California Fever

Presidential Forum

Today is my last day on the job...then 33 days off, baby!  My mother's in town (with my brother's family right now) and will be arriving tomorrow to spend a few days with me while J's in L.A. for gigs this weekend.  Next week I plan to kick back and get a bit organized at home.  We'll be staying home for the 4th since J will be working as much as he can next week at his golf course job since he'll be taking the following week off.  My brother's family plans to camp in Tahoe over the 4th (Mom included), if the smoke from the Tahoe fire isn't too bad at that point.  My mother returns to North Las Vegas on the 6th.  We'll be leaving for a road trip on the morning of the 7th--back the night of the 15th.  I believe that's called, oh yes, a SUMMER VACATION.  Something we've never truly had in 12 years together.  I can't even tell you how excited I am to be taking a 9-day vacation that doesn't involve gigs or visiting family members.  Nothing against family, but it's nice to just get away...

PBS is hosting their All-American Presidential Forum for Democratic candidates TONIGHT from 9:00-10:30 pm EDT (airs at 9:00 pm PDT, too!)  (The forum for Republican candidates will be on September 27th.) You can watch tonight on PBS or online.  Tavis Smiley will be moderating this event and the panel consists of three journalists of color. This event is inspired by the book The Covenant with Black America.  A list of credentialed bloggers for the event (if you want to follow along via live-blogging) is here.

Greensburg

I've spent the day until now (late afternoon) in bed, getting some much needed rest and sleep.  Reading fiction when I wasn't sleeping.  I just wanted to pop in to say that in between my bed time, I've been following the Greensburg story online since early this morning, and my heart goes out to that poor town.  They must be in such shock.  I know how shocked my little town felt when we lost our entire downtown to a tsunami when I was a kid...but Greensburg has lost its entire town.  It's heartbreaking to think that once they've had a chance to go through the debris and rubble, there may be more victims.  One more reminder that in an instant, everything can change.

It says here that the best help we can provide right now is to give monetary donations to the local chapter of the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

Virginia Tech

fishing hole

as i cast my line
in water of our shared lives
let me find kindness

My school will be joining in the national day of mourning today for Virginia Tech.  We will be wearing maroon and orange, and ribbons, as well. 

We were put on high alert yesterday when schools in two neighboring counties were put on lockdown.  There was a guy (who's apparently a meth addict--one news story quoted his mother as saying he's been strung out on it for months) claiming that he was going to go on a rampage that would make the one at VT look "mild."  An email was sent to staff and we locked all exterior doors.  We were given his description and that of his vehicle, since he was thought at first to have been mobile.  In early afternoon the district sent an email that the suspect had been apprehended.  It wasn't until J and I were watching the 11:00 news last night that I learned that he hadn't been apprehended yesterday afternoon--he turned himself in late last night.  That sent a chill.  Because for those of you who remember reading about our lockdown last Fall, we were told that the suspect in that incident had been apprehended when he hadn't. The story of yesterday's event is here.

Thank you to Liz and Dana at Poetry Thursday for the daily prompts during this National Poetry Month.  And thank you to them for this week's "guerrilla poetry" prompt.  I've really enjoyed reading what others have done in response. 

When I first saw their prompt for today ("fishing hole") I couldn't imagine how I could possibly use it when I was in the mood for something much more somber (with my thoughts on VT).  But then that little haiku came to me.  And then I thought about yesterday's guerrilla poetry efforts.  So I'd like to make a suggestion on this national day of mourning for VT...

That you take one of your poems today (I'm going to use this fishing hole haiku) and share it with people today.  As a way to connect with those who cross your path...as a way to remind us that we're all connected...that we're all in this together.  Hand over a little poetry to those who might least expect it...your barista...your toll taker...your bank teller...your coworkers...your fellow pedestrians...your grocery checker...your gas station attendent...your mail carrier (clip one to your mailbox)...your doctor or pharmacist...your children...your mate.

Let us be kind to each other today.  And let us remember why we're wearing maroon and orange.

bad spirits

The Mayans are not happy...and I don't blame them.  Link via Easy Bake Coven

Obama

WALKING INTO HISTORY.

