tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58961014448953092812024-03-14T07:04:52.245-07:00From Paige to PageHere are my Rita Mae Brown letters and Bear messages. The first couple RMB letters explain their purpose. They are sent to her via the US Postal Service and I am forever grateful to her for allowing the letters to flow. I am adding some fiction shorts now on the "Writings" page. I hope you find something here of significance, something that brightens your day, entertains you, or touches you in some way. All my best to you.Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.comBlogger397125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-79945297338477046092024-01-01T10:33:00.000-08:002024-01-01T10:34:38.816-08:001/1/2024 HAPPY NEW YEAR!<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">1/1/2024 HAPPY NEW YEAR!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Fellow Travelers, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Every New Year has its own new
beginnings, a fresh start, a new-ish feel. If we could bottle this and drink
from it daily, each day would hold its own delightful newness. Perhaps we can.
I will endeavor to do so. Will you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It is a challenge to feel optimistic
these days with wars raging, politics fracturing countries, Mother Earth showing
us the results of our actions, and our everyday hurdles. Yet there are still blessings
to behold and silver linings to discover. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Sharing joys, giving thanks,
reminding each other how important we are to one another and being kind to
ourselves, all such things brighten our world. And that brightness can reach
the dark corners. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As the line from Puff the Magic Dragon
goes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Little Jackie Paper
loved that rascal Puff<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And brought him
strings, and sealing wax, and other fancy stuff”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Watch for the fancy stuff, like strings
and things, words and thoughts, leaves waving in the wind; some can be held,
some seen, and some felt. This moment holds eternity, it is eternity, all
bottled up and ready for us to drink it in. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Cheers! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-21524117258284414892021-12-31T12:08:00.000-08:002021-12-31T12:08:29.974-08:0012/31/21 RMB A Mother’s Light <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">12/31/21 RMB<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Mother’s Light<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">New Year’s Eve thoughts…The last two
months have felt like two years. Recent turmoil regarding health, home repairs,
jobs, family, oh yeah and the ongoing pandemic, have snowballed. Sometimes if feels
like we are grasping at straws just to hold on to some semblance of sanity, some
normality. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The author Mike Dooley surmises not
all thoughts are equal, that the positive outweighs the negative by ten thousand-fold.
I believe it. Those straws we are grasping at, they are golden, strong,
everlasting straws of hope and light. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The summer I turned nine, my father
introduced us to a pretty lady with short reddish-brown hair that drove a cool green
Nova. She was bright and lively. She was a kid at heart and loved to play games,
a rare adult who still relished having fun. She became our stepmother and
brought with her a new brother and sister into our family. Ensuing evenings were
spent drinking Alabama sweet tea and playing raucous games of Parcheesi, Yahtzee,
and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Patricia “Pat” Gulick taught
elementary school much of her life, often tutoring some kids after hours, collecting
clothes for those in need and helping the less fortunate any way she could. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Some months shy of fifty years
later, she remains young at heart. She still loves games and watching her
Alabama Roll Tide College Football games with her brother. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The challenges she faces now are big.
And when she said come visit me now, we did. From California we flew to spend a
few days with the lady who helped raise us, played games with us and shared her
life with us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Her love of music and art live on in
our memories and belongings as we enjoy all that she created and gave to us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">On one of those few precious mornings
with her, I emerged from the spare room to her sing song voice “Good mooooorning”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She visited with us every day to
tell stories and share her history. Those words, those moments, and the time we
still have with her, they are loaded with those golden straws of light,
laughter and love. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Seizing the light, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-50236798466811760552021-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:002021-10-31T10:44:01.631-07:0010/31/21 RMB Two Accidents<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">10/31/21 RMB<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two Accidents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">While driving home last night I
found myself in a lane blocked by police cars surrounding sideways vehicles. The
accident so recently happened that the police had not yet started directing
traffic. Drivers edged passed the incident, finding clear paths wherever we
could, allowing for a bubble around the wreckage for those involved to reset
their lives; for the police to help as best they could. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">On another street, eight miles away,
I found myself approaching more flashing lights, another accident. This one had
flares surrounding the cops and the broken cars. One officer waived us into a
side street. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Neither had an ambulance. Hopefully
there were no serious injuries. Needless to say, I drove even more carefully than
normal the rest of the way home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Life takes us down paths. Sometimes
there are hard stops and resets, as with those in the accidents. Sometimes there
are detours. Often there are bumps that leave bruises. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We have choices and every choice
comes with some sort of obstacle. The paths we take may be difficult, but here’s
the rub. The chirping bird, the dazzling sunset, that special song, every path
has them and so much more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The joy we carry within has a
matching vibration in something right before us. Let it connect and suddenly a touch,
a sound, a thought, a site, becomes delightful, eternally linked to our souls. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Face each day as a quest for the uplifting
magical essence in life and it will be found. Face each obstacle knowing that
what is in you is grander than whatever it is. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">These are the lessons I’m reminded
of as I follow my path, detours, obstacles and all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Onward we go,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-82583982492105533522021-08-31T09:29:00.002-07:002021-08-31T11:45:44.621-07:008/31/21 RMB August Farewell<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">8/31/21 RMB August Farewell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As we say farewell to August, the
birds chirp to one another, the sky is white with clouds, dogs bark in the
distance and leaves rustle in the trees. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">August 2021 takes with it my eldest
sister Deb Hills who goes on to join my eldest brother Rocky Gulick. Both faced
physical challenges, and both were the first to stand up for the less
fortunate. They stepped in when others needed a hand. And gave with full
hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Life goes on. Grief can be a
tremendous hurdle. But life goes on. And we do the best we can, for ourselves;
