For I Was Thirsty...

“I’ll be your candle on the water                                     

my love for you will always burn
I know you’re lost and drifting
but the clouds are lifting
don’t give up you have somewhere to turn.”*
 

Water is life-sustaining.

Recently in court a man was charged with providing comfort to “Illegal aliens.”  One thing he provided was water, for people who trudged through a long trek in hot, dry weather, escaping terror and poverty from their home.** Life-sustaining water, without which one would die after a few days.

Some time ago there were reports and videos showing a man working for our government emptying jugs of water that he came across in the desert spaces near the Mexico/U.S. border.***  He knew the water was placed there for immigrants.  He knew they would be thirsty, dehydrated, perhaps near death without having life-sustaining water.  He emptied them anyway.

The court case ended in a hung jury, a reflection of where we are at today in America:  some believe it’s okay to directly cause harm to an “illegal” while some believe in the sanctity of providing life-sustaining water to those who are thirsty.  The border patrol agent dumping water did not have any charges filed against him.  Yet his actions may have cost some people their lives.

This reminds me of the situations during the days of slavery and the Underground Railroad.  It was against the law to help a slave escape or to nourish and harbor them.  Conscientious objectors knew slavery was wrong, so they helped anyway.  They knew that these people’s lives were worth so much more than the prices they were traded on.  They were human beings, worthy of being treated with care.

Years ago someone came up (wisely) with the phrase:  What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD).  Now it’s even a hashtag on twitter.  Although our country is founded on separation of church and state, many in government say they have Christian values, quote the Bible and use it often to justify whatever their latest cause is.  Perhaps they should be asked by their constituents and the media, What Would Jesus Do?

Perhaps we all need to ask ourselves as well.       Theresa M



“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”   - Jesus in Matthew 25:40


*     song “Candle on the Water” by Joel Hirschhorn and Al Kasha
**   nytimes.com/2019/06/11/us/scott-warren-arizona-deaths
*** washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/01/03/border-patrol-accused

The Old Brown Chair

The old brown chair that sat there long ago
saw the whole family life utterly in despair.
Poor, sickly, and saintly
and drunken nights that lasted hours and hours till
the mind would numb from it all.

The old brown chair was in there all along--
it saw the kids from birth to older ages--
could we call them grown?
as their pain and fear and needs were left unknown,
from wasted hours of endless days and empty bellies;
saddened hearts would cry to see them sitting on that chair
going nowhere but deeper into poverty...despair.

image by Tama 66 on pixabay

The old brown chair was torn and oft mended,
saw all the furniture getting old and replaced with used,
as it sat bruised and worn; it cradled the old man drinking
towards his death; he even gave his last breath
on the old brown chair that sat there long ago.

Rearrange and change yet something looks strange 
the grown kids would say;
yet no one wanted to admit
what was really in their way.

Change and rearrange some more they had tried.
And finally the lie they denied for so very long:
It was time to say goodbye to the old brown chair
that sat there, so long.

Occupational Therapy, Optional

There was a hashtag on Twitter recently about listing five jobs you’ve had.  I considered posting, but I’ve had so many, I didn’t know where to start.

It’s been a long, hard struggle through life to stick to one job.  There have been plenty of part-time ones, without benefits, to try to get by.  Working more than one job at a time was exhausting, especially when dealing with depression.

One good thing that happened along the way is that I went back to college and got a Bachelor’s degree.  Then I was able to make more than minimum wage.  But being a woman and living in an area of dying industries, the pay wasn’t all that good.  At least some jobs had benefits.

Now I’m almost retired, sort of, could be, yet can’t be.  What I am is tired, without the “re.”  Worked as:  secretary; retail stocker/cashier; copying assistant; book-binder; bartender; accounting/bookkeeper; mental health technician; drug/alcohol educator; psychiatric outpatient, intensive outpatient, and inpatient specialist (involving admissions, discharges, getting doctor’s orders, billing, verifying insurances, etc)

I’m tired.  What I’ve been discovering this past year while writing this blog (and sending silly tweets) is that I never really let my creative side get a job.  From time to time I would write, draw, paint but that often would be put aside due to working a “real” job, and thus being tired.  In some jobs I once in awhile got to be somewhat creative, like making a sign to be posted in the office or writing up a song with the patients to help them have fun.  Yes, once in a while, but never for long.

