Stain-glass Eyes

I received this letter, via e-mail, today from the mother who "Lugged" her son to the lecture on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I wanted my readers to hear the story, it's an amazing, inspiring one. I included the picture of them, again.   Below is the letter from Angela, and her son who now speaks Chinese. Thank you, Angela, for letting me share this story of yours.  Hello there, The pictures are lovely. Please feel free to blog the story and show the picture.  My story is while my husband worked in another state and I was alone with a baby in graduate school, Chinese students let their visiting parents take care of my baby. They took care of him for free as long as I was in school. Upon their urging, I enrolled my son in Chinese school on the weekend for 1year, received tutoring for him the next year and then allowed them to help me find a job in Beijing. My son and I lived in Beijing for 1 year and he became fluent in Chinese wi...

Recognize him? When I read, or talk to people, I hear the same things over again and again.  It's a process I'm working on.  It helps me settle into my new transition and new life. "Be authentic." "Be true to yourself."   "March to the beat of your own drum." Great in theory.  Not so easy.  "It's complex", as Dr. Sullivan says, during my counseling.  I agree, it is complex.   To muddle through what I know to be true, learning what is true and striving for my own truths, feels like following the path of a labyrinth.  I don't mean literally, I feel it in a spirit sense.  I go round and round.  I pull the truths from deep in myself.  From what I see and from my day to day experience. I'm starting to believe I do have the truths to live a contented life.  They've always been inside me.  I also have rebukes and contradictions inside, too.  That's when things get complex.  W...

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIF4_WzU1w             Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I didn't want to miss the reminders of his dream.  I knew  U of M would have something on their event schedule commemorating him. Arriving Early for Harry Belafonte's Lecture Hill Auditorium, U of M Harry Belafonte spoke today, at Hill Auditorium, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His presence, style, personality were all what I expected and more.  He doesn't have to sing to make his presence known. He casually walked on stage with a cane.  He wore a gray tweed suit, with black shoes.  No tie, but a white shirt underneath a gray sweater, showing only the white collar.  Tall, handsome, and charming, he smiled warmly, as the crowd greeted him. Harry Belafonte, Just as I Expected It was quite a crowd.  I made sure to arrive about 8:40 a.m. and even then,  there were a fe...

The Instrument of Lighting  Astonished as I was, I was given the responsibility to control the spotlight, the last two nights.  I asked if I could help with anything for a concert on January 17th and 18th.  The Out Loud Chorus does two productions a year.  I've been out of the country, twice, since September, and wasn't able to fully commit to joining the chorus.  I've been going to as many rehearsals, as possible, but knew I wouldn't be ready to perform with them. They memorize all the material for their concert.  It's quite an accomplishment.  I've been impressed by the talent.  There are about thirty-plus members and the rehearsals are two hours long once a week.  Sections in the chorus take turns providing a snack for the break in the middle of rehearsal, each week. The Director has a Chef's Hat on! The Out Loud Chorus is a mixed LGBTA choir that meets and performs in Washtenaw County.  This means there are a chorus ...

Worry, tension,  closed up heart. Unnecessary judgements      Ukraine from the start. Stories spinning  'round my mind. Unrealistic values  of the "Cronan" kind. Be perfect, be careful,  be noteworthy and true, Emotional pressure  can bury the "You". Look both ways,  suspicious " In case. ." Mutating and giving  two sides to your face. One side for showing,            Pow-Wow in Traverse City in public view. One side repressing,  the viable you. I'll come off my tightrope  now walk with ease. To learn I need only  myself to please. My own list of rules  with perimeters wide. Freedom to tweak  when they start to slide. The gray area more often  colors my laws. Proving life's rules  are chock-full of flaws. A list of "Truths"  I've lived by so far, I'll unlock and open,  ...

Coffee!  It's a daily routine, a habit with me.  It's also a smell, taste and warmth I've counted on, since I started savoring it. About when I was 18 years old. Every morning, when I was going to high school, I'd get up (usually in the dark), go into the kitchen, and instantly smell coffee.  I'd see Dad, inevitably,  sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee while reading or writing.  I could hear the sound of the radio at the same time I smelled the coffee.  He was usually listening to the Canadian station.   If the coffee wasn't already brewed in the pot, it was making noise on the stove, ready to bubble up, in the little glass ball on the lid. I remember being mesmerized, while I stared at the dark coffee rising to the top.  Hitting the glass ball on the lid, over and over and over.  The aroma saturating my memory, forever.   Old Perculator When I did start drinking coffee, no...

Way too much on your plate? Do you remember, last time you ate? Suckled the juices from the bone? Took the time  to sit alone? Is this your third  or fourth course meal? Will that assure a successful deal? Push the food  to the edges near. One more spoonful?  Drop it here. Why not start  with a smaller disk? It will hold less and have less risk. Your stress will decrease and help you measure. What's important  and what you treasure. Not the most  or not the biggest, Nobody really  gives a figgest. "Who Gives a Fig?" Whether your plate  is heaped up high, but if you'll be content  on the day you die. Graveyard in Ireland