realistic cast iron models 

A small section of a hugh mural 

Today I went......somewhere

What an experience I had today! I traveled with members of my church to Cincinnati to visit the Freedom Center-The Museum of the Underground Railroad. It was an outstanding display of the history of slavery and the brave men and women who helped free slaves. The museum uses well placed displays and modern technology to speak to people of all ages. The message is simple: Our history is important to us and often very painful. We want to share what we remember for future generations.

My favorite was the use of huge walls to display news videos of current freedom quests going on today all over the world. My other favorite was the movie screen that put us in the picture as a young female slave, with the help of black and white conductors, swam across the Ohio River while slave masters shot at them.

I teach this subject to my second graders and have read countless books on the subject of the Underground Railroad but have never felt the experience firsthand. There were quite a few daycare groups touring the museum. The technology will help them understand what this part of our country's history meant to African Americans. It is well worth the effort that went into the vision and completion of this fine museum.

Freedom Center experience 

Freedom Center experience 

one of many spectacular handmade quilts

I wrote these....

I wrote the last two pieces after seeing "The Forces of Nature" on PBS. I also saw 60 Minutes and ended up sobbing my heart out after the program. Two of the Marines interviewed were later killed. The few minutes of soundbites gave a glimpse of the bravery and courage it takes to be in Iraq.

sometimes....

the illusion
that we are
in charge

gives us
a false sense
of superiority

over nature and
her Domain

instead...

let us find our
place
and humbly
live accordingly

then we
will know
what ancient man
knew

we are
only

his
understanding
made
awareness
necessary

by Andy Goldsworthy 

sometimes....

sometimes........

something deep within
surfaces with such power and energy
that I wonder from where it comes

there is a sense that Earth
in all her changing glory

will have the last word

and we humans
who think we have
so much to offer

will find we were only
a passing fancy

You see beauty in all You created 

my last week of prayers

This is the last week I will be writing prayers as the assisting minister for the month of June. Again, I wanted to share the experience on my blog.

The heavens and earth belong to You
and so does the world with all its people
You are strong and mighty
Your love can always be trusted
God of love
Hear our prayer

O Lord, in all generations you have been our home
You have always been God-
long before the birth of the mountains
even before You created the heavens and earth
bring us ever nearer to You
knowing that nothing in heaven or on earth
can separate us from You.
keep us ever close.
God of love
Hear our prayer

You are the greatest
over all the gods we may put in our lives
gods of wealth, health or security
are no substitue for You
You hold the deepest part of the earth
in your hands
and the mountain peaks belong to You
The ocean is Yours because You made it
and with Your own hands
You formed the dry land
we are the stewards of these gifts
give us wisdom to be responsible
and visionaries for future humankind
God of love
Hear our prayer

Other gifts from You
eternal life
freedom from the death of sin
knowledge of You
all these things You give
so that your children
may see You
and be with You
for all time.
We thank You.
God of love
Hear our prayer

You love all people and You
want wholeness and goodness for each.
We pray this morning for those we want to
especially remember and bring before you..........

We pray again this morning
for all the families who lost
loved ones in war this week
We come in faith and love
knowing You know their pain and suffering.
We ask protection
and strength of heart for our own members..........

Give our homebound members
Your continued presence and unfailing love
We remember.......

this says it all 

my sister

My sister visited me briefly this Thursday and Friday. It was short but very sweet. We don't get to see one another very often and communication is not regular. When we are together our times are precious and I always feel the same when she leaves.........like I've gone away to camp and met a kindred spirit who I must say good-bye to. We are different but the same. What is the same is the beauty of what we share.......a profound respect for one another and a love that has no boundaries. My sister is a regular reader of my blog. So I know she will see this. I love you, Susan and always will.

