Welcome to sunny April!
To My Old Friend, Craig: HAPPY BIRTHDAY-
You Made it to 50...have a good one.
(Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.)
This picture was sent to me by my dear friend Rhetta. She thought I would find it interesting- which I did. Interesting and astounding.... I sent it on to my friend Eagle Bear, who had told me several times about growing up on the reservation in the Dakotas, and how it was painful to go to town and see the signs up in the store windows saying "No Dogs or Indians Allowed"... thought those days were over...
So, the task of mankind to grow wiser and kinder continues...
Also, something from one of those e-mails that get passed around, that Rhetta sent me recently: "We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some
are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors.......but they
all have to learn to live in the same box."
"It comes from men, said Holly. All other elil [evil] do what they have to do and Frith [God] moves them as he moves us. They live on the earth and they need food. Men will never rest till they’ve spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals."
-from Watership Down
I was driving to work last fall and it was lightly raining off and on all the way there, and as I was approaching work I saw a huge rainbow. I got out of my car in the parking lot and stood looking at it, I could see the beginning and the end, the brightest, most tangibly present rainbow I have ever seen. It almost had substance. It was good.
More about the B.C. sign topic... One day at work Eagle Bear was in my cubicle visiting and my wonderful friend Margaret, who escaped the tyranny of Russia by immigrating to the US, came over. An interesting discussion ensued about the history of native americans and Margaret made a point that I found quite interesting and that Bear thoughtfully acknowledged. She reflected back on the truly crushing experience that native americans had with the influx of European settlers, and she posed- "So what if the Europeans had not come? What then? (I try to write like she talks-- put in a Russian accent) Would there not have been someone else? Explorers from other countries? Would not something similar or worse have been experienced when others came? Do you think America ever could have possibly been left alone by the world?". An interesting question, at least to my mind, bringing in a little different light.
Ok, Will has been expecting some male bashing jokes from me for some reason... so, if you are game, Click Here.
This is a big month for birthdays:
the fifth was my lovely daughter Kira's big 17th birthday-
Happy Birthday Sweetie! (She'll love that...)
And the beginning of the month also celebrated the birthdays of two wonderful friends, John and Alfred. Check them out...
Earlier in the year I went to see a new client in an adult family home. She had been a single mom, supported herself and children, and now in her 80s had become quite ill and frail. She talked at length about her life, her children and her religion, and at one point commented that when I walked into her room there was a glow about me and she "knew" that I was kind. She was very chatty and we "ended" the conversation several times, although it was fun to listen to her stories and life. Then, as I was getting ready to leave she said "I am so glad you were the one who came to see me". I said thank you and was going to say it was nice to meet her too, when she stopped me and looked in my eyes and said "there are lots of other social workers in your office aren't there?", to which I replied that there are, and she said "See! God blessed me by sending you!". I liked her a lot...
I recently saw the movie "Iris" with my daughter Carrie. It is the "Real-life story of the enduring love between author Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, which lasts throughout her struggles against Alzheimer's disease. Starring Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton
Directed by Richard Eyre
Written by Charles Wood, Richard Eyre
Studio/Distributed by Miramax Films".
"Iris" is a touching film, the acting is superb- portraying Alzheimer's disease accurately and displaying a depth of love that is a rare find in this lifetime. The picture at right links to movies.com, where the above trailer comes from. See the movie if you can...
