Tag: writing

Violent Peace

Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
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Through the years having miles of conversations concerning peace and violence, people would always bring up Ghandi. I would have to inform them he did not win India through 100% peace. He was told to give up or the British were going to slaughter a community and that they did. When this massacre became public things changed. What is wrong with people? What is the inhumane nature of humanity about? It cannot be ignored. We all must choose our paths daily. I do. It’s been a long walk.

Billy Jack, Walking Tall and My Name is Nobody are movies I frequented in my youth. Just to be asked this question has flooded my mind with childhood/teenage memories.

At one time, I knew the entire script of Billy Jack. I was enamored with the idea of pacifism. – I was expressing peace daily. Expounding on the concept of peace. As I pontificated on peace one day, my brother grabbed me and beat me up. He said that was to assure me that I was not a pacifist. I do not speak to my brother anymore. It took many years to break that familial tie, but I finally did it. I was also a runaway. I related to the kids, in Jane’s camp. There was such an underground world of care back at that time. I do not regret any of my adventures. Except for maybe not being able to make it on my own, and having to come home. I hope to enroll at the Universidad de Paz in Costa Rica, this August. I am and always have been in pursuit of peace.

Bufford Pusser in Walking Tall had similar characteristics as Billy Jack. Billy Jack was an avenger. So was Bufford. He stood up for the disadvantaged. He took names and he kicked ass. One low life m-fer at a time. Greed and corruption had taken over his Tennessee home town, whilst he was away prize fighting. When he came home, he didn’t recognize his neighborhood. Gambling and prostitution had taken over. He became the local sheriff/peacemaker. Bufford walked with a big stick and beat the hell out of the low crawling, scumbag, vermin that had infested his peaceful hill. The tragic thing was the bad guys in an attempt to assassinate Bufford, with a long range rifle, killed his wife. And they will die and go to hell for that. Walking Tall was based on a true story.

My Name is Nobody started out with a guy, in a mountain stream, catching fish with his hands. Then he was in a saloon. He drew six guns and slapped a guy in the face, faster than lightening. Pow, pow, pow! Nobody was an out of touch with reality character. It was a spaghetti western/comedy. I was in the eleventh grade and I would drive myself and my sister to the theatre. We would laugh hysterically. I wanted be like Nobody. Sling and slap. M-fer, you are going down. I despise the dog pile of life. And I don’t like being at the bottom. I have had to scrap and scrape in my life. These movies were cathartic for me. – Henry Fonda who played in this movie was asked, who is faster than the fastest gunslinger in town and his reply was “Nobody.” Hence, Nobody showed up to save the day.

I watched those movies fifty and over years ago. I am going to watch them again. If my information concerning these movies is incorrect, get over it. I don’t want to fight about it. Look them up and read about them. Watch them. They are great movies. I wrote this from memory. And what a special memory this has been.

It’s funny – I checked AI for feedback on my writing. I have to laugh. — Beware of the new corruption. There is zero way to fight back.

I’m Pregnant

To all of my regular readers, thank you. We have hung in there.

This is still a personal journal, but with a new twist. I have joined a writer’s group. I never thought this would be possible here in the tropics. I am grateful. Once a week I get to meet with other writers and artists. We have discussions about the how to get our work out there.

Continue reading I’m Pregnant

Forgotten/Not Forgotten

I keep journals. Note books I use them to help me find peace and sort my life out. Thoughts on friends and finances.

I make changes in my life. However, I have the tendency to repeat. When writing things down, it becomes obvious.

The photo on the left is of my friend Connie. She was loved by many people. I had written about being with her when she passed, 2015. In the photo, we were at the funeral of Rachael Sutton. (She initiated Starting Point – you know it or you don’t.)

Connie passed with lung cancer.

As she was dying, she told me stories of her life. They were great stories. She didn’t want anyone to know. They were antics of her mother, Hazel. Poor Hazel.

I never knew Hazel, but I admired her in a way that Connie couldn’t. She wasn’t my mother.

Bukowski

I’ve seen his name many times. I’ve seen Bukowski quotes often. But yesterday, I saw him on YouTube.

I have a lot in common with Bukowski. And that was why his writing became so popular. Like me, I could relate to his life. We have many differences as well. Who knows, after all it was only about an hour long interview. So, how much can I really compare. He doesn’t like people. He liked a solitary existence and he liked to drink beer. He said his childhood was a hell.

A big difference between him and I was; he wrote. And he worked. I worked here and there, but he was more successful at keeping a job than I was. He would write about his experiences. I couldn’t do that. Until I finally did. Also, he said his only concern was for himself. I have been entirely too co-dependent in my life to make such a statement.