I borrowed a Harley man for this photo 

o.k. everyone who thinks I lead a sheltered life 

getting ready to move in

Today I took some pictures of the house I am having remodeled. Some of the more interesting photos didn't turn out so I'll try again tomorrow. It was built in 1912 on top of ground that used to be a graveyard. The caskets were moved further up the hill to make room for housing. Some say that the houses on either side of mine are haunted. Mine doesn't appear to be. I have that from a reliable source.

the back door from inside 

the back door 

The front door 

This is my little yellow house that I love 

Thankfully

Thankfully, there are still reporters who are brave enough to go against the trend of the times.
Thank you PBS, on behalf of all Americans, that you dare to be more than just mouth pieces. Real journalism isn't dead.

Private Warriors

I just finished watching a Public Broadcasting Station program called Private Warriors. A reporter for Frontline visited Iraq reporting and filming what he saw. In a word, it was terrifying. We rode with him as he traveled around Iraq visiting and interviewing private contractors. KBR, whose parent company is Haliburton, runs a huge base in Iraq. The reporter told us that even before it was decided to invade Iraq, people hired by KBR were establishing residence there. Although, no one he spoke to could verify the cost of running such monolithic enterprizes it was documented that Haliburton has realized profits exceeding 1.2 billion dollars since the start of the war. The reporter noted that no one talks about when private contractors will be leaving Iraq and when personnel are killed in the line of duty no one accepts responsibility.

Some of the scenes were quite graphic. I could not imagine being a parent, friend or loved one of those who were attacked, burned, dragged through the streets and then suspended while insurgents cheered in the background. In the end the reporter was very relieved he reached the airport safely. He said an airport never looked so good.

The program brought to light many questions about who is profiting from the war in Iraq and why there doesn't seem to be a traceable paper trail about some of the contracts.

PBS has recently gone on the air asking for public outcry because some of its major funding is being cut by congress. It doesn't take too much imagination to figure out why.

May the warm winds

"may the warm winds of heaven
blow softly upon your house

may the Great Spirit
bless all who enter there

may your moccasins make
happy tracks in many snows

and may the rainbow always
touch your shoulder"

Cherokee blessing

might I behold thee 

Inca saying

"Might I behold thee,
Might I know thee,
Might I consider thee,
Might I understand thee,
O Lord of the Universe."

Oh, the comfort

"Oh, the comfort,
the inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person,
having neither to weigh thoughts....
but pouring them all out,
just as they are,
chaff and grain together,
certain that a faithful hand
will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and with a breath of kindness,
blow the rest away."

Anonymous Shoshone Tribal Member

not by chance 

not by chance

I found a friend whom I can share with
every thought that tumbles out
we share so much
our pasts are similar
what synchronicity this has been

we understand what hiding means
invisible is never just a word
when we're together
talk is seldom superficial
deep and meaningful
it usually is

many friendships
I have treasured
thankfully, once again
synchronicity has
blessings in store

wordless wonder 

Knowing You

knowing You
does not take human doctrine
or expounding on Biblical text

knowing You
takes only desire

for You make
Yourself available
in the breathless wonderings

of the human heart

Today I write my prayers

At the church I attend some of us take turns being the assisting minister. That involves writing prayers and assisting pastor in the distribution of communion. Today I thought I would share the process on my blog. I usually read the scripture that is assigned for the day and use thoughts from there to write prayers. The scripture readings for this week are: Jeremiah 20: 7-13, Psalm 69:8-11 (12-17) 18-20, Romans 6:1b-11 and Matthew 10:24-39.

We praise Your magnificent name. Your power and glory is displayed in the heavens for all to see. You put within us knowledge of You. You beckon us to know You. You want nothing to stand in the way of our relationship with You. You invite us to seek you in silence.
God of love.
Hear our prayer.

