Cathy GF's Open Salon Blog

Life without End - Iron Poet Challenge #10

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:05:32 -0400

Only a date on the calendar.

Nothing out of the ordinary

The days leading up to the event.

The daily noise we all came to know,

The dreaded sand in the hour glass

One dared to prevent.

The stroke of midnight still blackest black.

Stars missing in the sky with no comets in sight.

Hushed breathing the only sound inside

Where barely a heartbeat could be heard,

replaced by agonizing sheer fright.

Thoughts grew numbered.

Desire to test the senses imbued with darkness.

Numbess that mimicked stark calm.

Nothing to see, feel or touch.

A gentle last breath

Proved to be too much.

Time had surely stood still.

Eye lids glued shut.

Blood drained from bodily death.

Lungs still filled with earthly air.

One fresh wound still wet with blood.

It hadn't made its mark.

Daylight piercing like daggers to the head.

Choosing to believe earth's end instead?

Yet a rustle in decayed leaves

Unmistakable, unshakable faith denied.

The slice of blue sky

revealing murky, misshapen clouds.

Green tinted tree tops that greeted a breeze

brought doubtful multitudes to shaking knees.

All that was heard

A collective cry.

Views of the Eclipse seen from Lake Tahoe and San Francisco

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:05:39 -0400

Eclipsed cloud formations as seen through living room window.

Eclipse shining through sprinkler in front yard.

Eclipse over San Francisco Bay by Matty Daley

A composite of 34 exposures over five minutes.

All above Lake Tahoe photos taken by daughter, Kelly Ross between 5:36 and 6:49 PM PST yesterday evening.

OCCUPY HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA! A Very Happy MOB

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:05:45 -0400

SERIOUSLY?! Did you really think this was about politics? Hells...NO!

This "Mother of the Bride" s over the top elated, joyful and on a major adrenaline high! So much so, that I haven't been able to hardly sleep for over a week.

And, this is why I have been absent here for quite some time...

Wedding details can drain the life out of you, but more so, for the bride and groom. But it's all behind them now and they (and I, MOB...) enjoyed a wonderful, joyful, high energy, wedding! And as mushy/corny as it sounds, it was resplendent with the over-the-top loving support of close family and friends. Really doesn't get much better than that!

Here's a sneak peak of why I am such a euphoric MOB!

Arm in arm with my girl

That's why she's my "Baby Red!"

And now, she's HIS GINGER!

The baby sister (far right)

The amazing friends (doting on the bride)

The elder sister (taking this photo)

The proud Mama...looking on with tears of pride.

The simple venue (simply perfect)!

The Bride & Groom's table

The vineyards that wrapped us in the arms of harmony.

Big Sis, Kelly with daughter, Sydney and "Ducky!"

The "Air Plants" (on the heads of beauties)!

The grand baby girl with the grand puppy.

The lucky couple (my screen saver)

The bride ( My Daughter)

Heavy sigh...

I loathe politics, election years and global distress

Wed, 2 May 2012 12:05:12 -0400

I loathe it all. And then some.

I loathe the way it turns neighbors against each other.

Family members who dare not speak.

Friends who distance themselves.

A media divided.

A people divided.

A nation divided.

A world divided.

Governments divided.

Economies on the brink of universal disaster.

Disparity.

Human enmity.

Disease.

Unease.

Implants.

Not boobs but bombs.

Failure to praise life.

To sustain the ideolgy of gratitude.

To protect the right to appreciate our birth right.

To love in harmony.

My five year old grandson told me, "Harmony is love."

My mouth dropped. How would he know this?

Whether from his own heart, his parents or school...he believes it.

You know what I loathe.

I love this:

A 3 year old in a tutu loving a 2,000 lb. beast of pure, gentle affection.

It's intrinsic innocence. The purity of the bond. The trust. The brilliance that exists in a child's imagination.

I love this:

Colors of the earth inspired that defy imagination.

I love this:

Just trees, blue skies, fluffy white clouds and mountains in silence.

I love this:

Uncertain weather that will certainly come again.

I love this:

The artistry of sunsets.

I love this:

The majesty of the desert and the open road.

The freedom to enjoy it.

I love this:

The first signs of spring.

I love this:

Photographers who capture the mysteries of life.

I love this:

Art in nature in the middle of a big city.

I love:

MIRACLES!

I love more than I loathe.

An unexpected gift.

