Presidents Day 2008* Taking a Lead From My Heart

Hi everyone!  Yes it's been a bit of time since my last posting & this one is to be a short sort of jaunt with more eventually to come.  Since my last note I've read  "The Glass Castle" by, Jeannette Walls- it was highly recommended by a friend.  I also recommend this excellent memoir.  It is the life story of a modern day woman who taught herself to overcome in a way that goes beyond my ability to accurately describe her bravery & fortitude in a world that one would honestly exclaim--- "How can this be true? !"  A *must read for the social scientist that we are.  Thank *You Jeannette Walls- for sharing your most personal story, it renews my hope & faith.  When you over came, we all over came-- beyond the frustration, starvation & the tears, we your readers were given much more than we can ever say.

Valentine's Day  '08 has also come & gone.  During that week I set aside some time to bake & share with those near, dear & far away-- my grandmother's --on my father's side, her ruggles which I've recently renamed-  "Grandma Anna's Newly Twisted Coney Island Rugula".  I will be sharing this recipe & the how's & whys of this project at a future entry to come.

Since my last note there have been a few issues that have weighed heavily on my mind, that too I will eventually share, for as much as we all live our private lives with our own thoughts & deeds there are some aspects of our human condition that are of the commonality---  at times referred to as the "collective consciousness".   Just learning the term "collective consciousness" some 20 years ago during a child development course, definitely had a liberating effect on my thinking mind.  Yes we are unique in this world-- yet we also have sooo very much in common with one another.  We all thrive in what is positive & good, & wither without the basics.  Humankind will never live by bread alone, no matter how tasty, how sweet.  Why else would we blog, write plays, books, movies, poetry, songs & prayers of comfort & hope.  Our "collective consciousness" knows the answers to that of which we continue to explore.  No matter the faith or non faith we were brought up in, the commonality of us all will forever remain, and as the years go by--"newly twisted" is nothing more than that-- a different take on what was old & has become renewed.  Again I end with the word--Ahava, which is hebrew for love.           

*Today Is Wednesday- the Morning After*.....

 "Super Tuesday" was definitely jam packed with interesting peeps.  My husband & I voted early in the day, most of our extended fam* voted throughout the day with our law school student son having all ready sent in his absentee ballot.  Our history student son came back home to vote & also consumed most of what was left of the eggplant parm from the night before. [He said it was good.]  We are uncertain if our eldest cast a ballot yesterday?  As a dem I can't say I'm disappointed for the choices.  My true hope is that the American People elect a President who not only supports, but implements  "Peace & Human Rights".  Enough of our spreading ourselves all over the world.  Let's strengthen our internal boarders -- on Land, Air & Sea--as we consentrate on the problems at hand-  National Security, Health Care & Education.  Families of all makeups & mixes are at continued risk, let's concentrate on finding creative solutions to the problems of all sorts of poverty -- the majority of children are not able to pull themselves up by their boot straps as neither are the elderly.  We don't want or need a welfare state, we want an able bodied nation of nobody forgotten or left behind.  We can do this--  this is America--  a country of possibility & opportunity--  " From Sea to Shinning Sea! "

It will be a long, long haul to November 2008, see you there! 

Those NY Giants*! Wow!

I can't believe it, though I don't even know the score or the details, "YES" I believe they did it.  My father would be sooo proud, & so am I!  New York, New York- My home town!- East side, West side, all across the town--those ole songs still ring true--  give my regards to Broadway & all of YAZ*!

I do love my gardens, our woods & all of nature- but first & foremost, once a New Yorker-always a New Yorker.

We morph, we evolve,-- we change, but a good part of who we will always be is the child inside,  where we first learned to talk & walk, smile & shine & take in our world's for the very first time.  I am so proud & happy for my sisters & brothers of the Original Big, Big Apple!  My first Home Town!  

Gee & I said I wasn't a sports fan, well I guess in some ways I am one too.  Now to find out the details....

PEACE-- to all you fans out there, remember it's only a game.  We win some & we loose some, but it sure feels good to win.  

    

  

Super Sunday Continued*....

*Looks like I all ready clicked "enter" & my title is going to read an extra super, isn't that Super*, this super sports day!  [oye!]

What does one do when they are tapping their keys, & in their enthusiasm hits enter & now how to undo a redundancy-- it is a question, these tech. computer skills, I keep plodding away at, slow & steady... Yet life is made up of more questions than answers anyway, so I'll just have to live with it. Without tech. support my style here is basic bare bones, I will keep trying though....

Today is quite the day, for the sport of football is enjoyed by young & old alike-- it's like a national holiday in our neck of the woods & to be honest- what was I thinking ?- going to our local supermarket--  never had I seen so many boxes of corn dogs in one shopping cart, as I had today! [Actually I didn't know corn dogs came in giant boxes until today!]  In regards to team loyalties--my father was a life long NY Giants fan- we still have his jacket we lovingly gave him on one special birthday.  The rest of my family are NE Patriots fans,  & me- well I attended one of our son's Super Bowl Party's some years ago-- It was cute as he & our daughter in law had our two wee grand kids dressed in official Patriots shirts, no guessing who they'll be rooting for come their later years.  I have a special loyalty to the Giants though, as that was were I was born & raised till age five- with family roots going back to Ellis Island, Yonkers,  the Lower East Side, Brooklyn, the Bronx & Long Island.  I'm from the Bronx, so in baseball season I have many a team- the Yankees, & the Mets.  To add to this selection I also have the Red Sox as we are the proud parents of a former Boston Red Sox Official Bat Boy!  What a thrill that night was & even though they were playing the Yankees that night, we of course rooted for the home team, just like the song!

