lucky encounter
of a piece of summer’s art –
when crossing paths
with a melted ice cream heart.
—
“besides being a useful adjunct to courtship,
ice-cream is often employed to feed poets upon.”
~”A Few Casual Remarks on Ice-Cream,” Puck, 1881
Aug5
Category Archives: Life
Aug3
on the road to mastery.
i asked two of the grandies
to go bike riding with me
but to have mercy
go easy on me
i haven’t been on a bike in two years
they are great riders
mountain bikers, road bikers, hill jumpers
all i wanted was to get my bike legs back
by starting on a flat surface
they were patient
told me some roads looked tricky
but i’d be okay
along the way they challenged me
and asked me if i could ride
using just 3 limbs, 2 limbs, 1 limb, no limbs?
(no to all)
with 4 limbs, a few minor crashes, tight turns,
near misses, and less than perfect balance
i survived the ride
and rode the next couple of days with them
each day i got a little sorer
but the ride got a little easier
they figured i’d get better by the end of the month
when i asked how they’d rate me as a rider
they told me that i began on the ‘terrible’ level
and had moved up to the ‘almost moderate’ level.
i took that to mean
‘almost mastery’ level.
—
“she who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.”
-susan b. anthony
Aug2
from the heart.
walking up to the register
i saw the cashier
a bit of an awkward, gawky type
with kind eyes and a worried face
who didn’t appear to have a lot of self-confidence
having just finished with a customer
he was ready to deal with my order.
his head was down
i said hello
he looked at me and said
“that last customer told me to smile.
he has no idea how hard it is for me
how hard it is to be here right now
no idea what im dealing with
what i’m going through
how it’s a miracle i’m even here
it would be really hard for anyone
i have to be here until midnight
this is just the beginning of my shift.”
as he quietly told me this
tears began to slowly roll down his face
he grabbed a box of tissues to wipe them away
all the while continuing to check me out.
we bagged my things together
as he went on –
“they told me to hold in my emotions
but i think its okay to show them
what’s wrong with that, i think it’s a good thing?”
when he finished with my order
his manager came over
with a compassionate and not angry face
without a word
took over his register
i thanked him for helping me
agreed that it’s certainly okay to feel and express things
told him that i hope things will get better
he walked off in silence and punched out
i hope that he takes a long break
goes home for the day
whatever he needs
has someone waiting for him who will support him
i don’t think he wanted an answer from me
just wanted me to listen
to acknowledge his humanity
his struggles, his emotions
tell him that it was okay for him to feel and express them
i hope he is back when i stop in for my weekly grocery shop.
i hope that things are better.
—
“tears come from the heart and not from the brain.”
-leonardo da vinci
Aug1
germ.
spent time in my classroom
doing some pre-planning with my team
and saw how thorough
our summer cleaning crew had been.
i especially loved the note they left on the chairs:
they did not merely say
‘chairs cleaned’
but instead they kicked it up a notch to an ’11’
the ‘disinfected’ level
for the kinders’ chairs.
i can certainly appreciate that.
—
“growth itself contains the germ of happiness.”
-pearl s. buck
Jul31
gates.
Mexican journalist freed by ICE, joins University of Michigan as fellow
After being detained at an immigrant detention center for nearly eight months, Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto will join the 2018-19 Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists class at the University of Michigan. Gutierrez, who will be a Senior Press Freedom Fellow at Wallace House, and his son, Oscar, were freed July 26 from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Texas.
“With so many challenges to press freedom, and in the midst of a crisis around immigration policy, it is easy to feel powerless,” said Knight-Wallace Fellowship director Lynette Clemetson, who met with Gutierrez in April at the El Paso, Texas detention facility to invite him to join the program. “Emilio’s release, due to the efforts of many, is a reminder that we all can do something to effect change.”
Gutierrez and his son were released a day before a federal judge’s deadline for U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials to produce documents explaining why the journalist was detained. Though Gutierrez was released by ICE, he has not been granted asylum, National Press Club Freedom Fellow Kathy Kiely said.
“We’re extremely happy, but there was no settlement agreement reached,” Kiely said. “We have been talking to the government about settling the case and discussing the terms of the settlement, but they never responded to that. In the end, they didn’t agree to anything, they just released him. On July 10, the judge issued an order citing constitutional protections of free speech and press freedom in raising concerns about immigration officials’ treatment of Gutierrez.
In 2017, an immigration judge in El Paso denied Gutierrez’s asylum request and he was scheduled for deportation. The deportation was halted after protests from numerous journalism organizations including The National Press Club, Reporters Without Borders and the American Society of News Editors.
Gutierrez entered the country 10 years ago seeking asylum after his reporting on corruption in his home country made him the target of death threats. He and his son had been held in an ICE detention facility near El Paso, Texas since December. He was previously denied asylum and is still in the process of scheduling an appeal.
“He did everything that the immigration officials say refugees should do,” Kiely said. “He came in through a port of entry, he declared himself, asked for asylum, he’s gone to every immigration check-in. Why are they spending so much of our taxpayer resources if he’s not a bad guy?” While Gutierrez’s asylum status remains unclear, plans are moving forward for him to be a part of the fellowship at UM in the fall, Kiely said.
“Wallace House, the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor community are eager to receive Gutierrez and his son as the family works to resume their life in the U.S. and Gutierrez has the opportunity to reconnect with journalism,” Clemetson said.
The Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists is one of several organizations that signed amicus briefs organized by The National Press Club in support of Gutierrez’s case. While at UM, Gutierrez will study issues related to global press freedom and safety.
—
“it is useless to close the gates against ideas: they overlap them.”
-klemens von metternich
—
credits: martin slagder, ann arbor news, m-live, reporters without borders
Jul30
finish each day.
“finish each day and be done with it.
you have done what you could.
some blunders and absurdities
no doubt crept in;
forget these as soon as you can.
tomorrow is a new day.
you shall begin it serenely
and with too high a spirit
to be encumbered
with your old nonsense”
-ralph waldo emerson
—
july full moon – ann arbor summer
Jul29
where do unicorns go?
you never really know who’ll sail your way.
—
in the sea, the fish have learned to fly,
on a moonlit night on wings of silver,
as the enchanted stars sail serenely by.
do they know where do unicorns go?
where winged horses fly?…
~Jimmy Webb, “In the Sea,” Das Letzte Einhorn, 1982
—
huron river, ann arbor, michigan, usa – summer 2018
Jul28
ancient wisdom.
some ancient wisdom in a parisian bookshop.
—
image credit: open homes open hands us
Jul27
sporktacular!!
got these for my grandies
soon to set off for a camping trip
on manitou island
where they’ll have only whatever they can carry in
this utensil will help to take care of at least 4 things
knife, fork, spoon, and ?
—
“every contrivance of man, every tool, every instrument, every utensil, every article
designed for use, of each and every kind, evolved from very simple beginnings.”
-robert collier
Jul26
lottery.
i stopped to fill up with gas
and grab a cup of coffee
when heading out of town
and home once more.
as i paid and told
the very happy and chatty clerk
to have a good day
he glanced across the street
at the beautiful view he sees each day
and thanked me for reminding him
because every day was good
and especially today
because today was the day
that he was going to win the lottery
but somehow i thought that he already had.
“i count myself lucky,
having long ago won a lottery paid to me
in seven sunrises a week for life.”
~robert brault
I didn't have my glasses on.... 