Nov11

for the veterans.

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Your silent tents of green

We deck with fragrant flowers

Yours has the suffering been,

The memory shall be ours.

-henry wadsworth longfellow

(from decoration day)

 

—

He has a way with words and reminds us

that while our soldiers may have suffered and paid the ultimate price,

it is our duty to remember them.

 credit: elkmoundwildflowers.com

 

Nov10

a little kindness.

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in our after-school art club

the children painted kindness stones

and hid them in the garden

for other children to find


knowing it would make them smile

when they discovered these secret stones

 hoping they would do the same for others

passing on their surprise and joy

upon finding a bit of kindness

left just to make them happy

and then hiding them again

for others to discover.

 

—

“a little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.”

-john ruskin

Nov8

my summer of the beatles, chains, and lots of gum.

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way back in the day (1964)

I was six and 3/4, not yet seven

my sister and best friend and i

spent much of our entire summer

‘working’ for free for our friend’s teenage sister

who had plans to go to see the beatles

at olympia arena

when they landed in detroit.

we were recruited by her

to spend our time creating

‘the world’s longest gum wrapper chain’

that she planned to present with her fan club

to the beatles at the concert.

she funded our gum and provided us each with a cigar box

and we sat in the yard for hours upon hours

just talking and laughing

and listening to music on her transistor radio

and creating the chain

until we’d get called home.

we never questioned the project

as were we caught up

in the whirlwind of her excitement

 when the time came

she went to the show and presented the chain

 later regaling us with the stories and craziness of the concert

and suddenly it was over

our summer of working for free had ended

and I looked forward to my own concerts ahead

wondering who I could recruit to make my paper chains.

—

 

The Beatles

“It was like hearing the future.”

–Tom Hanks

“They blew the walls down for everybody else.”

–Barack Obama

“We’ve never seen anything like this before, ever. Never. Not even for kings and queens.”

–Unnamed airport official

how to make a gum wrapper chain:

what you’ll need:

  • Gum Wrappers: You’ll need a ton of these. We made our dress using paper wrappers, but you can use foil too. The process is the same!
  • Patience: You’ll also need a lot of this.

1. Fold It in Half

Take a single wrapper and fold it longways, or hot-dog style. Do this three times. Try to fold the jagged edge inside because it can get in the way when making the chains.

2. Fold It Through the Middle

Fold the wrapper in half the other way, right through the middle. It should make a “V” shape. Next, fold the sides into the middle, making a little “v.” This little guy will be one link on your chain.

3.. Repeat

Before you proceed, you’ll have to repeat these steps to make another chain link. Once you have two, you’re ready to connect them!

4. Connect the Pieces

Just take the two ends of one and push it through the two holes in the other. This is why you’ll want your gum wrappers to be folded neatly—if the jagged ends stick out, it can get difficult to see what you’re doing or where to push the wrappers through and connect them. Keep it neat!

5. Keep Going

Keep on going forever and ever this same way. Eventually, you’ll have a long and fairly sturdy chain!

 

credits: ‘The Beatles’ Patrick Julian – Beyond Olympia Stadium, Pinterest, felt magnet