June 25th, 2018 → 6:38 am
“Grief fills the room up of my absent child,
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me,
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words,
Remembers me of all his gracious parts,
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.” – King John
My son has left for summer camp (a 2-week overnight camp), and it is just so unnatural without him. His presence fills the house; his toys, his clothes, his smell… his laughter, his smiles, his questions… My son will return in two weeks, yet if his brief absence to this happy place is still so biting, I literally cannot imagine what the bereft parents at the U.S. border are going through right now.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
June 15th, 2018 → 6:06 am
Congratulations North America, for winning the bid to host the 2026 World Cup!
June 10th, 2018 → 8:36 am
“Too famous to live long.” – Henry VI
Heartbreaking these suicides. May they now, at last, rest in peace.
Filed under: Blog
June 3rd, 2018 → 5:46 am
“Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it do singe yourself.” – Henry VIII
Europe (and Canada and Mexico and all our allies) must be asking themselves right now, with friends like the U.S., who needs enemies? Trump is so wrong on so many things it makes my soul cry. And I’m afraid the worst burn to the U.S. is yet to come.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians & Stupid/Evil People
May 26th, 2018 → 5:15 am
“We came into the world like brother and [sister]
And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.” – The Comedy of Errors
Benedict Cumberbatch is my new hero, for saying he will boycott any project that does not pay female co-stars the same as their male co-stars. He is urging other actors to do the same. And if that isn’t enough, apparently he is a “fervent feminist.” I don’t think I’ve had this big a crush on an actor since Michael J. Fox and Back to the Future!
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
May 20th, 2018 → 5:45 am
“Eternity was in [their] lips and eyes,
Bliss in [their] brows’ bent; none [their] parts so poor
But was a race of heaven.” – Antony and Cleopatra
Yes, I watched the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle yesterday. As it happens, my son woke up early too and we watched it together – that was fun! God bless the new couple, and may they enjoy years of happiness together.
May 18th, 2018 → 5:45 am
“Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.” – Hamlet
I made a new friend yesterday afternoon, and then met up with an old friend after work for coffee. A medium friend (what do you call someone who isn’t a new friend or an old friend, but a recent friend of 2-3 years??) I found out is leaving the United States at the end of summer and moving to the Netherlands; I don’t know when I’ll see her again. Friends come and friends go, they give pleasure and sadness, and if I could grasp some of them with hoops of steel, believe me, I would.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
May 7th, 2018 → 5:54 am
“The seasons alter…
the spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The semester is ending, the weather is turning, neighbors are moving, colleagues are retiring, change is afoot. I feel the need to grasp onto something steady, heavy, and strong. As the rivulets of life rush past, cool, wet, and murky, I look into the waters and consider. And sigh. And then, as a yellow butterfly winks past, I slip off my shoes and step into the stream and enjoy.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
May 1st, 2018 → 6:20 am
“Beauty, truth and rarity,
Grace in all simplicity,
Here enclosed, in cinders lie.” – Phoenix and Turtle
It broke my heart to read about the letter a woman wrote to her husband, just before she was put on the trains to Auschwitz. It is amazing the letter survived the Holocaust at all; it is even more astonishing how love, it seems, can shine through anything.
April 25th, 2018 → 6:47 am
“England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.” – Richard II
All countries make mistakes. Treatment of the Windrush generation is definitely one of the UK’s.
Filed under: Blog & Politics/Politicians