Ordinary Time

I am spending the entire day tomorrow judging at a piano festival, so there is no way I can join a protest. But what I can do is walk around with this card hanging out of my purse. One of the things that my clients find so interesting in the summer while we're in the pasture working with the horses, is watching the little song birds protect their nests from the red-tailed hawks that are prevalent in our area. The little song birds, often sparrows, will join together to badger and pester the hawks until they make them fly away from the area where their nests are. The hawks are many times bigger and many times more powerful than the little sparrows, but time and again, I've watched those sparrows chase away tye hawks. Being purposeful together is powerful, even if the thing attacking your family and home and well-being seems huge.  We must join together. Our families, lives, and well-being are at stake. 

I fly to Arizona tomorrow, which means I need to think about packing. (Why did I love to pack so much as a child, but dread that as an adult?) True to form, I'm finding myself spending far more time thinking about the books and handwork I will bring rather than what clothes to pack.  I think I have settled on two books. (Just 2! It may be some sort of a record.) I'm taking The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons, which I'm already one hundred pages into. It's about the counter-intelligence spy organization that Ernest Hemingway created in Cuba during WWII, so locate Nazi submarines. While it's fiction, based on the author's notes, the book is actually about 95% based on historical record, including documents previously undisseminated which the author received via FOIA. While it's been a bit slow to start, I think it is going to be very interesting, especially since this is a piece of history I know very little about.  The other book I'm taking is Focus: The  Hi...

Today we are celebrating Y. being able to vote for the first time. I hope you'll forgive me for hoping it's not also her last.