Jo Myers-Walker, artist

She was about ten years old when she discovered what life was all about for her.  She would be an artist!

Jo's mother had given her the freedom to paint her own bedroom.  And did she ever paint!  Feeling the need for beauty all around her, she filled the walls with trees, flowers, and vines.  From that childhood moment, she and her parents realized that she had a special gift, that this was what her life had to be.

After graduating from Iowa State University, Jo began teaching in Iowa colleges and exhibiting her art wherever she could.  That didn't bring much income, but what was important to her was the joy in living that she was able to portray through her art.  

She was commissioned by her parish, St. Thomas Aquinas Student Center at Iowa State University, to create a Story Wall of stories from the Bible.  With no clear idea of what she would do, she started molding clay until she recognized life taking shape within her fingers.  She filled the 30- by 16-foot wall with figures such as Jesus washing the feet of his apostles, the prodigal son, Jesus with the children--and more.  See the story wall -- here 

At one point she took a leap of faith and purchased a 110-year-old bank in Gilbert, Iowa.  A bank vault became her office.  The teller's drawers held kitchen supplies.  She cleaned and polished everything, and covered the walls with brightly colored murals.  In remembrance of an earlier trip to France, she christened it "The Left Bank Studio."

As you can imagine, that studio bears little resemblance to the somber bank it once was.  A constant stream of students comes through to take classes, absorbing from Jo her belief that art is a personal expression of one's spirituality--viewpoint, beliefs, joys, fears, and sorrows.  A favorite theme of hers is "negative space."  When people say that they can't paint, don't know what to paint, she tells them to look at something (a chair, a building, a person) and, instead of trying to paint that object, look at what is behind it, around it.  Let your mind see what shapes might be hiding there.  Once a student accepts this idea and tries to use his imagination, it is a very freeing process.

Jo developed her present mission of ministering through art to the terminally ill and their families when her mother had a stroke, followed by a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.  She found that her mother experienced some peace and joy through this means of self-expression.  The hospice team asked her to help other patients, and it all blossomed.  Families started coming to her studio, where they find some relief from stress through the brightly colored artwork, as well as from Jo's natural talent as a listener and nurturer.

If you find her story interesting, Jo has a blog which tells, and shows, so much more about her and her work.  I got most of this information originally from a story written by Sue Stanton in the Catholic magazine, St. Anthony Messenger this past July.  Jo's blog updates a couple of important developments since then: 
1) She is selling the Left Bank Studio as a means of simplifying her life; 
2) The Story Wall suffered smoke damage in a recent fire, and will require an  extensive and sensitive cleaning process.

You can find Jo's blog here .  Be sure to check out the "Online Gallery" to get a real feel for her artistic work.  And you will want to look at the "Tomato Bisque Soup Club" to get a feel for the person she is.  I don't know about you, but it definitely looks like a place where I would like to spend some time!

Tiny Bug with a Big Shadow

Awake in the middle of the night.  Trying to recapture sleep by reading from a book in hopes of calming my middle-of-the-night what-ifs, the thoughts that hardly make a blip during the day but that suddenly loom huge and important at two a.m.

I notice two paired specks skittering around the page.  The bigger one is actually a hazy shadow, thrown by my booklight as it illuminates the meanderings of a bug so tiny that only a magnifying glass would reveal its features.  The bug itself is smaller than the "i" in the print of the word "porcupine." 

I'm reading an essay by Pam Houston, "Looking for Abbey's Lion."  She's talking about her wilderness experiences, about how the call of imagination can override reality.  I can relate to that.

The bug moves.  I can't say it crawls, since it is so tiny that I see no legs--just an eighth-inch dark line dragging a fuzzy shadow two or three times its size.   Up and down the page it goes, heedlessly highlighting a hodgepodge of words--"pine trees," "complicated," "timberwolf," "stumbled," "ptarmigan."  Not a very organized reader!

Suddenly it jumps? flies?  It has no visible means of disappearance, but it's gone.  Whoops, now it's back on the facing page.  How did it get there?  But wherever it goes, it brings its shadow for company.  Is it looking for something to eat?  I can't imagine what it can find between the pages of a book that are opened only for a brief period at night.  But, then, I guess a bug that tiny can make dinner on some very small specks.

Now, I could go on and try to find something profound in all this, try to squeeze out a meaningful lesson from a little bug with a big shadow.  Or I could just relax and enjoy the experience.  I think I'll do that.

But I do appreciate the essay, so I resolve to look up Pam Houston.  
And here she is! 

What do you know?!  I find that she is a local gal--for at least part of each year.  She is the director of the creative writing program at UC Davis (right next door here to Sacramento), flying back and forth between Davis, her home in Colorado, and a full schedule of worldwide adventuring.

To top it all off, I see that our local paper, The Sacramento Bee, ran an interview with her less than a year ago.  I'm sure that I read it, but somehow it didn't stick with me.  Darn!  I don't remember everything I read!  Does that ever happen to you?

Just in case you are a nature lover who likes to follow up on any interesting leads, the book containing Houston's story is Sisters of the Earth, 2nd edition, published April, 1991.






You can even find the essay, "Looking for Abbey's Lion," if you click here.
Scroll down to the third section in the list of contents and you'll find it under the heading, "Her Wildness."  "Abbey" is Edward Abbey of Monkey Wrench Gang fame.  So, if you are a lover of the outdoors, of the wild things within us and around us, you will love this little gem.  

As for me, I don't know that I would trade my little bug for Abbey's lion.  A real live bug on a page at the right time might be worth even more than a mountain lion in the wild.  And, for sure, I've lived to tell about it.

"Polar Wives" Can Be Yours

This is the book I mentioned in my blog,
"How Far to the South Pole?"

I would like to give it away to one of my readers--to thank you for reading my wild assortment of posts.

 All you have to do is email me (mgieszel@surewest.net) with the 
answer to my question:
"Why am I especially interested in the recent news about the ship, Terra Nova?"

Anyone who responds correctly will have your name put in a hat (or maybe a paper bag).  Get your response to me by at least Friday.  On Saturday morning I will have a non-interested party (my husband?) pull out one name, and I'll send you the book through the mail.  Please include your postal address in case Saturday is your lucky day!

The Revolution is Coming!

This one is for music lovers--which, hopefully, includes a great many of you.

There's a new kid in town, called the Classical Revolution.  It's all about bringing classical music to the masses, making it accessible to ordinary people, mostly free, and in everyday settings--meaning outside of concert halls.

 This grassroots movement started in San Francisco in 2006 and has spread to more than thirty chapters across the nation.  According to one chapter's home website, "Classical Revolution seeks to build community by bringing classical music to nontraditional venues such as bars and coffee shops."

 This past Friday, Aug. 17, I was fortunate to be able to attend one of their local concerts.  True to the organization's manifesto, it was held in a very simple venue, Shady Coffee & Tea, on Douglas Boulevard here in Roseville.  Everything was very informal--their dress, the dimly lit covered patio, the tables pushed aside and chairs placed in rows. 

Jennifer Reason - digital piano

Justine Hamlin - clarinet

 

But the music was wonderful!  Such talent!  Such joyous enthusiasm for the beautiful sounds they could produce from their instruments!  There were five musicians in all.  One played the digital piano--first with a solo piece, then as accompanist to the others in turn.  There was no program, so I don't know the composers and their works, but the music was more contemporary than Beethoven, Mozart, etc.  Some of it was very unusual, truly beautiful and energetic.

I took a few pictures, but you'll have to excuse the poor quality of the photos.  As I said, it was dimly lit, and I didn't want to use flash.  And all were so caught up in the performance that they moved constantly in their enthusiasm for the music.

Jai-Mo Chen - cello

Cathie Apple - flute and Liz Bardon - French horn

The next Classical Revolution Sacramento will be held this Thursday, Aug. 23, at 8:00, at Bows & Arrows, 1815 19th St.  You will be in for a very special treat if you can possibly make it.  You can find Classical Revolution Sacramento on Facebook.

Of course, some of you don't live anywhere near Sacramento or San Francisco (what a pity!), but you can see if there is a chapter near you.  If not now, keep on checking back, as there are new ones forming all the time. 

