My book club has chosen to read Nelson Mandela's memoir Long Walk to Freedom for its next discussion. Since I am generally a fan of memoirs as a genre, I am enjoying the walk with Mandela. I have reached the point in his story where he has returned to his hometown as a young man now in law school, having completed his B.A. degree. He makes the statement as he leaves home once again for the city, "I have crossed famous rivers." Essentially, it means that once one has traveled to various places afar, he or she gains wisdom and knowledge.
As I consider my own walk in comparison to Mandela's, I realize that we were both born into segregated societies; his was South Africa, and mine was the Mississippi Delta. As a child in poverty and as I completed high school, I had little hope that I would accomplish anything in my life other than perhaps working as a secretary and in the future buying a Jim Walters pre-fab, two-bedroom house. My dreams were simple. After all, my high school was literally located in the middle of a cotton patch.
Through the years, however, like Mandela I began to enlarge my view of the world and its possibilities. As with Mandela, I learned early that the hope of a better life was through education. I pursued that goal diligently for twenty-four years (kindergarten through a doctoral program). Like Mandela, as the years went on, I have crossed famous rivers. The first was likely the Mississippi River on my way after my high school graduation to live in Wichita. When my mother moved to Seattle, I loved taking the boat across Puget Sound into Victoria, B.C., and later up the Inside Passage toward Alaska. My first international trip included a boat ride on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam and one in Kiev, Ukraine, on the Dnieper River. Later I cruised to a renowned zoo across Sydney Harbour in Australia. A final trip five years ago included day cruises on the Rhine in Germany and the Seine in Paris. I am sure there must be others I have forgotten.
The point is that, like Mandela, I have learned much about different cultures through my travel experiences and thereby hope I too have become wiser and more knowledgeable about the world in general. Like the bildungsroman in literature, one cannot return home after crossing famous rivers without being, fully changed.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Rich Treasures for 2010
On New Year's Day as I read from my familiar devotional book, Our Daily Bread, I was challenged by the author of the short piece to seek small treasures every day. The treasures, of course, did not have to be material in nature; they would be the small nuggets rather from life's daily walk in 2010. I have always liked "listing" poems since they are simply a series of rather concrete visual images. Therefore, I have chosen to use these for my blog this morning in the form of a free-verse poem.
Quietly Joyful Moments in January
In nature –
Taking a forty minute walk in the newly-fallen three inches of snow,
And seeing the heavily-laden branches of the holly bushes with peeps of
scarlet underneath.
Being struck by the loveliness of the fog-frosted trees atop the Boston
Mountains.
Discovering the North Shore of the Arkansas River, Cook’s Landing Park,
And watching the Canadian geese literally “walk on water.”
Having the North Wind at my back on the second half of a three-mile walk, and appreciating once more that familiar Irish blessing.
Seeing a glimpse of sunlight on the east side of Pinnacle Mountain
on a densely cloudy morning.
Celebrating the return of the birds, especially the robins and cardinals,
that twitter and jump joyously before me on the paved path.
From literature –
Quoting from 2 Timothy 2:6, “The hardworking farmer must partake
first of the crops.”
Hearing the author of Handling Sin, Michael Malone, “My sense of
writing comes from listening.”
Finding a Freudian quote, “We must love or we grow ill.”
From family –
Talking on the telephone New Year’s Day to our Seattle “precious
treasure,” four-year-old grandson Cole.
Watching our eleven-year-old granddaughter, Caitlyn, make a
cherry coffee cake after attending a cooking class.
Watching our six-year-old grandson, Charlie, make his first goal ever
at a basketball game.
Loving the quietly joyful moments of reading together with my
husband of forty-five years on a frigid winter’s day.
Quietly Joyful Moments in January
In nature –
Taking a forty minute walk in the newly-fallen three inches of snow,
And seeing the heavily-laden branches of the holly bushes with peeps of
scarlet underneath.
Being struck by the loveliness of the fog-frosted trees atop the Boston
Mountains.