the best we can for others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When the dogs bark in the distance,
and the birds chirp, and the leaves rustle, join in with a hello of your own. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Enjoy moments, catch the magical seconds,
smile just because now and then.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Every voice is precious. Every breath
counts, however invisible until they are gone, they count. Remember that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Rest in peace my Sister. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">With all my heart, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f3864; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-89508519727117689512021-05-31T13:37:00.000-07:002021-05-31T13:37:10.231-07:005/31/21 RMB Memorial Day Fact<p> <span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5/31/21 RMB Memorial Day Fact</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Exactly two months have disappeared
by since my last letter. Forgive me if I ramble in catching up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">April’s adventure was moving, box by
box, three friends, all on the slower side of 55 spurred one another on, joked,
laughed, shed a few tears for the beloved desert home that will be missed, then
shared meals to celebrate each day’s work. Finally, sore and satisfied, within
our allotted week, the mission was complete. Now Teddy works daily at unboxing,
rediscovering treasures and recreating “home” in her new Bear’s Den. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In May I got my first pair of
reading glasses ever. Hence, reading is more fun. I got new regular glasses for
the first time in 10 years. Hence, driving is more fun. I look from street signs
to store signs, finding some readable that were not before. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I finished the enlightening <b><i>Animal
Magnetism</i></b> and now <b><i>Cakewalk </i></b>is next up, along with a few
other books on tarot, healthy recipes, and Pimsleur’s <b><i>Spanish II</i></b></span>.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For Cinco de Mayo I received my
first covid vaccine and on June 4<sup>th</sup> the second awaits me. Too many
lives have been lost to this virus and it brings to light the many that have
been lost for other reasons, diseases, wars, crimes, etc. I can’t help but
feeling that we are the cure, our minds, our motivations, our efforts, we can
make this world, all our lives, better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Today is Memorial Day. Wikipedia
says:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">On May 1, 1865 in
Charleston, SC, formerly enslaved African Americans honored hundreds of Black
soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and buried in a mass grave. They
unearthed the bodies and gave each a proper burial and held a parade in the
soldiers’ honor.</span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.3333px; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0645ad;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">This memorial honoring of Black fallen soldiers is
believed to have been the first Memorial Day before it later became a
recognized holiday.</span></span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Kind of adds to the echo of black lives
matter, not necessarily the movement, but the fact.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">June is calling, may it ring in
joyfully,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-86543826179582959582021-03-31T08:13:00.000-07:002021-03-31T08:13:06.675-07:003/31/21 RMB Words Emotionally Absorbed<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">3/31/21 RMB Words Emotionally Absorbed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">While still enjoying your <b><i>Animal
Magnetism</i></b>, I am also reading <b><i>A Little Bit of Tarot</i></b> and
just finished <b><i>Badass Habits </i></b>by Jen Sincero. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I recently listened to the audio book
<b><i>Barefoot Executive</i></b> on cd in my car. The author Carrie Wilkerson is
like an Energizer bunny in business. Her drive is inspiring and she shares tons
of how-to information about getting your business started. Her motto seems
to be “if I can do it, you can do it”. However, it dawned on me that each of us
is so individual and so unique none of us can accomplish something JUST because
someone else accomplished it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We each have our own hurdles, our
own issues, our own skills, motivations, etc. Until we re-package all that we
learn and mesh it into our own magical force, one that takes our uniqueness
into account, what we accomplish from the knowledge gained is stunted by an
invisible force. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Whatever we learn, whether from the
Barefoot Executive or Jen Sincero or Mike Dooley or history or anywhere, needs
to be digested for it to be of its ultimate value. It needs to be consumed on
an emotional, physical and mental level. That information, inspiration,
knowledge and education must be mixed into the elements of oneself, as one
would mix dough for bread. You can’t take the base of flour and toss all of the
other ingredients on top, slide it in the oven and expect a loaf of bread to
rise from that heap. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Yet that is what we do, what I do,
when I read tons of books. I acquire bits of info, tack them on my mental
corkboard and hope all of the pieces will one day fall into place, that I will
lose weight, have my own business, get my house in order, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It feels as though there is a door
or perhaps the proverbial window to the soul, that needs open to allow the
message to seep in deep. Words read and noted on the mental corkboard are
helpful, but words embraced and absorbed are transformative. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As we grow, we are trained by nature
and nurture to be strong, independent, and complete. In that process of completion,
the exits and entrances are sealed up tight. It is why falling in love can
sometimes feel painful, the heart literally aches for the object of affection because
those barriers must be breached to allow the relationship to flourish. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It is why our mystic skills and our
6<sup>th</sup> sense is often muted, they need that window open to breathe. I
will be more conscious of this in the future. While reading, I will make an
effort to absorb concepts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I can relate to Jen Sincero’s writing,
which feels down to earth and allows for individuality in her suggestions and
guidance. Wisdom resides in her words, with a little spice mixed in to boot. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Letting words in, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-34804330689571125802021-02-28T13:45:00.000-08:002021-02-28T13:45:09.974-08:002/28/21 RMB February’s Full Moon <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">2/28/21 RMB February’s Full Moon <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I’ve arrived at Animal Magnetism in
my mission to read all of your books. This one tugs at the heartstrings and
enlightens the mind. Your observations of animals and our interactions with them
are told in delightful and tender stories. It is a work woven by the love of
animals and I thank you for it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As February nears an end, last night’s
full moon sends it off in a wave of glory. Bold and bright she lit the night
sky on my drive home from an evening shopping trip. Native Americans call her
Grandmother and last night she beckoned to be remembered, to have her beauty recorded.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">My letters have slowed while I find
myself wondering more and more about which words would or could contribute the
most. Our world is swirling in a mix of emotions stirred by politics and a
deadly pandemic. Anger straining to be heard is causing a thunder that drowns
out our neighbors, sisters and brothers. People splinter away from one another,
dividing into paths that each group thinks will lead them to a more perfect world.
