#UULent - #possibility

Every drawing begins with a straight line. There is so much possibility in that straight line. Everyone should draw. It's a fulfilling experience.

The first photo was taken after 20 minutes of straight lines.

The last after three hours of drawing.

#UULent - #hospitality

Zambians were the epitome of hospitality when Bethany and I were in Lusaka with 18 people from Communities Without Borders in 2005. The women would greet us with singing and clapping and the kids would dance with everyone. All of us would be smiling.

#UULent - #heal

Today's word is heal which led me to the Band Aid on the list below.

When we led the All Star II conference on Star Island in 2003 we gave all of our volunteer staff an Altoids tin with all of the following small gifts, and a slip of paper with this explanation.

The American to British English translation is probably also needed for my friends in the UK.
- Rubber Band - Elastic Band
- Band Aid - Elastoplast
- Eraser - Rubber (this one caused me some embarrassment in my early days in the U.S.)
- Candy Kiss - small pyramidal chocolate
- Tea Bag - this was before tea bags became common euphemisms for other things

A TEACHER'S SURVIVAL KIT
FOR EVERYDAY LIVING.

TOOTHPICK-reminds us to look for the good qualities in our students. You may be the only teacher who says something positive to them that day.

RUBBER BAND-reminds the teacher that they have to be flexible. Things don't always go the way we plan, But flexibility will help to work it out.

BAND AID-reminds the teacher that sometimes we do more than teach, That we help heal hurt feelings, broken dreams, And lend an ear to a problem.

PENCIL-reminds us to be thankful and we should list our blessings daily, But also encourage our students to list their blessings And to be proud of their accomplishments.

ERASER-reminds us to allow students to know we are human And make mistakes just like they do, and it's ok. We must all be able to learn from our mistakes.

CHEWING GUM-reminds us to stick with it And encourage our students to do like wise. Even the impossible task or assignment can be accomplished By sticking to it.

MINT-reminds us and our students we are worth a mint. (We may not be paid a mint, but are worth one.)

CANDY KISS-reminds us that everyone needs a hug, Kiss, or warm fuzzy everyday. (All teachers, students, parents, and even administrators)

TEA BAG-reminds us we need time to relax, Go over our blessing, and take time for others. Family, husbands, wives, friends, children need quality time together.


A teacher must be willing to show their students how much they care!!!

#UULent - misteaks

This is a chapter from the SciFi novel I am working on.

Brant Candor had left the Tavern as Venki and Sara insisted on cleaning up after their meal. He walked over to the Flagpole and took a seat at one of the benches the settlers had set up around its base. He looked up as he heard the flag flapping in the gusty winds. A light was shining at the Earth flag flying high above his head. Just like the Stars and Stripes before it, it was considered unpatriotic to fly the flag in the darkness. So it was lit every night rather than lowering it each night at dusk to raise it again at dawn. He had had a part in the flag's design, an effort by all the Outsiders to rebuild some semblance of normalcy after every nation state in the world had crumbled. It was a simple kelly green circle, surrounded by a ring of dark blue on a background of pale blue trimmed with a blood red border. Land, Ocean, Sky, and a stark reminder of the lives lost to the skank or the nuclear explosions.

He was lost in thought when he was startled by a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Brant, I didn't mean to creep up on you, but you were so lost in thought."

Sara took a seat on the bench beside him and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Venki is putting the kids to bed. They wanted you to read them a story but we told them you'd had a tiring day but that you might read to them tomorrow morning."

"I shouldn't stay the night Sara." He looked into her eyes. “Cora has your eyes, that beautiful shade of sky blue like the flag."

"But you ARE going to stay Brant, we insist. You need to rest before hitting the road again." She paused before adding "Cora does have my eyes, and Dene has yours."

He looked back into those deep brown eyes of hers again. "Sara, I thought we'd agreed to never give Venki any reason to doubt. What if he hears us? "

Until today this had been his darkest secret. It had happened at a Thanksgiving party. No longer for an America thankful for a good harvest and a new land, but a handful of struggling survivors thankful for the birth of children. Uninfected children. Ale, wine and moonshine had been consumed by everyone in the settlement, and the laughter, singing and dancing had given way to a somber storytelling. Eventually, as the revelers went back to their own homes, Venki had passed out and Brant and Sara had fallen into each other's arms. It had been one stupid moment of passion with a woman he loved like a sister because she was the wife of his best friend.

After it was apparent she was pregnant again they prayed every day until the birth, but when Brant saw Dene for the first time it just confirmed what he already knew. Venki had just assumed that Dene had inherited more of Sara's light skinned ancestry and less of his own darker skinned genes. Nevertheless it took both Sara and Brant by surprise when Venki started to joke about Dene's skin color and implying he may be Brant's kid. 

"Take it easy Brant. The bedtime routine gets longer every day. They won't let him leave for another half an hour, easily." 

