We visited a plantation on the Mississippi today. Took us an hour to get there, where we saw the beautiful 28 oak lane leading up to the antebellum mansion. I've been there before, back in 1993, and our tour of the mansion was cut short then because they were filming Interview With A Vampire there. This time we were able to see the whole house, which was very beautiful.
It was cold and rainy today, and walking around the grounds of the plantation made me feel a little depressed. When I came to the plaque commemorating the slaves who worked on the plantation, I had to stop and think. After a while I started walking away, feeling even more depressed. But then I stopped, as an amazing thought struck me. Has anyone at this plantation bothered to tell the ghosts of the slaves the news? I looked back at the site where the slave houses had once been and whispered "Guess what! A black man is about to become President of the United States!" I smiled and walked away, feeling much better.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
There Is A Bird In The Terminal
I keep trying to come up with some kind of metaphor for the bird I see flitting about by my gate. I'm sitting here, waiting for my plane after an hour delay, two terminal and three gate changes. I'm exhausted and still unsure about the benefits of this trip. Yet my predicament is nothing next to the one this tiny little brown sparrow is in. There is nowhere for him to go, and he's surrounded by fast moving giants, loud noises, vehicles buzzing around and not a bush or tree in sight. All I want to do is help him, but how? What can I do? I know there are metaphors here, but my tired brain can't pick them out. Help.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Why?
I just finished reading an article in the NY Times about what's going on in Zimbabwe, and I can't help wondering why we aren't doing anything about it. By "we" mean America. How is it that the Bush administration justifies invading Iraq on suspicion (meaning Not Verified, Not CONCRETE evidence) of weapons of mass destruction, and we can't be bothered to do anything about Mugabe? The man has torn down to the ground a proud, successful, wealthy country, replacing it with a country with one of the worst economies in the world, and a rapidly mounting death rate of the cholera epidemic, because of a collapse of basic services. Even when members of Mugabe's insane military (insane because they still support him) riot because they have no money to feed their families and aid workers taking on the daunting task of cleaning up the cities' water supply to contain the cholera epidemic mysteriously go missing...still nobody does anything to step in.
After the botched elections earlier this year, I really thought the international community would step in to stop that power-hungry madman. I guess I was wrong. And I shouldn't be surprised, considering the present state of Somalia, the Congo and the unforgivable genocide in Darfur. I can't help but wonder, if the people in Darfur were Jews or Whites, would the rest of the world have stood idly by and let millions of people be slaughtered?
Christmas is rapidly approaching, which normally is a season of hope and family and gifts any togetherness, but what about the 60,000 dead in Zimbabwe? What about their families and all those who are at risk of dying an excrutiatingly painful death from cholera? Where is their Christmas miracle? Why can't we do something to help them? Our economy may be tanking and people are losing jobs and homes left and right, but it is nothing compared to living under the control of a government that could give a rat's ass where or not you live or die. Just as long as people like Mugabe stay in power. Right. He's nothing but a terrorist in President's clothes and yet we allow him to continue killing off his people.
If anyone needs prayer this Christmas season, it's the people who are being oppressed and murdered by corrupt governments. It's especially the people who are suffering through the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. Pray for them.
After the botched elections earlier this year, I really thought the international community would step in to stop that power-hungry madman. I guess I was wrong. And I shouldn't be surprised, considering the present state of Somalia, the Congo and the unforgivable genocide in Darfur. I can't help but wonder, if the people in Darfur were Jews or Whites, would the rest of the world have stood idly by and let millions of people be slaughtered?
Christmas is rapidly approaching, which normally is a season of hope and family and gifts any togetherness, but what about the 60,000 dead in Zimbabwe? What about their families and all those who are at risk of dying an excrutiatingly painful death from cholera? Where is their Christmas miracle? Why can't we do something to help them? Our economy may be tanking and people are losing jobs and homes left and right, but it is nothing compared to living under the control of a government that could give a rat's ass where or not you live or die. Just as long as people like Mugabe stay in power. Right. He's nothing but a terrorist in President's clothes and yet we allow him to continue killing off his people.
If anyone needs prayer this Christmas season, it's the people who are being oppressed and murdered by corrupt governments. It's especially the people who are suffering through the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. Pray for them.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Hidden Memories
When I was a kid, there were a number of movies that I watched so many times they became a part of the fabric of my imagination. Last night I turned on the tv just in time to catch the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas. That reminded me of another movie, Bon Voyage Charlie Brown, that I had on a tape. The tape had been a recording from tv, including commercials from the late 80s, and at the end of the Charlie Brown movie was The Flight Of Dragons.
After watching tv last night I decided to look up both films on YouTube, and sure enough they were there. I went to sleep after having watched the begining of Bon Voyage. The music, the sounds, the scenes were so deeply ingrained in my mind that I could remember what it was like to watch them when I was a kid. I could even remember the commercials scattered throughout the tape. Especially that Jiff peanut butter ad where this mom is talking about it and drawing a perfect heart with her knife in the smooth new surface in the jar. For years I did that to new jars of peanut butter.
What memories do you have associated to something you watched or did as a kid? Are you able to remember those vague feelings from when you were young? It's hard to describe...
Well, back to my old movies. Cheers!
After watching tv last night I decided to look up both films on YouTube, and sure enough they were there. I went to sleep after having watched the begining of Bon Voyage. The music, the sounds, the scenes were so deeply ingrained in my mind that I could remember what it was like to watch them when I was a kid. I could even remember the commercials scattered throughout the tape. Especially that Jiff peanut butter ad where this mom is talking about it and drawing a perfect heart with her knife in the smooth new surface in the jar. For years I did that to new jars of peanut butter.
What memories do you have associated to something you watched or did as a kid? Are you able to remember those vague feelings from when you were young? It's hard to describe...
Well, back to my old movies. Cheers!
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