Don’t get too excited by this post’s title. It is a fairly ordinary ramble.
We usually walk the Wellesley campus on a Sunday, so on the way home I was confused. Glad it’s Saturday. That means I have the NYTimes crossword to look forward to (it comes online at 6 pm).
The campus is not big enough to get lost per se, but somehow we managed to end up in sections we’d never seen before. The place seemed weirdly quiet.
The ducks, which are usually plentiful at this spot, have cleared out. The swans overwinter though. They were too far across the lake to count, but there were way more than the usual three couples — maybe as many as two dozen.
We watched the first episode of The Fall of the House of Usher. Succession meets Edgar Allen Poe meets Dopesick? I was distracted and need to watch it over before moving on. There are a lot of characters. It somehow felt slow, though, which is probably why I got distracted.
I can’t tell you how giddy Powell and Chesebro’s guilty pleas make me.
The overwhelm of news out of the Middle East and the onslaught of commentary (often a shit show) mean you probably don’t need any recommendations. But if you subscribe to the NYTimes, this is a good article.
So is the one titled,
On Israel, Progressive Jews Feel Abandoned by Their Left-Wing Allies
The link below should be available to all but I’m new to gifting so let me know if it isn’t.
To my Jewish friends and readers, let me say, I see you and I love you.
I’ll end with this illustration (below) from the Times. Shoshana Schultz. I really like what she’s done here.
Well one more thing. This was a really great thread. A son of Holocaust survivors being called Anti-Semitic because he criticizes Israel. I learned from his critique.
https://x.com/djrothkopf/status/1715753541334081827?s=46&t=Fn4WNI8sqJpHyyHqNwJK4w
Love this post. It has everything: beauty, of course; your usual wry humor; Trumpers going down, empathy, love.
And thank you for holding up a mirror this week. 💕
Thank you as always for this and the link to the NY Times worked.. I think back to the Will I Am song for Obama and the lyrics, “we are one people” and I’ve changed the lyric, “we are one nation” to we are one world and simply, love unites us.
Anguish, hope, anguish, hope it has filled the days but today, I am going to take the title of your post literally, and answer the questions posed.
What do I love? I love dancing.
Who do I love? I love the late salsa queen Celia Cruz.
This morning I had my COVID and my flu shot, the strong one for the elder generation. My Dr had the flu shot but not COVID and since I wanted to get both at the same time, I went to the pharmacy at Walmart. Had a scheduled appointment so of course, they kept me waiting for over half an hour. Music was playing in the backyard and my ears picked up the beat- it was salsa music and I found my toes tapping while I waited in line…THEN, Celia Cruz came on and I made a right spectacle of myself, as my British son-in-law would say ! See I’ve never been afraid to look weird, ridiculous or silly, so off I went.. I’m sure some waiting in line with me thought I was having a seizure but no, I just started moving my hips, holding my arms up as if I had a partner and before I knew it, I danced up and down two aisles while listening to my beloved Celia. When Celia stopped singing, I had managed to get back in line and the people in the line had saved my place. Then the most amazing thing happened- I started to hear applause, looked around and saw the entire pharmacy staff applauding me…
And that is why I love dancing and why I love Celia Cruz . This was such a needed release and I hope it brought a few smiles to others as well. It is a small thing, doing something with abandon, something not harmful, something fun and lighthearted but maybe, just maybe, it touched a few in line in a good way.
I am so glad that I could let it all out ” because I always have a 3 to 4 day reaction to the COVID shot as in swollen and achy arm, headache and body ache, but maybe, just maybe, my dancing stirred up the blood and the results of the shot will be less this time.
Oh Marti. I love you! What a scene you describe. What an utterly Marti scene! One full of spontaneous joy and, of course, dancing. Wish I could have been there. Take care and rest while you weather the shots. I got my flu and Covid at the same time too but besides a sore arm, had no reaction.
Oh Marti…you are the best and this is just the most Marti story ever!! I too got my covid shot…on my way home last night, drive through at Kaiser. So far just a sore arm and tired (but I’m always tired). I rubbed my are a ton driving home 🙂
Dee~ I will take a look at the links…it is still a hard week. So far there hasn’t been a sense of numbly settling in to the horror. It still feels raw.
I love the woven tree roots!! Warp and weft at it’s best!
xo
I hope you can rest this weekend Nancy. So many are raw. I didn’t mean to make homework for anyone. More to place mark some sources for myself. Pieces of conversations. Past and ongoing.
Yeah, I know to pick and choose based on what I think I can handle. But, thanks for saying.
Soooo great, Marti! I wish I could’ve been there, too. OR that there were more people like you we encountered in life, particularly in those kinds of situations. I’d be too afraid to do it alone – but maybe I’ll just have to jump at the next opportunity to channel your spirit and energy?
Gorgeousness and depth of heart, as always, Dee. You bring me here where I find hope and peace in your peace and your suggestions of what to read; knowing I am not alone in this most extreme world of dichotomies.
Thanks Maggie. I almost took this post down. Not sure why. Maybe because since posting it I’ve read six or so more things than refine and sharpen things. And maybe opening the door to any of it feels precarious. Anyway. Love to hear where you are finding peace too.
oops, I didn’t mean “in your peace”, but maybe so – you share with us how you find peace. haha: “in your peace” sounds like a preacher would say?
Sometimes our typos are pure poetry.