National Coming Out Day

October 11 is National Coming Out Day It is significant for several reasons. First, it is a day for the LBGT community to celebrate their diversity and the contributions they make to the community. Additionally, it is a day for closeted individuals to come out into the open about their orientation if this can be done safely, liberating themselves from a certain amount of shame and hiding. Plus, it is a day when we can all come out in support of the rich diversity that makes this nation so vibrant.

Our society has come far in its acceptance of LBGT people, especially with the passage of an inclusive hate crimes bill on 22 October 2009, and signed into law by president Obama on October 28, 2009.

This legislation will help protect every person in the U.S. from being the victim of a hate crime in eight separate ways, on the basis of their: Race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Although we can feel proud of this achievement, there is still work to be done in affording equal rights to this group, including the right to get married, raise a family, and take care of and make decisions for a sick partner. Showing support for this group, and particularly support for individuals you know personally will help advance the struggle for equal rights and greater tolerance of diversity in all its forms, and could save someone from depressed isolation or suicide. October 11 is a day we can all come out for greater tolerance. I encourage everyone to reach out to someone in this group and let them know that they are valued and loved for who they are, no matter what their sexual orientation might be. If you know someone who is struggling with their sexual identity, let them know they are welcome to use you as a support person. If you are a parent of a LBGT person, rekindle or strengthen the love between you with acceptance and understanding. Vow to undertake the journey of finally seeing sexual orientation as God-given and nothing to be ashamed of. Stand up and interrupt oppression if you can by refusing to participate in anything that devalues this group. If your child goes to a school that does not have a way for LGBT students to gather and support and be supported by each other, try to establish such a group, or ask that it be established.

Song of Life (William Stanhope)

Song of Life

This urgent song- a sudden cry
Springing forth from deep morning slumber
Like a  fountain
Filling the eager emptiness with 
Divine vintage

Uncorked and served
To any weary traveler
Awake enough to fetch an
Empty wine glass from the closet
And turn it heavenward

O Winemaker!
 Fill my cup
With this sublime vintage
Pressed abundantly from the long sweet -and- bitter
harvest of time

With your caress and wink
And gentle pull
Bring my lips to the cup's edge
And let me fall drunk
Into your awaiting arms

O weary man!
Why refuse the proffered cup
Brimming over with the fruit of
Joy-filled vineyards

Let this holy nectar
Smooth your troubled brow
And like a warm fragrant blanket
Cover your sorrow
And open your heart

(July 6, 2010)

Through my Window (William Stanhope)

Through my window I see
Swaying in the wind a
Whispered invitation to dance
The warm hand of that light
Smooths rough linear bodies
Stretching up and out to endless blue
Wet lambits of cloud
Catch wildly in the
Bony extremities of branch

O! To become once again
A lover of trees
To feel their strength inside
My own feeble bones
To stretch my body
Along soaring flanks of bark
To drink the rising life sap
To be loved again
By forest glade
To become the honored guest

May You Find Joy

 May You Find Joy is sung by Womensong of Asheville. This song was written after our dear friend Meta Racine-Bowers was killed in an automobile accident. Meta was a dear friend of our Daughter Claire who lost several friends that year in tragic accidents. The lyrics speak about the pain of loss. I gave permission for the refrain to be changed for this version, but the lyrics below are the original. In the video only verse 2 and 3 are heard. This song was written in 2006.

May you find Joy in the darkest hour
Of the lonely path and the deepest woe
May you find calm on the open sea,
In the storm above and the fire below.

Then may the smiling face of God
Shine on your journey as you go.

On this earthly plane we can hardly see
Our eyes are blind and our hearts are bound
But there awaits for our unbound soul
An ocean of love waiting to be found

Then may the smiling face of God
Smile on your journey as you go

And when you cast in the Ocean of Love
Your heavy heart only God can know
And when at last after toil and pain
You are lifted out of this passing show

Then may the smiling face of God
Smile on your journey as you go.

Follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxhMkGbX8TM

France

We enjoyed a week with friends Gloria and Claude at their farm in Terrieres. What I appreciate so much in France is the connection you feel with the land, especially through the food. Many people have their own "potager" or vegie garden and of course the markets are positively brimming with beautiful produce. The French know and appreciate good food and understand the connection with quality ingredients. We really got a better feel for the area around Terrieres which is located near the town of Bonne (not too far from Chauvigny in the vicinity of Poitier). The land is rolling and dotted with many fine Medieval villages, perfect for biking! There are fields everywhere, and this year the crop of preference seems to be rape seed. Not as pretty as sunflowers to be sure. We had rather cool weather except the last day and were glad to have brought our single warm piece of clothing each, which we used every day. The drive from Paris took about 5 hours. We stopped a little to get food, gas. The hard part is Paris. The airport is to the North of the city and the A10 highway is in the South so you have to drive halfway around the entire city without making any errors. If you do it could take you into the center and then you will never be seen again. The traffic is imposible, the roads chocked with large trucks driven by truckers from wherever (not France probably) that have no manners whatsoever. There you will not see a placarded truck with the words "How's my driving?" and a phone number. They are really quite terrifying and will follow you with barely a sliver of space and then sit on the horn (LOUDLY) if you go too slow, which of course is what happens when you are looking for exits, etc. Horrible!!! Anyway, in the countryside France is still bucolic and wonderful though being de-peopled at an alarming rate due to lack of work for the young families who are forced into the cities to find it. There are many houses that are basically abandoned or owned by foreigners, typically the English, though they too have their problems now in the economic crisis and many have had to sell.

French style at Hawkscry

After returning from visiting friends in France Jane and I wanted to have a French style picnic at Hawkscry just to savour a bit the slower pace of enjoying a meal around a table for more than the usual 30 minutes. We felt inspired by the many long and leisurly meals we enjoyed in France with Gloria and Claude on their patio. One day we had a lunch at Marylynn's house which lasted 6 hours! Christian prpepared a feast from North Africa including a superb couscous. We arrived at noon and enjoyed the sunset while returning home through the fields. Quite bucolic! Here you can see our friends Ray, Claudette, Cathy, Tom, Renee enjoying a meal beautifully prepared by Jane and served in long slow courses which gave us the time to enjoy the surroundings and the conversation. I couldn't resist taking a nap under the apple tree, my new favorite place to be.

June 2010 Picnic at Hawkscry Retreat

We enjoyed a pleasant day with Chris and Emma at the retreat on Saturday June 12, 2010.