Work, amidst the din and dust
Work, amidst the rain and rust
Work, amidst the trials and tears
Work, despite the passing years
Work, when absent,
Work, through fear
Work, when I just dream you're here
Working thus, despite ourselves
When images are thoughts on shelves,
And all that did, and said, and was
Was simply, "Darling..Just Because."
August 3, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Small silhouettes
Fragile little hands
Reaching, reaching, reaching
.....towards hurting iron.
Come, dear hearts, and run with me, for just a moment again,
Among the flower's petals,
Imagining ourselves whole.
Reaching, reaching, reaching
.....towards hurting iron.
Come, dear hearts, and run with me, for just a moment again,
Among the flower's petals,
Imagining ourselves whole.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sexy Meets Sensitive: The New Conscience of the Affluent
Somewhat cynical about the showbiz industry, I have quietly observed, much to my joy, the kind of leadership in human kindness I have always hoped for in politicians. The source? The "Sexiest Men Alive" Club: specificallly, "Silver Fox" Harrison Ford, "Godfather" George Clooney, "Love Warrior" Brad Pitt - possibly the world's coolest Dad (except for mine, of course), and "Boss Cause" Matt Damon. Their work, together, has literally changed the fate of hundreds of thousands of the dispossessed, the forgotten, the abandoned, and the downtrodden in this life - and they use their own hardwon success as a tool to remind the elected, trusted leadership of all nations of instances where need requires action. They have made Sexy simply sensational.
John John Kennedy would be proud:they have done so with the kind of compassionate caring which sets a standard of "dash and flash" which also demands a sidewinder grin, a genuine heart, and a sense of Knightly which we have almost forgotten. God Bless them, everyone....makes you want to exercise. And I hate exercising. Dancing, yes: exercising...blech. I feel like I'm never really GOING anywhere, and constantly think about the mound of things waiting for me to do, while I'm mindlessly counting to whatever the hell I'm doing. Dancing just doesn't seem like such wasted effort. Maybe it's because I'm actually subconsciously trying to create a routine in my head, while doing it, or something...that manic sense of being organized, that you can never turn off, really, when you have any kind of conscience.....
I can't get at the headset and read the screen, at the same time as I'm doing counting "flingabouts", or whatever the hell that thing is called where I try to reduce what used to be attractive in Jane Russell...remember when a gentle rounded swelling below the belly button suggested an actual figure? Now it automatically means excessive carb intake - and I love carbs, dammit. Plus, too many angles mean you jab people when you bang into them. I kind of like the thought of them gently bouncing off, with a slightly sheepish grin, and no injuries. Who wants to sharpen their extremities as a form of self-defence?
Anyway, all this conscience with debonaire pinache makes me want to exercise - and usually I'm afraid of exercising myself. What happens if I get mixed up, and miss, or something?
Ah well: I suppose the layers of sensitivity built up by ingesting reactions to world situations, with all this realized actuality in hopefulness, shall just have to disappear, along with a sense of insurmountable impossibility in attitude and lack of progress, geopolitically speaking.
Led by Harrison Ford's understated response and support of a new movement to leave a legacy of "angel footsteps" which Bruce Cockburn dreams of, when he speaks of "no footprints when we go; only where we've been, a faint and fading glow", they have established a new pattern of "expectation" for successful men, in an industry where the surface - in all its forms - and the speed with which it, and its popularity, changes, in as quick an instant as the latest pop tart's fan. And, darn it - selfdeprecation aside - this moving hum in my heart appears to be responding, despite myself. Wink.
Cheeky lot.....and me such a tough, demanding, not-easily- impressed-by-cologne-or-swish steel bird. I feel my wings, again: strangely...suddenly - and they're rather disturbingly soft, again, somehow...
John John Kennedy would be proud:they have done so with the kind of compassionate caring which sets a standard of "dash and flash" which also demands a sidewinder grin, a genuine heart, and a sense of Knightly which we have almost forgotten. God Bless them, everyone....makes you want to exercise. And I hate exercising. Dancing, yes: exercising...blech. I feel like I'm never really GOING anywhere, and constantly think about the mound of things waiting for me to do, while I'm mindlessly counting to whatever the hell I'm doing. Dancing just doesn't seem like such wasted effort. Maybe it's because I'm actually subconsciously trying to create a routine in my head, while doing it, or something...that manic sense of being organized, that you can never turn off, really, when you have any kind of conscience.....
I can't get at the headset and read the screen, at the same time as I'm doing counting "flingabouts", or whatever the hell that thing is called where I try to reduce what used to be attractive in Jane Russell...remember when a gentle rounded swelling below the belly button suggested an actual figure? Now it automatically means excessive carb intake - and I love carbs, dammit. Plus, too many angles mean you jab people when you bang into them. I kind of like the thought of them gently bouncing off, with a slightly sheepish grin, and no injuries. Who wants to sharpen their extremities as a form of self-defence?
Anyway, all this conscience with debonaire pinache makes me want to exercise - and usually I'm afraid of exercising myself. What happens if I get mixed up, and miss, or something?
Ah well: I suppose the layers of sensitivity built up by ingesting reactions to world situations, with all this realized actuality in hopefulness, shall just have to disappear, along with a sense of insurmountable impossibility in attitude and lack of progress, geopolitically speaking.
Led by Harrison Ford's understated response and support of a new movement to leave a legacy of "angel footsteps" which Bruce Cockburn dreams of, when he speaks of "no footprints when we go; only where we've been, a faint and fading glow", they have established a new pattern of "expectation" for successful men, in an industry where the surface - in all its forms - and the speed with which it, and its popularity, changes, in as quick an instant as the latest pop tart's fan. And, darn it - selfdeprecation aside - this moving hum in my heart appears to be responding, despite myself. Wink.
Cheeky lot.....and me such a tough, demanding, not-easily- impressed-by-cologne-or-swish steel bird. I feel my wings, again: strangely...suddenly - and they're rather disturbingly soft, again, somehow...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Third World Debt Forgiveness, and Keansian Economics
I thought a fitting way to celebrate the official last day of school would be to discuss a light issue: third world debt. All the kids who don't have summer jobs, because they didn't start looking for them in February, or scanning the available grants for selfemployment opportunities, might find this one interesting, when they apply for their student loans next year.
