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the path back is the path forward

Tag Archives: this country


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take what you need. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

he (or she) is taunting me.

there are little green cherry tomatoes stilllll on the plant and i’ve been waiting to pick them until they are at their most ripe-green stage. after that, i’ll put them on the counter and let them ripen (or in a brown bag)…i guess i will look that up. anyway, there are probably about twenty of them or so and i want to make a pasta dish with the last of our sweet harvest.

and then there is this squirrel. i’ve been referring to it as “him”, though it could be a “her” and i suppose i could just say “they” because i have no problem using inclusive language. but that is off-topic.

this squirrel – let’s assume her for now – i read maybe it is a lactating female who is trying to stay hydrated and will eat the less-than-ripe cherry tomato as a source of hydration (though i would also point to our oft-visited birdbath or the pond in our backyard as other options…)

this squirrel jaunts down from the trees onto the wires and into the garden next to barney. it climbs up barney and then scoots along the top of the fence, stopping to [what looks like] stare in the window at me, grinning. then it promptly hops down off the fence onto the empty potting stand and saunters over to the tomato plant to triumphantly choose which little tomato it wants.

the other morning i walked outside to see this cherry tomato picked, its top plucked off, a wee-little-bit of the inside eaten and then left in a really obvious place on the deck railing for me to find. “i was here,” the cherry tomato announced for the squirrel. i laughed and took a picture, leaving the tomato for whenever the squirrel wanted to finish it.

in the meanwhile, it got me to thinking.

this squirrel – male or female – lactating or just downright feisty-hungry – took what it needed. it left the rest for – well – another squirrel or another time or some other critter that might want some green tomato.

in these times of this very, very blue wave – in these first few days post-tide-change – i have taken hope and light from this election. i have allowed myself to breathe, to lessen the knot in the back of my neck a tiny bit, to hope that maybe goodness is rising – forcefully and with intention.

i have not relinquished a sense of caution nor have i thought – even for a minute – that the fight is over. and the current vile administration has since made it clear that learning anything whatsoever from this pushback wave is impossible…as is caring and concern for the american people.

so we take what we need – a breath, some hope, a little bit of light, a refreshing glimpse of decency – and we continue on.

we leave the literal (and figurative) green cherry tomato on the deck rail for others to grab a breath, some hope, a little bit of light, a glimpse of decency – or – at the very least – some hydration – and we keep on keeping on.

we won’t be taunted by this squirrel’s adorable antics. they are harmless, following the north star lessons of mother nature, and we are people who care about the critters out there.

and we also won’t be taunted by this administration’s inconceivably pathetic and desperate attempts to make this country an authoritarian state. extremism and cruelty are their north stars. and that is – most definitely – not who we are.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

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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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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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tired. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

it’s pretty tiring.

i look at this photograph – of the manmade jetty, a breakwater out by the harbor channel heading east into the lake. the black boulders, the white boulders – both granite, i suppose – built up to somewhat protect the channel from the potential intensity of the lake.

these giant rocks, their color, their purpose – they bring two randomly different things to mind – both of which i have written about.

first, the quote: a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.(john a. shedd)

second, the song: the ink is black, the page is white – a child is black, a child is white, the whole world looks upon the sight…a beautiful sight….(david arkin/earl robinson)

and right now? right now both make me tired.

ships – and people – and countries – weren’t built to be insular, to pull up the sidewalks, turn off the lights, lock the doors. instead, they were meant to go out, to explore, to break bread with others, to protect one another from dangerous energy or rogue waves, to raise up the infinite number of ways that we are all interdependent, to love one another.

children weren’t born insular, holding each other at bay, pointing fingers and spewing hateful rhetoric. instead, they were born with the ability to love in their hearts, learning to recognize how important interaction with others is – regardless of any physical or social or ANY differences – acknowledging we are all spokes in a big giant wheel living on this mother earth, we are all worthy and can – and should – work together to stay safe from any kind of harm. inherent goodness. any other messages – messages of disdain and cruelty – children are – devastatingly – taught these.

i’m not sure how many times i have written – ranted – about such things.

and while we are on the subject of ranting about really offensive – evil – stuff, i’m not even sure how many times i have been vocal – totally appalled – about those freakish people who find the current administration’s twisted vileness charming or entertaining or the least bit acceptable.

it all makes me really, really tired.

the breakwater – positioned close to the lighthouse – is there to help protect the harbor channel, to ensure safe passage.

it is not to keep people in or to keep people out.

what kind of pitiful world needs that kind of limits? what kind of world needs finger-pointing bigotry, limits on the freedoms promised in the constitution, an insularity based on extreme racism and ethnocentrism? what kind of world needs hatred as a guiding light?

