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Monday, October 12, 2015
My July 2015 Newsletter:
Friday, October 2, 2015
Autumn has arrived.
On the last evening of summer Lloyd and I invited the immediate
neighbors from our cul-de-sac to visit our home for refreshments. We printed up
a handout with the dates and times of upcoming magnificent performances by the
moon, planets, and stars for the remainder of the year 2015. It gets quite dark in our little area,
providing a good opportunity for great viewing.
I included on the paper a poem: "Autumn is another spring, when
every leaf is a flower." (Albert Camus)
In an ever expanding circle of interconnectedness, Katerina, one of our
granddaughters, said when she looked at the handout "I'm studying Camus in
class now" at Wilde Lake High.
On our walks we observe more and more dry crunchy fallen leaves
underfoot, particularly on the hilly paths off the Middle Patuxent
Environmental Area. Mentioning our
walks, I cannot fail to tell you how we continue to get such a kick out of the
"beeps and honks" from an increasing number of you along Cedar Lane
Lloyd has hung two new hummingbird feeders outside our kitchen windows -
one over the sink and one beside the table where we eat most of our daily
meals. Over the 23 years that we have
been living together in our townhouse, we have had numerous such feeders which
rarely attracted hummingbirds. These two
new feeders are very small - about four ounces - and the humming birds really
love them. We get so much pleasure
watching these tiny winged creatures. In
Ecuador
As
sponsors of the legislation that created the Howard County Arts Council over
thirty years ago, Lloyd and I are so gratified to see the arts continue to
thrive in our community. The quality of
concerts, theater, and the visual arts is truly stunning for a community of our
size, and we attend the performances and exhibitions frequently.
When
I was a five year old first grader at St. Bernardine's Elementary School in West Baltimore , I played the role of Mary in a nativity
scene in a school Christmas play. Some
of the kids said I was chosen because my older sister, Martha, had entered the
order of nuns, Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), who taught at the school. My mom, of course, differed and believed it
was pure talent that landed her youngest daughter the pivotal role At any rate, that nativity scene
uncharacteristically elicited much laughter from the mostly parental audience
because I could not keep my veil from slipping off of my head and had to keep
reaching down to the floor, on which I was kneeling by Joseph and the infant
doll in the crib, to return it to its rightful place. I have never performed on stage since, though
in later elementary school years as a member of the choir I was occasionally
pulled out of class to go next door to the parish church and sing solo in Latin
from the choir loft at a funeral mass.
My mom opined that I was chosen because I had perfect pitch,
though, alas, years later we learned that the nuns said I was the only kid in
the choir loud enough to fill the entire church from the loft. Fast forward to
the present and the upcoming next segment in October of the Columbia Festival
of the Arts. I received a call from
Valerie Lash, Dean of Arts and Humanities at Howard Community College (HCC),
whose energy and talent serves our
community so beautifully through Rep Stage and other venues, asking me to play
a small part in one of the productions of the Festival. So after almost 70 years I will be back on
stage along with other familiar faces from our Columbia
Rehearsal
went great last week, and the director, S.G. Kramer, said I delivered my modest
lines beautifully!
Culture
and the arts are thriving throughout HCC under not only Valerie, but others
such as Tara Hart and Helen Mitchell. I
recently attended the Rep Stage production of Baltimore Waltz. Magnificent!
Jim Karantonis is a friend who has volunteered and given me some
guidance on my writing-very helpful and energizing. Jim describes himself as a story teller. I have heard him deliver one of his
"stoop stories" at HCC. Last
week at a performance of the HCC Arts Collective, he read "The Prize"
a true story from the psych wards during the Viet Nam War. I was truly bummed out when I had to leave
before his reading. Jim sent me the radio recording of this piece which he
describes as "my small way to remember the soldiers."
REFLECTIONS ON
ZACH
I continue to
hear from people, some of whom I don't know, about how their lives are being
inspired by Zach and the way he lived his precious, though brief, life. I am
including a message I received recently from Jerry Krasnick, a long time friend
here in Columbia
"I went
camping a few months back, and I was hiking a mountain that had some tough
challenges for me.....my MS is getting worse, so it's difficult to hike steep
inclines.....anyhoo....I got near the summit and was contemplating giving up
and going back down.......I thought of two people that always had the attitude
of "never give up," my mother and your grandson Zach.
I made it to the
top.
Love &
Peace,
Jerry
Last week,
Zach's sister, Julia posted on Facebook, continuing his family's dedication to
keeping his beautiful, indomitable spirit alive. And alive it is.
