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Tag Archives: in these times


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the hype of joy. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

the hype is on.

anywhere we go now – the home improvement store, costco, various other sundry-type stores – it has become the holiday season.

frankly, this year i understand it. i could even go so far as to say i embrace it.

people are looking for light and walking through the doors into a winter wonderland of decorations and holiday hoopla is most definitely somewhat spirit-lifting.

in our sunroom, on top of the little wooden cabinet that holds espresso cups and cloth napkins, right next to the nespresso machine, is a little stack of wooden boxes. the bottom box is a cigar box that was my grandmother mama dear’s. it has a magic marker letter Z on it because she, an amazing seamstress, stored zippers in it. next is a wooden box with a sliding lid – from my poppo’s workbench – that held bolts and now holds vintage clothespins. then – on the top – the piece de resistance – is the old wooden box-joint/dovetail cornered bakery crate from the mid-1900s. hanscom’s bakery was in philadelphia and used these wooden crates for their popular holiday fruit cake.

now, i realize that fruit cake will elicit a wide spectrum of visceral responses. i think, actually, that most people do not like fruit cake – rum and brandy soaked with sweet fruits and nuts and citron topping. it’s likely a texture thing. or a sweet fruit thing. or the fact that one piece could keep an army of people full for a very long time. nevertheless, i grew up on fruit cake.

my sweet momma would buy them in those familiar metal tins and we’d each have a chance to, well, at least pretend we were enjoying it. in later years, she gave each branch of the family a fruit cake of their own. it sort of marked the beginning of the holiday season, like poinsettias and wreaths.

anyway, the wooden box is exquisite and was also in my dad’s garage workshop and is one of my inherited treasures from him. and right now, i am delighted that its presence in our sunroom – where we are spending sooo much time with – and helping – our sweet vestibular-syndromed-dogga – might mark a start to a holiday season of light.

in the rest of decorating, we will wait a while. i’ll try to hold off until thanksgiving so as to relish the rest of fall, my favorite season.

but then, all bets are off. and i will join with the retail world in the hype – even perhaps overdoing the joy.

because, heck, we sure could use some more joy now.

fruit cake? not so much. but joy? absolutely.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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the tippy top. [kerri’s blog on k.s. friday]

…and now, quite near the very tippy top of our tree branch out on the deck – the one with happy lights and a peace sign – the one where tiny birds perch to rest (and our branch smiles) – the one that was broken off our sturdy old tree in the front yard – now, there are blue lights.

because.

and so, the last two nights – wednesday and thursday – when we have looked out of our sunroom windows a shiver has passed through me.

it is a shiver of gratitude. it is a shiver of some relief. it is a shiver of pride. it is a shiver of anticipation.

there are no guarantees, but we – as a nation – from sea to shining sea – have spoken up.

we have clung to ideals of morality and decency and democracy. with our vote, we have lit up hope.

today is friday again and – for the first time in a long time – it has been a good week for the united states of america.

*****

HOPE © 2004 kerri sherwood

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read DAVID’s thoughts this K.S. FRIDAY

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the seagull and the wave. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

….and the seagull stood

on the edge of the blue wave

watching and watching

filled with gratitude

for this nation that fought back

against all evil

he will stand there now

like the rest of us here, with

relentless courage

as this tide rolls, he

contemplates what’s next so that

goodness will prevail.

*****

read DAVID’s haiku this D.R. THURSDAY

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breathe in hope. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

late-late last night, with cautious hope, we went to sleep.

early-early this morning, with cautious hope, we rose to a new day.

we keep breathing…inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale….

with gratitude for a nation of people who spoke up, stood up, rose up, and voted.

with gratitude for younger and remarkably diverse candidates – with spectacular talent and vision.

holding to this blue wave with tenacity, knowing the road forward will not be easy.

but it is lined with the reminder of decency and morality, integrity and a staunch belief in democracy.

inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this NOT-SO-FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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the choice. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

it’s that simple.

what is the future you choose – for you, your children, your grandchildren, the populace of this nation, the health and well-being of the entire world?

dictator or democracy?

there’s no more time.

decide carefully.

please vote.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY


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do your part. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

read. think. vote.

it would seem obvious.

and desperately important.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should be as informed as possible.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should balance what you have learned with what moral integrity actually means and determine where – on the continuum – you honestly stand.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should seek the truth – not just the bandwagon hooplah of your political bubble, the one that excuses you from any other research.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should maybe feel protective of your citizen rights and duties.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should vote for that which will ensure you continue to have these citizen rights and duties.

read. think. vote.

yup. it’s obvious.

and it’s desperately important.

do your part.

please.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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standing tall. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

they stand tall. way, way above our heads.

reaching more than twice our height for the sky, these reeds populate the wetlands along the river trail. they do not bow their feathery heads, instead holding firm on seemingly delicate stalks, grouping together like a moshpit of band fans close to the apron of the stage with arms raised in the air.

their standing-tall is not compromised, not by rain or wind; they are resilient and there is nothing stopping them from their stance.

