The Writer's Almanac
Years ago, when I had to commute over 30 miles to work each day, I used to listen to 'The Writer's Almanac' on our local classical station. It was the one bright spot of my long journey each morning. Then, the station decided to make some changes and discontinued the broadcast. Honestly, I was despondent, going so far as to write a letter to the station and call to complain - which is certainly uncharacteristic of me...
Today, while visiting woodge.com, I hit a link to someone else's website where I found, to my utter surprise and delight, a link to The Writer's Almanac on the Web!
Please check it out for daily inspiration!
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
DAY OF THE DEAD
October *Sigh*
Autumn is here again. The air is cooler and the end of Daylight Savings time is blessedly near. I don't care WHO you are, another hour of sleep is always a good thing!
It is the month of the beginning of holiday preparations and celebrations, beginning with Halloween, that ubiquitous day when it's PC to openly pretend we are something other than we are.
This year, I'm adding a personal celebration of a new holiday to my current culture. I'm planning on celebrating the Day of the Dead on Nov. 1st and 2nd.
Yeah, I know, we Westerners, especially in North America find death to be a morbid subject, one not worthy of notice, until it is too late. But, on inspecting the holiday further, in my own personal way, I've seen that it is one way we can take back some modicum of control that is lost when we lose our loved ones to death. It's been over a year since we lost our parents and the pain is as close to the surface as ever. Sometimes it feels like it is threatening my sanity. I'm hoping that the humor and the consciousness of a celebration of The Day of The Dead will put life and death into another context.
If you've never seen the movie 'Frida', I suggest you do so, if you want to begin to understand the Mexican culture that created the Day of The Dead. There is a resilience in the face of hardship and death in these people. They revere and yet laugh at death, embrace and encircle themselves with the concept. Somehow, I don't understand why, but it helps.
In this year, when the smell of death seems to follow every newscast from Iraq and Israel/Palestine, it may do us all some good to look it squarely in the eyes and decide, what, if anything, should be done to prevent the violence. We, as a nation, have a lot to ponder in the next year. Are we going to allow this current Administration to continue to invite death upon us and all those we touch? Are we going to keep sending our youngsters to the Middle East to die in the desert and draw fire from those we invaded and are now occupying?
I hope not.
October *Sigh*
Autumn is here again. The air is cooler and the end of Daylight Savings time is blessedly near. I don't care WHO you are, another hour of sleep is always a good thing!
It is the month of the beginning of holiday preparations and celebrations, beginning with Halloween, that ubiquitous day when it's PC to openly pretend we are something other than we are.
This year, I'm adding a personal celebration of a new holiday to my current culture. I'm planning on celebrating the Day of the Dead on Nov. 1st and 2nd.
Yeah, I know, we Westerners, especially in North America find death to be a morbid subject, one not worthy of notice, until it is too late. But, on inspecting the holiday further, in my own personal way, I've seen that it is one way we can take back some modicum of control that is lost when we lose our loved ones to death. It's been over a year since we lost our parents and the pain is as close to the surface as ever. Sometimes it feels like it is threatening my sanity. I'm hoping that the humor and the consciousness of a celebration of The Day of The Dead will put life and death into another context.
If you've never seen the movie 'Frida', I suggest you do so, if you want to begin to understand the Mexican culture that created the Day of The Dead. There is a resilience in the face of hardship and death in these people. They revere and yet laugh at death, embrace and encircle themselves with the concept. Somehow, I don't understand why, but it helps.
In this year, when the smell of death seems to follow every newscast from Iraq and Israel/Palestine, it may do us all some good to look it squarely in the eyes and decide, what, if anything, should be done to prevent the violence. We, as a nation, have a lot to ponder in the next year. Are we going to allow this current Administration to continue to invite death upon us and all those we touch? Are we going to keep sending our youngsters to the Middle East to die in the desert and draw fire from those we invaded and are now occupying?
I hope not.
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