so here it is, the last day of march
and i just found out that march is national sleep month
had i known i would have fully celebrated
each and every day
like a long fiesta with long siestas
and i will do my best to make up for it today
who am i not to honor a holiday?
—
“there is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.”
-homer
—
image credit: animalandnature.com
i loved this grassroots campaigner
and his simple old-school way to reach the people
no glitz, no glam, no sound bites
just two young volunteers helping him
a speaker playing music
food and drink handed out for free
petitions passed around and signed
hands shaken
questions answered
face to face
good to see a real person.
—
“the little grassroots people can change this world.”
wangari maathai
– kenyan politcal activist, awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her
“contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace”.
it began with the arrival of a letter when i was seven years old
with stamp on it that looked different from any i had ever seen
so beautiful and very exotic
and it came from my nana
who lived far away from michigan, in the exotic land of florida.
i thought that it was beautiful
and i decided then and there to become a stamp collector.
i cut that stamp from the envelope and glued it into a notebook.
not long after
i saw an offer to join a monthly stamp collecting club
in my archie comic book
and i noticed, as i went to send in the offer
that a parent had to sign it
so i asked my dad to give me his autograph on a piece of scrap paper
cut it out and glued it onto the form
(an early foray into my ill-fated attempts at a criminal career)
added in 99 cents from my piggy bank
and i was off to the races.
i eagerly awaited the day my first stamps would arrive
i had chosen some beauties and i ran home every day
hoping to find them in the mail
and on one glorious day – they were waiting for me!
i tore open the envelope
excitedly looked through them
licked them and placed them in my book
already looking forward to the next month’s arrival.
no one in my family was a collector
so i was taken by surprise when i showed them off to my friend’s older sister
who told me that real collectors only put them in cases
never touch them, and would never, ever lick them
– or they would instantly be made worthless!
i was quite taken aback
as it had never occurred to me that
this would be the reason people collected them
i had thought of them more as a collection of tiny beautiful pictures,
pieces of art, from places far away –
new guinea, finland, new zealand and even the legendary land of canada
i had chosen flowers, and children, and animals, and pretty designs
with no interest at all in old president’s heads, history, nor with any regard for value.
my version of ‘stamp collecting’ was simply collecting my favorites
and keeping them all in one place, in my special notebook.
i have always loved a mix of patterns and colors and collages of things.
the other thing i had not considered at all
was that i had no income
and would have to continue to pay in order to continue to receive stamps
the next month, when my new set arrived
i gathered more change together, put it in an envelope,
and of course it was never received.
they sent a new batch of stamps along with a due bill and i was panicked
still without any source of income
always waiting for them to show up at the door to tell my parents and to collect.
by the third month,
i simply collected envelopes that came from them
affixed with boring american stamps,
filled with letters, asking me to pay up
and my stamp collecting hobby fell by the wayside.
though i still have a great appreciation for beautiful stamps
and love licking them to put on handwritten letters that i send to places all over the world.
—
“synonyms for collectable postage stamps: “sticky treasures,”
“collection of paper heads,” “pretty bits of paper,” and “colorful scraps.”
-alan brandley – The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
curbside museum
a small and quirky museum hidden is inside a fence
in canmore, alberta, canada
curbside museum is an unassuming curiosity in the mountain town of canmore, canada. the tiny museum is always packed with intricate little exhibits that rotate every so often. each exhibit is incredibly detailed, their contents all stuffing the glass showcase to the brim with a delightfully unexpected assortment of items.
this tiny museum is hidden within a hole in a fence that lines a busy street. the gilded frame is the only hint that this particular stretch of fence holds more than first meets the eye. you could easily walk right past it if you weren’t paying attention.
you’ll find subjects ranging from common scenes to those that transcend into the realm of fantasy. some of the showcases take on a more serious, factual tone, though many exhibits do indeed have an element of whimsy and charm.
the museum is a fun addition to the town and adds a moment of joy for any pedestrians who stop and take a peek. it’s a reward for eagled-eyed passersby who take the time to notice their surroundings. the museum is free and is open day and night.
“a museum should not just be a place for fancy paintings
but should be a place where we can
communicate our lives through our everyday objects.”
-orhan pamuk
—
credits: curbside museum, atlas obscura.com, city of canmore, alberta
—
image credit: mindful schools
et, longtime sporty friend of mine
signed up to do a quick 5k this morning
prior to our bookclub brunch
and was surprised to learn
that she was somehow stuck doing a 5-miler
due to a ‘volunteer miscommunication error’
and toughed it out, arriving on time.
please note the difference in her demeanor, expression, and body language
in the photos
before (above)
still running and realizing the mileage
and
after (below)
arriving at brunch and enjoying a breakfast bud light.
here’s to her mighty spirit.
“either you run the day or the day runs you.”
-jim rohn
proud to march today
with neighbors near and far
and with daughter and grandies
carrying the spirit and our legacy.