For Jeremiah your message to Jerusalem burned within him. He could not hold it in despite receiving ridicule from his listeners. In the end you prevailed and your message was shared. We have a message of love and forgiveness to share today. Does it burn within us? Will You prevail in our hearts? Lord, teach us to learn and do your will.
God of love.
Hear our prayer

Lord, we acknowledge you and ask for courage to share your goodness and gentleness in all the world, having no fear of those who would silence us. Give us your wisdom and perfect timing.
God of love.
Hear our prayer

We offer thanks for good and generous fathers who have been a blessing to their children. We ask that they might keep their focus on you, the perfect example of parenthood.
God of love
Hear our prayer

We pray for parents and families everywhere in the world. Give courage and help to those who struggle to feed their children, to shelter them and to protect them from violence and war.
God of love.
Hear our prayer.

We ask you Lord for comfort and healing for those who are ill. We name...............
Give patence to all for whom healing does not come quickly, and strong faith to those nearing death.
God of love,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for every family who lost a loved one in war this past week. We ask that you continue to make your presence known to them in their suffering and grief. Please continue to protect and give strength of heart to our own military members. We name.........
God of love.
Hear our prayer.

Knowing that nothing can separate us from you and our worship may take place anywhere, we pray for all those who are not with us this morning. We ask blessing upon our homebound members and their caregivers and name them......
God of love.
Hear our prayer

www.afterdowningstreet.org

Tonight I watched C-span2 for about two hours. The topic was a hearing held in a small, cramped basement room in the Capital Building. The hearing gave congress men and women the opportunity to ask questions of a panel regarding the Downing Street memo. There is a web site which better describes the issue than I can in this post. Go to www.afterdowningstreet.org
I plan to keep up to date on what's happening. At last, the silence is broken and a promise was made to the American people that this issue needs answers and will not go away.

fragile friendship

some friendships are fragile
they go along seemingly well

and then words spoken
close the doors once opened

oddly, words that close doors
can also open them--hesitantly

cautiously

for a little "look see"
maybe the fragility can weather
the tempest of the storm

the world as we know it in second grade 

Boxes and boxes of stuff

This picture is just a fraction of the boxes and containers I have been packing over the last week. I thought I would be finished today but got overly ambitious and have decided to clean out file drawers I haven't used in years. So I press on.....

the mind--a virtual diary

today I went...somewhere

Today I went with friends to take gifts to another friend who is recuperating in a nursing home from knee surgery. It just so happens this is the same nursing home my father spent some of his last days. At first I wasn't going to go but with the support of others I figured the frivolity would carry me along.

I walked in the door carrying the box of gifts and my friend mentioned that just down the hallway was my friend's (Ann) room. This was the same hallway my father's room had been. I looked at the wood paneling, which oddly enough, I remembered. What happened next was unexpected. It was as if the wood paneling were a page from a diary of all the experiences I had had with my mother and father in that place. The memories seemed to tumble out of the wood as fast as I could notice them. I turned to Joyce and asked to be excused from the visit. She told me she could never return to the place where her father died and she understood.

I walked out and sat under a tree waiting for my friends to end their visit. But out or in, the memories continued to flood my mind. I will never go in there again. I wondered how a piece of paneling could trigger so many thoughts. I marveled at how the brain stores information quite without our noticing.

I don't regret the experience and wish I could have gotten past it to see Ann. She lost her mother unexpectedly in a car accident. No chance even to say good-bye. She knows the experience of painful memories. Her mother died more than 14 years ago.


Why does grief take so long to go away?

packing up my room

The school year has ended and with it comes--packing up of the room. Every possession must be stored away so that the room can be cleaned. Our custodians carry out the multiple boxes so that the room is empty and ready for "the scrub". With no air conditioning the rooms can get unbearable in July and August. I will post some pictures of my classroom as it looks prior to the complete "boxing up" and when it is finished. I am guessing most will not be able to tell the difference. A picture of my hot and sweaty self will be included.

teacher gets the summer off

wind your way through
your memory
of earlier summers
when you were
a child

remember how the
time seemed to
s+t+r+e+t+c+h
on forever

that is the way it was

now the summers
are filled with
much to do
and the stretching
has gotten
alot shorter

try being that
young, playful

spirit

who woke up
each morning
with nothing
but endless
adventures

see where
your dreams
take you...