A long time ago (eons, really, when you think of it) in a place far, far away there was an Associate College Professor who had a brilliant student. He always had an opinion. In fact, one of the things that made her classes in which he participated so interesting was the fact that she allowed - nay, ENCOURAGED - him, and others, to have opinions about things, and, in a structured, prepared way, and in an atmosphere of expectation, present those opinions, in order to develop a capacity for oral communication. Indeed, she hoped, secretly, that some of them would even come to love that activity which, officially, is feared more than death.
Way back in 1991-1992, when "Professor Nervills" (who was serenaded by a class of Social Services students once with the theme from Gilligan's Island, for instance - "If not for the courage of the fearless class, Ms. Nervills would be lost"...ahem), one such student introduced, discussed, and passionately railed about the idea of forgiveness of third world debt as a harbinger of social and economic stability in impoverished third world nations.
"Excellent", said Ms. Nervills. "Now research it as a viable possibility, complete with solid economic theory, and present it as your project."
The student, aghast at having to do research, normally, and suitably, and predictably annoyed with Ms. Nevills at expecting him to come up with an actual SOLUTION with something, instead of just representing the problem about which everyone had heard countless times, and who was usually at odds with Ms. Nervills, despite the fact that she constantly baited him in order to get him to speak in class, which he was loathe to do, unless he was really ticked about something, was shocked that she would actually let him discuss this idea in class. He set about preparing the most brilliant conceptual solution to third world debt, Ms. Nervills, let alone the other members of the class, (many of whom had no concept of either macro or micro economics, let alone balancing a chequebook), admitted ever hearing.
Complete with backing from the famous John Keane's theory of economic stability, in conjunction with the misunderstood, and relatively unknown concept of "creating money", in which current banking institutions currently engage - based not on Treasury funding, but on projected growth, primarily, in a nutshell, and used as an economic base for incoming loan payments, for instance, although it really amounted to nothing more than "inventing money from thin air" - this student outlined a program of "forgiveness of debt" which actually saw, as its primary goal, the possibility of complete global ecnomic stability.
The principle, regardless of what scaremongerer you talk to, is a simple one: with the forgiveness of third world debt - not current market or loan payments in conjunction with commodity exchange or resource trade - would come an immediate restoration of fiscal independence, a need for internal responsibility for funds gleaned from resources - including tourism, for those Caribbean and other nations whose main commodity is tourism, rather than fossil fuels or "actual objectual" resources - and an inability to blame larger world powers for misuse of those funds, lack of development of social and infrastructure programs, intrusion in governmental affairs within that nation, an inability to expect outside nations to restore order when chaos ensured from mismanagement and poverty, and the insistence upon exclusion of violence as a means of internal control, rather than responsible, intelligent governmental administration of programs and services for its nations. Internal implosion due to simple greed and mismanagement - avoidable with the actuality, and institutionalization of democratic, or sociodemocratic governmental structures whose immediate focus was the responsible development and use of these resources, as well as the insistence of freedom and individual development of natural talents and abilities - and the rewarding of those same, within it - primarily, and immediately, and involvement of global industry leadership whose corporate ethic was inherent on development, rather than exploitation, on a consultancy basis, would mean an end to "blame of greater powers" for internal failure, on these fronts.
With no "enslaving debt" which meant a continuing lack of progress, despite the presence of resources in these countries, a lack of development would place blame squarely on those governments whose main concern was the abuse, exploitation and lack of ethics towards its own populace, not the lack of funds caused by escalating, and crushing debt.
The war machine would no longer be the primary profit maker.
"Non-THC Hemp hefty" industry introduction into mainly agrarian based, starving third world nations, for example, might very well eradicate starvation and a lack of "offshoot industries - like textile, building material, and simple flour production from hemp seeds, for instance - in a matter of years, not decades, establishing an immediate source of activity, sustenance, and creative impetus for its people not based on control of limited resources, but empowering its natural tendency towards the development of its normal creative, industrious, and healthy impulses towards its own welfare and success, and the inclusion of programs to support and bolster those needing a little help. Dignity would be a renewed concept not discussed enough, these days.
In Ontario, introduction of license-based growth of Non-THC Hemp, along with the development of hemp-related industries, to impoverished tobacco farmers is a nobrainer. They already have all the necessary equipment, and the skills. All they need is the development of a Marketing Board, and a couple of farmers' wives to reestablish the textile, food products, and creative arts products directly related to the growth of this healthy, not damaging, agricultural commodity. The result? Instant cottage industry, tourist destination (read Sparta candles, Stratford, Ontario, and other places, for examples of "build it they will come".) We have done this before. Where do you think Madonna learned how to reinvent herself? The government, having issued licenses, needs to establish fair taxation of the commodity for payback into the healthcare, and other taxbased programs, and brothers and sisters, we have a recipe for success in the making. Better recycle all those garbage bags you used to throw out the tobacco on the curb: you'll need them. Besides, the newly-hired agricultural standards inspectors will want to know that there are no bugs inside of them, too....
Ms. Nevills gave him an "A." She agrees that it would not destabilize the economy, but, in actual fact, make it MORE stable, with the involvement of the United Nations in a role which truly uses its original agenda for sustainable development, not simply the "World Bank" issue with which so many have grown angry and ill-informed, regarding.
Once again, the artists and "creative impulse minds" among us - along with the reemergence of the entrepreneurial spirit which has created so many possibilities in this life, and in business, in conjunction with a kind of "green generation" which sees, for instance, garbage as an endless, free commodity, rather than an ongoing problem, - would soothe those damaged by war, even as it gave them a new hope to live, and work, and succeed, in years to come. The recycling plant would naturally be the natural next employer, one would think.....
Now all we need is the concept of the desire to reinvest a simple one percent of profits back into the restrengthening of a grid system, for instance, by the computer industry which has exploded, even as it has forgotten that the original grid system was designed for the needs of, and the demands of, the population of 1957, not 2008. This is not communism; it is good business, along with a plan in place to use parts from "old models", as part of the "reclamation of materials", to alleviate at least fifty percent of concerns that with every new gaming device comes three billion pounds of landfill contribution. This is but one example of the idea that industry, expansion, and responsibility for output, as well as a need to rely on a grid as the result of the idea that public utilities should be privatized, and nothing else, when CEO's are getting million dollar bonuses and ratepayers are still incurring "charges for incurred and unpaid debt in the system" on their bills. We don't reward these things with bonuses, in the public sector, Mister. You get audited.
We can do it. Gilligan would be proud. Then we'd all be part of an "A" team that has nothing to do with the Antichrist, and everything to do with the Sacred idea of responsibility with which Our Creator has endowed each of us, and which will ensure that that spark of idea in each young mind, and each older mind, not yet ready to settle into either decrepitude or inactivity, is not a fire of destruction, but a glimmer of tomorrow's gentle, enduring heart's glow.
