Category Archives: humanity

Weekend Coffee Share (1/15/17)

Posted on by
12

170115

#WeekendCoffeeShare is graciously hosted by Diana at ParttimeMonsterBlog.com.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that the snow from last week is lingering on. There’s been no new snowfall, but temperatures have remained too cold for much of it to melt. With only my dog Chules and me accessing my fenced yard, it is still relatively pristine and white. I like the way it reflects light – both by day and night – and makes everything seem brighter and more cheerful.

The US will have a new president as of the end of this week, and I am not alone in dreading what that might mean for the future of human rights and ecological preservation. Or, for that matter, ecological rights and human preservation. There’s not enough snow anywhere that can make the current political scene appear cheerful and bright.

I’ve been dealing with a general sense of anxiety and malaise for the past couple of weeks. It’s been frustrating not to be able to tie it into any specific source; having nothing I could pinpoint and say this is the reason I am feeling unease. With an unknown cause, it becomes more challenging to deal with the effect.

But maybe my subconscious has been wrestling with the apprehension of what the future holds as fundamental values and mores are being gutted in our society. Maybe the anxiety is born of a sense of helplessness, while at the same time knowing that the “help” has to come from within me. And within you.

I didn’t intend to be all doom and gloom when I sat down to write this. Maybe I need to forego the rest of my coffee and get outside to play with my dog in the bright sun and cheerful snow. It won’t make the world’s problems go away, but it will boost my spirits. And that might be just what I need to move from helplessness to hopefulness; from despair to decisiveness; from inertia to activism.

Snow angels, anyone?

Polaroid

Posted on by
2

scan-89

“How do you open this darn thing? I can never remember.”

Someone finds the button, and the black box pops open into an odd wedged shape.

“There! Is there film in it?”

“Dunno. Take a picture and find out.”

“Oh, alright. You girls, stand over there! By the hearth.”

With a bit of jostling, the girls obediently shuffle into place and assume the pose: arms wrapped around one another in a display of sisterly love. They look toward the camera and smile.

scan-95

“Now smile.”

They spread their grins even wider.

Snap. Flash. Hiss.

The camera spits out a white-bordered card with a milky greenish-brown square in the center. The photo hangs where it exited, just short of falling to the ground. The picture taker dislodges the print and sets in on the coffee table.

“There! Let’s see what we’ve got.”

We circle around the table and watch as ghostlike images begin to rise from the murky Polaroid. Soon we can make out the features of the girls, and as the photo continues to develop, we see that one of the girls’ eyes were closed when the picture was snapped. Oh, well.

The print is a bit blurry, too dark, and the subjects are not framed properly. Typical. Someone notes the date on the wide bottom border, and there it is: a posed moment in time that documents a birthday, holiday, new dresses, or maybe just the changes from year to year as the girls grow and mature.

scan-93

The captured moment goes in a shoebox where many others have been collected, and it turns into another memory to be pulled out and sorted and enjoyed for years to come.

scan-88

It is shared by passing it from hand to hand. It is cropped with scissors if one wishes, but that’s not likely to happen. The highlights are enhanced by tilting the photo toward the nearest window or lamp, and the image is sharpened by adjusting one’s bifocals into better focus.

scan-90

I sift through my shoebox now and again — probably more often than the girls realize — and the photos always make me smile.

Truth be told, I wouldn’t trade my Polaroids for all the Photoshopping in the world.

scan-94

The photos above were most likely taken by a variety of relatives. Unfortunately I cannot assign individual credits. 

The Daily Post Discover Challenge: Transcript

Weekend Coffee Share (1/1/17)

Posted on by
8

#WeekendCoffeeShare is graciously hosted by Diana at ParttimeMonsterBlog.com.

old-and-new

If we were having egg nog, I’d wish you a hopeful, healthy and safe New Year!

I have issues with wishing for happiness, but perhaps we can postulate that if one has hope, health and a sense of safety, there’s a good chance they can find happiness as well.

Oh, the egg nog ran out last night. No problem, I’ve got coffee brewing as we speak.

If we were having freshly brewed coffee, I’d tell you I’ve vowed to put 2016 behind me come this year. No ruminating on fears, disappointments, anger, sadness and doomsday prophesizing. I’ll try to build on the many, many positive moments of last year.

So here is a partial list of what I am wishing for and anticipating in 2017:

♦  The continued blessing of sharing my life with a loving family, companionable pets, and myriad hand tools and DIY project supplies.

new-year

♦ Opportunities to contribute to preserving and expanding the beauty and health of this planet.

mountain

♦ Tenacity to hold to an ethical, honorable and selfless ethos, such that our society can rise above the mires of that prior year I said I wouldn’t ruminate upon (hint: 2016).

color-2

Oh, alright…

♦ ♦ ♦  I also wish for happiness for all! ♦ ♦ ♦ 

Welcome to 2017! Let’s make it a year to cherish!

