Life thoughts, memories and contemplations

Yes, of course. How could I have done that!!! Yet,...

2009-01-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, of course. How could I have done that!!! Yet, to me when the protests were going on and the police were there and arrests were made, it became outside the law in my mind's eye. Sitdowns. Sometimes riots, and that kind of thing did elicit penalties. Protesting started as passive resistance, I know, but they did challenge the laws. I supported that challenging method, however, didn't ever participate in them
Thanks Tucsonsam

You've done it again. Within your short post is th...

2009-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

You've done it again. Within your short post is that wonderful germ of truth to chew on and digest.

"When it comes down to it, I really don't think we ever need to catch up because where ever we go, what ever we do, there we are. There is no catch up in the now."

Thanks for your story. Many of us may have experie...

2009-01-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your story. Many of us may have experienced something similar, feeling the hurt and rejection without necessarily connecting it to the larger picture of prejudice. If we could go that one step further, perhaps racial prejudice would have lost its hold on us much sooner than it is doing.

I'm a firm believer in the power of words, and how what we say affects how we think. For this reason, I wanted to point out something you said in your story that bothered me.

You said: "The responsible hippies lived the life, but remained on the right side of the law with the exception of smoking pot and protesting."

Protesting is not illegal. I understand that both smoking pot and protesting were/are looked at in the same light, as some sort of transgression, but the fact of the matter is that protesting is a right, and by calling it outside the law, there is the possibility of strengthening the bias that it seems to carry.

I can feel the hurt as you describe it. I'm sorry ...

2008-12-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

I can feel the hurt as you describe it. I'm sorry this happened to you, and know from my reaction that I must have been hurt in a similar way at some point. These things linger with us for a long time, but they also are the things that strengthen us and help to humanize us.

Yes, good point. I need to elaborate a bit. Let's ...

2008-09-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, good point. I need to elaborate a bit. Let's see if I can get this straight.

I guess it's just that first baby we may never have had if we knew what was involved. After that, our lives change so much it's a whole new ball game. And, I agree, we forget much. Anyway, that first baby changes everything.

S

"We’d never have babies if we really knew what was...

2008-09-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

"We’d never have babies if we really knew what was involved.
But, by the time we have the baby, it’s too late."

Hmmm, but we sometimes have another baby, or more than one. Can't say we didn't really know what was involved then. Although I will agree that we seem to forget a lot, we still know.

Sandy mentions memories of plastics becoming part ...

2008-08-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Sandy mentions memories of plastics becoming part of our life. Somehow, this immediately brought me back to the kitchen of our home in Sioux City, Iowa. A kitchen in a house build nestled into a hill. A kitchen with a concrete floor and a back wall with no windows because that part of the house was in effect underground. I always thought of that back part of the house as a cave. The side door was definitely a cave entrance, as it clearly had earth on top and on the side of it. The route to the upper floor of the house was up the side of the hill. There was an apartment up there, a bit bigger than the one we were living in, as the back of the house was level with the ground at that point.

As far as plastics go, the flashback shows me looking into the refrigerator, at bowls of leftovers covered with various sized plastic "shower caps", round sheets of thin plastic gathered at the edge with elastic to hold tight to the bowl. What had we used prior to this? Waxed paper, held in place with rubber bands is my memory.

Also in that refrigerator were packages of oleo-margarine, or oleo as we called it. They were packaged one pound to a plastic bag, and the oleo was white. There was a little orange-red button of food coloring you had to pinch to release it to the oleo, then knead the bag until the dye was spread throughout the oleo, creating a transformation from a lard-like substance into something we could think of as butter.

It seems that at the time, it was illegal in some states to sell yellow margarine. Something about protecting the dairy industry.

Now margarine is supposed to be bad for us, and we may someday be strangled in a mass of undecomposed plastic. And I've forgotten what Sandy's point about plastic was.

Oh yes, Sandy seems to have used the memory to trigger thoughts about the present. Memories for me always evoke thoughts about the past, sometimes catapaulting me there. I know we both often wonder where am I now, where am I going, what am I here for, it just seems easier for me to go off in the direction of what happened, why did it happen, what did it mean? But then, I don't hold the intention to stay in the present as seriously as she does. History is important to me. After I'm gone, I want people to know how we covered our food and transformed white stuff into yellow stuff to make it look like real butter.

Of course you can!!! Thanks for your comment and y...

2008-08-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Of course you can!!! Thanks for your comment and your appreciation. I'm just learning this links thing, so will return the favor as I get better at it.
Sandy

That above "anonymous comment" was posted by me - ...

2008-08-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

That above "anonymous comment" was posted by me - don't know what happened there. Anyhow, mind if I take some of your phrases back with me to my blog and possibly post on them from time to time? I'll link back to you when and if I do, of course.

Wow! Pretty powerful "little" phrases. I'd love to...

2008-08-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! Pretty powerful "little" phrases. I'd love to hear further thoughts on each of them individually.

Does anyone think it's a coincidence that what tas...

2008-08-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Does anyone think it's a coincidence that what tastes better and makes you feel better is also better for the planet?

To my sister in Christ, my friend by choice, and m...

2007-10-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

To my sister in Christ, my friend by choice, and my cousin by berth, I say. It is very early in the morning, the day after. Yesterday was another step in my journey of life, another emotion surfaced, another experience lived, a much needed awareness that I am worthy because I exist. I have just read your email and for the first time noticed your various blogs (I hope that is the proper word)I scanned through all of them and was deeply touched by what I saw. I want you to know that when I feel I am getting lost, with the assistance of readings/comments such as I found in your writings, my personal four room house, rooms that are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual need to be used every day even if only to keep them aired. I strive to eliminate rear view mirrors in my existence as they only reflect what is behind me. I choose rather to visualize a Crystal Ball which illuminates my future, lighting the way, and I know my Crystal Ball will shine only if I live in the now, living each moment in fullness. Thank you Jo, for your challenging life words on these pages. Perhaps next time you are up this way visiting your daughter we can spend a day together, just you and I. Not to look in our rear view mirrors but to polish our crystal balls together, sharing our beliefs, our opinions, our thoughts. It is sometime in listening we learn and sometimes in speaking we hear. God bless you. Donna Lee