Immigrants

Friends Dan and Madeline recently crossed over South Pass. Here is part of what they wrote in their blog:

"Large numbers of Americans emigrated west in the 1800’s on the Oregon, Mormon and California trails. In fact, the Western states were all settled by immigrants, many of them traveling under extremely dangerous circumstances. Many died. South Pass and Fort Bridger are now nearly deserted, but were once the site of many people passing to new homes.
We need to remember we are a nation of immigrants, who have largely displaced the Native Americans, the original inhabitants. This should give us pause when we see people who in very dangerous circumstance come to our country seeking an opportunity for a better life, much as were those who passed through South Pass and Fort Bridger, less than a hundred years ago."

This is a terribly important observation! The people coming across our south border today are coming for quite different reasons from those described by Dan and Madeline. However, we should remember that indeed we are all immigrants in this world. Somehow, we have to begin to think of creative ways we can deal with those coming across our southern border, in ways that will help them and help us as well.

Palestine, Israel, Lebanon........

With tears in my heart, I hear the news coming from Israel, Palestine, Lebanon.... How difficult it is for us here in the US, so far away, to realize the terror of such a situation. How do I respond? What do I say? A recent communicatikon from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship expresses well how I feel:

July 19, 2006
"During the past week, the world has been witness to a frightening drama unfolding in the Middle East, as Israel and Hezbollah are locked in an escalating conflict that neither party seems willing or able to diminish, and at the same time Israels operation in Gaza is creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

Each time such a situation comes to pass, we at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship are reminded of the Buddha's injunction that hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love.

These words are easy enough to say for those of us outside the conflict zone. We realize that life must feel quite different right now in a place like Beirut, Lebanon, where men, women, and children are under fire by Israeli bombers. Just today--July 19th--news sources report anywhere from 19 to 49 civilians have been killed by these air strikes, and more than 200 have been killed in the past week. And we empathize with the citizens of Haifa, Israel, and in other areas along the northern border where at least 30 people have been killed. There, wise words from any religious tradition may seem irrelevant with rockets landing in backyards and people injured or dying. For those of us who have never lived in a war zone, it may be impossible to realize just how stressful such a situation is and how easy to succumb to the practice of retaliation in the name of protecting ones own people.

Still, it is up to all of us in the global community to speak clearly for sanity amidst this insane march toward destruction, and to hold up the truth that violence only perpetuates more violence. And we must take actions to support this belief and to support our sisters and brothers in Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, and the entire Middle East."

The beauty of Cedar Rapids

Ah, Cedar Rapids.....
A June trip back to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reminded us of the beauty we have known there. It was a wonderful time of visiting old friends. But we also saw again the corn fields spread across the rolling countryside, and the rain dripping from the trees, the vetch along the highways, flowers beneath the trees, blackberries ripening..... all these reminded us again of the beauty we have known there. We walked down along the street, when 2 small fawns came out of the trees. At first I thought they might come right up to us, but they sensed danger, and went back into the trees where mother waited, perhaps with some concern. Someone told me how many of these beautiful creatures are in the city limits of Cedar Rapids. We enjoy their beauty, but also there are conflicts when they go into the busy streets.
While there is beauty, while there are wonderful friends, we also find sorrow. Our dear friend, Louise is dying of lung cancer. Maybe that last hug was the last hug we will share..... But the fawns will be dying. The flowers give us their beauty and then they are gone. Even the ancient rolling hills slowly move and change. Everything is change, and there is wonder and beauty in change. I, too, am old, and my bones tell me that dying is indeed part of living. What a wonder it is to be alive! What a wonder it is to see the beautiful fawns, and all the little children. I know that when we are gone, Louise, life will be here. Life, and the world, goes on....

A picture of me.....

Here is a picture of me along with my brothers and sisters. I'm on the right and going left, Fritzie, Bud, Jackie with Stanley, Alice Jane. The structure to the left of us is the old well. There was a pulley under the roof of the well and over it was a rope with a bucket at each end. You would let one bucket into the well and the other would come up. Bring up a bucket of water and the next bucket was going down, ready to bring up a second bucket of water. It was good, cold water. The house is at the far left, barely seen. Behind the well and Jane is the storeroom, where we stored a lot of stuff. Just to the right of me are jasmines. How wonderful they were in the sunmmer, with hummingbirds on them. Despite great changes, a lot of earth removed to make the new road, some of the jasmines still grow and bloom. Those were the good old days.....