The Daily Post daily prompt: Year

Strong as Iron

Posted on by
1

hist1

“After arriving from China my dad took a year to save enough money working in San Francisco and he then walked to Astoria.” [ 718 miles ]

resilience-symbol

“My grandfather brought home salmon cheeks, a delicacy to the Chinese but a waste to the cannery owners.”

hist2

“He was a veteran of World War 2 and the Korean war and he filmed breaking stories on the coast for news stations and he was the official photographer for the Miss Oregon pageant.”

hist3

“We went to American school in the daytime and Chinese school in the evening.”

resilience-symbol

“My mother graduated with a college degree but Chinese women seldom had job opportunities so she…”

hist4

“Grandma said dad was so sick on the boat from China that he would have been fed to the fish if he had died. Now a seafood lab is named after him for the fish feed that he and his team developed.”

resilience-symbol

“The tongs formed in the 1870s and grew to as many as nine but began to disappear in the 1930s. Remaining tongs were known more for their…”

resilience-symbol

“Chinatown was like a playground. We had no…”

These photos were taken at the Garden of Surging Waves, a city park in Astoria, Oregon, which was built to honor and celebrate the Chinese heritage of that area. The Story Screen in these photos is an iron structure that includes the entry gate, and these large panels that tell about the hardships, struggles and contributions of some of the Chinese immigrants in Astoria as well as their descendants who remained in the area and who continue to be vital components in the fabric of the community.

The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Resilient

at the very least

Posted on by
2

kindness

One ring,
two Chinese characters,
how many meanings?

I didn’t know, and so I asked.

Second symbol first:
goodness,
kindness,
charity,

… I was told.

First one second:
it goes without saying…
absolutely…
at the very least…

It’s hard to explain,
I was told.

So many things in life are hard to explain, and so
we often devise our own explanations,
our own definitions.

What does it mean to say, “I’m fine?”
One sentence,
two words,
how many meanings?

I often don’t know, but I seldom ask.

I want to change that, to show more charity,
kindness and goodness;
to listen to your explanations
and belay my own fabrications
at the very least.

As for the ring, perhaps it’s telling me
when life is hard to explain and hard to define,
there is one course of action
that is always right.
In those two characters, I choose to read,
“Above all else, be kind.”

The Daily Post discover challenge: Hope Gone Viral

Weekend Coffee Share 12/18/16

Posted on by
5

#WeekendCoffeeShare is graciously hosted by Diana at ParttimeMonsterBlog.com. 

161218

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I’m feeling lazy this morning. Not that that’s unusual for me, but today I feel like embracing the laziness instead of berating myself about all the things I “should” be doing, or “have to” get done.

Okay, maybe I should go grocery shopping. With my kitchen torn up from my remodeling project, I’ve been mostly dining on frozen meals that I nuke in the microwave and foods that don’t need much preparation (like PB & Js). Since the freezer is bare except for ice, it’s time to restock.

With all my DIY home projects, I’ve been telling myself it’s okay if my “improvements” fall short of candidacy for a House Beautiful photo shoot. The house is pretty old after all, and – as a former rental house – wasn’t cared for with much pride in ownership. So if my rebuilt cupboards aren’t totally straight and level, it’s no big deal. It’s not the end result that’s important, it’s the fun of the challenge. Or so I tell myself as I survey the lopsided end result.

But I realized the other day that the house is only six years older than I am. That’s not so old… is it?

Speaking of old:

Last week I received my first “senior discount” at the local Walgreen’s store. I wasn’t offended. My first thought was that surely I’m too young for that and – in all fairness — I should decline the discount. My second thought was, “Discount? Heck, yeah!”

Perhaps the fact that I was wearing my sweatshirt inside out gave the impression of age-related dotage. What can I say? Sometimes I like to wear it that way.

Anyway, the sun is up now and it’s getting on in the morning. Basking in laziness can only last so long before the “should”s and “have to”s take over. it’s time for my PB & J breakfast. Then maybe I’ll watch a few episodes of “This Old House,” so I can plot some more DIY projects.

And if there’s a program out there called “This Old Person,” I refuse to watch it. Unless, of course, there are discounts involved.

growing anticipation

Posted on by
8

lean into each day
not racing to be the first
rather
in eagerness to explore

anticipation1

reach ever higher
not to claim more than others
rather
to stretch your understanding

anticipation2

take time for catnaps
restore soul and sanity
and
allow new dreams to unfold

anticipation3

The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Anticipation

Blessed Three

Posted on by
5

So maybe I’m an overachiever. Susie Lindau’s #Blessed Project, which is aimed at inspiring us to consider the blessings in our lives, will wrap up next week. And although I’ve already counted several blessings here and here, I felt compelled to give it a third go ’round.

Here it is —  #Blessed, Part III.

I’m blessed with:

the freedom to express my individuality…

b3-individuality

plentiful sustenance…

b3-food

the opportunity to live in and learn from diversity…

b3-diversity

adequate clothing to protect me from the elements…

b3-warmth

and compassionate peers who listen without passing judgment.

b3-listen

May we never run out of blessings to count.