chair calls out my name
come sit here still just rest watch
in comfort and peace
What an elder sees sitting; the young can’t see standing. – Gustave Flaubert
Oct13
Tag Archives: life
Oct7
how the government shutdown and dominoes led to a ruined big night in for my friend in 10 easy steps.
1. friend’s husband signs up for long distance marathon and has to spend the night before it, on site. he is happy.
2. friend’s friend invites their kids to have a slumber party with her kids that night at her house. both sets of kids are happy.
3. friend is extremely excited to have an very rare night at home all to herself, not taking care of anyone else. she is happy.
4. friend making plans to pamper herself and do only things she most enjoys. she is very happy.
5. two american government parties disagree on things. they are not happy.
6. both sides play chicken and no one gives in and they find themselves at an impasse. they are even less happy.
7. government shuts down. each side is blaming the other one for their unhappiness.
8. national parks shut down. rangers and visitors are not happy.
9. friend’s husband’s marathon at national park is shutdown. he is not happy.
10. friend’s night of self-indulgence is shutdown. she is not happy.
‘it’s like the first domino falling’ – zhang jiankang
Oct4
love is the hug i’m thinking of.
sitting in my car at a stop sign on my way to school, i saw a father walk his pre-teen son out to the bus stop at the end of their driveway. i watched as father and son turned towards each other and embraced full-on into an uninhibited mutual hug. thought about this boy, and his father, heading off to begin each of their days, with everything they could possibly need.
I have a present for you, but I need to borrow your arms for wrapping paper. ~Author Unknown
Oct1
art ‘n soul
i never cease to be amazed, when walking around my city, by the surprising displays of art i encounter. they can be found in places of all kinds, and in every form imaginable. i’m always struck by the time and care that people have taken to express themselves, to share their creative spirits, and to put their visions out there, to be met with a smile or scorn, making our space somehow the better for it, and to open random strangers’ minds and eyes to new experiences. these beauties and the people who create them, from the simple to the sublime, all for the sake of self-expression and the joy of knowing others may cross paths with them , are treasures, each in their own distinct way.
a rabbit peeks out from a front yard filled with vine and picket fence
a wall covered in gum, once painted over, and coming to life once again with new color,
ever-evolving with the contributions of passers-by
a sidewalk, redrawn with chalk each day, into a new design, by a mother, purely for the delight of others
a pink balloon, placed by a child, to make her tree more beautiful, in hope the fairies will come
a mural on an underpass, painted by a teen who i have known to be a gifted artist since he was in pre-school
and has no idea how talented he really is
a dead tree stump given a second chance at beauty with the addition of color and life
poetry painted on an alley ceiling – look to the stars for inspiration
—–
The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic. Oscar Wilde
An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
Sep29
and then…….!
a day of ups and downs and ups again. began with the farmer’s market – flowers, fruits, veggies, jams, babies finding music there and dancing to live strings as the sun gleamed down. and then…. a car surprise – went from oil change in 15 minutes and 19 dollars, to front suspension in 2.5 hours and 838 dollars. threw in a free light bulb. and then…..thai dinner – hot spicy fun and laughter and burning lips with friends, including our volleyball player in a cast ‘with a slight break/chip’. and then……ran into aut/out-fest, filled with rainbows, beads, italian ices and drag queens. and then…..wandered into a wedding back at the scene of the morning farmers market, more music and beauty everywhere. and then… a bicycle built for 7. full circle. and then…….
But then there are magical, beautiful things in the world.
There’s incredible acts of kindness and bravery, and in the most unlikely places, and it gives you hope.
