On the road in Virginia

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
October 26, 2012

This week’s Friday photo and post are used with permission from Robert Gluck.

photo courtesy of Robert Gluck, taken in northern Virginia

I took this photo on my way home from work today. In case you can’t read the bumper stickers, they say:

Anything you GET
from the GOVERNMENT
was TAKEN from someone else.

THIS IS AMERICA
We Don’t Redistribute Wealth
YOU EARN IT!

Let’s parse this, shall we?

The first three lines are basically true. Assuming this person (we’ll call her Jane) paid taxes, at least part of what Jane GETS from the government came from her own pocket, but that is pretty negligible in the big picture.

The next line is also indisputable; this is, indeed, America.

The fifth line is the problem, because, actually, we DO redistribute wealth and always have. You’ll notice that Jane is driving on a road. I happen to know that this road was built with money gathered from millions of Virginia taxpayers with, no doubt, some thrown in from taxpayers around the country via federal transportation dollars. That money was REDISTRIBUTED to the Virginia Department of Transportation which in turn paid to have the road built (and repaved several times since then) for the benefit of everyone, including me and Jane.

The last line, taken on its own with the understanding that it is referring to “wealth,” is also true. You EARN wealth, except, of course, for the money that is passed down to you from parents and relatives (though we could argue that THEY earned it — or at least someone up the family tree earned it), by working for a living.

However, if we consider the six lines as a single sentiment, as I believe they were intended to be understood, it is clear that Jane has not thought her statement out carefully enough.

America DOES redistribute wealth. This was not a decision imposed on us by a hostile outside force, rather, it was a decision made by Americans back in the good old days that I’m sure Jane wishes we would return to (but, alas, Jane, they never existed). It is a decision that has been reaffirmed and expanded upon by liberals, moderates, and conservatives for decades and decades.

And Jane, when America chose to collect a share of wealth from those who could afford it and to then spend it in ways we agreed it should be spent (because America is, after all, the greatest democracy on earth), we understood that we were GIVING something to our beloved country in RETURN for roads, schools (Jane, by the way, also had a bumper sticker for a public elementary school which, presumably, Jane Jr. attends), and our national defense (and we ALL honor those who serve our country).

So Jane, this is America, and we SHARE our wealth because we love our country, our children, and our freedom.

Measure twice, cut once

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
October 19, 2012

Design decisions

This felted cashmere sweater is waiting patiently for me in my sewing room. Working with cables and other designs can be a challenge sometimes, in addition to any signs of wear that send things to a thrift store. I think I’ve just about worked through how to use this cast-off treasure.

Where the road will lead me

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
October 12, 2012

This tree shaded dirt road at our farm will be used by four generations in my family this weekend. Marshmallows will be skewered and roasted, fish will be caught and returned to the Ogeechee, targets will be sighted, stars will be watched under a clear sky, good food will be cooked and shared by friends and family, and there will be a lot of laughter. We are so lucky.

This river needs mowing

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
October 5, 2012

This trickle of water is what is left of the Ogeechee River after months of drought. If anyone wonders why opponents of Plant Washington, sited about 15 miles from the bridge in Glascock County where this picture was taken, wonder why we are worried about a coal plant using 16 MILLION gallons of fresh water a day, now you have your answer.


 



 

Hey lady, your racism is showing

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
August 31, 2012

The First Family, official White House photo

Yesterday on NPR a story aired about Romney’s speech before a veteran’s convention in Indiana. The report focused in part on the challenges Obama has winning the support of older veterans.

A woman married to a vet, Bobbie Lucier from Manassas, Virginia said this when asked about the President, “I don’t like him, can’t stand to look at him. I don’t like his wife. She’s far from the First Lady. It’s about time we get a First Lady in there who acts like a First Lady and looks like a First Lady.”

Mrs. Lucier didn’t say what a First Lady should look like, or how she should act, but what she said about Michelle Obama did speak volumes about what Mrs. Lucier thinks a First Lady shouldn’t look like.

What I think I heard Mrs. Lucier say is she doesn’t like either of the Obamas because they are black.

Mrs. Lucier, your racism was on display to the world yesterday thanks to NPR. Ari Shapiro should have asked a follow-up question about what a First Lady should look like and how she should act. That’s an answer I would love to hear.

 

 

 

 

 

The good fortune of knowing Naima

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
July 27, 2012

I’ll never win the lottery because I don’t buy tickets. But I took home a grand prize when I applied for a retreat at the Wind River Cancer Wellness Retreats nestled in the North Carolina mountains near Asheville.

