tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343405503409479132024-03-17T23:09:19.744-04:00Changes on the JourneyWhere does inspiration lie?
Everywhere!
Blessings, too, can arrive in Light and shadow and darkness. We give and we receive.
What is the blessing here?Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-49374154491682822502024-03-14T08:19:00.014-04:002024-03-17T23:08:29.490-04:00In my new home at Simpson House<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRWYfwQADjY9Fe2UdHGqWwK7757e_8371a9fTr-AwsG5rA9xCU-zY5pMsU2j-_WAG5IwrQfXAPix0W5oGMRfpLozt9zvPtOklLSpjnbagdcMpXEYFdVmUH40EsRe6k5_RYWVcntzW9lrwUg-3NtcNgY1xZMiJP7_EgJWQmvABCXGTknli3j3ymXNIKRF9g" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRWYfwQADjY9Fe2UdHGqWwK7757e_8371a9fTr-AwsG5rA9xCU-zY5pMsU2j-_WAG5IwrQfXAPix0W5oGMRfpLozt9zvPtOklLSpjnbagdcMpXEYFdVmUH40EsRe6k5_RYWVcntzW9lrwUg-3NtcNgY1xZMiJP7_EgJWQmvABCXGTknli3j3ymXNIKRF9g=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.simpsonsenior.org/communities/simpson-house/floor-plans-gallery-simpson-house/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">source</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3 style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The apartment floor holds reds and browns right by the entrance,<br />which blend with
blue and tan in the carpet, and lead back<br />to brown,
navy, and turquoise in bedroom and bathroom.<br />The walls hold landscapes and still lifes in living space,<br />trees and flowers in bedroom, and waves in bathroom.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>I wake with wildlife, then float up to the coffee maker and
cat food.<br />Panther kitty greets me with purrs and headbutts. She tilts her head<br />questioning me, “<i>What’s taking so long?</i>” and then weaves between my
legs.<br />I cannot move without hurting her, and so push back at her with the
pressure<br /> of a headbutt while opening a can of wet food, languages she speaks.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>In a space that represents down-sizing, my home is stuffed to the ceiling<br />with books, birds, plants, art supplies, dishes and pot holders.<br />I rarely open the stuffed files or China or kitchen cabinets,<br /> and hardly know what’s in them. The
objects I kept illustrate neither<br /> rhyme nor reason—just love and the thought “I may need this
someday.”<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>I imagine leaving it all, leaving home, a reality in Haiti, Ukraine,
Gaza,<br /> Afghanistan, etc., and a reality at closed borders everywhere. Downsize <br />to the clothes on my back? Downsize with an escape sack by the door,<br />light enough to carry.
Downsize keeping only what I touched this year.<br />Then let go of electronics,
art, and mementos. It's possible.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>But let me add instead of subtracting. What objects would make anywhere home? a blanket, book, phone, writing supplies, bread, knife, apple, <br />and a hunk of sharp cheddar. A yoga
matt bed. And I’d want shelter.<br />Home to me would have walls, warmth, wisdom, writing, outreach, and
food.<br />Add a few glasses for guests and fresh water. I would be content, rested.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>So what about my stuffed new home? I'll use the things, if possible,<br /> in the way of found objects and improvisation, welcoming a life of collage<br />and
surprise—<span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">until I can recycle it, every last piece of it.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;"> My new home<br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">is space for </span><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">conversation, comradery, and transformation—a haven <br /></span><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">for me in my journey </span><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">toward wholeness, a place to be alive until death.</span></span></span></h3><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">Please respect my copyright.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">© 2024 Susan L. Chast</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">And a word from Mary Oliver:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;"><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Storage </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">When I moved from </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">one house to another,</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">there were many things </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span>had no room for. </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">What does one do? </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I rented a storage space </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">and filled it.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Years passed.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Occasionally, </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I went there </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">and looked in, </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">but nothing happened, </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">not a single twinge </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">of the heart.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">As I grew older </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">the things I cared about </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">grew fewer but were </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">more important,</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">so one day I undid the lock</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">and called the trash man. </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He took everything.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I felt like the little donkey </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">when his burden is finally </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">lifted.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Things! Burn them, burn them!</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Make a beautiful fire! </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">More room in your heart </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">for Love, for the trees.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">For the birds who own</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">nothing; </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">the reason they </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">can fly.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div></div></span></div></span></span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-6553530068752722922024-03-09T15:19:00.001-05:002024-03-14T07:55:58.957-04:00Women who move me in the field of theatre, 2024 version<p><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"><span> </span>One
of the spunky women I like to perform is Helen of Troy, Helene of Sparta, the
Helene who Euripides wrote about, the one who when cornered by circumstance and
by men who wanted to use her, literally rose above them. She didn't bow
down, and never let her supposed beauty be an excuse for war. In performance, I
may exaggerate her defiance, but I see it in her. She never went to Troy
with Paris.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gods lifted her up to a
place in the clouds where she lived out the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From up above, Helene watched
an image of herself interacting in Troy. While her husband tried to
return home to Sparta after 10 years of war, she went to Egypt to make new
friends and a new life. The public image of Helen had nothing to do
with the real Helene. If her face launched a thousand ships, it was
because she was the figurehead on their bows.<o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCWeEdk4MbnYfW8Cqlim5938G2DXJQr_8EDSnPtlKmubDmiZx7xN44XSNw7ii-T3CufFcV1LAOGcK0QdaD757dEWsY95wjeb8CRm3SmfZHLI0wDbH9dWtSAyisLUdEPqEpQsZU0BrxWEFbB7BeNqniXwCPDRfWXxSUXidyFVixLBGfuLWvZhOkBx4J5j9w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="550" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCWeEdk4MbnYfW8Cqlim5938G2DXJQr_8EDSnPtlKmubDmiZx7xN44XSNw7ii-T3CufFcV1LAOGcK0QdaD757dEWsY95wjeb8CRm3SmfZHLI0wDbH9dWtSAyisLUdEPqEpQsZU0BrxWEFbB7BeNqniXwCPDRfWXxSUXidyFVixLBGfuLWvZhOkBx4J5j9w" width="165" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bakst_-_Ida_Rubinstein_(1885-1960)_comme_Helene_de_Sparte,_1912.jpg" target="_blank">Helen</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"><span> </span>Contemporary
drama is populated with women who defy stereotypes and depart from the paths
expected of them. In a sense, Lady Macbeth is one of them. She's
deliciously wicked, duplicitous, strong, and then piteous to play. But
all of Shakespeare's women are complicated by being written for men in
drag. Whether they are obedient or independent, they are male
fantasies. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhljjMtPjULUq1Q17RLPh7wfPjJ5CTI6iM9wTaAfdfb0UiUtwpNaTcf-xAruE8ym4GE4RpgRbZiPllDhmjf_S95CwKQiKQAgtcd4ID-aEe188H1aFAbE9aU82xQ8Qe5x6bSLuTPqrgBdF9Ekyf0mSeYvfZCVM2TPWNYt4lZmJLIkP6MhMLvwFtMkK3wOrLz" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhljjMtPjULUq1Q17RLPh7wfPjJ5CTI6iM9wTaAfdfb0UiUtwpNaTcf-xAruE8ym4GE4RpgRbZiPllDhmjf_S95CwKQiKQAgtcd4ID-aEe188H1aFAbE9aU82xQ8Qe5x6bSLuTPqrgBdF9Ekyf0mSeYvfZCVM2TPWNYt4lZmJLIkP6MhMLvwFtMkK3wOrLz" width="173" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Frances_Scott-Siddons_as_%22Lady_Macbeth%22.png" target="_blank">Lady Macbeth</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"><span> </span>One
of the fun parts of the feminist theatre of the 1970s and 1980s was that women played these characters. While some feminist troupes deconstructed
the narrative by changing male parts into female ones, I enjoyed watching women
inhabiting the male parts from their ideas of males. I would love
to play Prospero in <i>The Tempest </i>both ways: trying to
understand the maleness of the character AND transforming the character into a
woman. I'd like to see the royal Prospero as containing the beast Caliban
and vice versa, as if they are two halves of the same character. I'd like
to play Hamlet with the same double analysis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even the great Sara Bernhardt played Hamlet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jean Arthur and Mary Martin both played Peter
Pan on Broadway.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfElE2BbDN5xxRHNE_bIRYAC7GJOLd_ZKsKkQkMy7yEbBkuXTyDq5BvsIsVLg09wtbcaV4qlUYwYx-uulsDEpeP9HZ27MJHN-jNgKoaMi6QLaMiuaMa3CS4HENbPo33JxkCIznoc5chxNBkqBqvTfdb2RNaRFfQGDmbIO75r9T6s9OHilo7WJc2MPjjpW7" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="640" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfElE2BbDN5xxRHNE_bIRYAC7GJOLd_ZKsKkQkMy7yEbBkuXTyDq5BvsIsVLg09wtbcaV4qlUYwYx-uulsDEpeP9HZ27MJHN-jNgKoaMi6QLaMiuaMa3CS4HENbPo33JxkCIznoc5chxNBkqBqvTfdb2RNaRFfQGDmbIO75r9T6s9OHilo7WJc2MPjjpW7=w199-h289" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernhardt_Hamlet2.jpg" target="_blank">Sara Bernhardt as Hamlet</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"> Truth
be told, however much I might wish to play these parts, I have incredible stage
fright when I’m not holding a script in front of me. The only way I can perform is by multiple-choice
acting, a technique introduced to me by the feminist troupe Split Britches. I’m mainly a stage director, one greatly influenced by theatre artist Ellen Stewart.</span><span style="font-family: "Aref Ruqaa"; font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Aref Ruqaa";"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhJ7nCskkiaufQBXQlu7BgdtxbGOdQ_znsFYG-ETtnt5bNE_1aB1VUCSKdBazCVCx9D1T-V7NTQvzJ0Jm7T_9sFPedU0d3pvyD5JYOdJceulhuq-EhIa9UFhh0QVdG51AGVkoVZOHNMtnMvu3kdODjxOOfidWnQCksKGKv9ybPxXSClyhM5rNSnw5QOgTz" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhJ7nCskkiaufQBXQlu7BgdtxbGOdQ_znsFYG-ETtnt5bNE_1aB1VUCSKdBazCVCx9D1T-V7NTQvzJ0Jm7T_9sFPedU0d3pvyD5JYOdJceulhuq-EhIa9UFhh0QVdG51AGVkoVZOHNMtnMvu3kdODjxOOfidWnQCksKGKv9ybPxXSClyhM5rNSnw5QOgTz" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/theater/14stewart.html" target="_blank">Ellen Stewart</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;"><span> </span>I
was the stage director for the feminist theatre company <i>This River of Women</i>
when I met Ellen Stewart, the woman who taught me how to use the stage and the
place of performance in a whole new way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was both a producer and a theatre artist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw the tall, elegant, African-American Ellen
Stewart speak at 2 separate conferences on Women in Theatre before I dared to ask her if I could write her biography as my doctoral dissertation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had spoken about the importance of expanding
space, about “filling the need of artists to grow within their craft.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A larger space, she said, “was an increase of
the imagination for the musician, for the actor, for the designer, in what each
can give, and writers, in what they can write.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She said, “You have to make a space, see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the venders’ carts on Delancy
Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You move the pushcart along and
invite persons in—and they all take you to where you want to go.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her ideas of and uses of space fascinated me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They seemed an application of Peter Brooks’ <i>The
Empty Space</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">She
said no to a biography, said that she only talks about her theatre, without which
she would be a zero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She invited me to capture
what La MaMa is and does, but warned that I’d never be able to explain La MaMa,
because as soon as you say it is one thing, it changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she opened the doors of La MaMa to me,
and I moved in for parts of 1988 and 1989, including accompanying a production
to Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">In
short, Ellen Stewart was the creator of LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club at 74A
East 4<sup>th</sup> Street in Manhattan’s East Village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the years it expanded from the two
theatres at 74A, to the Annex at 66 East 4<sup>th</sup> Street, to 9 floors of
rehearsal halls on 3<sup>rd </sup>St., and an Art Gallery on 2<sup>nd</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> As producer at La MaMa, Stewart</span> is the mother of Off Off-Broadway experimental theatre just as
Joseph Papp of the Publik Theatre is the father of OOB. Whereas Papp straddled a commercial and OO Broadway world, Stewart worked in poor theatre and international theatre. Living space, for example, was part of the pay for theatre makers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">She was the first
producer to create a space for international theatre in the USA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historians who label such things should note
that the contributions of the Black Arts Movement included Ellen Stewart’s international
theatre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t, partly because the
Black Arts Movement didn’t accept that Ellen Stewart’s stages were not reserved
for Black folks only.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Amiri
Baraka, for example, Ellen Stewart was, quote, crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did the impossible, both in NY City and as
a guest and UNESCO diplomat theatre maker that traveled the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">In
NY City, the first thing I noticed was the fore staging of the arts and the back
staging of business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the lobby of 74
A, the walls were a collage of color from past productions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The few captions were in more than one
language and alphabet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>English was in
the minority, which reflected what you were likely to see on the stages and in
the rehearsal halls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theatre at La MaMa was
small and intimate, a second theatre above it worked as a café, and the third,
the annex stage two buildings away was a vast open space, a place to set up
like a forest, a journey of many resting places, or a house with many rooms. Here
sets were taken down completely between shows, and few set pieces remained, in
keeping with Mama Ellen’s idea that once an item existed it tended to limit the
imagination of the artist using the space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">I
had expected to see a great amount of cross-fertilization of the productions
here, but LaMaMa was not a melting pot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each production team retained its own style and story, though curiosity
compelled artists to visit each other’s work and come to know the artists
involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>La MaMa was a bee-hive of
intensive activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Influences
definitely occurred as did future collaborations, but like a United Nations of
theatre, or vast quantum theatre, the shows over the years showed evidence of
expanded artistry rather than a narrowing into zones of fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">Ellen
Stewart’s own productions within the Great Jones Theatre Company were
environmental, with the audience moving along with the actors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this company, artists such as Tom O’Horgan
who worked with Hair, and Andre Serban and Elizabeth Swados who worked with
ancient Greek texts established the environmental style and kinetic audience experience
of each production. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ellen Stewart took
this further as a director.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Italian production
of <i>The Monk and the Hangman’s Daughter</i> which I documented, the action extended
throughout an entire village and included a hanging and a suicide, both in full
view of the traveling audience. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
staging invited the audience to move along with the emotions of the actors, a kinetic experience which differed greatly from seated audiences. It was up to each audience member how close to the action they wanted to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an
earlier environmental production of Romeo and Juliet, at the Salzburg Seminar in American
Studies on Reinhard's estate in Austria she cast the play with actors and
musicians form 16 different nations. With the assumption that everyone on
stage and in the audience was familiar with the story, she had them keep their
original languages, and cast without regard to race or gender. Again,
the audience moved with the actors and experienced what they experienced<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">I
would love to bring this exceptional Woman to the stage herself in a visceral
performance revealing how she expanded expectations and acted as if boundaries
did not exist. I would love to show what
the United Nations saw in her work—the bringing together of diverse peoples in
projects where true cooperation could begin.
