On Standing In the Pan & Run Through

 

On Wonder & Grace

 

Another person whose life touched mine is gone.  Wendell Berry, the writer and poet whose thoughtfulness, insights and words mattered and made a difference for good, died on Monday at his home on a farm in Kentucky. He was 92 years old. I didn’t have to agree with everything he said, to consider and appreciate the light, love and wonderment he shared and invited through the poetry and ponderings I encountered online and in the books on my shelf. 

According to his daughter, Mary Berry, “He was unfailingly gentlemanly and kind. He said the things we needed to hear, and some things that we all ought to live by, and one is that it will never be so bad that we can’t do the right thing that’s right in front of us to do”. 

To his readers, however, Wendell issued the following warning:

Do not think me gentle

because I speak in praise 

of gentleness, or elegant

because I honor the grace

that keeps this world.  I am

a man crude as any

gross of speech, intolerant

stubborn, angry, full

of fits and furies.  That I

may have spoken well 

at times is not natural

A wonder is what it is. 

On wonder, the following from him expresses the feeling that comes over me each year in the season of warmth when the fireflies are twinkling in the woods and my four foot tall garden lilies are blooming and scenting air that previously smelled of snow and frost.  

The woods and pastures are joyous

in their abundance now

in a season of warmth and much rain

we walk amidst foliage, amidst

song.  The sheep and cattle graze

like souls in bliss (except for flies)

and lie down satisfied.  Who now

can believe in winter? In winter

who could have hoped for this?

His most often quoted poem, The Peace of Wild Things can be found here. And there's this from his prose, as recorded at The Marginalian:

"There are kinds and degrees of ignorance that are remediable, of course, and we have no excuse for not learning all we can. Within limits, we can learn and think; we can read, hear, and see; we can remember. We don’t have to live in a world defined by professional and political gibberish. But… our ignorance ultimately is irremediable… Do what we will, we are never going to be free of mortality, partiality, fallibility, and error. The extent of our knowledge will always be, at the same time, the measure of the extent of our ignorance. Because ignorance is thus a part of our creaturely definition, we need an appropriate way: a way of ignorance, which is the way of neighborly love, kindness, caution, care, appropriate scale, thrift, good work, right livelihood… The way of ignorance, therefore, is to be careful, to know the limits and the efficacy of our knowledge. It is to be humble and to work on an appropriate scale."

"Be joyful though you have considered all the facts."- by poet, essayist, and farmer Wendell Berry, 1934-2026.

On Headlights & Detours

 

For those who haven't seen the video of the female union worker stumbling through her endorsement of El Sayed as the Michigan Senate nominee at a campaign event, the behavior of all three involved comes through as weird verging on bizarre.

On Lost & Walking the Razor's Edge

 

On Privilege, Example & A Wreath on the Door

 

I'm still feeling sad about this, more than I expected.  I think it has to do with the loss of something/someone who was delightful, good and irreplaceable.  Turns out she recorded a new song to be released twenty years from now on her 100th birthday.  She said a while back that she wished she could open the box where it's stored at Dollywood and play it ahead of time, because it's just that good, and I wish she could have done so too, as I'd have enjoyed hearing it. 

On Sparkle, Light & Dove Wings

During a dark season of my life, when hope was hard to find and hold, it was Dolly's version of this song that helped me through. When I'd sing along with her in the car as I was driving, I could feel my spirit lift.  Her heart, sparkle, and character also served as a light, along with her determination to live life her way.  She used her gifts and assets for good, opening doors and offering her music, humor, and perspective as an invite and opportunity to bless others.  I'm grateful for her and the effect she had on my life, feeling the sadness that's comes with knowing her life here is over.  She was most definitely one of a kind!

When troubles surrounds us

When evils come

The body grows weak 

The spirit grows numb 

When these things beset us

He doesn't forget us

He sends down His love

On the wings of a dove

On the wings of a snow-white dove

He sends His pure sweet love

A sign from above 

On the wings of a dove 

On Cartoons in Mind & Other Pieces of Work

 

Neo put a post up today entitled "What a piece of work El-Sayed is" in which she uses words to draw a conclusion that matches mine in regard to the man, his mouth and what he believes in, stands for and supports.  It invited me to consider in my imagination what a cartoon visual of him displaying "the charisma of a viper and the aura of a crocodile" might involve, to accompany the one above that also hits the nail on the head with humor and truth.   

On Science & Junkyards

 

On Michigan Votes, Belles & Whistles

According to the following report, posted by WorldTribune and Michigan News Source: 

"A whistleblower inside the Michigan Secretary of State’s office has come forward with evidence alleging the state’s computer system is automatically registering noncitizens to vote when they update their addresses, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf said.

In a video statement on Tuesday, Leaf said: “The confidential informant provided evidence that the customer and automotive records system is programmed to congratulate and inform noncitizens that they are registered to vote.”

Leaf said his office has referred the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to Leaf, the informant provided evidence involving the Secretary of State’s Customer and Automotive Records System (CARS).

The current Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, is running as a Democrat for governor in this year’s midterms.

Benson continues to fight the Trump Administration’s efforts to examine Michigan’s voter rolls to ensure the state is complying with federal voter-list-maintenance laws – including requirements that only eligible voters remain on the rolls."

On Bad Boys, Dictators, Tsars, Tyrants & Iron Fisted Despots

 

On Big Tents & Slippery Slopes

 

On Professional Wresting & Woke Oneness

 

From Powerline's The-Week-in-Pictures-Sophies-Choice-Edition.

On Wild Rides & Snake Eyes

 

On Full Term & Ripe for the Picking