Happy Summer, Academia! ...Have fun, kids. We'll see you in September. There'll be lots of work to do!!!! Wink. Class dismissed....Early.
.....and congratulations, Greg. You made my blog, if not the news. Smile. Well done.Sorry I didn't get around to it until fourteen years later. I've had a few little projects on my plate, since then......
Ms. Dawn M. Nevills
June 24, 2008oa
A long time ago (eons, really, when you think of it) in a place far, far away there was an Associate College Professor who had a brilliant student. He always had an opinion. In fact, one of the things that made her classes in which he participated so interesting was the fact that she allowed - nay, ENCOURAGED - him, and others, to have opinions about things, and, in a structured, prepared way, and in an atmosphere of expectation, present those opinions, in order to develop a capacity for oral communication. Indeed, she hoped, secretly, that some of them would even come to love that activity which, officially, is feared more than death.
Way back in 1991-1992, when "Professor Nervills" (who was serenaded by a class of Social Services students once with the theme from Gilligan's Island, for instance - "If not for the courage of the fearless class, Ms. Nervills would be lost"...ahem), one such student introduced, discussed, and passionately railed about the idea of forgiveness of third world debt as a harbinger of social and economic stability in impoverished third world nations.
"Excellent", said Ms. Nervills. "Now research it as a viable possibility, complete with solid economic theory, and present it as your project."
The student, aghast at having to do research, normally, and suitably, and predictably annoyed with Ms. Nevills at expecting him to come up with an actual SOLUTION with something, instead of just representing the problem about which everyone had heard countless times, and who was usually at odds with Ms. Nervills, despite the fact that she constantly baited him in order to get him to speak in class, which he was loathe to do, unless he was really ticked about something, was shocked that she would actually let him discuss this idea in class. He set about preparing the most brilliant conceptual solution to third world debt, Ms. Nervills, let alone the other members of the class, (many of whom had no concept of either macro or micro economics, let alone balancing a chequebook), admitted ever hearing.
Complete with backing from the famous John Keane's theory of economic stability, in conjunction with the misunderstood, and relatively unknown concept of "creating money", in which current banking institutions currently engage - based not on Treasury funding, but on projected growth, primarily, in a nutshell, and used as an economic base for incoming loan payments, for instance, although it really amounted to nothing more than "inventing money from thin air" - this student outlined a program of "forgiveness of debt" which actually saw, as its primary goal, the possibility of complete global ecnomic stability.
The principle, regardless of what scaremongerer you talk to, is a simple one: with the forgiveness of third world debt - not current market or loan payments in conjunction with commodity exchange or resource trade - would come an immediate restoration of fiscal independence, a need for internal responsibility for funds gleaned from resources - including tourism, for those Caribbean and other nations whose main commodity is tourism, rather than fossil fuels or "actual objectual" resources - and an inability to blame larger world powers for misuse of those funds, lack of development of social and infrastructure programs, intrusion in governmental affairs within that nation, an inability to expect outside nations to restore order when chaos ensured from mismanagement and poverty, and the insistence upon exclusion of violence as a means of internal control, rather than responsible, intelligent governmental administration of programs and services for its nations. Internal implosion due to simple greed and mismanagement - avoidable with the actuality, and institutionalization of democratic, or sociodemocratic governmental structures whose immediate focus was the responsible development and use of these resources, as well as the insistence of freedom and individual development of natural talents and abilities - and the rewarding of those same, within it - primarily, and immediately, and involvement of global industry leadership whose corporate ethic was inherent on development, rather than exploitation, on a consultancy basis, would mean an end to "blame of greater powers" for internal failure, on these fronts.
With no "enslaving debt" which meant a continuing lack of progress, despite the presence of resources in these countries, a lack of development would place blame squarely on those governments whose main concern was the abuse, exploitation and lack of ethics towards its own populace, not the lack of funds caused by escalating, and crushing debt.
The war machine would no longer be the primary profit maker.
"Non-THC Hemp hefty" industry introduction into mainly agrarian based, starving third world nations, for example, might very well eradicate starvation and a lack of "offshoot industries - like textile, building material, and simple flour production from hemp seeds, for instance - in a matter of years, not decades, establishing an immediate source of activity, sustenance, and creative impetus for its people not based on control of limited resources, but empowering its natural tendency towards the development of its normal creative, industrious, and healthy impulses towards its own welfare and success, and the inclusion of programs to support and bolster those needing a little help. Dignity would be a renewed concept not discussed enough, these days.
In Ontario, introduction of license-based growth of Non-THC Hemp, along with the development of hemp-related industries, to impoverished tobacco farmers is a nobrainer. They already have all the necessary equipment, and the skills. All they need is the development of a Marketing Board, and a couple of farmers' wives to reestablish the textile, food products, and creative arts products directly related to the growth of this healthy, not damaging, agricultural commodity. The result? Instant cottage industry, tourist destination (read Sparta candles, Stratford, Ontario, and other places, for examples of "build it they will come".) We have done this before. Where do you think Madonna learned how to reinvent herself? The government, having issued licenses, needs to establish fair taxation of the commodity for payback into the healthcare, and other taxbased programs, and brothers and sisters, we have a recipe for success in the making. Better recycle all those garbage bags you used to throw out the tobacco on the curb: you'll need them. Besides, the newly-hired agricultural standards inspectors will want to know that there are no bugs inside of them, too....
Ms. Nevills gave him an "A." She agrees that it would not destabilize the economy, but, in actual fact, make it MORE stable, with the involvement of the United Nations in a role which truly uses its original agenda for sustainable development, not simply the "World Bank" issue with which so many have grown angry and ill-informed, regarding.
Once again, the artists and "creative impulse minds" among us - along with the reemergence of the entrepreneurial spirit which has created so many possibilities in this life, and in business, in conjunction with a kind of "green generation" which sees, for instance, garbage as an endless, free commodity, rather than an ongoing problem, - would soothe those damaged by war, even as it gave them a new hope to live, and work, and succeed, in years to come. The recycling plant would naturally be the natural next employer, one would think.....
