Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

ride along.

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we pulled up at the same time

right next to each other

i got out

his family got out

he stayed in

we looked at each other

i said hello to him

his mom said

he insists on

riding along

on every journey

and refuses

to get out of the car

until they all get home

once again

he just loves to ride.

—

“i’m going along for the ride. the whole ride.

all the way to the end of the line. wherever that is.”

– al pacino in “carlito’s way – 1993

floccinaucinihilipilification.

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credits: google images, mental floss

end of the light.

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tunnel through nature

light to dark to light again

 leads me to beauty. 

—

“poetry is the tunnel at the end of the light.”
-j. patrick lewis

 

—

northside, ann arbor, michigan, usa

audience.

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walking through a park

on a beautiful day

 looking up to the sky

and 

quietly sitting way up there

was a very polite and interested audience

it was standing room only. 

—

“ive never had any idea that what I like would resonate with the audience, and i’m pleasantly surprised when it does.”

-tom petty (r.i.p.)

 

 

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south pond park, ann arbor, michigan, usa

soul of a city.

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many parks that i visit

are quiet and solitary experiences

and then there are others

teeming with people and life 

and noise and activities

of all kinds

both have such an important place and purpose.

—

“parks and playgrounds are the soul of a city.”
― marty rubin

 

 

 

 

 

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gallup park, ann arbor, michigan, usa

flags.

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big rivalry game in ann arbor today

and the flags are fully flying

state flag, american flag, university of michigan flag

go blue. 

—

“i can’t tell people what flag to fly.”

-lesley stahl

 

harvest moon.

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“harvest moon: around the pond i wander and the night is gone.”



-matsuo basho 


 

 

 

—

art credit: ‘harvest moon’ –  painting by nancy bush

they are the ones.

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“many people are good at talking about what they are doing,

but in fact do little.

others do a lot but don’t talk about it;

they are the ones who make a community live.”

― jean vanier

memorials.

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“welcome and be my guest”

—

just a sampling of memorials found all over the parks

on benches, stones, trees and shelters

each very personal 

and

each incredibly touching

—

“in memory of her college days here…”

“remember the things that make you glad.”

“to celebrate the joy he found in the outdoors and his pleasure in sharing it with others.” (for the creator of the ann arbor public schools outdoor education program)

shelter to rest and enjoy the beauty –

dedicated to a young woman who loved to be in nature

and left the world way too early.

“her generosity has ensured that ann arbor will remain a city of trees.”

“only when you drink from the river of silence shall you sing, and when you reach the mountain top you shall begin to climb, and when the earth shall claim your limbs, then you shall truly dance.”

“placed in honor by his park employees”

“a guiding light to all who knew her.”

“he loved to walk here.”

“a caring and generous man…”

darya lin

died on september 11, 2001 in nyc

in loving memory

—

“every memorial in its time has a different goal.”

-maya lin

sculptor and architect 

designer of  the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C.

hand in hand.

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the kinders travel hand in hand.

 

—

“remember, we all stumble, every one of us.

that’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.”

-emily kimbrough