One of the busisest days of the year in our home is Halloween. There is lots to do that includes Go Far, school parties, trick or treating and Peter's birthday. On this harried day, I stole some time for myself . For an ephemeral moment I captured this bucolic view. My (pictured) tour guide was filled with ebullience as he showed me the way through acres and acres of inspiring views. It is at these farms, I continue my love affair of photography. This particular farm sent me home feeling like I had found treasure that no one else knew of. Until I returned home, the contents of my memory card would be guarded as I felt like I had looted a piece of rural history. This hard drive contains personal treasures of sorts that brings me happiness beyond measure.
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The kids and I came across this man practicing while at Hammonassette a couple of years ago. He was inspiration to watch. Effortlessly he jumped from boulder to boulder, into crevices and over tide pools. Peter was mesmerized, his jaw slack in amazement. As we walked away, I grabbed Peter squarely at his shoulders, looked deep into his eyes and pleaded with him not to try this. This can be someone else's miracle. But nonetheless, he made our day. I took this photo on a rainy day as I poked around the house trying to feel inspired. This photo makes me think of two things. Strangely enough, it reminds me of two of my brothers that happen to have birthdays two days apart this week. Happy Birthday boys! Thick skinned lines run through the outer part of the melon, but when you cut into it, it is soft and sweet. These boys are the picture of thick skin. It has always amazed me how tough and resilient they can be despite the obstacle or situation while at the same time, they are sensitive and caring beyond measure. I bet they never thought they would be compared to a cantaloupe. But I have them to thank for teaching me how to be tougher and more thick skinned myself. OK now to switch gears. Just this morning I read an article on yahoo about exploding melons in China. Sure enough, farmers got a little to overzealous adding forchlorfenuron, a growth accelerator, and now have mine fields of exploding watermelons. After laughing at the thought, I realized that the reality of the situation is appalling. While the Chinese may have a leg up on us in virtually everything these days, they are systematically poisoning their population. Just Google exploding melons, and you too will appreciate the grown in the USA label. The FDA as an organization is no Boyscout, but really, food that explodes? I hope Al- Qaeda doesn’t read the same article. The western world would be in trouble. As you sit and enjoy one of your 5 fruit servings today, realize there is much enjoyed in a thick skinned non-exploding melon.
For one week Peter was king. His father told him that while he was away, he would be the man of the house. He was sure to lock the doors, put the seat down, brush his teeth and defeat every villain in all of his video games. There really was no better man to do the job. He even emptied the dishwasher! As Chris returned from his trip, Peter was reluctant to step down from his post, but easily fell back into the roll of second in charge. Responsibility can be exhausting. I sometimes forget that some day, this little man will be in charge and we will look to him for answers. In his mother’s eyes, this miracle in the making has great potential despite the fact that he still hasn’t mastered beyond the sevens of the times tables. After all, we’re all still a work in progress.
Chris just came home from the Lone Star state covering 769 miles of gritty road. He says it was an epic adventure filled with visions he won’t soon forget. In his travels, dogs chased him more than 25 times all with teeth gnarled. For some reason they looked like rabid chows especially in the dark of night. In the wee hours, he came wheel to face with many armored armadillos. Their eyes glow in the dark like our possums and luckily, he never went over his handlebars to avoid them. Everyone drives a Chevy or a Ford as Texan’s remind us of who is number one. In a similar thought, the flag of Texas flies over every home. Shamefully, I vaguely know what the CT flag looks like. He also came to understand that most convenience store clerks are highly underrated at human beings. He was amazed at their hospitality towards him even as he entered their establishments covered in bugs and road grime. One even invited him into the store with his bicycle as a tornado like storm flew by. I am happy to have him back from the Lone Star State. His perspective of Texas is unique, as few have traveled it the way he has. Perhaps he feels like an old cowboy out of the movies, rougher and tougher than the rest of us. It’s good to have my cowboy home. Yee ha for Chris for making another chink in the belt of life’s great adventure.
