
-Woody Allen
When Reincarnation Goes Bad...
Bootsy Von MacInerney, learned the hard way that one should never apply for reincarnation on April Fools Day!
-OndineMonet
"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
-Christopher Reeve
When Nancy, author of the journal, "Nancy Luvs Pix,"came up with the idea of "Obstruction" for our challenge, I was challenged indeed. Right off, I couldn't think of what I might post for the entry. It seems I hadn't taken a lot of photos, this past year, that really fell into that category. I did remember however, that there was an unusual barrier that encircles the base of my very favorite place to get away from life's troubles, Fort Point, which sits just beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.
One day last week, I went out to the bridge to relax, and get a few more photos for this challenge.I have always been interested in the two unusual plaques that are attached to the fence,so, I thought this might be a good time to inquire about them. One of the plaques is of a pair of paw prints, the other is of a pair of hands. The story, as I came to find out, was life affirming and profound.
The plaque of the hands is named, "Hopper's Hands," in honor of, Ken Hopper, an iron worker on the Golden Gate Bridge. According to a 2001 article about Mr. Hopper, in the 17 years he had worked on the bridge, had successfully talked 30 people into not committing suicide, by jumping into the cold, foggy waters of the San Francisco Bay. It is estimated that as many as 1,300 may have jumped to their deaths from the bridge, since it's opening in April of 1937. One day an ironworker, working at the bridge, decided to do something to try and help one of those poor lost souls.
The ironworkers who continually work on the bridge are known by several nicknames. "Cowboys in the Sky,""Men of Steel,"but do they have some special training to be able to save a suicidal person? Nope...they simply care THAT much. Although, they have been coached by suicide prevention experts, and sometimes, there will be a police psychologist to assist the men by radio, most of the time they will be on their own to talk the person down. A dangerous job to be sure. , they never quite know who or what they might be facing. Once, a distraught man pulled a knife on an ironworker, yet another was bitten by a woman he had pulled over to safety.
Hopper, and the other ironworkers who volunteer to respond to calls of a possible suicidal person, are on call for this duty 24/7. With each call, at least two will respond, and they employ a number of methods for talking the suicidal person out of killing themselves. The ironworkers all take their turns. When asked why they perform this service, Hopper replied, "We are the only one's dumb enough to do it." The ironworkers have the knowledge, and equipment for the bridge that allows them to be safer then most who might try to help.
Hopper remembers every one of the 30 people he saved, but still remembers the two he lost. One night a man tossed his young child off the bridge, and then threw himself in. After a while, the experiences all became too much for him, and he retired his name from the call list. In time, with a little help for himself, he once again had his name added back onto the call list, to make himself available as an obstruction between the cold water of the bay, and those who feel all their hope is gone. Hopper, and those like him, are the kind of obstacles we pray will come our way.
Note: It is a long standing tradition for the joggers who visit the Fort Point area, to high five, "Hopper's Hands" as they turn around. It's a good feeling to watch that happen...it's a good place to visit, and a good place to remember to count your blessings. As for the second plaque I mentioned. Well, the story goes that the ironworkers noticed that a certain female jogger, who always gave "Hoppers Hands" a "high five" also had her dog touch the plaque, so one day they decided to make a special plate for the canine friends who visit the fence. :)
"One day, if I do go to heaven...I'll look around and say, 'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco."
-Herb Caen
Please pay a visit to the other Round Robin participants, and if you would like to play along, just drop by the official Round Robin Journal, read the entry for this challenge, and the Welcome Entry & Rules Of Play, and you are all set. :)
1. Nancy: Nancy Luvs Pix
2. Karen: Outpost Mavarin
3. Dorn: Through The Eyes Of The Beholder
4. Julie: Julie's Web Journal
5. Jessica: QuickSilver
5. Sara: Animated Seasons
6. T. J. Photo Inclusions: Every Picture Tells A Story
7. Tammy: The Daily Warrior
8. Steven: (sometimes photoblog)
9. Carly: Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly
10. Valorie: Keeping Our Human Mother On Her Toes
-OndineMonet
"Fort Point Barrier" "Hopper's Hands"
Fort Point/Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco, California
March 25th, 2006
Afternoon
The Fabled Ondine
Born not of air, not of earth
But of the wave, searching ever
For the heart of a mortal man.
Ondine, exquisite spirit of the sea
Forming mind showers of it's braided
Glittering spray
And haunting sirens call
To the mortal man who came to her
By way of a haunted sea
A mortal to love for a moment...or all eternity.