Or maybe they are not thinking, they are feeling and taking impulsive action. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">That sounds sad. My goal is to
uplift spirits. Yet I feel the need to recognize the angst. It reveals the need
for positivity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And on the subject of positivity, I came
upon the work of two young actors that play characters in the series Wynona
Earp, Katherine “Kat” Barrell and Dominique “Dom” Provost-Chalkley. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The love story of their characters
is celebrated, and I find that refreshing. It’s a celebration that work like
yours made possible. The two ladies playing the role’s of Nicole Haught and
Waverly Earp are “out” and the onscreen duo are affectionately called WayHaught.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dom has created the Start the Wave
Organization which “focuses on building an inclusive online community that
empowers individuals to find their unique path to create positive change."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">How’s that for positivity, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f4e79; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span> </p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-11421422021766859192021-01-01T14:43:00.003-08:002021-01-01T14:43:52.972-08:001/1/21 RMB New Year Treasure Hunt<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">1/1/21<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>RMB New Year Treasure Hunt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy New Year Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Whatever the days may bring in 2021,
we can bet there will be some magic tucked in unexpected places. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Consider this a treasure hunt for
over the next 12 months. Watch for these things, or make up your own magical finds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Seeing a kitten pounce.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A full moon glowing in the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Toddlers laughing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A neatly stacked pile of clean
clothes. (so I’m easily moved)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Sounds of the wind, the sea, a lake,
or leaves rustling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Gentle falling rain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Reading the last page of a good
book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Time spent walking with a friend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Endless possibilities await, opening
doors to the light that shines from within. And from that light, your path is
made clearer, joyful and invites you to celebrate life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy 2021,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-56323187506844840002020-11-29T11:42:00.004-08:002020-11-29T11:46:49.214-08:0011/28/20 RMB Happy Birthday Words, Lexie and Toast<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">11/28/20 RMB Happy Birthday Words, Lexie and Toast<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I determined to write a letter on
your birthday. Yet, the words, they don’t come easy. The ones that will leave
an impact; that will mean something; that will be worthy of the space they occupy.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I sit. I think. I go get a snack. Sit
some more. Think some more. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">While awaiting creativity to
flourish, I tap Google Play on my phone to tune into some Spanish music. Google
Play is no longer a thing, but it refers me to YouTube Music. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Hmm, I tap Spotify looking for my past
attempts to create a play list with plans to add Spanish music. Spotify gives
me a line about “something” going wrong and wants me to reload the app. Nope,
annoyed I go elsewhere for my musical enjoyment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I start a mission to find YouTube Music,
but land on plain old YouTube, search for Spanish Music and boom, I’m set. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">While Enrique Iglesias serenades me,
I eat my morning snack of cream of wheat and toast. Actually, it is half cream
of wheat and half cream of rice with some coffee creamer and honey mixed in
with a gluten free milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The ingredients I thought would mix
well have melded into an over-sweet glop. I eat it anyway, because the words
have not formed, and it is the thing in front of me to do. I read in a dabbling
sort of way Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass Every Day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The toast is good. While enjoying
it, a small thud impacts my outstretched legs and I look up from my book. Lexie
The Kitten, our family’s newest addition, peeks up at me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A silky black body with wide eyes
moves to the napkin and toast. She thinks perhaps she has found a treasure. She
sniffs the remaining half piece of toast, which I pick up and begin munching.
