Ha ha! I stole this picture from my chicago comrade's blog!

Halloween
When you were young:
Dusk approaches.
There is a chill in the air
and you are becoming someone or something else.
A witch with a green store bought mask three years in a row (ages 7,8 and 9)
A hobo with a sac on a stick (I didn't even know what hobo meant, age 10)
One of the members of the band Kiss (lots of black and white make up age 11)
A detective (overcoat for hiding eggs and such age 12).

And then each progressing year it became more and more
"What your parents don't want you to turn into".

Favorite Halloween:
Milwalkee ave. Chicago (age 27 Puss-in-boots)loft party.
Mr. Cates is talking to a man in a chicken mask. The man in the mask is from France but he did not learn english and speaks in small sentences. Mr. Cates does not know it but the masked chicken man is his brother, just flown in from Scotland for a surprise. Those of us who do know are painfully giddy. We are good friends with Mr. Cates and his brother. I am doubled over laughing until my stomach aches, tears streaming. It is unbearably funny.

(Skip forward 15 years)
Halloween
A middle aged woman, tasteful head-scarf, real jewelry, cardigan sweater and off-white pants.
Its dark.
You are sitting in your parked car under the BART tracks waiting...
to pick up your husband returning from a late meeting in the city.
Scary.

DAY

You woke up today
on your birthday
but it wasn't a day
you wanted

You wanted a day
that woke you up
with bright sunshine
not overcast and dreaded
like today

the well empty
running out of friends
who can help you
enter back into a life
of usefulness

But you are still sleeping
love!
You are a shaft of golden light
imbued with cosmic mysteries
and earthly blessings.

And Very Necessary.

Happy Birthday love
Wake Up!

Sunsets. And saying goodbye.



Why am I such a sap? Every time I say goodbye to a friend or family member (I like) I always get that, "No! Don't go!" feeling. I am sure it has to do with my "issues".
Anyway, it was hard dropping my longtime friend off at the airport and coming home to her empty bedroom.

Can someone show me how to use our camera? I would like to be able to take pictures of the full moon and other night time glow things.

Another torturous night of loud rock music in San Francisco,(earplugs not included), this time at The Independent to see Meshell Ndegeocello. Our friend Chris Bruce, recently extricated from Seal's "band", is now touring with Ms. N.and it was his playing (magnificent) that made the evening possible. Ms. N sings about the things I thought about when I was in college, i.e. sex and lies.

The next morning Mr. D and I woke with non alcohol related hangovers. To make things better Chris and I went for breakfast at a french soul restaurant, Brenda's. They served the best grits and biscuits I have ever eaten.

In the afternoon I drove to Oakland to pick up another long-time comrade from Chicago, who is here now among us.

Big Star (Not at Fillmore) singing "Why don't you come back from way out west..."

Good question.

The Fillmore on Geary Street in San Francisco is known for its psychodelic posters and its intimate rock shows. On October 20th Alex Chilton's Big Star played to a civilized crowd.

We sat in the balcony and I enjoyed the show, as it brought back fond memories for me of the Metro in Chicago and all of the wonderful rock and power pop I imbibed. Mr. D used makeshift earplugs and plastered on his most tolerant face.

Last week at the East Bay Waldorf School was very exciting,(and exhausting). I followed around the Handwork teacher and assisted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades. It was extremely hard not being the "I" in the class and I am glad for the experience. Although I hope my after class comments to the handwork teacher aren't offensive. As a class teacher one forms a pretty clear boundary line, while subject classes need to be a little less disciplined. It is also very hard conducting a "traveling show" instead of having the classes come to the teacher. Handwork is especially hard to carry around.



Last night while we ate quesadillas on the back porch there was a dear little hummingbird keeping us company. I tried to catch her in flight but only caught part of her.


Yesterday I finished a dreadfully written fantasy story, INKHEART. I do not recommend it even if it is being made into a major motion picture. The characters are poorly written and the descriptive passages are weak and repetitive.

Example:

Meggie sees her mother after 9 years and stares
(end of page 444) "as if nothing else in the world existed".


Meggie's father finds a photo of his wife and realizes she is alive and it seemed
(page 491)"as if nothing else in the world existed".

The use of quotes at the beginning of each chapter from classic books like Huck Finn or the Tolkien trilogy does not make this book more credible. It makes it more desperate for credibility.

Why did I read the entire book if I disliked it so? Because I have a plot driven nature and needed to see it through to the end.

It is Monday and I am off to the East Bay Waldorf School to help the handwork teacher make lanterns with the school. The Lantern walk is coming up soon and I am ever so curious to see what kind of lanterns we will be making. Something like this?

I have forgotten how to use the windshield wiper. It has not rained for 4 months, (since we moved) and when it finally started raining this week I was like a new driver. This lever does what?



I also have forgotten how to knit, (see the beginning of my first sock here)and was reminded this morning at The East Bay Waldorf School where I will be volunteering as an assistant to the handwork teacher (who is married to Spencer Hatch). I am glad to be back with "my people".