How Far to the South Pole?

That's not a question I normally think about.  It just came to me the other day when I saw this 24-hour photo of star trails taken directly overhead from the South Pole.  Thinking about it sort of blew my mind.  I experience that phenomenon rather frequently, hence my reason for naming this blog "Mind Wide Open."

With Sacramento at latitude 38.52° north and the South Pole at 90° south, these two earth locations are approximately 128.5 degrees apart.  Since a degree of latitude is roughly 69.2 miles, the South Pole is almost 9000 miles away from where I live.

But, of course, there is 9000 miles and there is 9000 miles!  You know what I mean.  It all depends upon where you are going and how difficult it is to get there.   Sacramento to Los Angeles is slightly under 400 miles, a very long day's drive in a car.  On a plane you can fly down in the morning, attend a business meeting, and fly home in time for a late dinner.

The 1700-1800 miles between Kansas City and Sacramento can be covered by several days of intense driving or by a few hours in a plane.  How can we even compare this to the life-changing, and for many, life-ending, journey it took for the pioneer families to come in their covered wagons?

I just finished reading Polar Wives, a recent book by Kari Herbert.  She writes about the early attempts to explore the unknown world of the north and south poles, basically in the decades on either side of 1900.  Her viewpoint, though, centers on the wives.  Yes, they spent years left behind wondering and worrying, usually with no reliable communication.  But, in many instances, they were enthusiastic partners, integral to the whole work of procuring funds to outfit the expeditions, and sometimes persuading governments to rescue their stranded husbands and crew.

How far was the South Pole for those early European explorers?  It was years away.  After years spent obtaining funds, the ocean voyage was the least time-consuming part of their quest.  But the hard, often impossible, task was the overland trek with sleds, skis, dogs, ponies--and a way to provide the food needed for many months.  

The early 1900s saw a huge challenge in trying to be the first to reach the geographical South Pole, even though there would be nothing there, of course, but more snow.  Robert Scott had spent years preparing, and by 1910 he was ready, sure that he would win the honor for England.  Almost at the last minute, Norwegian Roald Amundsen decided that he, too, would undertake the quest to reach the South Pole from a different starting point on the Antarctic continent.  Things didn't go well for Scott along the way, but, with four chosen men, he finally reached the coveted spot on Jan. 17, 1912, only to find that Amundsen had planted the Norwegian flag there five weeks previously.  We have all heard the tragedy--that, on the attempted return to base camp, all five members of that final expedition died of exhaustion and starvation.  They were only eleven miles from a food cache, but the extreme weather kept them from reaching it.

How far away is the South Pole now?  Not nearly as far as it used to be.  In 1956 the United States built the Amundsen-Scott Station for scientific research, and it has been continually occupied ever since.

And, yes, you can go there! Here is some information on how to travel to the South Pole.
Modern flight makes it possible for almost anyone--of any age--to have this experience.  All that is necessary is that you can climb the few steps into and out of the airplane and can walk on some uneven ice.  Be a polar explorer!  Oh yes, you will also have to fit it into your budget--about $45,000.  Put it on your bucket list!  The South Pole isn't so far away, after all!

Mendocino Botanical Gardens

Over the 4th of July we took a trip with some of our friends to an RV park near Ft. Bragg, on the coast.  We have made this trip before, and each time one of the highlights for me is meandering through the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.

I will include here just a few of the photos that I took there recently.  It is an ideal climate for lush gardens of beautiful flowers.

 
I happened to catch this flower just at the right moment, when a ray of sunlight was illuminating its center.  It looks like it's glowing from the inside.

At first I thought it must be some exotic species, but it's common enough.  This is a variety of Hypericum (St. John's Wort).  It was growing along the path in a damp area called Fern Trail.

This is one of my favorites, a fuchsia variety.  They grow profusely over there
--in many colors--in that cool, damp climate.









And here's an "artsy" photo--my tripod lying beside
some dandelions along the trail.

Follow Up - Temple Grandin

After my last post my sister-in-law Marie Gieszelmann pointed out that the July-August issue of Smithsonian has a one-page article written by Temple Grandin.  Those of you who subscribe to this magazine will want to check it out on page 10.

