FGC Ukelele

Poodledoc, jr and our friend Muir arrived here at FGC yesterday. We were grumpy (well, Muir wasn't). It had been a two day car ride through Chicago road construction. We got here, and lots of folks were tired. Lots of frazzled Quakers. Finally getting a chance to sit down (and do Poodledoc, Jr's 3 metric tons of dirty laundry). Trying to avoid going to the FGC Bookstore. Ha! That won't last.

Poodledoc, jr is taking a ukelele workshop and really enjoying. After his fir session this morning, he'd learned two songs. He's working on "Stairway to Heaven". He's thinking of buying one for the trip home. That should be fun.

But, all kidding aside, the much maligned ukelele has a serious history. But maybe I'll save that for another post. My laundry is almost done!

Off to FGC!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, we don't have an ice hockey team.


No, we don't make oats or dress like the Quaker Oats guy. Plus, we dont' all look so....jolly.



But we do try to take stands for social justice in many areas.....



Friday morning it's off to pick up Poodledoc, Jr from Camp Itchybottom up north. Then it's off to Johnstown, PA for the week long Friends General Conference Gathering. It's an annual event that brings together Quakers from all over. It's a week of fun, workshops, worship, seeing old friends, and making new ones. I'm taking a workshop entitled "Courage for the Dark Nights and Deserts". The description reads in part: "Faith journeys include periods of fear, dryness, reproof, and doubt. Courage and understanding help. This workshop is designed to build up both our collective courage and our Quaker understanding". Who knows what will happen?

Congress Votes to “do absolutely nothing”

In what some see as a surprise move, The U.S. House of Representatives passed House Bill 666 which stipulates, in part, that Congress will “do absolutely nothing” for the rest of President George W. Bush’s term. The bill passed by a resounding 356 to 1 vote, the lone “neigh” vote was cast by Sparky, a former draft horse representing western Nebraska. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) told a packed press conference that the way to fight the Bush administration’s possible wrongdoings “is not by impeachment, which is, frankly, a lot of hard work, but by simply doing nothing!” One reporter asked Pelosi if maybe Congress had already been doing nothing for the last 7.5 years of the Bush Administration. Pelosi, visibly angered shouted at the questioner, “This IS taking action! We are ACTIVELY doing absolutely nothing! No longer will we sit by passively while the Bush Administration perpetrates high crimes and misdemeanors. The people want change----well that’s a change!”

The bill, which has options for extensions, is expected to pass the Senate easily. Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was quoted saying the “only worry is whether the President will sign this bill”.

McCain, reached for comment in his headquarters somewhere in Wyoming felt this was good for the country. “If Congress does nothing”, he stated, “it saves the American taxpayer lots of money to use for gas, which will solve our energy problems.”

Obama stated that when he was a street organizer in Chicago, “doing nothing was NOT an option”. Speaking to a roaring crowd of supporters at Yankee Stadium in New York, he said “this is the change we need. We need for Congress to take the bull by the horns and ACTIVELY do nothing! No more passively doing nothing while this country loses its moral compass. I say to you today, this IS the kind of change we need in this country and if elected, you will see this change through my administration!”

Reaction was swift across the heartland. One politically active teacher in Madison, Wisconsin commented to this reporter that “I’m moving to Newfoundland”. Her husband added “It sucks”.

So, what does the future hold for Congress? Apparently, not much. In the words of Ralph Nader: “Congress is irrelevant and in addition, they’re not very nice to me!”

Happy Solstice!

Happy Solstice everyone!

For me, this is a day where I celebrate change in my life and pnder the changes to come. A time to meditate on where I've been and where I think I might be headed. What does solstice mean to you?

It all opened up

Camped in a clearing
for over a year.
Maybe more.
The nightly ritual campfire was blazing.
That particular night
I stoked it higher than usual.
Maybe because I’d felt eyes watching me all day.
Scarier at night.
That’s when the voices started in
oozing from the many wounds in my soul.
Crying out at once.
Some kind of terror.
Throbbing heart
with blood pumping.

A single voice sounded out from the cacophony
And clearly said: jump in the fire.
The tone of this voice
was different.
I trusted it, although even today I don’t know why.
And I jumped right on in.
Surprisingly,
the flames felt cool.
The coolness burned away my clothes,
My flesh, my bones.
Still no pain. No more fear.

I became smoke,
soaring.
Into the Milky Way, mingling with stars.
More darkness for a time,
I felt myself tumbling through the sky.

Heading east
into the sunrise
where the Light
pierced me,
an x ray into my soul.

I squinted into the light and warmth of the sun
and it all opened up.

5-26-08

DAILY PRAYER

I liked this prayer/poem by a Quaker, so thought I'd share it-------

by Brian Dunn

Eternal Spirit;
Oh, thou infinite ocean
Of love and light
In which we live and move
And have our being,
Awaken us, we pray.
Open our eyes
That we might see
The beauty and wonder
Of thy creation;



Open our ears
That we might hear
The still, small voice
Of thy Word;
Open our hearts
That we might respond
To thy indwelling presence
In every living creature.
In the dark labrynith
Of our pain and separation,
Sustain our faith, oh Lord,
And hear our prayer;
Illuminate the path
That will lead us home to thee,
And grant that we may be
A light to those we meet
Along the way.

Amen

Alone at the carnival

All recent days in memory
I was traveling,
working,
not sleeping much.
Drinking a lot of coffee.
Trying to eat right.

Now a pause.
Good bye to all that
For now.

I know my desk is not moving, I say to myself.
But
everything else IS moving.
Dizzy
yet able to function and launch into a dream
where I’m never good enough.
A chorus of voices
of constructive criticism
and destructive criticism
and just plain nastiness,
pounds lines in my face,
and clogs my pores.
Strips the color from my hair.
An atom bomb survivor.

Well, not really.
How could I be
SO disrespectful
to even dare to THINK
thoughts like that?
Do I think I am special?

Go away.
Go away.
I want to be at the carnival alone.
Away from the meanness.
At least for a while.