Pat, author of the journal, "Here, There and Everywhere 2nd Edition," has asked the Blogsphere to tell her the story of how we chose our screen names. I have shared this story once before on my AOL Journal, but I haven't shared about it since I moved to Blogspot. So, here is how I came up with the name "OndineMonet." It was an easy choice for me, I simply blended my favorite legend, the mermaid Ondine, and my favorite artist, Claude Monet.
The name Ondine has been given to many different things. There is a restaurant in Sausalito, California, a band, a faucet company, and even a curse. But it is the 3 act ballet, "Ondine" which was written especially for Margot Fonteyne, by Frederick Ashton, that I enjoy the most. The ballet is based on the legend that tells of Ondine's transcendent journey to live with the mortal seafarer she had lost her heart to. His name was Palemon, but through her metamorphosis from sea nymph to human woman, she began to age, in time she lost her otherworldly beauty to her mortality. One day Ondine found the man she so desperaretly loved, had given himself to another and she, in her despair, cursed the man. The man from whom she first heart the human heartbeat. With a kiss from Ondine, he dies and she takes him home with her to the sea...for eternity. Ondine is sometimes spelled "Undine" in German folklore.
The poem, which I put at the top of this entry, sent to me by a lovely lady I met one day, who came by to visit my art journal, "Ellipsis...The Moonlight Gallery." She had left me a comment that many year's ago, there was a perfume named Ondine, and she just happened to have saved the poem that was written for the perfumes ad. Holly and I marveled at how wonderful it can be to to discover something lovely, such as an obscure poem, and not realize how it can touch someone years later. Someone we have no idea we will meet. If not for the Internet, I would never have met Holly, and I, would have never heard of this poem. I am not sure if I ever shared this with Holly, but the day she emailed it to me, was just awful, but getting this simple poem, and her act of kindness, completely lifted my spirits...for the rest of the week in fact. Things happen for a reason...this was no coincidence, I believe I was destined to meet Holly, and like all I have met through my journal...I am so glad I did. :) Thanks again Holly!
As for Monet, well he has been my favorite Impressionist painter, since I was a small child. The first time I saw Monet's "Water Lillies," I was amazed. I couldn't take my eyes off it. The colors, the way it seemed to flow on a gentle breeze. It has remained one of my very favorite pieces of art, my whole life. As you can see by the photo below, #3, I have been inspired at times, to try taking photos with an impressionist feel. This is not easy to do. So much has to be working in your favor. I just happened to get lucky one day last year, while visiting the Japanese Tea Garden, in Golden Gate Park. The flowers in garden had just begun to bloom, and there was a very gentle breeze flowing up into the garden from the Pacific ocean, which is about 3 blocks from the garden. The sky was slightly cloudy, which allowed for some interesting shadow play.
I have to say...it was one of the best days I had with the camera last spring. A truly peaceful and mind soothing day. I came home exhausted, but oh-so-calm. So, that's it. I got my screen name from a mermaid legend, and my favorite artist. :) Now, have some fun, and share about your screen name with Pat. As she says, "write up and entry and comeback and leave here a link." Just follow the link below. Thanks Pat, for the awesome idea! Also, drop by and say hello to Holly, she is a lovely lady, whose kindess I have always appreciated.
-OndineMonet
Pat "Here, There, and Everywhere 2nd Edition"
Holly "Diary of a Mad Angry Displaced Replaced Housewife"
1. Ondine's Cliff-Artist Unknown
2. Ondine's Village-Artist Unknown
3. Ondine's Moments(Retired)-OndineMonet -GGP, San Francisco, 2004
4. Water Lillies 1916 -Claude Monet
"People don't come to church for preachments, of course, but to daydream about God."
-Kurt Vonnegut
I don't often speak about religion here on my blog, but something happened last week, during one of President Bush's press conferences, that I found particularly interesting. Since I haven't seen a lot about it, in either the mainstream media or in the blogsphere, I thought I might try to open a dialog about it here. I am interested in what you think about the connection between George Bush, and the Apocalypse.
Now wait before you answer, you should know I haven't gone off the deep end of things, I don't believe George Bush is the Anti-Christ, I do wonder however, about some of the decisions he makes, given that he claims to be a Christian. I am concerned sometimes about the assertion from some members of the far right, that if one is a Liberal and a Democrat then therefore there is no way one could also be a Christian. I am here to tell you, and show you, that I am living proof of such. I have been happily enjoying a relationship with Christ for many years, but not all of the years were as happy and content as they are right now. See, when I was attending regular church services, I came out of those services feeling worse then when I went in.
