Exodus (Movement of the People)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_the_Syrian_Civil_War

Year after year after year, we see the same dysfunctional pattern: corrupt government goes bad in yet another bloody coup, blundering rich white people attached to relief agencies swarm the area to witness first-hand the same type of atrocities (again), equipped with an effete cameraman as their only protection. 

These are desperate people seeking fame, fortune, glory, and the spoils of war (with maybe an award or two for extra boasting power); the area becomes flooded with conflicting tribes, petty warlords, and other opportunists there to catch the gold drippings hanging off of each and every well-meaning (and oh so charitable) drop from the American Red Cross by, that's right, those infidel American pigs!! Praise G-d!

As much as I love the idea of an unchanging homeland that continues on forever and ever, I know that the ground moves beneath our feet, as does the air above our heads, and the water in the oceans we cross. So do we as humans. You are not a plant rooted to only one type soil. You do not need any more oppression from people who do not love you. You can change. You can move. And so you must.*

I'll be here waiting, and I always keep my word to my people. Come here; live freely like we do. Amen to you during these days of upheaval, great stress, and extreme worry. May your journey to other lands see you arrive safely upon those shores, to a peaceful, law-abiding people who wait for you with open arms. Amen to you today, my many faithful who are free.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus

To my Syrian (and former cab driver) friend from New York, now the proud owner of his own air conditioning business, a big success if ever there was: thanks for helping out a neighbor in need with A/C when yet another corrupt landlord failed to do so, knowing that she is disabled and cannot move about freely. You came to her in her time of need, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service. Also, your knowledge of Aramaic** is most encouraging to me. 

To my new Syrian-American/Syrian- friends: Mike might not say it to you, but he wanted a big warm hug from Mommy, and he got one with a smile:) This one's for you, homeboy.

*   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Exodus
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaic_language

 

I am America, and so are you!

For many, many lonnnng years now, New Yorkers, fellow East Coasters, and anyone else with an ounce of real intellectualism in their brains have suffered through election time with excruciating patience. I'm not talking about our crucial and highly developed system of "checks and balances"* either, although you should definitely know about the concept, in case you skipped that class in school.

No, we are talking about a surreal horror/freak-show that has produced candidates who are afraid of seeing the Russian landmass from their doorstep in America, or losing her freedom to shoot down endangered wolves running in fear from the safety of her rich white helicopter, while preaching about teenage abstinence ("See the 'Virginity' bracelet on my wrist, here?"). 

Wait, there's more! Her then-teenage daughter gets knocked up out of wedlock (which is up to two times and counting, in 2015), then said-candidate goes on national television to openly oppose birth control for women, so she can give a late-in-life birth to her beloved Down Syndrome baby, who we, the taxpayers, will almost surely support all of his extremely-challenged life.

Makes sense, right? NO?! Well, fuck you, it doesn't to me either! 
That is why the great city, state, and people of New York have tacitly applauded Donald Trump's bid in the race, with all of his "FUCK YOU!" money: as a payback to y'all, for all the weirdo shit we've had to endure for so long. I promise you, each media soundbite from him and overly graphic stage-set design will be stranger than the last, until someone stops him in his own party.

But, I wouldn't hold my breath, if I were you. And why is that? So great of you to ask! He's the number one candidate in the recent polls. Enjoy, America! I AM NEW YORK, AND NOW SO ARE ALL OF YOU.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers

Make Your Voice Heard

Today's "Mission Impossible": get involved. Whew! Wow, so hard...

Hey, friends! Over the next few years, I'm going to talk and write about hearing loss (which is congenital in my family) in a way that's constructive and helpful, because I've found that the current dialogue (when it is present) is wayyy crazy (read: typically human). I tested the waters recently with a group of my senior friends, a really well-educated and hip crowd, and they had stunned, scared looks on their faces. Oh. Not a good sign. It's a contentious topic, mostly because it's been co-opted artificially by health insurance companies that do not work for you. They work for money and profit. I think it's self-explanatory, but you'd be surprised by the level of ignorance people have when they are resistant to adult subject matter, ie: "not fun" stuff, like a Florida vacation. Oy. New Yorkers!

Anywho, let's get on with it. I'll go first: I started losing volume in one ear around age 30-32, a time typical for great bodily change in mature women, and so it was with me, too. My live-in boyfriend noticed it first, and then I noticed it at work. Aha! My dad is deaf, and so was his sister, my late aunt; actually, they're much more impaired than I am, but that's also an outcome of their generation's neglect. Well, I got diagnosed early on (wrongly at first, but that's a story for another day), learned all about it, became an expert so as to self-advocate for me and my health, and now I can share it with you all.

It's kind of a scary process: you get locked into a sound-proof booth, and it feels like you're taking a test that you know you're going to fail. Uh oh. Yeah, I know, but do it anyway. Just like any subject, a big "Fear of the Unknown" factor compounds and effects wrongly our attitudes about health care. I had my teeth cleaned by my dentist yesterday, and there's some pain and discomfort involved. I know that from years of experience, so I practiced deep breathing exercises while watching Will Farrell on t.v. dressed up like a green pilgrim for St. Pat's Day, knowing I was being tended to and cared for by a real Rockland County kid (my new dentist: such a nice boy!), whose parents own the jewelry store across the street. In other words, I'm home!