it is this way i believe that institutions should hold themselves – standing tall – with no reason to hide from or abdicate responsibility – with every reason to be able to proudly, resolutely be held accountable, to maturely shoulder the flak that will come their way for any wrongdoing, to answer to blame with humility and a determination to be better.

and yet – just like you – over and over, more and more now – particularly now – i find myself witnessing institutions that out and out refuse culpability, refuse to honestly account for the consequences of their actions or their inaction, cavalierly slough off any liability for things heinous.

reeds do their part in the wetlands – to help with erosion, to ensure natural water filtering, to aid in wildlife habitat.

institutions apparently do their part as well – with hypocritically and deliberate public faces of intelligence, reasonableness, compassion and integrity, way too many actually seek to avoid – at all costs – any true atonement of wrongdoing.

it is filthy disgusting.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this D.R. THURSDAY

INSTRUMENT OF PEACE 48″ x 91″ mixed media
with powerful words from the prayer of st. Francis

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constant constancy. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

it feels like a bit of a homecoming. this trail is so familiar. yet it has been some time since we have been there, spending time on it. our absence – and its absence in our daily life – has not changed how it feels, though. that feeling we get – with our feet on its dirt – is still the same.

there is a constancy to some things. even in this ever-changing world, some things last.

this is the place we go to sort…a footpath that takes us through meadow and woods, bog and swamp and riverside.

each time we hike through – whether we have just been there or if it has been a long while – the trail reaches out to us – tendrils of soft air swirling around us – empty space for words or sighs or silence. it is a blank palette. we can choose to fill it or leave it blank – taking from it only what we need, knowing it will be there again the next time.

in these times of so.much.chaos, it feels like an imperative to find that which stays steadfast. instead of feeling like we are being whirled around, impacted by twisted intentions or mean-spirited cruelty, it is a matter of grounding to connect to the people or places or things that hold steady.

maybe it’s because of all the chaos, but we are finding that there are fewer and fewer of those people, places and things. does it just seem as though community is shrinking?

we wish we could be on the ditch trail or the trail up alongside the brook to the high mountain meadow. but for right now, this simple river trail brings us peace – with all its familiar twists and turns, the places we know to look for turtles, the sun patches where snakes sometimes sunbathe, the hawk’s screech overhead, the elusive deer in the briarpatch on the north end and in the woods down by the big curve in the river. just knowing it keeps us comforted, reassured.

the trail is relatively impervious to what is happening in this nation. fortunately, nature is doing its thing there and, for now, the trail and forest preserve are protected against invasive species and other things that would negatively impact it. it holds steady as the trail, not budging in its tender caregiving to the people who walk upon it, people who seek its quiet and its tenacity to maybe avoid this society’s current unrelenting assault on all their senses.

we are two of those people. grateful for this beautiful dirt path, grateful for its constant thick-and-thin constancy.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

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please. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

we needed tuscan sunset seasoning and stopped in at penzeys – which is a favorite place to both shop spices and feel like we are in a big club of like-minded zealously-protective-of-our-democracy folks.

we picked up a bumper sticker because, well, it has an out-of-this-world important message: i will vote.

there are only eight days now. eight days left until this country – as a country – decides what it is going to do – what direction in which its populace votes to head.

it is more than slightly terrifying.

at this point – merely eight days out – i wonder what those-of-us-who-prefer-the-united-states-remain-a-democracy should say. how more blatant can this administration’s intentions be? how deep of a hole must one stick one’s head in in order to believe that there is anything but irreverent, soulless, cruelty trying to lead this country into oblivion?

please plan on voting. vote early. or vote on november 3rd. but please vote.

your voice – pushing back on the authoritarian-world-order-rearranging-oligarchic-despot-inhumane agenda – is needed.

bring your heart and true patriotism of this nation to the polls.

so that dawn’s early light reveals a better america – the land of the free and the home of the brave.

save this republic.

*****

read DAVID’S thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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from our backdoor. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

we have been spending a lot of time near home these days. with the uncertainty of our sweet old dogga, it is nearly impossible to make any plans to go away. we need to be here with him – through all the challenges his senior roller coaster presents.

and so, our hikes-for-miles are exchanged for walks-for-miles and are from our backdoor.

we take them at different times of day and in different weather. it is truly gobsmacking what is right nearby and, on these days close-to-home, we are taking care to notice that and appreciate it.

late on a stunning late-september afternoon – delaying dinner prep for a couple hours – we took off from home.

walking east along the marina we could see the smallest softest-pink half circle rising out of the lake. as we got closer, the pastel palette of sky continued to change hue – and the harvest moon began to make its way into the horizon.

we did absolutely nothing to help this moonrise – we simply stood in awe, staring at its stellar performance, soaking in the sheer beauty, the predictability of a moonrise, the comfort of something so normal yet so entirely gorgeous.

after a bit we noticed that many people had gathered on the rocks to watch, also obviously enchanted by it, also photographing it.

a sailboat was heading north and passed directly in front of the moon. as it continued to sail, people were comparing notes about their videos and photos of this moment in time – a moment we had all shared.

it was as if everyone was – for these minutes – on the same page. we could all agree that this soft-pink harvest moonrise was glorious.

if only all the rest of life-these-days were as aligned.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

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