Fly me to Oz . . .

Wednesday, May 21, 2025. It's Odin's day . . . Easy Easterlies are forecasted to bring TulseyTown a warmer day today – in the mid 80's – with yet more Spring sunshine. There's slight chance for a rain shower increasing tomorrow and into the weekend.

I cannot express how important it is to believe that taking one tiny — and possibly very uncomfortable — step at a time can ultimately add up to a great distance. – Tig Notaro, in her memorir I’m Just a Person, Ecco (publisher) 2016.

Administration officials continue with I their utter disregard for the work their jobs require and their refusal to govern for Americans. Instead, they see their offices as ways to get access to large amounts of money and power they can use to impose their will on the country. – Heather Cox Richardson, in yesterday’s Letters From An American.

Now they want to gut Medicare by $500 Billion. As if Medicaid wasn't enough.

And, of course, Trump wants you to believe he's bringing on a new Golden Age. But, like the Great Oz behind the curtain, he wants a return to the “Guilded Age.” What's the difference?

Today is the birthdate of Henri Rousseau. The French pioneer of “naive art” was born in 1844 Laval, France

Charles Lindberg became the first person fly solo across the Atlantic on this day in 1927. It took him 34 hours.

Five years later, in1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She did it in 15 hours.

Flight time today is just short of about 5 hours depending on departure and arrival locale.

I Wanted to Be

I wanted to be so many things.

Bigger than I was.

A tall tower of building blocks.

A shoelace tied so fast.

Jelly spread smoothly

to the corners of the bread.

I wanted to be so good.

[…]

So, what happened?

– Marc Kelly Smith, “I Wanted to Be,” in Rattle, Summer 2007 and online 5.20.25

Yakety Yak . . .

Tuesday, May 20, 2025. It's Tiw's day . . . Moderate to strong Northwesterlies have cleared the skies over TulseyTown. The weatherfeather says sunny and upper 70's. Clear and easy breezes tonight, mid 50's by dawn tomorrow.

“I believe in all that has never yet been spoken.” – Rilke

Ok, so you sometimes talk to your plants. Are they listening? Do they talk back? Well, yes, sort of …

Are we listening?

Shakespeare's sonnets were first published today in 1609.

Perhaps the greatest novelist of all time, Honoré de Balzac (The Divine Comedy) was born in 1799 Tours, France.

The English-born poet W.H. Auden became a U.S. citizen today in 1946.

The whole world heard this one: The Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait of Indonesia began a 3 month eruption on this date in 1883.

What if your body unravels but no doctor can name the disease, much less provide successful treatment?

You don’t get a new heart valve so you can go play golf, I say. Make yourself useful. Grandma would approve of that. She had high standards and I’m still trying to measure up. – Garrison Keillor, The Column.

Where do all these words come from?

The I I thought I was . . .

Monday, May 19, 2025. It's the Moon's day . . . Forecasts for TulseyTown today indicate strong Southerlies, temps in the upper 70's and with a 70% chance of thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado could manifest with some storms so says the weatherfeather, and a 50% chance that the storms will extend until midnight tonight.

We never really know whether an event is fortune or misfortune, we only know our ever-changing reactions to ever-changing events. – Alan Watts in Maria Popova's The Marginalian.

Late last night, the House Budget Committee passed what Republicans are calling their “Big, Beautiful Bill” to enact Trump’s agenda. It is a disaster for middle and lower income Americans. Heather Cox Richardson's Letters From An American provided a clear picture that should lead you to verbal outrage at your House/Senate Congressional representatives.

Joyce Vance's The Democracy Index is meant for people with less time to devote to following what Trump is doing to our country, but who still want to understand what it all means.

Today is the birthday of Malcom X, born in 1925 Omaha, Nebraska. The assassinated civil rights advocate is still making news 60 years after his death.

And its the birthday of playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The author of “A Rasin in the Sun” was born in 1930 Chicago.

My heart is a pen in Your hand

Who am I when love obliterates the I

I thought I was,

drawing me from one path,

leading me on another?

I could tell you,

but everytime I get to this point,

the tip of my pen breaks.

[…]

This pen feel no pride or shame.

It doesn't applaud or lash itself.

It knows only that it traverses the unknown.

The mind can't contain these paradoxes--

how the pen surrenders form to the formless,

giving the formless form.

– Rumi, in Water:Rumi, translation by Haleh Lza Gafori, New York Review Books, 2025.