Let us give thanks . . .

 

Shadows and Reflections

 “Once you have tasted the sky, you will forever look up.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

I’ve written several posts on the subject of being thankful, including the Grace in Small Things series. Today, I thought that I would focus on things, events, and people that I have encountered in my life that have helped to shape me into the person I am.

• Having the opportunity to see original masterpieces by Renoir, Monet, Glackens, Bernini, Van Gogh, Klimt, Morisot, Wyeth, Hopper, Sargent, Kadinsky, Pollock, Caravaggio, Tiffany, Manet, Leighton, Rembrant, Tissot, Matisse, Veronese, Rothko, as well as ancient Ethiopian art, tribal masks dating back to the 12th century, real Samurai armor and weapons, and photography by Brady, Stieglitz, Bourke-White, Mann, Strand.
• Walking through a tropical rain forest in Africa and seeing shades of green that I never knew existed. Crossing a hanging rope bridge that was situated high in the air above a stream.
• Sitting in the dark and listening to live performances by Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Seeing Nureyev and Margot Fontaine perform.
• Hiding in the trunk of a car to get into a drive-in movie for free and then not watching the movie because it was too scary.
• Going snorkeling in the Caribbean
• Walking among the ruins of Tulum amid the huge iguanas and then eating fresh guacamole with cold Sol atop a small mountain.
• Seeing the volcano in Baguio, Philippines
• Riding up a mountain to get to Baguio in a bus very much like the ones you see in the movies, which was filled with villagers, chickens, a pig, old women, and my very American mother.
• Reading some of the best literature ever written: all of Shakespeare, Michael Ondaatje, Marlow, and far too many others to mention.
• Meeting some of my favorite poets and writers in person at literary festivals, including Chris Buckley, Mary Oliver, Tim O’Brien, Barry Lopez, Caroline Forché, Bruce Weigl, and many others
• Working in a newsroom right at the crest of computers. Watching the paper be printed, smelling the ink.
• Attending three wonderful universities: The George Washington, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion.
• Doing on-camera interviews for the museum, which sometimes meant being at the studio at 5 a.m, but still fun.
• Performing for the Queen Mother in London in a Dances of Asia program.
• Starring as Rizzo in Grease.
• Participating in a drum-making ceremony with a drum master.
• Working in a donut shop for a few months during high school and getting to bring home the leftovers.
• Dancing on the runway at a go go bar for a story on the Norfolk nightlife.
• Hanging out over the water in a trapeze while sailing on a catamaran in the Chesapeake Bay
• Going cave tubing and not feeling the least bit claustrophobic
• Hiking on the trails at Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway
• Getting my four-cylinder Pontiac Sunbird up to 80 mph while driving home from Blacksburg one Sunday night
• Attending grade school in London
• Going to a military tattoo in Scotland and sitting in the outdoor stadium wrapped up in blankets because it was so cold.
• Seeing huge statues in the mountains of Spain as we drove through the country.
• Seeing live concerts by The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Sarah McLachlan, The Beach Boys, The Doobie Brothers, Sugarland, Norah Jones, and a bunch of other people I can’t remember.
• Playing Chopin and Mozart on a grand piano at a recital in front of 100 people.

These are just a few of the highlights. I deliberately did not include anything personal about my children, husband, family, or friends as that is an entirely different list. But putting these things down in words makes me realize how very many opportunities I have had in my life to travel, to embrace other cultures, to see stunning natural and man-made beauty.

I have done things that I never thought that I would do, and I have seen in person things that I had only dreamt of.

I have not led a life of privilege, but I have been privileged to have had these experiences. There is nothing on this list that is earth-shattering, nor is there anything that changed humanity. But individually and collectively, these moments in time have changed me in ways seen and unseen. They have moved me to tears and made me cry with delight. Trite as it may sound, I have had a wonderful life.

More later. Peace.

 

Itzhak Perlman performing Massenet’s “Meditation from Thais,” a song that I performed in recital at Virginia Wesleyan College.

 

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Vital Statistics

When asked to create a section of an HTML page about myself that listed some information about myself, these are the interesting things that I listed:

• My husband Corey is a tugboat captain
• I have three children: Alexis, Eamonn, and Brett (I did not elaborate on my two younger children much because they have a right to privacy that I don’t give to my husband  and daughter because they don’t complain so much since they read my blogs; however, since Eamonn and Brett do not read my blogs yet, I try to leave them out. I figure it’s only fair . . . for now)
• I have three dogs: Shakes, Alfie, and Tillie
• Shakes, a Jack Russell Terrier, is named for William Shakespeare
• Alfie, also a Jack Russell, is named for Alfred Lord Tennyson
• Tillie is a Black Labrador puppy, and she is named for Tillie Olsen (my boys want to know why our pets all have to have weird names, like writers’ names and such (the Beta is named Mulder). My reply is that there are no other names.)
• I read mysteries voraciously, and I try to write poetry.

Now, I only listed those few things for several reasons:

1. I don’t really enjoy this code business.
2. I don’t really want to engage in that much discourse with my professors, nor do I believe that they will truly appreciate my wit.
3. I’m so far behind in this class that anything that I finish for any assignment that I turn in I consider a major achievement (I NEVER thought that I would be saying that about any course that I was taking).
4. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Now, after all of my opining on writing and finding things to say, isn’t that just a damned shame? Or am I just completely boring? Either way, it’s just absolutely and completely pathetic.

I mean, for god’s sake, I could have written about the time that I jumped naked off a boulder into a pool of crystal clear water just for the hell of it. Or I could have written about the time I danced on a runway in a go go bar for a story on the nightlife in Norfolk. Or I could have written about the time that I met the Queen Mother in England. I kid you not. But no, I listed just the facts, ma’am.

The people who knew me when I was interesting would be so proud.