Look away…

April 4, 2019 by 8 Comments

It’s a standard warning on car mirrors: “Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear”. Mirrors don’t always give a truly honest reflection. Sometimes, the mirror is warped; sometimes, it’s only our perceptions. When Alice went into her mirror, it was the world itself that was distorted. And yet at times, the mirror will show you true things that you weren’t aware of; something around a corner, or behind you, or on another spectral plane. People can even act as mirrors; they can show you yourself as others see you.

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She constantly refused to look into a mirror, any mirror.

My mother.

It wasn’t because of vanity or due to failing eyesight.

She could see clearly, without eyeglasses, towards the end of her life.

It didn’t matter.

The reflection staring back was unrecognizable

To her.

That person, that old woman with gray hair and wrinkled skin was someone else.  “A witch” she often said as she quickly looked away from what she had determined was some creature hiding in the glass.  She would cover her face with both hands.   It wasn’t her, not by any means; she was young, in her twenties, still with dark hair and red lipstick.

In her mind.

Mother lived in long ago realities; the aging process stopped and did a U-turn back about fifty or more years once Alzheimer’s took control.   In some ways, I was envious.  She didn’t have to deal with life’s sorrows and responsibilities but that was nothing new.   For as long as I could painfully remember she always managed to look away from bothersome issues, seeing only what she wanted.  Comfortable, happy reflections.

I was never her mirror of choice.

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workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Workshop…Writing Prompts for 4/4/19…Write a blog post inspired by the word: mirror.

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Textlecture…

February 12, 2019 by 12 Comments

This post did not start out to become a lecture, of sorts, about texting.  We all know the good, the bad and the very evil of electronic communication.  As I picked up my phone to see my last text exchange, I stopped to research some thoughts from others…

  • Texting creates, and, by nature, almost encourages, poor grammar habits. It also makes communication much less formal and can even make genuine statements seem insincere.  Yet, we are a society of gadget-bearing humans, rushing down streets on our way to somewhere, more focused on our phone screens than oncoming traffic.
  • Text messaging cannot accurately convey tone, emotion, facial expressions, gestures, body language, eye contact, oral speech, or face-to-face conversation, it is more than likely messages will be misinterpreted or misunderstood. The real meaning of your message gets lost through the medium.
  • Texting and using abbreviations for words means that we are losing our ability to have—or are at least avoiding—the traditional face-to-face conversations that are vital in the workplace and in personal relationships.
  • Texting creates bad liars. “Sorry, I didn’t see your message!”  “You sent me a text? I didn’t get it.”  “Hey, sorry, I haven’t looked at my phone all day.”  Sound familiar?  Don’t lie, we’ve ALL done this!
  • When people communicate primarily via text, they’re much less likely to have meaningful conversations.

All of this is just the proverbial drop-in-the-texting-bucket.  Nothing will change going forward, electronic communication is here to stay.  Phones have become our alarm clock, appointments, email, source of news, social media, camera, weather source, bank accounts and more. 

I am, therefore, guilty on all counts and this…is the last text on my phone, just the other day, to my daughter in Florida….

“When we come down I’m bringing a third NEW big rolling duffel bag with “provisions “ and leaving it there for Jake if he ends up boarding at college. I have new luggage for daddy and we don’t need it here.”

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(Allow me to expand on the “provisions” comment which involves nothing subversive, just delicious. Trips down to our Florida family always involve bringing Auricchio Provolone, Pepperoni, New York Bagels, Lox and more.  Especially…bread… because any found in Florida is good only to clean frying pans and shower gunk.)

 

 

 

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Workshop’s Writing Prompts for 2/14/19….Pick up your phone, tell us about the last text exchange you had.

Wow, given the text exchanges most of us have each day, my response might have been far more interesting but at least it represents something special in the months ahead.  Time spent with precious family, celebrating a wonderful event!  Then, I gave some thought to the various texts we all send…and receive.  Certainly, this electronic medium is wonderful for sharing instant photos of places and things but, caught in the middle are the chances to hear someone’s voice and a more honest response from both parties concerning what’s involved at that moment. 

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Our First Americans…

January 20, 2019 by 6 Comments

I’d like to believe that, regardless of our personal political affiliation, most decent human beings were appalled at the incident which took place this past Saturday at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington D.C.

Of course, the focus concerning this event was on the MAGA hat-wearing, Covington Catholic High School students from Park Hills, Kentucky; young men who, allegedly,  taunted Nathan Phillips, a Native American, a United States Veteran and a respected Omaha tribe elder.   Later media reports stated that a small group of militant Hebrew Israelites had engaged the high school students leading up to Nathan Phillips’s arrival at the event and there are now multiple sides to the story involved in this gathering.  The hapless, even divisive, actions of the mainstream media have created a situation of selective outrage with their deliberate and modified news reports.

If these students did behave as the media initially reported, there is no excuse and certainly no punishment harsh enough for any who were involved.  Many observers are citing that these young people need more “education”, but my personal feeling is that this measure of teaching respect and tolerance is something which should have long been instilled in these young people, at home, as well as throughout their private school years.   But, with the additional group involved in this event, which apparently was the catalyst for all of the behaviors involved, where has the media’s attention been regarding the derisive dialogue and slurs hurled at the high school students by the Hebrew Israelites?

I do wonder if these students were not wearing hats reflecting the leader of our present day, controversial, side of politics, would there have been such an uproar?  Would people still be embarking on Go Fund Me events to support Nathan Phillips or would everyone just bask in their righteous indignation, flooding social media with their commentary, and do little else in support of Phillips and all other Native American tribe members?

People band together to gather warm clothing for the homeless who live on the streets of our cities.  There are daily public outcries of how undocumented people are treated who enter our country illegally and they debate the measures suggested to curtail such passageways.    How many of these same individuals have taken the time to support our Native Americans who languish on tribal reservations without proper clothing, medical supplies and the basic necessities each of us takes for granted?

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We now face the quagmire of finding out just where the true facts of this incident lie, orchestrated mainly by the bias of the mainstream media.  The selective outrage from the general public needs to move beyond the alleged inappropriate treatment of Nathan Phillips, beyond the focus on the alleged behavior of the Catholic high school students and toward the verified actions of the Hebrew Israelites.  The truth lies somewhere in between.

 

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