On Tuesday we were fingerprinted and now we are waiting for our approval and I-600A orphan petition document from California's immigration office.

My Vashon Island friend just informed me that someone received a fine for boating dangerously close to 2 Orcas off the coast of San Juan island. This is good news for Orca friends because this kind of behavior happens daily and goes unpunished. An earlier blog of mine stated that Orcas are negatively affected by the multitudes of boaters in their habitat and that they can't hear each other over the din of the boats. See article for more details.

Last Night Bad guy dropped by...

Like MAGIC the morning glory blossom appeared this morning. I hope she has many brothers and sisters as I have been checking every morning for a month to see if they would flower.

Another weekend full of sunshine, marital conflict, and music.
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a weekend festival for which you will want to arrive early. We showed up at noon when the event was in full swing and could not find a seat anywhere near the (star)stage in which Los Lobos was playing. We sat next to a couple of New Englanders, one a montessori teacher and behind a couple with lots of friends/family with young kids. The music was excellent; John Prine, Keller Williams, Bela Fleck and my favorite Los Lobos. Lots of cowboy hats and characters including a blue fairy. There was even a dog that looked like my Ima.

I am feeling a little misty right now having finished the 6th HPotter so if anyone wants to call and console me I am here.

We received our (hopefully) last fingerprinting appointment with California's immigration department for our orphan petition (I-600A) next week. After we are fingerprinted and approved we will be taken off hold and ready to roll.

This weekend is the FREE Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass concert in San Francisco.
Click on the schedule to see evidence of the awesome lineup. The picture here is of Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings from another year at this same festival.

We have figs.
In our yard.
And they are strange.
They don't taste like the figs you buy at the store.
They are sweet.
Too sweet?
The birds don't think so.
I picked some
and stuffed them with blue/cream cheese.
And topped them with pecans.
Sounds good huh?
Fresh from the great out of doors,
straight to our table
and directly to the garbage bin.

ew.

Well, I have been obsessing again. This time about an outfit (shown left)I have been sewing. Sewing yes. I am not really an abstract-minded person so sewing tends to be a real challenge. I can't really "see" things spacially so these projects are good for me as they make me feel like I am a true idiot. The pattern for the pants was extremely simple. However that may be I still needed to rip out every step of the pattern and redo. The dress was more complicated and the collar was a complete disaster. Using unused fabric I fashioned a cover up collar to hide the construction site. I also had to redesign the sleeves because they made me look like I was sprouting little wings. I may be a complete git but damn I can make do with utter cr*p. This must be my mechanical side. I imagine myself as an astronaut in space with duct tape having the time of my life.

Also had to read HPotter book 4 and 5. This took a few days.

Because you need to know I haven't lost my sense of humor I give you this story brought to me by my favorite wise-acre mom Mimi Smartypants.

Ok so now I have got the you tube thing down I can post some short films. A lot of debate has come out of the Jena 6 story and the bloggers that most speak my mine are What About our Daughters and Sandra Rose, both of whom have been given grief and harassed by some of their male African American colleagues (bloggers).

Here is another good one for the sisters.

Dunbar Village
Please watch. And tune into whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com
for the latest on what the media and our leaders don't want to discuss.

I have been reading a lot of news and editorials regarding what is happening between our brothers and sisters in the name of racial inequities and I have been alerted to my own lack of awareness on many of the issues, (Jena 6, Genarlow Wilson, Dunbar Village). Help these boys lord please!

Some people are saying it is a matter of educating the African American youth and helping to fund higher security for housing projects.

Some are saying that it is a case of African American Man against African American Woman or AAWoman against AAMan, (Gina McCauley writes about this extensively in her blog : whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com)

Some say that we as a nation are still enslaving people, (see the US judicial system and the media ON THAT ONE).

I say it is an ecomomic i.e. material war that is underlying ALL the battles in our country. The mainstream focus in our country has been on the value of material wealth and the system that continues the oppression of those that do not have economic wealth. Our acceptance of the capitalistic one-party system has led us down this road to a no party system, where you vote for those that take bribes from corporations or your candidate loses.

Materialistic thinking has spread to the (supposed) spiritual communities as well. When a minister needs millions of dollars to guide his devotees we need to ask questions. But how could we as human beings be aware of God's plan? and further What is the effectiveness in supporting the notion of "A chosen People"?

As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living has stated, the solution lies with this:

Socialize business (Companies empowering communities)
Spiritualize government (Leaders with an ethical foundation in humanity)
and
Secularize Religion (No Religion dominates over any other)

"When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one's life it
brings
responsibility, a sense of belonging, and compassion and caring for the
whole of humanity. Spirit upholds and sustains life. It makes you
strong
and solid. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of cast, creed,
religion,
and nationality, and gives you an awareness of life present everywhere.
It
is only through this awareness, this uplifting of consciousness, that
wars
can be eliminated and human rights restored in the world today."
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar