Earth, Wind and Fire: From one who has been there

My Line of Sight

Earth, Wind and Fire From one that has been there.

For many years I have thought of myself as a facilitator. I bring people together to explore their world, to share their views and to find out what makes them tick. I suppose the medium I was most successful at accomplishing this task would be the countless number of interviews I’ve done on radio.

Now that I’m no longer involved in radio broadcasting, I’m enjoying time with My Line of Sight, my blog site, where I can introduce you to a few of my friends..

Today I want to introduce you to Jody Miller, professional photographer. Jody has taken thousands of shots all over the world. Her work has been on display in galleries and she has published a book, “Heartbeat of Astoria Columbia Café”, and she is a friend of mine.

I asked Jody if she would choose a photo from her collection that best represented the subject of Earth, Wind and Fire, then write what it meant to her. 

Earth, Wind and Fire:

“The storms of middle America are legend. The tornadoes of Kansas rank high in many minds as one of their first fears, as seen on “The Wizard of Oz”.  My hope was to witness some of Nature’s fury and chase these supercells around the center of the country, and I did that, for five years.  I never saw Dorothy’s tornado, at least not yet. But I did lay eyes on some of the most surreal and awe-inspiring storms I could ever imagine. This is one taken in Roswell, New Mexico in 2014. In this photograph you can feel the power it exudes.”

I had to ask Jody about being a storm chaser, wanting to know why, and this is what she had to say:

“Their sheer beauty! Once I saw great supercell storms, I was hooked! When you see them up close and personal, you can't believe what you are seeing. They don't even look real. And their power is overwhelming; you feel like a very small being in front of all that energy.”

If you would like to see more of Jody’s photo’s, visit her website at  www.jodymillerphoto.com

“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment”. Ansel Adams

Invisible!

Invisible!

My Line of Sight

Almost a week ago I was having coffee with friends on a Saturday morning, as we get together every Saturday for coffee and conversation. At some point the conversation turned to the value we senior citizens have now, for the work we have done, as compared to decades in the past, and one of my friends recounted her days of volunteering at one of Portland’s community radio stations. She said that in those early days, she held an important job, which she enjoyed. Her attitude changed when she said that if she were to return to this place today, she would be a ghost. The way that job has changed, the education required and the advancement in technology have caused her and countless others of us to become invisible.

I wrote the following short prose about five years ago and submitted it to a publication that goes directly to senior citizens and their white picket fences and smiling faces, my submission was rejected, twice. I then included it in my book, “The Air In Me.” It has been revised and included here.

I was once a man

Seen, heard, valued, respected,

But now, I am a ghost!

“Do you see me?” the old man asked,

I said “Yes.”

The old man sipped his coffee, wanting to savor the last drops of his dark roast, before heading out to the dark, cold and rain-filled day,

The old man and I were the only customers, and when he spoke, it was loud enough to fill the whole room; five tables, empty, with old rickety chairs and three stools lining the counter.

He said:

:

“I had a good job, drove a limousine, a shiny new Lincoln every year for forty-one years.”

The old man glanced outside at the pouring rain, he shrugged his shoulders and once again looked at me while taking another sip of coffee and glancing to see how much coffee remained in his cup.

He then said:

“I paid taxes, always paid my bills, never late…but you know what? Now people walk past me as if I don’t exist.”

I motioned to the waitress for more coffee…as she moved towards me, she walked past the old man as if he were invisible. I asked if she would refill the old man’s cup, she looked over at him and said, “Oh him, I forgot he was even here,”

The rain let up and we were about to go our separate ways. The old man tapped my hand and said, “You see when you reach a certain age, you slowly drift out of sight…no matter what value you provided in your youth, it doesn’t count for much…just wait, one day, just like me, you’ll become invisible.”

The old man stood, now bent from arthritis, bundled himself for the waiting rain, but just before he opened the door to leave, he said to the waitress, “See you tomorrow”

Without looking up she waved him off saying, “Bye Dad, see you later.”  

                                                  My Line of Sight

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.

Marie Curie

Until a few years ago I had never heard of Linda Campbell. I would not have recognized her if she was ahead of me at my local Starbuck’s or behind me at the quick check-out line at Safeway. One day a few years ago, I heard Linda speak about her life, and what an extraordinary life it was.

Other than shaking her hand at the conclusion of a speech she made at an event sponsored by SAGE METRO PORTLAND a few years ago, Linda and I were not friends, but I think we could have been, because I think there was a lot to learn about perseverance based on Linda’s experience as a career officer in the U.S. Air Force, working for equality in all phases of life and the day to day struggles of being an ‘Out’ and proud Lesbian.

