HOPE

Hope is a word 

and a feeling. 

It embodies dreams

and wishes.  It lives 

beyond our lifetimes

and into the next.

Hope is HOT.

It is desire, healing, and heartiness

Hope is original.

My hopes may not be yours

It is obstreporous, clinging

to one in spite of the odds.

Hope is Pink and Purple.

Pugilistic and Pithy.

Hope can obliterate pain

and penury.

Hope is effervescent and eager.

It is elegant and ethereal. Hope is love.

Little Mama

Little Mama, originally uploaded by lucienphoto.

There are so many ways to love one another. I struggle daily with people around me that rationalize their hatred and disdain for others. There are those that hate the poor (maybe a reminder of how close they are to that edge). I see those who hate those who are not part of their clan (racial, ethnic, economic, educational, familial). It is difficult for me because I just do not understand. Is it politics? Is it national pride? Is it arrogance? I do not know. Help me understand.

Christmas Countdown

We (meaning my wife) finally coaxed the three of us into putting up a Christmas tree. First time in many years that we have not made it out to the lot to fuss and argue over cedars, pines and spruces. Fake tree, ugly tree. We are only home a few days this holiday season because we are taking much needed breaks from school and work.

We are working at getting into the spirit of this important holiday season. There is just so much stuff. Medical procedures, picking out new phones for my recalcitrant teen, work, family, shopping, dogs, photography workshops, portrait sessions, freebies for friends and family. Recent works adorn this page.

What Now

We live in a place where we ostensibly have the right to disagree with our leaders. That seems to be an eroding right. If we disagree now, we are unpatriotic. What would the founding fathers have to say about our diminishing ability to dissent from the status quo. As I recall my history, this country was founded on the inalienable right to have an opinon that does not have to be sanctioned by the government. In this very nation as I write this we are challenging developing nations to take a look at their
civil rights abuses. Countries that live in glass houses should not launch stone nuclear warheads of mass destruction.

Rights

Everyone has rights. As I understand it, my rights end right where your rights begin. My right to free speech ends somewhere in the vicinity of you engaging in slander or libel. My right not to hear you may end in my not getting the information from you that I may have needed to know. As long as I am focused on what I deserve I may have trouble thinking clearly about the other people involved in the "us".

Some people have responsibilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_responsibility
What are you responsible for?

We have gotten through the surgery and now the recovery is in process.  Her strength is returning and things are getting back to normal (as normal as life can be).  I am hearing that same voice in my head that tells me 1) be careful what you say and 2) be care to whom you say it.  That is not how I hope to live my life.