Sunday, May 9, 2021

Today is the day ....

Since I have not been in a "mood for creativity" for some time now, I decided to utilize the work of others to take note of Mother's Day in the United States and several other countries. The illustration is a painting by Claude Monet, one of my "favored," and shows his wife, Camille Doncieux Monet, and their son, Jean. The piece is entitled "Woman with a Parasol" and was done in 1875. Also included is a poem by Carl Sandburg. It is the third of three published in 1916 in "Poems Done on a Late Night Car" under the title of "Home." Finally, there are two videos, the first written by John Lennon about his mother, Julia, and the second composed by James Coats in 1942 and performed here by Dolly Parton / Linda Ronstadt / Emmylou Harris. It is called "The Sweetest Gift" -- with the gift, of course, a mother's smile for her child. My own mother departed in 2012 and I miss her and appreciate her more with each passing year. I do not think of myself as having been a very good son, but I did make it a point to call her each and every mother's day even when I was far/far away .... there should be a message in those words, and today is the day ....

"Poems Done on a Late Night Car .. Home" by Carl Sandburg

Here is a thing my heart wishes the world had more of:
I heard it in the air of one night when I listened 
To a mother singing softly to a child 
restless and angry in the darkness.



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12 comments:

Kelly said...

It's been awhile since I've heard anything by that trio. I always thought their voices blended so well. I can't recall ever hearing the John Lennon song before.

I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to many "holidays" and that includes Mother's Day. Meh. But... I try not to rain on anyone else's parade. 😉

May 9, 2021 at 5:28 PM
Fram Actual said...

I sort of like Linda Ronstadt, appreciate Dolly Parton, mostly as the writer of a couple of songs, and always preferred Emmylou Harris when she was involved in duets as opposed to going solo. Emmylou and Gram Parsons ("Love Hurts" .. listening to it now) were good together, I think, and she did well with Tom Petty and Roy Orbison.

The same with me about Johnny Lennon and "Julia," although as prolific as the Beatles were, I would guess there are some songs by the band I never have heard.

My mother was one of those people who sent a card for any and (almost) all occasions. My own usual method is a telephone call. I cannot remember with certainty how many children you have, but I know for sure you have a son in my neighborhood and a daughter who is a legal whiz, so, ready or not, Happy Mother's Day, Kelly. Sorry, if I neglected anyone, like, perhaps, another daughter. I have two girls and a boy, and sort of think/thought you do, too.

I hope your Mother's Day will be good to you and for you, and I thank you for your visit and your words. Take care and stay safe and be happy, Ms. Arkansas ....

May 9, 2021 at 6:22 PM
Kelly said...

Hi, Fram :) I like these songs very much. They are sweet and beautiful... I also love the painting...it is one of my favorites. So pretty.
I celebrated Mother's Day with my kids yesterday and it was lovely. Today I am preparing a feast for my mother, celebrating her. She has asked for my famous roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccolini, along with a lemon cream pie for dessert :) We will be happy, and thankful, and celebrate Moms!
I have just started "The Seed Keeper" and I like it very much. I think I'm really going to enjoy it...so far, so good!
I recently finished a book by Kristin Hannah. She wrote, "In war, we find out who we are, and in love, we find out who we want to be." Her words resonate so strongly with me. You wrote below in a comment about contentment right where you are and within yourself. Being happy where we are and with ourselves I think is the foundation where we begin. I still love the idea of love expanding us and making us even better. I hope you enjoyed the quote too. I think it is, as Hemingway says, "One true sentence." Sooooo FrammyO, I wish you a happy day and for your imagination I say, Jingle Jingle and Splish Splash, off I go ;)

May 9, 2021 at 10:53 PM
Fram Actual said...

Well, unless you have given birth or adopted or become a grandmother, my assumption is that you have your son and your daughter with whom to celebrate Mother's Day .... hmmmm?

How are the kids these days, Kelly?

And, your mother .... how is she doing? I am not sure if I should inquire about your sisters or not .... hmmmm, again ....

I like both these songs, too, but rock 'n' roll classics still rest on the summit of my list.

I sometimes think it would be impossible not to like the work of Claude Monet, but such people must exist somewhere in the polarized world of today. I might have asked you before and, if so, forgive me .... but, have you been to Giverny? I have and fell in love with the place. I think the presence of Monet still can be felt in the gardens. I would like to live in Giverny, but figure having a pistol range there would be out of the question.

I entirely agree with the comment by Kristin Hannah, although I am assuming she has not personally experienced both elements of that equation. Perhaps, you know .... do any of her books touch on characters who have been to war? Could be interesting. Some of the better "war material" has come from writers who never experienced it .... I give you Stephen Crane.

Well, I shall head for the seashore now to see if I can catch a glimpse of you as you jingle/jangle/jungle your way into the surf of Magellan's Sea. Should be quite a sight ....