Linda Campbell spent over twenty years in the United States Air Force, retiring as Lt. Colonel. She was married to Nancy Lynchild with whom she shared a pact that could not be fulfilled until Linda died. In March of 2018 Linda died from cancer and she wanted to do something up to this point had never been done in military history. Nancy died several years ago but they are now buried next to each other, sharing burial space at Willamette National Cemetery, here in Portland. 

Gaining the joint burial space was not an easy task to fulfill; perseverance was needed to weigh through the massive bureaucracies on a local, regional and national level, but perseverance won out. Linda mentioned in her speech, it took many people at the highest levels of government to bring this plan together.

Senator Jeff Merkley said, "Linda wasn't just a courageous veteran who served her country; a trailblazing activist who fought to make the world a little more equitable for everyone; and an inspiration to all Oregonians. She was a friend. Today I mourn with her family and the community that loved her. She left an incredible mark on our world, and she will be dearly missed."

It took perseverance and courage for Linda to stand and fight for rights she believed in; including her military service and life afterward.

To Linda Campbell and all the LGBTQ troops serving around the world, I say, thank-you for your service.

April is National Poetry Month, so I dug in the dust bin for two older pieces, thanks for indulging me, and thanks for reading.

The Leaf and the Nowhere Hole Often during falls chill, when seasons change; green goes to gray, the air is crisper, the rain, a precursor to the coming snow, life for a leaf hangs by a bare thread unsure of how much time it has until it is snatched from its perch, made ready for its fall from grace. It happens one day when one season makes way for another; the right pressure, followed by the loneliest sound a leaf can hear...it is like a lover leaving with the those forever and final steps that it happens. From the top of this mighty maple, down its hardened outstretched arms it floats with little lift from Autumn's air to a cold, crisp bed of grass. Suddenly a gust of wind lifts the leaf, elevated to new heights of hope, looking skyward with the dream that it would somehow be reattached to the now barren limb. Rain falls, what can this little leaf do to survive? Pushed up by the wind, pressed down by the rain, soon, the rain wins this battle and the leaf is left to soak in a cold, heartless bath...of a drain...where it circles, folds, circles, wrinkles into unnatural shapes and circles until it is gone to a nowhere hole nevermore to be the greatest leaf of them all.  ~~~~~
	Boy on the Fence In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young college student from Laramie, Wyoming met two young men in a bar. They left in an old pick-up truck which would take them out to a desolate spot along the darkened highway which followed a fence line where Matthew was beaten and left bloody, bruised and broken. Matthew was not found until the next day by a young boy who found him, he said... "He [Matthew] looked like a dead animal, caught, and strung out on this fence." Matthew died later, but in the process, a group was formed called the Laramie Project which was commissioned to travel from New York City to Laramie... to meet the townspeople, and they discovered, it would take more than one trip to Laramie to unravel the attitudes of its inhabitants.  Thanks to Matthew's mother, Judy, Hate Crime Legislation was passed in 2009, and is on the books everywhere in this country, protecting the rights of citizens that might become victims of hate and violence. Out on that Wyoming highway There he hung on an old barbed fence Two young men with anger in their hearts, Destroyed a life, the crime it made no sense. Some of the townspeople were deeply saddened, But many were maddened by the atrocity of this crime The righteous said “God” was punishing Matthew for stepping over the line.      The real crime, taking a life, with no regard for human kind… this is just so wrong. Do we ever stop to think that the lessons we teach children, are the lessons they will take with them for the rest of their life? If we teach our young, wise virtues of love, honor, respect and truth, That is exactly what they will do in return. If we teach our young hate, vengeance and violence, that is exactly what they will do in return. Matthew Shepard, a young college student from Laramie, Wyoming was left alone, broken and bloody, along that fence, on a chilly night,  to die, only because he was gay.

MARCHING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

My Line of Sight

Marching For a Better Tomorrow

An open letter to the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and all those involved in the March for our Lives movement:

Dear young people,

I am so impressed by your desire to cause change to our nations gun laws. Your voice and message are clear, articulate and vitally needed at a time when politicians would rather bow to the wants and needs of special interest groups like the NRA, rather than stand as a body preventing more carnage in our schools and communities.

As someone that has had a gun pointed at my head, I know full-well the terror that takes over your life. When I was told by the gunman that robbed the restaurant I managed over four decades ago that I only had one chance to open the safe, or else, I did not want to find out what ‘or else’ was, I remember it as vividly as if it were yesterday

.

Considering our mutual disdain for weapons in the wrong hands, I have three suggestions for you. To continue moving forward you must insist, resist and persist.

Continue to pressure your legislators by insisting that your goal is to save future lives of students. Insist that mental health workers work closer with school systems and authorities like police agencies with information about those that may do harm to themselves or others.

Some among you may grow tired of this struggle; resist that temptation by remembering past struggles from such people as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Junior and countless others who knew they still had miles to go. It wasn’t that long ago that the Occupy Movement was born but it didn’t take long for splinter groups to develop within the movement and before long they lost sight of their goals and it wasn’t long until their resistance was non-existent.