Now all we need is the concept of the desire to reinvest a simple one percent of profits back into the restrengthening of a grid system, for instance, by the computer industry which has exploded, even as it has forgotten that the original grid system was designed for the needs of, and the demands of, the population of 1957, not 2008. This is not communism; it is good business, along with a plan in place to use parts from "old models", as part of the "reclamation of materials", to alleviate at least fifty percent of concerns that with every new gaming device comes three billion pounds of landfill contribution. This is but one example of the idea that industry, expansion, and responsibility for output, as well as a need to rely on a grid as the result of the idea that public utilities should be privatized, and nothing else, when CEO's are getting million dollar bonuses and ratepayers are still incurring "charges for incurred and unpaid debt in the system" on their bills. We don't reward these things with bonuses, in the public sector, Mister. You get audited.
We can do it. Gilligan would be proud. Then we'd all be part of an "A" team that has nothing to do with the Antichrist, and everything to do with the Sacred idea of responsibility with which Our Creator has endowed each of us, and which will ensure that that spark of idea in each young mind, and each older mind, not yet ready to settle into either decrepitude or inactivity, is not a fire of destruction, but a glimmer of tomorrow's gentle, enduring heart's glow.
Happy Summer, Academia! ...Have fun, kids. We'll see you in September. There'll be lots of work to do!!!! Wink. Class dismissed....Early.
.....and congratulations, Greg. You made my blog, if not the news. Smile. Well done.Sorry I didn't get around to it until fourteen years later. I've had a few little projects on my plate, since then......
Ms. Dawn M. Nevills
June 24, 2008oa
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Watering Down Myself
This life shimmying,
This sweet sweat from inside out
That melts the years of loss from me
With its wish wash of movement,
This dance of swaying trees, this subtle swish of hip,
As breath and age bemoans the passage of time,
Leads sweetly
To the less of me
That is,
I suppose,
Strangely
Most,
Or More,
Or Sadly, Slimly Slighter Site Sights(remembering smoky suppressing moments)
of
Me Before.
Gently,
The Tears are Exorcised,
But not the
Clean.
I bow, refreshed,
Surprised by a
Downsized Version of
Songs of Myself's Self.
This sweet sweat from inside out
That melts the years of loss from me
With its wish wash of movement,
This dance of swaying trees, this subtle swish of hip,
As breath and age bemoans the passage of time,
Leads sweetly
To the less of me
That is,
I suppose,
Strangely
Most,
Or More,
Or Sadly, Slimly Slighter Site Sights(remembering smoky suppressing moments)
of
Me Before.
Gently,
The Tears are Exorcised,
But not the
Clean.
I bow, refreshed,
Surprised by a
Downsized Version of
Songs of Myself's Self.
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Over-40 Wardrobe conundrum: Shorts
Well, it's finally here: eighty degrees in the shade, you have laundry to hang out to dry, you've soaked another t-shirt cleaning the house, and as you step out of the shower, you realize one thing: it's time to consider if you'll wear shorts again.
Harkening back to the days you visited Venice in your twenties - mostly by looking out the window, as various famous sites flashed by the speeding bus, as you clutched your stomach cautiously, whilst hurtling at breakneck speed into the next tunnel - you recall watching young American tourist girls getting kicked out of churches, by dour-faced security guards who peered suspiciously at their knee-length walking shorts. Your postcard collection attests to this phenomenon. They are much better than the various views of your thumb, blocking the whir of buildings flying past......
You have three pairs lined up on the counter in front of you:
One pair you bought twenty five years ago, from Tabi International, and they look as good as the day you bought them off the rack, moaning about paying twenty dollars for a piece of clothing which was really only "half of something." The sales woman kept saying things like: "timeless", "crisp", "chic with flats", and "very Jackie O, with the right classic sleeveless blouse". You saw pleats, high waist, and pockets, grabbed the things - in your usual daring colour combinations of black, navy, khaki, and white, and bolted for the door, without trying them on, waving away the blouses rushing towards you, even as they leered menacingly towards the budget holder called a wallet, which you had already busted wide open, purchasing the shorts. They, however, fit perfectly, when you got them home, (like most things you could count on fitting, according to size, in those days,) and actually made you look like you had both a waist, and normally-shaped hips - and neither belonged to a ten-year old boy. Again; this was a good thing, in days past....
The second pair were one hundred percent cotton, and their most endearing quality was their ability to scrunch completely into a ball with your Tilley hat, and dry completely - while you were wearing them, usually - with the single back pocket holding something, without falling out, even after almost drowning, falling into a pit, or getting trapped in an elevator for three days, until you got the trap door up top open, like they do in the movies.
The draw string waist only added to their attractiveness, really, from an Army perspective, anyway - especially after a full steak dinner, a sunburn, (during monthly bloating), or that special feeling you get, after three beers and staining a deck, while you try not to fall over, while wearing kneepads. The drawstring gives, inch by inch, ever so gently, as the kneepads bite into the back of your legs, and the sun scorches the rest of you: real comfort for those "join the construction guys" days. But....ah! At least you're not cinched in by the next best thing to a corset! Yes, these babies are your midriff abdominal best friend, even as they suck up all that perspiration dripping down between your legs, and down the back of your underwear. You won't even look like you've peed yourself! Now THAT'S attractive. You've been decidedly daring, having succumbed to pastel shades of both "lilac" and "light leaf" - whatever the hell that is. You had no idea they made shorts that looked like a pot leaf, but you were proud, darn it, that you knew that handy-dandy little bit of colour knowledge, by cracky.....Yves St. Laurent, God Rest his soul, would be proud of you, you feel certain.
It still didn't particularly make you feel "light and fresh as a flower" - unless it was a plastic one, at the moment - but at least you didn't absorb the heat like a tar roof, anyway. That was ten years ago, and they were still scrunching strong.
...But the creme-de-la-creme is the most recent shorts purchase, in two "I'm over forty and I don't care anymore, mister" shades of fuschia and turquoise, reminding you of all those pictures of people looking really cool and happy, underneath umbrellas, where everything around them - including the water - sort of looked like those two colours. The turquoise one involved vacations, and the fuscia one involved your activist activities with Green Peace, Love Canal memories, and huge banners with "Toxic Poisoning Sucks, you Bastages", although you don't believe in damaging anything, or anyone, for any reason, unless it's revising a painting you've screwed up, and have to repaint.
With that in mind, you buy both, imagining yourself as something more than "Bwana Dawn" whilst encased in them, and experience the freedom, after forty-four years, of having your Australian-shaped birthmark located just slightly below your belly button, exposed, finally, to the open air. You feel naked like never before, humming "I come from a Land Down Under" with wild abandon, even as you realize you will never be tanned enough to completely erase the thing from sight. The shorts, complete with draw string, and hanging off your butt like a pair of abandoned pyjamas, sit around your hips in a truly alien way, even as the bottom of the shorts legs skim your knees, making you suddenly want to race out to the nearest summer festival to purchase a pair of "buffalo sandals", and paint your bra to look like a bathing suit top, reviving Madge's conebra look, for all full figured women determined to keep gravity at bay. (There is a limit to looking relaxed, and abandoning your underwire isn't one of them....)
