Miscellaneaous Day

Today has been very miscellaneous.  A lot of my days are.  
Today was about cleaning the house in a hurry before work.
It was also about getting my walk in so I would at least have SOME exercise to my credit today.  Besides, it was beautiful out this morning.  My walk was as usual, a very uplifting experience.  This is just a typical middle-class neighborhood, maybe verging more on working class, but it's nice, most places well kept, and many have lovely gardens.  Many people wave to me and smile.  They see me all the time, after all.  Some even remember me from the library.
I have a large collection of music I listen to when I walk.  This week I added three volumes of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits to the mix.  Now I have more to think about when I walk whenever one of his comes up on the mix. 

Work was busy, as we are only in the second official day of Summer Reading Sign Ups.  Lots of kids, parents, grandparents.  Lots of things checking in because this is also fine forgiveness week.  Lots of people paying off old fines to get a fresh start for Summer Reading Season.
Lots also coming in with Friends donations.  Guess it's also the beginning of Permanent Change of Station moves for the military, and a lot of the tornado victims are moving back into rebuilt homes.  So, a lot of very interesting books are coming in for the Friends to sell.  I found several today that appeal to my eclectic interests.  1,000 Places To See Before You Die , Office Haiku , Oxford Hachette French Dictionary , The New College Latin and English Dictionary , Street French , The Book of Courtly Love , and The Intellectual Devotional .  Earlier this month, I found a copy of  Star Trek Lives , a book about fandom and conventions and one fan's experience that I read years ago.  It's great fun.  Also found an antiquated little book called The Story Of Scotland , by F. Fraser Darling  It was sold at the Burns Cottage gift shop.  Beautiful illustrations. 
So, I have gained a few treasures this week, some I went in search of, and others that I happened upon. 

I have also had some fun conversations in the last few days.  Some on Twitter, some face to face. 
The door to the staff work area was left open yet again, and my desk area is right there.  Two of the photos Ron Perlman autographed for me are facing toward the door.  (The Beauty and the Beast photo, and the photo of Ron and me from Dallas Comic Con.)  A customer had  called in the door to see if one of her hold books had arrived yet, as it was not on the hold shelf, and I happened to be right there.  She smiled and said "I love your pictures.  Especially the top one." ( Beauty and the Beast photo)  She's another BATB fan.  Not really into fandom per se, and hadn't even tried to find Ron or Linda on social media.  I told her about the pages I know about. Told her there are great BATB fan sites out there if she hadn't found them yet.    I also told her that yes, Ron Perlman is a sweetheart to his fans.  Especially those of us who've been fans for  a long time.   She said that she's always heard that about him. 

The photos I display at work are copies, by the way.  The originals are safely framed and on the walls here in my office.  I like having the photos at work to remind me that dreams do come true! 
(Also gives my boss something to tease me about.  He calls my work area "The Perlman Shrine.")

The problem with miscellaneous days like this is that my mind wanders off in all sorts of odd directions, especially if I'm trying to write.  This is rather short, and rather disjointed, but today felt very short of time and very disjointed.  Lots of stuff done, time flying by. 
Many things I think about doing and never get around to.  At least tonight I am writing, and listening to some music I really like, getting ready to go read a bit more, perhaps. 

Thanks for reading.  I do seem to have a few of you who read pretty regularly. 

Spontaneous Day

Wind picks up
Birds hush.
Squirrel scurries off.
Sky gets really dark.
Distant rumbles get closer.
Now lightning appears!
Rain pummels the thirsty earth.
Then, almost as suddenly,
The wind dies off,
The birds recommence their scoldings,
The squirrel resumes his nut hunting,
The light returns,
Thunder trundles off,
And the lightning goes, too.
The rain gentles and stops.
Spring thundershower
In Oklahoma.


As I raced to get both yards mowed before the little thundershower today, I upset our resident Mallards from their afternoon snack.  They waddled away from me running their mouths the whole time.  I have now been cussed out in duck, to complete the experience of being cussed out in cat, squirrel, and in Schipperke.  (Our Dougal always muttered under his breath at me.  Sweet Mr. Bear never would, he was such a good dog.)  Strangely enough, the duck my mom had when she was teaching preschool never muttered at me.  Waddles knew I wasn't the one who picked out her name.  (The preschoolers did.) ('Course I probably would've named her Jemima, Potter fan that I am.  Beatrix Potter, that is, children, not Harry Potter, thought I adore those books, too.)

This day began feeling like yet another lazy day that I would struggle to get things done in, but it has turned out that I have accomplished most of what I had laid out for myself to do.  There are but a few things that I must work on before Tuesday, instead of most of them, which is what I feared would be the case. 

Time now to head for bed, try to sleep, and get up tomorrow and go sing at Church.