She is not deterred in her quest and tastes a crumb, immediately deciding this is
no treasure at all and she disappears as quickly as she appeared. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk57542369"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then the thoughts form
and the words flow and I realize that what is important is that you know
someone is thinking of you on your birthday…and that treasures abound
everywhere so if there isn’t one right there in front of you, leap away and go find
one!<o:p></o:p></span></a></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk57542369;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy Birthday and Happy
Thanksgiving too,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #1f4e79; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-86016024077572709222020-09-29T22:33:00.000-07:002020-09-29T22:33:26.462-07:009/29/20 RMB Helen Reddy Rest in Peace<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">9/29/20 RMB Helen Reddy Rest in
Peace<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Do you remember a time when you didn’t
know what you didn’t know? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It’s hard to imagine such a time in
these days of internet answers at our fingertips. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It must have been about 1974. I was nine
when my dear Auntie Mary and Mother presented me with concert tickets to see
Helen Reddy. And I had no idea what I was in for. It was in the days of daytime
shows like Dinah Shore and Mike Douglas. I’d seen her sing and quickly acquired
all of her records with my birthday money. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A trip to our Spring Valley Kmart
with my stepfather was particularly fruitful. From that venture I came home
with three albums which I immediately began playing on the turntable non-stop. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I knew every song and sang them in a
whisper on my walk to elementary school a couple of miles away. Her self-penned
Best Friend, about being a friend to yourself, was a particular favorite and
one that I’d lean on often in trying teenage years. She was the angelic voice
of compassion and inspiration that drove me when I was lost and comforted me
when I was down. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I’d never been to a concert and that
night it was all very new. With my Aunt and Mother beside me, I watched and breathed
in every note. The image of her gliding from side to side on that stage,
singing her heart out, is as vivid today as it was then. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Rest in peace Helen Reddy. May your
spirit live on and your work continue in all its magical ways. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In celebration of your life, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p>Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-71967115445706322612020-07-31T18:06:00.000-07:002020-07-31T18:06:23.971-07:007/31/20 RMB Friendly Stray <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">7/31/20 RMB Friendly Stray <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As I approached a stop sign at the
end of my block, a woman waived at me. I slowed my car to avoid a dog in the
road, a tubby bulldog mix. At first, I thought she was trying to call him home.
We both asked at the same time, “Is he yours?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I told her no, he was not mine. But as
soon as I rolled down the window he jumped up and panted in my face, with a telltale
wiggle that implied a there was a tail wagging with abandon at the other end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I don’t know if she heard me or not.
Maybe she saw the dog’s reaction and figured he was my problem now, either way.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I’m not one to get friendly with
strange dogs, especially muscular husky ones with giant teeth and big mouths. I
told him to get down and he did so quickly, proceeding to travel in a circle
around my car looking for an entrance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I didn’t want to move forward because
I could no longer see his stout body and didn’t want to hit the fellow. I put
the car in park and got out to contemplate what to do. He came running.
Reluctantly, I opened the back door and up he soared without a second thought.
At least that got him out of the street. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As he sat there in all his splendor,
so proud if himself for getting in the car and up on the backseat with head
held high, I examined his chain linked collar. No tags. He was obviously trusting
and kind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I got in the front seat and in a
flash that big mouth was panting beside my head. He had hopped his front feet
to the console between the two front seats and was ready to watch the road with
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I nudged with my elbow to push him back,
afraid his plan might be to jump into the front passenger seat where my sister’s
take out meal sat. “You can’t get up here.” Push. “Get back there.” Push. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Neither push budged the friendly
beast an inch. I slowly took the right turn, keeping my arm there as a meager
blockade. When I got to my driveway, I called the sister. I figured she could
bring me a spare leash and take her food out of harms way. I planned to travel
around a few blocks and hopefully find his home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Another car drove by before I could
finish the explanation and the sister was left hanging on half a story while I
waived down the car. It passed me, but then slowed and the shiny white car with
tinted windows backed up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I asked, “Do you live around here?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The nice man replied “No”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In a sad face, I said “Oh,” and
figured it couldn’t hurt to ask, “would you happen to know who this dog belongs
to?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“What dog?” he said and leaned over
to see when I motioned to the back seat. “No, I don’t know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I explained how he had gotten into
my car a few houses up the block. And when I say up, I mean up. I live on a
very steep street. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He said “Sorry” shrugged and carried
on up the street. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I continued my story with the now curious
sister on the cell phone as I sat there parked in front of my own driveway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The white car rounded the corner
again and made its way back up to me after driving around the block. The nice
man pulled over next to me and said, “They’re looking for him up there. I told them
to come down here. It will take a while for them to get here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh,
thank you so much! I’ll wait for them.” He smiled a big smile and as he drove,
away I yelled after him, “God bless!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A rag tag crew of young men found
their way down the hill to me. At first, I was a little reluctant to hand my
happy friend over to just anyone, but he obviously knew them as they approached.
