Returning to the keyboard

I have missed blogging about my experiences. Cyprus was an unforgettable event in my life, but I continue to have master moments. At age 68, my view of the world is shifting. For example, after a terrific week in our nation's capital city, I am still marveling at its displays: the Lincoln and Washington monuments; the Viet Nam Memorial, the tribute to Martin Luther King and more. However, after taking in the fabulous and fairly new Marine Museum and revisiting every war the U.S. has fought through by viewing news displays at the Newseum (also fantastic), I have come away a bit disheartened. If the United States celebrates anything, it seems to be its involvement in conflicts--continuously--at home and throughout the world. Did I mention the WWII Memorial or the Korean War Memorial, or Desert Storm, or the Iranian conflicts, or the current battles in Afghanistan and Iraq? Did I retell the sadness I felt at Arlington, with row after row after row of white grave markers? Is this what we do best? Kill ourselves and others? What I would like to see in my nation's capital is an emphasis--not on the victories of war--but on the real celebration of the goodness of Americans, if it still exists. Yes, I am proud of Lincoln's bringing the country together after the greatest conflict of all--the Civil War, but what did I miss in Washington? Why did I come away defeated in my attitude toward our country's hopes and dreams? Perhaps it was because I was too close to Congress--and its total dysfunction. Perhaps I saw the vast gap between the homeless have-nots on the D.C. streets and the impressive facades of Georgetown homes. Mostly, it's because the monuments and museums in too many ways seem to emphasize "victory at all costs." My family played its part in the Vietnam War by sending two of my brothers to the middle of the conflict in the 1960s. Thank God they came home. But, so many didn't. And, today, my heart breaks for the servicemen and their families whose lives are so drastically changed by conflict. In retrospect, perhaps I should have spent more time in the gardens of D.C., or at the Wax Museum, where everything is fake, or just staring at the Potomac and imagining my own version of history. Washington, D.C. is a beautiful city, originally planned to celebrate the promise and greatness of a new country. I'm just not convinced we've been on the right path in my lifetime!

Musings on Love This First Day of June!

June 1, 2010 The month of love.


What is love? According to psychologists, it is a cognitive process: “intimacy, commitment, and passion.” In the Bible it is “patient and kind.” Also, in an ancient proverb love is defined as a high form of tolerance. Love also includes compatibility and a recognition of the need for space. Love is caring for the other’s needs above one’s own—to a limit. Love sees no end in sight. Love is being there. It is being there even when you’re apart. In literature, it is the “depth and breadth and height my soul can reach when feeling out of sight.”

So, how does one know when he/she is in love? That is the eternal question. So many emotions masquerade as true love: sexual pleasure, physical need, emotional dependence, a desire for security, companionship, familiarity, a fear of loneliness.

How does one KNOW? Is love without anger, disappointment, suspicion, resentment, fear of losing? Is love the thread that keeps couples together when they have grown distanced from each other? Is love history? Is it a mental connectedness? Is it a bond of children?

Love is caring about tomorrow as much as today. Love is an invisible thread woven into the fabric of togetherness. Love is forever, no matter what the circumstances. Actions can be forgiven if love exists. Love caresses the giver and the receiver with the same warmth and protection. Love comes from the heart, passes through the soul, convinces the mind, and activates the body. Love is.

Those who have found love are gentler, kinder, more at peace.

I want to love and be loved. But, will I recognize it when it passes into my life—before it leaves me questioning, “What is this thing called love?”

Heading to Italy!

Time to travel again--this time, purely for pleasure. Neighbors and I have rented a villa in Cortona for June/July. Plans include side trips to the Florence galleries, Venice canals, Cinque Terre views, and Pompeii ruins. My sons will come over for a week...what fun! All the wine we can drink, all the olive oil we can use, and all the sunshine by the pool we can handle! Life is beautiful.

Heading to IRELAND !!

How fortunate I am to travel abroad again. This time I will be going to Ireland with eighteen Liberal Studies majors (future elementary education teachers) for a three-week interim class, December 31, 2009-January 22, 2010. We'll be using Mary Immaculate College, part of the University of Limerick system, as our main base. We'll travel and stay in Galway and Dublin as well. The girls are excited--buying warm boots, sweaters, and rain gear--this will be a climate change from Southern California! Here, if it rains, students call in "sick." Can't happen in Ireland, or we'd probably never meet!

I'll keep this blog daily (or so), posting photos and collected memories. This is certain to be a memorable trip. Several girls asked if the Guinness Factory was on the itinerary. And, when I asked in class what they thought would be the most interesting part of the study tour. . .several nodded enthusiastically when one girl said, "Meeting cute guys in the pubs." Ah, life. Ah, Ireland. Erin Go Braugh!

Obama January 20, 2009

I was in Cyprus, watching the Inaugural events on television with Greek Cypriot and American friends. The images were clear: millions of people in Washington, D.C. and beyond, watching, moved by the moment; the emotional responses, even in our group, to the visual "change" in American politics; the hope that united us all, that our world will be a different place because of our choices. Of course, the Greek voiced-over descriptions of the ceremony, speeches, and swearing made the particulars of language unintelligible. But, it didn't matter. It was a patriotic moment, shared across the continents.

On the evening of July 16, 1969, I was in Zurich, Switzerland, standing in front of an electronics shop, watching Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon. I didn't understand the comments from the television screen then, either, but I was aware that I had become part of a bigger, world community. And, I was so very proud to be an American.

There is something wonderfully poetic about sharing these events away from my home, my home town, home state, home country. I realize that we are not where we live, but how we feel.

Right now, Lee Greenwood's "Proud to Be an American" is reverberating through my being, and for the moment, I'm a member of the Stars and Stripes brigade, waving my flag, standing tall, hopeful for the future--for us all.

Merry Christmas

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care. . .

Another holiday season to celebrate with friends around the world. How amazing it is to feel the warmth and good cheer across the seas and oceans. May all who read this count among their blessings the bonds that draw us close.

Post Election Hope

Obama won the election; he won resoundingly, and I am glad. But now, the anxious moments begin. Will he be able to accomplish what his supporters hope for? Will he present a new face of America to our world neighbors? Will the economy, under his leadership, end its nosedive? Will America, once again, be a beacon of hope in the world?

We are still mired in a war that will not end easily; we have a lame-duck president who persists in pushing his own agenda; we have a divisive political faction that seeks to ignore the calls for unity.

And, we have so many people--of many colors, backgrounds, and dreams--who hope that Obama can be (or already is) superhuman.

The only thing I know for certain is that I was proud of "us" at the end of election day 2008. The voters chose a new face to be the President of this country. Obama's bi-racial heritage comes closer to representing America as it is: a mix of cultures blended into one. His intelligence is obvious; his political instincts are extraordinary, and, we hope, his character is impeccable.

Change, for the sake of change, is not always good. But, change that brings with it the hope and will of a nation, is certainly inspirational.