Fast forward your lives forty or fifty years from now and think back about the journey you’ve taken. Out of all your life experiences you will be able to say that you were a part of something much bigger than yourself. You can say that you played a role in causing change; change in the Florida State Legislature, you sparked a fire across America that became the March For Your Life Movement, and the lives of those future students that could be saved from injury or death, and you did it with persistence, the ability to go on through the struggles and resistance to change.

Finally, don’t forget the essentials that make life a real trip; don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, do pick your battles but don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t forget to laugh, even if you’re the only one laughing, and if you need to cry, well, that’s OK to. Just take a deep breath and keep on going, and we’ll see you on the other side.

Keep moving forward, and thank-you. …For today, that’s my line of sight.                  

Spending a Few Minutes with Our Constitution: Part 3

My Line of Sight

Spending a few Minutes with Our Constitution: Part three

Setting Sail on my new blog page

First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

I don’t know if the founding fathers had a crystal ball in 1791 to investigate what life would be like in 2018, but if they did, I wonder what they would think about the first amendment now.

On one hand I think they would smile. Just look around and you can find a bountiful supply of religious expressions; Christians of many varieties, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and many more. Some are ultra conservative. Some are middle of the road in their beliefs, and others are progressive believers of the same God as the moderates and conservatives. No matter what your religious belief, you are free to worship as you please as stated in the U. S. Constitution.

On the issue of speech, I’m not sure where the founders would fall. 

The one thing about freedom of speech that we forget to remember, is that, the right for Martin Luther King Jr. to say, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Dr. King’s statement is no more valid or invalid as the words of David Duke when he said, "Our clear goal must be the advancement of the white race and separation of the white and black races. This goal must include freeing of the American media and government from subservient Jewish interests."

Dr. King’s statement promotes peace, love and unity, while David Duke’s statement promotes racism, bigotry and hate. As much as we would love to try to silence the one statement that goes against our collective beliefs, we can’t, based on the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution because they are equal under the law. The only exceptions to this rule is enforced is when that speech incites riots to the point of violence.

That could be a bitter pill for us to swallow when we realize that the one that whom promoted peace, love and understanding as the man whom spews hate and violence, but for democracy to continue to flourish, we the people must trust the system. If we don’t trust the system, democracy flounders and ultimately fails.

Before that happens, I believe there is a possible solution; it’s called conversation. You may say, “I tried that once and it turned into a shouting match.” Before that happens, I suggest you try a few simple ideas. The first idea is to pick your battles and the second is to have an agenda. Let’s consider both plans.

While strategizing your upcoming meeting, choose just a few topics. If you are the liberal progressive, like me, and your opponent is far right, conservative, like my neighbor, remember, your objective is to ask good questions, speak in a thoughtful tone, not a combative tone and leave enough space between responses. Most of all, do not convince yourself that your goal is to convert your friend to your cause. Finally, remember, you are looking for areas of common ground, not more divisiveness.

I mentioned my neighbor and in 2016 we had just such a conversation.

It was a Saturday morning and we were enjoying the Saturday morning coffee klatch that takes place in our retirement community. My neighbor came in and sat at the same table I was at when we started talking about the upcoming Presidential election. My neighbor, a friendly guy was not shy about expressing his conservative views and in turn, I was ready to respond with my thoughts. This back and forth exchange went on for about thirty minutes, and we found common ground on a few ideas, when everything went horribly wrong. A third person joined the conversation and she had no idea what we had discussed prior to her arrival. In thirty seconds she offered angry and venomous rants which nullified any progress that we may have made. Based on that experience, I recommend that if more than two people are involved in the conversation, lay down some ground rules before you begin. Sadly, other than saying hello to one another in passing, we have not resumed our conversation, and I would dearly love to do that, because I believe that conversations done effectively will lead to a better understanding of those around us and enhances the value of our Constitution.

I am convinced that for democracy to survive three things must exist; our Constitution exists because it is a continual work in progress, as life moves far too quickly for us to keep up with, we must be ready to amend the Constitution as we must move with the times we live in. America continues to be a melting pot of diverse cultures and beliefs. These newcomers must be embraced and not left behind in our mutual growth as a nation. Finally, we must be willing to listen to those whose ideas differ from ours, as the founding fathers wrote the Constitution based on their collective experiences living under tyrannical rule before coming to America, our new citizens bring valued experiences from the past.

The first amendment lays the groundwork for shaping democracy, and for today, that is my line of sight.

The Air in Me: The Air in Me ... Yearns for a story

The Air in Me: The Air in Me ... Yearns for a story: The Air in Me … yearns for a story “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” —Ernest Hemingway I feel ...