Reflections On A Busy Monday

I had a very busy day today.  Voice lesson, picking up refills at the pharmacy on base, grocery shopping, putting everything away, putting the trash out, cleaning the patio and porch furniture, watering the gardens and flowerbeds; just really busy.  But in a good way.
It occurred to me right about 3pm that almost a year ago, I was in the midst of another very busy Monday when the weather radio started going off in a big way.  I had just gotten the groceries all put away, in fact, when the tornado sirens here in Moore went off.  Away to the closet I went, with my extra pillows, all my flash drives,  all my electronic devices and my portable weather radio and good flashlight.  (First aid kit is already in there.  Had to evict the dirty clothes hamper and a bunch of my shoes, though. SOP for us in storm season.)
I was watching the feed from News 9 on my tablet, and on Twitter with a bunch of people,most of whom were wanting me to reassure them that I was all right.  It was surreal to hear that the storm was so close to my workplace and the homes of my friends, and was thankfully, NOT heading straight for our little subdivision.  Still, I knew I had likely lost a few favorite places,and I hoped and prayed I hadn't lost any friends.  (Close call, but my close friends were all ok, some of their houses weren't, but they were.)  Lost some library customers, and we lost our hospital.  It was a very scary day.
Part of what kept me sane in that closet was the "company" of concerned friends online.  Even a couple of celebrities that I had conversed with a bit tweeted that they were watching the news, and was I OK?  Was my house?  My dear friend in Australia, Fiona, was Direct Messaging me to please be safe and let her know what was happening.  I tried to send her minute by minute updates as I had information.  Soon as the all-clear sounded, I went out and looked around, and could report that we had no damage, and no debris in our yard.  The south side of town wasn't so lucky. 
It also took Matt five hours to get home from work because he was on the other side of the damage path.  He called me on my cell when he could, but he was locked down in a shelter at his workplace for most of the afternoon.
Needless to say, tomorrow is going to be a very emotional day here in Moore.  There's a remembrance ceremony and groundbreaking for the new medical center at 10 am.  Don't know if I'm going to go.  So many people's lives were turned upside down. Mine suffered only minor disruption, but I love this little city, and I love the people who live here and work here and make it a great place to be.  They hurt, I hurt.  I did what I could to help them by doing my bit to keep their library going on as usual.  I also offered any and all extra helps I could think of from sending FEMA faxes free (with boss's approval) and waiving fines when necessary, sometimes just giving them a pen because it was what they really needed right that second helped. 
It's so hard to know what to do or say sometimes, but sometimes, just being there and willing to listen, willing to help look for resources, willing to help, is enough. 
One year later, and the Warren Theatre has replaced all of its damaged neon, the hospital is a tent city, but breaking ground on a new facility tomorrow, many damaged business are rebuilt or rebuilding, many neighborhoods are still under reconstruction.  Some have moved into their rebuilt homes, others are still waiting.  Some haven't rebuilt at all.   
Whenever the weather looks iffy, people are anxious.  It'll be that way for awhile.  It was in '99 and in 2003.  We have new plans and procedures in place at the library to ensure patron and employee safety.  We have new portable weather radios in the house, and Matt has one at work.  I have a spare battery for my phone.  We still don't have a real storm shelter, but that costs more than we can afford to part with at the moment.  We need to have one Matt can get into and out of easily, and we don't really want one in the garage floor, where the gas pipes for water heater and dryer are so close, and the electrical box , and our cars are.  We shall just have to see how the next lottery for rebates goes, and how costs of an outdoor shelter go. 
This Monday was sunny, warm, and windy.  My allergies gave me a really bad time, and I didn't sit down once until time to eat dinner.  Still better than last year. 
Thanks to all my Twitter and Facebook friends for your long-distance support.  It meant a lot, it still does.  Thanks to all my fellow Moore-ons who keep on keeping on and make this little city a great place to be, in spite of the weather.

Catching Up

I have returned from the wilds of far Southern Alabama.  I got back a week ago Tuesday, but I have been busy getting a BUNCH of things done since then.
I was in Alabama to help celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday.  My sister, niece, and aunt conspired long-distance (sis and niece are in CA, aunt is in AL) to plan a surprise party for Mom.  All of us kids, AND my Uncle F.H. flew in for the occasion.  Mom had no idea my brothers or my uncle were coming.  We had a great time.  It was good to see everybody again, but I still felt like the dumb little kid tagging along when the other 3 were busy talking about stuff that happened long before I was born.  (Of course, MOST of my life happened after they moved out of the house.  I'm the youngest by 12 years.) 

