Magical Miracle of You

This time of year, we hear lots of hooting from the Great Horned Owls that live behind our house. Often, we notice two, and at first they’re in different trees, separated by a few hundred feet. As the sun lingers longer each day, the owls linger closer to each other.

One day, both owls are on the same branch, the next day they are beside each other.

Then they are gone.

The same process happens with the kingbirds who, years ago, established a nest in a corner of our front porch. Unlike the owls who appear stationary, the kingbirds fly back and forth with building materials, discussing every aspect of roost remodeling. Once eggs are laid, they continue to conduct shrill small talk, while the owls are hunting far from us and barely make a hoot when they’re home.

All of this to produce new life.

Every new baby owl and kingbird is unique. They will grow up and fly away to lead independent lives relying on the gray matter in their skulls to guide them to food, shelter and mates.

No other owl will have the experiences of the owls raised here this year, and when they’re gone, there will never be another of that individual.

This is the same of all faunae on our planet: whales, salmon, lynx, Canada geese and domestic geese, wolves and greyhounds, squirrels, rabbits, voles and snakes. Every baby born, even if it has twins or nestmates, has its own awareness. It will encounter life in its own way, and when it’s gone, its exclusive experience will end.

This is the incredible magic of Earth.

Through a weird set of circumstances—distance from a sun, amount of water, amount of oxygen, vulcanization—to name just a few—life has been created, unique consciousnesses have been born, entire lives have been lived and conceived more.

Trillions+ of people were made before me, yet I acquired the ability to think at this precise moment in Earth’s history.

And, if you’re reading this, so did you.

You received the magic gift of cognition, just like every human including, among others, your relatives, arctic explorers and sculptors, accountants and movie stars, Biden and Trump, Russians and Chinese, Neolithic people and ancient Greeks, Zoroastrians and astronauts.

Every baby born is a marvel, but so is every consciousness endowed. As spring approaches, take a few minutes to observe the owls and kingbirds and other babies in your neighborhood, and also to celebrate the unique cognitive-power-engine miracle of YOU! 

Originally published in Mid-Week Message, First United Methodist Church of Alamosa, 8 February 2023.

 

Abolitionists: Unsung Heroes

 We all know about Martin Luther King, Jr., who we celebrate this weekend for his relentless pursuit of civil rights for Black Americans. But do you know any of these people?

            Mary Bowser

            William Harvey Carney

            Gabriel

            Dred Scott

            Nat Turner

Rosa Dixon Bowser

            John Mercer Langston

            John Mitchell Jr.

            Lucy F. Simms

            Wyatt Tee Walker

In September, 2021, in Richmond Virginia, heart of the former Confederacy, the imposing bronze statue of Robert E. Lee, sitting on his warhorse was removed. This was great news to many of us who knew the South had lost the Civil War and that he was their main general—not someone to be celebrated!

After the removal of Lee’s statue, a new effigy was unveiled: the Emancipation and Freedom Monument. This sculpture features a Black man whose shackles have just fallen off, and a Black woman holding a baby and the Emancipation Proclamation, dated January 1, 1863.

That year was the middle of our Civil War. We tend to think of the Emancipation Proclamation as a one-day wonder, a big surprise. But historical accounts and documents show that the effort to end slavery had been on-going from the very beginning if discussions about our constitution. Many Americans wanted to end slavery. By 1860, emancipation of slaves was about to become federal law, and the minority of people who wanted to retain slavery, separated from the Union to have their own country where they could continue the atrocities of that practice. They saw the writing on the wall: most citizens wanted slavery abolished. And it turned out, many, many of those people were willing to go to war against their neighbors and families to make it happen.

 The unsung heroes of emancipation were the abolitionists who bravely fought for people they didn’t even know, to be free.

In Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, on the pedestal of that new monument, are listed the names of Virginians who fought, day after day, to end slavery and bring civil rights to everyone. These ten Virginians are notable, but they represent a very powerful and unfaltering effort against slavery.