I would love to show her ability to have multiple productions share
space and resources without feeling the need to alter their individual
arts. I would make it clear that
curiosity is a driving force of love which has the power to bring people
together. As Mama Ellen knew, this
doesn’t happen through war or détente, but when people build a work of art
together.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">#</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">Aside: I used the unseated audience techniques as often as I could in my classroom as a HS English teacher, and noted the same benefits.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: medium;">#</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">Please respect my copyright.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">© 2024 Susan L. Chast</span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-67564924670791165722024-02-04T19:11:00.010-05:002024-03-14T07:55:21.345-04:00Black History Month<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></blockquote></blockquote><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">(Memories of and Research on Black History Month)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">FROM WIKIPEDIA:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>The
precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when
historian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_G._Woodson" title="Carter G. Woodson">Carter G. Woodson</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_the_Study_of_Negro_Life_and_History" title="Association for the Study of Negro Life and History">Association for the
Study of Negro Life and History</a> (ASNLH) announced the second week of
February to be "Negro History Week".<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month#cite_note-Scott-8">[8]</a></sup> This
week was chosen because it coincided with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_Birthday" title="Lincoln's Birthday">birthday of Abraham Lincoln</a> on February 12
and that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a> on February 14, both of
which Black communities had celebrated since the late 19th century.<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month#cite_note-Scott-8">[8]</a></sup> For
example, in January 1897, school teacher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Church_Terrell" title="Mary Church Terrell">Mary Church Terrell</a> persuaded the
Washington, D.C. school board to set aside the afternoon of Douglass's birthday
as Douglass Day to teach about his life and work in the city's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_segregation_in_the_United_States#Jim_Crow_era" title="School segregation in the United States">segregated public schools</a>."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I grew up in a little white upstate NY town, and graduated HS
in 1969, the same year that Kent State University proposed the week commemoration
of Black History be expanded into a full month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had not heard of it. According to Wikipedia, Kent State first observed
African American History month in February 1970.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">What I knew in 1970 was that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Nixon had just expanded the Vietnam war actions into Cambodia,
and we were protesting at campuses across the USA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> On </span></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">May 5</span><sup style="font-family: times;">th</sup><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> the Ohio National Guard shot 70 bullets into an anti-war protest at Kent State. This massacre</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">, and others like it, led to the major
anti-war protests in DC later that year.</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Now I know that "on May 14, ten days after the Kent State
shootings, two students were killed (and 12 wounded) by police at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_State_University" title="Jackson State University">Jackson State University</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities" title="Historically black colleges and universities">historically black
university</a>, in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi" title="Jackson, Mississippi">Jackson, Mississippi</a>, under similar
circumstances – the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_State_killings" title="Jackson State killings">Jackson State killings</a> – but that event
did not arouse the same nationwide attention as the Kent State shootings" (Wikipedia).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">It got the attention of Black students where I was, though I didn't know why.</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">I was fortunate to be at Clark University in
Worcester, MA, where the strong presence of the Black Student Union after
sit-ins in 1968 and 1970, made me want to know more of Black literature and
arts, made me want to know more of the experience that students of color
brought to campus.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Hey Susan, you are going back too far!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theme of the 2024 Black History month is
African American peoples and the Arts!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Write about the storyteller and anthropologist Zora Neal Hurston
and Ruby Dee, the famous actress who played her in the play “My Name is Zora.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Write about the amazing performances of students in ACTSO—the
Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO),
informally named the "Olympics of the Mind," a youth program of the
NAACP "designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic
and cultural achievement among African American high school students."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Write about how much you learned about the
excellence parents expected of their children fully on display here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Write about what got you into the study and practice of theatre,
the 1976 production of Ntozake Shange’s <i>For Color Girls</i> at the Booth
Theatre on Broadway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, that was a
revelation!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">an amazingly beautiful insistent loving spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The play was a choreo-poem about the troubled
lives of Black women, but in performance the actresses' powerful presence
contrasted so radically with the poverty and pain portrayed, that it showed
what could and should be true”—and was true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Black lives were powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Black
woman are powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let Ntozake Shange
and Audre Lorde and Sweet Honey in the Rock portray that, but you live with it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Stop name dropping, Susan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is supposed to be a creative writing
about Black History Month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">But I never celebrated Black
History month!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">By the time school authorities
demanded that I provide the band width in my HS English classroom, the works of
people of color were so thoroughly integrated into my curriculum, there was
little more that I could do but acknowledge the month and encourage projects for
students to focus on during the month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked
students to write about what African American history and cultural material
they were aware of, and what they liked, and why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made both informal and formal writing so
they could share their feelings as well as focus on something they learned—or wish
they learned as part of the celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We moved from writing into oral reports so the students could teach the
class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Group projects included
opportunities for music, film, sports, photography, and other research, as well
as alternative writings like interviews, poetry, plays, debates, and performances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Was this successful?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">More or less, for most, for
some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were few protests by white
students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many students felt that there
was too much focus on writing in my classroom, and that other English teachers
would be easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also noticed that a few
students held themselves back so that they wouldn’t look too interested in
learning—at least that’s how I interpreted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And there were a few who came after school to work with me privately.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">But the student work made me love the possibilities of Black History Month. What better to learn in a HS English Class than myriad ways to approach what you want to say?</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> *</span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And then, the school itself was not
satisfied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I retired, I was told
that I needed to use available on-line curricula, that my students weren’t on
pace with other students in the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This, of course, was the purpose of the core curriculum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my defense, I must say that when I taught
11<sup>th</sup> grade English, we always made AYP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My students could think, and they mastered
communication skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Susan, you’re off topic again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That used to bother your students a lot!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I don’t want to talk about that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Let’s talk about this community at
Simpson House, and how even after only 2 months, you are impressed with the great variety of
offerings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, really, there are few offerings, but
within them is a wonderful opportunity each to share with each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me happy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">AND maybe I can end with a poem:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Black History Month<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>This year in Philadelphia,<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Black History Month feels like Spring<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>bursting forth all at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span>Maybe<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>because writing focuses it,<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>maybe because Imbolc, the<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Cross Quarter Day between Winter<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Solstice and Spring Equinox<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>grounds it.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Light
pours in as we turn<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>toward the sun, hear our hearts drum, and<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>breathe in our love for each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>There is so much to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Learning<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>is a joy, is <i>the</i> joy, as colon-<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>ialism fades ‘round the world.<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Death and destruction mars the skin<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>of earth, but deep down seeds open,<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>and green shoots insist on being born.<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>We may yet overcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our hearts<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>are too full to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We stand up<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>to see better what we have missed<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>and yearned for—full representation<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>here and now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are the green shoots<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>ripening near to the surface<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>of our world, and soon the reversal<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>will be complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What was silent<br /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>speaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was
invisible appears.<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>Now real progress can begin.</span></span></span></h4></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>#</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">So, I rewrote this. Too much of what I had written required more story. Now, reading this rewrite, I wish it was less about me and more about the shows or the children. I've got to wok on that even in my poetry!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Rewrite:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking about Black History month makes me want to focus
this writing on education—mine as well as others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worry about African American History Month
because of new laws in states like Florida that reject the curriculum proposed
in the 1619 Project launched in August 2019.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> The curriculum adds the legacy of
slavery to other approaches to African American History.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, it seems right to acknowledge and include
ongoing struggles for survival to the celebration of accomplishments and
achievements of African American people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">I grew up in a little white upstate NY rural town, and
graduated HS in 1969, the same year that Kent State University proposed the
week-long commemoration of Black History be expanded into a full
month. Since the 19<sup>th</sup> century, African American
communities had celebrated African American history especially during the
February week containing both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s
birthdays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I had not heard of
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know about Frederick
Douglass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor did I know that Ohio’s
Kent State held the first month long celebration in 1970, and that other states
adopted it by 1976 when President Gerald Ford recognized it’s observance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">What occupied my mind in 1970 was that President Nixon
had just expanded the Vietnam war actions into Cambodia, and we were protesting
at campuses across the USA. On May 5<sup>th</sup> the Ohio
National Guard shot 70 bullets into an anti-war protest at Kent State
University. This massacre, and others like it, led to the major anti-war
protests in DC later that year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the others was “on May 14, ten days after the Kent State
shootings, when two students were killed (and 12 wounded) by police at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_State_University" title="Jackson State University">Jackson State University</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities" title="Historically black colleges and universities">historically black
university</a>, in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi" title="Jackson, Mississippi">Jackson, Mississippi</a>, under similar
circumstances – the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_State_killings" title="Jackson State killings">Jackson State killings</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that event did not arouse the same
nationwide attention as the Kent State shootings" (Wikipedia).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">It got the attention of Black students where I was, however,
though they had to tell me why it was important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was fortunate to be at Clark University in
Worcester, MA, where the strong presence of the Black Student Union after
sit-ins in 1968 and 1969, made students like me want to know more of Black
literature and arts, made me want to know more of the experience that students
of color brought to campus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">*<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">That was the beginning of mmy life-long education in issues
that engaged my Black peers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My college
majors were English, theatre and education, and in each of those areas, I tried
to break the white exclusivity and exceptionalism I had absorbed as a
child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">During the next 25 years, I was aware of Black History month
but made no attempt to participate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Fast forward to the year 2001, when I accepted a job
teaching HS English in the Philadelphia Public schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time school authorities told me to
provide a focus on Black literature for Black History Month, the works of
people of color were so thoroughly integrated into my curriculum, there was
little more that I could do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of
adding more literature, I acknowledged the month and assigned students to work
in group and solo projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students wrote
about what African American history and cultural material they were aware of,
and what they liked, and why. Informal as well as formal writing allowed
students to share their feelings as well as to focus on something they
learned—or wish they learned. We moved from writing into oral
reports so the students could teach the class. Group projects
included opportunities for music, film, sports, photography, and other
research, as well as alternative writings like interviews, poetry, plays,
debates, and performances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Was this a successful approach to African History Month?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">More or less, for most. There were few protests
by white students, though some of their parents complained to the principal
that I was teaching social studies instead of English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Many students felt that there was too
much focus on writing in my classroom, and that other English teachers would be
easier. A few students held themselves back so that they wouldn’t
look too interested in learning. And there were a few who came after
school to work with me privately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
the student work—both process and product—made me love the possibilities of
Black History Month. What better to learn in a HS English Class than
myriad ways to approach and communicate what you want to say?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"> *<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">But the school itself was not satisfied with this approach. I
did not control the material not student voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was told that I needed to use available
on-line curricula, that my students weren’t on pace with other students in the
city. This, of course, was the purpose of the core curriculum. In
my defense, I must say that when I taught 11<sup>th</sup> grade English,
we always made AYP. My students could think, and they mastered
communication skills. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">I’d like to end with a poem that grew from my delight at the
Black History offerings here at Simpson House:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Black History Month<br />
<br />
This year in Philadelphia,<br />
Black History Month feels like Spring<br />
bursting forth all at once. <s>(Maybe<br />
because writing focuses it,<br />
maybe because Imbolc, the<br />
Cross Quarter Day between Winter<br />
Solstice and Spring Equinox<br />
grounds it.)</s> Light pours in as we turn<br />
toward the sun, hear our hearts drum, and<br />
breathe in our love for each other. <br />
There is so much to learn. Learning<br />
is a joy, is <i>the</i> joy, as colon-<br />
ialism fades ‘round the world.<br />
Death and destruction mars the skin<br />
of earth, but deep down seeds open,<br />
and green shoots insist on being born.<br />
We may yet overcome. Our hearts<br />
are too full to die. We stand up<br />
to see better what we have missed<br />
and yearned for—full representation<br />
here and now. We are the green shoots<br />
ripening near to the surface<br />
of our world, and soon the reversal<br />
will be complete. What was silent<br />
speaks. What was invisible appears.<br />
Now real progress can begin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">Please respect my copyright.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">© 2024 Susan L. Chast</span></div></span></span><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-47729518032516121512024-01-06T18:05:00.008-05:002024-03-14T07:54:31.552-04:00Resolution<p> </p><div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">You don’t need a New Year resolution to change your life, I say. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Prayer might work, but resolution rarely
does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">The idea of the new year
resolution always visits me this time of year.
