(not necessarily in that order)
Today we went for a drive. A rather short drive to nowhere in particular.
But we went far enough in an unknown direction that we saw new scenery (not all that different, but still…).
We actually felt like we had gotten out and experienced something new together. Exciting!
Wow, I really needed to hear this today!
Remember how far you’ve come,
not just how far you have to go.
As long as we simply keep going and don’t give up, it really is all good.
This is the fun side of Facebook: when I reconnect with schoolmates I had lost touch with for decades and then they share photos like this: Randy Knight, Ralph Kidwell, yours truly, and Adell Park, posing for a yearbook photo.
I’m pretty sure every single girl at Thomas Russell Junior High School owned a pair of Mary Jane shoes; however, I’m surprised that Adell got away with wearing a skirt that many inches above her knees!
Yes, those were the days when teachers would use a ruler to measure how short your skirt was. And, yes, those were the days when the girls demonstrated to be able to wear pants to school during wintertime.
It truly was different world.
I wanted to wear my pearls on inauguration day (in honor of our new Vice President), but I couldn’t find them. This was a bummer on several levels, especially because they had belonged to Ramesha’s mother. I couldn’t find them in the first few places I looked, but I knew I wouldn’t have gotten rid of them, so a major search ensued.
It took several days but I did eventually find the pearls (phew!). However, it got me started on going through my “stash” of precious items and mementos, with an eye toward giving away or otherwise letting go of extraneous “stuff” that we really don’t have space for in our little apartment.
And that’s how I happened upon the items in the photo above, which are remnants from a period of time (my early teens) when I got really into doing creative, crafty things. I no longer recall where the idea came from, but the basics involved some combination of alphabet pasta, glue, toothpicks, and paint.
Sometimes I painted rocks. The “Brooks” sun with the big smile was painted on leather to create a medallion. But what I painted on the most was wood doweling, which I cut on the diagonal, then stained and varnished.
The pasta letters were used to create names. I’m pretty sure the one in the photo started out as “Sharon,” but when I was fifteen I decided it would be extremely cool to change the spelling of my name. Hence, “Cheryn” (if you can believe it).🤦♀️ Look closely and you’ll see that the color of the C, E, and Y is slightly different than the H, R, and N.
I finished these off with a fastener to create pins. A number of my friends requested them and before I knew it, I had a little business going. The only problem is that it turned something I loved doing for fun into a chore, as I felt pressured to keep up with the demand.
But then I lost the little notebook where I had written down all the orders (the person’s name, what colors they wanted, etc.) and that was the end of that. Of course, I didn’t lose the notebook on purpose, but I do think my subconscious (or unconscious or whatever) was looking out for me.
And that’s the story of my very first “business” endeavor!
Because I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, I struggled more than usual to prepare for our department’s annual presentation. It got so bad that I actually reverted to behavior from my college days of several decades ago.
In other words, I waited until the very last minute, then — once the pressure had built to unbearable levels — I frantically pulled out all the stops, accomplishing in about 24 hours that which would have been better (and certainly more calmly) done in three to five days.
The only element lacking was a trip to the university library to check out a huge stack of books!
Our power is about to go out due to a major winter storm. Soooo…. this is it for tonight!
(The photo is from a couple of days ago, but lots more is on the way!)
Today I’m experiencing the intense frustration that results from feeling my unique version of the “fierce urgency of now,” while at the same time feeling stuck, as though there’s something holding me back from the appropriate “vigorous and positive action.”
Arggghhhh!
I could be wrong, but I’m beginning to suspect it has to do with the fact that I haven’t made virtually any music in almost six weeks. And it’s not just a matter of my singing/playing getting “rusty;” it’s the not dipping into the flow of creativity and not enjoying the energy exchange that comes with participating in an ensemble and from performing for people.
So, in looking for a visually magnetic version of the above Martin Luther King quote, I stumbled on a blog with the attention-getting (to me, at least!) title of “Shut Up and Create.” This really felt like Divine Mother was talking to me! 😂
Anyway, this particular “Shut Up and Create” post — The fierce urgency of NOW…it’s on us — was published almost exactly a year ago and contains some sentences that really resonated for me…
“…your work, ideas, activism, advocacy, and creativity are needed NOW. What are you sitting on that will make our world a better place to be free in?” [and] “The world is waiting for you to put your ideas, skill, talents, and thoughts into action. That book, app, learning community, workshop, non-profit, social enterprise you’ve been sitting on is needed NOW.”
Reading this is both exhilarating and terrifying, because I know in my heart that this is my time and my test.
I guess it started with all the recent events in our nation’s capital. Then it continued with my thoughts about patriotism, which reminded me that in high school our mascot was the Patriots. What it all added up to was remembering a key event of my youth…
I was fifteen years old and a high school sophomore. That year our new band teacher, John Bringetto, suggested that I try out for the Blue Saints Honor Jazz Band on baritone sax. I got in and at the first rehearsal learned that I was now a member of an Explorer Scout post — whatever that meant!
Well, I learned a lot more about Explorer Scouts the following spring, when the Blue Saints were invited to be the “house band” for the second National Explorer Presidents’ Congress in Washington, D.C.
This was in the early 70’s, before answering machines, video players, and personal computers. The Explorers organization flew us to Washington D.C., which was my first experience of the East Coast and my first time in an airplane. They put us up — all expenses paid — in the luxurious Sheraton Park Hotel and we divided our time between occasionally entertaining the Explorer Presidents’ Congress and visits to Capitol Hill and the National Mall.
I was so young and naïve then. I remember trying to wrap my mind around the contrast in scenery, starting with the beautiful hotel grounds, moving through the slums (something I had never seen before), and arriving at the Capitol where everything was perfection. I distinctly remember rows of daffodils planted with military precision, in graduated — from pale to vivid — shades of yellow.
Another never-to-be-forgotten memory was going into a restaurant and ordering a muffin. At least, that’s what I thought I said. The waitress, who was black, brought me a bowl of some sort of oatmeal porridge type of hot cereal. I remember looking at her and realizing that — despite both of us being American and English-speaking and dark-skinned — we did not speak the same language. California was a long way from Washington D.C.
One final thought: I do have some (pretty bad) photos of band members hanging out on the steps of the Capitol Building (I think it’s the East Front) and I was surprised to see all sorts of cars parked right there on the street in front of the Capitol. Things have changed so much, haven’t they?
Tonight is one of those times.
Which makes it the perfect moment to remind myself that the primary goal of this blog is to simply do it. To write something every day, regardless of whether it’s “good” or “interesting” or “worthwhile.”
So, mission accomplished, despite having absolutely nothing to say.
I’m not sure how we missed the fact that this extravaganza was happening the evening of Inauguration Day, but we finally watched it tonight (only two days late🙄), and we’re really glad we did!
It was moving and uplifting and fun. I loved hearing stories and tributes honoring a diversity of “ordinary” Americans. I enjoyed the wide range of musical styles, performed by top notch entertainers of all descriptions, and the way the presentations cut back and forth across the country.
And as a performer and event organizer myself, I marveled at the complexity of the show and how flawlessly they pulled it all off. I can’t begin to imagine the planning that went into an event like this. As for the ending fireworks? Absolutely breathtaking!
An altogether wonderful night.