And he always wrote in first person. He didn’t write for “success”. He wrote to stay alive. (check)

He drank a lot. It looked like his choice was beer. (check)

I no longer drink beer. I quit at thirty one. I walked through the doors of AA. When I came in, it was different. A different time a different world and I loved it. It’s had its rocky moments. But I overcame them all. – Then the judges started sending in all their D.U. I. people. And in the early nineties, people began to substitute psychotropics for their inventories.

Now I have tremendous conflict in meetings. I have fat boys, that don’t like what I say. Good Lord they need to look in the mirror and while they are at it, they should record the stupid shit that they are saying.

I was all well and good with the conflict. I have always heeded to the last paragraph on page 19. Respect everyone’s share. Then started the attacks. I have been verbally attacked in the past, but this was a barrage. I believe it a result of ageism and the new hate for old timers, in general. They look at me with my grey hair and choose me as prey. They have no idea.

For example: One guy looks like Homer Simpson. He says that only the first eighty eight pages, in the Big Book count. He is disparaging of women’s shares. He wanted to buy a 5000 square foot house. And he wonders why he can’t get along with his wife. He was in meetings for 14 years and never worked a step. Now he has and he is on fire for everyone to be like him. FMD — One meeting, I was sharing my experience, of my first sponsor being Buddhist. He screamed at me, “This has nothing to do with Buddhism.” blahblahblah – The other fat boy is just fat and he thinks he’s good looking. He cut me off. He didn’t want to hear what I had to say. He thinks he is interesting.

My thoughts behind this is – What would it have been like if Bukowski came to a meeting.

WOW –

I am so inspired by his words. Because I know they are true. But in a meeting he would be a challenge. It might be a better option for some people to just stay home and write.

Who needs fake authenticity.

With Me Always

  • 1996

Hello!

I am thinking of adventure – on the heels of my house work – on the heels of my daughter’s passing.

I haven’t been writing like I would have wanted to. I’ve had plenty to say and an over flow of thoughts and opinions, but prudence held me back. There’s much sensitivity out there; sadness and anger.

I don’t want to stir the pot.

I write to make sense of my life, which now includes my daughter’s death. It’s been hard. None of it seemed real. Then it seemed real and then it didn’t seem real.

So, I will work. I will clean my house. And I will plan my new adventure. My daughter will be with me always.

Hello, Old Friend

It’s 3:30 in the morning and the rain has woke me. I can’t help, but hear it’s relentlessness, on my tin roof. The sound of the rain brings joy to my heart. It promotes contemplation. It heals me. It washes the earth.

When I was young, on a Saturday afternoon, in the middle of this neighborhood, looking to score, at the local tavern, The Island Bar, I found myself surrounded by police cars, I was shocked to be white. It was so obvious. They were there to break up a fight, I was really wishing I was a different color. They looked at me, cutting their eyes, saying, “what the hell are you doing here?”

Continue reading Hello, Old Friend

Liebster Laureate

The Coveted LIEBSTER AWARD

Most people enjoy a pat on the back; a bit of recognition for their hard work. I know I do. But at the same time, in this instance, it feels like whoops. More people will read my blog. My writing is somewhat like my conversations. I’m never quite sure what I’m going to say.  Attention can be scary.

I am honored to be nominated for the Liebster Award by The Beauty Within. This blog touts itself as, The Twisted random thoughts of a 20 something year old. A Girl Named Dee, the author, lives in rural Zambia and studies computer science. She is also a talented fashion designer. I began reading her blog when I started writing mine. I think I enjoyed the spontaneity of it, and her youthful perspective. Thank you very much Beauty Within.

The Rules of the Liebster Award are as follows:

  1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award Presenter
  2. Answer 11 questions from your nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself, and create 11 questions for the nominee to answer.
  3. Present the Liebster Award to 11 Blogs with 2oo or less followers; someone you feel deserves to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they have been chosen.
  4. Copy and paste the blog award in your sidebar.

I begin with answering 11 questions.

