Saturday, October 19, 2019
For Greg
When you placed
the gun against your head
and tried
to blow away the demon
you thought was lurking there
you missed
You didn't kill the pain
You broke it into
an extraordinary number of pieces
that flew
into the hearts
and the souls
of those who loved you
It's not the part of you
we need inside us
We needed part of your warmth
your zeal
your humor
your grace
Instead
along with memories of better days
and longing to have
just one more talk
one more meal
one more
day
We have your pain
We will carry that inside us
it will rise to the surface
When we remember your laughter,
When we reconsider your words
When we speak your name
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Harry Potter, witchcraft and random fantasy genre thoughts
Someone posted a rant on a friend's FB page - which she started by saying her kids had never seen the Harry Potter movies. This person on her page went off on a mini rant about how no member of his household would be allowed to either read the books or see the films, alluding to the mistaken fact that it is about Satanism. PAY ATTENTION HERE this person has never cracked a single tome or seen any of the films.
I responded by saying that the themes of the Harry Potter series are friendship, love, good fighting evil and love. I asked the person if they boycotted ALL fantasy genre or just the Potter books. He did not respond.
It got me thinking about things:
The overriding theme of "Potter" is that love will triumph. Harry is saved from death by his mother's love. All of the characters on the "good" side" are motivated by love and even Draco's mother helps Harry in exchange for knowing if Draco is still alive in Hogwarts.
When the Potter books came out, SOME preachers had a FIT ( without reading them BTW) about the "magic" in the books and saying that they were encouraging children to seek Satan ( who must be ROYALLY pissed that he is NOT an actual character the book.)
I wondered about a few things.
Witches are considered evil and in league with the Devil, but Wizards are not. Case in point Merlin, Gandalf and Dr Strange. I didn't see anyone out there protesting Lord Of The Rings or any of the Marvel films. It got me to wondering if this isn't some sort of way to keep women "in their place" After all, witches are powerful beings and if they are equal with their male counterparts well then they MUST be EVIL.
I started to think about all the fantasy genre books I have read that contained magic- if the problem here is that by putting magic "spells" in the story line, we are encouraging something these preachers fear.
Off the top of my head:
Lord of the Rings
Bed-knobs and Broomsticks
Mary Poppins. ( I haven't read the book, but in the beloved film, certainly what Mary does IS magic)
Are those offensive?
Is MARY POPPINS ( gulp) in League with the Devil???
Ok, but you get my point. Literature, good literature, makes you think and dream. Emily Dickinson said it best "There IS no frigate like a book to take us lands away"
If you don't want your child to read the books, then by all means limit their access. DO NOT try to tell me what my child ( or grandchild) can read.
I responded by saying that the themes of the Harry Potter series are friendship, love, good fighting evil and love. I asked the person if they boycotted ALL fantasy genre or just the Potter books. He did not respond.
It got me thinking about things:
The overriding theme of "Potter" is that love will triumph. Harry is saved from death by his mother's love. All of the characters on the "good" side" are motivated by love and even Draco's mother helps Harry in exchange for knowing if Draco is still alive in Hogwarts.
When the Potter books came out, SOME preachers had a FIT ( without reading them BTW) about the "magic" in the books and saying that they were encouraging children to seek Satan ( who must be ROYALLY pissed that he is NOT an actual character the book.)
I wondered about a few things.
Witches are considered evil and in league with the Devil, but Wizards are not. Case in point Merlin, Gandalf and Dr Strange. I didn't see anyone out there protesting Lord Of The Rings or any of the Marvel films. It got me to wondering if this isn't some sort of way to keep women "in their place" After all, witches are powerful beings and if they are equal with their male counterparts well then they MUST be EVIL.
I started to think about all the fantasy genre books I have read that contained magic- if the problem here is that by putting magic "spells" in the story line, we are encouraging something these preachers fear.
Off the top of my head:
Lord of the Rings
Bed-knobs and Broomsticks
Mary Poppins. ( I haven't read the book, but in the beloved film, certainly what Mary does IS magic)
Are those offensive?
Is MARY POPPINS ( gulp) in League with the Devil???
Ok, but you get my point. Literature, good literature, makes you think and dream. Emily Dickinson said it best "There IS no frigate like a book to take us lands away"
If you don't want your child to read the books, then by all means limit their access. DO NOT try to tell me what my child ( or grandchild) can read.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
it's been 15 years
August 29
Fifteen years ago, my beautiful, brilliant mother lost her battle to Alzheimer's
It does NOT get easier, in fact, in some ways the passing of the years and the reaching of milestones makes it worse.
In the time she has been gone:
I got a divorce. I won't go into details, but I am proud of the way I did what I did. I am a better person because I am not married to that person.
I met and married the love of my life. It grieves me that my mom never met Chris. She would have been nuts about him and she would have been thick as thieves with him mom , Anna.
Her granddaughter Kate graduated from college, got married and has one son with another son on the way. She started her own business and is doing ok.