"#tbt with
my bestfriend, miss you more than anything"
On November 21,
the annual Zaching Against Cancer Foundation will hold its second(?) annual
run/walk at Turf Valley
Go to
"Zaching Against Cancer.org" and come join us. We had a great time last year and would love
to see you.
REFLECTIONS ON BALTIMORE
I am so
encouraged to read in the Baltimore Sun that the University of Maryland Law
School from which I graduated is offering a course on Freddie Gray exploring
"the legal and social challenges that surrounded Gray's life and death,
and continue to fuel the distrust between police and the community in many poor
and minority neighborhoods-challenges of housing, policing, education,
violence, unemployment and health care."
Regarding
violence, the following Baltimore
"The Beast
Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America", a series of essays by former
Baltimore City middle school teacher, D. Watkins, was released in September. D.
grew up in Baltimore Baltimore
Brutal as some
of these essays are, I believe they can help us understand what we must do to
revive this city as a place where all human life is respected and valued.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-d-watkins-review-beast-side-20150911-story.html
After
several years of failed attempts, Maryland
I
was a co-sponsor. During the past year,
much deliberation has taken place on the most advantageous method to administer
this new law in a way that provides the most benefit to those who want it to
ease the symptoms of various diseases and addictions while at the same time
preventing harm and abuse. Having
prepared and adopted clear and strong guidelines, the state is now accepting
applications for the first round of licenses to administer this law.
One
application is from a consortium led by Blaise Connolly Duggan, a Columbia resident and graduate of Wilde
Lake High
School , who is now the director of the Penn
North Drug
Addiction Treatment
Center in downtown Baltimore Baltimore
There
are several other Wilde
Lake
Lloyd
and I recently attended the memorial service for Richard Israel at St. Anne's
Church right on the circle in Annapolis Annapolis
Richard
was a brilliant, principled man who also had a marvelous sense of humor. A few
years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The way in which he lived with this disease
which spares little in those who live with it was exemplary. He inspired so many of us.
Then
during the last legislative session, Richard performed what I believe may have
been the best work of his life. He
voluntarily served as the human face for the "Death with Dignity
Bill." He did not get the benefit
of this legislation at his life's end because it did not pass the
legislature. I'm certain that his
courageous and life-loving example moved this public policy closer to being in
law for others of us who hope to have its benefits available to us at the end of our lives.
Thank
you, Richard.
NATIONAL
PUBLIC POLICY
Recently
I read through the e-newsletters I have sent out during the past two
years. I was surprised to see that in
virtually every one I had mentioned Pope Francis in one way or another. Clearly there was something about this human
being that caught and held my attention.
When
the Pope addressed Congress, I was on the lawn with thousands of others. The simplicity and directness of his words
stood out along with the softness of his voice and facial expression. In my case there was agreement with the large
majority of his points on public policy.
His ability to give voice to very strong positions with a gentle voice
is something I want to learn.
Watching
many of Francis' other appearances and listening to his talks on TV, I saw love
show up on the faces of so many of his listeners, some of whom more frequently
wore frowns and some who had expressed contrary public policy positions.
How
many times during his visit to the U.S.
In
his presence, I experience hope.
BEYOND
THE U.S
I
recently had a long cup of tea with Mike Clark, co-publisher of the literary
periodical, Little Patuxent Review, and a former reporter with the Baltimore Sun who covered me when I served as a Howard
County Councilmember and County
Executive Germany
"Liz-
Angela Merkel, research scientist who grew up in communist East German,
turned German political leader:
Merkel
represents the efficacy of maternal wisdom in social policy. Maternal
wisdom reflects the sensitivity for children, family and community.
It sees the body politics in these terms as fundamental to society. You
can imagine her feelings when she saw the photos of the drowned Syrian child
and how it touched the essence of what was an unfilled destiny of that
child--and how Germany itself--besmirched by the horrors it caused in WWII and
the holocaust--can find liberation and renewal by opening its arms.
Maternal wisdom re-energizes a graying German society with immigrants seeking
opportunity and it re-defines what it means to be a German offering hope rather
than violence and death implied in the uber race consciousness of the Nazis and
the rigid thought control of the Communists. Maternal wisdom helps with
the transitions essential to social mobility, creativity and opportunity.
it defines social policy as
an
extension of family and community and sees the value in our
inter-connectedness.
Mike"
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Pools of sorrow, waves of joy.
Are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me.
Across the Universe Lennon and McCartney
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