“Only by seeking chalkenges can we hope to find the best in ourselves.”
“Play is the beginning of knowledge.”
“Not the senses I have but what I do with them is my kingdom.”
Children’s Museum. This is the Imperial Center in Rocky Mount. It was an old tobacco warehouse.
Train tunnel at Sunset Park.
“I have no special gift; I am only passionately curious.”
Hello friends. I am sorry I have not been keeping you in the loop of what is going on. Although I have been active on Facebook and Twitter, I have been somewhat dormant. I am working on learning how to use Photoshop so I can upload photos with watermarks and protect my work. But really all I want to do is share and tell. I have so many images I want to share but since I have had to deal with photo piracy and I have the tools to watermark them, I feel I should use the tools to watermark images. Except the whole watermarking process puts out my fire and it always feels laborious.
I am not the most technical person and struggle with left brain waves. I prefer the open ended ocean of the right brain world.
Ocean photo by Megan Oteri Copyright 2011
I am working on some new posts for all three of my blogs: The Original Journal, The Community Kitchen, and Memomuse. I have compartmentalized to try to target potential readers better. I am a bit exhausted from social media though. I am putting my energy into writing (in Microsoft Word). I get very distracted when I am on the internet.
But here is the 411 for July. We went to Washington D.C. to inurn my mother at Arlington National Cemetery. She was placed in the same shelf like box (for lack of a better description) in the Columbarium (where people are placed when they are cremated).
My mother and I on my wedding day.
I will post a detailed post about that as Arlington was very moving.
Columbarium: My parents’ grave
I climbed the ladder and placed my mother’s ashes in the box like shelf, or think of as an ash cubby in a way. I know morbid, but I am just writing, or rather blogging so I am not going to struggle with finding the perfect word/description. The marine who was the pall bearer or ash box holder, was very serious and he marched in typical Arlington fashion. He was very serious. I guess I am dismissing the seriousness of death, but my mom died Christmas Eve and her inurnment was scheduled in July. It was a serious affair and very moving, so I am not being flip — just trying to be funny.
The Pastor and Marine who were at my mom’s funeral
The marine had the most beautiful blue eyes. They sparkled even. As he handed me the urn box with my mom’s heart and ashes in it, I said “Semper Fi.” It was awkward. I sometimes can be so strange even to myself.
Well, anyway, he handed off Betty and I placed her urn box in with my father’s, making sure they were back to back and their boxes touched. I dusted off my father’s ten-year old death dust from the top of his box. That was intense. Dust to dust. Anyway, it was moving. I wrote a descriptive piece about this experience for the SAMLA conference. I am the chair of the creative nonfiction panel this year. SAMLA will be held in Atlanta this November.
This was taken walking back from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which we went to after my mom’s funeral
See, even when I try to write a little update, it turns into a whole lot of words.
I went to Evanston, Illinois at the end of July for a research trip on a book I am working on: The Community Kitchen. That was amazing.
Another view of this beautiful house. You can go on tours of the Dawes House. The Dawes House is the home of the Evanston History Center, where I conducted my research primarily.
My mom grew up in New York City, but moved back to Evanston in 1947 with her mom after her parents divorced. I went to Evanston a lot as a child with my parents. Mom took us to visit our grandma and great-aunt often. A post will be coming soon about my trip to Evanston, either on The Community Kitchen blog or here. The compartmentalizing is taking its toll on me. Managing three blogs is a lot of work. And I take my blog posts serious. Probably too serious.
The Original Journal had several signings in Evanston. One was a man I met on the airplane. He likes redheads. Another signing was a Northwestern chemistry student taking a break in the Shakespeare Garden at Northwestern. That is the signing I am going to feature on The Original Journal blog. She wrote a great journal signing. A couple more journal signatures were done on Northwestern campus. So, there will be some posts on that blog.
Got to run. I am writing a book after all, so chop chop to it I go.
I will leave you with my mother’s favorite poem by Kahlil Gibran — “On Joy and Sorrow”
On Joy and Sorrow
Kahlil Gibran
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater thar sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
Source: http://www.katsandogz.com/onjoy.html
I love old building. The details of the architecture –the craftsmanship.
MemoMuse 