I might as well just make it clear this far out:  I'm supporting Barack Obama for President.  A couple of months ago, I had Jeffrey go onto eBay and buy us a handful of Obama '08 buttons.  You should have seen the furtive glances my lapel got when I wore one to the MLK Day event here in downtown Davis.  Sort of like, where'd you get THAT?? 

I was en route to C's basketball game in Dixon this morning when NPR picked up live coverage of his announcement.  It almost gave me chills, because it was such a momentous occasion.  Yes, I know, other Black men and a woman (don't forget Shirley Chisholm in '72--she was righteous!) have run for President, but this feels different.  The reason it feels different is that when I later watched the video of today's Springfield speech I saw a lot of non-Black faces in the crowd. A candidate can't get elected in this country on the Black vote alone.

I'm not supporting Barack because he's Black.  I'm supporting him because his candidacy makes me feel hopeful.  And I suspect that's why those thousands and thousands of people turned out in Springfield today.  They're looking for a candidate who's been against the Iraq war from day one.  They're looking for someone who believes in universal healthcare.  They look at Obama's scant two years in national politics not as a liability, but as an asset since he hasn't had time to be corrupted to the degree that the other candidates have.  They're looking for someone who's exceedingly smart.  (They might let any ol' yahoo into Yale, but it's not easy to get into Harvard Law School.)  They're looking for someone who's not about politics as usual. Some of them are looking for someone who cares deeply about the situation in Darfur. One of the things I like most about Obama might surprise you (since I make no bones about my liberal leanings) and that's this:  I think he's willing to listen to all points of view.  And when compared to the tendencies of the person currently occupying the Oval Office, it's refreshing and inspiring.  Bush seems to think that the only point of view he should listen to is that of his Machiavellian Veep.  I find that not only outrageously stupid, but also arrogant and very scary.

I've already been to www.barackobama.com and signed up for my.barackobama.com.  This go-round, the blogosphere is an even more important part of the political process, with candidates allowing supporters to have their own blogs on their sites.  Yes, another blog.  (Oh, like having too many already has ever stopped me from adding another one.)  ;) 

If you're an American citizen residing in the U.S.*, I hope that you will choose a candidate that feels right for you.  I doubt there are many Americans at this point who don't feel like drastic changes on many fronts is required.  The only way we can effect change is to take action, and the first and most important action is to VOTE.  This is OUR democracy...let's not forget that.

(*It was very frustrating to be American citizens residing in a U.S. territory and not have the right to vote in Federal elections.  We were unable to vote in both 2000 and 2004.)
    

Safe Passage

I know you probably get tired of reading about sad news and tragedies here, but I have to mention this.  I've been reading Solbeam's blog for quite awhile and I can recall reading about Hanley Denning's work with children at the Guatamala City dump in previous posts.  Hanley Denning (the "Angel of the Garbage Dump") was killed in a car accident a few days ago.  The story in her hometown newspaper in Maine is here.  Solbeam's beautiful, eloquent tribute to her friend is here.  Hanley's organization, Safe Passage, works to educate children who survive by foraging in the Guatamala City dump.  If you'd like to make a contribution to Safe Passage in her memory to see that work continue, the site is here.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

(most of) a sermon given April 30, 1967 at Ebenezer Baptist Church

Forty years later, we have repeated one of the worst episodes in our history.  Listen to this speech--replacing "Vietnam" with "Iraq"--and you can't help but notice how eerily prescient it is about our situation today. 

"...one of the difficulties in speaking out today grows out of the fact that there are those who are seeking to equate dissent with disloyalty. It's a dark day in our nation when high-level authorities will seek to use every method to silence dissent."

"...it is estimated that we spend $500,000 to kill each enemy soldier, while we spend only fifty-three dollars for each person classified as poor..."

"...it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hope of the poor at home. It was sending their sons, and their brothers, and their husbands to fight and die in extraordinarily high proportion relative to the rest of the population."

"The only change came from America as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support and all the while the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us...the real enemy."

"And don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world."

I imagine Dr. King would be heartbroken to know that his "Why I'm against the war in Vietnam" speech still applies 40 years later.

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Jeffrey is playing the big MLK Day Celebration in Portland on Monday.  KBOO FM will be broadcasting it live.