Here's the four of us at Mom's.  Unfortunately, I was wearing my old clothes that I keep at Mom's since my other stuff was all on it's way back to Oklahoma, or waiting to be worn on the plane the next day.  I promise, I am NOT that fat.  Susie & Walt were wearing work clothes, too.  Butch never wears a shirt without a collar.  Never, ever saw him in one that I can remember.  At least he's lost the felt tip pen stuck between the buttons on his shirt.  Nobody tried to tickle me, either, so at least in that regard they have realized that I am a grown up. 

My uncle F.H. and his Ipad at Mom's party.  A common sight during this trip.

The Birthday Girl holding court.

Me messing with my phone camera at the party.

Mom and all the family at her party.  Cousin Carl is hiding behind his momma, my Aunt Margaret. Sue, mother of the world's greatest nephews, is next to me and in front of Walt (father of said nephews.)  We're still trying to figure out how Uncle F.H. got to be so tall.  This family tends to be on the short side, and here he is, taller than everybody!

The day after the party, we did yard work!  With Walt and Sue helping, Susie and I got the whole yard done in one day!  That NEVER happens!  I told her we gotta rent these people for October. 

Since I've been home, I've spent several days getting my OWN yard in order.  Lots of raised beds to clean out and plant, and lots of work to do on the front flower beds, too.  They are all done now, but I very much fear that as I type this, torrential rain may be flattening some of the new plants I put out.  It never fails.  I just can't win with gardening in Oklahoma.  I'll have to get up and assess the damage in the morning. 
Here are some pictures of the plants when I got done with all the hard work:

These are the plants before planting in the beds.

That's about all I have time for.  Gotta get off of here before the weather gets too emphatic.

Let's Hear It For Mundanity!

The ho-hum.  The everyday, boring, routinized little life most of us lead.  It's dull, it makes us dull, it feels most of the time like it doesn't matter at all. 
Ah, but our mundane little routines and chores keep the civilized world going.  We all depend on each other more than we realize in this modern world, and if any of us were to go missing, it would make a difference, and not usually for the better.
I often suffer bouts of self-doubt and self-pity, thinking myself a victim of my choices, of always taking the easy way out, the path of least resistance.  My life is pleasant, even fun and fulfilling sometimes, but it is not what I once dreamed of.  This life is harder work than it looks like.  And it DOES matter. 
Getting up every day and doing what needs to be done is NOT easy, no matter who you are.  There are days when you'd rather give up, just stay in bed. It matters that you do get up and go, it means that your little part of civilization keeps working right, your coworkers and friends will have what they need from you, and will be better able to do what they need to do for others in their turn.

I know that my coworkers matter to me, so do our customers.  Life would not be the same in this town without them.  My friends matter, my loved ones.  I matter, even though I never really thought so before.  I always thought maybe people just put up with me to be nice.  Never occurred to me that I do give something back. I love my coworkers, and our customers, and I guess it shows. 
My boss told me recently that he noticed one week when I was gone, how morale and the overall mood in the department was down, people were gloomy and groused at each other.  He couldn't figure it out.  Then I came back, and he said there was happy noise again, and people were laughing and talking again, back to normal.  I never thought I made that much of a difference, but I guess I do.  (Or it could just be that when I'm there, I make sure the candy and snack jars get refilled...)

The kind of job I have is full of routine.  Certain tasks must be done every day, over and over to keep things running smoothly, to keep giving our customers access to the information and services they need.  It can get boring, feel like drudge work, but it is important all the same.  Finding little joys along the way makes it worthwhile, and working with the public, there are always little joys.  Seeing the kids come in who aren't such kids anymore, the ones that have been coming in every day since I started working there, just about.  Seeing all the new families come in, all the older folks,too, it's hard to describe how much it means to me to be part of a community like this, to help care for our community.  Our library is a community treasure.  A storehouse of wonderful things that belong to all of us.  I am one of the keepers of that bounty.  It's a big responsibility.  And a great joy.  When you find just what someone is looking for, when you can unravel an account problem and make everything right again, that's when routine tasks pay off.
I'm going to be off again for a few days.  Going to celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday with her and all my siblings, all together for the first time in probably 30 years.  I'm going to miss Matt a lot, and my library family, and my church family, because those are all people that matter  a lot in my every day life.  I have friends online that I won't have to miss as much thanks to smart phone technology.  I will still have my Facebook friends and my Tweeples.
Next time you have to do something you've done a thousand times before, and you are irritated by it, try remembering why  you do it.  It helps sometimes.  Especially when the person it helps is someone you care about, when the life it makes better is your own, or when, on rare occasions, you get to see that what you do every day can put a smile on a kid's face.  We ALL matter, we are ALL  important. 
I'll see ya when I get home. 
Peace,
Katie

Good Friday

Just home from a very moving service at St. Paul's Cathedral, where I have been a member for about 20 years now.  My church home is always a source of blessing, peace, and instruction for me.
This time of year, sitting as close as we do to the shadow of the Murrah Building bombing,and the Memorial that is just down the street, Good Friday has a bit more emotional impact than usual.
After hearing Bishop Ed's sermon, I started hearing the first part of this poem in my head, over and over, telling me I needed to write when I got home.  So, here I am, and here it is.
I hope it speaks to some of you as these words spoke to me and asked to be written.