Sep27
no bird in this bush.
in full-day kindergarten, every day is truly a treasure trove of wonder. in the morning, we talk about the sound that the letter F makes. children offer their own examples, things they are familiar with in their own lives: flower, frog, fruit. then, out of the crowd, a lone voice says above the rest, ‘funk.’ what was that? ‘i said, ‘funk. funk starts with f!’ it does indeed, thank you so much for bringing a smile to your teachers’ faces and for bringing the funk back into our lives with so much enthusiasm. you never know where you’ll find the letter F, it could be just the beginning of such an exciting word, funk.
after a day filled with activity and learning and music, and most importantly, our afternoon nap, we set out on a hike through the woods and trails on campus. we took the binoculars we’d made out of empty toilet paper rolls and string, for a chance to see one of many birds we’d been talking about in the last couple of weeks. along the way, we saw geese, swans, wrens, and jays.
suddenly, once again, a voice rang above the crowd. ‘ i saw jesus!!’. what? where? who is jesus? the class had all sorts of questions, as they are a patchwork of cultures, religions, and backgrounds. ‘in the bushes! i saw jesus!’ wow, hmmmmm…… maybe that’s why i never could be a part of organized religion. was i not seeing things clearly? i think not. but i guess some toilet paper roll binoculars are higher power than others. it was a day of funk and jesus.
Sep22
leaf doesn’t fall far from the tree – an ode to autumn
mow-ku
one last cut then fall
striped mardi gras pirate smiles
grandson so like me
Sep21
the vice is dwight
i am absolutely fascinated by one of the security people on my school campus. upon my first encounter with him, i immediately began referring to him as ‘dwight’, as he so reminded me of the character on the american sitcom, ‘the office’ who, when it came to the concept of security, was a bit overzealous to say the least. soon, other teachers began to believe this was his real name as i referred to him so often by that name, and over time, it just became a natural part of our school culture.
each day, my dwight stands at attention, across from my school, armed with his whistle and his stop sign, and a with tool belt full of ‘stuff’, like a benign batman, that really could not inflict any harm on any living thing, luckily.
he wears his neon vest, waiting to put his orange cones out, to deter drivers from turning left into the driveway once the clock has hit 7:30am on the dot, thus averting a potential ‘too many cars in the driveway circle at one time calamity.’ problem is, he is always a bit overexcited and tends to place his cones out a few minutes early on most days, inciting drivers to try to explain/outwit/go around him in this arena.
last year, he went after a teacher who violated his early cone placement, read her the riot act and tried give her a ‘citation’ of his own creation. (and what i wouldn’t give to have this in my possession). after this incident, he had a talk with his superiors and had his whistle taken away for a while.
and yet, the madness and mayhem continue. this week, ‘dwight’ abandoned his post, and literally chased down another teacher, while holding his stop sign, recently-returned whistle bouncing on his chest, tool belt accessories jingle-jangling, and vest flapping in the wind, for violating his wall of cones, and this was physically no easy task for him.
when he finally caught up with ‘the perp,’ they had a conversation about the exact time of his cone placement, and as he indignantly pulled his watch out of his pocket to prove his point, and as he was yelling about it having been 7:30, they both noticed it was actually only 7:31at this moment of confrontation. now, math is my weakest link, and i am no great detective by any means, but if i was to think backwards, and see how long it would have taken him to conduct his footchase, there is no conceivable way he could have reached his violator in 60 seconds. after some grumbling on both sides, they parted ways and once again, he returned to his post, ever vigilant, and watchful of any perceived wrongdoings.
after all this, i thought about him, and wondered what makes him so concerned with rules and order, and why he has such a strong need to enforce such things, when no actual harm or danger is involved. i’d like to find out his story, his given name, and while i can never move on from thinking of him as dwight, and while i admire him for caring and taking his job so seriously, i’m not all that certain he could save any of us in the case of some real danger, though i do feel he would always be watching, and perhaps run to find someone who could help, whistle bouncing, and in that way, he would at last be the hero he longs to be.
If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere. – Marilyn Monroe
The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Sep19
collateral damage
To: Beth
Good Morning!
Unfortunately _____ does not have his bag with him today. His sister vomited in the car on the way to school. His bag was one of the lucky ones that got hit. I’m sure he told you. My mom will be picking him up today at the bus stop. Thanks so much!
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. – Nido Qubein
—–
Sep16
now i’ve seen it all!
2 kinders cross paths at the doorway of our little classroom bathroom – one coming in, one exiting. the one exiting has pants down and is walking out like nothing is unusual and is on a sunday stroll in the park. one coming in yells out, ‘cover that up! no one needs to see your _____ (anatomically correct body part)!!’ – like a very bad day at the park. well said, little one.
I have as much privacy as a goldfish in a bowl.