I have sometimes ignored the habitual target setting. This year, however, I wrote a poem about what
I would like to change: my perfected procrastination. My poem compares trying to change this habit to trying
to fill a bucket with droplets of water.
Both are difficult to impossible.
But writing about it, I reasoned, might have some impact. Later, I realized I didn’t like the poem
except for one word, “ingrained.” Here
are the lines:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“</span><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Imagine
changing<br />
your dominant hand!<br />
Habit is ingrained.”</span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ingrained!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if a person was a wooden board treated with an
immoveable dye lot, a color like beet juice that just won’t let go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ingrained procrastination mostly pertains
to writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a paragraph now and
then I treat the board, hoping to dilute the beet juice coloring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see no progress, but try again and again, a
paragraph here, a page there, sometimes liking the page so much I imagine I see
a lighter shade of beet in the wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then I say to someone—anyone—I’m writing again! With two exclamation
points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I more than say it, I brag it, I
delight in it, I imagine a whole book written, and me on a reading tour at
bookshop after bookshop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the
next day I must needs go to the Post office and shopping, and when I sit down
at the computer, I must do the wordle and crossword puzzle and words with
friends, and before I know it, it’s time for The News Hour and Jeopardy, and
then at 8pm it’s too late to start anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tomorrow, I think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had such a
good start yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But tomorrow comes
and I am still ice skating on the frozen lake of achievement and self-admiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Procrastination plays tricks with my head,
and I’m still ingrained with it, my wooden self is beet red.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Tears in a
Bucket<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></p></div>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Catching my tears in <br />
a bucket, I laugh <br />
at imagining I could fill it<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size: large;">and then half smile at thinking<br />
one day can ring change<br />
with new year wonders.<br />
<br />
As if we could wish <br />
away habit with <br />
impulse, as if we<br />
could use magical <br />
words to invent new<br />
and good beginnings.<br />
<br />
Procrastination's<br />
my pitiable<br />
habit. Though it is<br />
not as tragic as<br />
use of weapons, it<br />
diminishes me.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Because habit is<br />
easy, we think it's<br />
simple to alter.<br />
Imagine changing<br />
your dominant hand!<br />
Habit is ingrained.<br />
<br />
Yet today is New<br />
Year’s Day, another<br />
day with another<br />
chance to end habits—<br />
the hard ones that play<br />
over and over.<br />
<br />
<i>Would you rather fill<br />
a bucket with tears?</i><br />
I ask, then laugh and<br />
grit my teeth with great<br />
determination.<br />
This time I may win. </span><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br /></b></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">Please respect my copyright.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia;">© 2024 Susan L. Chast</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-61025484093468994932021-12-06T12:49:00.001-05:002021-12-06T12:49:18.102-05:00December 7, 2021<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="747" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmarille%2Fposts%2F10158699966473940&show_text=true&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-5025291002528057582021-11-14T15:34:00.009-05:002021-11-14T23:50:43.621-05:00Landback<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830;">The movement goes beyond the transfer of deeds to include respecting Indigenous rights, preserving languages and traditions, and ensuring food sovereignty, housing, and clean air and water. Above all, it is a rallying cry for dismantling white supremacy and the harms of capitalism."</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830;"></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830;">From <a href="https://grist.org/fix/indigenous-landback-movement-can-it-help-climate/" target="_blank"><i>FIX</i>, November 2020</a>: </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830; letter-spacing: -0.02em; text-align: center;">Returning the Land: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830; text-align: center;">Four Indigenous leaders </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830; text-align: center;">share insights </span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;">about the growing landback movement </span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c3830; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;">and what it means for the planet."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3c3830;"><span style="background-color: white;">Last year I read<i><a href="https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass" target="_blank"> Braiding Sweetgrass: </a></i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #353434; letter-spacing: 0.08em; text-transform: uppercase;"><i><a href="https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass" target="_blank">INDIGENOUS WISDOM, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND THE TEACHINGS OF PLANTS</a></i> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #353434; letter-spacing: 1.92px; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><a class="node node-125 entityreference" href="https://milkweed.org/author/robin-wall-kimmerer" style="background-color: white; color: #353434; letter-spacing: 0.04em; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">by Robin Wall Kimmerer</a>, and since have been learning about the multiple contemporary realities of Indigenous people in North America, especially reading social histories of those who lived in places I have lived: Massachusetts, California, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. As Euro-Americans (we) requisitioned land and cut off indigenous use of it, we changed most of the names of cities, land formations and waterways. We made no attempt to preserve the livelihood, customs, and culture of the displaced and disinherited people. Indigenous stories reveal not only what we destroyed but what we might have learned from being better neighbors (I know that is an understatement). Thank God and Earth alike that people from many tribes still exist to tell their stories and to salvage something from re-educated colonialists. I'm grateful that I know a little more now than I would have known then. Grateful that I am learning how to listen.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;">In the <a href="https://grist.org/fix/indigenous-landback-movement-can-it-help-climate/" target="_blank">article quoted above</a>, the idea and practices of "Landback" are held up to view. In each case, note that action is underway but there is more to do. I am impressed by how much of it would help solve the climate crisis we share. I am not surprised that much of this work involves support for Black Lives Matter and others among BIPOC peoples, how much naturally accepts the many identities a person might have (intersectionality).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;">In Quaker meeting today, Pamela read aloud a page from <a href="A Lenape among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman" target="_blank"><i>A Lenape among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman </i></a>by Dawn G. Marsh. The author revealed Quaker complicity in Indigenous displacement--even sanctioning taking children from their parents for re-education. As of yet, I cannot put words to how horrible this is/was. Is it possible that we saved these people from a worst fate? If only I could believe that. Meanwhile, I begin to see why learning this and giving back seems so right to me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;">Also in Quaker Meeting today, Anschel pointed out that no secular word exists for the action of doing good, no name for the person except "do-gooder" which has negative connotations.* "Benefactor" seems a patronizing word. Altruist? Humanitarian? Volunteer? Bleeding Heart? Good Samaritan? Helper? When enough of us show up, we'll learn the word. Maybe then we'll be neighbors engaged in "neighboring."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display; font-size: large;"><b>#</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Playfair Display;">* His source is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"On Doing Good: The Quaker Experiment" by Gerald Jones.</span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-3144911025185532102021-11-07T23:12:00.004-05:002021-11-09T00:48:36.615-05:00Reparations, and other ways of working toward Justice, Peace, and Salvation<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="658" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flindablackelk%2Fposts%2F4690904760972176&show_text=true&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe></div><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">My Quaker Friends and I are beginning to think reparations, and finding ways to give back. This does not have to do with guilt, but the fact of owning and earning things because they were taken from Native Americans and African Americans who did not have the same access to owner-ship and earning-ship that I have had. In other words, quite literally, this is not mine, and if nothing more, it should be at least shared. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">For me it's a spiritual quest just to understand. For example, I've been thinking of giving my house and its land back to the Lenni Lenape who live in this area, but I realize that I invested my money here so I could sell the house and use the money to move in to an "old folks' home." I've actually been looking at them. A residence costs the full value of my house up front, and I will have it to pay if I sell my house. But should I have this option from stolen land? Are there other ways of growing old and being cared for when a person (me) doesn't have children? My Mom is still in her house at age 97, but my brother lives nearby.<br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">You get the train of thought. It's eye-opening to think of how I might/could live differently. I've been actively contributing to African-American people in need, as well, because I can. I don't have much, but what I have to spare will be better used by others. I do not think of the money once it is out of my hands. And few know about this activity of mine. (Well, any readers here now know, but I think I only have three readers.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">What I discovered today is that everything I learn has a foundation in things I once knew and had forgotten. Let me use "land-back" as an example. I enjoyed 40 acres of woodland between the ages of 7 and 15, right outside my Grandmother's house. I keep returning to trees as friends, and trees populate my poems. Before I went to Graduate School in California, I was part of the Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice in Romulus, NY, near Lake Seneca, where we said no to the military industrial complex and nuclear bombs. After Grad School, I was right back in the same area. The Cayuga Nation land-claim lawsuit was heating up while I was teaching right there at Wells College in Aurora, NY. I heard some people I worked with and created theatre with saying that if they were asked to leave their homes, they would sit on their porches with rifles. I've heard since that the lawsuit was won, then lost. I don't know where it is now. Have any of these people asked the Cayuga Nation what it wants?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am donating money to support Water Watchers trying to stop petroleum pipelines from destroying the crops and water of Indigenous land. Donating to those who help elders survive through long winters by providing food and healing herbs and protein. Showing up for Black Lives Matter whenever I can, and continuing to support Black efforts for justice and for healing in the face of prison systems and white body supremacy. Thinking about how to live, now that I am retired on both pension and social security. Examining how to help pass legislation that would help all people have homes, food, water, and healthcare.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Thinking about what's next. The life of our planet may be waning, but we'll all have more chance of survival if Indigenous and Black and Brown and women's and children's intelligences are finally in the mix.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">There are friends, family, cultures we each know, and then there are those strange to each other. But as Valerie Kaur says from her source in Sikh wisdom, there is no stranger, only those who do not yet know each other. The work now is to get close enough to know and unite and move on to Just and Peaceful Days (Beloved community) in the many projects of healing, repairing, reparation-ing--you know--all of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">#</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-9556133803939260432021-10-02T11:12:00.002-04:002021-10-02T11:14:36.953-04:00Helen Sedgwick: Editing as the Creative Process<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #030303; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Helen Sedgwick is the best teacher I have ever had! After watching this, I know why I didn't finish writing my novel. I'll let the panic subside--after 11 years, why panic? I never finished the first draft!! I've refined the first 160 pages over and over again without knowing the end. I'll slow down to enjoy. If it feels like work and not pleasure, I'll work on something else for a while. Love you, Helen! Thank you for reminding me that we are artists creating art.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a7DlFZ03qqI?start=160" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); font-weight: 400; line-height: var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem); margin: 0px; max-height: calc(2 * var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem)); overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: x-large;">Helen Sedgwick:</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span></yt-formatted-string></h1><h1 class="title style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); font-weight: 400; line-height: var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem); margin: 0px; max-height: calc(2 * var(--yt-navbar-title-line-height, 2.4rem)); overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-shadow: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-text-shadow, none); transform: var(--ytd-video-primary-info-renderer-title-transform, none);"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: Aref Ruqaa; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7DlFZ03qqI" target="_blank">Editing as the Creative Process</a></span></yt-formatted-string></h1><div><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #606060; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: start;"><i><br /></i></span></yt-formatted-string></div><div><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #606060; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: start;"><i>Streamed live on Oct 1, 2021, at:</i></span></yt-formatted-string></div><div style="text-align: left;"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" style="word-break: break-word;"><div class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" id="meta" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" id="meta-contents" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" style="border-bottom: 1px solid var(--yt-spec-10-percent-layer); display: block; margin-bottom: 24px; padding-bottom: 16px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" id="container" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" id="top-row" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 16px 0px 0px;"><ytd-video-owner-renderer class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex: 1 1 1e-09px;"><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope ytd-video-owner-renderer" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3Yri7kSb9YL7zUwISijPA" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-decoration-line: none;" tabindex="-1"><yt-img-shadow class="style-scope ytd-video-owner-renderer no-transition" id="avatar" loaded="" style="background-color: transparent; border-radius: 50%; display: inline-block; flex: 0 0 auto; height: 48px; margin-right: 16px; opacity: 1; overflow: hidden; transition: none 0s ease 0s; width: 48px;"><img alt="" class="style-scope yt-img-shadow" id="img" src="https://yt3.ggpht.com/ytc/AKedOLTjRVS3N-wBkdNaQhZFhw5ng_vM4qJxYQCYxN7K=s16000" style="background: transparent; border-radius: var(--yt-img-border-radius, none); border: 0px; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: var(--yt-img-margin-left, auto); margin-right: var(--yt-img-margin-right, auto); margin-top: 0px; max-height: var(--yt-img-max-height, none); max-width: var(--yt-img-max-width, 100%); padding: 0px;" /></yt-img-shadow></a><div class="style-scope ytd-video-owner-renderer" id="upload-info" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 1 1e-09px; justify-content: center; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><ytd-channel-name class="style-scope ytd-video-owner-renderer" id="channel-name" style="align-self: flex-start; color: var(--yt-endpoint-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary)); display: flex; flex-direction: row; letter-spacing: var(--yt-link-letter-spacing, normal); line-height: var(--yt-link-line-height, 1.6rem); z-index: 300;"><div class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" id="container" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-channel-name-container-display, inline-block); margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" id="text-container" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-container-display, block); font-size: var(--yt-link-font-size, 1.4rem); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" has-link-only_="" id="text" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-line-clamp, inherit); display: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-display); font-size: var(--ytd-channel-name-text_-_font-size); font-weight: var(--ytd-channel-name-text_-_font-weight); line-height: var(--ytd-channel-name-text_-_line-height); word-break: break-word;" title=""><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3Yri7kSb9YL7zUwISijPA" spellcheck="false" style="cursor: pointer; display: var(--yt-endpoint-display, inline-block); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; overflow-wrap: var(--yt-endpoint-word-wrap, none); text-decoration: var(--yt-endpoint-text-regular-decoration, none); word-break: var(--yt-endpoint-word-break, none);">Wigtown Book Festival</a><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif"> </span></yt-formatted-string></div><div