Here in the midst of high summertime, I am finishing a book and burning the candle at both ends. Going to take an early night and be back at it tomorrow.
Thank you HCR for your wise Letters and this photo of a rural spot on a summer day. I would like to share a poem that I read the other day. It tells of a bird and a woman with determination, patience and tenderness.
Eye on the Sparrow
by Georgina Marie Guardado
I woke to rapid flapping, the air cold
the time unknown. The dog’s paws tapping
on chill hardwood floor. Sudden
commotion. Jumping to corral what was
assumed to be an animal fight, I find
a California Towhee in my dining room.
Frantic, frightened. Brisk movement in her
wings making the room that much more frigid.
I stammer to her. Follow her room to room
as she attempts to fly her way out of walls
until she finally calms, allowing me to cup her
into my hands. We sit together outside
on a frosty concrete step. My bare feet
settling on top of wet fall leaves, gathering
the taste of morning in my mouth, the scent
of rain and dirt. She catches her breath.
My thumb softly wrapped around her chest
feeling her heart rate regulating, her eyes opening,
her fear receding. Leaves rustle, wind and traffic
move along while she and I watch each other
in a place where time moves slower than the rest
of the world. Her eyelids the color of peach
and terracotta. Her body the rusty hue of autumn.
Her eyes the same shade as mine, dark as loam.
I flatten my hand. She doesn’t move. We sit
together for what seems like hours. What seems
like fate when safety is reciprocated. Ten minutes
Georgina Marie Guardado was raised in Lakeport, California. As part of the Broken Nose Collective, an annual handmade chapbook exchange, she created her first poetry chapbook, Finding the Roots of Water, in 2018 and her second chapbook,Tree Speak, in 2019. In 2020, she was an Anne G. Locasio scholar for the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference poetry workshop. The Literary Coordinator and Poetry Out Loud Coordinator for the Lake County Arts Council, she served as co-editor for the Middletown Art Center’s RESILIENCE and RESTORE collections of written word and visual arts funded by the California Arts Council. She is the current Lake County Poet Laureate for 2020-2022, the first Mexican-American and youngest to serve in this role for Lake County. In 2021, Guardado received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.
Can't begin to add to what our community has already responded to you, Heather. So I'll just say DITTO!
On another note: we all know Nichelle Nichols, famous for her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. She passed away this past weekend. The NYT wrote a fitting tribute. What I didn't know about her was this:
"At the time she took the role of Uhura, Ms. Nichols said, she thought of it as a mere job, valuable as a résumé enhancer, but she fully intended to return to the stage; she wanted a career on Broadway. Indeed, she threatened to leave the show after its first season and gave Mr. Roddenberry her resignation. He told her to think it over for a few days.
"In a story she often told, that Saturday night she was a guest at an event in Beverly Hills — 'I believe it was an N.A.A.C.P. fund-raiser,' she recalled in the Archive interview — where the organizer introduced her to someone he described as 'your' biggest fan.
“'He’s desperate to meet you,' she recalled the organizer saying.
"The fan, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., introduced himself.
“He said, ‘We admire you greatly, you know,’” Ms. Nichols said, and she thanked him and told him that she was about to leave the show. He said, ‘You cannot. You cannot.’”
"Dr. King told her that her role as a dignified, authoritative figure in a popular show was too important to the cause of civil rights for her to forgo. As Ms. Nichols recalled it, he said, 'For the first time, we will be seen on television the way we should be seen every day.'
"On Monday morning, she returned to Mr. Roddenberry’s office and told him what had happened.
“And I said, ‘If you still want me to stay, I’ll stay. I have to.’”
Though the circumstances are different, I feel confident in saying we are Heather's biggest fans. We want her to stay.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin... (TOM SAWYER’S COMRADE) - at 83, tonight, In light of our fast growing racial darkness, here and worldwide, the raw vocabulary strikes and stuns - and the story line just slams.
A bit like the failed reformation and prejudice on campuses, in congress and in dozens of states. Ernest Hemingway was clear. Said nothing before or after Huckleberry Finn matched.
Hard to sleep on this book.
Hard to read most of what we read about ourselves today. It’s such inconsequential blather.
A beautiful image. Take good care of yourself Heather, we are really going to need your knowledge, your insight and your vision to make it through.
Thank you for all that you do. Stay well. Good luck on the book.
I think everyone here appreciates the time you take for your own wellness.
Stuff of fairytales! Look at this exquisite scene! And you, s Shero unmatched!
Blessings as you write and rest and tend successfully so many fires.🙏🏽 Indeed, tending you yourself is the flame that matters most.
Wonderful photo. Appreciate your columns more than any of the others I follow. Thank you!
So glad you have an Enchanted Cottage in which to burn that candle, Heather. Sweetest of dreams to you!
Have a peaceful regenerative sleep. And thank you for offering me a glimpse into a brilliant mind. Looking forward to your next letter!
Sleep well beautiful smart lady.
Thank you HCR for your wise Letters and this photo of a rural spot on a summer day. I would like to share a poem that I read the other day. It tells of a bird and a woman with determination, patience and tenderness.