Day 15

I'm totally running late for work, so no time to post.  I'll try to be back this evening with a poem for Poetry Thursday.

If you can, please take a moment to watch even one of the video reports that Gabriel and Stacey have filed these past two weeks from the Sudanese refugee camps in Chad near the Darfur border.  They've extended their stay by one day--today is day 15 (although I'm not sure if video for day 15 is up yet).  I've been so touched and moved by what they've done.  It makes me want to do so much more.  You can click on the banner in my left sidebar, or just click here.  Thank you.

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EDITED TO ADD:  Jeffrey played at Schwarzenegger's public inauguration party in Sacramento's Capitol Park Thursday afternoon.   Arnold wasn't there--he's still recovering after breaking his femur in a skiing accident.  But he'll apparently be on hand for his swearing-in on Friday, as well as for all the big-ticket events today and tonight (which are closed to the public).  Maria Shriver was on hand yesterday though; Jeffrey met her backstage. I had a meeting after school, and when Jeffrey picked me up we went straight to my brother's to drop off some stuff.  Didn't make it home until quite late--ended up staying for dinner.  So I didn't get around to writing a poem for Poetry Thursday...but I did spend part of the evening sitting on C's bed with her listening to her read her favorite poems from the new Shel Silverstein book her mother gave her for Christmas.  And that was WAY better.  :)

I know you're probably tired of hearing me talk about Darfur, but as long as the genocide is going on, I'm going to keep mentioning it.  Want to do one thing to make a difference today?  You could contact your legislators, of course, to ask that they support sending UN Peacekeepers into Darfur.  But why not go right to the top?  Leave a message for ol' George that you think the genocide in Darfur should STOP.  The number at the White House is (202) 456-1111.

Youth for Hope

Jeffrey is en route to his New Year's gig at an Indian restaurant in Sacramento.  I'm home for the evening.  We had a rather extraordinary day.  We spent about four hours today helping set up our neighborhood park for a candlelight vigil this evening.  It was a project organized by four high school girls, two of whom were 9th graders at my school last year.  Two of the girls are sisters, and I know their mother because she was my school's PTA President last year.  (She's a wonderful person.) 

The girls wanted to set up 10,000 candle luminaries in the downtown park where our very popular farmer's market is held twice a week.  Three thousand of the candles were to represent American lives lost in the Iraq war.  The remaining 7,000 candles were for the 700,000 Iraqi lives that have been lost.  That's not for a moment to imply that American lives are more valuable than Iraqi lives--it would have just been logistically impossible for them to set up over half a million candles today.

We stayed until set-up was complete and then walked home for a brief nap.  Additional volunteers were arriving to light the candles at 4:00.  I heard later it took about 90 minutes to light all of them.

I have a set up on Flickr showing the before and after photos.  It was really quite touching.  As we opened the door to head back to the park this evening (we live close by), we heard the helicopter overhead.  I believe that was our newspaper taking aerial shots.  My pictures don't capture the crowd that was on hand this evening to witness and participate in the vigil, but it was a lovely crowd of all ages and many brought their own candles.  The girls did a great job of presenting a program that alternated between short speeches and music provided by local musicians.  It was an extraordinary event pulled together by four young people in a short period of time.

Their original blog post is here.  It was an honor to volunteer my time for this project today, and I'm sure Jeffrey felt the same way.  I just hope this time next year we'll be celebrating the end of the war...instead of setting up even more luminaries.

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The girls would like their "Youth for Hope" movement to spread to raise awareness among youth.  If students in your families would like to form a local chapter, please contact the girls via their blog. 

Stop Genocide Now visits Darfur/Chad Border

You're probably thinking, Oh, just when she posted a pretty picture and wrote us a little poem, she has to bring up Darfur again.  I'm simply going to say this:  two people from Stop Genocide Now have flown to the Darfur/Chad border region to transmit 14 days of video reports to all of us.  I've linked to all of the details at Bloggers for Darfur.  Would you have the courage to give up your holiday season and put your life on the line to show that ONE person CAN make a difference?  I'm not sure I would.  But I will support them by watching 14 days of videos and taking the "Action" listed next to each one.  I simply can't NOT spread the word about this.