October 23: Voting Early

I used to wait in the dark, outside of a dank and dreary sort-of-community center so that I could vote at 6AM when they opened. I often did not get home until the polls closed. I knew it was important even if it was not convenient. The first time I ever voted early was in 2024 when they were talking about record turnout and long lines in my area. I waited in a long enough line voting early that year! 

The signs popped up this week reminding us all that early voting (in NJ) starts tomorrow. I'll be voting early again this year just to make sure I get my vote into the system. There may still be lines, but my vote is important. Its not just a responsibility, it's also a right as a citizen of this country to make our voices known. 

VOTE

Oct 22: Frozen Moment in Time

One afternoon as the crisp autumn winds tried in vain to evict those stubborn clouds, I wrapped myself in a terry bathrobe and a huge towel at the edge of my personal infinity pool overlooking the Adriatic. I dipped my legs into the icy water until they were numb, and then, for a couple of hours, I allowed my worries and cares to float into the abyss. I drifted in and out of Mad Mabel but to be honest, reading was stressful as I soaked up a certainly once in a lifetime moment. 

I thought about the opportunity to touch the same Colosseum as the gladiators and the chance to make orecchietti in a centuries old kitchen, grateful that I can still walk 15,000 steps a day when I need to do so!  I was alone, up there on the edge of the sea and yet I was there with all who were not there with me. 

It took several attempts to extricate myself from that aging chair inches from the stone, the water and view. The gigantic Mediterranean flora begged me to stay while the waves promised the Apulian seafood feast was still hours away! Perhaps, I thought, I needed just a few more minutes even if I was shivering? Perhaps, I needed to really freeze that moment in time!

October 20: SOLTravel

 

It's Tuesday, Slice of Life Day. 

I missed last week because I was busy exploring and learning outside of my usual space; the opportunity to travel is indeed a gift. 

I'm back home, jet lagged, happy,

Reminded that marvelous sunrises 

Breathtaking coastlines are everywhere,

Incredible dry limestone houses

Roots in the 1400s, worthy of gnome

Fairy families are available 

For you to rent only in Alberobello,

Not too far from Ancient Ruins where

Gladiators roamed nearly 2000 years ago,

Where you have to travel for the chance

To climb many steps with 2000

Of your closest friends from around the world.

=

Ethical ELA Open Write:Your Great Brown Eyes

 It's the last day of Ethical ELA this month and our host is Denise Krebs. She asks us to find the 7th book in a pile, turn to page 7, read the 7th line and write a 7 line poem! I spent yesterday going through my antique school book collection and so I went there for inspiration. I took one of the Brooks Readers from the American Book Company 1905 which really isn't one of my favorites but was the 7th book in the pile! I took the 7th and 8th lines from the poem, To My Dog Blanco by J.G Holland: I look into you great brown eyes Where love and loyal homage shine.  Sorry Denise, but that 8th line is just too great to not use it!

I chose to write about a very sad day when I backed my car into our aging collie who had fallen and could not get up.. It still brings me to tears.

I didn't know you had fallen 

Behind my car, into the snowbank,

Where your blond hair merged with the sunrise

Until my wheels felt your aging mass

I looked teafully into you great brown eyes 
Where love and loyal homage still glimmered

Ethical ELA: That Sponge

Today's Ethical ELA Host, Matt Esenwine asks us to write a MBOE poem! This is a Most Boring Object Ever poem of something like a dirty rubber band! You think of an object, make a list of words that come to mind and then write a short poem! 

Resting from a long day

Its many irregular cells exhausted

The faded blue cellulose dries slowly

Leaving a hardening blob waiting

For another cup and spoon in need.

It's a rough life for the flexible

Workhorse who rarely leaves the

Kitchen sink until it's replaced by

A fresh dye-job version sleeping

Under the pipes.

Ethical ELA: October 17 : Take the Trip

Saturday's Ethical ELA Joel Garza asked us to write 6 lines (1,2,3).  I was traveling and I was tired with Weak internet so I started but am posting it now. 

We were exhausted as we waited in Zurich, for a long time.

After a chance to make decadent orecchiette, eat magnificent mussels, and explore tiny Trulli homes while visiting seemingly unreal basilicas on every corner.

We needed that long pause with a chance to decompress, an opportunity to recharge, and time to prepare to reenter those lives we left behind after the gift of a memorable journey into ancestry along with reminders of the kindness and generosity of people everywhere in our fragile world. 

October 11: What We Leave

I've thought a lot about what we leave behind this week as I reflect on the memory of a kind, generous and proud matriarch and explore a new to me culture. 

Jean left behind a legacy of learning, family, and kindness for her family, church and community.   I could not help but think of her as well as other legacies that have remained for centuries as I traveled this week

SOL: Karma

Today, I am sharing thoughts with my Slice of Life community. 

It's clearly fall, I thought as I walked among the acorn debris left by aggressive squirrels into the brilliant sunshine peeking over the horizon leading my thoughts to the Buddha message, If you light a lamp for anyone, it will brighten your path," It's a bit funny that message and the bright sunshine should merge with my thinking about Karma, that ancient idea that our actions, good or bad, boomerang back to us over time.

It has happened multiple times this week. People using the actions of others (including me) for their own benefit, taking advantage of abundance of waste in business or over billing claims. Those in education likely have experience with people claiming ownership of your work or ideas; yet, it is far more a widespread practice that makes me sad as well as apprehensive for their future.  

Yeah, yeah yeah....everybody does it, maybe, but that does not make it right!  Even though I am headed shortly to visit the big boss, I sure do not need the dark side of Karma. 

 

• 
  

Oct 4: Spiritual Journey: Trust

The October Spiritual Journey's theme is Trust. Patricia Franz asks us to reflect on trust and patience with God’s interaction in our lives. You can read her post here.

I used to trust people, rules, this path of our journey easily. At times, I accepted even when I did not agree and embraced even when I was hesitant, trusting in the wisdom of others and trusting things would work out for the best in the end. At times, colleagues, family and a legal system I trusted used that trust to augment their own goals at my expense.

Yet, over time I have realized that I must trust in my creator, who is beside me even when I falter, and rooting for me even when my prayers are not answered. I am never alone even when I feel alone on this journey like that morning, not too many years ago when I could not see the path ahead as I sat on the end of the dock when that sunbeam reached down from above and touched my toes and my heart. I could not have planned or imagined the path out of that hole that morning; yet, I am very glad I trusted I was not alone.

O

End Sept: How Will I?

The usual crowd was making waves during aqua class this morning, I could feel the water warm with the release of diverse intense emotions as we pushed and kicked that forgiving water. There were those who scheduled their appointments to make the class as well as those heading out a bit early to fight a plethora of issues. There were several defying cancer themselves and even more fitting the class between care-giving of spouses, adult children, and grands. Some would be heading to work or volunteer responsibilities as soon as they were dressed and others would be off to look at nursing homes for loved ones or to face hospice decisions. As we exited the pool, the multitude of issues moved swiftly to return to their positions of power and as we dressed, thoughts became audible. 

I was still damp behind the ears when I left the locker room, but filled with reminders of the immense challenges that had warmed the pool moment before. 

She's rushing off for a scan, 

Praying its manageable, 

He's hobbling out to yoga, 

Hoping to keep going, despite aches and pains,

They're off to find help for an adult child,

Whose challenges were not anticipated,

She's is off to find a post retirement job,

He's off to fill the hole in his heart

They're filled with concerns:

Will the prices continue to rise?

How will the money last?

Can we afford to stay or to move?

Is there a solution to this problem?

• How will I deal with....?