Category Archives: Life

warmth.

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after yet another unique and powerful winter storm

with lots and lots and lots of

heavy, wet, beautiful, pure white snow

i woke up early to a power outage

spending my morning in the library

with coffee, power bars, and locals

powering up, reading, talking, and writing

watching as a lovely grandmother

kneels down to her young grandson’s level

as she very patiently and quietly

teaches him and then lets him

check out each of his very own books

one by one

gently guiding him as he goes

only when he needs it

 when he proudly finishes his work

he loads each into his own little backpack

she helps him

put on each woolen mitten and zips up his coat

he holds onto her leg as she slowly stands

 they very naturally cradle their hands together

as they make their way out of the library

 back out into the world with beautiful white snow

what a simple yet powerful act of love

that warms me

more than this comfortable and welcoming building ever will

it’s always the people within who do that.

“if a family has an old person in it, it possesses a jewel.”

-chinese proverb

commitment.

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even amidst the wind and snow and ice

these two kept good company together.

 

“commitment is an act, not a word.”

-jean paul sartre

undecided.

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march arrives and mother nature sits undecided

 

 

“the seasons change their manner,

as the year had found some months asleep and leapt them over.”

-william shakespeare

 

 

 

ann arbor, mi, usa – march 2023 – mlive photo credit

road rally.

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*mongolian rally car (not us, but similar situation)
okay, so it was not an intercontinental road rally
that speeds through tough terrain
in a variety of countries over a number of days
but
i went on a nighttime road rally scavenger hunt
that went through a few cities for a few hours
 (or more if you got lost or had an inside track on where to find something)
a wonderful adventure with a great team and lots of laughs
including:
a marriage proposal, a virgin mary statue, a condescending best buy nerd,
a welcoming fast food worker, a parking lot dance-off
swinging on a swing set with a group
ending with a dinner with people i had never met before.
no bumps in the road, just pure fun.
“there is always strength in numbers.
the more individuals or organizations that you can rally to your cause, the better.”
-mark shields

*The Mongol Rally is an intercontinental car rally that begins in Europe and ends in Ulan-Ude, Russia. The rally originally ended in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. However, to avoid punitive costs and taxes associated with vehicle imports and disposal, the rally now passes through Mongolia and ends in Ulan-Ude. The principal launch is from Goodwood Circuit in the United Kingdom, with subsidiary starting points in the Czech Republic.

elvis has left the boat.

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Heinz wants to find the man who survived nearly a month at sea with nothing but ketchup and seasonings to help him buy a new boat

In a virtual message in a bottle, the company put out a request for assistance on Instagram last week.Elvis Francois was working on his boat in St. Maarten in December when he accidentally started drifting out to sea. The weather had suddenly changed, and he said in a video released by the Colombian Navy, who rescued him, that he had lost his ability to navigate.

“I tried to [go] back to port, but I lost track because it took me a while to mount the sail and fix the sail,” he said. “…I call my friends, my coworkers. They tried to contact me, but they lost service. There was nothing else I could do than sit down and wait.”

He wrote out the word “help” on the back of his boat, and he was eventually rescued – after 24 days with nothing but “a bottle of ketchup…garlic powder and Maggi [soup].”

The navy said that officers took Francois to the Port of Cartagena to receive medical care and that he was “found to be in good health.” While there, they also started the necessary actions to help him return home.

“We’re setting this message adrift into the sea of the internet, because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you,” the company said. “If you or anyone you know can help us get in contact with Elvis Francois, please drop us a DM.”

In a statement to CBS News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Heinz said that they want to “gift” Elvis a “new state-of-the-art boat.” That boat, they said, will be “equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future.” It’s currently an international effort, with Heinz markets “around the world” getting involved. “We’re hoping to spread the word far and wide so Heinz can finally gift the new boat to Elvis,” the company said.

“for whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always our self we find in the sea.”

-e.e. cummings

source credit: liz cohen, cbs news

one year later.

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“I live in Ukraine with my family. I love my country, family, friends, people.

I fight for them. I fight for Ukraine.”

-Oleksandr Usyk

 

art credit: elana vasylieva, ukranian landscape watercolor

 

 

his gift keeps giving.

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 ‘mr. rogers’ neighborhood’ aired for the very 1st time, 55 years ago

fred rogers was a unique person with an immense heart and an incredible understanding of life

he’s one of my personal idols/heroes and i’m happy to see his legacy and lessons continue.

“we all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.”

-mr. rogers

 

 

credit: fred rogers productions

let the game come to you.

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coco knows how to do calm, cool, and cute, all at the same time

 

“you just have to take a deep breath, relax, and let the game come you.”

-a.j. green

 

cracking the case.

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A man has been convicted of stealing nearly 200,000 chocolate eggs, worth around £40,000 ($48,000), in what British police have dubbed an “eggs-travagent theft.” Joby Pool, 32, pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday to criminal damage and theft, West Mercia Police said in a statement.The chocolate was recovered when Pool was stopped by highway police on Saturday, the force said.

According to PA Media, prosecutor Owen Beale said: “This clearly wasn’t spur-of-the-moment offending, if I can put it like that, because he had taken with him a tractor unit and he had to know that the load was there in the first place. It’s clearly a leading role and it’s clearly significant planning.”

Pool’s solicitor John McMillan told the court: “He stopped the vehicle when he realized he was being followed. He realized that the game was up – he realized the police were behind him and pulled in when it was safe to do so. He wasn’t offering any resistance and he was then arrested. Shortly after the theft a vehicle, presumably purporting to be the Easter bunny, was stopped northbound on the M42 and a 32 year old man was arrested on suspicion of theft.”

my deep thoughts on this case:

i do love these, but one or five are generally enough to make me happy for a year.

i also love true crime and find this fascinating

i wonder why he chose cadbury chocolate eggs as his loot

(though i do admire his choice)

i wonder what would the easter bunny have done without these

i wonder if there is a thriving black market for this merch

it seems an odd crime, but then, most crime is odd by the very nature of it.  

“he who steals a little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power.”

-plato

 

source credits: ianne kolorin, london cnn, pa media

sweet chaos.

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the perfect product name. 

a little bit of crunch, a little bit of salt

and a unexpected swirl of sweet drizzle.

one that would be so fun to adopt as

a nickname, a profile name, a stage musical, an abba tribute band name,

or even a lifestyle. 

could also describe a holiday gathering.

depending on your family. 

 

“experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”

-oscar wilde