class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" id="text-container" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-container-display, block); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" has-link-only_="" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-line-clamp, inherit); display: var(--ytd-channel-name-text-display); font-weight: var(--ytd-channel-name-text_-_font-weight); line-height: var(--ytd-channel-name-text_-_line-height); word-break: break-word;" title=""><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>(Copy from You-tube)</i></span></yt-formatted-string></div><tp-yt-paper-tooltip class="style-scope ytd-channel-name" fit-to-visible-bounds="" role="tooltip" style="cursor: default; display: block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--yt-link-font-size, 1.4rem); inset: 683.044px auto auto 139.16px; outline: none; position: absolute; user-select: none; z-index: 1002;" tabindex="-1"></tp-yt-paper-tooltip></div></ytd-channel-name></div><div class="style-scope ytd-video-owner-renderer" id="sponsor-button" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; justify-content: center; margin: 0px 4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></ytd-video-owner-renderer><div class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" id="subscribe-button" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; justify-content: center; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><ytd-subscribe-button-renderer class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" style="--yt-formatted-string-deemphasize-color: var(--yt-spec-static-brand-white); --yt-formatted-string-deemphasize_-_display: initial; --yt-formatted-string-deemphasize_-_margin-left: 4px; display: flex; flex-direction: row;" use-keyboard-focused=""><tp-yt-paper-button animated="" aria-disabled="false" aria-label="Subscribe to Wigtown Book Festival." class="style-scope ytd-subscribe-button-renderer" elevation="0" noink="" role="button" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: var(--paper-font-common-base_-_-webkit-font-smoothing); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; align-items: center; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: var(--yt-spec-brand-button-background); background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 2px; border: var(--paper-button_-_border); box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--yt-spec-static-brand-white); cursor: pointer; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-family: var(--paper-font-common-base_-_font-family); font-size: var(--ytd-tab-system_-_font-size); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: var(--ytd-tab-system_-_font-weight); justify-content: center; letter-spacing: var(--ytd-tab-system_-_letter-spacing); line-height: inherit; margin: auto var(--ytd-subscribe-button-margin, 4px); min-width: var(--paper-button_-_min-width, 5.14em); outline-width: 0px; padding: var(--yt-button-padding); position: relative; text-transform: var(--ytd-tab-system_-_text-transform); transition: var(--shadow-transition_-_transition); user-select: none; white-space: nowrap; width: var(--paper-button_-_width); z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-subscribe-button-renderer"><br /></yt-formatted-string></tp-yt-paper-button></ytd-subscribe-button-renderer></div></div><ytd-expander class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" style="--ytd-expander-collapsed-height: 60px; display: block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--ytd-user-comment_-_font-size); font-weight: var(--ytd-user-comment_-_font-weight); letter-spacing: var(--ytd-user-comment_-_letter-spacing); line-height: var(--ytd-user-comment_-_line-height); margin-left: 64px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-expander" id="content" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><div class="style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" id="description" slot="content" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; max-width: 615px; padding: 0px;"><yt-formatted-string class="content style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" force-default-style="" split-lines="" style="color: var(--yt-spec-text-primary); white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;">"The idea of editing is enough to fill some writers with dread – but Helen Sedgwick wants to change all that. As part of our series of events for writers, in this online seminar Helen will talk about the interplay between writing and editing in her own creative work, and how editing is an essential part of the creative development of her novels. Covering the different types of editing there are and looking at how the editing process feeds into structure, plot, character development and storytelling, she will dispel the common fear of edits and show how editing can be exciting, creative, and even liberating. With examples from her most recent novel, Where the Missing Gather, and her own experience as both author and literary editor, she will give you a fresh look at the process of editing your own work as the craft at the heart of creative writing.
"About the author: Helen Sedgwick is the author of The Comet Seekers and The Growing Season, which was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year in 2018. The opener to her Burrowhead Mysteries crime trilogy, When the Dead Come Calling, was published in 2020, followed by Where the Missing Gather in 2021. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from Glasgow University and has won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. She is the 2021 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellow. Before she became an author, she was a research physicist with a PhD in Physics from Edinburgh University. She lives in the Scottish Highlands."</yt-formatted-string></div></div><ytd-metadata-row-container-renderer class="sticky style-scope ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer" slot="sticky" style="display: block; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div class="style-scope ytd-metadata-row-container-renderer" id="always-shown" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="style-scope ytd-metadata-row-container-renderer" id="collapsible" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></ytd-metadata-row-container-renderer><br /></ytd-expander></div></ytd-video-secondary-info-renderer></div></div><div class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" id="ticket-shelf" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" id="merch-shelf" style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><ytd-comments class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" id="comments" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; display: block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><ytd-item-section-renderer class="style-scope ytd-comments" id="sections" initial-count="2" style="display: block;"><div class="style-scope ytd-item-section-renderer" id="header" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><ytd-comments-header-renderer class="style-scope ytd-item-section-renderer" style="--paper-input-container-input-align: baseline; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin-bottom: var(--comments-header-renderer-margin-bottom, 32px); margin-top: var(--comments-header-renderer-margin-top, 24px);"><div class="style-scope ytd-comments-header-renderer" id="title" style="align-items: center; background: transparent; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px;"></div></ytd-comments-header-renderer></div></ytd-item-section-renderer></ytd-comments></yt-formatted-string></div></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-60272063137189530162021-09-01T10:40:00.000-04:002021-09-01T10:40:20.313-04:00Remember<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>I want to remember that I changed the focus of this blog today. It was "Susan, continued . . ." and in many ways it still is. But I am decentering self, finally. It is not just a record of me "attempting to capture the words I breathe." It is listening, taking, giving, growing, and changing. I hope I will write more and less self-consciously in this new decade.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>Also:</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>Yesterday, President Biden brought all troops home from Afghanistan, leaving a mess of military trash and death. Maybe this exit will cause change. It will if we dedicate ourselves to full employment in environmental rescue and maintenance. I hope our military forces and most recent immigrants become climate warriors. That is the way to full employment.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>#</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-49558878818398331722021-08-31T10:47:00.002-04:002021-08-31T10:50:43.161-04:00Living for Change, for Beloved Community<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DzeezIsTZ_o" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><i> Grace Lee Boggs (1915-2015)</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="9kcel-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been slowly reading Grace Lee Boggs' autobiography, LIVING FOR CHANGE, in which she takes care to trace the evolution of revolutionary thought </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span data-offset-key="9kcel-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> she and her husband Jimmy Boggs took part in, that took them and their Black comrades beyond what Marx had written to see the role of individual transformation in societal transformation. What a clear picture she provides of the time it takes for thought to evolve--even the difficulty of taking time to think--and how ideology joins with action to provide room for change. Gosh. And I am most impressed about how education takes center stage for adults as well as for children. About public schools, she writes: </span></span></p><blockquote><span data-offset-key="9kcel-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: times; font-size: x-large; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Instead of seeing our schools as institutions to advance individual careers, I argued, we must start turning them into places to develop our children into responsible citizens—by involving them in community-building activities, such as planting community gardens, preparing school and community meals, building playgrounds, cleaning up our rivers and neighborhoods. In this process our children will be learning through practice — which has always been the best way to learn. While they are working and absorbing naturally and normally the values of social responsibility and cooperation, they will also be stimulated to learn the skills and acquire the information that are necessary to solve real problems" (175). </i></blockquote><p></p><div data-block="true" data-editor="2fthl" data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I agree, I agree! Everyone can be a leader, problem solver, change agent--and many can be articulate speakers and listeners. Start where we live.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">#</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: center;"><span data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="42lvs-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-1020978354662028792021-06-10T16:51:00.002-04:002021-06-10T16:51:19.568-04:00Dear God and Dear Earth (Weaving for Spiritual Nurture Retreat 2020-2021)<p><br /></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-2070472151196286303" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 828.079px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvnrb9r1poA6TWXEcmVeKKvBwl8Jc6xG14Coco-_thxR74Nuwkkj_VFPYzVegFtK5b8V97OlVbaSXnrBsZSNKBrRZmyFuln3iVmYXCFyq07AS6pbhGnJt5-5_sAn9DuUrFIS93WMYOaqY/s2048/20210301_201943.jpg" style="color: #992211; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvnrb9r1poA6TWXEcmVeKKvBwl8Jc6xG14Coco-_thxR74Nuwkkj_VFPYzVegFtK5b8V97OlVbaSXnrBsZSNKBrRZmyFuln3iVmYXCFyq07AS6pbhGnJt5-5_sAn9DuUrFIS93WMYOaqY/w480-h640/20210301_201943.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="480" /></span></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">From my Art Journal 2021</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22.77px;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Dear God, dear Earth who share and show us creation:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Do you see your creation in me? How do I show you physically, mentally, and other ways?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Do I see you when I look up and down and within, even when I don’t remind myself you’re there?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Let me always have my radio tuned to your station in the day, the night and the ocean—so many colors surround me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And if I don’t know you as I experience you, let me recognize you later, reflecting on my experience—a moment recalled in tranquility like a poem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Call me eccentric. Call me mystic. Call me Susan, or even “Hey, you!” <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am not everything all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In retirement at age 69, I let go of forces that have oppressed me, that seemed to demand command from me. Now I try to embrace humility and plainness. I am privileged to have earned a retirement, and try to use it well in learning, laughing and serving. I find myself drawn to other senior citizens. I wish everyone had this time to wind down when they have a good 30 more years to live.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I do not know if my life will be a pattern. I can’t focus on that now. I won’t stop meeting that of God in others in order to write a book of myself. I would like to know myself better, but not in an all-consuming project.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">There are so many stories to hear! And so many ways to stop supporting war, oppression, and exclusivity. As I come to recognize white supremacy, I reject it and cringe at all the work I have to do to climb away from it. None of the ways out provide an easy climb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">As Parker Palmer says, “Our complicity in world making is a source of awesome and sometimes painful responsibility – and a source of profound hope for change.” I have entered the labyrinth of the journey toward wholeness, and I am not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">If I clear the path, others may breathe too. I may find myself in danger. I would give up everything if that would help BIPOC breathe. Oh, my friends. Let me be as willing to be in danger for this truth as early friends were willing to suffer cruelty and death for their beliefs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Let me be present to assist others in danger. I have been somewhere else. Working. Playing. Watching silently when people are sentenced to prison unjustly. I will myself to observe, to listen, and to speak instead, no matter how uncomfortable. I will myself to help lift other voices, especially BIPOC, who I have not listened to well at all. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">This is less reform than re-creation. Of myself and of this world. Maybe a few smaller things to start with (like the pattern of my day). And maybe with frequent retreat to a distance from where I can see the bigger picture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I believe that if I learn to care for people, I’ll be caring for wildlife, too, and all aspects of Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I seek forgiveness for what we have allowed to happen to others! What we have done to the earth impacts first on the most oppressed people. Let me see this, let me start there in some small way. Dear God, help me enter places where my senses suffer, instead of avoiding these places. Maybe then I will also forgive myself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Let me “see no stranger” as wonder and pain guide me onward. I want to converse with others, and truly listen. I want to bring all of me, and not be too proud to answer, to ask.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And I am a woman, a she-her, they-them woman, capable of power and sharing power. I know what I know through this identity. I am not afraid to admit it. Forever, it draws me closer to the earth. Forever being a woman makes me love birth, though I have never given birth. Everyone has a mother.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I have howled at the moon, held the candles and the match and the drum and the knife. Everything I have done opens my spirit now. I have been a vegetarian and I have fished and raised and gutted chickens. I have stopped eating angry food. Each thing must have life before it feeds another.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I move around pretending I have the strength of a tree to witness all things, to dig in my roots, drink in the sun and the rain, and to let my heart open like a flower.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am a woman who embraces trees, who plants them in my tiny yard and watches them, watches them throughout the seasons. I watch them for many years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I used to perform ceremonies for the life of trees and moss and water, earth, air—using fire and sound and movement. Now I watch. Simplifying everything so that I can learn, reform, transform. Have a reason to live my full life. 30 more years is possible. Imagine what we could create in 30 more years if we listen!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Imagine how we might learn from each other ways to have small victories. Imagine nurturing our spirits with each other in small retreats, and then going back out strengthened to be conscious, intentional, focused, and in love with creation. How we may transform in this transformation! How we might spread the good news. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Dear God, dear Earth who share and show us creation:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Do you see your creation in me? Do I show you physically, mentally, and other ways?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I look at you when I look up and down and within, even when I don’t remind myself you’re there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I remind myself multiple times a day to tune in to your reality—in the day, the night and the ocean. So many colors and tones surround me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">And if I am not aware that I experience you, let me recognize you later, reflecting on my experience—a moment recalled in tranquility like a poem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 22.77px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am no longer trying to be too much or bigger or any other way than a learner in your light. Let me see you in all life. Let the joy I feel in writing this praise turn into hope. Let my hope be full of courage. Let it be shared</span><span style="font-family: "Aref Ruqaa"; font-size: large; font-weight: 700;">.</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></i></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: purple; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: purple; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: purple; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span><span style="color: purple; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> © 2021 Susan L. Chast</span></span></span></span></i></div><div style="font-size: 19.8px;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: purple; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></i></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-48527502236257311252020-10-11T23:04:00.004-04:002020-10-11T23:05:39.297-04:00Coming Out Day 2020<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Logo ncod lg.png" data-file-height="334" data-file-width="298" height="269" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ed/Logo_ncod_lg.png/240px-Logo_ncod_lg.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coming_Out_Day">NCOD logo</a> designed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Haring" title="Keith Haring">Keith Haring</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></p><p><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true">It's "coming out" day, and all around me people have been declaring themselves<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">—</span></b>some with many intersections. Truly, it's a beautiful thing. It makes me feel old fashioned in the labels I know, though. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true">I
