MAIL!

I got a letter! From a real person! And I stopped what I was doing, sat down and opened it. For just those few minutes, I fell into someone else’s world. The slant of the words, the loops and whorls of penmanship, I was touching something she made - just for me.

Emails speed up the communication. They lie in a long line of other messages that demand my attention. Even when they take up the whole screen, I know that once that note is closed other messages will wave and call. My aunt prints out her emails in order to give them the personal attention they deserve.

Emails are not letters.

But a letter! In an envelope! My surroundings actually drop away. I can’t read a letter and unload the dishwasher - as I can when I am talking on the phone. With a letter in my hand - and in my sight - I don’t look around and notice Things That Need To Be Done.

Texts? I think of texts as Need To Know Quickie Notes. They ask questions. They call for attention. “What time…?” “Give me a call…” “Thinking of you. Let’s talk later…” “Could you?…”

Texts are not letters.

Video calls connect me to people far away. I love seeing their faces and hearing their voices. But just like actual meetings, video calls end, and unless we record every single one, we have only our memories as souvenirs.

Video calls are not letters.

This letter? I can read it again and again. I can smile as the words race across the paper. I can imagine my sister’s desk. She might have written it there - or at the table in the kitchen, or even sitting in her yard under her orange tree.

I got a letter! and it lifted up this hot summer day - like a scented breeze from somewhere faraway!  I got a letter and because I did, I am going to take the time to write a letter- or two - right now.

BLM - Book reviews

Hmmph,!  I just spent two hours trying to make a book review video and my tongue tripped over so many words that I quit!  I quit!

Instead, I will review four books that address, however tangentially, the issues that Black Lives Matter protesters hope to change.

This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewel. Written for students, this book is a primer for understanding who the reader is and how they fit into the various circles of influence in society. When the reader figures that out, they are given tools for speaking out and taking a stand. Finally, Jewell offers ideas for finding allies, joining organizations and campaigns to make our society more fair for everyone.

We Are Power by Todd Hasak-Lowy. Hasak-Lowy covers six long-running nonviolent campaigns that suceeded.  Mahatma Gandhi's march to the sea earned India its independence. Alice Paul worked tirelessly and very publicly to gain the right to vote for women. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Project C campaign worked to end segregation in the south.  Cesar Chavez fought, non-violently, for better wages for the migrant farm workers of California and the Southwest and he won!  Vaclav Havel led the Velvet Revolution which turned Czechoslovakia into a democracy.
The last nonviolent protest is still ongoing, Greta Thunberg's protest to bring attention to our dire climate crisis continues to this day.
Nonviolent protest does NOT mean no one gets hurt. This book shows that we can change the way people think and act without inflicting violence on others.

Thurgood Marshall by Teri Kanefield. This book is part of The Making of America series of biographies by Kanefield. The biography is eminently readable and gives a lively overview of the

first Black Supreme Court Justice's life as well as an overview of Civil Rights in America in the late 20th century.

New Kid by Jerry Craft. Winner of the 2020 Newbery Award, this graphic novel follows Jordan, a aspiring cartoonist, as he starts at a new prestigious private school a train ride from his neighborhood school. Jordan is one of a handful of kids of color at this school. To deal with new-school-itis, Jordan draws these awesome comics that describe his trip to the new school every day, how he thinks his teachers see him and the other students and his feelings.  The interactions with the teachers are so realisitic that I wonder if this book is based on Jerry Craft's own experiences. It's awesome and eye-opening and hopeful.

Sunday Selfie - What I Believe, Stuff I Learned

Things I believe:
I believe Black Lives Matter.

I believe families should stay together.

I believe in social distancing and mask wearing as a community attempt to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19.

I believe that Native Americans have the right and responsibility to protect their sacred lands.

I believe that the Earth is our Home and should be kept clean.

I believe that our National Parks MUST be protected.

I believe in a whole lot more (universal health care, voting rights for all, we are all one family,  dandelions are not weeds), some serious, some not.

And I believe in YOU!

Thanks, Pixabay.

It’s been a time, hasn’t it?  Are you keeping a journal? Do you write down the events as they happen? Do you make note of the realizations you have had, the joys you rediscovered, the small happinesses of your days? YOU could be the Samuel Pepys of 2020.  Those entries will create the stories of your future.

Almost daily, some municipality in our area hosts a rally to support Black Lives Matter. It gives me hope that people will eventually start treating others as members of the same community.

Our county has moved to “yellow” - stores and restaurants are re-opening with social distance requirements and mask requirements.  Yesterday, I went to a store!! And bought crafting supplies…of course.

While I ease into finding my new normal, I wonder what I have learned.

I have options that a lot of people don’t have. I learned that. Things as simple as a choice in what I eat for breakfast can fill me with gratitude and awareness.

When I walk around my neighborhood, there is beauty everywhere I look. People grow kaleidoscopes of flowers in their yards. Rabbits are everywhere! Small things can bring joy. I learned to look for them.

I learned that I have enough! Enough food, clothes, room. Stores will see less of me, I think.

I like my own company. It’s nice to learn that I like myself, even while I stew over my shortcomings.

I learned that change takes way, way too much time. We just have to keep working, trying, picking ourselves up and marching forward. Our goal is to always “spiral upwards” towards joy, towards love, towards a unity that makes room for everyone.

Stay safe, everyone. Keep striving for peace, hope and love.