Monday, February 8, 2010

AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER

On this day in 1982 Mae Sarton was in her 70th year and under a stormy sky. There was great wind and heavy snow. She "got into an anxiety panic, very stupid." She was living alone in a rural area. "I felt old and foolish to be so upset." Help was only a phone call away and soon Janice and Maryann arrived with shovels to dig Mae out. Later she wondered why the same storm that used to be so exhilarating was now so darkly troubling. Albert Camas, "In the midst of winter I discovered that there was in me an invincible summer."
Mary Tall Mountain wrote a poignant poem about "The Last Wolf" that is deeply moving. No room here for her many good words. I will simply post the end, "Yes, I said, I know what they have done." Two-leggeds have brought such enormous pain and terror to other beings. I wonder how we shall ever find forgiveness?
Yesterday I had a Julia Child moment. After thanking the range run hen for giving herself to feed us, I cut out the backbone with a pair of dangerous kitchen shears. I laid the chicken as flat as I could and baked nearly an hour. In the drippings I prepared a spicy drizzle that really dressed up that tender hen. Ann made a wonderful jicama-apple slaw. It was so perfect we skipped the homemade cream of mushroom soup.
We had a potluck luncheon at the fellowship yesterday. All was good. We had a full table and found connections we could only discover in an informal gathering. Loretta is a musician. I had seen her on stage with her husband Curtis many years ago. Dan is from St Cloud and knows Keith Secola. Keith traveled with the homeless tour for 6 years. Chauncey and I had met during a diversity workshop at Mt Carmel several winters ago. When I told Loretta that Annie Humphrey was my daughter she smothered me with praise for my musical child. Of course, I loved it!

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