Category Archives: the Resistance

Quiet but fierce resistance

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You might recognize the artistic hand of Marti here. That’s Marti from New Mexico, often in my and others’ comments telling robust stories about family, culture, food, and yes, resistance.

Her symbolic gestures of resistance give me hope and act as reminders that however we show up in this moment matters.

She commented recently: “The sign that I made in April for the first of the many protests, weathered snow, hail and rain, but this last bout of monsoon rain, crumbled it SO I made another sign, not as large, not planted in my large pot. It is affixed to one of my Kokopelli planters by our front door, away from the elements, where all who come to our door can see. it. Thought about changing the words on the sign to fit the many protest themes but in the end, those three words say it all, HANDS OFF DEMOCRACY.”

Marti hand-dyes fabrics with windfall to produce amazing results. Here’s a lovely bookmark she sent me.

In the top wall-hanging, she features the work of another fiber artist, Liz. That’s Liz from I’m Going to Texas.

You can read about Liz’s Peace Pin Project here. Liz stitched, in her unique and original style, messages of peace to wear and on a flag to signal support of Ukraine.

In her stellar collaborative style, Liz also stitched up a quote from Marti.

Hope is standing up / not standing aside / to connect in a way / that helps to make / us all one.

Rebecca Solnit’s got nothin’ on these two!

While trying to find the bronze leaf (stamped with the word PEACE) that Liz sent me after the Hearts for Charleston Project concluded (see my and her sidebars), I found the Peace Pin she made for me. The date references the day Dylann Roof opened fire at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston. I wish I could find these items in my boxes of precious objects, but so far they haven’t turned up.

How are you fighting the fascist regime this week?

Protest

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Time out from writing today to make a quick trip into Boston to protest the inhumane treatment of families at the border and elsewhere.

My sign wasn’t quite in keeping with the crowd’s.

One of these protests, I’ll get it right.

Many passionate pleas, including this young man who kept asking if our governor, Charlie Baker, could hear us.

And this young woman told a harrowing piece of personal history — about how her grandmother saved more than 100 Jews and also shot a Dutch collaborator in her living room.

Morning List and Queries

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Waking to sounds of wind and rain was an accidental blessing this morning.

Leaving i-devices downstairs at night should be a regular thing. I mean, if sanity matters.

It’s nice to breathe through two nostrils.

Whoever said, “You have a nervous system for every child” was wise.

I like that better than, “You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child.”

Thumb typing sucks.

Time was they’d say, “We’re in for some rain and gusts of wind”.

What’s John Bolton’s deal?

I’m sure I don’t want to know.

After hearing a talk about the relative virtues of handwriting and five-finger keyboard typing last week*, what I’m wondering is: are there any virtues of thumb typing with ducking autocorrect?

Millennials don’t answer their phones. Or mine don’t.

Finishing things makes a place to rest and

anything can become a house.

Unfinished things create points of tension.

Which do you prefer — possibilities or closure?

Sometimes I snarl. Example: “you must have a macro for ‘I’ll do it tomorrow'”.

This ‘bomb cyclone’ is just wind and rain. Hunger is a reliable thing. So are some friends.

You can often predict who among your friends will be afraid of dogs, but the ones that love them might surprise you.

It’s not a race. Life.

The questions (and subject of tomorrow’s post) are: how do your manage your news intake and what sources do you rely on?

* Michelle (MsUncertaintyPrinciples — side bar) posted a talk about writing vs. typing last week on FB. It’s by Clive Thompson and it’s on YouTube if this link doesn’t work.

 

Imagine peace 

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Imagine peace. Such a refrain! A sewn pin from Liz in Texas renders the reminder tactile and lovely.

With the pin, came a stitched date: June 17, 2015. This, as you know, was the day of the tragic shooting at the Charleston Emanuel AME Church and Liz was one of the contributors to the “Hearts for Charleston” quilt (see side bar). The pin and date-cloth seem very at home in a sweet grass basket made in Charleston, don’t you think? There they are on a pile of shells gathered south of the city along with a wasp’s nest (also found somewhere in SC).

Look at Liz’s capable hand! Seeing her tiny, regular stitches reminded me of the pleasure of collaborating on our quilt for grieving Charlestonians last year. Making hope tactile while affirming friendships all over the globe is a powerful thing. Thank you, Liz, thank you and thank you – both for the gift itself and for setting a moving example.

My mad play with pix of villains, on the other hand, is likely pointless. But, look at that face — even if the stakes were low, would YOU trust him? With an image like that, you don’t need to evaluate his lame, contradictory explanations of recent blundering and partisan actions to conclude that the House Intel Committee’s work is done. Toast.  I went to the Mother Emanuel Church while in Charleston recently. It was drenched in sun and very still, in spite of a fair amount of traffic out front. I felt a sense of sadness being there and also care — I did not want to intrude. Sometimes even taking pictures can feel transgressive. Fortunately, no one came or went while I took the photos below.






I found all the shells on Folly Beach as the sun came up. K and I thought we’d have the place to ourselves, but lots of people were there — a military jogger and his handsome German shepherd posing for pictures; a rashy-faced photo enthusiast talking up his Facebook page; other tourists; a guy with a metal detector who reminded us of those funny nerds on “The Detectorists”. The pier’s criss-crossing supports looked like a row of herringbone stitch connecting the ocean to the sky.



Naturally Finn joined me as I took a selfie on the sunny staircase yesterday — he always knows where the action is! He kept looking up as if peace was just there, slightly beyond my reach or capacity to see.