==
“only those with tenacity can march forward in march”
― ernest agyemang yeboah
—
credit: click on detroit, wdiv-tv, meredith bruckner
i so enjoyed irish musician
glen hansard
one of my absolute favorites
you may remember him from the indie film ‘once’
for his surprise academy award for best song that year
for his heartfelt, passionate, and powerful music
or perhaps not at all
but on this night
he told the stories behind each of his songs
invited detroit musicians up on stage with him
sang a traditional irish song with his entire crew
including the roadies
giving each a chance to shine
asked the audience to sing with him
and graciously thanked all for being a part of this night
i’ve seen him with his band ‘the frames’
and with his partner as the ‘swell season’ duet
and this time
with a mix of irish, canadian, and american musicians
all playing as one
and i was amazed all over again.
—
“music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”
-ludwig van beethoven
—
below is a live version of a song (fitzcaraldo)
that he performed in ireland with the frames,
definitely worth 6 minutes of your life.
hang in there until the end.
i have no idea where my grandie may have gone.
he’s got be around here somewhere….
hopefully i’ll find him soon.
—
“all the secrets of the world worth knowing are hidden in plain sight.”
-robin sloan
A Never-Ending Poem Grows in the Netherlands
De Letters van Utrecht is carved into the city streets and will continue indefinitely.
Upon first glance, Oudegracht looks like any other brick-lined street weaving through Utrecht, Netherlands. Flanked on one side by a canal and storefronts on the other, the thoroughfare bustles with pedestrians and cyclists in the early morning hours as they go about their business—but what sits underfoot is what makes this street truly unique.
Since 2012, a team of poets has been creating a never-ending poem, which is embedded into the cobblestones lining the street.
Called De Letters van Utrecht, the “social sculpture” is constantly evolving and continues to expand every Saturday afternoon when one of 22 stone carvers from a local guild chisels a single letter into the stone. As the weeks, months, and years pass by, the poem evolves, continuing indefinitely so long as the city and community members support it. So far, seven poets have contributed to the project, each one writing prose until it’s time to hand the poem off to his or her successor.
The poem thus far, roughly translated in English, reads:
“You have to begin somewhere to give the past its place, the present matters ever less. The further you are, the better. Continue now,
leave your footprints. Forget the flash, in which you may exist, the world is your map. If there was a time when you where another: it went by.
You are the other already. You are, as you know, the center of this story. This is eternity. It lasts. It has the time. Become one with your story and revel. Tell.
Tell us who you are with every step. In our story we vanish inevitably, only you remain in the long run. You and these letters hewn from stone. As the letters on our grave.
The cracks in the cathedral’s tower. Raised to heaven as an index finger, to identify the guilty and demand more time. So that we can walk straight again as humans along the canal.Those staring at their feet. Look up! See Utrecht’s churches stand out. Raise your hands, beg with the towers for this privilege: to be, to be now. The weather is good.
Continue to stare. Life is witness to your gaze to the horizon. Your footsteps connect the past with written letters.…”
“Each poet is limited to 52 letters a year, since we put a new letter out every week,” Dick Sijtsma, one of the project’s founders, tells Smithsonian.com. “As long as we have poets and stone masons, the poem will continue to grow.”
A stone mason carves Letter 946 as part of De Letters van Utrecht.
In order for a poet to qualify for participation, he or she must have published at least a book of poetry or two, and even if they make the cut, their proposed verses must be approved by the guild. Last year, Utrecht became the 25th Unesco City of Literature thanks to its rich literary history, so De Letters van Utrecht is able to select from a deep pool of local candidates. Ruben van Gogh, one of the founders, was the poet responsible for writing the poem’s first lines, which were then backdated to January 1, 2000 to help fill out the poem.“Otherwise, it would have taken years for people to notice that something was going on,” van Gogh tells Smithsonian.com. “Plus, 2000 was a good year to back date it to.”
So far the poem stretches the length of a single city block, but the guild of poets has mapped out its future path, which will one day wind through the city just like Utrecht’s elaborate canal system. Until then, the project has grown in popularity and continues to garner attention from locals and visitors alike. Van Gogh says it’s not uncommon to see a crowd of people gather each Saturday to witness the carving and to attempt to guess the direction the verse will take.
“Once when I was visiting on a Saturday, the assigned stone carver didn’t show up, but then another stone carver just happened to ride by on his bicycle,” van Gogh recalls. “He’s the senior stone carver who trained the others, and happened to have his tools with him. He told me that he can tell which guild member did each carving based on its appearance.”
“Often the letters receive sponsors who can then carve a special inscription into the side of the stone. ”To help fund the project, people can sponsor a single stone and have the stonemason carve a special inscription on the side of it. Sponsorships often celebrate important milestones, such as birthdays, anniversaries and marriages.“Even punctuation like colons and periods count towards a weekly carving,” van Gogh says. “People are really excited to sponsor the period at the end of a sentence.”Sijtsma agrees adding, “One time we had someone who was coming to the end of his career, and he wanted to end that phase of his life in a symbolic way.”
So the big question: What’s up next for the poem? Sijtsma and van Gogh say that they’re keeping their lips sealed.“What the future brings is a surprise to all of us,” Sijtsma says.
—
World Poetry Day,
held annually on March 21, is dedicated to poetry worldwide.
an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
—
“words are the clothes thoughts wear.”
― samuel beckett
—
credits: smithsonian.com, jennifer nalewicki, dick sijtsma, city of utrecht, netherlands
I didn't have my glasses on.... 