“Missing something?” I asked and one of them nodded. I figured that if they
were the owners of him, they must be doing something right, because he was so
friendly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">There was someone in a Jeep with
them and he offered to take the guy and the dog in his car. Maybe he was just a
passer by offering to help. The guy declined and leaned over to walk the dog by
holding his collar. I hoped he didn’t have far to go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We caused a bottleneck in traffic
with my car and the Jeep that was in the middle of the road and another car
parked on the other side. A few cars were waiting to pass so no more words were
said. The Jeep moved along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As the cars passed, there came that
nice shiny white car with tinted windows. The man smiled at me and this time as
he passed, he was the one that yelled out “God bless.” We both laughed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Together we did a good deed. But
something else happened too. See, I’m white and the man with the big smile in
the shiny white car is black. It felt like there was an added element of our
working together on this minor mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">At first, I thought he came around the
third time just to be sure they found me and their dog. Later, I wondered if it
was so he could respond in kind with “God bless” to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As people protest and shout and
demonstrate the vital importance that Black Lives Matter, something tells me it
is equally important for us all to do the little things, to help each other, to
reach out in a neighborly way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Neither one of us did it to prove a
point, but everything we do, every day, proves a point. There was something
unspoken within us that recognized the importance of our joint effort. </span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">God bless.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">For whatever God or Goodness you
worship, God bless,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-68102284989735635102020-06-28T11:41:00.000-07:002020-06-28T11:43:54.180-07:006/28/20 RMB Four Agreements<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">6/28/20 RMB Four Agreements<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">These are trying times. Each of us
has a full plate in our laps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">With all that we are juggling it is important
to take a step back and breathe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Today Teddy reminded me of the Four
Agreements. Because I needed reminding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Be Impeccable With Your Word<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Don't Take Anything Personally<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Don't Make Assumptions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Always Do Your Best<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">These four short agreements are
easier said than done. Full of wisdom, they can set things right if taken to
heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">More thoughts...Live healthy. Voice concerns for a better
nation and make that happen. Take care of each other. Every little thing
counts. Stay strong by being as kind as you are brave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Carrying on,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-81608099781944018012020-05-31T11:35:00.000-07:002020-05-31T11:35:37.908-07:005/31/20 RMB TEN OF US<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">5/31/20 RMB TEN OF US posted 5/31/20<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">If ten of us were in a lifeboat in
the middle of an ocean with light blue skies overhead and the peaceful sway of
the water below us, would we allow one man to kill another while we filmed it
on cameras? Then, as his body lay still, would those remaining of us, hurt and
angered by the loss of our friend, set fire to the boat, tear at its structure,
and destroy it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">If we did, we would sink. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">There are more than ten of us and
the sky is not light blue; a dark grey atmosphere blankets us. And the waters are
not peaceful. They are choppy and dangerous. We could use our numbers to
support one another and keep this boat from tipping in the rough seas. We could
hold on to one another to ensure no one falls overboard and drowns. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">But we don’t. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Lives have been taken and others
damaged. The perpetrator hides amongst our vast numbers, behind shields, in dark
corners, and in the recesses of our minds silently cultivated from hundreds of
years of conditioning. And when brought forward, the urge to retaliate
overwhelms those who remain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It takes strength to combat hate
with peace. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We must find that strength, because
in the end…we are all in this boat together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">One of the many,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-25816888857725846592020-04-30T14:17:00.000-07:002020-04-30T14:17:03.462-07:004/30/20 RMB Seeing 2020<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">4/30/20 RMB Seeing 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are on the eve of our fifth month
of 2020. Covid-19 has taken over 231,000 lives worldwide. </span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The phrase “seeing 2020” is often used for
perfect vision. This year the virus has awakened an awareness in us all, of our
vulnerabilities, our faith, our community, our hopes and our fears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I believe the Universe speaks to us.
What I refer to as the Universe, some call God, or science, etc. A rose by any
other name is still a rose. What you call it doesn’t change its existence, just
your interpretation of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We were squabbling over borders; creating
more and more distinctions between us and “them”; damaging our earth and
removing protections for our open spaces; allowing politics to determine our opinion
above and beyond whatever the decent thing to do may be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In this tragedy we face now, I hear
a strong voice echo “Enough!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Those borders we argued over are now
closing and flights are grounded. We had trouble co-existing with our neighbors
and now we have all been sent home for some long, hard thinking time. The land,
oceans, and sky are breathing a sigh of relief from our constant abuse and pollution.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Everything exists in cycles, each
cycle prompting along the next cycle. When we do our best, our future holds the
best in store for us. It is time for us to be at our best now. As we move forward,
we must take each step with care. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">My heart goes out to those impacted
by this virus and I send appreciation to those that are helping care for them,
doctors, nurses, relatives and friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We have much more to be thankful for,
from the grocery stores to restaurants that continue to serve us, to the military,
police and other essential personnel that continue to keep our infrastructure
dependable, the busses running, the lights on, etc. We will get through this…together.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">With gratitude for the opportunity for
me to voice my thoughts, all my best to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-54670158562595352782020-03-30T22:08:00.003-07:002020-03-30T22:08:56.623-07:003/29/20 RMB COVID 19 Numbers<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">3/29/20 RMB COVID 19 Numbers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Sunday’s numbers say 3,718 people
died of COVID 19, of those 573 were Americans. I watch digits daily, with
sorrow for those our world has lost and hope for a brighter day ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The statistics lead me to the number
who are taken yearly by the common flu, and by other illnesses, and for other
reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And in this sea of number, there are
others, like the hundreds of thousands of daily births. Worldometer.info adds
them up one by one, day by day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Each death and every birth is a person,
a mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter, and they remind me how
precious every day is, how fleeting every breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Every 1 counts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Peacefully,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-6000189623819552732020-02-29T09:41:00.001-08:002020-03-30T20:21:30.650-07:002/29/20 RMB Leap Year and a tinkering Universe <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">2/29/20 RMB Leap Year and a tinkering Universe <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy Leap Year! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It fits, for me anyway. I’ll be
leaping from my place of employment for 23 years into a new adventure. The owners
of our small publishing company have decided to let loose the reins. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The press
will still exist and there will still be books to sell. And I am likely, at
this point anyway, to be the person selling them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">My office will no longer be miles
away, but only yards, in my own living room. As much as I wished it would not
come to this, as uncomfortable as change is, a thought occurred to me yesterday.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Be careful what you wish for, they
say. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Here’s the thing. When I knew my job
would be disappearing soon, my only plan was to find someplace closer to home
and where I could still wear jeans to work. Guess what, working from home as a
contracted sales rep fits that bill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Furthermore, a dream of several
years has been to write books, travel and sell them. </span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Recently, judging from the
likelihood of being able to support myself on that alone and in light of my
snail’s pace in writing, I added hosting Tarot classes and giving Tarot
readings to the mix as I travel about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Well”, the Universe says, “here you
go. You will soon be self-employed and selling books. Get busy. Write some of
your own to include! And work up that Tarot thing too.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The thought of leaving a steady job
to be on my own was scary, too scary to do it on my own, too scary to walk into
work and give my notice. And now, here I am being set up by the new ownership,
helped financially, with equipment, furniture, you name it. The Universe saw my
fears and responded with kindness, encouragement, and all the tools I need to be
successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">And I didn’t see it right away. I
spun it around in my mind, the tasks, the challenges, the new owner’s assistance,
the set up and reality of it. A light dawned and the ah-ha connection was made.
