"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

This morning, while sitting in my studio watching the frost begin to melt and drop from the trees, I thought of this book, "The Things They Carried".

It is a wonderful compilation of stories by Tim O'Brien talking about men going to war and what they take with them. They carried love letters, photographs, and so much more.

This was our first county read here in Angola a few years ago. I was so in love with this book that I thought I would be discussing it while pumping gas or with strangers at a party or with, well anyone.

On this quiet, cold morning I am thinking of the things we all carry. What is important to us, what do we carry and where do we carry them?

Looking around my studio, it is easy to see for anyone to see what is important to me...sea glass in a little bottle from Adam and Tonya...jester book ends from my dad...a black and white photo of Aaron and Karen holding baby Jonah...Matthew and Jonah's Valentine bags still full of chocolate...puppets...hundreds of books...a family photograph of Abe and Kristin...my water bottle...bracelets...pens...paper...marbles...

Our space and our thoughts define us and take us where we need to be. My thoughts are not so easily seen as we all mask those on a daily basis. I do believe that writers and artists let these thoughts be know in their work.

I also carry a seashell and a rock in my pocket. They are lovely to hold onto when I need a bit of comfort.

So, what do you carry? Just some thoughts on this quiet Thursday morning. And, if you haven't read the book, I encourage you to do so and share your thoughts with me.

Still waiting...

We wait for the snow, those of us who live in the North. It has been a disappointing winter this year for the simple joys of the winter months.


Some will argue that the heating bills are lower, and that is a fact. But where are the bright cardinals against the snow on the feeders? Or the sound of the plow in the night? Or what about a city shut down for even just a day or so leaving families with books and games strewn across the dining room table with chocolate cookies in the oven? (I know I am a dreamer!)


I even took my bike out of the garage, polished it up a bit and decided I might as well start biking. However, yesterday's brief snowstorm blanketed my town, even though it was slight of hand. I took the above photo in while having a meeting a Rachael's coffee shop. It was a lovely morning.


So, winter, it is not too late. We are waiting, we welcome you.

Poetry Passage

Today's poetry passage features one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson. When I was teaching I had a theatre company named, The Emily Dickinson Players. After each rehearsal and before each show, I shared her poetry with the troupe.

A few years ago I visited her home in Amherst and was given a primo tour. I was able to lower the basket out of her bedroom window. Long ago she shared ginger cookies with the neighborhood children. They would reciprocate with a flower or some small token of thank you.

This reading is a bit eerie as it was, of course, never produced by Emily Dickinson. The reading is imposed upon her lips and face.

Enjoy today's passage!

Art Out My Window...

This past weekend Kathy and I traveled by rail from our neighboring town of Waterloo, Indiana to St. Paul, Minnesota.

It was a three day journey...one full day on the train traveling to, one day there, and one day traveling from.

Our destination was the Fitzgerald Theater to see a Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

The weather was not the normal February weather which would have been twenty degrees below zero and three feet of snow.

These photos were taken from the train on the way home crossing the Mississippi River as well as Miller Brewing Company. Enjoy!

Sketch

The shadows of the ships

Rock on the crest

In the low blue lustre

Of the tardy and the soft inrolling tide.

A long brown bar at the dip of the sky

Puts an arm of sand in the span of salt.

The lucid and endless wrinkles

Draw in, lapse and withdraw.

Wavelets crumble and white spent bubbles

Wash on the floor of the beach.

Rocking on the crest

In the low blue lustre

Are the shadows of the ships.

Carl Sandburg



The moments of our lives..

The heavy grey rain falls out my studio window. The red satin curtains are pulled back letting me view this February scene.

It is a day of thinking and reflecting and, I guess, wondering about life in general.

Today my oldest son Adam (well three minutes older than his twin brother Aaron!) is celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary with his wife, Tonya. Oh, I remember that day so well. Tonya was a family friend and it was easy to just pull her into the daughter-in-law genre. She was my first daughter-in-law. I count on her whenever they visit from St. Pete to become the kitchen fairy! I congratulate them on this day.

Abe married Kristin next in Portland, Oregon. He met Kristin on 9/11 in Santa Barbara. Their two little girls are beautiful, but oh so far away. He is my youngest, and I often find myself calling Jonah by his name.

Aaron married Karen here in Angola on a cold night in January outside in the snow and cold. The reception was here at my house. I filled the house with roses and dinner for all involved. It was a happy night as well. They live close by with continual raids of my refrigerator.

I think of my children often. They are all college graduates and work in different fields. They are all successful with their work and their lives.

I am glad to be a participant in their lives in whatever way that I can.

Here are a few photos, not many, to celebrate this day of family.

Matthew, Jonah and I at our Valentine's Day supper.
Mengting took the photo.

Here is Abe with his two little sweethearts, Holly and Brianna.
Abe and Holly were dressed up for the Love Bug Dance.

This was Adam and Tonya's engagement photo taken ten years ago!

Art Out My Window....

This photo was taken early this morning as the sun was coming up in my hometown.The red lamp is a reflection out my window. It is definitely cold, but peaceful.

When the boys are with me, we have poetry at the breakfast table. This morning I pulled out a collection of poems written by Mary O'Neill, "Hailstones and Halibut Bones".

The poem I chose was "What Is Blue". Here are just a few lines from the poem:

"Blue is twilight,

Shadows on snow,

Blue is feeling

Way down low.

Cold is blue:

Flame show from a welding torch

Is, too:

Hot, wild screaming, blistering Blue-

And on winter mornings

The dawns are blue...."



Valentine's Day Column...

Click here for the Valentine's Day column...

Here is the photo from college with the mystery man's bouquet.
My roomie, Sally, took this photo!!