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| Raised with love, plus tasty drinks made with heart, and lovely crafted beautiful – 🙂 |
… and last until almost midnight the next night. From filibuster-mania through the dooming of DOMA, past Mandela’s delayed rewards … have to say wow.
I did nap between the late-nite cliff-hanger and the early morning – the bright part of the day started for me with the curbside hustle to beat the trash truck, a walk with the Hali & Boo prepping to attack the day. Quite pleasant the overnight turn of affairs – Texas deciding to play by the rules. We should keep a score card for what the republicans do to their fellow senators over the coming months. So, a win, and a win that came on June 26th.
While I took a turn at reading Mencius and Tzu and Plato, lounging on the sofa with Hali guarding me from distractions …
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| Hali ponders the nature of squirrels – evil or good? |
… a blood curdling EEK rang out from the den – Boo had wandered in to find that the Supreme Court of the United States had struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.
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| “…declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional on June 26, 2013, both “as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment”[2] |
We’ll call that two wins for today. Yay!
On days that start in limbo and after a decent nap become wonderful, there should be no surprise that it got even more better – hell, I’ll go out on a limb and make a ‘perfect’ call. [There should be note that the gravel road littered with glass shards that was the path to this point is by no means perfect, but I will give it credit if that is what the universe called in to play as to help us along our path…]
Here’s some news – I take naps. They’re short ones – I shoot for a 13 minute mindfulness session when I can – helps calm the brain pan and allows for a bit of refocus. If I happen to stay up listening to the future Governor of Texas Wendy Davis stand up for what’s right, and it turns out that midnight in Texas is actually later than it here here in the great time traveling state of North “Is it 1816 yet? Woman, get into the kitchen!” Carolina, well then, I shoot for a few minutes more. Say 23. And then another 23 … but that’s when choices are made for those who choose to slumber. Boo comes home, Hali comes in to pounce on my barely awake head, and Boo shares that the storms are coming!!
Up and to the front door I see that she is correct. Also, Hali is quite … excited? Spazz-tacular happiness? At Boo being home? At getting a walkies? At the storm? We just don’t know … but out we go, into the wind, waiting on the rain, the beautiful power of Ma Nature as terrifying as ever – hey, is that a bunch of clouds twisting around each other?
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| see you back in Kansas! |
I’m in awe. But luckily the storm didn’t wallop us. It showed up all impressive and such, then … then I got to sit on my front stoop with my Boo, in some folding camping chairs, and listen as the wind and the bit o’ rain came and visited us. Some lightning, some thunder – a summer storm, full of bluster, leaving pleasentness in it’s path. So kinda very odd, so very very nice to sit and be with my Boo.
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| I really should learn to smile … |
My Boo. My Halitron. My photos. My good news for parts of America. My brain stuffed full of essential discourse – what is human nature – good or evil? If “The Storm” was written by Ms. Chopen in the late 1800s, why are we still having this discussion? Do we argue if water is wet or not? Sigh.
My life. My hardships hidden ever so much under my skin, brought to the surface as I listen to my wife talk about her abortion, talk about our life that was not to be last year. Talk of the confusion, of the terror, of the pain, of the love … oh of the love. Of friends and family and good strangers doing hard jobs in a world kinda wobbly around its axis. It’s hard to sit next to her and not be able to right the wrongness of the world; to not be able to step into the skulls of the self-important pricks who ‘run’ the legislatures of the states – ‘Hey, asshole – I’m going to punch you in your soul so that you’ll always ache, and when you wonder why you ache you’ll have the trigger to remember this – only bad people make other people suffer for no good reason’ … sigh. Thank goodness for the internets for I’m able to distract myself from the vicsously yapping doggies who got stirred up listening to a strong person speak to the abuse being forced onto those who are not having a good day anyway; listening to a strong person try to get thick-skulled cretins to undertand the humiliation they are forcing people on a bad day to endure; humilation that not a single one of the sons of bitches has a clue about – 10 inches into a private space would not be something you’d endure in a manly way, I suspect.
Do I make the previous raw paragraph text white? Perhaps…
[beware amy, about to veer hard left] Too much sleep then not enough. A hell of a head cold after the pup tries to make an escape, only to leave a broken window (sigh). School where my brain is charged and happy and awake, only to not have a great close circle to speak with of my awe and to help me keep it all in and boiling away. All the little bits of life that are falling to the ground – how do you keep looking up and forward when you’re seeing if you’re stepping on your nuts? Sigh.
I’ve seen a couple of very good points brought up over the past few days on the Voting Rights Act gutting, and the dooming of DOMA. One of the best ones has been attributed to Nelson Mandela – [and talk about ‘live blogging’ – just got the news at 9:36p that Sir Mandela has passed to his great reward.]
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” from his Long Walk to Freedom (1995).
So, two wins, a significant loss, and a truth – if, as Kao suggested, we are blank slates, then I owe a unpayable debt of gratitude to my mom. I’ve tussled with the concern that though I’m a good man I’m not doing it right. Too many examples to support that claim. But … but. Thanks Mom.
As Brothers Vilgalys (they of Krupnikas fame) offered earlier today –
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| I concur |
Love. It’s all you need.
So here’s is my pithy column of words, stacked and packed to say … Hi. Things are – as ever – interesting. Or boring. Or crushing. Or wonderful. Hope you, in dealing with similar stops along the way, find love where you need it to be, when you need it. As a very wise sage has recently shared, and I hope you will take to heart and remember – you are beautiful. you are powerful. you are strong. you are loveable. Good things to remember, eh?
Ok. Ciao, mi amigos …
“Keep Calm and Carry On” or “Keep Calm … and Cupcakes!”
{{8:20p + 26Jun2013 = Wednesday eve || Mumford & Sons sing “Little Lion Man”}}