This is what I asked for. This is what I envisioned. This really is how the
Universe works. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Be careful what you ask for, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-63092851321812695632020-01-25T15:45:00.000-08:002020-03-30T20:21:48.494-07:001/13/19 RMB Give Credit<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">1/13/19 RMB Give Credit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">What’s the point? I sat and wondered.
What’s the point of life? More specifically, what’s the point of doing this
task over that task, or any task?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I contemplate this as I work a
jigsaw puzzle on my laptop computer with altering feelings of laziness, being disconnected,
rebellious, and even anger at all that calls to me on my giant “to-do” list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Gather sky-blue pieces together.”
My mind must have thought this at some point, because my fingers move to
accomplish the mission. Perhaps it is automatic, since I don’t recall thinking
it, but now the sky is done, and I watch the grass connecting piece by piece. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">What is before us, we do. Handle,
complete, process, avoid, we “do” something with everything. And time passes.
So, this is life and still, “What’s the point?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In my imperfect human mind, some
echo tells me that it is of utmost importance to do the thing that brings
positive results, a cleaner kitchen, a tidier home, a well-groomed garden, a
lean body, and so on. I have none of the above by the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">So, here is the struggle. The puzzle
is before me. All else is just inner turmoil. Piece by piece, the carousel
horse’s mane takes shape. A pink bridle reaches to an open mouth and a silent
whinny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">My mind seeks a more all-consuming
escape. I que up the comedy sketches on my smart phone, which is smarter
than I am, I’ll admit that. My awesome nephew set it up. I tap an icon and
wah-la. Like electricity, I don’t know how it works, but I know where to tap to
bring the light or the comedy. And yes, its smartness does concern me, but
those are musings to dissect on another day. I tap the phone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In that flash of mere seconds,
instead of receding as I begin listening to the first comic, thoughts multiply
and expand in defiance of the new intrusion. What is the point of one’s career
like a that of a comedian? A doctor’s purpose is clear, a lawyer, a farmer,
they all work towards their own positive result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">However, a comedian, a novelist, an
actor, a puzzle maker, they capture our attention, and is that a good thing? What
positive result is there in their chosen career when they allow me to avoid
accomplishing my own? I watch the comedian explain the pains of being the
second born twin, and a surprise at that. He “crashed” his own birth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Then Lucas Bohn appears. A white
comedian who adopted black baby, he relates the humor he encounters because of
this. I smile thinking of my nephew and the black baby he holds in the photo on
my phone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Next is James Veitch’s elaborate wrong
number prank on a man who thought he was calling his landlord. The caller
insists he fix his apartment. Obligingly, James concocts a plan, complete with over
the top visuals about what he intends to do to this angry renter’s apartment.
At some point the renter is clued in and seeks the correct number for his
landlord, but not before we are entertained and enjoy a happy ending. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Jay Larson, another comedian,
handles a wrong number call regarding a business’ budget, where he engages with
the caller, who he refers to as Random Guy. He invents expenditures, figures,
and even coworkers as he names them to add relevance to his story. A few days
later the gig is up, and Jay reminds them, by his actions, to lighten up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">The last three comedians wheedled joy
into my heart. An answer to my recent inquiry unfolds and what a wake-up call
it is. Credit is due to these three men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">That positive result isn’t always
tangible, it isn’t necessarily a cure, a court battle, or a field of corn, nor
a trim body, or orderly surroundings. It can be a feeling, like joy. It can be
happiness, peace, and a sense of connection, all full of laughter and light. Although,
this can be found in producing our own positive results, it can also be given,
shared and cultivated in one another. Because beyond anything tangible, all of
those good feelings, THAT’S THE POINT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy returns,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Loraine</span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-1201144428766791722020-01-12T15:48:00.002-08:002020-03-30T20:22:02.304-07:001/12/19 RMB Happy Birthday DDD<br />
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">1/12/20 RMB Happy Birthday DDD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Today is his 85<sup>th</sup>
birthday. On January 12<sup>th</sup> in 1935 a baby boy was born who would one
day become my father. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">This memory stands out. Some fifty
years ago he carried me upstairs to bed after I fell asleep in our family’s Pennsylvania
living room, nestled in the middle of a military housing complex. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">He has taught me a lot of things by
example and by his words. I’ve matured enough now to absorb those lessons more
than before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">As a Marine he fought for his
country in 2 wars and now helps recognize and show appreciation to Wounded Warriors
for their service. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">We refer to him as Dearest Daddy Darling,
said with endearment and a bit of over the top humor. It seemed important to
say something today. Memories flood in. I am fortunate to have a chance to express
gratitude to the father that carried me up those stairs and who has carried our
family in his heart these many decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy Birthday Daddy Darling Dearest!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Cheers, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-87509682494701501542019-12-24T21:09:00.002-08:002020-01-12T21:41:41.576-08:0012/24/19 RMB Christmas Eve Shadow<br />
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">12/24/19 RMB Christmas Eve Shadow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">On this Christmas Eve our sunny California
skies are shuffling clouds, dropping buckets of rain, and there is a cold chill
in the air. Our mountains have snow and Teddy’s bird baths in the high desert
freeze overnight. Her feathered friends wait patiently for the sun to melt their
morning drink. Winter is upon us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Somewhere over the skies of Delaware
this evening a little cat named Shadow has crossed over to the other side and is
in heaven now. Life was a struggle for this little gal, but she had a good life
with someone looking after her. Shadow’s spirit will live on in the heart of my
