Wordless Wednesday

Tidbit Tuesday: Get Out the Vote

“Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge.
Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights.” 

–Benjamin Rush

 

I have never been one to be openly political. Politics were not a particular part of our fiber in my childhood home. You voted, period. You did not campaign and you did not debate the issues.  So writing this post, going public is a bit uncomfortable.  I don’t talk politics much. And when I do, it is with caution.  I do not like conflict.

This has been an extraordinary political season. I find myself wondering if my parents were alive, would they debate the issues, what would they say about Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, and Sarah Palin? I find myself wondering about my ancestor, Benjamin Rush. What would he have to say?

My parents spent the last ten years of their life in Arizona.  They developed strong opinions about the Arizona senator. None too pleasant.  My mother was a true Kennedy supporter so I suspect that she would vote for Obama as well as my dad.  But I can see their eyes rolling about this political season. Especially about a certain clothing expenditure.

My ancestor, Benjamin Rush, his strong conservative views and his deep faith makes me wonder if he would have voted Republican.  He also was a strong abolitionist and advocated for the education of women, so what would he think about this year’s political offerings?

Me? Education is important. Change is important. I am not better off than I was 8 years ago. I worry about the next four years under the same polictical party.  I have voted in nine presidential elections.  Voting and participating in this election has mattered to me more than any other.  I actually put a sticker on my car, one for hope that our political fiber will change. 

As you can see in the photo above I am passionate that our library bond passes.  It will mean that libraries stay open.  That a new library near me will be built.  Libraries are important to me both school and public. So this is the ballot measure I most hope succeeds. The measure is on page two so I hope people will see it! (Oregon does mail in ballots)

Bottom line:  I want everyone to vote intelligently. Be informed. Study the issues. It is disheartening to hear that how some people are making their choices, either by race or by looks. If that is how you are going to vote, please stay home.

 

 

I love this quote by John Quincy Adams: “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

Do you think voting matters?  On Monday, November 3rd, 2008, Colleen and Lee will be gathering up posts about voting to create a master list for “Blog the Vote”.

Mondala Monday: Sunflower

Sunday Scribblings: Bragging

I love to bead. There is a creative meditative quality to beading.  Others are bragging today, visit Sunday Scribblings.

This is my 250th post. Yay me!!

Sunday Silliness: Senoritis

I like fun challenges.  The most recent?  Display your senior year photo.  Thanks to Eisha and Jules at 7-Imp for talking about it and for the trip down memory lane.  I was very big into making my clothes, thus two of the pics feature dresses I made.  Recently I tried growing my hair to this length but you just cannot go back home.

Senior Class Photo, c.1970

Winter Formal Senior Year

Graduation Dress. Not a great pic but the dress is lace, lined in the body of the dress but had unlined sleeves.  My boyfriend’s mother was a little concerned at the plunging neckline at the time.  What would she say about the dresses today?

One Single Impression: Never Ending

dread telephone call
son is in hospital, come
never ending fear

Peggy, my friend and colleague is out the rest of the week.  It began with a phone call Tuesday.  Her youngest son  is in the hospital with fever and low white blood counts. 

Trouble enough, child in hospital. But this young man has Fanconi Anemia.  Tomorrow is the fifth anniversary of his oldest brother’s passing from the disease.

Tests are being run, fever has broken.  Hopefully this is a mere blip on the radar.  Send prayers her way and her son’s way.

More at One Single Impression

Mandala Monday

Wordless Wednesday

Milwaukie Farmers’ Market

Poetry Notebooks, Talking Poetry, and Day Three Poem for Baby Girl

 

Three of current notebooks, the smallest, always in my purse.

The last three weeks have been so full of life events; from the Second Annual Blogging Conference to the birth of Amelie Elizabeth to the WA-OR School Library Conference,

The school library conference featured some amazing authors.  My job was to assist with authors as they autographed  books. (I was the post-it girl, “do you need a post-it to write your name on?”   Nina Laden, author of The Day I Followed the Dog, When Pigasso Met Mootisse, Romeow and Drooliet, and others, including a darling board book, Grow-Up (shhh, a Christmas present  for Amelie) was there bright and early Saturday morning. 

A design flaw of the conference was the timing and placement of autographing. Participants had to choose between going to a session or getting an autograph.  It gave me plenty of chat time with the authors.

Nina and I chatted about many things: gluten free food, how to do the autographing and books sales next time, and then poetry. She has a great acronym for poems (Preserving Only the Essential Moments).  This so tied in with the Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry workshop the previous day.  The workshop in which she talked about carrying a small notebook for observations and thoughts.  The kind of notebook I carry with me.
Just that morning, following a drive through trip to Starbucks I wrote:

season’s first frost
fog swirls
mist

barista asks,
“can I get you anything else?”
I want to say,
“how about a cup of
world peace?”

but will he understand?
it is for a new spirit
in the world

what will her world
be like
when she is
a grandma like me?

It is all about preserving those essential moments. I am left with wondering and trying to live a writer’s life.

One Single Impression: Gold

As you can see, my life is taken up by the arrival of this new grand baby.

Big sister smile 10/08/08

Two Days Old
morning crisp, my cheeks
apple warmed by grandaughter
gold carried heart close
 

One Single Impression is about gold this week.