Tiny Protest

Well, I made a small foray into activism. I had this brainy idea of a digital protest against the war. But I needed some help and found it was surprisingly difficult. People either couldn't put themselves out there or simply forgot or whatever. Plus, I am not technologically savvy so the time required versus the skills I had did not line up. But over and over, I kept thinking of what General Kelly said in his article in the Washington Post in February. It's not the dissent he is against, he wrote, it's the indifference.

I hope everyone finds time and space in this long holiday weekend to think about where they stand on the war or marriage rights or other pressing issues and ask themselves, "What can I do?" Nothing seems dissrespectful to those who will live with the ramifications of our inactions.

I don't pretend to have answers. But what is real and true is that I care.

Thanks again, to Winona360 and Kate, for indulging me with time and space and encouragement. "No," said Kate. "Don't give up. This is good. It's relevant. Keep at it." Ugh. Ok. "Well," she said, "we can't to that, but we could do this. Have you though about...?" and back and forth we would go. She was my own little-engine-that-could bringing me over the final hill.

Thanks, also, to past, present, and future protestors and activists. This little experiment of mine gives me new found appreciation for those who doggedly purse causes on behalf of the greater good. It is tough and defeating, and my miniscule efforts barely scratched the surface. Did I give my all? Probably not. But with the time and resources available to me, I made a step and today, for me, this is what matters.

My Tiny Protest
With the utmost respect and sincere appreciation to those who have served and who are serving, I thank you for your time and your efforts and the hours in spent in tedium and danger. It is in my humble opinion that I think you should come home to us and spend some time with your families and begin the long process of acclimating yourself to a life you may have forgotten. And to all of those families who have lost loved ones on behalf of our country, words are pointless. This is my tiny offering of protest and gratitude.

http://www.winona360.org/winona360/article/op-ed-what-protester-looks

The Last Puff

The Wilfahrt dragon, Puff, who is incredibly un-magical in broad day light, has taken a nosedive into the great garbage can in the sky. Bye-bye freaky green paper-mache' creature with teeth made out of egg crates and tufted corn stalks spray painted silver for scales. Big Man, the creator, was surprisingly unsentimental about his 2010 Halloween piece de resistance. With a shrug he said, "Making him was the fun part." Oh yes, the labor, the hours spent sketching, creating, painting, contrapting, the weirdness of this thing attached to our kitchen chair for what seemed like months isn't exactly how I characterize fun . But it was never about me. And now Puff is waiting to be taken away. Currently perched not-quite-so in the garbage can that gave him life, I realize Big Man is right.

I will not walk out and retrieve him to return with tears streaming down my face.

I will let go.

Easily.

This time.

How to get the most bang for your buck.

For $20, rent a sea kayak and give it a go. It's fun. Ok, only kind-of fun. Truly, it depends on your company. But, in a small amount of time, a lot can happen. This makes the return on your investment high. If you have spent any time reading this blog, you are well aware of our history, but consider this example anyway and learn from our mistakes.

Don't take a Thing who has well-versed knowledge of ocean creatures and another Thing who likes rules and is not afraid to repeat them, often, when they are not being followed. It becomes even more interesting when your kayak has a broken rudder which makes the boat really hard to turn. Since you know how to paddle, it shouldn't be so hard. But maybe, just maybe, you will be too distracted. Thing 2 will wail about getting a closer look than he really wanted at the hammerhead shark certainly (NOT) lurking below the surface. As you bob and drift along the coastline in the warm June sun, Big Man will try to gently knock your boat in the right direction by physically running his kayak into yours. Both Things take this as some sort of war declaration. Soon a sort of messy oar battle will begin. The parents will stare at each other helplessly. One parent will laugh and the other will pray for some sort of divine intervention. Lobster boats will come and go and with them a constant stream of wakes. These are supposed to be avoided at all costs according to a brief ( 30 seconds) "instructional" session. Thing 1 will have tears streaming down her face because it will be clear that all sort of rules are being broken. "Lost at sea! We are lost at sea!" might become a mantra even though the shore line is clearly in view.

In kayaks built for two, one hour was spent on the water on a beautiful day in Coastal Maine. The shore was barely 15 feet away, and yet clearly we are gifted at wringing out copious amounts of drama in a setting worthy of a post card.

Some (my mom and dad) will say Things come by it naturally (I wasn't just handed that outstanding female drama student award, thank you), others (Big Man) will simply shrug, and I will likely forget this whole thing. At least until the next opportunity for adventure presents itself. Probably, I will reflect too briefly at what we have to offer to the situation at hand. At the very least, I will think, we often get more than we bargain for--history is on our side with that one.

7 and almost 2

Thing 2 got to try his hand at big brotherhood. Toddler cousin is nearing 2, ripening well into his new roll. This means frequent exclamations of "No!", those wonderful assertions of independence at inopportune moments. We all know it's the parents who are put out. The toddler could care less. Thing 2 handled this tumultuous point in his cousin's life with skills that rivaled an expert CEO, vaudeville entertainer, and top-notch little league coach. Stern reprimands could be heard when Toddler was closing in on dangerous terrain, wild squeals of glee errupted during seemingly unending games of chase, and praise was lauded when Toddler followed directions. Thing 2 clearly learned none of this from me. Toddlers were hard for me. Probably because I can't rid myself of ' it's my way or the highway' mindset.

At any rate, it made me think again of David Brook's recent assertion that we need to be more concerned about raising people who can get along than the types of vocations they pursue and where they pursue them.

My time in Maine gave me a small glimpse of what two boys may become. I liked what I saw. And just for a moment, I could relax.