Words Of Hope

You can be pretty sure that if I'm blogging about how to buy food that doesn't hurt animals I'm in one of those 'everything bothers me' moods. The last two posts were about egg production and milk production, chickens and cows respectively. I also just finished the book written by Julia Butterfly Hill, about her time tree-sitting in an ancient redwood tree in order to save these thousand year old beings, who are older than the arrival of white men on this continent, from being cut down to become a deck or a picnic table. When I feel so overwhelmed with emotion about human cruelty and greed I get in a total funk.

To heal myself I reach out to nature. I sit on the deck and listen to the birds sing, feel the wind on my skin and hair, watch as the sunlight filters through the dancing leaves, and read the poetry of Wendell Berry. Here are two examples of his writing that speak to that healing.

In February of 1968 which was, of course during the Vietnam war, he wrote about war and peace:

In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter,
War spreading, families dying, the world in danger,
I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.



The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me 
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

One Of The Reasons...

... I avoid eating/drinking even organic dairy milk is shown in this beautiful video:

How To Know Which Eggs To Buy

The Cornucopia Institute seeks economic justice for family-scale farmers. Watch their video about egg production. Don't worry - there's nothing gross. They also provide reports on organic dairy and infant formulas.

Why should this matter? Because it's important to pay small farmers a fair price for their top quality products and because it's really nice to know that you're buying food made in a way that is consistent with your (my) values. We have basically stopped buying eggs altogether because we can't be sure we're buying from farmers like those you see in this video. It's a shame we have to be so suspicious when we shop, but we do it because it is so important to us. Maybe one day we'll have our own chickens - wouldn't that be great? :-)

Hands: The Perfect Symbol

I've been thinking since yesterday's post. It's easy to criticize but harder to come up with something better. So here is my suggestion for something better than a cross for Christians to use as the symbol of their religion: a pair of hands. Gentle hands. Caring hands. Compassionate hands. Hands that caressed the children. Hands that held animals out of harms way. Hands that clasped in prayer. Hands that supposedly healed the sick and gave sustenance to the poor and water to the thirsty. And it was those very hands that were nailed to that damn cross. What a beautiful and motivating symbol that would be, focusing less on what was done to him and more on the work he did and the life he led as an example to others. Look at the hands in these pictures:

Case closed. Happy Easter!

Living In The South

My recent visit from my mid-western sister and brother-in-law forces me to think, again, about my life in the South. When we first moved here Martha worried about our quality of life, but this area has changed a lot since those days, progressed in many good ways. There is very little we lack here. And yet...

... yesterday (Good Friday) we were driving along Mt Gallant Rd and saw a scene in front of a Baptist Church that shocked and horrified me. Men, real men, men who look like your average banker or mailman who I've probably stood next to in a store, were hanging from crosses in a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ. The guy playing Jesus had mock blood all over him and the 'thief' on the right looked like he had eaten one too many times at Outback. (I'm pretty sure men in the time of Jesus didn't weigh 280 pounds.) It was an obscene display that I'm still trying to process. I wish I'd taken a picture. I totally get it that Christians focus on the fact that Jesus died for them, to rid them of sin. What I don't get is their obsession with the cross itself; it's a symbol of violence, of hate; it served to embarrass and humiliate the person nailed to it. Shouldn't the symbol of a religion be a reflection of the teachings of its founder? Love, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, etc.? Acknowledge the sacrifice - yes. But be so focused on the violent actions of those who did that to him that they reenact it? wear it around their necks? If they had killed Jesus by stabbing him would today's Christians wear little butcher knives on their necklaces? I think they've missed the point of Jesus' teachings and actually take away from his message by focusing on the actions of his killers.

Anyway,  Southerners can also be funny, kind, and smart. These are some of the many things I like about them. What follows is one of those Southern jokes that can't help but make you smile. I think Jesus himself would've enjoyed a clever spoof like this, more so than the gruesome display glorifying his death.

How To Install A Home Security System In The South

1. Go to a secondhand store and buy a pair of used men's work boots, size 14-16.
2. Put them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo magazine.
3. Place a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazine.
4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Hey Bubba,

Big Jim, Duke, Slim, and I went for more ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with the pit bulls - - they attacked the mailman this morning and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took part in it, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. I locked all four of 'em in the house. Better wait outside.

-Cooter

Martha And Ken's Visit

One of the good things about us living in the South is that when Ken and Martha spend the coldest of Illinois' winter months RVing in warmer states it makes sense for them to swing by for a quick visit before they head home. We had the pleasure of spending three days together last weekend. The weather here was, for the most part, very nice; only one period of rain. We hung out, talked, went a few places, ate together, watched movies, and just caught up with each other.