Eye on the Sparrow
by Georgina Marie Guardado
I woke to rapid flapping, the air cold
the time unknown. The dog’s paws tapping
on chill hardwood floor. Sudden
commotion. Jumping to corral what was
assumed to be an animal fight, I find
a California Towhee in my dining room.
Frantic, frightened. Brisk movement in her
wings making the room that much more frigid.
I stammer to her. Follow her room to room
as she attempts to fly her way out of walls
until she finally calms, allowing me to cup her
into my hands. We sit together outside
on a frosty concrete step. My bare feet
settling on top of wet fall leaves, gathering
the taste of morning in my mouth, the scent
of rain and dirt. She catches her breath.
My thumb softly wrapped around her chest
feeling her heart rate regulating, her eyes opening,
her fear receding. Leaves rustle, wind and traffic
move along while she and I watch each other
in a place where time moves slower than the rest
of the world. Her eyelids the color of peach
and terracotta. Her body the rusty hue of autumn.
Her eyes the same shade as mine, dark as loam.
I flatten my hand. She doesn’t move. We sit
together for what seems like hours. What seems
like fate when safety is reciprocated. Ten minutes
later she flies, stops on a dog-eared picket
and looks back. The dog quietly watches me.
How I love and let go all at once.
Copyright © Georgina Marie Guardado. Used with permission of the author.
Georgina Marie Guardado was raised in Lakeport, California. As part of the Broken Nose Collective, an annual handmade chapbook exchange, she created her first poetry chapbook, Finding the Roots of Water, in 2018 and her second chapbook,Tree Speak, in 2019. In 2020, she was an Anne G. Locasio scholar for the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference poetry workshop. The Literary Coordinator and Poetry Out Loud Coordinator for the Lake County Arts Council, she served as co-editor for the Middletown Art Center’s RESILIENCE and RESTORE collections of written word and visual arts funded by the California Arts Council. She is the current Lake County Poet Laureate for 2020-2022, the first Mexican-American and youngest to serve in this role for Lake County. In 2021, Guardado received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.
Thank you for the lovely picture! So grateful for your wonderful letters! Rest well.
Can't begin to add to what our community has already responded to you, Heather. So I'll just say DITTO!
On another note: we all know Nichelle Nichols, famous for her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. She passed away this past weekend. The NYT wrote a fitting tribute. What I didn't know about her was this:
"At the time she took the role of Uhura, Ms. Nichols said, she thought of it as a mere job, valuable as a résumé enhancer, but she fully intended to return to the stage; she wanted a career on Broadway. Indeed, she threatened to leave the show after its first season and gave Mr. Roddenberry her resignation. He told her to think it over for a few days.
"In a story she often told, that Saturday night she was a guest at an event in Beverly Hills — 'I believe it was an N.A.A.C.P. fund-raiser,' she recalled in the Archive interview — where the organizer introduced her to someone he described as 'your' biggest fan.
“'He’s desperate to meet you,' she recalled the organizer saying.
"The fan, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., introduced himself.
“He said, ‘We admire you greatly, you know,’” Ms. Nichols said, and she thanked him and told him that she was about to leave the show. He said, ‘You cannot. You cannot.’”
"Dr. King told her that her role as a dignified, authoritative figure in a popular show was too important to the cause of civil rights for her to forgo. As Ms. Nichols recalled it, he said, 'For the first time, we will be seen on television the way we should be seen every day.'
"On Monday morning, she returned to Mr. Roddenberry’s office and told him what had happened.
“And I said, ‘If you still want me to stay, I’ll stay. I have to.’”
Though the circumstances are different, I feel confident in saying we are Heather's biggest fans. We want her to stay.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/31/obituaries/nichelle-nichols-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DKDm0biOMfApSd8l3MaLEkYdo43zmfQNIENr4kRPt21apTMkVhDQm0p5_O0LI0HxIIk6PhFGUnw8CKGrki7T7hamT-cLkvz-aytk_Da2frUbjYgyIjOF1n9cN6J1is23ULw6qRFuN0ycA-ial6fu1yRT4BbSKIuPDqGk8-bI3ANkeAn1FwD-JJWjjTnsqe4qYCcGhQD1HATXB96AUs-Y8WeYNXbOukcUlWKIepiq4RC2doMI6jG5cyIoHRnLhourfHwgeestm8lAaHFMh1AuLmVSdVRQ&smid=url-share
Reading, too, Heather:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin... (TOM SAWYER’S COMRADE) - at 83, tonight, In light of our fast growing racial darkness, here and worldwide, the raw vocabulary strikes and stuns - and the story line just slams.
A bit like the failed reformation and prejudice on campuses, in congress and in dozens of states. Ernest Hemingway was clear. Said nothing before or after Huckleberry Finn matched.
Hard to sleep on this book.
Hard to read most of what we read about ourselves today. It’s such inconsequential blather.
It all just misses the point, no?
Sandy
Well-deserved. It is so beautiful where you live. I love the photos. Thanks...brings some peace.
Enjoy your evening! Thanks for everything you do!
Let us know when book finished and title! I look forward to purchase!
Take care of yourself!