California Fever

plunge

can i go deeper?
will my heart feel invaded?
i blindly submerge

********************************

This week's prompt at Poetry Thursday has me quite excited.  Of course, excitement doesn't always translate into action.  ;) 

Although I fell behind while on my trip, I've been trying to get back onto the 37 Days Challenge shadow portrait bandwagon.  My shadows Flickr set is here.  The 37 Days Shadows Portraits pool is here.

I've also done a couple more Wreck This Journal pages since I returned.  That set is here.  The WTJ pool is here.  There's some amazing stuff there. 

Today is "Picnic Day" at UC Davis.  It's a HUGE deal.  It's the largest student-run event in the country, and it draws about 50,000-60,000 visitors to campus. (I just checked the website and they're implementing the 'rain plan.'  Bummer.  Yesterday was gorgeous, but we knew rain was in the forecast for today.) It all kicks off with a parade this morning at 10:00, which goes by half a block from our house.  Last year J was out of town and I walked to the corner with our neighbors (who've since moved) to watch the parade.  This year I think I might not go any farther than the wicker love seat on our teensy front porch.  I'll simply roll up the bamboo screen and watch from there.  Because at 11:00 I'm scheduled to meet up (on campus) with a group of Obama campaign volunteers to work the crowd.  The Sacramento for Obama group (which already has over 300 members--not MySpace friends, but members) coordinated this for us.  Those of us in the Yolo County for Obama group (we're just getting started) are going to join forces with them.  It will be my first gathering, even though at my.barackobama.com I'm the group administrator for the both the Davis and Yolo County groups.  I missed the March 31 meeting here in Davis (since I was working that afternoon in preparation for my bereavement leave).  Our next Yolo County meeting is April 24th.  Today I'll have a chance to meet the co-chairs of the Sacramento group.  That group is already doing fabulous things and planning a large gathering for all of the Northern California groups on June 9th.  I'm thrilled that Sacramento is going gangbusters.  Our poor ol' capitol city often gets overlooked by the glitzier L.A./Hollywood, San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley glamour.  But Sacramento's where we're making laws, baby!  I saw "Ba-ROCK's" on the Phoenix 4 Obama group's site a few weeks ago and thought it was a clever idea.  I biked all over town yesterday (while J was at a rehearsal in Sacramento) looking for rocks.  Didn't find any, but I finally found some bags of "accent gems" (clear flat-shaped 'rocks' in different shades) for $1/bag at the Dollar Store.  So I'll be spending my morning, Sharpie in hand, writing the Yolo County MySpace info on those suckers, as well as "Obama '08!" and *H*O*P*E*.  And let me tell you, that's a lot of info to write on such a small space.  ;) 

I, Obama

it's not just the sea 
of black faces that call
out to greet me it's
that i see all of you
all colors and races
and ethnicities
cultures and tribes
young and old rich
and poor you say i
make you feel hopeful
that it's been so long
since you felt this
way but surely you must
realize that you give me
hope

hope that we can take
back our country that
we can take back our
dreams that we can
make this happen
together because this
isn't about me it's
about you taking back
your voice to demand
we take right action to
demand we pay
attention to the costs
we're paying as the
price of not speaking
up

Today's prompt at Poetry Thursday is "image inspiration."

I'm the group administrator for the Davis for Obama and Yolo County for Obama groups at mybarackobama.com.  I finally got around to creating a Yolo County for Obama '08 page at MySpace.  If you're a MySpacer who supports Obama, please 'friend' us.  You don't have to live in my area--we're just looking to support fellow Obama supporters and vice versa.

"good crazy"

This one's for Sam...'cause I know she'll know what I mean when I say Rev. Lowry PREACHED yesterday in Selma.  A couple of weeks ago, Mark Mathabane, the highly-acclaimed author of Kaffir Boy, spoke at Davis High School.  Carolyn and I took a group of our 9th grade boys to hear him speak.  He had a powerful and important message.  Dr. Mathabane is from South Africa (originally), and he's very soft-spoken and quiet in his delivery.  Afterwards, when my friend who'd booked the event asked what I'd thought, I said that although I appreciated Dr. Mathabane's message, his speaking style didn't move me, didn't stir me.  I added that once you've heard Nelson Mandela speak (one of the high points of my life)...once you've heard Rev. Joseph Lowery speak (as my mother and I did a few years ago in a church in Phoenix)...once you've heard Rev. Cecil Williams (of Glide) speak...  Well, the bar is set pretty high.  So please look past the fact that this video was taped right off a TV and that you can see some reflections in the screen.  Please listen to Rev. Lowery's remarks as he speaks right before Sen. Obama in Selma, Alabama yesterday.  Listen to what the good Reverend Lowry has to say.  Because something crazy IS happening in this country right now...and it's very much a good kind of crazy.  And if you don't know who Rev. Lowery is, here are a few notes on his remarkable life.