He knew that she loved him like a brother and like him had tried to forget that one mistake, but he realized it must be difficult with the evidence living in her presence every day.

“I must admit that the bedtime routine is a lot easier since your last visit, when you convinced Dene that his nightmares about falling were actually about flying. Every morning he now tells us something new about what he did as an owl in his dreams. Sometimes he can’t wait to get to bed to finish a dream from the prior night.”

Then, her smile as she talked about their son vanished and he knew she was thinking about their earlier conversation. "We can keep Kayli a secret. Were you going to tell anyone else?"

She looked at him as he tried to decide if it was fair to his two friends, to ask them to keep this information to themselves, and he also knew that by ‘anyone else’ she had meant Kayli herself or his parents.

"I haven't decided yet." He looked into Sara's eyes again. "What good would it do to let her know? As far as she is concerned I killed myself after her mother died in childbirth. As far as my parents are concerned I died as soon as I made the decision that the future of humanity lay outside the domes not in them. They are the only ones who should care, I should stay dead to all of them."

They both turned as a door closed behind them and Venki came across the meadow from the house.

"I know what you've been talking about.”

Brant and Sara exchanged nervous glances.

"Kayli and her grandparents live separate lives under the Dome, and no one Outside need ever know. There's no benefit in this knowledge going beyond the three of us. Sometimes secrets are worth keeping.”

Sara and Brant looked at each other as if to say 'How could we disagree?'

#UULent - #dreams

Click to listen to 'Dreams' by Grace Slick

#UULent - #friendship

Authorship of this poem is disputed.

What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better, or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty. He understands. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse him, neglect him, tolerate him. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you.He is like fire that purges to the bone. He understands. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all – and underneath – he sees, knows and loves you. A friend? What is a friend? Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself.

#UULent - creativity

I'm reposting my credo as an example of creativity. Words shouldn't be needed but here are some anyway.

Everything is connected to everything else: woman to man to animal to plant, to all living things, to the natural world, to the earth, to the universe, to history, to tomorrow, to ideas, to writings, to art, to music – to love.

The puzzle has no edges, it has no boundaries, and it can’t be completed because not everything can be understood or even analyzed. The most I hope for is to find new meaning, new truths and when I’m especially lucky  - new connections. There are voids in the center of my puzzle that need others people to bring them to completion.

The interconnections are not simple. They twist and turn in all directions. Sometimes they twist and turn in all directions. Sometimes they may run parallel with other connections, sometime s they diverge, or cross, or disappear altogether perhaps reappearing elsewhere. Some of them are clear and distinct, others hazy or blocked from view by anger or sadness or fear or some other emotion.

Some connections are soft, warm and comfortable. At other times they are hard, harsh, sharp and painful. They can be beautiful but some are not. Look too close at some things and clarity is lost, but stand too far back from life and the details are lost. Things are connected in ways I may never understand, even if I see it all, but I certainly won’t see the connections if I don’t pay attention.

#UULent - #gratitude

#UULent - #justice

You have to wonder if the #UULent  planners were feeling the Bern.

#UULent - #prayer

I call this drawing 'prayer' although it is actually a re-enactor in period dress using a lucent.

#UULent - #suffering

#UULent - #fear

This is a poem I wrote in 1998

And the lions and tigers - they came.

The tent was striped with bands of white and bands of red.

It sprouted loudly from a raging sea of green. 

And all around were people, crowds and queues.

The tent grew bigger, the crowds grew louder, and my excitement rose.

The circus was here, with clowns, with gymnasts, with freaks.

But most of all the animals, with claws and teeth and eyes.

And then we all were seated - wooden boards on metal pole.

The music played, and dancers pranced, and acrobats flew high.

Then elephants paraded round and horses galloped hard.

And then the time arrived for ice cream and for pop.

But where was my Mam’s bag with secrets and with cash.

A careless foot had kicked it from the board on which we sat.

So now it lay on sawdust in the pitch black dark beneath our seats.

And then a plea from Mam for me to rescue it from where it lay.

But isn’t that the place they let the tigers make their home?

Isn’t that the place were lions, and bears and other beasts are kept?

But this was Mam that asked, and money was a precious thing to us.

So let’s assume the worst - I’ll jump upon a cat and be it’s lunch.

Or maybe they are round the other side, and swiftness count for much.

So down I leapt and landed right upon a tiger’s bed of hay.

I looked around and saw bright eyes and heard the breath I’m sure.

So quickly fumbling in the pitch black space I find the bag.

And then I leap again, as high as I have ever leapt.

I grab the board on which we sit, and feel the hands above grab hold and pull.

But they must pull me hard, I hear the sound of  claws and paws come running.

I hear the sound of rasping throats and feel the heat of  breath upon my heels.

Then all at once I’m up and I lie still, and safe upon the board.

I hear the purring still, I feel the breath, I see the eyes.

But it was money and it was my Mam’s wish, so I would do it still

- face lions and face tigers for that cause.