dresses.
I’ve had enough of posturing and daily costume messes.
Making mistakes in parenting is not part of the fun,
and for sure the next time, I’ll make a different one.
Prompt words today are help, dearth, epic and indecision.
What We Must Do
I take an inventory of my heart.
There is nurture there,
and some peace,
but when I think about
the jealous nature of our world,
a bit of it nestled, I must admit,
in me as well,
I worry about the heart of all of us,
for surely the hate and greed that jealousy seeds
is somehow fostered by us all,
no matter how much we protest it.
Where has putting up with this greed brought us?
Children are taken from their parents
and kept in cages in our country.
What can we do save protesting on Facebook?
Are we willing to face the guns
of those whose salaries we pay
to risk saving the children ourselves?
Weak children of our century,
we have to brandish our voting pens like swords.
They are our weapons.
Our agents for nourishing our souls.
The prompts for today are peace, inventory, nurture and jealous.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 