Our family has a hole in it, and has since she crossed over. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my Mom, wish I could call her to share some tiny bit of news, or visit her and cook in her kitchen. I miss her most at Christmas- her favorite holiday. I bake more cookies than we can eat, remembering how she would bake and give the cookies to the neighbors as a holiday treat. I can't bear to make lebkuchen.
Alzheimer's stole her from us, bit by bit. The year she died, my sister and I did a walk in her honor and raised over $1,500 in her name. It is my hope that one day, families will not go what we went through and that this will be curable.
She once told me she was glad she could not remember the exact date that her mother died (Ironically it was August 11, which is Kate's birthday) My grandmother died of the "family cancer" during the Watts Riots. Unfortunately I remember the day my mother passed on. The number 29 resonated with my family:
My Dad was 29 when he met my mother
My mother was 29 when my sister was born
I was 29 when Kate was born
They lived in 29 Palms
My mother died on August 29
My Dad died on March 29.
I wonder if that means anything or it's just an odd coincidence.
Still I miss you Mom. There should not be tears left, but there are.
If you still have your mom here, hug her tight for me today.
Fifteen years ago, my beautiful, brilliant mother lost her battle to Alzheimer's
It does NOT get easier, in fact, in some ways the passing of the years and the reaching of milestones makes it worse.
In the time she has been gone:
I got a divorce. I won't go into details, but I am proud of the way I did what I did. I am a better person because I am not married to that person.
I met and married the love of my life. It grieves me that my mom never met Chris. She would have been nuts about him and she would have been thick as thieves with him mom , Anna.
Her granddaughter Kate graduated from college, got married and has one son with another son on the way. She started her own business and is doing ok.
Our family has a hole in it, and has since she crossed over. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my Mom, wish I could call her to share some tiny bit of news, or visit her and cook in her kitchen. I miss her most at Christmas- her favorite holiday. I bake more cookies than we can eat, remembering how she would bake and give the cookies to the neighbors as a holiday treat. I can't bear to make lebkuchen.
Alzheimer's stole her from us, bit by bit. The year she died, my sister and I did a walk in her honor and raised over $1,500 in her name. It is my hope that one day, families will not go what we went through and that this will be curable.
She once told me she was glad she could not remember the exact date that her mother died (Ironically it was August 11, which is Kate's birthday) My grandmother died of the "family cancer" during the Watts Riots. Unfortunately I remember the day my mother passed on. The number 29 resonated with my family:
My Dad was 29 when he met my mother
My mother was 29 when my sister was born
I was 29 when Kate was born
They lived in 29 Palms
My mother died on August 29
My Dad died on March 29.
I wonder if that means anything or it's just an odd coincidence.
Still I miss you Mom. There should not be tears left, but there are.
If you still have your mom here, hug her tight for me today.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Recovery
So... NOT doing as well as I had hoped and I have pt twice a week. This has been hampered by a WICKED case of vertigo.
UGH
Going to therapy in a bit. Think good thoughts. My knee is super tight. I have been working on it, but I think I need to do more than I have. I need a COACH!!!
Slightly dizzy and SUPER cranky- pain and lack of sleep will do that to me. I am hoping that I improved a BIT since last week.
On the PLUS side, I have lost six pounds....
More thoughts later on being stir crazy and the lack of intelligent commercials!
UGH
Going to therapy in a bit. Think good thoughts. My knee is super tight. I have been working on it, but I think I need to do more than I have. I need a COACH!!!
Slightly dizzy and SUPER cranky- pain and lack of sleep will do that to me. I am hoping that I improved a BIT since last week.
On the PLUS side, I have lost six pounds....
More thoughts later on being stir crazy and the lack of intelligent commercials!
Monday, July 22, 2019
Staples and other post surgical adventures
I am sitting here, waiting on my primary care dr who was supposed to call me at 9. She's either late, or had blown me off. Can I charge HER for the missed appointment?
Seeing the surgeon today. They are going to take out the staples. I have too many to count, they look icky. As I recall this doesn't really hurt. I just want them OUT so I can move on to the next phase.
Yes I am doing my PT. Yes, it hurts, but I need to be able to SIT more than 20 minutes without needing to get up or ice it.
Some things just take time.
Apparently Norco gives you hallucinations. Who knew? ( everyone else!) I was seeing pink trees on the ceiling and had a nice convo with both my mother and my father ( although those MIGHT have been visits) I know I am hallucinating. It's not fun. I never understood the appeal of hallucinogens,
The surgery and aftercare went well and I came home the day after. Chris has been wonderful. I worry about HIM.
Keep a good thought for me around 2 pm when they take the staples out!
Seeing the surgeon today. They are going to take out the staples. I have too many to count, they look icky. As I recall this doesn't really hurt. I just want them OUT so I can move on to the next phase.
Yes I am doing my PT. Yes, it hurts, but I need to be able to SIT more than 20 minutes without needing to get up or ice it.
Some things just take time.
