Say It

Free speech means you have the right to voice your opinion. It does not mean that you should not have to suffer the consequences of voicing your opinion. If you are a public figure whose career is dependent on popularity then you may jeopardize that when you exercise your right to free speech. Your choice.

Priceless

Old wooden dog sled, $200; Strip, repair, re-lash and refinish dog sled, $150 in supplies and many hours of labor; More harnesses and tow lines for the “team”, $140; Watching your team string out beautifully around a hairpin turn at a full gallop on a lovely snowy afternoon, PRICELESS!

To be honest, my plan had been to take the gentle right at the fork rather than the hard left. I knew my meager dog driver skills would be sorely tested getting the sled around that hard left. But I went with their plan, crouched low, kept my weight on the left runner, and tried my damndest to bring that sled around fast enough to stay on the trail. The snow was soft and it did not take long to reorganize after I drove the sled off the trail.

Not a brilliant day...

Not a brilliant day for my "sled team". I could not keep the lead pair fast enough so the dogs behind kept catching up and tangling. Damn near hyperventilated cheering the front dogs on. I think it was a combination of things: unfamiliar trail; deeper snow; spare dog running around as interference; and Levi has become a hard pulling wheel dog so the front dogs had better get moving. So I tried Levi in front. He is useless there. I did get some video though! Used my Gorilla-Pod and glif to attach the iPhone to the sled. If I can get out tomorrow I'll try a familiar trail and not bring a loose dog.

First Run of the Season

First run of the season this afternoon. I need to take some steel wool to the runners, a bit rusty. I was surprised by the amount of snow today so quick pulled the sled down without much prep. No way I can get a photo once hitched, too busy trying to keep everything under control.

God Bless America

The news is full of people speaking of how their Christian faith shapes their commitment to family and how it shapes their choices for legislation.  “God Bless America” is placed like a stamp of approval on each political agenda.

So who is America?

That strapping healthy guy doing manual labor and driving a big truck is the poster image “American”.  What about the poster boy’s older gay brother?  Is he part of America?  Certainly our returning veterans represent America.  What about the low paid aides taking care of our vets?  These people are working hard to keep clothed and fed on their income, not much room for investing.  They will need the Social Security that they are paying into.  Are they part of America?  What about your neighbor, still unemployed after 6 months.  Is he part of America?  What of the woman with only part time work, living in poverty, who finds herself pregnant, the one many would like to deny access to both birth control and the resources to care for a child?  Is she part of America?  The banker is living the American dream.  What about the family that had their home foreclosed?  They should have known they could not support that mortgage, but then shouldn’t the banker have also known?  Is the defaulting family part of America too?  What about the kid still living at home, unable to find a job that can enable him to support himself fully, and unable to afford health insurance?  Is he an American?  Are the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Atheist people in this country part of America?  What of the hungry child born into poverty?  Is she American? 

Is America everyone?  Or just the people who are like us, people who don’t make us uncomfortable?  Does America only include people whose lives reinforce our way of seeing the world?

The conservative Christian platform of today is based on values different from those I was brought up with.  I grew up in the Christian church, regularly attending a Presbyterian church in Langhorne, PA.  I went to Sunday school, joined in the youth group, sang in the choir, and attended the classes that led to my confirmation.  I was impressed by the example of Jesus and saw the worth of the Golden Rule.  What I learned in that church was tolerance, respect, making the time to help and care for other people.  I did not learn that gays are evil.  I was taught not to judge.  I did not learn that poor people are indolent.  I was taught to help them.  I did not learn that women are to follow men and bear and care for children.  I was taught to think for myself, to listen to my own conscience.  I did not learn that going to church made me righteous.  I was taught to live by the Golden Rule.  I thank Reverend Crawford for these lessons.  Were it not for this education in the kindness of Christianity I would be left judging the Christian faith by the intolerance, contempt, misogyny, and greed that I see perpetrated and justified by today’s conservative Christians.

Give Thunder Its Due

Give Thunder its due.

The ancients knew

Thunder has its own will,

not an aside, mere detail of the heavens. 

The wind rents the sky

drawing the eye

to cathedrals above,

vaulted chambers of light shifting and alive. 

Naves sculpted of clouds,

arches allow

colored rivers of light,

the sky more beautiful than any stone church. 

Give Thunder its due.

The ancients knew…

Leave sanctuary walls,

breathe the glory of the sky, touch the heavens.

 

copyright Maria Amodei 2013

August Rest

The glorious days of June and July,
so generous with sunlight.
First light draws you awake to work, then chores.
Driven by opportunity till dark brings you inside
To rest… too late

August wants the brilliant excess,
yet seems somehow kinder.
Dusk sweeping you in the door to rest for tomorrow.
Like a mother puts a child down to nap.

copyright Maria Amodei 2013