For years now, I have been tapping my foot to this song. When the kids started John Lyman School, I was introduced to it by Phil Moriarty who makes a terrific cat impression. Every Friday, it's a Lyman tradition for the kids to assemble for an hour of demonstration, acting and recognition. It's a great platform for the the kids to show what they have been learning. It may be one of the main reason's I picked the integrated 2 year program. In the little 45 minute cumbaya-fest of sorts, kids can express themselves, tackle public speaking, sing, get some credit they deserve and feel like they are part of a community. No other school in the district does this. It has become an integral part of the Go Far program as the kids are awarded for their exercise efforts. I feel guilt as I sometimes wanted to rush the assembly along to get to whatever came next in the day. We don't learn how truly important the assembly is until it's gone. You can't help but realize when your child moves on, that we had a good thing going. Gone are the days when a parent can have their weekly insight into school culture. Also, the kid's lose out on valuable public speaking opportunities when they are coming to an age where it's most important. And sadly, done are the memorable songs of the kids youth such as The Cat Came Back. Luckily, these songs never fully disappear. I find my husband singing them at the dinner table. I'll sing them to myself as as I take photographs. I'll even shed a tear when thinking of Lyman's most nostalgic song, Jamica Fairwell, as I remember the kids locked arm and arm singing the song about longing friendships of yesteryear. As my heartstrings are tugged at, I realize that this time in our life is so poignant because it may be when we are most connected to our children. The composer's of these songs may not have realized the miracle they enabled in writing these songs, but I am very thankful they did. Thank you John Lyman School for bringing them to us and helping us see how fortunate we really are. Today I experienced American ingenuity at its best. At the Brimfield antique show, we indulged ourselves in smorgasbord of cultural Americana. The range of antiques, crafts and oddities were such pleasure breathe in, that I completely forgot about my allergies. I ran to the ATM taking out the largest amount possible as I armed myself with enough cash to buy an antique store. As my friend and I wandered around, we saw so much that we liked that we became overwhelmed. Our attention would often be diverted from one booth to another like over-sugared kids in a candy store. My creativity went into overdrive, as I thought of all the projects I could jump into. It was a creative bonanza that sent you home with your mind reeling with possibilities. Amusingly, we returned home with nothing in our hands but some sugared nuts and some kettlekorn. While our hands were empty, our minds were filled with ideas of what we could craft, build, sew, photograph and design. We also came home with our laugh-meter fully topped off. Today’s miracle came in a jam-packed bundle of inspiration that will last for many days to come.
When it comes to fetching a ball, Mile’s is in the zone. Some call it tunnel vision. I remember my coach saying that when you visualize the end result it’s likely to be achieved. He has girls racing in the rowing national team trials today and I hope they are employing that same tunnel vision to their task. Chris is at mile 300 of an 800 mile ride as I write this. I can imagine that ‘s the only way to cover that crazy a distance is to visualize getting there. I think this rule applies to all of us. Visualization is important. But while the end goals are paramount, let’s not forget to enjoy the ride.
As promised to some friends yesterday, here is my favorite carnie moment taken the day before the Durham fair last year. I think that Austin Power's says it best as seen in the clip below. Believe it or not, he was a very friendly guy and gave me a stuffed bunny for taking his photo. Now my daughter sleeps with it every night. Creepy without a doubt. Perhaps I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You wondering what's the miracle here? Take a look at the carnies eyes and see the resemblance to the bananas eyes. It's uncanny. You know how sometimes people start to resemble their dogs, well this carnie resembles his prizes.
Here is the Austin powers link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlSKaDzbQN0 Last Saturday, I took this up in the orchard. The big pine tree nearby usually demands the most attention, but the forgotten one pictured here looked particularly beautiful as the storm approached. Nature often reflects whats going on in our own lives. As I look around my circle and see cancer, sour relationships, struggles of all sorts, I still try to have hope. When darkness fills the scenery, you can always find light if you look for it with conviction. I have made it a point in my life to find the glass half full because I would hate to live with the alternative.
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