Grandin makes some interesting observations about the different types of thinking styles.  She herself thinks in pictures, not in words.  That is why she is so successful in her business of designing livestock facilities.  She sees the whole project in her mind before she even draws it.


She says that "[I]n addition to visual thinking, there is pattern thinking and word thinking."  Each style has its strengths, and, working together, they complement each other in accomplishing various objectives.

Temple Grandin

Sometimes I have to ask myself, "Where have I been all my life?"  You would think that, with all my reading on various subjects, and especially being involved with persons with disabilities, that I would know something about Temple Grandin, presently one of the world's best-known individuals with autism.

Actually, I believe that her name passed by me some time ago, but it obviously didn't make much of an impression.  So, when I read about her recently in one of Dr. Oliver Sacks' books, (An Anthropologist on Mars 1995), it was like entering into new and exciting territory. 

I have to admit to very limited exposure to and understanding of this condition.  In recent years it is being talked about increasingly in the media, but usually children are the ones featured, very little said about adults.  We know that autism interferes very seriously with the child's ability to learn, to speak, and to function socially.  As for adults with autism, my first thought would be of the strange character played by Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man."


Now that I have done some reading, I can think of some adults I have known who probably have the characteristics of autism.  Most of us might label them as odd, weird, loners--not able to interact normally in a group.  Maybe we need to learn more.

Temple Grandin was born in 1947 and diagnosed with autism at age 2.  Little was known then about the condition, and at that time doctors were busy putting the blame on mothers for their failure to bond with the child.  Apparently her mother didn't know about, or didn't bother with, such theories because Temple was enrolled at an early age in a structured nursery school and given intense speech therapy, so that she began speaking at age 4.  She was very intelligent, but her middle school and high school years were extremely lonely and difficult because of her inability to relate normally with peers.


Because of the special kinship she has always felt with animals (beginning as a child with the horses and cattle on her aunt's ranch), she followed that line of study, earning a doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois.  She is now a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior.  And in 2010 she was named one of Time Magazine's 100 People who most affect our world.

Temple Grandin is quite an amazing person!  She is very much aware of how different she is from others.  She herself is the one who says that she often feels like "an anthropologist on Mars," having to make a conscious study of the ways to fit into normal society.  This has never come naturally to her.  Knowing how to speak and act around others has always been a learned behavior, never something she picks up naturally, as the rest of us do by just living among people.  She cannot internalize the social signals that pass effortlessly between others.

In spite of her differences, she comes across as quite likeable.  She is friendly and talkative, although Dr. Sacks notes that in their conversations Temple tends to speak with an unstoppable intensity and fixity, as though once a sentence or paragraph is started it has to be completed, nothing left hanging.  


Since the mid-1980s she has been lecturing, on the subjects of both autism and animal husbandry.  Dr. Sacks reports that, when she first began public speaking, Temple tended not to have eye contact with the audience, sometimes even looking in a different direction.  She has gradually developed a much more fluent style, although she could still not be described as relaxed, as a 2010 video attests.  The video is 19 minutes long, so you may, or may not, decide to watch all of it.  It certainly shows much about the person she is, though.  And I found it fascinating to see how she ends her lecture.  She simply stops her rapid-fire delivery, saying, "Well, that's the end of my talk.  I just want to thank everybody for coming.  It's great to be here."  (at 15:50 min.)  Then she stops and just stands there.  Here is the video, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds."


While doing all this research, I was impressed by how driven she is to make a difference in the world for good.  In Dr. Temple Grandin's Official Autism Website, she says that the "true meaning of life is if you do something that makes real change for somebody or for something.  That's what matters." 


As their visit was drawing to an end, Dr. Sacks writes that Temple spoke very intensely, wanting to tell him about something very important to her.  She wept as she told him that she wants to leave something of herself in the universe. 
       
      Most people can pass on genes--I can pass on thoughts or what I write.
      I've read that libraries are where immortality lies. . . . I don't want my
      thoughts to die with me. . . . I want to have done something. . . . I'm 
      not interested in power, or piles of money.  I want to leave something
      behind.  I want to make a positive contribution--know that my life has
      meaning.  Right now, I'm talking about things at the very core of my
      existence.