On Friday we went for a walk in Cherry Park, then to Panera's for lunch, and ended up on our deck to chat against a backdrop of bird song and wind chimes. I'm the only one without a smart phone and there were some manly competitions as to who could pull up information first. Don't trust Martha's sweet smile; she had her phone with her too!

This was the last weekend of Come-See-Me and we went to Winthrop Lake Friday evening for a picnic and "Moonlight Jazz and Blues." The jazz was so-so (it may have been good; I'm just not much of a jazz person) and the weather got kind of cool as time progressed so we left after about an hour but it was so nice to be outside together.

Saturday was rainy. We tried to do the Come-See-Me Garden Tour but that got canceled, so we drove up to Ballantyne to watch Win Win. It was very good; I think all three of us liked it a lot. Since we were so close to the Barnes & Noble in Pineville we stopped off there so Ken could buy a Nook; he has some sort of geeky techy intention for it that I never fully understood. I don't think I probably ever could understand, but it made him a happy camper. After a sinful dinner at CiCi's Pizza (yum) we went home and watched Something's Gotta Give at Martha and Ken's suggestion (actually they recommended It's Complicated but there was failure in communication not worth explaining) and although I don't typically like romantic comedies, it was excellent. Since we watched the 'wrong' movie Saeed and I put It's Complicated in our Netflix queue at position #1.

Sunday it was beautiful again. I had to do some laundry that morning (Monday and the need for clean uniforms was looming around the corner) but we met for lunch at Moe's before our planned walk on the Riverwalk Trail.

Munchin' on some Moe's

The Riverwalk Trail is a 2 ¼ mile asphalt trail offering scenic views of the Catawba River. It is part of the City of Rock Hill’s Trails and Greenways System as well as the Carolina Thread Trail, a regional network of trails and greenways spanning 15 counties. The trail will eventually connect to other parts of the Riverwalk development. Nearly everyone we saw were walkers like us (there was one guy in a wheelchair too) but it is open for cycling and we did see two people on bikes. I think if there are a lot of walkers it would be difficult to safely ride very fast, but to be honest, the hilly terrain would keep me going slowly anyway!

 Some of the trail goes close enough to the Catawba River for a nice view across to the other side.

We didn't need the rest but these four stump chairs needed to be sat upon.

 In the distance we could see an old railroad trestle, not knowing that it would be at this point that the trail stops to loop around and go back the way we came.

 I was standing at the water's edge looking back up to the King and Queen of the hill.

 Halfway point below the trestle

 Although the trail ends the river meanders on enticingly. If you enlarge this picture you can see some kayakers in the distance.

 At home we ate dinner and then headed over to Ken and Martha's campsite. Here they are showing Saeed the marvels of RV living. It is quite amazing to think that everything one needs to live very comfortably for months on end can fit into the size of a Greyhound bus.

 Ken built us a nice fire so that we could make...

 ... s'mores! Saeed had never heard of s'mores; I guess they don't have boy scouts in Iran, so Ken showed him how to build the perfect s'more.

 Wearing a beard while eating s'mores is not advised.

 Of course I have marshmallow all over my lips too, just not in my beard. What can you do? You just have to give it to the sticky perfection. Notice Martha's singed-black marshmallow. We decided that even burnt marshmallow tastes great, but we also decided that Martha is a marshmallow-roasting-challenged person. She says she does it on purpose. Uh huh. :-)

This last picture holds some significance for Martha and me. Years ago M & K took me to their campground in Woodhaven and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores then too. We took a picture just like this, only with fewer gray hairs and wrinkles.  It's really hard to have your only sister 800 miles away. It's hard to stay as close as we'd like, but visits like this really remind me of how special my sister is and how much I want to stay close to her.

Taxes

I don't mind paying taxes, but it's gotta be fair, and the taxes should pay for services for the people.

This Melts My Heart

I actually prefer to watch this with the sound off so the human chatter doesn't interfere with the beauty of what's going on.

February 2011 Athens

Before Kai begins to walk, which will be any day, I'd better post our visit from February when Kai was newly crawling. I'm having trouble uploading the videos (keep getting error messages) but this one made it!

The next two pictures are to showcase those great big blue eyes.

The next four pictures where taken by Cyrus... 

...his dad...

... his Baba...

 

... his Namma...

... and his mommy.

Shirin recruited Cyrus to take our picture. Pretty good!

Cyrus and I are holding onto Kai for dear life!

I love this picture. Kai only has eyes for Cyrus.

Cyrus pleading to his Baba for help getting away...

... and turns into a suspension bridge.

Alone at last.

Look like a couple of college kids.

Someone's about to get a haircut.

Looks great. What a handsome boy.

 

 Good job mom.

Meanwhile, Kai checks out Baba's buttons.

Reading together.

Finally! I got the rest of the videos uploaded. They are of 8 month old Kai just toodlin' around doing 8 month old things:









Now that I'm caught up we can leave for Athens for another visit!