            Mary Bowser, former slave and Union spy during the Civil War,

            William Harvey Carney, soldier and former slave,

            Gabriel, enslaved blacksmith and rebellion leader,

Dred Scott, enslaved man and plaintiff of Dred Scott v. Sandford,

Nat Turner, enslaved preacher and rebellion leader,

Rosa Dixon Bowser, educator and women’s rights advocate,

John Mercer Langston, politician and academic administrator,

John Mitchell Jr., community activist, newspaper editor, and political candidate,

Lucy F. Simms, educator,

Wyatt Tee Walker, civil rights activist and reverend.

These Virginians, and many others, did not throw up their hands in resignation. Though they may have despaired, they continued this brave, bold fight for equality, even when they knew it wouldn’t happen in their lifetimes. Today, on the monument where Lee’s humongous, military statue used to stand, now they are honored.

Richmond is a reminder, that it may take generations, but good does prevail.

 

(Originally presented as Moment for Peace, First UMC Alamosa, 16 Jan 2022)

 

 

Time of Calm

 

Now the packaging has been sorted and thrown away, the last squeals of glee have been replaced by ordinary playful voices, the candy is almost gone and only thin slivers of mincemeat remain, the last-minute shopping is truly over and the last sweet chords of cherished songs have dimmed. Trees still glitter but are bereft of bulky, be-ribboned boxes; the frenetic repetition of celebratory music has shifted to a few favorites; dishes have been washed and stacked ‘til next year; visitors are packing to leave and crushing hugs are exchanged.

This week is like a long, calm exhale, isn’t it?

It signals a steady shift toward normalcy, an hour by hour return to working lives, to squabbling kids and tightened budgets.

But for now, this seven days between Christmas and New Year’s, we say farewell to the celebrations and prepare to greet something new with that eternal human optimism: maybe this year my ship will come in, my fortune will be made, my life will fill with joy.

May this week find you smiling more than grimacing, resting, gathering strength for the trials and celebrations ahead, and with every rich, slow breath, expanding your heart with hope.

 

Grown up daughter

 Us and our kid, Brianna, at the restaurant she is buying in Minneapolis. 

 

 

 Old World Pizza, Inverness Grove Heights, Oct 2022

If you go, check out the desert pizza buffet! 

Writing Desk Take-over

  

"But we're 'sposed to sit on squares." Lacy.

Observations from a Literary Conference in Summer, 2022

Mythopoeic Society Conference, July 29 - August 1, 2022, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

·      Every day, every person wore a mask. The COVID guidelines were sent out with the conference materials, and participants were expected to abide by them. And they did!

 ·     More women attended than men. 

·       One Guest of Honor speaker urged participants to explore, in more depth than ever, representations in fantasy literature of women, LGBTQ+, and the disabled.

 ·      Several talks included discussions about the affects of colonialism on current populations, and how fantasy writers dealt with—or ignored—those issues.

 ·      A popular topic was the Chronicles of Narnia, and how C. S. Lewis dealt with the children who had experienced that land as youth and faced continued disorientation when they returned as adults. Did you know that he killed them all in a train accident? Except one?

·       A presenter about Latinx fantasy and the use of “alien” images in protest literature, was unaware of the UFO Watchtower. He found it on Google Earth and plans to visit it soon. 😊

 ·     A heartfelt and heated discussion took place about whether to hold the conference next year, or the year after, with the intent of shifting to an every-other-year format. Why? To reduce our footprint of travel on the planet.

·       An equally heated, and even more heartfelt discussion took place about whether a proposed state was worthy of hosting this event due to their current stand on abortions.

 ·     The second Guest of Honor, an author who lives in Taos, urged participants, especially authors, to find ways of telling stories that do not include the use of violence to solve problems. She wants to see fantasy literature move toward problem-solving for social justice, rather than the use of swords.

 ·      This literary gathering ended with a rousing rendition of “What Do You Do With a Drunken Hobbit?” Well, what would you do with a drunken Hobbit?

[Shrug.] Ah, these modern times!