For just a second, you close your eyes and think about men, who get the built-in underwear in their shorts, for winky breathing safety, and sigh: lucky bastards. Wind, netting, breeze: some things just aren't fair at all.
Maturity might just be okay, though - so long as they don't fall off....especially with the pocket on the inside!
Wink.
Harkening back to the days you visited Venice in your twenties - mostly by looking out the window, as various famous sites flashed by the speeding bus, as you clutched your stomach cautiously, whilst hurtling at breakneck speed into the next tunnel - you recall watching young American tourist girls getting kicked out of churches, by dour-faced security guards who peered suspiciously at their knee-length walking shorts. Your postcard collection attests to this phenomenon. They are much better than the various views of your thumb, blocking the whir of buildings flying past......
You have three pairs lined up on the counter in front of you:
One pair you bought twenty five years ago, from Tabi International, and they look as good as the day you bought them off the rack, moaning about paying twenty dollars for a piece of clothing which was really only "half of something." The sales woman kept saying things like: "timeless", "crisp", "chic with flats", and "very Jackie O, with the right classic sleeveless blouse". You saw pleats, high waist, and pockets, grabbed the things - in your usual daring colour combinations of black, navy, khaki, and white, and bolted for the door, without trying them on, waving away the blouses rushing towards you, even as they leered menacingly towards the budget holder called a wallet, which you had already busted wide open, purchasing the shorts. They, however, fit perfectly, when you got them home, (like most things you could count on fitting, according to size, in those days,) and actually made you look like you had both a waist, and normally-shaped hips - and neither belonged to a ten-year old boy. Again; this was a good thing, in days past....
The second pair were one hundred percent cotton, and their most endearing quality was their ability to scrunch completely into a ball with your Tilley hat, and dry completely - while you were wearing them, usually - with the single back pocket holding something, without falling out, even after almost drowning, falling into a pit, or getting trapped in an elevator for three days, until you got the trap door up top open, like they do in the movies.
The draw string waist only added to their attractiveness, really, from an Army perspective, anyway - especially after a full steak dinner, a sunburn, (during monthly bloating), or that special feeling you get, after three beers and staining a deck, while you try not to fall over, while wearing kneepads. The drawstring gives, inch by inch, ever so gently, as the kneepads bite into the back of your legs, and the sun scorches the rest of you: real comfort for those "join the construction guys" days. But....ah! At least you're not cinched in by the next best thing to a corset! Yes, these babies are your midriff abdominal best friend, even as they suck up all that perspiration dripping down between your legs, and down the back of your underwear. You won't even look like you've peed yourself! Now THAT'S attractive. You've been decidedly daring, having succumbed to pastel shades of both "lilac" and "light leaf" - whatever the hell that is. You had no idea they made shorts that looked like a pot leaf, but you were proud, darn it, that you knew that handy-dandy little bit of colour knowledge, by cracky.....Yves St. Laurent, God Rest his soul, would be proud of you, you feel certain.
It still didn't particularly make you feel "light and fresh as a flower" - unless it was a plastic one, at the moment - but at least you didn't absorb the heat like a tar roof, anyway. That was ten years ago, and they were still scrunching strong.
...But the creme-de-la-creme is the most recent shorts purchase, in two "I'm over forty and I don't care anymore, mister" shades of fuschia and turquoise, reminding you of all those pictures of people looking really cool and happy, underneath umbrellas, where everything around them - including the water - sort of looked like those two colours. The turquoise one involved vacations, and the fuscia one involved your activist activities with Green Peace, Love Canal memories, and huge banners with "Toxic Poisoning Sucks, you Bastages", although you don't believe in damaging anything, or anyone, for any reason, unless it's revising a painting you've screwed up, and have to repaint.
With that in mind, you buy both, imagining yourself as something more than "Bwana Dawn" whilst encased in them, and experience the freedom, after forty-four years, of having your Australian-shaped birthmark located just slightly below your belly button, exposed, finally, to the open air. You feel naked like never before, humming "I come from a Land Down Under" with wild abandon, even as you realize you will never be tanned enough to completely erase the thing from sight. The shorts, complete with draw string, and hanging off your butt like a pair of abandoned pyjamas, sit around your hips in a truly alien way, even as the bottom of the shorts legs skim your knees, making you suddenly want to race out to the nearest summer festival to purchase a pair of "buffalo sandals", and paint your bra to look like a bathing suit top, reviving Madge's conebra look, for all full figured women determined to keep gravity at bay. (There is a limit to looking relaxed, and abandoning your underwire isn't one of them....)
For just a second, you close your eyes and think about men, who get the built-in underwear in their shorts, for winky breathing safety, and sigh: lucky bastards. Wind, netting, breeze: some things just aren't fair at all.
Maturity might just be okay, though - so long as they don't fall off....especially with the pocket on the inside!
Wink.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Desperately Seeking ...Blessing?
In the midst of the painful and deeply sensitive issue of the blessing of same sex marriages within the Anglican Faith, (voted on recently in London, Ontario, but still pending the go ahead from the Primate), I heard an interesting and thoughtprovoking program on the car radio.
Its primary speaker - an obviously gifted, educated, and intelligent man, whose name escapes me at the moment - spoke passionately of the nature of marriage, and the endless debate in which the true definition of the word was discussed, analyzed, and scrutinized for guidance and help in determining the nature of "union between two like minded persons", and how this affected the Church's notion of "marriage", versus the legally recognized "union of two likeminded persons." After a lengthy, intelligent and clearly articulated explanation, he slowly and methodically covered several different definitions of the word "marriage", as discussed in some noteworthy, and respected, dictionaries. Now, dictionaries are extremely helpful books, particularly when one is seeking clarification on the meaning of a word, verbally, and literally. In fact, with no religious, moral, or ethical considerations in mind, particularly, a dictionary clearly and lucidly explains literary terminology with succinct and adroit adeptness.
