Friday, April 27, 2012

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

joy? Joy

i thought the title of this blog would be JOY!!!

i have EXTREMELY eclectic musical tastes. i love almost all music that can not be heard on a m radio. music from any culture,time period or location.

one of the reasons i moved back to berkeley was to have access to a wider verity of music but money and mobility have been in my way.

this past week has been the berkeley early music festival,expensive, and the related fringe fest ,very affordable. with my new found mobility i planned to go to lots of concerts and managed to get to 3.

i expected the concerts would lift my mood. some brought joy,some unexpectedly brought sorrow. the wild rose concert 'roses and thorns, had sad songs that brought up lots of unprocessed grief and tears.

i managed to keep the tears to a minimum and sniffle hard during the applause. ironically if i hadn't been on my scooter i would have left and let the tears flow but wheeled access, i'v come to discover, requires someone to let you in and out of the 'accessible ' entrance, so leaving early causes a commotion..

when the concert was over i left as quickly as i could and scooted down the street to the next church.the campus area has lots of churches with lovely grounds,.
i pulled in out of the way and let the tears flow while listening to a group jam in the colonnade ,it was all in all a good experience just not as joyfilled as i had expected.

looking forward to lots more music in my life.

noted in passing

i had a piece about (bruce) utah phillips in the que and then i heard yesterday that paula gunn allen was gone.

altho i did not know them personally both were influential people in my life

because i have been writing so infrequently i felt i wanted to note their passing now and come back and say more later.

noted in passing

i had a piece about (bruce) utah phillips in the que and then i heard yesterday that paula gunn allen was gone.

altho i did not know them personally both were influential people in my life

because i have been writing so infrequently i felt i wanted to note their passing now and come back and say more later.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

FREEDOM

recently i received an anonymous grant for a mobility scooter, here's my response.


dear grant givers


i can not begin to express the magnitude of change having a scooter has brought to my life.

i would compare it to when i learned to ride a bike at 12 or drive a car when i was 26,

the freedom to go almost anywhere almost any time.

from the simple things like going to the drug store or grocery store to the ability to participate in political and cultural events.

the ability to cruse around the neighborhood on a warm evening and smell the roses and and enjoy the beauty of peoples gardens.

to feel he fresh air on my face ,the breeze in my hair.

to be able to go to several concerts of the early music festival this week and the world music festival on telagraph ave. next saterday

in addition to my work on the board of abc i'm looking forward to finding a place to be more active locally outside of the work i do with my neighbors to improve conditions in our apartment building.

i'm also looking forward , if my health permits to go to the open space conference in s,f. in july and if i can get donated air miles, the national coalition on dialogue and deliberation in austin in oct.


with much thanks and appreciation

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

remembering the spirit of judi bari

last week a occasion to go past downtown oakland to the far end of lake merritt,a place where i always get lost. so coming home i opt for the easy way out ,driving straight up broadway ,something i rarely do,and whenever i do i am always shocked when i come to the intersection where judi and darryl were bombed.

no one was ever charged with this crime.

judy was a labor organizer before she was a forest activist and became a target for her work being able to connect with loggers and mill workers.

they didn't manage to kill her than altho it wasn't the first time they tried. she died 7 years later of breast cancer that the fbi claimed she was faking.

being an activist can be dangerous . i know from my early experience .

her passing in 1997 left a gape that grows. her memory inspires me to keep on trying to learn the skills it takes to build bridges

altho i sometimes give up and despair of ever learning to be truly affective, hope eventually reasserts its self.

Monday, December 24, 2007

holiday feast

general food bank dec. 19

2lb.beans

2lb.white rice

1 can corn

1 can tomato sauce

1 can apple sauce

1 can of pringles


senior food bank dec 21

4 lb. pinto beans

2lb. white rice

i loaf breab

1 can corn

1 can apple sauce

4 onions

4 pears (yeah!)

1 cabbage

dec. is the cruelest month for regular food bank users the majority of food goes to the showcase distributions, the ones you see on tv and for which you usually need an invitation or the ability to stand in line for hours.

i have know idea what qualifies one to be invited clearly being a senior on disability is not enough.

oh yea, and 2 cans of mystery meat.