friend Moe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">That’s our best hope isn’t it, to have
someone who holds your spirit in their heart. Christmas Eve calls those to mind
that we hold dear, near and far, from companions in our daily lives to those of
our youth, our families, our circles. We exchange good will, share stories, relive
memories and make more. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Tonight, on this Christmas Eve, I’m
sending my best out to you, to Shadow in Heaven, to my circle and to our
future, may it be full of good cheer!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Merry Christmas,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-30923714163942822572019-10-31T08:40:00.001-07:002019-11-01T17:40:14.708-07:0010/31/19 RMB Be Anything<br />
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">RMB Be Anything<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Another month has zoomed by. I’m
catching it by the tail to wish you and everyone a Happy Halloween. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">A Facebook post mentioned enjoying
this day because it is a day where you can be anything you want to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">In my recent studies of the brain,
which includes behavior, habit, chemistry, you name it, the thing I’m most
impressed by, is our ability to switch from sad to happy, to motivated,
burdened, joyous, inspired, stressed, calm, impatient, kind... We are unlimited
in our range of emotions and attitudes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Switching from one to another
happens, often from outer influences, yet the shift is within. Just knowing
that, realizing it, seeing the mechanics if it, has helped me control my own
switches, direct myself in a more pleasant direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Why walk barefoot over thorns, when
a cool sandy beach with water lapping at your toes is a thought away? Because
it’s not always easy to switch and it isn’t automatic. Sometimes it takes
little effort, often it takes thought and intention, but it is there, that easy
feeling of the sand between your toes and the light breeze on your face,
waiting for a flip of the switch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Today, and always, we have the
opportunity to mentally put on our cowboy hat, our fireman’s jacket, our clown
nose, or whatever suits our fancy and be anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Happy Halloween!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-1864751898689168182019-10-01T23:31:00.000-07:002019-10-01T23:31:26.033-07:009/30/19 RMB Clock Said 6:30<br />
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">9/30/19 RMB Clock Said 6:30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I drove home my usual route
determined to notice something, anything. It amazes me how many moments pass
and how few of them we remember. I wanted something special to mark this day,
the last day of September. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Stopped at a light I looked to my right
at a row of houses I have seen hundreds of times, steady soldiers holding their
ground as if they would remain there forever. But we know that’s not true, we
who have seen houses grow old and then be replaced by a large apartment complex
or completely cleared away for a new highway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From one house hung a clock. It was
over a foot in diameter, hanging from gold painted bars, looking for the world
like an over-sized pocket watch. I thought it was just for decoration. It couldn’t
be working, not out in the elements, even though it had a nice shiny glass
covering its face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I glanced at the hands and they
clearly marked 6:30. The time was correct. In that moment, I was in another
world, a place where giant clocks can h</span><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ang and keep time while barely covered by the roof of a porch,
where homes are forever and the setting sun waits for a solitary driver to
acknowledge the day before it sets and takes the day away.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Remembering that moment,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-18309084149890222812019-09-09T08:29:00.000-07:002019-09-09T18:05:09.822-07:009/8/19 RMB Diane Shea, Writer and Champion of Peace<br />
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<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">9/8/19 RMB Diane Shea, Writer and
Champion of Peace <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Diane’s daughter introduced me to
her. She sparkled with energy. Plants responded to her care and her backyard
was a wonderful place to be. Flowers bloomed and fruit could be picked right
from the tree that stood near the ever-ready chairs and canopy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She joined our Writers Circle and as
the years passed, a history was revealed of an adventurous woman who joined a Peace
March across our country in her youth and traveled through other countries,
sharing their wonders with her children, including my friend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Reading and writing were two of her
favorite hobbies and she did both with a flare. She published a book of poetry
and left several notebooks full of her life experiences. At our Writers Circle
gatherings, she sometimes read from those notebooks. What treasures they held. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Tonight, her breathing is labored,
and the coming days hold a new adventure for our friend. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">When the time comes for her to
depart her presence will be missed, she will forever remain in our hearts. I
believe our loved ones return to visit even from that far away. I’ve seen too
much proof of it to believe anything else. She will be with us again, even more
closely than she has been recently as her body and mind provided challenges
that her spirit worked to overcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">My dear Jennifer, who has mothered
her mother these last few years will be set free of this burden of love. And I
wonder if what she will feel is anything at all kin to what Diane felt as her
little girl went off to school for the first time or when she sailed away to
Baja California with her new husband. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">All transitions tug at our hearts,
threaten to break them and leave new strengths and understanding in their wake.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">9/9/19 It is morning now and Diane has
crossed over from here to there. She leaves us with the lifelong work she did
for Peace, her writing, her joys, and a bond with each other, made stronger
because her spirit is a part of our Circle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Hugs, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-15087116655571859902019-07-24T07:56:00.000-07:002019-07-24T07:56:35.863-07:007/22/19 RMB Treasured Friend<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk14730565"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">7/22/19 RMB Treasured
Friend<o:p></o:p></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">That winter night was cool as we leaned against her white ‘78
Chevrolet Camaro with the two pin stripes of black and maroon reaching from
headlight to taillight. The shiny pavement glistened with recently fallen rain.
