dustbowldiva's Open Salon Blog

Happy Halloween Chicken Check-in

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:10:34 -0400

What can I say - the chickens just speak to me these days. I had hoped after graduation I would be able to spend more time on OS reading, responding, and writing thoughtful, polished essays but alas - I have become the couch-bound chicken in my spare time. Part of this is due to the intensity of my work as a new nurse, which I love, but which drains me physically and mentally most days (especially the 12 hr shifts). And part of it is due to the reality of my life which at the moment consists of a husband disabled by back injury and chronic pain, a highly social daughter in middle school, and a son who is needing to be homeschooled this year because of non-epileptic seizures (anyone with knowledge or experience with this puzzling condition please e-mail me). My plate is full to say the least, but I still miss OS and the wonderful, creative, fabulous writers that I have met here. Hopefully someday I will be more than a ghostly presence - until then, best wishes to all for a Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelin' Hero.

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:07:56 -0400

Growing up I didn't know much about Woody Guthrie, other than the fact that he had written "This Land Is Your Land" and had scandalized Oklahomans by becoming a *gasp* communist. As a young adult, however, I had the good fortune of receiving a homemade tape of Guthrie's "Dustbowl Ballads" from a dear friend whose boyfriend was a folk music fanatic (sadly his only redeeming quality). I listened to this tape continously through the sweaty, dry, summer of 1991 as I did my own rambling around in an un-airconditioned Hyundai trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. As "The Ballad of Tom Joad", "Dust Bowl Refugee" and "Talking Dust Bowl Blues" repeated on an endless loop, I began to feel a profound connection to the man whose guitar killed fascists. When he sang of dustbowl refugees, I thought of my father's family travelling to California in the summer of 1936, abandoning their parched farm in the hopes of finding work in the lumber mills (which they did). When Woody spoke I could hear in his voice, the voice of my grandmother - her expressions and okie "twang". Although I didn't manage to sort out my life's purpose that summer, I began to feel more hopeful about my homestate - which all too often is only known for its crackpot conservative politicians and hypocritical Bible thumpers. So, thank you, Woody, and happy 98th birthday to a real hard travelin' Oklahoman.

***Note: I tried to upload the following videos, but was unable to succeed. I've done it in the past - what is going on here?! GRRRR. Hope the links work!

"Dust Can't Kill Me"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulpOUmG5hSo

"Talking Dust Bowl Blues"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQBcM-fCZlw

"Hard Travelin"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfq5b1bppJQ

Above pic by Arthur Rothstein

A postcard from my life at the moment

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 00:02:22 -0500

"What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water."

T.S. Eliot "The Wasteland"

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Dear OS friends:

Just writing to let you know that I am in the final exhausting stage of my journey through nursing school. I am encouraged by Dostoevsky's quote: "man can survive where swine would perish and laugh where the gods go mad". See - there is a benefit to being an English major. I miss OS tremendously. Wish I was there with all of you frolicking about the feed. Hope to return before long.

Dustbowldiva

For Kate Smith at Tall Connect (inspired by Tink)

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:12:51 -0500

Dear Ms. Smith,

Please take your business elsewhere. You obviously do not know this, but we are all very short here. Although OS may be advertised as Open Salon, really it is an acronym for Only Shorties. None of us here are over 5' 2", so your recruiting efforts are misdirected and somewhat insulting. We are not interested in your salacious statuesqe solicitations.

Sincerely,

The Lollipop Guild

For my OS friends: "It's Hard"

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 23:11:19 -0500

Haven't posted in a while, or been around as much as I'd like lately. School and daily life stressors (work, sick kids, unemployed spouse) have left me with little time and energy for writing. I know I'm not the only one around here who has been feeling pinched lately, so thought I would share one of my favorite songs with you all. This isn't the greatest video, but hey- I finally figured out how to embed a video - no small feat for me - so here it is. Enjoy - (and spend an extra moment appreciating Pete Townshend's fine nose!)

"It's Hard"

Any tough can fight - few can play
Any fool can fall - few can lay
Any stud can reproduce - few can please
Anyone can pay - few can lease

It's hard
(It's a hard hard hand to hold
It's a hard land to control)

Any man can claim - few can find
Any girl can blink - few can lie
Anyone can promise - few can raise
Anyone can try - but a few can stay

Any brain can hide - few can stand
Any kid can fly - few can land
Any gang can scatter - few can form
Any kid can chatter - few can inform

It's hard - It's very very very very hard - so very hard

It's hard
(It's a hard hard hand to hold
It's a hard land to control)

Any soul can sleep - few can die
Any wimp can weep - few can cry
Everyone complains - few can state
Anyone can stop - few can wait

It's hard - It's very very very very hard - so hard

Anyone can do anything if they hold the right card
So I'm thinking about my life now
I'm thinking very hard
Deal me another hand Lord, this one's very hard
Deal me another hand Lord, this one's very hard