Discovering the North Shore of the Arkansas River, Cook’s Landing Park,
And watching the Canadian geese literally “walk on water.”
Having the North Wind at my back on the second half of a three-mile walk, and appreciating once more that familiar Irish blessing.
Seeing a glimpse of sunlight on the east side of Pinnacle Mountain
on a densely cloudy morning.
Celebrating the return of the birds, especially the robins and cardinals,
that twitter and jump joyously before me on the paved path.
From literature –
Quoting from 2 Timothy 2:6, “The hardworking farmer must partake
first of the crops.”
Hearing the author of Handling Sin, Michael Malone, “My sense of
writing comes from listening.”
Finding a Freudian quote, “We must love or we grow ill.”
From family –
Talking on the telephone New Year’s Day to our Seattle “precious
treasure,” four-year-old grandson Cole.
Watching our eleven-year-old granddaughter, Caitlyn, make a
cherry coffee cake after attending a cooking class.
Watching our six-year-old grandson, Charlie, make his first goal ever
at a basketball game.
Loving the quietly joyful moments of reading together with my
husband of forty-five years on a frigid winter’s day.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Evolution of "Isolated Incidents"
As the New Year begins, I search the Internet for the best airline prices for a planned summer trip to Seattle. It is, after all, my husband's 70th birthday that we will be celebrating with our children and grandchildren. My older grandson, Charlie, has not flown before, and I long for him to have a positive experience, yet--since the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day--I am not sure it will be.
The Administration has gone from describing this incident, as well as several other terrorist incidents before this one, as "isolated" to "war against Al-Qaeda." The other incidents in recent months that were described as "isolated incidents" include the shooting here in our city of Little Rock at a military recruiting station, killing one and wounding one; the shooting at Ft. Hood of a number of military soldiers; the killing of seven CIA agents by a triple agent; and the invasion of a presidential state dinner by three uninvited guests.
The evolution in terminology has most likely been a response to Americans' criticizing an initial lukewarm reaction to these incidents by the administration. After all, Michael Leiter, the Head of the nation's Counter Terrorism program, took his son on a skiing trip the day after the event. Janet Napolitano, Head of Homeland Security, announced on the Sunday programs that the airline "system worked." The next day the President refuted that assessment after an enraged outcry from Americans over her comment.
Yes, it is true that after such incidents Americans are then required to add ever more roadblocks into checking in at airports for their flights. After Richard Reid attempted to bring down an airplane by lighting explosives in his shoes, Americans were required to remove their shoes while checking in. The bringing on of liquids was also forbidden. We are already hearing about what is next: full body scans that leave one no personal privacy at all. Will we also have to remove our underpants and put them in a basket for scanning?
The Administration has gone from describing this incident, as well as several other terrorist incidents before this one, as "isolated" to "war against Al-Qaeda." The other incidents in recent months that were described as "isolated incidents" include the shooting here in our city of Little Rock at a military recruiting station, killing one and wounding one; the shooting at Ft. Hood of a number of military soldiers; the killing of seven CIA agents by a triple agent; and the invasion of a presidential state dinner by three uninvited guests.
The evolution in terminology has most likely been a response to Americans' criticizing an initial lukewarm reaction to these incidents by the administration. After all, Michael Leiter, the Head of the nation's Counter Terrorism program, took his son on a skiing trip the day after the event. Janet Napolitano, Head of Homeland Security, announced on the Sunday programs that the airline "system worked." The next day the President refuted that assessment after an enraged outcry from Americans over her comment.
Yes, it is true that after such incidents Americans are then required to add ever more roadblocks into checking in at airports for their flights. After Richard Reid attempted to bring down an airplane by lighting explosives in his shoes, Americans were required to remove their shoes while checking in. The bringing on of liquids was also forbidden. We are already hearing about what is next: full body scans that leave one no personal privacy at all. Will we also have to remove our underpants and put them in a basket for scanning?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