Be seeing you, Mermaid ....

May 10, 2021 at 2:44 AM
Anita said...

Hej!

Ser bare innom og håper du og dine hadde en fin morsdag!

Vi feirer det ikke her nå i Norge.Kansje senere.

Jeg misunner dere som kan slappe av og nyte dagene.
Lese bøker og være ved havet

Ta livet som det kommer.
Litt info fra meg.
Alexander er nå ferdig med sin bachelor's degree
"what does research say about teachers' perspectives on education for democracy and citizenship in schools "

Det ble ca 8000 ord

Jeg er glad jeg ikke er student i dag!Krevende og detalj orientert

Ellers er alt bare bra

Fin musikk har du og i dag

Emmalou Harris liker jeg selv om jeg ikke er overbegeistret for country men noen låter er jo fine..

Vi jobber mye og blogging blir det lite med

Jeg er glad for deg at du har ett så fint selskap her inne.
Mangen fine kommentarer.

Kristin Hannah writes good in a popular matter that everybody can understand
The Great Alone and The Nightingale, read along time ago,Four winds I will try later

Maleriet av Monet er bare vakkert!Skulle likt å hatt det på veggen min hjemme

Da håper jeg du vil fortsette dine gode dager
Keep smiling and never be afraid for anything, remember..

Hilsen fra Norge far far away


May 10, 2021 at 7:53 PM
Fram Actual said...

Hej, right back at you, Bergen jente ....

A belated Happy Mother's Day to you, Anita, a day late for the American form and a couple of months late according to the Norwegian version which, as I understand it, came and went on February 14.

Mother's Day for me consisted of a few telephone calls, which were pleasant.

Hmmmm .... so you envy those who "can relax and enjoy the days. Read books and be by the sea. Take life as it comes." Well, yes, that is a pleasant existence, but boring beyond words and I prefer to be roaming and getting myself into and out of trouble.

My congratulations to Alexander. I am sure he is a fine teacher and will have a prosperous career.

If you and Kalifornia Kelly both are reading Kristin Hannah, maybe I should give one of her books a try.

Your remark, "I'm not overly enthusiastic about country but some songs are nice," also describes me perfectly. Beyond that, there are some singers who do well both in country and in rock 'n' roll who I appreciate.

As for the paintings of Monsieur Claude Monet, they are near the top of my list. I would love to own one .. or two .. or ....

"There is nothing to fear, but fear itself," is one of those cliché sayings no one knows the origin of, but also one which should be a truism for everyone. It can be traced to the 16th Century and, no doubt, was uttered long before then by some wobbly sot in the midst of a binge-drinking episode. However, it is nice to believe there are some more-or-less fearless folk walking the earth. Yes, I remember, Anita .... take care and someday / sometime / somewhere ....

May 10, 2021 at 9:11 PM
Kelly said...

Hey again :)
Yes, Ryan and his wife Lindsay are super happy and healthy. Hopefully, soon they will make me a grandma :) That would make me very happy! Tara is also doing very well, happy and healthy. My sisters and mom are still here and doing well, although much of my family have left California. We have many problems here, as in much of the country. Several of my nieces have moved to Colorado and are loving it there and enjoying a much simpler and more natural lifestyle. I love my Golden State but plan to leave too...I'm excited to go to new places and experience new things! I've been traveling quite a bit, and as I spoke about before, I'm narrowing down where I want to go. I'm headed back to Tennesse and the Smokies for a springtime visit at the end of the month. They have a flower festival in Knoxville that I plan to see, and I'm also going down to Chattanooga and Gatlinburg to check that part of the state out... maybe a little bit into Georgia while I'm down that way. There are some fun historic sites I'd like to see. I loved it in the Smokies so much! So beautiful...I felt at peace there, very much at home...
As for Giverny, I have never been but I can imagine it would feel like walking into one of his paintings, only even more beautiful because you would have all the sensory experiences of being there in person!
Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale" is a story about two sisters in France during World War II and their struggles to survive the German occupation of France. It is historical fiction. I enjoy her books very much. I saw Anita does too :) I think we are all of like minds and enjoy many of the same things...though in different parts of the world, our hearts and minds are in sync with one another...beautiful, isn't it. :)
And, Congratulations to Anita on your son's success! One of our great joys in life is to see our kids healthy, happy, thriving :)
By the way, I finally found a gun I like :) I was watching Hickok45 and he was testing a Benelli LUPO 6.5 Creedmoor. I like it! :)
Stay well and happy, Fram!
Big Hug :)

May 11, 2021 at 4:32 AM
Anita said...

Thank you Fram for nice reply!

