Sunday, the 13th - A Day in the Life

Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.

~ Langston Hughes, The Collected Poems

"I make music wherever I go," I said, laughing at the gentle bonging melody ringing out at the store exit.

I had run to the store just ahead of the tax-free-weekend crowds and before we had lunch to celebrate a friend's birthday. [DH's phone was dead. I diagnosed damaged charging cord. And I needed something easy to cook for dinner.] I found a few extra items we needed as well and made it through the 20 items line with 16 to spare. Easy-peasy, right?

As the "catch the shoplifter" melody rang out, I looked up and recognized a woman coming in. There was laughter in her eyes and a smile on her lips as she came towards me, embraced me and kissed my cheek.

May I digress and share that I love this woman? AC is the mother of a school friend of our oldest child. But she is more than that. She is all love. When I first met her, she worked at the junior high school.* I would watch her as she greeted every child by name.** And she loved those kids - even those "hard to love" kids. You will never meet a person with a purer heart or more generosity of spirit.

We do not see each other often - she is busy with her youngest and with her classroom (and our other children are grown and off on their own). Brave woman that she is, she returned to school for a teaching certificate and is making a difference in the lives of another generation. But when I do see her, my spirit is lifted. She is my sister. She is my friend.

I love her.

Back to the story...AC stood (laughing) with me briefly as I looked back at my busy check-out clerk and then forward to the door where the "inventory loss specialist" was walking my way.

I showed my receipt and the item I suspected was the culprit (cheap thumb drive, but not cheap enough apparently). He waved me on. I waved goodbye to AC and headed to the house.

Once home I was able to use the power cord to "jump" the power-thirsty phone (do I mention here that DH rarely uses his phone, so he wasn't really too concerned?) and then we headed off to pick up a friend (JH) for a birthday celebration. We ate at one of our favorite spots where more laughter and stories filled the air between moments where all you heard was sighs, carving and chewing.

JH is a like-minded lover of the outdoors. We have wandered in the dark together - listening to the trill and purr and staccato of frogs and toads in the ponds near where he lives. He regularly identifies insects and arachnids for me. He knows all the butterflies.

He pointed out a spot that is a prairie restoration site*** and we shared information on others in the area. And we have plans for some seed saving in the days to come.

After dropping JH off, DH and I went to the ponds where we identified some of the birds and took a few photos. Most of the birds were too far away for photos so we have other uses for the data. Then DH pulled the car over and waited while I grabbed a few photos of road kill for a project we participate in**** and I discovered that wandering the roadside ditches in 96 degree weather is probably stupid, but that there are some interesting wildflowers still blooming, if one is willing to tread carefully.*****

I wondered if there was some message in the flowers I found today - three species of nightshade growing within a few feet of each other. This is Carolina Horse-Nettle. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The name "nightshade" may come from the preference of some varieties to grow in the shade and/or bloom at night. [Hmmm - Poison that prefers to hide in the shadows and act at night.]

This is Western Horse Nettle. Another nightshade, it has a flower similar to that of its "cousin" below, but the leaf is different.

Silver-Leaf Nightshade is yet another of the poisonous. While some in the nightshade family are common foods,****** it is important to be able to recognize the poisonous. It is important to name them and note that they often grow together. Don't eat them. Don't let anyone else eat them. Educate people.

Once home we refrigerated our leftovers (no cooking tonight!), I updated the databases and  communicated with a few folks - niece, sister, former professor, and other friends - while DH napped. The dog was walked a couple of times somewhere in there as well.

I played a few games of Freecell. [I am at the 693rd level - Extraordinaire.]

Then it was time for some chores after bragging to DH that his phone is charged and ready to go.

Tonight we will watch some TV.

It should have been an ordinary day. But it was not. After the violence and hate speech in Charlottesville my heart hurts.

It is important for me to focus on the everyday, the mundane, the silly,  and the heartfelt. Even as we are in a crisis in our country, life does goes on.

And as life goes on, we must continue to denounce hate and violence - the poisonous. We must fight ignorance. We must acknowledge that racism continues to exist in our country and in ourselves. Only by admitting this is the truth, by pulling these actions out of the shadows and into the light, by recognizing racism as what it is, and by standing up to it can we survive as a free nation.

It is a painful time. It is going to be a long and difficult struggle. But we are not alone.  I am grateful for my family, friends, and neighbors whose eyes are open and who inspire me every day. I pray for all whose eyes, hearts, and minds are closed.

I'm ending now with words from Reverend John Pavlovitz:*******

     We are not with you, torch-bearers, in Charlottesville or anywhere.
     We do not consent to this.
     In fact we stand against you, alongside the very beautiful diversity 
     that you fear.
     We stand with people of every color and of all faiths, people of every 
     orientation, nationality, and native tongue.
     We are not going to have this. This is not the country we’ve built together 
     and it will not become what you intend it to become.
     So you can kiss our diverse, unified, multi-colored behinds because your 
     racism and your terrorism will not win the day.
     Believe it.


NOTES:

*I still cannot imagine why anyone would want to work in a junior high.

**Seriously. She knew every kid and their parents. She was a font of knowledge and light. [I fudged it and still do - "dude" and "dudette" had to work for years. Now it is "boyo" and "girlio."  Of course, I can always just say, "Hey, I am over 60. I know I know you. Tell me your name again."

***There are now at least 3 in the area. This may be the start of a beautiful relationship. I'll need to make some calls.

****People really do keep data on road kill and the roads it is killed on. I refuse to walk out into the road, but will take photos of identifiable creatures from the safety of the shoulder of the road. I skip the unidentifiable/gross.

*****So far I have seen no snakes and have avoided fire ants. I have added two species of wildflowers to my life list just this week (Carolina Horse-Nettle and Zizotes Milkweed).

******Safe "fruit" include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant - you can eat my eggplant.

*******http://johnpavlovitz.com/about/