Positively Binky

Its raining out. Linda, of PriceSneddon.com, sent me this picture of her bird Binky the other day and I'm in the need of a bit of perkiness! I sense he wouldn't have much patience with my doldrums. But his Beady-eyedness is just the prod I need right now!

Dripping Signs, and Cold Wet Feet

One of the chants is "Show me what democracy looks like... This is what democracy looks like...."

(I have decided. The solution to all bad weather is for me to stay home.) I did not vote for years. One reason being my transitory nature, the other being a huge fear of being on a jury. (I know I know... just file it under the phobia category and forget about it.) I don't remember the eureka moment... suffice it to say it didn't involve me running down the street naked.* It was more like an alright already.

A friend of mine, who was in the same Peace Corps group as myself, had been arrested protesting Vietnam. She worried that that might mess up her application for Peace Corps. It didn't. One of my memories is of her dancing in a bar, and another one, and another one... and she pulled me out of the way of a bus one time. My shoe, left behind, was run over. Then there was that funny Christmas... and the hurricane. Can't forget the hurricane. It wasn't much really. But between the vodka and the critters seeking shelter in our same hut... It was highly entertaining... peering out as the shower blew away. And there was the time we tried to entice a burro into a hotel room. Dunno why... it was there we were there a why not sorta moment I suppose.

In the years since Peace Corps my friend has died. "This is what democracy looks like.... Show me what democracy looks like..."

The route through downtown Providence was circuitous, mildly put. As our cold damp group wound its chanting way, one elderly fellow kept shaking off the rain from his umbrella so that the sign he'd taped there "War Veteran" would stay. He was a dapper sort, smiling as we took yet another odd turn.

"Show me what democracy looks like... This is what democracy looks like...." Yes there were more chants. But that's the one that sticks with me. I know some peace activists have been arrested for this war. It's hard for me to imagine. My own sign "Money for Healthcare not Warfare" I'd forgotten at home.

Symbolic Attraction

I like this pendant. I did it on request... which is one reason why I like doing special orders. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to get into until you're in the middle of it. It is a Chinese symbol of "woman." (My apologies to the billions of chinese if you don't recognize this!) It has not been antiqued or polished as it is a model... I haven't figured out why I like this yet... It's a very contained simplicity. The inner rectangle of the symbol stands for a bundled child.

Perhaps that is it. With charms you have fairy tale like representations of stuff... for instance the salamander representing passionate love. And you can put this next to other symbols to create a story within a decorative piece. The chinese symbol has that inner rectangle (the baby) within loose swoops that I have again contained in a squarish frame. A pictorial and cognitive (language) communication within one symbol.

On Birdbaths and Other Important Matters

The season of birdbaths is upon us... It may be a bit early but you know how birds are. They were gathered in the small tree nearby looking at that empty bit of cement with the intensity of the chocolate deprived (though I may be projecting.) Irises are poking up in their resilient unflappable way through the last year's mess I haven't cleaned up. Spring time might not yet be quite here but the dirty cloak of a long winter has definitely receded for now and I can attempt a positive attitude.

A positive attitude dizzied by the stunning upward spiral of gold and silver prices, along with the cost of soy milk and potato chips, while jobs available continue to be rather cheap and ephemeral. I'm waiting to see if those tulips do it again, brazenly establish their presence in the midst of my small weedy lawn with brilliant colors, and thick leaves. And will those squirrels do it again and bite the tulips' heads off, leaving brave but stunted stems.

The doomsday vault has closed its doors saving the world's seeds for when a future fertility might need performance enhancement and the democratic primaries drag on like junior high civics class at the end of the day... in spring. Though the sun has gathered intensity the wind is cold the bicycle tires are not aired and the birds remain suspicious of the newly filled birdbath. I am so ready for Spring... for the salt and the grit of winter to get flushed away and to see what survives, what blooms.

Long Lines and Cold Wet Feet

I went to a political rally today... first eva! I've never been to one before because... well. It involves crowds, traffic, and canned language. And, I usually know who I want to vote for. And, I'm not big on celebrity type stuff. But today I went. Where the speech was going to take place is only a 10-15 minute drive from where I live... I started getting an idea of the number of folks heading in the same general direction after about the second turn. Its like, I know where you're going. So I parked maybe 5 blocks away and walked... along with all the others doing the same thing.

It snowed yesterday and melted a lot today, leaving serious minded puddles pushing pedestrians into the road. But, that was okay as the traffic wasn't moving much. As we (I'd gotten to talking to a Lutheran minister) approached the arena, I became apprehensive about our ability to make it in. The line was major.

And here in this major line... among the great mix of the people of Providence Rhode Island... I mentioned this video I'd seen on youtube... about the fainting Obama women. How I might become one with what turned into a 3 1/2 hr wait in line and inside. Well. I didn't have too! Some other lady did. Its too funny. Maybe its like a thing? Is there a club or something?

But, it was fun. I'm so happy Obama visited this small state. My impression was totally positive. Though I must say... Obama did seem to get lost a few times while talking. And one line really stuck out as kinda silly... like did he fall asleep with a romance novel on his face or something? That line wandered in from somewhere... but given that that wasn't his first stop of the day or the first stop of this stop... he'd spoken to the overflow crowd first before addressing us ready to fainters... Given all that, it was pretty fine.