But first, we need to address the inequity that exists in health care and within their corporate culture. I was told by a rep at a well-known health insurance company back in the day that my hearing loss was "cosmetic" (and that it would "NEVER", an actual direct quote: "Never be covered by health insurance") because I am relatively young and no one can see it on my face, like seeing a squinting blind person with thick glasses. Can you imagine a rep saying that to someone born near-sighted? Insane! So, first, let's get it straight: as complex as hearing is compared to vision (thus making it more expensive, naturally), you must first accept the concept that hearing devices are like glasses for the ears.

That's it, folks. It's simply this: giving assistance where it's needed, and as it's needed. Get involved in the conversation by talking about it with someone today. Start there, and then let's build on top of that. Let's do this thing! Thanks to Tracey in town for supplying me with the handy dandy hand-out you see pictured below. More to follow on this topic in the future. Be sure of that.  Good day to you all!

http://www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org/

The Blooming Onion

A wild onion, right out of the ground.

I've loved wandering around in the woods as long as I can remember. There are so many cool things to discover: ponds filled with tadpoles swimming furiously in every direction, bugs zipping by with their shiny, iridescent wings glinting in the sunlight; all manner of plants, trees, flowers, grasses and shrubs of too many varieties to count.

In recent years, I've returned to the landscape of my youth in the Hudson Valley to discover anew it's now "hip" culinary status (like the much more lauded and touristy Napa Valley, for which I am also glad of our relative obscurity), as an area with an incredible bounty of wild edibles, abundant in their profusion. Such is the case with the rich river valleys that serve as the traditional birthing grounds of our species, like the ancient river delta of the Nile and the holy Ganges in India.

My lovely specimen, now in bloom.

Here I find a native type of grape, there dandelion greens, once disparaged as the poor fodder of immigrants (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/06/nature-edibles.html), now elevated to trendy, gourmet status as a health food, along with the many other types of onions, garlic, and greens you can pull straight from the ground, once the stems reach the right height. I've eaten food immediately after it's pulled from the dirt, wiped clean on my shirt, and there's nothing fresher or better in taste to compare it to: http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/06/food-farming.html.

I pulled one such specimen from the ground several weeks ago, and I liked it so much, I put it in some water at home. Lo to me now, it budded indoors, at the exact same time as the varieties I see outdoors during my daily walks, noting changes and details to the landscape with kind, loving attention. I don't know if I yet have the temerity to cook with such a common "weed", which is what we considered native plant species many years ago, because they've been set up to be a far cry from the perfectly modified, factory-cultivated, "pretty" produce that's sold at grocery stores at a considerable markup, but I'm working up to it. Enjoy the fruits of your labor this week, my friends.

A red wild onion variety, also in bloom, outdoors.

Street Art: Turkeys and Misfits

$PoliticsNReligion$

"Meet me at the skate park on Saturday."

As We Know It

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2626412/NASA-spots-worrisome-Antarctic-ice-sheet-melt.html

The day that has long been foretold is now upon us; the harmful change to our natural world, as it has existed for millennium, has begun, and will move swiftly towards us all. We have artificially warmed our world to such a degree that we have destroyed one of the last great wild spaces on our planet; one of our polar ice caps.

It is with a heavy heart that I also write to inform you that our race has sealed the death warrant for millions of species and fellow inhabitants on this planet. No longer can the powers that be, (who reaped the earth for gain and profit, with the intention of passing on their sins to someone else to figure it out and clean it up), hide behind their profits, lawyers, paid government officials, and corporate-sponsored specious reasoning. 

As dire as this expected news is for us, I also found a bright spot amid all my depressed thoughts, while fretting about the impending changes that have been irreversibly set in motion. Those who counted on thriving under the cover of dark will now be exposed to the light. No longer can someone "accuse" someone of "making up" Global Warming under the guise of some weirdly vague hippy, meddler, do-gooder type of argument, nor can the evil forces of the world point the finger at a scientist for falsely "twisting" the facts (and why someone would do that is still open to debate, because it was never a real question to begin with), because that part of our world is gone now too; the wrong with the right.

It is not whether have you enough information to move forward, because many, many others before me have told you the story of our planet's sickness long before it flashed onto your screen in a brief one minute spot during the evening news, but this: what will you do today, and from now on, to make the changes needed to save our planet and the species that still have a chance of making it out alive from this worldly mess? 

If your spot on the globe is coming under water (and for sea-level dwellers and coastal inhabitants, it most certainly will be, with the expected 4-12 feet of melt water that's expected to hit the planet soon), it should not be about me, (and people like me), who know the problems and have the answers, but rather this: how will you and your children and grandchildren and elderly, along with the sick and the vulnerable in our population, survive under the new climate? Because it isn't me, or people like me, you have to fear. 

It is yourselves. 

Good luck out there,
Your Sister in Christ

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/antarctica-ice-sheet-disintegrating-n103731