It is a time for everything in life I quess.Work ,rest ,hate ,children ,age sadness ,to be alone, to be sick, to not be loved back, the list is long..Uff life is full of challenge .How do we cope with that?.And sometimes I think we are really not satisfied whatever we do ,there is always something new to grasp and explore and that is good too..But will we ever be happy enough?

Regarding Kelly Califorina book reviews-Here are also some very very good books within that genre .. "Those who save us" is the best I have read, but we are all different. Some like it and others ,like something else..Here are the links to books that we women may find good

https://www.jennablum.com/those-who-save-us

A Thousand Splendid Suns https://khaledhosseini.com/

A historical fiction novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and second novel Cilka’s Journey. https://www.heathermorrisauthor.com/

Hope you all are well! I'm going for an evening walk and we have 20 degrees tonight !
Stay tuned and happy!We are a only a click away!

Que sera Que sera

https://youtu.be/xZbKHDPPrrc

May 11, 2021 at 8:58 PM
Kelly said...

Hey Guys,
Thank you, Anita, for the book links! It is funny but I actually have each one of those on my want-to-read list one day :)
I wish you good cheer, Anita. It sounds like life is a little tough for you these days. Things always get better...this I know for sure.

Fram, I wish you a good day too! I just read that a blood moon, total eclipse and Mars are all in alignment on May 26! Yikes! That is a lot of cosmic energy lining up at the same time. We better buckle our seatbelts...it may be a wild ride!
I send a smile and a big hug over that blood moon to you!







May 12, 2021 at 2:37 AM
Fram Actual said...

It is nice to hear your family members are well and fine, Kelly. It sounds like Ryan is doing great. I think you would make a wonderful grandmother, and hope your wait is not too-o-o-o long. I hope Tara will find the someone "right for her."

I have a "family member" named Lindsay, as well, spelled with an "a," like Ryan's wife. She is the one who currently is a Ph.D. candidate in Idaho.

Tennessee .... hmmmm .... Hickok45 is in Tennessee .... hmmmm. Besides being a "gun nut," he is a retired middle school English teacher. Takes all kinds.

I was in Knoxville at least three times for a number of weeks visiting and/or "apartment sitting" when my daughter was a graduate student at the university. I really enjoyed the city and spent hours in "Old Town" and wandering cemeteries and historic sites. I was sorry when she decided to move along to the West Coast. If you should move anywhere near Knoxville, be sure to tell me where .... the Tennessee River is a nifty place for a canoe jaunt.

I never have fired a 6.5 Creedmoor, but it has a good reputation and if the retired teacher likes it, that would be good enough for me. I had not seen his video on the Benelli (which has a pretty good reputation, too), so I watched it after reading your comment. Being a traditionalist, Hickok45 ordinarily only endorses rifles with blued metal and wooden stocks, but seemed to go out of his way with comments like people "get used to" artificial everything on firearms.

Being a rifle made by an Italian manufacturer probably lifts it a point or two for you, also, I would imagine ....

I might try to squeeze in Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale" to round out my opinion of her wartime writing capability. Historical fiction can be tricky business, unless the writer is someone like James Michener, who had the bucks to organize teams of researchers to do most of the "leg work." He, himself, was in Poland eight times spending weeks observing/interviewing/studying all aspects of the country before writing a book titled with the name of the country.

My apologies for taking so long to reply to your note, Kelly. I do have days when "business" requires me to be out and about ....

Stay out of mischief, Mermaid, and, mostly, stay well and healthy and safe .... see you somewhere over the rainbow ....

May 12, 2021 at 3:22 AM
Fram Actual said...

Anita asks: .... "will we ever be happy enough?"

There is a long-running joke, Anita, that sometime in his 40s a man will have a mid-life crisis and discover "this is all there is to life." He will then quit his job, buy a sports car, divorce his wife, get a 20-year-old girl friend and stay up all night every night leading a party-like-there-is-no-tomorrow life.

I like to say I have had a mid-life crisis every year since I turned 25 -- but, so far, I have escaped the ramifications as described in the long-running joke .... although, that remark requires further explanation, which may or may not come at another time.

The short answer to your question is "que sera que sera ...."

It depends upon the individual. For some, the answer is yes; for others, it is no. The primary keys to life, from my point of view, are whether or not an individual has the ability to entertain himself/herself or not (some do; some do not) and how much an individual requires for contentment (some a great deal; some very little).

In closing .... https://youtu.be/L5zP3Wzi2EA

May 12, 2021 at 3:33 AM
Fram Actual said...

In reply to your final comment regarding "a blood moon, total eclipse and Mars all in alignment on May 26," Kali Kelly, allow me to respond with this:

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

Whoops .... I have just been informed some "guy" named Roy Batty already said those words ....

Oh, well .... I will be ready for May 26, come what may ....

You, too, I am quite certain ....

May 12, 2021 at 3:44 AM

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