Trees stood tall, full of leaves shiny with moisture. They waved in the wind, sparkling
from the glow of the streetlights. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She tossed a coin over her head and a second later we heard
it drop in the dark. “What are you doing?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She shrugged, “I don’t know.” And tossed another coin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Don’t do that. You’re going to hit someone’s car and break
a window or something.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">She laughed, “I hadn’t thought of that.” The fall of the
next coin made more of a chinking sound. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Seeee. Why are you throwing coins?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">“Well, look at this?” she said and showed me another coin
before tossing it. “I won’t miss that coin. But tomorrow,” she shook a finger
for emphasis, “some kid will find it and it will be like, ‘Wow! Look what I
found!’”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Nearly 40 years have passed since that night. Yesterday we
sat at a small table with another old friend on the third floor of the Marriott
Hotel and talked about who had made it to the 50<sup>th</sup> reunion of the
San Diego Comic Convention. She, a past Treasurer of the Con with her husband,
a past President of the event, were flown here for the anniversary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">I could recall most of the people she mentioned. We three
shared photos of family and took new ones of each other. That long-ago winter’s
night comes to mind as I consider the whirlwind of our Comic Con weekend with
its sprinkling of short visits, time between panels she was scheduled to attend
and the parking meters or other obligations calling my name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Yes, there were treasures to be found on that street nearly
four decades ago and mine was standing right beside me all the while. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Remembering, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"><span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk14730565;"></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-24879198628191062462019-07-15T07:55:00.000-07:002019-08-18T21:58:44.934-07:007/15/19 RMB Ankle Deep<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">7/15/19 RMB Ankle Deep<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Dear Rita Mae Brown, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It is a sunny Monday morning, a brand-new
week. Seven days stretch out before us. What will fill the 168 hours, indeed
10,080 minutes, that we are already ankle deep into? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">San Diego has wrapped up our Pride
Weekend and embarks on our upcoming Comic Con weekend. July is full of
celebrations, starting with the 4<sup>th</sup> of July. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">It is a good time to be alive and a this
is a good country to call home. This year marks 50 years since Stonewall and
also the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Comic Con. I remember going to the Con
as a teen and thinking that it was a wonderful environment of open minds, exploring
and sharing ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Yet, the phrase that comes to mind
this morning is “And miles to go before I sleep” from the old Robert Frost poem
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. We have come far, but there is much work
to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">From border conflicts, to political hijinks,
we have a lot to overcome, to rise above, to learn from and then move forward towards a smarter, kinder, better representation of humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Each dawn begins anew our march into
our future, with the moments we are in ankle deep, the direction we move in and
the stance we take are the telling of who we are and who we will be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Onward we go,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f3864; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Loraine</span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896101444895309281.post-65935641571206231842019-06-30T10:33:00.004-07:002019-06-30T10:33:44.944-07:006/30/19 RMB Pursuit of the Solution<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">6/30/19 RMB Pursuit
of the Solution<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Dear Rita Mae Brown,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My bookshelf
overflows with titles promising the answers to problems that persist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">They are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Big Thing: How to Complete your
Creative Project… by Phyllis Korkki<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">21 Secrets of Million Dollar Sellers by
Stephen J. Harvill<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of
being Productive… by Charles Duhigg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Better than Before: Mastering the Habits…
by Gretchen Rubin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A People’s Guide to Publishing by Joe
Biel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Leap of Perception by Penney Peirce<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Listful Thinking by Paula Rizzo<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">And for fun, distraction and the study
of fiction, depending on the day, I also have:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Purrfect Murder by the one and only
Rita Mae Brown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by
Dorothy Gilman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Lethal White by Robert Galbraith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Some are audio
books in my car for the daily commute, others are audio books on my phone for long
walks, or ebooks for when I wait in line at the bank and during my lunch breaks.
Others are actual, physical, page turning books. Most are from the wonderful
San Diego County Library. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Here is the
thing. Friends will point out that I have the skills I seek to learn, the list
making, goal setting, life improvement, and writing skills. Yet my frustration
remains in the differences of who I am and who I’d like to be. My friends
understand this part. Many of us face this quandary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It seems having
the knowledge and ability, is not the solution to getting from here to there. Yet,
in my pursuit of that solution, I feel the books draw me nearer to it, as does
at times, the whisper of the trees, the beauty of the sunset, and the
companionship of the dog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Someplace in between
the lines, drifting above the surface of my moments, close enough to reach for,
but thus far just out of my grasp, are the answers I crave. And in searching for
them I am coming to know that the pursuit is in part, for me anyway, as
important as the discovery of those answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Enjoying the
first week of summer,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Loraine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Loraine Paigehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17725001363802666579noreply@blogger.com0