Apparently Norco gives you hallucinations. Who knew? ( everyone else!) I was seeing pink trees on the ceiling and had a nice convo with both my mother and my father ( although those MIGHT have been visits) I know I am hallucinating. It's not fun. I never understood the appeal of hallucinogens,
The surgery and aftercare went well and I came home the day after. Chris has been wonderful. I worry about HIM.
Keep a good thought for me around 2 pm when they take the staples out!
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Surgical thoughts
today is the day. Am I scared? YOU BET, but as the song says "It's ok to feel afraid, but don't let that stand in your way" He's talking about love, but you really can apply that wisdom to just about any endeavor in your life.
I am off work for six weeks. I have to stay HOME for two. So... if you are so inclined, PLEASE call me and come and see me- don't come by without calling, apparently they are giving me serious Norco and I might be totally gorked out in the bedroom...
I have books I may need more but I don't know. I have food- we bought a TON of easy to make stuff for Chris to try his cooking skills on ( he CAN cook)
I appreciate the good thoughts and prayers and encouragement. I am still having people tell me horror stories and I REALLY think that is counter-productive, to say the least.
I will be in Kaiser Pan City overnight. It's an afternoon surgery and a LONG one, so keep me in your thoughts around 2 pm today.
I've got this- and will have a dandy scar to show my grandsons ( yes there will be two of them in November- Heaven help Gogo!)
I am off work for six weeks. I have to stay HOME for two. So... if you are so inclined, PLEASE call me and come and see me- don't come by without calling, apparently they are giving me serious Norco and I might be totally gorked out in the bedroom...
I have books I may need more but I don't know. I have food- we bought a TON of easy to make stuff for Chris to try his cooking skills on ( he CAN cook)
I appreciate the good thoughts and prayers and encouragement. I am still having people tell me horror stories and I REALLY think that is counter-productive, to say the least.
I will be in Kaiser Pan City overnight. It's an afternoon surgery and a LONG one, so keep me in your thoughts around 2 pm today.
I've got this- and will have a dandy scar to show my grandsons ( yes there will be two of them in November- Heaven help Gogo!)
Friday, July 5, 2019
Happy Independence Day
It's the 4th of July and as I get myself ready to go out and watch the local parade in my small town ( NOTHING says Happy 4th like the red-white and blue-goat) I am thinking about the meaning of this holiday.
It's NO secret how I feel about the current occupant of the White House. I am especially appalled at his hijacking of a National Holiday for a thinly disguised campaign rally that ALL of us are paying for. I understand his party still owes about 7 million for his poorly attended inauguration.
I am thinking about my childhood here in the San Fernando Valley. A child of parents from "the Greatest Generation" I was raised with a fierce patriotism. I still get a lump in my throat when the flag passes by, remembering the sacrifices in WWII. I understand people who don't get the same feeling and applaud their right to speak out on the matter. Freedom allows us to have differences of opinion and to discuss these differences to effect change ( however if you think taking children from their parents and putting them in cages is a good idea,well, I will have to rethink our association)
We barbecues and lit sparklers and we kids all played with one another. I was blessed to live in a multicultural neighborhood and we all hung out together.
I grew up singing patriotic songs and learned some of the protest songs of the WPA. I still think Woody Guthrie's "This Land is your Land" is one of the finest "patriotic" songs I have ever sung.
To me, being a "patriot" does not mean "my Country right or wrong" but "my Country needs to be the best place for all people who love it" Maybe I'm not saying this right, but my earliest American Myers ancestor was with Washington at Valley Forge. I don't think he slept in a tent in the snow so rich people like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell could get righter and put children in cages and somehow justify that. Isn't tyranny what they fought against? Whatever happened to "Give me your tire, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"? Only if you look like the Ruling Class I suppose...
It's NO secret how I feel about the current occupant of the White House. I am especially appalled at his hijacking of a National Holiday for a thinly disguised campaign rally that ALL of us are paying for. I understand his party still owes about 7 million for his poorly attended inauguration.
I am thinking about my childhood here in the San Fernando Valley. A child of parents from "the Greatest Generation" I was raised with a fierce patriotism. I still get a lump in my throat when the flag passes by, remembering the sacrifices in WWII. I understand people who don't get the same feeling and applaud their right to speak out on the matter. Freedom allows us to have differences of opinion and to discuss these differences to effect change ( however if you think taking children from their parents and putting them in cages is a good idea,well, I will have to rethink our association)
We barbecues and lit sparklers and we kids all played with one another. I was blessed to live in a multicultural neighborhood and we all hung out together.
I grew up singing patriotic songs and learned some of the protest songs of the WPA. I still think Woody Guthrie's "This Land is your Land" is one of the finest "patriotic" songs I have ever sung.
To me, being a "patriot" does not mean "my Country right or wrong" but "my Country needs to be the best place for all people who love it" Maybe I'm not saying this right, but my earliest American Myers ancestor was with Washington at Valley Forge. I don't think he slept in a tent in the snow so rich people like Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell could get righter and put children in cages and somehow justify that. Isn't tyranny what they fought against? Whatever happened to "Give me your tire, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"? Only if you look like the Ruling Class I suppose...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)