However, there was one thing my learned Friend forgot: no one is seeking clarification on the definition, or even the idea, of what the word "marriage" might mean, to those outside of the secular world. Indeed, it is clear that Church and State have defined and accepted different ideas of the concept and nature of that word, legally. No one - in the Church, or out - has a problem with those accepted definitions, or, to my knowledge, on the acceptance of the right of individuals to live their lives as they see fit, in a free society, within the ethical boundaries of the right to safety, security, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, we are NOT discussing the legal definition; we are discussing the religious definition, and not once, within the confines of that discussion, did that sensitive, compassionate, and learned gentleman seek guidance from that other, more appropriate, and, indeed, directly related source: the Bible. Additionally, at least within the confines of the Anglican Faith which is so torn by this debate, presently, there are two phrases, which make up the body and soul of the Church, in my mind, which should make the debate, regarding same sex legal marriage blessings, clear:
1. "I believe in one holy catholic and Apostolic Church."
You either do, or you don't - even if you don't necessarly fit into that melee anymore. You can, for instance, believe in the principles and ideals of something, without being able to attain that ideal within the confines of your own life. Therefore, if you do, and you wish to try and live within those concepts, then the direction, and the acceptance of the blessing of these legally accepted, SAME sex unions, within the Church, is quite, quite clear. They are not accepted, religiously, and THAT is the blessing which is sought - not a legal clarification of the term marriage - by those seeking the blessing. In short, what is sought is a total overhaul of an entire denomination, and its adherents, when there is already a forum in which a religious blessing may be sought, and acquired, for that union of persons, within a committed relationship.
I have to ask myself, then, very quietly: what, exactly, is the agenda? It cannot possibly be the honest and real quest for blessing and harmony. Surely, so much quandary and pain, for so many others, when the simplicity of a different lifestyle - admittedly - also involves a movement to another from of expression of Faith, cannot be too much to ask, can it?
But perhaps it is Fear: fear of the Church. With loss of parishioners, comes loss of income, too, and, with this issue, at least, potential loss of "being on the cutting edge". Anglicans have always prided themselves on being modern, in all respects, harkening back to the days of the Roman split: wanting to retain all the quiet respect and dignity that is usually a hallmark of the more pageantry-inspired aspect of the Faith, but being pretty darned daring, at the same time. And darn it! This is one we just couldn't make fit, no matter how much we loved them.
Why would we, when we can visit each other as Friends, instead?
We do that already; this is not rocket science. They have just flown to their own nest, having come of age, and understanding, in their own way. That is not necessarily failure; it is simply an acknowledgement that others must lead different lives - lives which do not necessarily seek, or acquire the approval of, those of a previous generation - and not necessarily under the same roof as all of their other extended family members. What they have not lost is a reverence and respect for Christ, hopefully, and for God, in general. And that, Gracie, is a very good thing.... that is what keeps us all together, sharing a common, undivided vision, at day's end. It is the deep contemplation - not bullying - required of One who guides it.
In the Church of England, the curious combination of "homosexual" and "bishop", notwithstanding the usual requirements of the upper echelon layity, have resulted in the consecration of same, within that same diocesan infrastructure, with freely acknowledged acceptance of the sexuality of a member of a church who is normally required to sacrifice certain aspects of his or her life, for this most serious, and Higher, calling.
In the past, it meant that the word "homosexual" - as a result of solem vows, kept, ideally, was no longer relevant, simply put. And yet, this is not the case.
Why, pray? At what point did this requirement change, and by whose assent was it reached?
Surely this has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of "Royal Peculiar?" That term presents an entirely DIFFERENT relationship within the structure of the Anglican Faith, and requires an old - and honoured - acceptance, permission, and inclusion from the Head of its Body - like it or not - one which might be more readily acceptable, to boot, to the rest of those within its parish considerations: surely a thought to ponder with sensivity!
2. "By whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit."
Within the Anglican faith, there is much room, literally and figuratively, for consideration, flexibility - including modernity, experimentation, flexibility in a marriage, and birth control - for sensivity, deep care and concern for one another, as in the Roman Catholic Faith, and the acceptance of the idea that sometimes, people make mistakes in making those choices. (I.E. divorce.) These basic precepts, even taken so far as the highest measure of faith, involving rhythym, abstention, and a kind of secular companionship within that marriage, also makes clear, and perfectly acceptable, the idea that priests within that Faith, and bishops, even, can quite easily, and without rancor or conscience, feel blessed, enabled, and supported, by being married.
Nowhere, however, does it offer acceptance for secular leadership in which one's homosexual sexual life is placed before the life of the church, or the commitment to the parishes one's calling serves, is placed behind one's need for sexual gratification - which is, itself, outside the bounds of the accepted religious definition of marriage, within the framework of that denomination. Again; within the Anglican faith, at least, there is no debate or lack of acceptance, socially and legally, for what society has deemed legal.
However, this is not a court of law, and what is being sought is the blessing, religiously of that legal union - in which there are two people of the SAME SEX, not the OPPOSITE SEX, within the confines of a religion whose basic precepts discuss a decided nonacceptance of that state, morally and religiously - at least in Canada. I might add that homosexuals who are Not engaging in sexual activity have placed religious life before physical gratification. They have chosen different paths, RELIGIOUSLY AND MORALLY. Their leadership has taken on a different quality, as well.
Other denominations have allowed for the expansion of marriage blessing to include those of the same sex: namely, the United Church of Canada, for one.
One is faced, then, with a conundrum: to gently and passionately urge one's sexually active homosexual friends, who do not abstain, willingly, from sexual acitivity, seeking religious and moral blessing of their legal unions, to join a likeminded religious community whose moral precepts allow for that, or to tear apart a denomination whose structure clearly does NOT?
To me, the answer seems gentle, and clear; with the change in ideals and ethical considerations - much as the Anglican faith did, when it broke from the Holy Roman Church - comes the need for a move; perhaps, to the United Church, who was, itself, almost torn asunder by this same debate. Or, more simply, to the two churches - or others - which are designated "Royal Peculiars", (there are two in Canada, at present), and, therefore, outside the juridisction of the local diocese, although still Anglican. This, as the Archbishop of Canterbury would gently encourage, "keeps the doors open", and for those wishing to remain within the greater denomination which calls itself "Anglicanism", this would seem an immediate, and viable, solution, as well as one which addresses the immediate needs of those wishing to be married.
As far as voting on behalf of parishes, by those lay delegates assigned this duty, I must add a clear, and quiet warning: if you have not canvassed your parish for clear direction in this area - which may well involve a vote, as a clear signal of your respect for their wishes on the matter - then you are not representing the majority of parishioners in this instance, or the precepts of the Anglican faith whose guidelines you say you serve. Unless there is a quorum on the matter, there should be no further debate on the matter, as well, once this vote has taken place -if the laity is brave enough to attempt such a feat, or involve the congregations involved, to achieve a clear concensus on the matter.