“some days, you’re just tired from needing to be stronger than you feel.” (unknown)

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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stressed. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

littlebabyscion has almost 287,000 miles on it. this little xb has traveled far and wide with me – always keeping me (and then, us) safe. the rocker panel skirt on the passenger side is now held on by a black zip tie (black so as not to draw attention to itself), but LBS has continued to proudly zip us around town, even with its unglamorous wheel rims.

we hadn’t driven it in a bit – there is no longer a/c in it and the humid summer days made it hot-as-heck without a/c – but we were weary of spending $100 to fill up big red in the current days of this country’s dysfunction. so, as it cooled down, we decided to switch the two in our one-car driveway and zip around in LBS again. (plus, big red was making a few strange noises and needed an appointment with steve.)

it felt like freedom driving LBS again – to move around in a much smaller vehicle that is not drinking up a gallon of gas just to go to and return from the grocery store.

and there it was – that sound. undeniable. LBS needed yet another new “lifetime” muffler and exhaust system. this little vehicle left no room for debate as this attention-getting sound got louder and louder and as the fumes in the vehicle necessitated wide open windows. asphyxiation was not a part of the equation, so wide open windows it was.

the signs were there. so was the list of other issues that the mechanic presented us with…oy! we made an appointment and the “lifetime” exhaust system was replaced. even though it was a “lifetime” warranty, i’ll just point out that doesn’t include labor, of course. but LBS wasn’t going to function properly without it. and it was warning us that we could be inundated by the fumes. it would be on us – and our own willful stupidity – if we asphyxiated after LBS clearly warned us.

breck – our aspen out back – is in stress mode. whether the high heat of the summer, or a water (too much/too little) issue or some sort of disease, some of its leaves have some dark spots and curled edges. we will likely go to the local tree nursery and ask a few questions; we want to be sure to help breck prevail. and – much like LBS – it is telling us it is stressed.

how anything in this world could be anything but stressed right now is beyond me.

we are trying – with an exercise regimen, with long daily walks, with some deliberate meditation – to mediate this stress. i can’t say it is entirely helping, but i also must say that it is not hurting. staying grounded and steady, moving forward with goodness and truth, caring about our democracy and the virtue of its ideals and laws as they impact the whole populace – these require a constancy that rides stress like a bucking bronco and holds on.

in less than twenty days, it will be time to vote. there are dark spots and curling edges freaking everywhere now – in every dark and morally vacuous corner of the current administration’s intentions.

while the whole entire tree is not yet entirely and grossly affected, we need to take action and do whatever needs to be done to eradicate that which is stressing breck, that which could snuff its very life.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this D.R. THURSDAY

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beyond a shadow of a doubt. [kerri’s blog on flawed wednesday]

if i doubted at all – in the middle of these splendidly sunny and warm days – bonus days, really (or payback for the un-wisconsin-ish intense summer days) – that fall was actually here, this tree informed me beyond a shadow of a doubt.

we passed it on the sidewalk just down the block around the corner from our house. i stopped and went back to it, drawn by the vivid colors. gorgeous.

and it left no doubt. it is autumn.

funny about those things that leave no doubt in your mind, things about which you are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt.

that doubt thing – the shadow of a doubt thing – beyond reasonable doubt – is important. all logic and rational sense, all evidence points to the fact that fall is beginning.

and so what is it – in this country at this time – that has not moved the entire populace into knowing – beyond a shadow of a doubt – beyond all reasonable doubt – that this current administration is – with every single thing in its power – perceived or stolen – foisting authoritarianism upon this nation?

what is it – in this country at this time – that has not proven to the entire populace that the good of the people does not matter to this current administration?

what is it – in this country at this time – that has not shown to the entire populace that there is no point at which this current administration will stop to hold onto positions, tether itself to power, exercise all gluttonous efforts to feed itself on all-the-money-it-can-get?

what is it – in this country at this time – that has not delivered to the entire populace the message of this current administration – of cruelty, of isolation, of division, of rights-less survival, of bigotry and misogyny, of xenophobia and white supremacy?

what is it – in this country at this time – that keeps the entire populace from knowing, from being horrified, from rejecting this heinousness?

because – beyond a shadow of a doubt – the leaves are clearly changing.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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