Questions asked by The Beauty Within:

  1. Have you ever been mean to someone who didn’t deserve it?  After examining my conscience, I would have to say no.
  2. What is your favorite movie ever?  I have two, Billy Jack and Walking Tall. In both movies the hero kicked the butts of people who deserved to have their butts kicked. I saw those movies so many times, I knew the dialogue.
  3. Would you rather give up technology for a year, or live a year eating nothing but tripe?   I would gladly forego technology. There would have to be nothing but tripe to eat, for me to succumb to animal intestines, for my nutrition.
  4. Do you believe in stuff like soul mates and love of my life?  I definitely believe in soul mates. I have been married to mine for thirty years. He has been my one and only true love.
  5. What kind of blogs do you like?  Blogs that I like don’t have to be any particular theme, but they do have to be genuine and interesting. I tend to like the character of the person writing.
  6. Are you a dog person or a cat person?  Having to choose, I will say dog. But even dogs, I have to warm up to.
  7. If there is a novel and a movie based on that novel, soon to be released, do you read the novel, or do you just say ” I will wait for the movie”?  Definitely, I watch the movie. I love the movies.
  8. What’s the first site you go to as soon as you get on the computer?  Facebook, what else?
  9. If you could spend the day with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?  My daughter, because I haven’t seen her in a long time.
  10. What do you miss more if it isn’t there, water or electricity?  Water!
  11. Do you love watching series, is so what is your favorite at the moment?    I watch two television series, one that follows the other and they both make me laugh like crazy. BIG BANG is the best.

11 Random facts about myself

  1. I like to drink coffee
  2. I like to eat out
  3. I surf
  4. I am a hobbyist photographer
  5. I went to Parochial School
  6. I grew up in the country
  7. I can ride a horse
  8. I like alfalfa sprouts
  9. I travelled to Europe as a teenager
  10. I have monkeys in my yard
  11. I am a back porch musician

11 Questions for my nominees

  1. If you could travel to any destination, where would it be?
  2. Who is your favorite philosopher?
  3. Have you ever done drugs? Just kidding….If you could choose a degree, everything paid for, what would you study?
  4. Do you believe we are all connected as One?
  5. What is your favorite color?
  6. What is your favorite car?
  7. Are you familiar with Alice in Wonderland?
  8. Do you believe in infinite possibilities?
  9. For the right amount of money, would you go over Niagra Falls in a barrel~what would the right amount of money be?
  10. Do you prefer the sunrise or sunset?
  11. Do you read the blogs that you “like”?

From what I understand, this is all quite tongue in cheek. The Liebster award is a way for blogs to be further circulated and for bloggers to recognize their peers. I know that a few I have chosen will opt-out on this award, but some will gladyly accept. I participated, partly because it was another challenge, also it is an opportunity for me to have some fun. Rule #62-don’t take yourself so seriously.

The blogs that I choose to pass this torch to are:

  1. Incidentallearner ~ because I love the art and relate
  2. A Proper Blog ~ well, because it’s proper
  3. APENYO ~ because it’s incredible writing/ off the charts
  4. My Life Through and 15-55mm lens ~ a student of art/current abstracts are awesome
  5. livingingraceland ~ because she devotes her life to those in need, and shares the grace of God
  6. Quantum Veil ~ a new find, that explores science, religion and consciousness
  7. Mobile Photography ~ Nokia photography – this person has an artistic flair
  8. One Not Alone ~ a spiritual lady, telling her story
  9. A PHOTO JOURNEY ~ a Carolina nature study, poignant
  10. MothCatepillar ~ a random thought humorist
  11. Carberto ~ because I am impressed by his imagination and tenacity

Thank you fellow bloggers. I wouldn’t follow you if I thought you were BAD. You actually add measures of interest to my life. So, CHEERS!

 

Blogging as Art

Part of being a blogger is reading other people’s blogs. It reminds me of when I did art shows. I attended other artist‘s openings. Who would want to be an artist, that only went to their own show?

I always knew that I was an artist…..long before I knew how to draw or paint.

It’s something inherent in me.

People are provoked by art and creativity, but they also seem to shy away from it. It’s portrayed as being frivolous, yet we’re surrounded by it on every level of our lives. That’s ironic.

I am reminded of the movie Castaway.

Cover of "Cast Away (Widescreen Edition)&...

I love to use this as an example of the importance of art in our lives. Tom Hanks, playing the part of a Fed Ex type, upper manager, is in a company plane crash and stranded on a deserted island. Up until that moment in his life, everything hinged on speed. Continue reading Blogging as Art

The Business of Blogging

It seems I have given myself yet another job, where I work for FREE.

My unpaid jobs pay me in a way that money cannot provide.

I enjoy writing my blog. I think it’s because it is socializing. I connect with people I will never see and never know, except through their writing and their pictures.

I read other people’s blogs and yes, we are all stories. There are three that have affected me recently; The Skeptical Teenager, The Beauty Within and another one that I can’t find again. I thought for sure I liked one of her posts, but it’s not on file. She was a woman whose grammar didn’t exist. She wrote in the vernacular and her blog was the story of her life. She only had four posts and I couldn’t believe it~she had 78 followers.

Writing is powerful.

It is art.

It is informative.

It can take you apart and it can put you back together.