I MAKE LISTS . . .

I make lists, therefore I might be.
                                   -Renney Dee Shopping Kart*

A question from the next room:
                Did you remember to empty the cat boxes?
      Response: Have't done it yet.  An aside: I'd better
                                                          put it on the list.
                                                           
A wonderment:  Do I have enough vinegar to make the salad
                          dressing for the salad we are taking tonight?
      Response:  Yep! Just enough. Good!  An aside: Got to
                                                                   make sure to put
                                                               it on the shopping list.

              A comment:   Aren't lists wonderful !?







                                  *Rene Decartes  "I think, therefore I am."
                                    (1596-1650)

Can I Believe It?

Whoda thunk it! Those lasting words of singer/songwriter Greg Brown echo through
my mind yesterday, as I sat in front of the TV . . . watching the Women's March. (I'm way beyond marching anymore in terms of putting one foot in front of the other. But my heart marches along
with the multitudes.)

Last night, Elizabeth and I gathered in the home of friends, one of whom had been one of the
Parade Marshalls. She wore her pink hat for us. How proud we are to have her as a longtime
friend. A person of like mind, she is.

I remember walking just behind MLK in the March on Washington a mere 54 years ago. And, then the awareness came to me that yesterday . . .

              Our granddaughter was a part of that Women's March,
                          along with her family and friends!
                       Oh my . . . will wonders never cease?

                                       I HOPE NOT!

YOU HAD TO HAVE BEEN THERE . . .

       I had the privilege to have been in the March On 
         Washington. Not only that - but I walked right 
       behind Martin Luther King. I never spoke to him 
     but could have reached out and touched his jacket. 
              We were packed together in solidarity.

No one quite knew what would happen. The Washington, DC
police had been mustered and posted at crucial locations along
the supposed route. The fear was that it would all escalate into
a massive riot.

      Instead, it was an event that changed my life forever.

Two hundred and fifty thousand souls showed up for this March
on Washington, along with me, a rural, midwestern young man.
I was mesmerized by being a part of such a mass of humankind.
As more and more people gathered, movement began near the
front steps of the Capitol. People began to flow toward the Mall
and the Lincoln Memorial. I found myself walking just behind
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Standing near the steps to the Memorial, we listened to songs
sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan,
Joan Baez, Odetta, and Marian Anderson.

King began to speak from a prepared manuscript. At first, his
speech was lackluster - not very exciting. That was until . . .

Mahalia shouted, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" King
put aside his notes and delivered one of the most famous
speeches of the century. Coming alive, he thundered the words

                                I have a dream.

The rest was history.

It doesn't take much to trigger in me vivid recollections of that
Wednesday, the 28th day of August, 1963. Memories pour forth
as torrential flash floods in a desert.

I had been trying to make sense of what was happening in this
time in history. A student at Wesley Theological Seminar in
Washington, DC, I was so aware of all the protests, boycotts,
marches, and the actual naming of racism. I so wanted to make
a difference.

         That day, social justice became a focus of my life.

                                   *   *   *   *   *

         Having grown up in the 50's and 60's in an all-white
         community . . . only once had I seen a person with
         black skin-color. He was a player on another team
         during a state high school basketball tournament. His
         particular team came from a town just 24 miles away
         from my home.

A Dozen Roses to Remove Winter Darkness

Where will they show up next?
The vase of cut roses moved
from room to room.
They are of the lightest pink with
an added delicate sprig
of Baby's Breath.

Oh, there they are - over by
the window in the garden room
where we eat breakfast.

     Wrong!

Those are blooms of the pink
bougainvillea vine brought inside
for the winter.

Their tri-partite bracts, a trinity of grace . . .
a reminder of the words "I Love You."
And always will,
my sweetheart.

Now,
where are those roses anyway?
Oh, there they are! Next to the clock
on the dresser by our bed.

Tonight, in the dark,
I will gently wake you -
and shine a little flashlight
on the bouquet,

so we see them
together.

Remembering Rachel

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries
of earth are never alone or weary of life.   -Rachel Carson
                                                                    (1907-1964)

     Remembering Rachel

       From a
          spring-melt
          water puddle -
              memories of Rachel
                     emerged.

          I met her there
              many times in my
                     younger years.

          She always
              did favor
                     ocean edges.

              Later in life,
                      I met her there.

                                        Many times.

                         *  *  *  *

Rachel Carson was fascinated by the ocean.
Silent Spring is one of the early environmental
science books. It was published on September of
1962 (about 4 months after I graduated from
college). I never dreamed that I would ever see
the ocean. I had lived in prairie land. Then, I read
Silent Spring. Her book clearly spelled out the
detrimental effects on the environment of the
indiscriminate use of pesticides. Her statements
meshed and gave validity to my concerns. I
remember how she accused the chemical industry
of spreading disinformation and how public
officials accepted industry claims without question.

In the 1950's, Rachel gave her attention to
conservation, especially to environmental concerns.
Of course, Silent Spring was met with fierce
opposition by chemical companies, but it spurred a
total reversal of our country's pesticide policy. Her
efforts led to a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural
uses, and inspired an environmental movement that
led to the creation of the U.S Environmental Protection
Agency.

In 2006, Silent Spring was named as one of the 25
greatest science books of all time.

Just recently, I realized that when we were living in
Silver Spring, Maryland, Rachel also lived there!
Unknown to me, we may even have seen her while
shopping at the Woodward & Lothrop Department
Store.

Near the end of her life, she fainted and fell in that
same Woody's.