Singing Along the Journey

Roses

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
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Pink, and orange, and white, and red

Reader alert:  it is Spring, and therefore it is time for my annual garden analogy blog entry. I just can't help myself.  But no kudzu this time, I promise. Instead, this year, the topic is roses.  Somewhere, a long time ago, when we first moved into this house on Capitol Hill, I read an article that said planting roses in front of possible entries that might invite, shall we say, unwelcome visitors, was an excellent way to use landscaping to increase the security of your home.  And so I proceeded to plant climbing roses in front of the ground floor windows of each apartment.  In front of one house, I planted a…
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Roses and the meaning of Life…

I live in the city -- I mean, really, the city...so when I refer to my "garden" I am talking about the the 4 foot by 10 foot stretch of post-construction dirt rubble that was used to fill in the hill in the front of our house, some 40 years ago.  I am quite lucky, since I have the space in front of two houses in our row (the house next door is a rental property belonging to a friend, where I am also allowed to garden), but considering that I grew up with a full acre to garden in, well, you get the idea...it is small.  But over the…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Pink, and orange, and white, and red

Reader alert:  it is Spring, and therefore it is time for my annual garden analogy blog entry. I just can't help myself.  But no kudzu this time, I promise. Instead, this year, the topic is roses.  Somewhere, a long time ago, when we first moved into this house on Capitol Hill, I read an article that said planting roses in front of possible entries that might invite, shall we say, unwelcome visitors, was an excellent way to use landscaping to increase the security of your home.  And so I proceeded to plant climbing roses in front of the ground floor windows of each apartment.  In front of one house, I planted a…
Read More

Roses and the meaning of Life…

I live in the city -- I mean, really, the city...so when I refer to my "garden" I am talking about the the 4 foot by 10 foot stretch of post-construction dirt rubble that was used to fill in the hill in the front of our house, some 40 years ago.  I am quite lucky, since I have the space in front of two houses in our row (the house next door is a rental property belonging to a friend, where I am also allowed to garden), but considering that I grew up with a full acre to garden in, well, you get the idea...it is small.  But over the…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Pink, and orange, and white, and red

Reader alert:  it is Spring, and therefore it is time for my annual garden analogy blog entry. I just can't help myself.  But no kudzu this time, I promise. Instead, this year, the topic is roses.  Somewhere, a long time ago, when we first moved into this house on Capitol Hill, I read an article that said planting roses in front of possible entries that might invite, shall we say, unwelcome visitors, was an excellent way to use landscaping to increase the security of your home.  And so I proceeded to plant climbing roses in front of the ground floor windows of each apartment.  In front of one house, I planted a…
Read More

Roses and the meaning of Life…

I live in the city -- I mean, really, the city...so when I refer to my "garden" I am talking about the the 4 foot by 10 foot stretch of post-construction dirt rubble that was used to fill in the hill in the front of our house, some 40 years ago.  I am quite lucky, since I have the space in front of two houses in our row (the house next door is a rental property belonging to a friend, where I am also allowed to garden), but considering that I grew up with a full acre to garden in, well, you get the idea...it is small.  But over the…
Read More