ABC Wednesday

ABC WEDNESDAY...A IS FOR...

AVOCATION

I am so excited about joining the 5th round of ABC Wednesday. Denise runs it and she doesn't have lots of rules which tend to make me a lurker rather than a player. This is different! I have been waiting for the 'next round' to start so that I can go from A to Z, featuring whatever little thing my heart desires. I can do this, and I'm ready to have some fun.

If Clouds Could Speak

If clouds could speak, I think they would tell me everything I need to know.

Attitude,

Dream

Intimacy,

Future,

Hope,

Love

Variety,

Humor

They are speaking to me,
I just need to look up with my eyes to hear it.
Or miss an extraordinary message from the universe;

One that only lasts one nano-second and then it's washed away.

Flash Fiction 55

She awoke suddenly to glowing white beckoning her from afar.

She heard whispering.
"Wake up."

Clumsily she got out of bed and sleepily wiped her eyes. Gazing out her window, just above the horizon, was the moon suspended with shadows fleeting and floating in its light.

"Hum a tune. Let's dance."

"Tra, la, la..."

Visit Flash Fiction's G-Man.

America's Symbol of Strength and Freedom

Friday June 19, 2009; Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA

I had so much hope when Barack Obama won the presidency. To me it was as if he was a symbol of our country deciding to clean house and get its priorities in order. Since becoming president he has vowed 3 trillion dollars to fund education. He promised no teacher layoffs. The money supposedly has been distributed to the states. Where is it? My son was laid off from his NYC teaching job. Teaching jobs are frozen in NYC. Let me get this straight - The NYC Fellow program which was designed to take people with college degrees and help them become teachers, as a second chance career to teach urban students, is going to do what now? Train people for a third career to work on a taco line? Our children are our only chance for a strong and free future. I'm confused. Maybe it's me who is disillusioned. Maybe eagles aren't a symbol of anything really. Maybe birds are just stupid.

The Thing With Feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without words
And never stops - at all

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Emily Dickinson

When I read this poem Emily wrote about hope, I believe she is admonishing the person who would abash the hopeful with their feelings of negativity and anger. I think she is saying that negativity and anger destroys hope in ourselves and causes pain for those around us. Hope should be like a bird that flies freely yet perches on your windowsill to deliver the gift of song. It should be allowed to calm and console.

There are those who seemingly disagree:

Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.
~Friedrich Neitzsche

He who has never hoped can never despair.
~Geroge Bernard Shaw

Where do you stand on the subject of hope. Do you agree with Emily, or do you agree with Neitzsche? If it were an easy question to answer, I wouldn't be asking. I'm undecided.

Happy Cactus Monday

Flash Fiction Friday

She dialed 9-1-1 having enough time to scream, "My ex-husband is going to kill me," before he yanked the cord from the phone jack and wrapped it around her neck. She tried to hold the baby but instinct forced her to let go to save her own neck, as she fought to save her life.

Visit Flash Fiction's G-Man.

I'm not trying to be disturbing for no good reason. This is probably a new and troubling thought to a lot of you. But then again, there are many silent sufferers among us. I want to nudge you enough to get you to visit a significant blog that I feel is making a difference in people's lives. It is called "Violence UnSilenced" and it's providing a place where people who have survived sexual and/or physical abuse can go to share their stories. It's also a safe place where people who are suffering can go to get help. It's been nominated for "Most Inspiring Blog" and, frankly, I want it to win. You can vote once per day.

Check it out and if you think it's deserving, you can vote for it by following these instructions:

• The category page is at: http://www.socialluxelounge.com/blogluxe/
• Select the "Most Inspiring Blog" category
• Find Violence UnSilenced in the list
• Click the "Vote" button
• Fill in a name and email address
• Click the SECOND "Vote" button to register your vote.

And, while we are on this disturbing subject, there's something I'm curious about...

Let's have a philosophical discussion about survival instincts versus maternal/paternal instincts. Do I have it wrong in my Flash Fiction 55? Is it the other way around; Are maternal/paternal instincts stronger than survival instincts?

Six things that make me happy

I was tagged by Pinkerbell of "Ripples in a Small Pond." Here are the instructions:

"If you are tagged write a post on your own blog about this saying six (un)important things which make you happy. Then you need to link to the person who tagged you and tag six bloggers people of your own. Then let them know that you've tagged them, perhaps by leaving a comment on their blog somewhere or by email. Simple. If you don't want to post on your own site, or don't have time, then just add a comment on to mine here. I won't mind if you don't link back to me, it's just a bit of fun, so don't worry about it if you don't carry it on."

Tag – you’re it!!!...

Deb - Fashionably Late
Kate - Rainbow Juice
Nicci - Queen of Haartz
Granny - Granny on the web
Fireblossom - Word Garden
Stewart - Imac's Photos from the Minds Eye

#1 Northern Arizona. We have a cabin up in Concho, Arizona: It's solar and wind powered and totally green. It's where we go to beat the Phoenix heat.

#2 Facebook: I am able to keep track of four generations of relatives.

#3 Camera: When I'm stressed out taking pictures usually calms me down. I was feeling a lot of angst this weekend so I went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and took a bunch of pictures and entered a photo contest. Dale Chihuly was exhibiting his hand-blown glass art in natural surroundings. It was the perfect photo op. Look really closely at the glass pillar on the far left about half way down - do you see the face of a Scottish Terrier?

#4 Playlist: My favorite song is "Feel" by Robbie Williams.
#5 Shakespeare: Particularly Shakespearean sonnets. I have memorized Shakespeare just in case I am ever stuck on a desert island and don't have anything to read or listen to. This is true.

#6 Birds: Here is a mini-movie I made about birds.

Please feel free to take this meme as your own, even if you are not tagged, and pass it along! I would love to know what makes all of you happy. This inquiring mind wants to know.