When I arrived on the appointed Thursday afternoon, Shannon, one of the retreat directors told me who I would room with, hesitated, and said, “No, I think you need to be with Naima.”

All of us soon to be good friends were sitting together early that evening, and when Naima arrive, someone whispered, “Oh, she is so beautiful.” And Naima was.

Wigs were shed by Friday morning, including Naima’s stunning page boy style. We were there to let our hair down, and that was especially important for the women who had no hair or were growing theirs back.

We drummed, we painted, we walked, we read, we slept, we shared and cried, cooked, learned Taichi, and experienced incredible healing touch therapy (I was completely amazed by it, just like those who are sure hypnotism won’t work on them).

Young women talked about balancing work, young children, and chemo. And hard decisions to come, like whether, with a seven month old baby at home, it was the right time to lose a breast to cancer.

And Naima smiled all day, so broadly. She even belly danced when we drummed on Saturday night. But her pain was so real, the uncertainty so heavy, a dark diagnosis weighing on her as her cancer had spread through her abdomen. She had a beautiful daughter who would graduate from high school in the spring. Naima wanted to be there for Jasmine, and she was.

But by late June, despite new treatments which gave her a little more time, at least enough to get to graduation, Naima’s long and painful fight came to an end.

Later today, the women who came to know Naima over a four day retreat, all of us strangers when we arrived, and all of us now friends in a way that only we may truly understand, will remember Naima for the survivor she was up to the end.

Each of us will write her name on an “In Memory Of” bib and pin it to our shirts, and we will, most likely, tearfully, ride together as survivors in a cancer event in Charlotte.

Wind River brought us together, and we are lucky to come back together today, healthier now on the most part, but without one, the one who was so beautiful one of us had to say so.

I will always owe a huge debt of gratitude to Wind River, to Shannon and Dave who open their homes to survivors in all stages of treatment and health. I got lucky when I rushed my application in, but I was even luckier when Shannon hesitated and said, “No, I think you need to be with Naima.”

You can find out more about Wind River and support them in a special event today called One Vote/One Day Only-Make a Difference that could provide them with a Toyota Prius to extend their outreach to cancer patients.

 

 

No Mor Chikin 4 me (a variation on The Friday Photo)

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
July 20, 2012

created by Bully the Bullies

When it became clear to me that Chick-Fil-A really doesn’t support equal rights for all of its customers, I decided to skip the drive through on the few occasions when I happened to be near one. Granted, I wasn’t propping up their profits by any stretch (I was a fan of their diet lemonade more than anything else that they serve), but I decided that even that little bit of infrequent business was too much.

Now the Cathy family has removed all doubt that it wholeheartedly and financially supports work to deny LGBT Americans (many of whom are their customers) the same rights that heterosexual enjoy.

I don’t think I’ll ever be hungry enough to stop at a Chick-Fil-A until they decide that all  people should have the same rights. Period.

And it will probably take putting some of their profits right where they have advocated for disenfranchisement and inequality to send me to the drive through again.

 

 

Get your feet wet

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
July 13, 2012

20120712-202646.jpg

The Ogeechee Riverkeeper staff, Board of Directors, and the members have stood with us shoulder to shoulder, led when we needed direction, and watch our back for over four years since Plant Washington was announced.

They have worked late nights, through weekends, interrupted vacations, and never failed to do the work of protecting the river.

I was honored and humbled to be chosen as their Big Cypress Volunteer of the Year. There is so much work to be done for the Ogeechee. Get your feet wet and help them.

How to throw a great July 4th party

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by spontaneity, art, and community.
July 6, 2012

Lucy and Robert Whelchel’s fence on July 4th

Live bluegrass music played by a beaming grandfather and granddaughter

Old friends, new friends, great food

An African doctor, educated in Communist Russian, returning home to use years of experience working in war torn Eastern Europe to open a women’s health clinic

Politics, religion, books, health care, retirement, tales about travel, history, family

Cool breezes after dinner stirred with a soft British accent

And so much laughter

 

This isn’t a Hallmark gift

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by spontaneity, art, and community.
June 22, 2012

Lexi

June 23rd is our 28th wedding anniversary.
This year David let me pick out my own gift.
There doesn’t seem to be a traditional gift for the 28th anniversary.
But we aren’t a traditional couple.

 

 

Hazardous to children

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by spontaneity, art, and community.
June 15, 2012

A friend sent this photo to me
It is a limited edition “collectible” retailing for 2,000 British pounds
In today’s economy that converts to over $3,000 US
In proportion it is as expensive as new coal plants are today
It probably has a warning underneath it about being a hazard to children
Just like a real coal plant

 

 

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