see that the labels make it easier for people to find each other for
support and family. I don't know if I will ever know them all, and hope
you will forgive me.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true">I, who have called myself asexual for many years, really have something like a river of sensuality flowing through me. I am content to know it, and also content to live alone. I think if I talked to people who talked about such things, I would find the right word for it and would be delighted. But I've rarely talked about sexuality since the early 1980s when I was new to feminism and anything personal was political. After those days, when asked what I was<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">—</span></b>whether living out a hetero or lesbian relationship at the time<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans"; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">—</span></b>I usually just said "sexual." I rejected the label "bisexual" as I had only one relationship at a time. Maybe saying I was simply sexual was a short-cut way of saying that it's a complex question. I am lucky to have been born into the body that suits me, and with a freedom to experience untroubled attraction and love. I am blessed to have had a soul mate among them. Further, I am grateful for the friendships that are equally important relationships; I am blessed by the soul mates among them as we journey toward wholeness.<br /></span></span></span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"><i>I've met many people who were troubled about gender and sexuality. As a teacher in theater and creative writing, I have listened a lot. I'd love to experience a world in which all people knew the options and got to know themselves as free, loving, and lovable. I wish all of you reading this could make that world come to be. </i><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true">#</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "times";">© 2020 Susan L. Chast</span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span data-offset-key="a57fp-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-77999642682887904422020-07-25T14:49:00.000-04:002020-07-26T13:07:28.295-04:00After morning at PhYM's Plenary Session on Addressing Racism <br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;">I recently took--along with a marvelous group from Green St. Friends Meeting--a 28-day challenge by Layla Saad in <i>Me and White Supremacy. </i>I worked hard at it, and will for a long long time. <i> </i>I am beginning to hear and cringe at micro-aggressions. This morning I heard many refer to "we" as white Quakers doing something to help Black Quakers as if they were not part of "we." Do I do that?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;">I wanted to call it out (without naming names), but the clerk moved us on to a group picture and a moment of silence at <i>the end. </i>Efficiency on Zoom is so much more powerful than in person. Assuming it's necessary to hold deadlines for so many people, and believing this morning generated ideas that will be picked up and acted on later, however, I urge myself to voice this and other contributions to the dialogue through letters and phone calls and writing. Always writing. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;">I wrote this essay-poem in worship earlier today, but I could add these new observations to it. Language expresses where we are in space, time and openness. But let me not bias my observations against a bias. Or should I? Should I? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">On
Language</span></span></span></blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How
young are we when we notice that learning means</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">acquiring
languages? Not soon enough for us to become</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">world
citizens conversant with multiple living tongues,</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">but
early enough to learn to read multiple sign systems.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We
use them for self-preservation. Passive grammar is</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">among
the first: Not taking responsibility, but assigning it</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to
objects and thin air, like “It broke” instead of “I broke it”</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">and
like “He died” instead of “I killed him.”</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Impersonation
might be next, soon followed by</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">choosing
the signs we want others to read on us</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">rather
than being genuine and unmasked. Offstage,</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">we
wear signs as easily as make-up and costume.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And
before we learn that unlearning might be good,</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">we
have swallowed the codes of dominant culture,</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">which
we have less skill to use strategically than</span></span></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">outward signs, less ability to control as we use them.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">And
then we learn Silence. Did all or some of these</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">languages
keep us safe? At what point did trauma</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">cause us to let go of direct child-like speaking? Or</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">were
layers a game to be smart, smarter, smartest?</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With
children to raise, we see the complexity</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">of
learning, the necessity for instilling safety in movement</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">and language. Without children of our own to learn from, </span></span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> we gravitate to nieces, nephews, neighbors, students.</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote style="border: none; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This
morning in meeting for Worship, O pointed out that</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the
Bible book of Matthew records Jesus saying we have </span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to
turn around, humble ourselves, and become like little</span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: none; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.49in; margin-right: 0.79in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "bookman old style" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">children
again. How young would we have to become?</span></span></span></blockquote>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">#</span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "times";">© 2020 Susan L. Chast</span></i></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-54714820466615444672020-06-19T01:43:00.004-04:002020-06-19T11:22:52.353-04:00Within the Systemic . . . <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "courier"; font-size: medium;">On the second day of <i>Me and White Supremacy the l</i>esson is White Fragility--ways we make working against
racism all about US. We draw attention, we cry, deny, demand, forget
we're trying to remove obstacles white privilege leaves in the way of
people of color. I'm working through my gut resistance to being called
"white." I think it gets in the way of the work that I want to do. But
find it <i>is</i> the work I am called to do.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">At last, accepting I am white people,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">obscured in a mass of kin-like persons.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">So that's what it feels like—a
reduction—</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Black people. White. Established by law.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">The distinction between us. I am</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">white people and should converse with
my own.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Two steps back to go one forward, to
move
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">up to one step back then two forward.
I</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">attempt to see systemic racism.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Matrix</i>—a Hollywood scifi film—</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">clarified "systemic." Appearances</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">are deceiving. Programming makes us live</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">how big powers want us to, and living
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">outside the systems is no fun. At
least
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">within them, some people live the promise.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Outside them, some people see how they're rigged.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>You're either on the bus or off the
bus.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Possibilities are bounded by code.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>Exceptions prove the rule.</i> Exceptions</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">are necessary to make exposure seem a
lie.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">I made it, so you can too. You're
just lazy</span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>try harder. You are Black. I am
White. </i>Feel</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">the pigeonholing. <i>Blue eyes or brown
eyes?</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">You'll get your turn tomorrow, if we
don't
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">achieve freedom today. <i>Confusing, yes?</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">That's how systems work. First, make us believe</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">that we're different by natural law.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">At last, accepting I am white people</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">I turn to talk with other white people.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">See the lies. Hear the fake narratives. We </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">walk their line. See angry white people
who</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">want ingrained systems to be natural.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Mommy will love them. Daddy likes
them best.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Daddy rewards them for a reign of rage.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">Terrorism is domestic, programmed
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;">into systems that we must outgrow.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "courier"; font-size: large;">Tomorrow is Juneteenth, now a state holiday.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "times"; font-size: large;">#</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: "times"; font-size: medium;">© 2020 Susan L. Chast</span></i></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-7606844179603548822020-06-17T07:01:00.003-04:002020-06-17T08:12:17.366-04:00White Supremacy and Me, and Believing in Myself<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 7em; text-align: right;"><img alt="layla book cover photo.JPG" class="thumb-image loaded" data-image-dimensions="2320x2900" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-image-id="5e9082a0f8d0556aa10276ff" data-image-resolution="500w" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/577904fab8a79bc24ec0c44b/1586528934575-U9YSGEOAODNVNHPCKOEE/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kOcX9HJqjYPD4rdk3ViAQ117gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfQYRtECc6AGi7DEn_ZAZAmAjCl6dgCH-F-0T6OAhuOFB3wL4j6qYvqURfPD81GCyw/layla+book+cover+photo.JPG" data-load="false" data-src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/577904fab8a79bc24ec0c44b/1586528934575-U9YSGEOAODNVNHPCKOEE/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kOcX9HJqjYPD4rdk3ViAQ117gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfQYRtECc6AGi7DEn_ZAZAmAjCl6dgCH-F-0T6OAhuOFB3wL4j6qYvqURfPD81GCyw/layla+book+cover+photo.JPG" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/577904fab8a79bc24ec0c44b/1586528934575-U9YSGEOAODNVNHPCKOEE/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kOcX9HJqjYPD4rdk3ViAQ117gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfQYRtECc6AGi7DEn_ZAZAmAjCl6dgCH-F-0T6OAhuOFB3wL4j6qYvqURfPD81GCyw/layla+book+cover+photo.JPG?format=500w" style="height: 310px; left: 347px; position: absolute; top: 37px; width: 247px;" /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img alt="MeAndWhiteSupremacy_MockUp-2.jpg" class="thumb-image loaded" data-image-dimensions="953x953" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-image-id="5d5d2a1096e4e00001ae0751" data-image-resolution="1000w" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b65fb964611a0958c38105a/1566386709574-XWD3NFU3CLSN6BX9H779/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kPZVGAmQ-LiIDejmHTBu1GpZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZamWLI2zvYWH8K3-s_4yszcp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIcIBxs3nZEqvgqC0usJYKrX06_gj8cC44gKP5Q4DEFpk/MeAndWhiteSupremacy_MockUp-2.jpg" data-load="false" data-src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b65fb964611a0958c38105a/1566386709574-XWD3NFU3CLSN6BX9H779/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kPZVGAmQ-LiIDejmHTBu1GpZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZamWLI2zvYWH8K3-s_4yszcp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIcIBxs3nZEqvgqC0usJYKrX06_gj8cC44gKP5Q4DEFpk/MeAndWhiteSupremacy_MockUp-2.jpg" data-type="image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b65fb964611a0958c38105a/1566386709574-XWD3NFU3CLSN6BX9H779/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kPZVGAmQ-LiIDejmHTBu1GpZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZamWLI2zvYWH8K3-s_4yszcp2ryTI0HqTOaaUohrI8PIcIBxs3nZEqvgqC0usJYKrX06_gj8cC44gKP5Q4DEFpk/MeAndWhiteSupremacy_MockUp-2.jpg?format=1000w" style="height: 349px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 321px;" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></table><div class="col sqs-col-8 span-8" style="text-align: left;"><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1561967965349_12209"><div class="sqs-block-content"><h2 style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://laylafsaad.com/">Layla Saad</a> is an author, speaker & teacher on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation & social change.</h2><h3 style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Layla is the <i>NYT</i> bestselling author of the ground-breaking book <a href="http://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com" target="_blank"><i>Me and White Supremacy </i></a>(2020), the host of <a href="http://www.instagram.com/goodancestorpodcast" target="_blank">Good Ancestor Podcast</a>, and the founder of <a href="https://www.goodancestoracademy.com" target="_blank">good ancestor academy</a>.</h3><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">I joined a group that is beginning to work on the 28-day challenge that Ms. Saad leads in this book. One might say that this is the last thing I need right now, to add another daily event in my life while I'm trying to put my next poetry book together and procrastinating fiercely. <br /></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">Procrastinating fiercely. Ha! There's some kind of oxymoron.</font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">So why do this now? The right group came together, or, rather, the right organizer: Lola George. I think she could help me be honest. Viv is there, too. Both could say along with me that they've done the work before, but this probe is systematic in unpacking the disease of white supremacy. I feel that I can be honest--honester and honester--in unpacking of my privilege and becoming a better ally along the way. I could stop unconsciously handicapping my black friends. I am handwriting the daily journaling. It feels more private than blog-able to me right now. I hope that allows me to be more vulnerable than I've been before. And also I hope to get to know more of Green Street Meeting for Worship in this process.</font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5"></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">So, how not to make this an excuse for "procrastinating fiercely"? The answer may be in an earlier to bed and earlier to rise intention.</font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">I have to want something more than I want to play games and TV and Netflix. <br /></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5"></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">I want to believe in myself.<br /></font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5">#</font></span></p><p style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p style="text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: purple; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: purple; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: purple; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
</div></div></div><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-24576486874503660122020-06-09T21:22:00.002-04:002020-06-10T01:02:35.639-04:00Digging for a Poem . . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #9c27b0; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #9c27b0; font-size: x-large;">⚘ ⚘ ⚘ ⚘</span></div>
<div>
