Banned Books Week

It's hard to believe that we are still having this discussion.  Banning books – in this day and age – seems crazy to me.

When I was in 8^th grade I was called the principal’s office.  This didn’t happen often and my heartbeat “like sixty” all the way down to the office.  They handed me a list of books.  Don’t remember them all but I had read almost all of the books on the list.  They were books that were to be banned from our school library.  There was to be a district-wide forum – that day – I had been chosen to attend because our school librarian could think of no one else that he was certain had probably already read the listed books.

I don’t remember, now, the names of all the books on the list but Judy Bloom and several other well-loved authors were prominent.   Many of the listed books had been very provocative for me.  Provoked me to think, opened my mind, dream of possibilities.

So, I went to the forum, indignant and full of zeal.  Can’t imagine why adults think that young people are stupid.  They can discern ideas – find appropriate thoughts and behavior and sort it out for themselves.  My guess is that adults are often afraid that children who read will develop the ability to think for themselves.  How could anyone think that is a bad thing?

Can I just say, out loud, again - today, how much I love librarians in this country?  They have been holding the line for freedom, in a very real way, for years.  Standing up to Homeland Security and the closed minded.

Libraries have always been a comfort to me.  One of my top 5 favorite smells is the smell of books.  Love the smell of the pages and the way they feel on my fingers.  I love the smell of the “stacks” in the library, too! I spent 4^th through 12^th grade volunteering once a week at my hometown library.  Such a sanctuary.  I’ve often said that you can judge a town by its library.  Two of my favorites are South Bend, IN and Fargo, ND – go figure!!

I’ve gotten out of the habit of the library.  Probably a habit I should find again.  I felt such peace there . . . a place I always fit in.  Among ideas and stories and the people who love and appreciate them.

Wildflowers and Life

I like my flowers the way I like my people . . . REAL.

There’s something about a rose – big and beautiful – but outside of a man’s arms at my door – I don’t love them.  They feel . . .artificial.  Just too much.  Too full, too colorful, too much beautiful scent.

Give me a field of alpine flowers any day.   They are reedy, a little stringy and hardy.  I love that about them.  You find them growing in almost no soil at all.  I am awed a little bit when I happen upon a single bloom in the crack of a giant rock face.  In general, they don’t seem to have the energy to have much smell.

Those high country blooms just seem so happy to be there – that small, determined burst of color.  Among the myriad of shades of green of the forest and meadows – there they are.  That determination – to just be.  Briefly but fully, they are exactly who they are.  It’s made me love them since I was a small girl.

My uncle made me a flower press when I was in grade school.  Up to that point our big family dictionary had limited my ability to press and preserve them.  I loved that flower press.  I could put the flower and leaves in it.  Wait about 4 weeks and have semi-permanent versions of the beauty I found in the mountains. 

My Dad bought a book about alpine flowers of Colorado for me.  It was so much fun to wander around, alone, as a youngster – gathering and learning about them.  Growing up that way was an amazing gift.

My friend says the bush outside my front door needs trimming.  I have trimmed it . . . some.  Somehow though, I will never get over the beauty of the chaos of nature.

Barefoot Beach Weekend

The Absence of Want

Don’t remember before

feeling this,

the absolute absence of want.

In need of nothing

not food, not amusement nor funds

I sit here – absorbing the flight of the hawk overhead.

Complete attention

with peace in the space where empty  usually sits.

Empty is heavy and dull,

sucks the energy from my body;

a chunk of obsidian that sits inside my chest.

The absence of want feels . . .

refreshing.

A spiritual drink.

Soft – the way the

blue water of Lake Michigan

looks at my feet.

This moment – you gave me

a gift hauled up – whole

from the sand, far below.

A gift worth no price

No charge

My heart is full –

no room for empty,

want of nothing.

tsr

9-4-11

My Dinner with . . . Jim

This is Jim, last night, as I saw him off to Cairo.  He is an extraordinarily gifted writer, educator and friend.

Jim travels the way I would if I were brave enough.  He doesn’t just visit, tour around and eat great local cuisine.  He stays . . . teaches and learns.

One of the topics of discussion last night was the name of his new blog in Cairo.

For the previous 2 years he has written as “Veeds of Arabia” while teaching English in one of the most repressive societies in today’s world (my words - not his) the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Reading his descriptions of everything from grocery shopping to parking in KSA was an amazing gift.

I look forward to his new adventures in Cairo – whatever the final name of the blog might be.  My suggestion was ‘Purple THORN of Cairo’.  Jim’s response?  “Keep thinking”.

So, do yourself a favor and look over the last few years of his last blog as we wait to see whether he will be so distracted by the sight of women’s ankles that he will be unable to find time to write.  Of course, he no longer has to make his own wine and hide it in bottles marked “grape juice” . . . so I think he’ll find time to bring Cairo alive for his small but loyal following.

He writes a political blog as well that is humorous and edgy.  I’ve included links to both below.

The best stories are the ones that follow a glass or two of wine.  Those are mine!!

Saudi Blog:

http://jveeds.blogspot.com/


Humor and politics:
http://jveeds.wordpress.com/