Revisiting My Tree From 6 Days Ago

"The magic of autumn has seized the countryside; now that the sun isn't ripening anything it shines for the sake of the golden age; for the sake of Eden; to please the moon for all I know."

~Elizabeth Coatsworth, Personal Geography: Almost An Autobiography

Just a update on the progress of my favorite autumn tree. I know it was less than a week ago that I posted the first offering in this new series, and now I am posting fairly soon thereafter. I will try to designate Saturday's for my updates so I don't overwhelm anyone with my autumn obsession. 

LOL! Did you believe me just then? Oh, I kid you gentle reader, I am totally going to both obsess on autumn, and overwhelm you with pictures of the turning leaves! LOL or should I say...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

But it's just so beautiful... isn't it?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Respite

"Maybe there's a whole other universe where a square moon rises in the sky, and the stars laugh in cold voices, and some of the triangles have four sides, and some have five, and some have five raised to the fifth power of sides. In this universe there might grow roses which sing.

 Everything leads to everything."

~Stephen King

One last photo from my visit to the Flight 93 Memorial, in Union City, Ca. This is the 9/11 Flight 93 Rose which was created in honor of the men and women who lost their lives that day in Pennsylvania. As a rose enthusiast, I was quite taken by it's beauty. It's dark red in the shade, but bright, vibrant red when the sun is directly on it. It's amazing. I may have to order one next year to add to my own garden. It would be a perfect, permanent, remembrance of the best of humanity.

As you can see, there is a little green and black bug that stopped by for a little respite. I think he looks amazing against the crimson red of the rose. That little guy made me smile. The folks who planned and implemented the garden did an amazing job. It's thoughtful, and serene, yet there are all kinds of little touches that remind on of hope. Like this rose. I am so glad I finally went.

Mood:Good/Hopeful

~Me :)

Flight 93 National Memorial

9/11 Flight 93 Rose

September 11th, 2001... He Said Hello, Then I Said Hello, And The World Changed

"We are all ordinary, we are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day."

~Brad Meltzer

September 11th, 2001

I think to a degree, I am still dealing with what happened on September 11th, 2001. It still seems so surreal... and yet all too real! I remember Alan calling me on the phone, to tell me what had happened, but his words now seem blurry. I do remember that what he was telling seeming so absolutely absurd. You see I had been sleeping really deep that morning, a rarity for me at the time, so when his phone call came I was still in a bit of a dream state. But as I picked up the phone, and before Alan said anything, I mused to myself that the very same episode of  I Love Lucy, on TV Land that I had fallen asleep to after he left for work, was playing again. How odd!

Then I said hello and he said hello and the world changed.

It was all just so FUCKING ABSURD.

Just so absurd.

Yesterday, after years of putting it off, I paid a visit to the Flight 93 Memorial in Union City, California. I don't know why I have been avoiding it... (silence) but I have. But yesterday, was a day that wasn't very different than September 11th, 2001 in temperature and color of the sky. So, I got my cameras out, and made the trek. I was glad I did. It is a peaceful place, filled with remembrance and tributes. It has a beautiful tree, planted with actual dirt taken from the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where the plane crashed. It's leaves are beginning to change. It's beautiful. It's hopeful. There is a pathway, with monuments marking the names of each of the passengers and crew members. And there is an American flag, and at it's base small artistic tiles, done by young people of many Bay Area schools.

After all these years, (silence) it's still so FUCKING ABSURD!

Today, I am also remembering the lives of David and Lynn Angell, who were killed on September 11th, 2001, when the plane they were in, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Thank you David and Lynn, once again, for all the laughter and joy you brought to so many, and all you did for the children who needed you. 
I will remember you always!

It is an honor to remember this couple, and I will continue to do so for as long as I can. I got to know them, and about their life, when I honored them for the 9/11 Project, several years ago. They were extraordinary people, who made the world a better place. Please, if you are unfamiliar with David and Lynn Angell's life and work, take a moment to visit the links below. 

David Angell *Wikipedia

The Angell Foundation - David And Lynn Angell Biography

Union City Dedicates A Memorial To 9/11's Flight 93

Mood: Reflective

~Me

Insomnia

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon."

~Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown's Little Book of Wisdom

Is there anything better than a late afternoon nap, on a hot summer afternoon? I like to turn up the air conditioning really high, then climb under a bunch of blankets. And I always have my little babies, Hendrix, Dylan and Joey, right next to me. It's wonderful. And I can always find sleep in the afternoon, but somehow, at bedtime, sleep is nowhere to be seen. I know, I know... don't nap in the afternoon, and I will probably be able to sleep when it's time for bed. But I have tried that, and it doesn't work. I guess I just love the night life or something.

Shrug.

Naps are good... naps have their place.

Mood: Sleepy

~Me :)

World Events...

 

 "Even a blind squirrel will finds an acorn sometimes."

~Proverb

This post doesn't feature a new photo, or a photo from the archives that hasn't been previously posted, but that's okay I think. I love this photo, and the memory of haven taken it. Alan and I were on vacation, on the 17 Mile drive in Monterey, and this little guy had just been attacked by a rather large, mean, seagull! Fortunately, Alan jumped to the rescue, yelled and waved his arm at the mean bird and chased off, probably saving this little guys life! The poor squirrel was so frightened that he just stood in place, on that rock, as his whole body shook from fear. It broke my heart. But he finally calmed down, and went about his business... he was fine... I never forgot him!

And now a little wisdom from Mark Twain

"Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute. Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that he is the Unreasoning Animal... In truth, man is incurably foolish. Simple things which other animals easily learn, he is incapable of learning. Among my experiments was this. In an hour I taught a cat and a dog to be friends. I put them in a cage. In another hour I taught them to be friends with a rabbit. In the course of two days I was able to add a fox, goose, a squirrel and some doves. Finally a monkey. They lived together in peace; even affectionately.

Next, in another cage I confined an Irish Catholic from Tipperary, and as soon as he seemed tame I added a Scotch Presbyterian from Aberdeen. Next a Turk from Constantinople; a Greek Christian from Crete; an Armenian; a Methodist from the wilds of Arkansas; a Buddhist from China; a Brahman from Benares. Finally, a Salvation Army Colonel from Wrapping. Then I stayed away for two while days. When I came back to note results, the cage of Higher Animals was all right, but in the other there was but a chaos of gory odds and ends of turbans and fezzes and plaids and bones and flesh... not a specimen left alive. These Reasoning Animals had disagreed on a theological detail and carried the matter to a Higher Court."

~Mark Twain

 Letters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings

Mood: Okay/Happy/Good... I'm Good!

~Me :)

As The Sun Sets Over Marin County In January

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

but to add color to my sunset sky."

~Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

From the archives, but not previously posted, here is one of my favorite sights in winter... a sunset sitting softly over Marin County. I swear no other season like winter, produces this kind of beauty! Yes, sunsets happen all times of the year, but there is just something about bundling all up in my warm coat, gloves, scarf, hat to keep me as warm on the outside, as a sight like this makes me feel on the inside.

Beautiful.

I will say it again, with a sunset like this, how could anything bad possibly happen?

Mood: Nostalgic

~Me :)

Winter Swoosh

"The problem with winter sports is that

...follow me closely here.. 

they generally take place in winter."

~Dave Barry

Okay, so I don't absolutely hate winter. In fact, I kinda love winter. That is the one time of the year when California is most likely to see actual weather. Rain, cold breezes, even the occasional decent dusting on snow on Grizzly Peak Boulevard or other slightly higher peaks around the Bay Area! But one of my favorite parts of the colder months actually begins in late autumn, just before Thanksgiving, when all the area ice skating rinks open for the holidays. 

I just had to fit autumn in there a little.

Anyway, the rinks usually stay open a couple weeks into January, and it just wouldn't be the holiday season if we couldn't go to Embarcadro Center or Union Square and watch folks swoosh on the ice. Oh how I wish I could join them, but I never learned how, and now with my arthritic knee it would probably be impossible, but it's okay. Sometimes watching someone else have fun is just as fun as actually participating! I love watching the young ones, trying to teach the parental ones. That always makes me smile!

Swoosh.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)