In courts and palaces he also reigns, and in luxurious cities, where the noise of riot ascends above their loftiest towers, and injury and outrage, and when night darkens the street, then wander forth the Sons of Belial, flown with insolence and wine. ~ Milton. Paradise Lost. A month ago I wandered past … More In Courts and Palaces
I’ve been quiet for many months – classes to take, a leaky roof and two AC units to replace. Moving from a high school to a middle school library, and new places to travel to: Oregon. Washington state. British Columbia. Canyon de Chelley, the four corners area of the southwest. Manhattan. Through it all I’ve … More “Love, Love, Love,” Manhattan, and Bobby
Hate is exhausting. I’m tired. I’m sad. I’m numb. I’m appalled by the murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. I’m appalled by the murders of the five police officers in Dallas. I’m appalled by the level of intolerance and hate in this country, indeed, in the world. And yet …. I am inspired … More Our Better Angels
Yesterday’s letter from Richard Armitage about the plight of the Syrian refugees reminded me of this story I saw last week about an Iraqi family and their cat. I am well aware of the rising opposition to refugees in many countries, including, sadly, my own, but I hope stories like this remind us that refugees … More Made Me Cry
As much as I admire his acting, it is when Richard Armitage takes a stand on humanitarian issues that I admire him most as a human being. Today we get one of his very rare letters. Beyond the joy of reading more than a 140 character tweet promoting one of his projects, it is interesting because … More Armitage Speaks
So rare, in fact, he’ll probably think about it and delete it after a while (which is a shame because he shouldn’t be afraid of sharing his thoughts when he thinks it really counts). He certainly has chosen a bully to call out. A better writer than I am wrote a piece that nails my … More A Very Rare Political Post
Last week, on a lark, I entered Digital Theatre’s caption contest for the above photo. Much to my surprise, I won! I’m a chuffed about this because there were many other truly witty entries. Thank you, Digital Theatre! My caption was: The judges were unimpressed with this year’s “Miss Salem” contestants.
I rang in the new year with my traditional falling-asleep-before-midnight routine, but know it rang in because both dogs started barking when the fireworks went off. I pulled a pillow over my head and went back to sleep. 3:30 AM – The smoke detector goes off downstairs. I get up, go downstairs, find the broom, … More New Year’s Musings
Christmas in the isolated desert doesn’t lend itself to doing random acts of kindness, unless you count things like unloading the dishwasher unasked. It does lend itself to hours of uninterrupted, delicious reading. I think I’ve read more in the last week than I have in the last six months: The Witches by Stacy Schiff, … More Down Time
December 18th: Bags of fruit for the students, took another shopper’s cart back to the cart rack for them. Bought a tent and sleeping bag. December 19th: Thorin is at the groomer today because he is getting fixed on Tuesday. I don’t want to take a dirty dog to the vet. On my way … More Armitage Acts of Kindness: December 18 & 19
ramused 