So may the better team win & please may it hopefully be with "true sportsmanship & honesty"--like a Billy Joel song....  enough with any further examples of winning at all costs, or people repeating-"Every one does it..." You know what I mean here...., really not my issue per-say, as I'm not a real sports fan, yet it's that inter- connected consciousness of all of us, as a society, not tolerating less then, of what's honest, fair & good.  I know it's an ideal, but one still worth striving for, that is how we raise our families.  Why not above board honesty &  fairness all across the playing fields?  

My sense is that the Giants are probably not favored to be the power house in this match that the Pats are known to be.  So in all fairness let the better team win.  I've said my piece, & now it's time to find my father's jacket.     

Super Sunday

A Note From a Visiting Sister*

Tis I, am finally putting thoughts to page again, it's been almost a week or a bit more.....

This note is from my brother & sister in law's home out in the country.  It's my husband's landmark Birthday today so I accompanied him for the basketball game viewing of the women's UCONN Huskies of which my family are fans.  They are fans of the men's team too, but for the past several seasons they haven't been doing as well as the gals.  It's refreshing to see that women finally have equal opportunities in college sports-- such a long time coming, & not from the kindness of any one's heart either, it had to be mandated by law-- all connected to the $funding of the various sports programs, the good results of our government at work.  

This past week had been a bit challenging, probably from that down time after all the holidays & birthday celebrations that get celebrated.  So very much to do, all jammed together one after another beginning at Thanksgiving till now.  I wrote an essay last week & may or may not post it, am undecided.  It's one of those stories that if I didn't live through it I truly couldn't have made it up.  Time will tell.  I did share it with a dear friend & she liked it, though it still needs  better clarification in it's ending.  I'm extremely fortunate to have special & dear friends of whom we can share our deepest thoughts, feelings & reactions in regards to our collective human experiences.  Some of us though most sturdy, posses delicate feelings on matters near & dear to us.  It's just the way some of us are made, we are sensitive & soulful, yet feel strongly & passionately on certain matters.  Matters that are impossible for us to ignore, should not ignore.  "To be or not to be...", that is always the question.  

When we were growing up in the 60's most of us had a sense of hope & possibility, it was this sense of hope I believe that led us to strongly oppose the war in Viet Nam, for we were raised with a strong sense of justice of what is right & what is wrong.  Here it is 40+ years later & with this war- [mankind seems to always find a reason to make war], standing at the Peace Corner in our town, though not Thornton Wilder's  "Our Town" nonetheless a town with all the elements of any town USA, of which I will comment on at a future time.  We have the positives & the negatives of course, the kind hearted, & the ones that disregard others due to power seeking, all the elements of any good play or novella.  For this new year I've been reading up on some of my favorites- Dr. Seuses's "The Lorax" and Henry David Thoreau's "Walden".  That's just a bit of where my head's been at, with comments to eventually follow.  

Ahava, & wishing you peace.  

The Snow Seemed To Have Stopped

It's a Monday here in our neck of the woods & very snowy. The trees grace our woodlands with those fluffy delicate branches that break at times due to the weight of it all.  Already several  of the younger ones have been naturally pruned away by this process.  It's always interesting come spring to check out what has been sculpted away, in my garden & in those of my friends. Sometimes the effects are lovely and other times not so.  When a preciously delicate dogwood stands with the scars from one of our winter's storms--- it can be quite painful to view. Other than those episodes the gardens here tend to benefit from the quietness of winter's natural blankets and take care of themselves very well, for there is a break from the insects and any other unwarranted growths. Though now I'm a Nana, I am still quite new to this gardening venture-perhaps 14 years in the process of gardening now.  I have always been a rather patient person so this process suits my temperament very well. Like everything in life, learning is ongoing....  Gardening has given me that hands on sort of metaphor, of looking at life through natures prism.  Knowing that each of us contributes a certain color, texture and form to the landscape of the world at large. 

Today our corner of the world is white, light and feathery. By tonight it will be colder, harder, icy, and slippery-- yet still hold a beauty- a crispness in the night air, with perhaps a display of stars.  I so love the night sky & it's stars.  For me it is always--- time will tell...  Is it not for everyone? 

In all honesty though I love this beauty of winter & the excitement of her storms, I do not like the anxiety that traveling brings to us here.  We have a vine in our woods that grows wild, it has radiant red berries with a residual yellow husk.  I saw this striking vine for the first time some 30+ years ago, we were a new family then, the three of us, & were up in New Hampshire one late autumn.  The Bittersweet Restaurant was charming--  It was an old converted barn with odd fixed windows and that interesting feel that only those old barn interiors give. Now decades later that interesting vine-- the bittersweet is one of our most notorious  invasive species, no less pretty, but a bit out of control in it's growing habits. It is very well know for single handily taking down some of our finest trees, the power and strength of this humble vine--  out of control, yet balance-- all in the same forest.  Yet I will often have fond memories of the bittersweet, a reoccurring topic of nature--  chaos & control, our universe at large.

With that in mind I wish every single one of us-- a beautiful and safe winter's journey-- with great care on the ice for all modes of travel--be it on wheels, on the waves, on wings or on foot. Which ever the mode? May we all be blessed with health and safety this winter's season to enjoy the journey.