We are a ritual . . .

Tuesday, July 1, 2025. It's Tiw's day . . . Easy Northerlies are to bring a few clouds to an otherwise sunny day to TulseyTown today. The heat hammer of the past several weeks is easing, as is the humidity. Upper 80's.

Today is Canada Day.

Diana, princess of Wales was born on this day in 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk, England.

William Strunk Jr., The original author of The Elements of Style was born in 1869 Cincinnati, Ohio. The original was edited later by a student of his, Elwyn Brooks White, and is now called “The Strunk and White.”

And its the birth day of George Sand The French novelist was born Lucile Aurore Dupin in 1804 Paris.

A Ritual To Read To Each Other

. . . though we could fool each other, we should
consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the
dark.

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to
sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.

– William Stafford, the poem “A Ritual To Read To Each Other,” is in The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems. Graywolf Press, 1988.

The disappearance of the bagel man . . .

Monday, June 30, 2025. It's the Moon's day . . . A cool start to a warm day in TulseyTown. Forecasts indicate moderate Southerlies and a slight chance for a thunderstorm this afternoon and evening. Low 90's with heat indices in the mid-upper 90's. Northerlies are to visit tomorrow.

Don't fault the poem remaining unfinished.

The bird of imagination flies where it likes.

Be silent. The queen will finish the poem. – Rumi (adapted)

Speaking of finishing. It took Margaret Mitchell ten years to complete her novel Gone With the Wind. It was published on this day in 1936.

Among four political stories people should know about, according to Heather Cox Richardson in her Letters From An American, is one staggering admission by Trump that he allowed the Iranians to bomb the U.S. base in Quatar as retaliation for the U.S. strikes on their nuclear sites.

The week ahead. – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse.

NOW, the National Organization for Women was founded on this day 49 years ago.

In each of our lives at various points along the way, we find ourselve in the Fog of Not Knowing – a period of transition, a liminal space – when the way, the path, the plan, or the project is not yet clear...Regardless of how you arrive in this place...This period “in between” – whether for minutes, months, even years – is to be respected and honored; it is fertile and full of promise...If you can neet this “void” (it isn't) without grasping for some convenient way out, what you discover will be beyond your expectations and imagination...At the edge if Not Knowing is the beginning of the extraordinary. – Victoria Labame, Risk Forward, Hay House, 2021.

Reading the Times

Unhealthy particulates were found throughout the home
—”The Toxic Homes of Los Angeles,” June 24, 2025

So many things to be afraid of: the space junk of Damocles

orbiting in the troposphere, that worrisome spot

on my friend’s pancreas, the disappearance of the bagel man

[...]

– Kim Addonizio, “Reading the Times,” Rattle (poets respond) online, 6.30.25

Thank you Tchaikovsky . . .

Sunday, June 29, 2025. It's Sol's day . . . The Summer heat returns to TulseyTown.

Stay close to any sounds that make you glad you are alive. – Hafez

Today in 1974, while on tour with the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Ballet in Toronto, Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union, citing artistic reasons. The dancer, actor, and social activist is 77 years old (January) and lives in New York City.

Frank Loesser was born on this date. The composer, librettist, and lyricist was born in 1910 New York City.

Its the birthdate of the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The aviator and writer was born today in 1900 Lyon, France.

The vast majority of people throughout history have been poor, oppressed, or in some way “on the margins.” They would have read history in terms of a need for change, but most of history has been written and interpreted from the side of the winners. The unique exception is the revelation called the Bible, which is an alternative history from the side of the often enslaved and oppressed people of ancient Israel, culminating in the scapegoat figure of Yesua. – Richard Rohr, Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation,

History is writ by them who done the hanging. – attributed to Robert the Bruce.

Navigating The Watercourse Way . . . Making peace with uncertainty isn’t about having more control. It’s about learning how to ride the waves instead of being pulled under by them.

How much more alive can one's thanks bring.