TWO WEDDINGS AND NO FUNERAL (thank god!)

Talked to my ma on the phone last night.

Like me, she is a bit of a complainer- e.g., her hospital roommate's visitors talked incessantly and loudly; and... why does she need a weekend "caregiver" now that she is home and how will she keep the caregiver busy doing things, etc. She is a "kick", and I love her...

Anyway, her second inguinal lymphadenectomy for invasive melanoma
went ok...and she seems to bounce back from surgery pretty well for a 94 year old .

Her friend Ricki Stevenson of BLACK PARIS TOURS (great guided tours of Paris from this Stanford historian, emphasizing African and African American currents in past and current Parisian Life) was in Stanford Hospital at the same time.

Ricki, I have heard, came through neurosurgery ok, a benign tumor having been removed adjacent to her brainstem. Whew.

Life, I know, is a very fragile proposition...and I am most grateful to the "beneficent deities" for helping out these special ladies through 'trying times'.

On the home front, here in Crescent City, Catherine and I went to a lovely Catholic wedding at the local Catholic church yesterday noon, with a subsequent wedding feast at our local fairgrounds. The ushers at the church wore Hawaiian shirts...it was a nice touch.

The ISLAND theme was elaborated on at the reception, with drinks being served at thatched
Tiki bars. It worked nicely as a theme.

In the evening, we went to a Lao Buddhist wedding at the local Veterans
Hall. The women wore exquisite silk brocade 'sarongs' ("scenes")...the groom's family paid the bridalprice; the priest sang a sweet litany; both families sat on mats in the middle of the hall, many holding the strings symbolizing a tying together, a knotting; and then a FEAST OF FEASTS was presented, with suckling pigs, spring rolls, sticky rice, and all manner
of Asian Delicacies.

The Groom's family, occidentals, seemingly adapted easily to novel forms for ancient rites.

The Bride's family looked STUNNING in the most colorful, most elegant
silk brocade.

As the alcohol flowed copiously, I partook moderately (a shot of vodka and a beer) and then did my best to join in the moving wedding dance that circled the hall.

Two weddings in one day: we came home tired...and doubly blessed.

Do Not Say: "LOOK MA, NO HANDS!"

L J has a new webpage @
http://thehindenburgeffect.blogspot.com
Her blogs are always interesting or intriguing... sometimes shocking and hilarious.
She suggested that I write something, so here goes...




Skimming Life's surface,
Flapping my wings,
Treading water, treading air,
Some kind of bird am I.

Off the water,
Quasi-aloft,
Pumping my wings for altitude.
I need altitude- there...Here,
Now I've got it!

Keep flapping, Chuck:
Don't stop. Don't look down.
You are aloft, ALIVE, avian.
Just remember...do not say:
"Look Ma- No Hands!"

IT WAS TIME

SWAM UPRIVER...

TEN STROKES UNDER WATER-
JUST TO GET THE FEEL..

THEN "CRAWLED" FOR TEN MINUTES,
JUST TO MAKE IT REAL.

I COULD SEE THE BOTTOM, THIRTY FOOT DOWN;
THOUGH MY VISION WORKED, HEARING WAS BEYOND SOUND.

NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ANY STILLED VOICE WITHIN:
WHERE THERE IS NO NOISE; THERE, TOO, IS NO DIN.

KEPT UP THE "CRAWL" 'TIL THE NARROWS WAS TOO SWIFT;
SO, I GAVE INTO FATIGUE AND STARTED TO DRIFT.

ON MY BACK DID I FLOAT- FIRST SWIFTLY, THEN SLOW...
AS TREES, HAWKS, AND SKYSCAPES ABOVE ME DID FLOW.

IN AND OUT OF DREAMTIME- EYES OPENING AND CLOSING-
LOST IN A PLACE BEYOND MY CONSCIOUS KNOWING.

SOMETHING AROUSED ME FROM THIS PLACE- PERHAPS, AN INNER CHIME-
AS SOON AS I SWAM TOWARDS SHORE AND HOME...

I KNEW THEN "IT WAS TIME."