Blessing of opposite sex legal unions is simply seeking further acceptance, and moral and religious blessing on a union of two which is already accepted within this Faith; same sex unions, after deep, compassionate, and sensitive consideration, are NOT. The movement, and the shift, and from whence it should come, therefore, with gentle compassion, and heartfelt desire to include within the greater Family of Christian denominations, is clear - without causing selfish schism, or harm to a denomination which has shaken its very roots, in order to reexamine what it says, it Believes.
I wake with a renewed sense of possible Friendship, and compassionate understanding, between Denominations.
Sincere regards!
Its primary speaker - an obviously gifted, educated, and intelligent man, whose name escapes me at the moment - spoke passionately of the nature of marriage, and the endless debate in which the true definition of the word was discussed, analyzed, and scrutinized for guidance and help in determining the nature of "union between two like minded persons", and how this affected the Church's notion of "marriage", versus the legally recognized "union of two likeminded persons." After a lengthy, intelligent and clearly articulated explanation, he slowly and methodically covered several different definitions of the word "marriage", as discussed in some noteworthy, and respected, dictionaries. Now, dictionaries are extremely helpful books, particularly when one is seeking clarification on the meaning of a word, verbally, and literally. In fact, with no religious, moral, or ethical considerations in mind, particularly, a dictionary clearly and lucidly explains literary terminology with succinct and adroit adeptness.
However, there was one thing my learned Friend forgot: no one is seeking clarification on the definition, or even the idea, of what the word "marriage" might mean, to those outside of the secular world. Indeed, it is clear that Church and State have defined and accepted different ideas of the concept and nature of that word, legally. No one - in the Church, or out - has a problem with those accepted definitions, or, to my knowledge, on the acceptance of the right of individuals to live their lives as they see fit, in a free society, within the ethical boundaries of the right to safety, security, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, we are NOT discussing the legal definition; we are discussing the religious definition, and not once, within the confines of that discussion, did that sensitive, compassionate, and learned gentleman seek guidance from that other, more appropriate, and, indeed, directly related source: the Bible. Additionally, at least within the confines of the Anglican Faith which is so torn by this debate, presently, there are two phrases, which make up the body and soul of the Church, in my mind, which should make the debate, regarding same sex legal marriage blessings, clear:
1. "I believe in one holy catholic and Apostolic Church."
You either do, or you don't - even if you don't necessarly fit into that melee anymore. You can, for instance, believe in the principles and ideals of something, without being able to attain that ideal within the confines of your own life. Therefore, if you do, and you wish to try and live within those concepts, then the direction, and the acceptance of the blessing of these legally accepted, SAME sex unions, within the Church, is quite, quite clear. They are not accepted, religiously, and THAT is the blessing which is sought - not a legal clarification of the term marriage - by those seeking the blessing. In short, what is sought is a total overhaul of an entire denomination, and its adherents, when there is already a forum in which a religious blessing may be sought, and acquired, for that union of persons, within a committed relationship.
I have to ask myself, then, very quietly: what, exactly, is the agenda? It cannot possibly be the honest and real quest for blessing and harmony. Surely, so much quandary and pain, for so many others, when the simplicity of a different lifestyle - admittedly - also involves a movement to another from of expression of Faith, cannot be too much to ask, can it?
But perhaps it is Fear: fear of the Church. With loss of parishioners, comes loss of income, too, and, with this issue, at least, potential loss of "being on the cutting edge". Anglicans have always prided themselves on being modern, in all respects, harkening back to the days of the Roman split: wanting to retain all the quiet respect and dignity that is usually a hallmark of the more pageantry-inspired aspect of the Faith, but being pretty darned daring, at the same time. And darn it! This is one we just couldn't make fit, no matter how much we loved them.
Why would we, when we can visit each other as Friends, instead?
We do that already; this is not rocket science. They have just flown to their own nest, having come of age, and understanding, in their own way. That is not necessarily failure; it is simply an acknowledgement that others must lead different lives - lives which do not necessarily seek, or acquire the approval of, those of a previous generation - and not necessarily under the same roof as all of their other extended family members. What they have not lost is a reverence and respect for Christ, hopefully, and for God, in general. And that, Gracie, is a very good thing.... that is what keeps us all together, sharing a common, undivided vision, at day's end. It is the deep contemplation - not bullying - required of One who guides it.
In the Church of England, the curious combination of "homosexual" and "bishop", notwithstanding the usual requirements of the upper echelon layity, have resulted in the consecration of same, within that same diocesan infrastructure, with freely acknowledged acceptance of the sexuality of a member of a church who is normally required to sacrifice certain aspects of his or her life, for this most serious, and Higher, calling.
In the past, it meant that the word "homosexual" - as a result of solem vows, kept, ideally, was no longer relevant, simply put. And yet, this is not the case.
Why, pray? At what point did this requirement change, and by whose assent was it reached?
Surely this has absolutely nothing to do with the idea of "Royal Peculiar?" That term presents an entirely DIFFERENT relationship within the structure of the Anglican Faith, and requires an old - and honoured - acceptance, permission, and inclusion from the Head of its Body - like it or not - one which might be more readily acceptable, to boot, to the rest of those within its parish considerations: surely a thought to ponder with sensivity!
2. "By whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit."
Within the Anglican faith, there is much room, literally and figuratively, for consideration, flexibility - including modernity, experimentation, flexibility in a marriage, and birth control - for sensivity, deep care and concern for one another, as in the Roman Catholic Faith, and the acceptance of the idea that sometimes, people make mistakes in making those choices. (I.E. divorce.) These basic precepts, even taken so far as the highest measure of faith, involving rhythym, abstention, and a kind of secular companionship within that marriage, also makes clear, and perfectly acceptable, the idea that priests within that Faith, and bishops, even, can quite easily, and without rancor or conscience, feel blessed, enabled, and supported, by being married.
Nowhere, however, does it offer acceptance for secular leadership in which one's homosexual sexual life is placed before the life of the church, or the commitment to the parishes one's calling serves, is placed behind one's need for sexual gratification - which is, itself, outside the bounds of the accepted religious definition of marriage, within the framework of that denomination. Again; within the Anglican faith, at least, there is no debate or lack of acceptance, socially and legally, for what society has deemed legal.