<u></u><span style="color: #000120;"></span><u></u><span style="color: #9c27b0;"></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="color: purple;"></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-family: "times";"></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. . . in the details of my life, in my inner monologue.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A neighbor took out my garbage. <br /> She noticed I hadn't done it, and . . . .<br />In a loosened lock down, neighbors notice <br /> what's close by and they speak from a reasonable distance, <br /> a physical safety zone. As if we come out <br /> of our bunkers to see who's still alive.<br /><br />Surprise, surprise to notice my first thought is gratitude. <br />It's often a low grumble. Gratitude has replaced my inner <br />grumble of resentment and remembrance of past mistakes. <br /> What was a weed in my garden turns out to be a rose.<br />I might be able to let go of the fear that as I age <br /> and dementia sets in, all my anger, feelings of superiority, <br /> and resentment will spill out, and everyone--even me--<br /> will learn who I really am.<br /><br />I just noticed an inner <i>thank you</i> instead of <br /> <i>What was she doing in my yard? It's my job . . . <br /> and last year they snubbed me and why should I talk <br /> to them now? Just because I called the police on them <br /> five years ago for burning garbage in their back yard, <br /> even though I knew better than to call police <br /> on Arab American people. I did it without thinking. <br />It turned out OK didn't it? </i> An exhale of relief. <br /> I will not pick that flower but allow it room to grow. <br /> <br /> Gratitude is revolutionary. I am happy to live where </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">police assume good unless proven otherwise; <br />where the police know respect and de-escalation. <br /> No one needs to act from dis-empowerment--not old, <br /> young, white, black, Latinx. We are lucky. <br /> But why is it luck and not the lay of the land? <br /> It isn't that hard to feel gratitude instead of meanness, <br />to chance meeting God in other people. <br /> <br /> Gratitude. Deep, deep earth, a moment located just outside <br /> that is always the center of the world and never the center <br /> of anything: What we do, what we learn walking around <br />our neighborhood. We make room for each other. Gratitude. <br /> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am one of the few white people. </span></span>At times I try to see me </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">through the eyes of neighbors unlike me. <br /><br />Excuse me. Where's my Words with Friends partners? <br /> Excuse me, I have to go and play a few rounds before </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think about one more serious thing. To think, to write, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">to live, to take a fun break, to pray. <br /><br />Words With Friends takes me to Facebook time. <br /> I get hungry for it just as I do for communal silence. <br /> It is way too noisy in my home today with drive-by <br /> graduations everywhere, and all the words in my head. <br /><br />Happy Graduation Seniors! <br />I'm going outside to wave to them. <br />And then I'm going to put the garbage cans away. </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">#</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "times";">FYI: The inner monologue is overactive mind/heart/body/spirit. It is not "the still small voice of God." I have to move through a meditative stillness to have any chance of that. I also have to listen to others.</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<a class="image" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:internal_monologue.png" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.26px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" title="Oh right, eye contact. Ok, good, holding the eye contact... holding... still holding... ok, too long! Getting weird! Quick, look thoughtfully into space and nod. Oh, dammit, said 'yeah' again!"><img alt="Oh right, eye contact. Ok, good, holding the eye contact... holding... still holding... ok, too long! Getting weird! Quick, look thoughtfully into space and nod. Oh, dammit, said 'yeah' again!" height="348" src="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/internal_monologue.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px; cursor: move; vertical-align: middle;" width="325" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 80%; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/Permanent%20link%20to%20this%20comic:%20https://xkcd.com/1089/">Internal Monologue</a> (XKCD)</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><i></i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: purple; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: purple; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: purple; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-88642004155424300562020-06-05T16:29:00.001-04:002020-06-08T08:39:04.827-04:00Friday Morning Ruminations <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<img alt=" Gianna 'GiGi' Floyd, 6, sits atop ex-basketball pro Stephen Jackson's shoulders as she makes the announcement" class=" lazyloaded" data-credit="instagram.com/_stak5_/" data-img="https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?strip=all&w=960" data-sizes="(max-width: 375px) 335px, (max-width: 520px) 480px, 620px" data-src="https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png" data-srcset="https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=335 335w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=480 480w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=620 620w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=670 670w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=960 960w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1240 1240w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1005 1005w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1440 1440w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1860 1860w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1340 1340w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=1920 1920w, https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png?w=2480 2480w" height="221" src="https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/06/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-8.46.40-am-e1591170663200.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><div class="article__content article__content--intro">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">GEORGE Floyd's daughter Gigi, 6, has appeared in a heartbreaking video where she shouts "daddy changed the world" after her dad’s death sparked a global protest movement</span>. </span></span></i></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Protest against police brutality and its connection to racist city </span>monuments continues for a second week after the murder of George Floyd. George Floyd's daughter proclaims "My daddy has changed the world!" Demonstrations have swept through the country and the world--even in Catskill NY, the tiny county seat in which I was born. My niece-in-law Tina Martinez documented its "Enough is Enough" action on FB. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Other
posts from fellow high school alum were discouraging. They are angry
to be inconvenienced; they feel threatened and want above all to support
Law Enforcement as it exists. I'll have conversations with them as way opens.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I zoomed the entire Memorial Service. Here it is: </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3egsimHziWg" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The Rev Sharpton gave the eulogy--a work of immense power as well as intimacy. <i>Get your knees off our necks. </i>I
sobbed as the service made George Floyd a man to me again, a blood and flesh
human being. I cried standing silently through the 8.43 minutes it took for a police officer to kill Mr. Floyd. How have I lived with comfort alongside such on-going
injustice and inequality? <i>Open my eyes that I might see . . . </i>is not only a women's power song.</span></span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As full as I am spiritually and emotionally, I have only written snatches of poetry since my post here last Friday. I'm forcing myself to write now so I don't lose everything. This week I read a manuscript for a friend, and helped plan a retreat. I had a Journey to Wholeness session, a Spiritual nurture session, and a qigong/meditation class. I read a ton of news news and FB news, and responded to the useful/spiritual/longing comments I saw. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sitting up here in my second floor apartment, I remind myself of my grandmother. I wonder if I am channeling her? No, she would do more. Here's an old poem I wrote about her: </span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</span></span></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dream </span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
(UC Berkeley Graduate School 1987, revised 4/25/12)</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Product of the radical
seventies and one decade late, I</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Don my turtle hood to exit
luxury, traveling light</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And slow back to the
proverbial road not taken</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Halt the erosion of truth</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, the Grandmother called</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">from her White House upon
the hill, where she sat</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Typing out letters and
letting them fall </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Evergreen-trees lined the
night as Australia</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Became a no-nuke zone and an
actor aligned</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">His springtime in America to
re-organize the right</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And Grandmother wrote “<i>Dear
Editor</i>” from her remote site.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I, turtle, move slowly
through acres of passivity</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">While fateful animals pile
earth on my shell </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And play out the original
rite of creation </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Grandmother calls out for my
group to <i>smite</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The pharaoh and his
henchmen—like Moses to fight</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The living image stays now
though I close my eyes to sleep: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Old women awake in a tower,
turtle inching straight, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Pharaoh underground spinning
orders that make </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Wrinkled hands type letters,
clocks tick, bosses take</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Money moves, truth dies,
turtles walk, I sleep at night</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">My eyes focused upward to
see her steady Light.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do I have a steady Light? </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I spend much more time channeling a wider universe (nature/God) than I ever knew grandmother to do. She didn't waste time with FB, but she had piles of junk mail and random pleas for funding all round. I believe she gave a little to many places, as do I. She had been an artist and art teacher, whereas I was a stage director and theater professor and English teacher. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I knew grandmother as teacher, sculptor, mosaic maker, potter, landscape painter, and expressionistic. She worked in charcoal, pencil, oil, pastel, acrylic,water color, clay, concrete, block printing, copper, and glass. She also did graphic design and illustration in a manner reminiscent of her early training in Germany's Bauhaus. She did some form of art and public exhibitions until she died. She also wrote letters to the editor until a few months before she died. Her issues were preservation of the Hudson Valley environment, prevention of the spread of nuclear technology, ecology, recycling, local labor. The Athens NY Town Hall has a plaque thanking her, Mary Berner, for helping to create Citizens to Preserve the Hudson and for keeping nuclear power plants out of the Hudson Valley. She lived alone from the 1960s when her husband died, through the 1990s when she needed assistance and moved in with my parents. Her dates are 1901-2003. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's magic in people who live a century and more, I believe.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Less of my writing is public than Grandmother's was. She wrote persuasively for government and public consumption. I write poetry, some of it political. My issues are peace, anti-racism, community-centered law enforcement, alternative energy, democracy, LGBTQ rights, and women's power. I phone banked for Obama (we won), Hillary Clinton (we lost), paper ballots and voting in the primaries. I will phone bank for whomever the democratic candidate happens to be. I'm involved locally through the town library, reading and writing in its groups. I'm involved in Delco adult literacy programs. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I grow deeper and deeper spiritually through the influence of Quaker faith and practice. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yet in the Covid-19 pandemic, I've been idle. Since George Floyd's death, I've been idle. Between bouts of grief, I've been listening to music and podcasts, watching irrelevant movies, and relevant documentaries. I haven't been exercising enough. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Grandmother never hid her light under a bushel. Do I? Where are my words? I look for them, and end up reminiscing.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Reverend Sharpton reminded everyone </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"There's a difference between those who call for peace and those who call for silence.</span></span></span>"</i> Sharpton's words start at 01:32 in the video of the memorial for George Floyd (above). I did not appreciate the Reverend Al Sharpton until I heard this eulogy that spoke intimately to the family and yet reached out powerfully to African Americans and the entire United States citizenry. <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Do not use your Bible as a prop. Do not use George as a prop. . . . let us stand for what is right. . . . People call me to blow up issues. . . . You get away too much with hiding things. . . . </i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>When I stood at that spot, the reason it got to me is that George
Floyd's story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we
wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck. . . . </i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education,
in health services and in every area of American life. It's time to
stand up in George's name and say get your knee off our necks!</i></span></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He moved me to tears. Here are my words.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wishing for a Time Machine, Acting without One.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How far back do we have to go to change </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the history of African Americans? </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How deep do we have to go to dig up and to destroy </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the European-American roots of racism?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Radical change is change from the roots.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Few European Americans know roots exist,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">that they spread beliefs and practice underground </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">as roots touch and overhead as rhetoric flows tree to tree.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pretending room for growth is limited creates </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the competition in which fear and racism are strategy. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Democracy doesn't need to run on scarcity, but </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">capitalism--our form of it--relies on it.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Racism is a strategy for subjugating and bypassing others.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's built into our systems until we guarantee wages </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and health care for all. Racism and classism are again and again</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">winning in our Congress, they're built into everything we do.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unawaress is no longer a good excuse. The roots</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of racism spread in search for a certainty that our churches</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and government could guarantee in other ways. Then the roots</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of racism might be made to turn back and to strangle their trees.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not very poetic, at all, my words. Not personal and moving.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I need to overcome a numbness when it comes to the truths of my heart. Here is the week I most need to speak, but I am silent. I listen and react, but then submerge myself into light entertainment and distance from the muses that could help. Who else has the privilege of turning away from the fight?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's what I need to write about and overcome, the myth of powerlessness. The way privilege neglects and perpetuates what it cannot face. Why? Because it can. <i>White Fragility</i>. There's a poem in that.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This writing took 4 hours. Maybe later. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The truth of my heart. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I'll think about that tomorrow," </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">--Scarlet O'Hara</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Gone With the Wind</i>.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">#</span></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Posted at</span></span></span><a href="https://earthweal.com/2020/06/05/earthweal-open-link-weekend-23/" rel="bookmark"> earthweal open link weekend #23</a></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "quot"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-63037064829773952922020-05-29T07:56:00.002-04:002020-05-29T08:03:12.481-04:00Friday morning ruminations<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Riots across the country in response to this week's police murder of George Floyd in Minnasota. In LA, protesters managed to block a freeway. From the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/us/george-floyd-minneapolis-protests.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage">New York Times</a>: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn">
<div class="css-53u6y8">
<div class="css-158dogj evys1bk0">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>MINNEAPOLIS
— Minnesota’s governor activated the National Guard on Thursday as
angry demonstrators took to the streets for a third straight night to
protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was pleading that he
could not breathe as a white police officer pressed his knee into Mr.