Good Friday Meditation
By C.K. Armistead
April 18, 2014


 Let me not forget
The price paid by  Love
For the love
Of imperfect me.
Let me not forget the cost
Of the grace I so often
Seem to take for granted.
Help me share the Love
That has been given to me
Not just when it is easy
But when it hurts
As well.
For Love did not
Abandon me
When loving me hurt
So very much.
Love stayed beside me
And watched through the night
And was still there at dawn.
Help me to be as steadfast
In loving those around me
As Love has been in
Loving me.
For Love is a gift
That is only truly accepted
In giving it away. 
When it is given,
It does not diminish,
As material gifts do,
Instead,
It increases,
And that gift of Love
Can light
The Entire World.

Whatever faith you hold to, or even if you have none, may you be blessed this day, and may Love find you, and surround you, and may you know that the God I love, who is called Love in John's letters in the New Testament; loves you, whether you think so or not.  Whether you believe or not, whether you care or not, whether you are straight or gay, male or female, no matter what your ethnic background or religious tradition, you are loved.  All who know Love will also love you, and welcome you. 
I constantly strive to show love as I have been loved.  It is not easy.  MANY fail to love, harden their hearts, some even hate in the name of the one whom we call Love.  Don't be dragged down by them.  Remember we are called to love, especially those of us who profess to believe in Jesus.   I sincerely apologize for the many times I fall  short of the calling to love, and I pray you forgive my lack, as I ask my God to strengthen my resolve to love, to show Love to others.

Peace,
Katie

Lovely, Sad April Once Again

April is a month that makes us feel vulnerable here in the Oklahoma City metro area.  No major tornadoes to remember this month, but bad storms, and the chance of tornadoes appears in April usually after a winter respite. 
No, April's lovely soft sunny mornings have been clouded for us by a memory of evil.  A memory that was burned into our hearts on April 19, 1995.  It was such a beautiful, sunny, pleasant morning.  Then the news reports started coming out about an explosion downtown.  The smoke visible on the horizon.  The worry about friends we knew worked down there.  The fear for the children we knew in the YMCA daycare near there, the church, which is only a block or two away.

I watched the news that morning in shock and with dread.  I saw familiar faces, most just in obvious shock, but one with blood on it.  It still hurts, to think about the damage to so many lives caused that day, the children lost, the sense of security we lost.  The many, many scattered pieces of our lives in downtown that had to be picked up and reassembled as best we could. 

Our church had significant damage, and it took us many years to complete all the restorations.  We never lost the most important thing, though, our love for one another, and our sense of God's love.  We are still in downtown, and we are still thriving.

Perhaps that is true of everything downtown, we are put back together physically, and for the most part, spiritually as well.  The Oklahoma City National Memorial has helped a lot with that sense of putting ourselves back together.  It is a very healing place.  A very peaceful and beautiful place.  The museum is very moving, jolting some of us back  to very clear memories of that day. 

Next year marks 20  years since the bombing.  VERY hard to believe.  Doesn't seem like it can possibly have been so long, and yet, the worst of the visible scars are long healed, and many of the psychological ones are well on the way. 

It still shocks me that anyone remotely human could have parked that truck there, under windows where they knew little children were playing, and set that explosion in motion.  Such hatred, and such misdirected violence did not solve anything.  They only presented a new set of problems.  This tragedy injured Oklahoma deeply, but it also strengthened our resolve.  That was the day I adopted Oklahoma, and vowed to stay help mend this broken heartland.  The great outpouring of love and determination to do the right thing that the world saw here was a true blessing.  People in Oklahoma are pretty tough.  You have to be to live in a place where the land and the weather turn on you at a moment's notice.  Makes us good at getting back up, at reaching out to give our neighbor a hand, at joining hands and standing strong.  When it REALLY matters, people here don't care about the things that usually divide us.  They remember that all we have is each other, good, bad, or indifferent, and they reach out and hold on to one another.  That's what made me adopt this place, that's why I stay. 
We saw it again last year when the tornadoes came.  The rest of the world responds to that by remembering that all ANY of us has is each other, and they send help, or come to help, and even though the events like the tornadoes and the bombing are horrible, they remind us that we are NOT alone or forgotten here. 
Today, the wind is high, but the sun is bright, and the sky is a beautiful blue that I have only ever seen in Oklahoma.  I don't know what Saturday will be like, since that is the actual anniversary, but this lovely morning reminded me of that lovely, doomed morning 19 years ago when I became an Oklahoman.