Dr. Temple Grandin is perhaps not typical of individuals with autism.  She certainly stands out from the crowd.  But she makes us realize that we can never try to fit any person into a mold.  Never see only the limitations of the disability.  You just don't know who, with the right help and circumstances, might be the one to take off and soar.
=========================================================================

There is so much more to say about Temple Grandin.  I learned much from reading about her and watching the videos.  She is someone I admire and would love to meet.  If you have any interest in going further, here are some things to check out:

 Wikipedia article

A film was made in 2010, starring Claire Danes:  Temple Grandin
I haven't seen it yet, but will be getting it from Netflix.

Temple has written several books, including her autobiography, Emergence, Labeled Autistic.
 




 



 

Eyes--Ya Gotta Love 'Em

Dear old eyes!  They serve us well for many decades and, we hope, for several more.  But that's where we first begin to notice those extra lines--WRINKLES!  Oh no!  They show that I am getting to be an old person!  They no longer look like this:

(They never did, actually--but you get the idea.)

Well, let me tell you (says I to myself)--Just be happy that they are working.  I've had occasion to face the alternative lately. 



Because of extreme nearsightedness I have worn contact lenses for most of my life.  They have served me very well, with a minimum of inconvenience, giving me very satisfactory visual acuity.


Several years ago, though, I began to notice that my right eye just wasn't giving me the same clear distance vision as before.  Even though the eye exam in the optometrist's office showed that I was seeing 20/20, that just wasn't the case in real-life situations. When a cataract was diagnosed in that eye, I readily agreed to have that corrected with the now-common, painless, relatively simple type of surgery available . (Yes, it's covered by Medicare).


It helped, but it obviously wasn't the whole solution.  No amount of prescription change would give me good acuity in that eye (outside of the doctor's office with black letters on the white chart).  During one exam I did tell him that, although I could identify the letters, they were "dancing," the best term I could find to explain the fact that they did not follow one after the other in a straight line.  He was amused, saying that he had never heard anyone say that before, but he didn't know what to think of it.


My husband was going to a different optometrist, who diagnosed in him a few mild symptoms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), so Ed had a small Amsler Grid hanging on the fridge to monitor his eyes for any changes.  Looking at it with one eye at a time, my left eye saw a regular pattern of straight perpendicular lines.  With my right eye (the one in question) it looked like a chain link fence! (see Amsler Grid)

So I went to see Ed's optometrist who, when I described my symptoms, immediately gave me a 3D retinal scan (OCT - Optical Coherence Tomography).  This new technique, which visualizes the retina in depth on a computer screen, showed that I had some significantly large drusen (fatty deposits) behind my retina.  The retina, where light is focused for vision, is supposed to be completely smooth.  The drusen, however, make it bumpy--like something wadded up under a tight sheet, he explained.  Since my retina doesn't have a completely smooth surface, the light can't focus as perfectly as it should.  (I like to think of it as trying to focus the light rays on a head of cauliflower).  So that's why I was seeing dancing letters and chain-link fences!


With age, almost everybody develops some drusen.  But they can become symptomatic if they get large enough.  There is, as yet, no direct treatment to eliminate them, but nutritional supplements have been found to help the body reabsorb them.  The doctor suggested that I take AREDS2 (which contains a high dose of Omega-3 fatty acids) and additional Lutein/Zeaxanthin.  Yes, a diet high in these nutrients is great, and is certainly recommended as a preventive measure.  But a person already finding symptoms of macular degeneration would have to eat enormous quantities of them in order to equal what is in the supplements.

I started the supplements almost a year ago and have had several followup retinal scans.
There has been a significant improvement (shrinkage) in the size of drusen!

Some of the cones on my retina have already been damaged (they enable us to see in color) and will probably not recover, so I will always have some difficulty in distinguishing slight color differences (contrast sensitivity, he calls it).

But there is definite hope that my macular degeneration has been halted.  I certainly look forward to having adequate, clear vision for many, many years--thanks to a timely diagnosis.