Floyd’s neck.</i></span></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div>
<div class="css-53u6y8">
<div class="css-158dogj evys1bk0">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The order by Gov. Tim Walz came as the city asked for help after vandalism and fires erupted during demonstrations and as the <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/joint-statement-united-states-attorney-erica-macdonald-and-fbi-special-agent-charge" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Justice Department announced</a> that a federal investigation into Mr. Floyd’s death was a top priority.</i></span></span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many of us ask "What is there to investigate? Witnesses' videos show the unnecessary murder." May this be the last police killing, the last institutionalized violence against African Americans (and any other clearly inequitable treatment of non-white people in the USA--including immigrants.) Dear God/Earth/Universe, I pray!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Last night's Poetry Cafe at Pendle Hill, enjoyed through Zoom, elicited a poem from me in a brief 8 minute writing time. Noted in italics are lines/ideas provided by guest poet Cathy Cohen:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">About the Edges</span></span></span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:14.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Garamond","serif";
mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">Crossing narrow bridges </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">may be a new way <i>to orbit.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">We play Chutes and Ladders
throughout our pandemic </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">to avoid each other by six feet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">We get as narrow as possible and
feel the strain </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">after the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wideness</i> of home spaces alone.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">The <i>virtual porousness</i> of the
home </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">sprawls where there is no touch
at all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">But I would welcome <i>teeth
cleaning</i> or haircut, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif";">anything to remember where my
edges are.</span><br />
<br /></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And then there are rallies against pandemic restrictions, demonstrations about climate change and clean energy, and a continuing concern that Black Lives Matter. School is out though it hasn't been in for quite a while. People are antsy. Imagine all of this continuing to escalate over 4 years as if a world war. We play at class warfare, and some people pay more than others.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> As I wrote to my old Poets United teammates: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We share each other's grief. Each new event is another straw on the camel's
back--each could be the one that breaks us and yet we keep moving on.
Quite often I feel dazed. Why is it my lot to survive and witness?
Witness and grief, pouring from love, and continuing to love, may be the
actual ministry we are called upon to contribute, called upon by
whatever holy spirit fills us. It's a lot to carry. </span></span></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
#</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "quot"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "quot"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-90331628164124204162020-05-27T17:04:00.001-04:002020-05-29T07:57:46.666-04:00Wednesday Morning Free Writing with earthweal<br />
<br />
<br />
<header class="entry-header">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h1 class="entry-title">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://earthweal.com/2020/05/25/earthweal-weekly-challenge-protest-in-a-time-of-pandemic/" rel="bookmark">earthweal weekly challenge: PROTEST IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC </a></span><span class="sep"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Posted on </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://earthweal.com/2020/05/25/earthweal-weekly-challenge-protest-in-a-time-of-pandemic/" rel="bookmark" title="12:00 am"><time class="entry-date" datetime="2020-05-25T00:00:27-04:00">May 25, 2020</time></a></span></span> </h1>
</blockquote>
<div class="comments-link">
<br /></div>
<div class="comments-link">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">". . . Take your pick. Unfurl your banner. Tell us about what keeps you
awake at night, what worries you most, what you feel needs to change.
What is happening in your part of the world that concerns or appalls
you? Give us your outrage or, if you can muster it, give us some hope,
and a direction to head in.
</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> "Valerie Kaur has said this time can be viewed “not as the darkness of
the tomb, but the darkness of the womb”; that we can emerge from this
time of transition transformed, and begin to live on Mother Earth as one
part of creation, rather than the unthinking, dominant species we have
been. We live in hope.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: blue;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Your challenge: Bring us your protest poem. Let’s join our
voices in this forum to speak of all that is wrong or, conversely, all
that we can make right. </b></span></span></i></span></blockquote>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I look forward to reading your words.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">— Sherry</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i></i><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i></i><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> Another police shooting of black victims kept me awake last night, this time without guns. A knee on the neck of a handcuffed suspect cut off the air. "I can't breathe," the condemned man croaked out again and again as he lay there dying. Not Corona Virus--no pandemic--could keep the protest in check this time. Police took out tear gas and rubber bullets when a small portion of the protesters began defacing police property, breaking windows, graffiti-ing cars. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> If I ever thought restricting weapons would cut back on hatred and violence--no--it would cut back on immediate violence that prefers to keep its distance. We have to pull out the roots of smug superiority and entitled competition for resources where they are born--in greed and fear. There is enough for all. If there are bad places to live--and there are--we must divide up those places proportionately so no one class or color gets the brunt of pollutants, floods, crowding, and disease. Who would enforce this? I fear the change to fairness will be brutal, but I am ready for a different kind of brutality. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> Even if I am displaced from the very little privilege I carved out for myself, I am ready. Let there be reversals, let the pendulum swing to the other extreme. When unhealthy conditions surround those normally protected from them, people with power will do something about it. Selfishness can be used strategically.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> And now 68 minutes pre-launch of Falcon 9 and Dragon, a flight test called the Space-X test, commercial space travel in cooperation with NASA for a trip to the space station. Here's a change of focus from the protests trying to prove that Black lives matter. Two astronauts are going, two highly-qualified white men, both Americans. There is not a hint of racism here despite what's happening elsewhere in the USA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"> This is the first manned space flight from the USA in 9 years. Demo One already proved that this Dragon vehicle can dock and return. The addition is human. The addition is all eyes watching. I wonder if citizens of other countries are watching too. Our President flew over the launch pad an hour ago. He's supposed to be present for this historic launch. I pray he doesn't spoil it by smearing it with tweets.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";">This reminds me of one of my few published poems: </span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Big Earth Ball <i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(the 2017 version)</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lawn party for the March 1970 solar eclipse, me </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sitting on a blanket in an army jacket and long skirt,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">embroidering inserts to bell jeans and holding thick</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">negatives for the sun show when . . .</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“<i>Uncle John’s Band</i>” plays from dorm windows lining</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the quad and both the stoned and the merely happy</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rise in swooping dance, eyes closed, inner harmony . . . </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We needed a break from anti-war demonstration,</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the Black platform and certainty of right and wrong. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Clarity grew from confusion, a sharp diamond set</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in too much all at once . . .</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“<i>Say it, A Ball of Confusion</i>” “<i>The first days are</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>the hardest days, don’t you worry anymore . . .</i> “</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The disco ball had not yet turned, rock ruled ~</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Temptation to “<i>Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out</i>”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">was hard to resist: I cut all my classes that spring, </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">started smoking, played hours of duplicate bridge</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in the Student Union . . . </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">parted my long hair straight, wore wire-rimmed</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">glasses, carried Sartre’s <i>Being and Nothingness</i> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in my pocket, took on <i>Nausea</i> and avoided the gaze</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">of those who just didn’t get it: <i>We walk in space.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We build things to destroy people and <i>we walk in space.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We walk and look up at the sun, see its angry glare . . .</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Who cares if we go blind?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sight from blindness grows as clarity from confusion</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“<i>You know all the rules by now and the fire from ice</i>”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Darkness rises as the moon bites into the sun.</span></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN"><br /></span></i></span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 1pt solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; color: #333333; font-weight: normal; padding: 0in;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="border: none; padding: 0in; text-align: left;">
<i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN">"</span></i><i style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN">Big
Earth Ball" is about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_7,_1970"><span style="color: blue;">March 7, 1970 Solar Eclipse</span></a>. I was a freshman at
Clark U in Worcester, MA. Here's what I recall: </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="border: none; padding: 0in; text-align: left;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">1970
was the year "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSIajKGHZRk"><span style="color: blue;">Uncle John's Band</span></a>" appeared on the Grateful
Dead's 4th studio album "Workingman's Dead," and the year the
Temptations recorded the hit single "</span></span></i><i><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_of_Confusion_(That%27s_What_the_World_Is_Today)" title="Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)">Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today).</a>" Both songs helped shape my
take on world, sun, and moon on that grey day. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on,_tune_in,_drop_out"><span style="color: blue;">Turn on, tune in, drop out</span></a>" is a 1967 quote
from either Dr. Timothy Leary or Marshall McLuhan to popularize a
psychedelic counter-culture (of which I was not a part). On 21 July 1969,
the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpjH86DjR3s"><span style="color: blue;">Apollo 11 moon landing</span></a> <span style="color: black;">with </span>Neil Armstrong<span style="color: black;"> and </span>Buzz
Aldrin was televised live, and we heard Armstrong say his famous
words "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Armstrong"><span style="color: blue;">That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.</span></a>"
I watched in a little bar near the Hunter Mountain ski resorts where I was
during the 1969 Woodstock Festival (but that is another story). !970
was the year the Vietnam draft lottery began and set male students on edge.
Protest against the US involvement in Vietnam and its undeclared war there had
escalated since 1964 and was particularly heated by 1970. It was one year after
Black student protests took over the campus, and finally gained them some
scholarships and courses. On May 4th, 1970 ~ </span></span></i><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">2
months after the solar eclipse of my poem ~ <i>the U.S.
National Guard killed four young people during a demonstration on the Kent
State campus in Ohio. "As a result four million students go on strike at
more than 450 universities and colleges" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_Vietnam_War"><span style="color: blue;">Wikipedia</span></a>).</i></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i></i><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>#</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></i></header><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-29779860317222417222020-05-26T10:59:00.000-04:002020-05-26T10:59:06.733-04:00Free Writing with Tanya: the May 18th prompt<div>
<div class="" dir="auto">
<div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc e5nlhep0 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_i1">
<div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg">
<div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d">
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Story Portal prompt, a line from the poem Anchorage by Joy Harjo:</span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></i></div>
</div>
</span></span></b><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"We keep on breathing, walking, but softer now,</span></span></i></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the clouds whirling in the air above us."</span></span></i></div>
</div>
</span></span></b></blockquote>
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Use this as your opening line and free write for 12 minutes. See where it takes you. </span></span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"We keep on breathing, walking, but softer now,</span></span></i></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the clouds whirling in the air above us."</span></span></i></div>
</div>
</span></span></b></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">We sense beings around us and do not want to wake them. It is not danger we breathe so much as slight annoyance. Rather than apologize for our presence, we show respect for theirs. We are human, but I sense they are not. As the clouds lift, I see we walk among a grove of trees whose branches intermingle--tall , tall--and made taller by the crest of the hill on which we rise, ever walking to a destination we are unsure of. We call it safety, but I know it is by common consent East. We walk East to join others in mind of spirit in the Mecca of sunrise, a place holy to all faiths. The barriers have come down. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> I slow as we near the top. My breath is labored, but I will make it if I release my body to move at its own pace, as if it were a horse I trusted my life to. I feel encouragement whisper through the lower leaves and the higher needles. I feel the carpet of moss and pine ends add a bit of spring to my steps. Maybe we will find safety somewhere ahead, if even the trees are helping us. They link our mother, Earth, with everything else, they are the signs and flags of her health. Over these past months of travel, their anger has changed to pity and annoyance, so this encouragement is like the fresh breeze that rises with the clouds. It feels my lungs with joy. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Now on the top, I burst into song: </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something right." </span></span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> The words are from The Sound of Music, the moment when Maria accepts her relationship with Captain Von Trap, just before they start their family's trek away from Danger. We must have done something right, something the trees approve of, a sign from our mother. "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something right." I don't remember the rest of the words. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> People around me are grinning. The feeling of respect doesn't leave because I have burst the silence with sound. No balloon pops. The mood rises gently with the clouds and I feel a collective sigh of relief. It is not that we have been holding our breath, but we have been so very ashamed of being human that feeling acceptance and joy is a weight off us. Here at the hill top, we look down the way dense with trees. The path is still unclear, but we have renewed energy for moving into the unknown.</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">We keep on breathing, walking, more confident now, lightly as clouds rising, lightly as burdens fall.</span></span></i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> #</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></i><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-28152571449843327072020-05-25T12:07:00.003-04:002020-05-25T12:07:31.330-04:00More Writing with Tanya<div>
<div class="pybr56ya dati1w0a hv4rvrfc n851cfcs btwxx1t3 j83agx80 ll8tlv6m">
<div class="oi9244e8 do00u71z j83agx80">
<span class=""></span></div>
<div class="buofh1pr">
<div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg">
<div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh m9osqain hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span></span></span><br />
<h2 class="gmql0nx0 l94mrbxd p1ri9a11 lzcic4wl aahdfvyu hzawbc8m" dir="auto" id="jsc_c_xu">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh m9osqain hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span class=""><div class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gmql0nx0 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" role="button" tabindex="0">
<a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl oo9gr5id gpro0wi8 lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/tanya.rubinstein?__cft__[0]=AZU35IvrkF1oNMvxRtpmqQloQzM0flLm0y68_0W9PRWoowlo3Rsms0YieVLjflRMIxEC89byZtOaIQz5LGkpGBrYsgvr2aHG-agsfKArDJqiwehcnFNhtUKtkQJ-s875elCfuA-lCPR1qctdOtqiLlaG&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R" role="link" tabindex="0"><b>Tanya's prompt:</b></a><span id="jsc_c_xv"><span aria-label="label" aria-labelledby="jsc_c_xx" class="gpro0wi8 j1lvzwm4 stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 q9uorilb"><span class="b6zbclly myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 aenfhxwr l94mrbxd ihxqhq3m nc684nl6 t5a262vz sdhka5h4"><span class="b6zbclly myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 aenfhxwr l94mrbxd ihxqhq3m nc684nl6 t5a262vz sdhka5h4"></span></span></span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="" dir="auto">
<div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc e5nlhep0 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_xt">
<div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg">
<div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"></span><br />