However, this is not a court of law, and what is being sought is the blessing, religiously of that legal union - in which there are two people of the SAME SEX, not the OPPOSITE SEX, within the confines of a religion whose basic precepts discuss a decided nonacceptance of that state, morally and religiously - at least in Canada. I might add that homosexuals who are Not engaging in sexual activity have placed religious life before physical gratification. They have chosen different paths, RELIGIOUSLY AND MORALLY. Their leadership has taken on a different quality, as well.
Other denominations have allowed for the expansion of marriage blessing to include those of the same sex: namely, the United Church of Canada, for one.
One is faced, then, with a conundrum: to gently and passionately urge one's sexually active homosexual friends, who do not abstain, willingly, from sexual acitivity, seeking religious and moral blessing of their legal unions, to join a likeminded religious community whose moral precepts allow for that, or to tear apart a denomination whose structure clearly does NOT?
To me, the answer seems gentle, and clear; with the change in ideals and ethical considerations - much as the Anglican faith did, when it broke from the Holy Roman Church - comes the need for a move; perhaps, to the United Church, who was, itself, almost torn asunder by this same debate. Or, more simply, to the two churches - or others - which are designated "Royal Peculiars", (there are two in Canada, at present), and, therefore, outside the juridisction of the local diocese, although still Anglican. This, as the Archbishop of Canterbury would gently encourage, "keeps the doors open", and for those wishing to remain within the greater denomination which calls itself "Anglicanism", this would seem an immediate, and viable, solution, as well as one which addresses the immediate needs of those wishing to be married.
As far as voting on behalf of parishes, by those lay delegates assigned this duty, I must add a clear, and quiet warning: if you have not canvassed your parish for clear direction in this area - which may well involve a vote, as a clear signal of your respect for their wishes on the matter - then you are not representing the majority of parishioners in this instance, or the precepts of the Anglican faith whose guidelines you say you serve. Unless there is a quorum on the matter, there should be no further debate on the matter, as well, once this vote has taken place -if the laity is brave enough to attempt such a feat, or involve the congregations involved, to achieve a clear concensus on the matter.
Blessing of opposite sex legal unions is simply seeking further acceptance, and moral and religious blessing on a union of two which is already accepted within this Faith; same sex unions, after deep, compassionate, and sensitive consideration, are NOT. The movement, and the shift, and from whence it should come, therefore, with gentle compassion, and heartfelt desire to include within the greater Family of Christian denominations, is clear - without causing selfish schism, or harm to a denomination which has shaken its very roots, in order to reexamine what it says, it Believes.
I wake with a renewed sense of possible Friendship, and compassionate understanding, between Denominations.
Sincere regards!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Preponderance of Pedagogy
Best foot forward...towards?
Pedometre.
Pedophile?
Peddle. No...
Pedal.....No
Petal. Sigh.
Pederasity?
Pedicab?
Pedicure?
Pediment?'
Pedantic.
Pedagogy....
Pediatrics.
Ponder it.
Pedometre.
Pedophile?
Peddle. No...
Pedal.....No
Petal. Sigh.
Pederasity?
Pedicab?
Pedicure?
Pediment?'
Pedantic.
Pedagogy....
Pediatrics.
Ponder it.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Sweet stolen Sleep of Sheep like Us
Sweet, if this sleep -
This final sleep of which we see only soft glimpses, when
Those we love slip away from Pain into its Comfort
- be a rest beyond all known,
Then thy arms about me must be as silent and soft
As the wind,
Yet strong and solid as a pine standing guard upon the High Mountain,
Lest it Steal me away from Thee,
As our eyes - covered by soft petals,
Drooping, finally -
Dim, together.
D. Nevills, May 10, 2008
This final sleep of which we see only soft glimpses, when
Those we love slip away from Pain into its Comfort
- be a rest beyond all known,
Then thy arms about me must be as silent and soft
As the wind,
Yet strong and solid as a pine standing guard upon the High Mountain,
Lest it Steal me away from Thee,
As our eyes - covered by soft petals,
Drooping, finally -
Dim, together.
D. Nevills, May 10, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Vinca Rosa, where last we met....
....greetings, again! If you have travelled from my last blog, "A Moment of Your Time"...WELCOME!!! I am glad you thought to spend a few moments with my thoughts - and me, however much "in absentia." This being a "voice in space" stuff is a bit overwhelming! Smile.
---------------------------
Those not familiar with "Vinca Rosa" might wish to know that it is a plant from which various chemotherapy drugs are made. Its more widely known derivative plant name is the "Madagascar Periwinkle", and truly, it is a miracle gift in Nature. Note the following:
"Several vinca alkaloids are commercially utilized to treat certain cancers. Vinblastine, for example, is an alkaloid isolated from Vinca Rosa. Vinblastine sulfate is utilized clinically to treat Hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic lymphoma, histiocytic lymphoma,and breast cancer. Vincritine is another antitumor alkaloid isolated from Vinca rosa. Vindesine is a sythetic derivative of vinblastine. These and other vinca alkaloids are known to have a variety of antneoplastic activities."
.....reference "Patent Storm" article, re: U.S. Patent 5767110.
Although once again having to part with a loved one affected by cancer, I am hopeful that sharing information on Vinca Rosa will make its availability, worldwide, a thing of beauty and healing.
Hope you will enjoy some of my poetry and prose, in the weeks and months to come. I thought perhaps I would begin, anew, with this shared "thinking introduction." Enjoy!
---------------------------
Those not familiar with "Vinca Rosa" might wish to know that it is a plant from which various chemotherapy drugs are made. Its more widely known derivative plant name is the "Madagascar Periwinkle", and truly, it is a miracle gift in Nature. Note the following:
"Several vinca alkaloids are commercially utilized to treat certain cancers. Vinblastine, for example, is an alkaloid isolated from Vinca Rosa. Vinblastine sulfate is utilized clinically to treat Hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic lymphoma, histiocytic lymphoma,and breast cancer. Vincritine is another antitumor alkaloid isolated from Vinca rosa. Vindesine is a sythetic derivative of vinblastine. These and other vinca alkaloids are known to have a variety of antneoplastic activities."
.....reference "Patent Storm" article, re: U.S. Patent 5767110.
Although once again having to part with a loved one affected by cancer, I am hopeful that sharing information on Vinca Rosa will make its availability, worldwide, a thing of beauty and healing.
Hope you will enjoy some of my poetry and prose, in the weeks and months to come. I thought perhaps I would begin, anew, with this shared "thinking introduction." Enjoy!
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