Just want to spread the love...while I can.

Wanting To Grow Up Was A Big Misunderstanding

Thu, 8 Mar 2012 22:03:28 -0500

Funny thing is, they never tell you the "true facts" about growing up.

Not Mom or Dad. Not your teachers. Surely, not your brothers or sisters or your supposed friends. Not even the good ones.

No one ever tells you what growing up is really like.

And we certainly don't always like it. Or what happens while we do it. While we are trying to do it right.

The rules for growing up may have changed since we were doing it, or attempting to do it. I'm not sure, but it seems like the game plan has changed along the way.

I look at what my parents did and what they told us to do and more often, what not to do. Did it anyway. That's part of growing up, right? Afraid so.

So, we spend about the first fifteen years saying things like, "I'm almost 9. I'm 11 and 3/4's. I'm going to be 14 this year. I can't wait to turn 7, 8, 10, 13...start wearing a bra! Kiss my first boy! (Olden days) First girl! Or kiss a damn frog. Kiss something!"

You can bearly remember going from diapers to training pants (no Pampers, then). Things were more 'real' then. Cotton. Not chemically treated absorbant paper products. Upon which, we place our precious babie's bottom skin. For shame! Yet, so convenient and 'modern.'

Loved to watch my mom put on mascara and pretty dresses, which she filled out; something I never imagined I would ever do. Barely ever did, till I hit my fifties. They say, "Some things never change." I 'm here to tell ya, "Lots of things change." And grow. And grow. And like the comedians often tell us..."and growing in places you never deamed of seeing stuff grow."

Kids wanting to be teenagers. Teens wanting to be adults. All of us wanting to get out of school; graduate, graduate again and again and get on with life. Get a cool job. (screeching halt) Where did all the cool jobs go?

So, maybe dad's job wasn't super cool afterall. He gained weight, drank too much, yelled at us, looked so sad and talked about "stress," a little known substance to us little kids, at the time. We all have had a taste of those menu selections, now, haven't we?

But Dad was super cool on so many other levels (though, at the time, Dad had no idea what those other levels were). Scratches head. He did that a lot. Now, I know why. With all the wanted kids, came all the stress that accompanies raising a big family. And yet, they seemed to 'have it all.'

Or so we thought.

Then it became 'our turn.' Our time to grow up; leave the nest, find a substantial living, because, Lord knows, 'it takes a village' to build one and to work one's way up the invisible ladder to God knows where. Had to be somewhere, though. It was expected, after all. We've all been there at one time or another.

Me thinks the time for growing up is now. All that time, when we were little, wanting to be older, grow up fast, get to wherever we thought we were going to get to... and now we are where we are. Somewhere over or under the rainbow, we have, indeed, arrived.

Some may say it is exactly where they want to be, are meant to be, dreamed to be, hoped to be and so on. Others may react a bit differently to this outcome. Others may wonder to this day, why they wanted to grow up in the first place. What was the big hurry? What could be done differently, to effect a different reality. Regrets, hindsight, awesome delight, denial, joy and many combinations of all that there is waiting for us when we do, in fact, grow up.

In some ways, I don't ever remember the exact time of arrival. The train attendant announced the destinations, one after the other, but I was somewhere else...hoping to be somewhere promised and unknown . Dreaming of being a kid again; the fun we had, the carefree days, weeks, months and years that melted into now. The popsicles in the summer by the lake...any lake.

I had one today, even though it had crystalized from being in the freezer too long (you know what I mean), but who cares? It's a yummy popsicle and a purple one to boot! Every frosty bite and lick of it's juiciness, reminded me of my childhood, it's amazing innocence, it's pranks, it's growing pains and it's resultant presence.

I was (am) happy to be in the now. It wasn't all for naught. It was incredible to take a little break from the inevitable, to sit outside on an uncomfortable chair and taste the sweetness of my youth in a moment of reflection. The sun hitting my face till it tingled a little (taking in the Vitamin D), remembering what it was like to be small and hyper (like my grand kids) and relish in the memories.

In all our moments...we are making memories. There is no going back. No remorse or thoughts of what could have been. Only our precious now...and the ability to look forward, one day at a time, knowing that there 'was' a time, when all this seemed a distant and strange conjuring of mysteries to come.

Whatever it is... it is here now.

Enjoy!

Photo credits to Graydon and Sydney Rose (my Grand babies, of course)