Whether our eyes still look comparatively young and unwrinkled

or show the years of life that we have been fortunate enough to enjoy,

we can just be thankful that they enable us to see the beauty all around.
                        It's what's inside that counts!

If you are young and unconcerned, you've probably had enough of all this!
But I just wanted to share my experience.  I am so grateful that I found a doctor with the equipment to diagnose this and with the information on how to slow or arrest the AMD before it progressed to serious vision loss.  

If you can relate to any of these symptoms, please do yourself a favor and follow up on them.  
Here are sites for more information, if you wish:
Facts about Age-Related Macular Degeneration
and a newsletter written in layperson's terms, WebRN Macular Degeneration News

 

Before I die I want to . . .

You never know when something is going to come out of the blue and hit you with its significance.  That happened to me recently while listening to NPR on the car radio.

The host was interviewing a young couple from Washington, D.C., about a project they had done.  I didn't catch all the details about its exact location, but I remember that it was in a heavily populated, non-affluent area of the city.  A graffitied wall, or maybe an old run-down former store-front, served as a place to put up sheets of black chalkboard, with lined columns where passersby could finish the statement, "Before I die, I want to . . ."

They purposely installed it in the middle of the night, so that their activity would attract the least attention.  By early morning they went home to sleep but were awakened at 11 AM by a friend calling to say that half the board was filled up already.  The day saw a steady stream of people contributing their hopes and dreams.  When all the spaces were filled, people would write on the edges, add to other comments, or even erase someone's wish and write in that space.  I don't know how long they left the project there, but every night they would erase the board, and it would fill up the next day.

...I want to pilot a plane

The things people wrote were of an amazing variety!

Of course, there were the usual sentiments: "write a great novel," "see my granddaughter married," "go skydiving" (a lot of this last one!)

But many were beautiful and altruistic: "start many free health clinics," "impact a child's life," "tell my mother I love her."

One that struck me as truly heartfelt: "be the one that she thinks I am and I know I am."
Naturally there were a few, but definitely the minority, who wrote things like "get rich" and "get even with ------." 

This couple was actually following the lead of New Orleans artist Candy Chang, who started this cooperative art work in her city.  The project grew out of some tragic losses she had suffered several years earlier.  Chang says, With help from friends and neighbors, I turned the side of an abandoned house in my neighborhood into a giant chalkboard to invite people to share what is important to them. Before I Die transforms a neglected space into a constructive one where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.

 

See the original Before I Die project in New Orleans here

They are popping up in many different cities, some in Spanish if that is the predominant language of the neighborhood.

Of course, in the true entrepreneurial spirit, someone has made it available as a toolkit for purchase

Anyway, I just think it's a fascinating idea--a way for a person to dig deep into his/her dreams and desires, and a positive opportunity for people to connect with others in their neighborhood.

If you've had enough of all this--I hope you enjoyed learning about it, and thanks for stopping by. 

If you are like me, and always want to find out more, here are a couple more sites to check out.

1) There is also a Polaroid Before I Die project, in which people write their comment on their instant photo--while Polaroid film is still available.

2) And the lady who started all this has her website at candychang.com

Answering Hatred with Roses

It was all over the news today!  A huge crowd (est. 40,000) gathered in a central square of Oslo, Norway, to nullify the actions and words of Anders Behring Breivik.  

Breivik, who expresses no remorse for his cold-blooded killing of 77 defenseless people (mostly teenagers), testified that he hated the song "Children of the Rainbow" because "it is an example of how 'cultural Marxists' have infiltrated Norwegian schools and weakened its society."

"Children of the Rainbow" is a Norwegian translation of Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Race," written by him in answer to the social upheavals of the 1960s and released on his 1971 album of that title.   

Since I wasn't familiar with "Rainbow Race," I looked it up on Youtube.  I found it to be a wonderful song, especially moving in light of this story.  Here's a video of Pete singing "Rainbow Race" in 1971.

In 1975 Norwegian folk-singer Lillebjoern Nilsen translated it into his native language and it has been very popular there ever since, especially among school children. This accounts for Breivik's statement that it has "infiltrated Norwegian schools."

In response, Norwegians of all ages gathered yesterday (April 26) by the tens of thousands as Nilsen led them in singing "Children of the Rainbow."  Afterwards they walked to the Oslo courthouse and carpeted the steps with red and white roses.