<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alice Walker says "writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence." </span></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> "Being saved/ saving" is your story portal for today: Challenge yourself to make it a story with a beginning/middle and end.</span></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">10 Minutes.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">GO.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What saved me from the inconvenience of violence? So many things! But let me share a story I know about a woman I will call Joan: </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Joan was pretty messed up by the violence of the Vietnam War--back when images of war were not censored from the USA, when we could see blood and burns and body parts and naked girls running down the street arms uplifted and crying. She went for various psychological treatments, all geared to lift her from depression and try to make her want to live. Needless to say, violence does not cure violence. What finally helped Joan was finding her way to a commune where even eating became a path to learning non-violence. She stopped eating animals and made friends with many of them, though she still ate animal products like eggs and milk. She always asked permission for eating anything, giving back in care and love as a true steward of life in all its forms. </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> But war continued. And Joan couldn't listen to the radio news without re-triggering depression and even convulsions. One day a friend suggested that her response to violence could be a political action if more people could see it, if she transformed it into public action. After several shy attempts to make her concerns into narrative, Joan decided to show what happens to her in the face of violence. She created a solo performance. </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> She came on stage in peace, hanging up a sign with the 4-H pledge. Do you know it? </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Cornell Cooperative Extension | 4-H Programs" class="n3VNCb" data-noaft="1" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce.cornell.edu/slides/68388/image/sized/4-h-pledge.gif" style="height: 191.845px; margin: 0px auto; width: 383px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://chemung.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-positive-youth-development/4-h-programs">4-H Clubs, Cornell Extension</a></span></span></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sign backed all the action of her piece. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> She brought with her a basket with materials to demonstrate how to re pot a plant and also carried a transistor radio--a cassette player that looked like a radio. She unpacked her basket and began the demo, switching on the "radio." It played--I actually don't remember what she played--but my memory tells me it was something soft and Simon and Garfunkel that transitioned into Joan Jett's "Born to be Bad"--which can't be, because that song came out years later--unless she WAS Joan Jett? Anyway, when the music switched it was interspersed with news of war--Oh--maybe we were in Desert Storm by that time? I don't remember. When the sound changed, she began mutilating the plants, slowly picking up the violence until pieces flew. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I was in the audience. I remember moving into a gasp and then a silence. The show ended with a freeze of her, exhausted, slumped over the mess. We sat there quietly too. Then Joan unfroze, went to the corner where there was a straw broom and cheerfully began to sweep up the mess. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Did she talk to us? I don't remember. But it was a relief to walk out into the fresh night air with my friends, tears streaming down our faces.</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The End.</span></span></span></i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: &quot; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(12 minutes including looking up the 4-H sign and Joan Jett Songs. Then slightly edited. )</span></span></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y8gK8voPkeQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
#</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-48841228502097883822020-05-23T16:34:00.006-04:002020-05-23T16:34:46.891-04:00Writing with Tanya: Two Prompts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Female Nude with Green Shawl Seen from Behind - Käthe Kollwitz.png" class="mw-mmv-final-image png mw-mmv-dialog-is-open" crossorigin="anonymous" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Female_Nude_with_Green_Shawl_Seen_from_Behind_-_K%C3%A4the_Kollwitz.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="mw-mmv-filename-prefix"></span><span class="mw-mmv-filename"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Works_by_K%C3%A4the_Kollwitz#/media/File:Female_Nude_with_Green_Shawl_Seen_from_Behind_-_K%C3%A4the_Kollwitz.png">Female Nude with Green Shawl Seen from Behind </a>- Käthe Kollwitz (1903)</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (1)</span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Story Portal Prompt: at what point in your life did you feel least like yourself? How did you get back? 10 mins. Go.</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Least like myself? When most depressed back in the 1990s, I feared melting in tears and despair, so began taking anti-depressants. I am still on them. I've tried going off them twice, and each time, it wasn't more than a week before I felt again like there was no reason to get out of bed. So which is the real me? The one more in control or the one in a sobbing mush on the mattress? As a medicated person, I've been able to retire from a non-traditional teaching career that I am both proud of and humble about. I made it through a losing tenure battle, two moves, and two job changes--which included leaving behind the educational theatre for which my experience and PhD in dramatic arts had prepared me. As a medicated person, I've become a friend of the truth and of Jesus which led to membership in the Religious society of friends and a life as a poet. Daily, I feel myself becoming more comfortable. Is this my self? It is a self that gives me confidence and peace and only the kind of troubled mind that helps me see what way is opening for me. I love that. When I look back at the roles I played through the years, they often seem like separate people--Susans I cannot imagine ever being. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">(2)</span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="" dir="auto">
<div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc e5nlhep0 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_1rk">
<div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg">
<div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
<div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">Story Portal Prompt:</span> Dorothy Allison wrote: "Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I'd rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me."</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Write a story about going naked rather than wearing a coat the world (or a family member, teacher or culture) made for you.</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q">
<div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Try for a beginning/middle and end. Ten minutes. Post if you like.</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Luckily, most of the roles I have played throughout my life</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> came with their own costumes: daughter, student, hippy radical, wife, editor, organizer, professor, director, teacher--and those are only the offstage roles! Now, retired, I have my lounge-around look which is another costume. Which of these were assigned me and which did i choose for myself? That's a nonsensical question, given the expectations I--and most humans--have internalized about what success at any moment looks like. That's all part of the narration, and I was never one to rebel against it when other issues were more important. Going naked may have more to do with naming--choosing to be called Susan rather than Ms. Chast or Dr. Chast. Just Susan, a small person of no importance. What do you do? is the question that most often greets me, and even now I try to answer it. "I am a writer," I say. Not, <i> </i></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>I am retired. I have no political or religious affiliations. Here I am, just me, a brown-eyed older woman with a wrinkled neck and a slouch, here I am just doing this thing with you. Let's enjoy this worship, this film, this performance, this dinner, this task. Let's grin and enjoy (or frown and enjoy) how we pass the time together."</i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I imagine my companion lingering a little longer, and then looking for me again when we are in the same place. And again. And again. But so far, that does not happen. Nor do applying the hooks of story from experience, the normal clothes I try on to impress people. I tell myself that people make these connections when young classmates. During those years, I just kept moving on. And people make those connections in their families, but my brothers and I are very, very different. Pursuing this line of inquiry makes me sad, so I laugh myself out of it. I enjoy being a hermit in the company of cats. I enjoy writing this and that and reading short poems and long novels and not having any demands on my time. And so I don the clothes of a relaxed stay-at-home or I sit here naked as I wish. There is no one to make me rush for cover. I love being naked. But that, my dear imagined readers, only leads me to another story.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i> <i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-57564152788107686032020-05-22T11:50:00.001-04:002020-05-22T11:50:12.317-04:00Writin with Jesse
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Vast and particular</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Fascination and anger</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Clown</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">In this vast pandemic the world seems
united, smaller than usual, though we still have the haves and the
have nots. I just heard from my Bengali friend, the Indian poet who
was my partner at Poets United for three years. There the poor have
been laid off work and are struggling to get back to their families,
struggling to stay alive. In comes the winds and floods—cyclone
runs, and she is grateful for her strong roof. I am grateful for
mine. It is a white box I sit in, with a grey top. The winds take
down the deadwood but the house withstands the battering of the dead
and the dying. All that dark red is outside, swirling like a scream,
and in here I have a calm, a golden flame that is amazingly steady
despite the wind. How odd that it persists whether I feel fear,
anger, despair or giddiness. I pray that everyone has it, this
little house of heart that shelters their flame whether walking the
road, drenched and hungry or sitting ensconced in front of media,
full with enough or hoarding against fear. Sumana is in almost
constant prayer with a mantra that takes the edges and escapes off
her absorption into the universe. She cannot write, barely eats,
though, oddly, she sometimes watches the NY Governor talk and hopes
he becomes president. She cannot write, and neither can I. She has
had to let her servantrs go, as they wanted to join the mecca back to
their family homes. She loaded them with money and gifts and
gratitude. I who have never had servants struggle to understand her
NORMAL. It is not the same as serfdom or English manors where
nobility are responsible for towns. It is more intimate, like
sharing the home with another family. I gave up sharing a home when
I became a professor. Cats and books and paper and media became my
only companions, and they are still. I have given nothing up, but
I've grown smaller anyway. No more public performance. No more
attempts to publish. No more excursions to rallies and large
gatherings. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have become my grandmother, sitting surrounded by art
and my own work, but looking with longing out the windows to the world. In
here it is modified paisley and subdued greens, soft like feather
blankets, each seat a pleasure. Outside the universe and viruses are
dancing, wild and free, as if humans had never constrained or tamed
them and turned them to their own use. They are recalling their ancestors, hoping to resurrect them. Oh, yes, I am reading <i>Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind</i> a tome by Yuval Noah Harari. He puts words and philosophy to particulars I've long suspected. I know what we have done.</div>
</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Blue succumbs to red
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The sky a mirror of blood
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">we shed, pretending.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I hide in pine tree</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">havens where soft browns
and greens</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">soften existence.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><i></i><br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><i>Can I live here forever?</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I ask white pine.
Only if </span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">you entwine roots with everyone.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><i></i><br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><i></i><br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Jesse says that I Seek Justice for a larger world even
when writing personally. </i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i> She noticed when I noticed color.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-37278891583016003782020-05-07T17:25:00.001-04:002020-05-07T17:25:25.976-04:00On viewing the National Theatre's Anthony and Cleopatra 5/7/2020<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
<a href="https://susanspoetry.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-playful-pair.html">A Playful Pair </a>
</h3>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="At the top of their game … Sophie Okonedo as Cleopatra and Ralph Fiennes as Antony." itemprop="contentUrl" src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6d2b94cf7ff37cf4545e21efd022ea20122ba631/0_0_5784_3856/master/5784.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=fc50eea91fb3812424678fcfddafc6d3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: middle;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/27/antony-and-cleopatra-review-sophie-okonedo-ralph-fiennes-magnificent-match-national-theatre"><i>Guardian review of Anthony and Cleopatra</i></a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Heaven help me! I found the death</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">of Anthony comic, Shakespeare’s</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">words rendered ridiculous by the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">behavior of their characters.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mind you, I am not used to stage</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">on screen—the projection needed</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">become mere yelling on film, and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">not the famous nobler caressing language.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of fame and fortune I cannot</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">speak when Shakespeare demotes
women</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">as in today’s production wherein</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cleopatra so rarely rules.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But is nobility possible</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">in our world, where words are
suspect</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">and pronouncements of honor are</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">laughable even without profit?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Poorest Cleopatra’s final praise</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">of Anthony questions his life—</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Could he exist? She does only</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">in death. And the comedy ends.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Comedy is supposed to end</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">in marriage, but here the world</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ends in relief. The day ends, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">and our downy windows close.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>My blog poems are rough drafts.</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> <i>Please respect my copyright.</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>If you quote, credit this page.</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: purple; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i> </i> <i>© 2020 Susan L. Chast</i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-834340550340947913.post-42015420250141218362020-02-10T18:52:00.001-05:002020-02-10T18:52:58.852-05:00A Mary Oliver poem<div align="left">
<span class="size14" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><b><i>Morning Poem</i></b></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="Courier14" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px; min-height: 20px;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="Courier14" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px; min-height: 20px;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Every morning</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">the world</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">is created. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Under the orange </span></div>
<div align="center">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">sticks of the sun</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">the heaped</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">ashes of the night</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">turn into leaves again </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">and fasten themselves to the high branches ---</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">and the ponds appear</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">like black cloth</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">on which are painted islands </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">of summer lilies. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">If it is your nature</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">to be happy</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">you will swim away along the soft trails </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">for hours, your imagination</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">alighting everywhere. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">And if your spirit</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">carries within it </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="Courier14" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 20px; min-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">the thorn</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">that is heavier than lead ---</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">if it's all you can do</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">to keep on trudging --- </span></div>
<div align="center">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">there is still</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">somewhere deep within you</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">a beast shouting that the earth</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">is exactly what it wanted --- </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">each pond with its blazing lilies</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">is a prayer heard and answered</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">lavishly, </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">every morning, </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">whether or not</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">you have ever dared to be happy, </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">whether or not</span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;">you have ever dared to pray. </span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i></i><br /></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i>from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver </i></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span class="size12" style="color: #351c75; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><i style="background-color: white;">© Mary Oliver</i></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Thank you for visiting!</div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723639294340760325noreply@blogger.com0