Looking out my window...

"...From The Eye To The Heart..."

 
 
President Barack Obama greets 14-year old Payton Wall at the site of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York, N.Y., May 5, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect.  -  Keith Chesterton

I was fortunate yesterday to be able to watch most of the ceremony at ground zero in New York City.

Our President is so thoughtful and full of grace. He did NOT run laps to celebrate the recent success of the Navy SEALs. Instead, he spoke to family members of those lost on September 11, 2001.

He spoke to many away from the crowd and press, in a room with only his voice and theirs to be heard. They spoke to each other as if no one else was near.

Outside, after the laying of the wreath, he met other families. Again speaking to each, listening to each. And again no one but them were there.

I could see it in their faces. When the President came to a young girl I was awestruck. I took a deep breath and held it. I could see tears in her young eyes. She had lost her father. They stood together for what seemed to be forever. As I looked into her eyes I knew this: she was looking into his heart. She saw nothing but truth, sadness with courage, and love. She did not see color, race or anything physical. She went past that because he let her into his heart.

Talking and listening. Thanking each other for their shared sacrifices and deeds. He, at the end, held her to him. A hug of strength giving.

I wish all Americans could have seen that moment and understand the depth of what was happening. When we can see "from the eye to the heart" there is no difference between us. 

How To Ruin My Day: Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Meltdown, Republican Ruses

 
Collage of Stock Photos Created by Sharon

The last few years I have had a growing love for circles which turned into 3D circles more fondly known as bubbles. I love their characteristics of grace, transparency and light reflections. For all their beauty and symbolism they have one huge defect. They burst.

Off hand, below are some of the burst bubbles that have recently ruined my day:

• Housing... I was at last able to purchase a condominium. This was just as the Housing market was beginning to rise. Wow! After about four years the value of our home increased by 40%. What an investment. And, then the bubble burst.
• Health... Neither of us were in A+ form, but well enough to enjoy our retirement by being physically able to do what we wanted. And, then the bubble burst about two or three years into our new life.
• Wealth... We were never "wealthy," but lived a comfortable middle class lifestyle. And, then the bubble burst and we have not received a cost of living increase in neither social security or pensions for the last two years even though costs have risen.
• Car... The last car we purchased was a wonderful Honda Odyssey. We thought this could be the last car we purchased if used and cared for properly and paid for it in cash. We could see the bubble burst as we neared and passed 200,000 miles driven due to unexpected usage.
• Grown children... We erroneously thought that once children were grown we would be on our own, so to speak. And then the bubble burst. How could we have been so naive? We are family forever.
• Humanism... We believe in the strength and goodness of people. The bubble burst, what with terrorists, tea baggers, and such. We still believe in the innate goodness of humans, but some need a little re-education.
• Earthquake Disaster-Free Zone... Except for tornadoes, we thought by living in the Midwest we were in a pretty safe part of the country. Bubble burst when we learned we live near one of the largest fault system in the country.
• Tsunami Disaster-Free... Sure, we're not near an ocean, but what about Lake Michigan? POP!
• Nuclear Energy is Clean and Safe... tell that to the Japanese people. Our bubble burst after listening to American Nuclear experts and learning just how unsafe our reactors have been.
• Republican Ruses... As a progressive Democrat, I've never really cared much for those Republican rascals. But, all and all, thought they were relatively benign since the Democrats would come along and hopefully fixed what ever was broken. That bubble didn't burst, it exploded this year. They ran on the economy and "jobs, jobs, jobs." They brought in the Tea Baggers. Yes, I know I'm being politically incorrect by not calling them the Tea Party. But at this moment the Tea Baggers is what they are: filled with ignorant bitterness and good only for dunking. With a majority in the House they proceeded to work on taking back women's, as well as children's, rights. Republican Governors ran on fixing the economy and then proceeded to take away union bargaining rights. They have taken the position that to get rid of the deficit they will take away entitlement programs for the elderly, the young, and the poor. This is instead of taxing the corporations that have made BILLIONS in profit and currently pay 0% in taxes. The Republican Congress has done everything in its power to make President Obama fail and become a one term president.
• Racial Equality... our first African-American President was such a wonderful happening. To be able to see that in my lifetime, my mother's lifetime, gave me great joy. And that bubble burst when I saw the racial hatred expressed by American Caucasians. Any newspaper or on line commentary regarding President Obama had comments that included the words: n****r, tar baby, Muslim, non-citizen, coon, darky, and jungle bunny.
• Religious Freedom and Tolerance... Even though our country was founded on freedom of religion that bubble was definitely busted when the Twin Towers came down.  Anything to do with Muslims was not tolerated. People actually thought about doing the Japan Internment Camps again, but with Muslims. Do we never learn when we've done something on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY? And then we have this guy:

 

Enough said. Enough bubbles burst. 

Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Meltdown: No Special Effects Needed

 
Cups for Coffee
Picture by Sharon

I spent a week watching Egypt 'round the clock. My sleeping pattern completely changed: up at night, down during daylight. It took me 2 - 3 weeks to finally get back to a semblance of normality.

And then it happened. A huge earthquake in Japan. What a horrible event to watch, let alone live through or die in. Then a tsunami greater than any recorded. Swallowing cities and people.

It seems, as I think back, that these events more often occur in third world type areas. Japan is different. Highly populated with an educated, highly technical citizenship. A people who experience "quakes" often and without too much destruction because of the anti-quake engineering of buildings and structures. Everything was built to withstand a 7.0 earthquake, not an unheard of, unexpected 9.0.

And, then came the tsunami. Bigger and stronger than ever recorded. Traveling inland six miles. Destroying all and everything the earthquake did not. Sweeping up and out to sea thousands of people who have yet to be returned and washed ashore. Babies pulled from their mother's grasp. Husband and wives separated never to see each other again. Four floors of patients in a hospital swept away.

Two terrible disasters happening sequentially within the same day. No time to breathe, let alone rescue, between them.

Then before the people could get their bearings, before they could grasp the horror that had befallen them, the damaged Nuclear reactors were getting ready to meltdown.

The earthquake broke the electric grid, stopping the cooling system. Then the tsunami flooded the backup generator, thoroughly  demolishing any possibility of cooling the core. The reactors were dieing. Every day new events arose, from fires to explosions, despite all efforts being made.

As I write this, I don't know the ending. If it was a disaster movie, I would guess. But it's not a movie. And I don't want to guess the ending because it is too scary.

Two good movies to see: The China Syndrome and 2012. It is much easier to watch the movies than the videos the Japanese people have taken. When you watch special effects, no one really gets hurt. But, this is real and too many people to count are hurt.

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One bit of good news has worked it's way through the rubble. A medical study done has shown that drinking multiple cups of coffee a day, helps decrease the risk of strokes in women. Good thing. I've been drinking a lot of coffee this past week.