Norwegians by and large feel that the best way to react to the gunman is by demonstrating their commitment to everything he loathes.  Instead of obsessing on feelings of rage and violence, they choose to show support for tolerance and democracy. One youth group leader said, "We aren't here because of him, but because of each other."

 And here you can see Norwegians singing "Children of the Rainbow" yesterday in Youngstorget, Oslo.

 The chorus to Pete Seeger's original is:

       One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shore,
       One earth so green and round, Who could ask for more?
       And because I love you, I'll give it one more try
       To show my rainbow race it's too soon to die.

This is the Norwegian translation:
        A sky full of stars, blue seas as far as you can see,
        An earth where flowers grow, Can you wish for more?
        Together shall we live, every sister, brother,
        Young children of the rainbow, a fertile land.

As the Poet Hears and Sees

What do you see here?

Flowers?  Violas, to be specific.

Yes, but....
     anything else? 
















I ran across a poet recently -- well, didn't actually run into her because she died some years ago.  But she was quoted in a book (by an author that I'll talk more about at another time). 

The quoter is Ellen Gilchrist, and she was talking about how, over the years, she came to understand what was of real value to her.  Early in her life, when having to choose between nice clothes and works of art, the clothes often won.  But, with time and maturity, she thought differently and found herself living happily in a small house filled mostly with paintings and sculpture and photographs.  She never locked the door because "anybody that wanted to steal the things in that house would have been someone I wanted to meet."

She is musing over the fact that life will not give us everything we want, but perhaps it will give us some special things like, (and here she uses the words of the poet Elinor Wylie), "a very small purse, made of a mouse's hide.  Put it in your pocket and never look inside." 


For some reason, I just love the image of that small mouse purse--although I'm not sure exactly what she meant by it.  I looked up Elinor Wylie, but, of all her poems, I could not find one with that line.  I did, though, find the story of her life (1885-1928), which was not altogether happy.  She was from a well-to-do family and appreciated for her beauty and intellect, but she was never able to maintain a stable relationship.  


I see the small purse as something lovely but fanciful, not quite real.  You put it in your pocket to keep it safe and close, but it's best never to look at it too closely, for fear that you may find its existence to be only in your mind.


Her poem, A Proud Lady, must be somewhat autobiographical when she writes, 
     "You have taken the arrows and slings
      Which prick and bruise
      And fashioned them into wings
      For the heels of your shoes."


Another poem, Pretty Words, seems more light-hearted:
     "Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
      I love smooth words . . . .
      Which circle slowly with a silken swish . . . ."

    But there is still a pained undercurrent in the last stanza:
     ". . . .and honeyed words like bees,
      Gilded and sticky, with a little sting."


Somehow I think that Elinor Wylie would see more in the photo than just flowers.

And you will, too, if you sit back a little distance from the computer screen and let yourself concentrate on those two red and yellow figures.  What do you see?


Would you like to know more about Elinor Wylie and her poetry?  Click here
 

Easter Greetings

Every sunrise is a blessing from God
--new life
--new hope
--new opportunities

  May this Easter bring you 
  a special reminder 
  of this newness.









  

  Blessings and love
  and appreciation 
  of the beauty around you

And maybe a bunny and a few jelly beans!

 

Flowers the Color Purple

Throughout the world the color purple tends to have many positive meanings--both now and in history.  The Bible sees purple as signifying wealth and beauty.  In many cultures purple represents nobility and ceremony.

For whatever reason the color purple is lavishly displayed among the flowers of spring.  

 
 

One of the most recognizable
is the iris--or "flag lily" as my 
Mother used to call them.

This specimen shows the glory and power of a very dark shade of purple.

The vinca displays a lighter shade, lavender, which is related to youth and beauty.

The hyacinth (above)
and the grape hyacinth (right)
each has its own tint of beauty.

   The crocus

            
      and the freesia



      can emphasize the
      reddish tint of purple.


Whatever the shade of purple, these flowers are a lovely
and welcome sign of the beauty springing up as the earth opens its arms to a new cycle of life.