What's That Over There?

Ohmigosh! Look at that on the steps? A Luna moth? Too green. A tropical butterfly somehow displaced to western North Carolina? Let me get a closer look . . .

Oh, well. Just a sprig of the Mock Orange bush that grows next to the steps and is trying to expand its territory. But it sure looked like a butterfly.

Among the changes that come with age is the dimming of vision. I'm still wearing over the counter reading glasses for close work but have resisted full time glasses. It may be time . . .

James Thurber, who was very nearly blind, wrote a wonderful piece for The New Yorker called "The Admiral on the Wheel" recounting the various things that he saw while his glasses were being repaired. You can read it HERE in the magazine's archive-- if you have a subscription. Thurber says: "The kingdom of the partly blind is a little like Oz, a little like Wonderland, a little like Poictesme. Anything you can think of, and a lot you would never think of, can happen there."

Some of my recent sightings ( I rely on taking pictures then putting them on the computer and zooming in to see what it really was.)

John and I were enjoying gin and tonics on the porch when I spotted something red in the big tree at the foot of the yard. A Scarlet Tanager was my first thought and then, as it stubbornly refused to move, I decided it was a male cardinal sitting on a nest. (In  my defense, these pics were taken a few days later -- what I saw was brilliant red and partially obscured by leaves -- other leaves.)

And then there was the puzzling critter at the foot of the yard. A bunny? Or what. It didn't move like a bunny.

Still fuzzy but I think it's a young, fluffed-out Brown Thrasher.

Ah, the wonders of old age!

No Words Today

  

A Conundrum . . .

As I struggle with making sense of and writing about the divided loyalties (some of which remain strong today) in my region during the American Civil War, in the present day world I am trying to make sense of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

My friends on Facebook are divided -- some pro-Israel, some pro-Palestinian, and the majority, if they have an opinion, keeping it to themselves. 

I have no answers, only questions.  I begin by reading about the founding of the state of Israel HERE and I am at once reminded of the shameful history of the Trail of Tears -- in my own American backyard. The white settlers, feeling threatened by the Native Americans (whose land holdings had continued to shrink due to various 'treaties',) decided that for the safety of the white settlers, the Native Americans had to go. To Oklahoma. Not quite a genocide --that had happened earlier, over and over again as the New World attracted more and more eager settlers, looking for riches or fleeing oppression.

The similarities to the Zionist Movement seem to me to be strong. I've heard people say that there are no Palestinans -- that there never was a Palestinian state. True enough, there was never an independent Palestine -- the area was a part of the Ottoman Empire until WWI and then it came under British rule, during which time, it was determined to establish a Jewish homeland. 

But there were people living there all this while, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. How can you say there were no Palestinians? 

Others say the Arab Palestinians left voluntarily or they sold their land. Some historians beg to differ. Read HERE for an account of the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 from the Arab point of view. Imagine being afraid to stay in your home, on the land your family had held for generations. Imagine being expelled at gunpoint. Like the Cherokees.

Please don't accuse me of anti-Semitism. Many Jews, Israelis, and even some Holocaust survivors deplore what's going on in Israel today, as illegal settlements usurp more and more of the bit of land supposedly allotted to the Palestinians. Yes, I'm anti-Zionist. I'm anti any country that declares a state religion and marginalizes non-believers -- an ironic step for Holocaust survivors and their children.

So many countries in the world have sad histories concerning the treatment of the indigenous inhabitants -- the US, most of Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. . . and most look back on it as a shameful period in their history. It's so much easier to regret something in the past -- when all those native populations are comfortably in the minority -- than it is to admit error and set about righting wrongs.

The US has traditionally been a strong friend to Israel -- to the tune of many billions of dollars. According to an article from the Congressional Research Service HERE : "Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date, the United States has provided Israel $121 billion (current, or non-inflation-adjusted, dollars) in 

bilateral assistance. Almost all U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance, 

although in the past Israel also received significant economic assistance. Strong congressional 

support for Israel has resulted in Israel receiving benefits not available to any other countries . . . "

Self interest, of course, is at the heart of this -- politicians receive campaign donations from supporters of Israel -- including those Evangelicals who believe that the survival of Israel is a necessary prelude the The Final Days spoken of in the Bible. And, of course, the oil interests, who want a strong ally in the region.

The West has been meddling in the Middle East for centuries -- beginning with the Crusades and long before the establishment of Israel. Small wonder so many Arabs have become radicalized. Instead of mouthing inanities like "They hate us because they hate freedom," perhaps it would be a good idea to read a little history -- as told by both sides.

There are no easy answers. As one of my characters in the work in progress says of the Union/Confederate division, "Hit likely  goes back as far as Cain and Abel."

A knotty conundrum indeed. 

Writers' Bumper Stickers - Stroll/Poll

 A stroll through the Wildacres parking lot yielded this collection of bumper stickers -- mostly political, mostly of the Liberal/Progressive persuasion. I know there were some folks on the Right at the workshop but I didn't see any such bumper stickers.

Folks don't talk politics at Wildacres -- which is nice -- but I couldn't help drawing some conclusions from the results of this informal stroll/poll.

I'll leave it to you to draw your own.

Don't Talk to Strangers

This book grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Sure, it was a rainy day but I had plans to do some writing of my own. I'd started reading it late one night -- because I always read before going to sleep -- and I didn't want to stop. Finally my eyes were telling me they needed rest  so I reluctantly set the book aside.

The next morning, I told myself, 'just one chapter. ' And managed to get my morning chores done before falling back into the world of wise-cracking, flawed, gutsy Keye Street -- former FBI profiler, current private eye. 

This is the third in a series by Amanda Kyle Williams but it absolutely works as a standalone.  Keye is called to help a small town sheriff's office in the search for the abductor and murderer of two girls -- the sheriff is almost too nice and too good-looking to be true but others in his office resent Keye's 'intrusion' to their territory and are not so welcoming.

It's a thriller and a classic who-done-it -- I was reading carefully, looking for clues -- is this a red herring? why did that guy do that? oh, this must be the one!  -- and ultimately I was fooled.  Fooled good. But it felt fair -- the clues had been there all along. . . 

Amanda is one of Kate Miciak's authors and I wrote about her first book HERE when Kate sent me a copy to blurb. But I bought this book on my own because I wanted to see what Keye was up to. Wow and double wow! 

I highly recommend this book --  lots of small town ambiance (but it's NOT a cozy,) fascinating fully drawn characters,  really wonderful sly humor, and a twisty plot that will keep you guessing . . . and reading on and on, if you're anything like me.

Check out Amanda's web site HERE for more about Don't Talk to Strangers. 

Sunshine and Hummers

 After several days of beautiful soaking rain and blissfully cool temperatures, it was nice to see the sun again and snap a few pictures before the clouds rolled in again. Mid-July is normally our hottest time and this respite has been glorious.

What Is It?

At Wildacres I found this mysterious arrangement at the base of a tree in the parking lot.

My first thought was of the Yunwi Tsundi -- the Cherokee Little People I've written of before. 

Then I decided it might be a charm of the sort my friend Byron Ballard (Asheville's Village Witch) works. The wrapped sticks could be prayer sticks; the pretty rocks, barred off by twigs, could represent wishes being kept safe . . .

What do you think?

Wordless