Gnome's Pen Digs Deep

It makes no sense to me now to worry about *not* writing a poem every week to hand in to my professor. I awoke at three o'clock in the morning with a few phrases swirling inside my head. Despite fatigue and clever warnings about writing something that has come to my head seemingly in a flash, I made my way to the other room and started tapping on the keyboard. The result seems a nice poem, ten per cent good, and the rest of its excellency depends on anyone else's taste. Taste brings me to another concern of mine these days: Define the term "taste."

Another Woman Having Fun: Fourth in a Series

Top medical gal at Duke, Dr. Nancy Andrews.

Farewell to the Feisty. We Will Miss You.

Toby Talbot's image of Grace Paley for the Associated Press.

Gnome Soon to Exhibit

I have begun my preparations for an exhibit at the public library. My theme will be "Women." Other members of my photography club will exhibit their work along with mine.

Gnome's Friend from another Dimension

So, this morning I was thinking that I needed to read aloud the poem I had started a couple of months ago while in Delphi, so I printed it, stood in the middle of the room, and began to read it out loud. At the same time, the volume of the stereo increased and I started to hear, loudly, Chopin’s Etude #12, so loudly, that I stopped my reading. It’s my friend Jeff; I know it’s him, because the poem is about him. The music ended when my poem ended, and the volume has now decreased. I sit here shaking my head and delighted, too, that Jeff likes my poem, and has even put it to music.

Gnome and Maasai Warrior

Here I am pointing on my digital camera at the image I took of him, but he wouldn't look at it, though he hovered over me the whole time. In two vastly differently cultures, humans remain the same. This photo was taken by Mike Davis during chuckles.

Great Women of the World: Wangari Maathai

In reading Wangari's memoir, I came upon something she told to a reporter in 1992: "A woman politician needs the hyde of an elephant." Likewise, in the United States, women such as Elizabeth Dole, Geraldine Ferraro, today Nancy Pelosi and most notably Hillary Clinton, develop methods to shield themselves from the jabs of their detractors. With time (one of many true friends) and persistence, a woman develops a "thick skin" -- perhaps thicker than the skin of some of the men around her -- that enables her to proceed with the equanimity she needs to make weighty decisions, to sleep well during her naps and in the evenings, and to maintain emotional and physical health.
I consider Wangari's memoir relevant reading for everyone, environmentalists especially.
"Unbound, One Woman's Story," published by William Heinemann:London. 2006.