We all have something within us that wants to create, express, and transform the mundane.  I’ve been letting this flow daily now for over a year and I truly feel emotionally and mentally better than I have ever felt in my life, at least on a more consistent basis!  There is something freeing in being able to create - living in the moment - lighting up the dark hallways in one’s mind, finding that path to simply feel good and relax.  I feel refreshed.  I feel rested.  My work here is done. (Well, not really, just for this essay!)          Theresa M

image by geralt on pixabay.com

Black and white photos from National Archives (archives.gov)

                  

Read All About It

Reading books has always been a favorite pastime of mine.  Not that I do it daily anymore, but as a child and teen I did.  Checking out books from the school or public library was such an exciting activity in itself.

I absolutely loved “visiting” the far away places and times of past, or future.  Even history biographies were enjoyable.  I liked a variety, no one particular genre.  There were mysteries (Agatha Christie of course!), adventures, historical, and fantasy/science-fiction.  Occasionally a romance, but it would have to include mystery or other genre.  Oh yes, westerns too.

image by kalhh on pixabay

I don’t remember what was the first book I read. I do remember as a young child enjoying “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse” (Aesop's Fables) as I so much wanted to live in the country.  And “Stuart Little” (by E. B. White) was fascinating, yet to me ended sadly, as he left on a journey to find his friend.  (The movie version never ever came close to the heart of that story.)

My mom liked for me to read to her.  I was a good reader, but I got impatient whenever she would get sidetracked with something and lose my attention, albeit briefly.  If I could have those times back...I’d make it better.  She was tickled about the adventures of Lige and Blige with Sam Houston.  She would reminisce about picking cotton in her youth in Texas, as the stories brought out those memories.

Of course there was required reading in school.  But when we could pick our own book for a report it was much more fun.  I was enthralled with “The Sound of Music” movie and the book it was based on, “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers” by Marie Augusta Trapp.  And Edgar Allen Poe’s work.  Yes, wide variety way back then.

As an adult I read more mysteries and horror (Stephen King, Dean Koontz).  Once after reading a graphic, violent crime novel (I forget the name) I was left feeling sick and a bit scared, so I don’t go for those much at all.

image by kalhh on pixabay

I do love adventure.  I’ve read Edgar Rice Burroughs novels (he was a favorite of my dad who liked the Tarzan series).  Burroughs was quite good, imaginary.  More adventure with crime-solving (but not gory) were in the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman.  Funny!

Today I continue to sway back and forth, here and there, among the genres.  I also find I like short stories for quick reads.  Kind of like a snack instead of the whole meal in a novel!

I got a lot of free books online from Amazon Prime and the Gutenberg Institute (gutenberg.org).  Gutenberg has many classics and books over a century old!  But it’s not quite the same as walking down the aisles in a library, with books lining up their titles, calling for your attention:  “read me!” “look here!”  And then there’s the smell of old books--it takes you back.

image by Foundry on pixabay

Of course I really ought to go to my public library.  Yes, we still have one.  I hope libraries last forever.  They’re a place of refuge, retreat and of course simply a quiet place to read.  Enjoy an adventure in your lifetime.  Read.         Theresa M







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OK, here is some suggested reading:  📚📚📚   

The Corfu Trilogy - Gerald Durrell
Hidden in Liquid - Jane Maria
The Land That Time Forgot - Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Little Known - Janice Daugharty
The Murmur of Bees - Sophia Segovia, translated to Eng by Simon Bruni
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers - Maria Augusta Trapp
The Wizard of Oz:  The Complete Collection - L. Frank Baum

short stories:
Aesop’s Fables
The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts - Abbie Farwell Brown
Followers of the Trail - Zoe Meyer

historical non-fiction:
Slave Narratives (various volumes for states) - A Folk History of Slavery in the US from Interviews with Former Slaves (translated in their own words) prepared by the Federal Writer’s Project 1936-1938 by the Library of Congress, 1941