I couldn't take the sermons, week after week, encouraging me to hate my neighbor. The church I was attending had been robbed of some expensive items, several times, and from the pulpit week after week came the same message, that the people in the area around the church were to be feared and loathed. They were stealing from the church to buy drugs or alcohol. There was no real proof of who had broke into the church, let alone what their motive was, so how could I possibly embrace the thought that I needed to automatically hate whoever did this to my church family? I asked once, "Why are we not going door to door in the neighborhood, to preach and share about our church with local families?" I never really got a good answer to that question. Why do we humans always seem to hate what we don't understand?
How does this apply to President Bush? Well, last week during a visit to Cleveland Ohio to promote the war in Iraq, a women who was in the audience made a reference to a recently published book that says, "members of the Bush administration have reached out to prophetic Christians, who see the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism as signs of the apocalypse." She then asked, "Do you believe that the war in Iraq and rise of terrorism are signs of the apocalypse?" Bush responded, amid laughter from members of the audience, "The answer is, " he said and paused, "I mean I haven't really thought of it that way. First I've heard of it by the way." I thought about the question for a moment, then considered the rest of his answer, "I guess I think more practical then that." What could be more practical, from a Christian standpoint, then the contemplation of how the world, and it's inhabitants are progressing spiritually?
If you are a Christian or have studied the bible, then you know the signs of the apocalypse are quite clear, and so is the suggestion that we not waste our lives looking for it, because it will come "as a thief in the night." There are however, clear signs we will see which will be leading up to the end of days. War & rumors of wars, the earth will experience "birthpains." Man will turn against man. It won't be a very pleasant time at all.
Now, every generation has speculated about the end of days, it is something to consider. Many a cult has been based on those fears. Personally, I don't fear the end of the world, I mean, what can I do? Can I hold back God when he says, enough is enough? It's the times leading up to those last few moments on earth that concern me. When researching for this entry, I came across all kinds of opinions about whether or not we are in the end times. One particular opinion that struck me was the thought, from a far right web site, that believes we shouldn't care about Global Warming, because we are already at the end of days. I don't know about you, but isn't that when we should care the most? As a Christian, I believe God gave us an amazing gift...THE PLANET EARTH...and because of the toxins we have put into the ozone, we may have begun something that we have no way to reverse.
The United States leads the world in the amount of toxins we put into the air. Recently, the Bush administration tried to stop a top NASA scientist from reporting his findings on the effects of Global Warming. We already know we are facing another year of stronger then average storms, when hurricane season begins in June. Why do you suppose President Bush pays such little attention to our environment? Why has he been so complacent when it comes to having enough medication for all Americans, should our worst fears come to life, and we experience a pandemic in the United States? How can a man, who claims to have a close relationship with God not be concerned about these issues? Why has he ignored the terrible conditions around the world, such as the near genocide happening right now in the Sudan?
I could give you the laundry list of what has changed in our environment in the last 25 years, in the last 10 years, in the last 3 years, but I give you credit for realizing what's happening around you. If you hadn't heard, about the polar bears that are drowning because of the ice melting beneath them, or how much the temperature in the Atlantic ocean risen, or the unprecedented amount of discoveries of new species of animals, then you may want to do some research and decide for yourself what might be happening. Sigh. Tonight on AOL news, is a report about the possibility of a large earthquake occurring here in the East Bay, of the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live. It has some startling facts that we in California tend to not think about, until we have a series of tremblers like we have had recently reminds us of our complacency. We don't have a certain weather to serve as an indicator, or a certain time of year, to shore up for. As a result, our earthquakes come suddenly, like a thief in the night.
I don't worry about the end of the world happening in my lifetime, because I try my best to remember the teachings of God. Not the teachings of ANY mortal man. Our ministers are there to guide us, and I don't make a sweeping generalization that all ministers are missing the mark, but unfortunately, the ones I have met so far left me with the distinct feeling that in order to truly be loved by God, I had to have the approval of the teacher teaching me. I had to be right with God, according to the minister's assessment of me. That meant falling into line, and hating all the right things, and all the right people. Almost as if there was a political correctness that was taking place in church. I can't do it. I can't put that much faith in any one mortal man, be it minister or politician.
So tell me, do you think we are in the end of days? Share with me what you think might be the signs, if you do believe we are there. Do you think today's churches are run more politically then in the past? What do you see as the biggest obstacle facing the world wide Christian community today? If you aren't a believer, I still want to know what your thoughts are. Please feel free to tell me what you think. Your comments are always safe here, as I have said before, all comments are welcome, provided they are made with respect.
Article Links
"Bush Explains Confidence In Iraq Progress" USA Today
"Happy Doomsday To You" Washington Post
"Next Big Quake?" AOL News
"Analysis: Defining Genocide" BBC
-OndineMonet
"In Autumn"
Yuba Gap
October, 2005
Afternoon