“Captive on a Carousel of Time”

Posted on by Claremary P. Sweeney
Clouds from a plane window
Clouds from a plane window

Last week’s post about cloud gazing was entitled “From the Other Side of a Cloud“. The title refers back to one of my favorite songs, “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, a Canadian singer/songwriter/artist.

A little back story: During a plane ride, Mitchell was reading Henderson The Rain King by Saul Bellow, and came across the section where the protagonist is looking at clouds from the window, just as Mitchell was doing at that moment. She explained, “I dreamed down at the clouds, and thought that when I was a kid I had dreamed up at them…” she continues to muse that she now “dreamed at the clouds from both sides as no generation of men has done.”

And from that coincidence came one of the loveliest pieces of music from the Sixties. As I listen to those lyrics, it never fails to take me back to my college days, when “the times they were a changin’ “. It brings to mind the many folk singers who became the real poet/philosophers of their age. They sang about freedom and disillusionments and articulated their thoughts of a better world for us and the generations to follow.

“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now,

from up and down and still somehow

it’s life’s illusions I recall

I really don’t know life at all.”

The ’60’s and 70’s were tumultuous times here in the US and we had sore need of those singers/poets/philosophers; Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Tom Rush and so many more who had a dramatic effect on stirring young people to think about our times and how we could not only dream but work toward a better world.

And things did change. From those songs came the sit-ins, the demonstrations, the outright demands for the end of a war and the enactment of laws giving freedoms much too long in coming. We could use those poets right now, I think, because I sometimes feel we’re going back from where we came. I’m overwhelmed lately by the realization that as a people, we seem to have learned nothing from our past mistakes.

This weekend, Elie Wiesel was laid to rest. A Holocaust survivor, he became a wiser human being, a champion for human rights, and as President Barack Obama reminded us, “The Conscience of the World.” He fully understood how the evil within one person can be toxic and spread to many. He wanted us to take this lesson and never forget. Weisel believed we all have a responsibility to respond to that evil. In his own words:

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”

  “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

“Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

And what does that mean for all of us on this July 4th, 2016?  At the bare minimum, it means we need to cultivate our understanding of right and wrong and our feeling of empathy for other human beings. That means when we see someone being wronged, being hurt, we have a duty to step up and say or do something. It means we don’t let anyone stand alone to be victimized. We do the right thing because we know in our hearts what the right thing is.

In the larger scheme of things, it means we must be careful in the people we choose to lead us. We look back and learn from our own mistakes and those of others. We don’t repeat those mistakes. We learn from history. We raise our voices. We apply the lessons we’ve learned to today’s situations..

So, we have lost  a voice, a conscience, now when we could most use it.  A good man who understood the ugliness of evil and its toxic effects on others. But Weisel  didn’t let that evil consume him. He looked back at it and moved forward to make a difference. His novel, Night, will  endure and be read long after he’s gone from this world. It will continue on just as the songs of the poet/philosophers. We read his words and listen to their lyrics, bringing us back to a time when we hoped the future would be a better place for us and our children. We can’t afford to be captives of indifference.  In our hearts, we’ve seen it all before and we know better.

 

 

96 thoughts on ““Captive on a Carousel of Time””

  1. What a great post. I too sometimes feel that we’re moving backwards. Or that we seem to have a short collective memory, and are quick to take for granted what has been hard won.

    And thanks for the heads-up on Weisel’s novel; I haven’t read it, but I’ll add it to my list.

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    1. You’re welcome. I used it in my classes when I taught high school English. And you are right, it is the not remembering that results in the mistakes of today. Wiesel realized this and made sure we would not forget the sacrifices or take our freedom for granted.

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  4. Indifference is the worst that can happen with anyone, but it does happen with many of us these day. Dear Clare, I am so touched with your profound thoughts, you do look deeper. I believe words really goes wrong, i see a definite regress of which I am afraid. It is good to stir it up and make people think…I hope something can be changed if everyone, at least, will think about it just for some minutes! Your post is as great as always! Happy Independence Day!

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    1. I see that regression here in the US, too. How soon we forget and that is why our need for people of conscience is so critical right now. But, I really must write some lighter posts. I fear I am getting a bit too morbid. Next time – more flowers!

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      1. Clare, you should write about things that bother you no matter of anything! If you like to share, then don’t think, do it!

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      2. Ann, I agree, but sometimes I have very good ideas for a post and they get put aside because of the events of the day. I don’t really want to spend time writing about politics and political leaders, (let the media do that) but leadership has become a very important topic all over the world right now and seems to be pushing out other topics of interest. I think I should just let Roxie take over for awhile – or maybe I’ll be inspired by your post and take some photos of roses? I love roses!

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      3. Well, I understand you pretty well, dear Clare, it’s really hard to concentrate on something that bothers you, I mean political situation is really not the best these days, too many unsolved issues hanging in the air and we hardly can avoid thinking of them. So, I believe it’s already part of our being. However, we can always find something beautiful around us, I am sure your cants will help you. Roses, what a great idea! Looking forward!

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  5. I could cry when I look back at that time when we had hope and felt we could change things for the better. What happened? We (at least our political leaders) certainly don’t learn by their mistakes. Everything is in a total mess here in the UK and the politicians who have created it are all washing their hands of any responsibility. Depressing.

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    1. Mary, I’ve been avidly following the situation in the UK. Did anyone not see how the door would again be open to another vote on Scottish secession? And now Northern Ireland is considering the same. This cannot be good for them. The United Kingdom is apparently becoming dis-united and it would appear no one wants to take over the reins to take care of all of the work that now has to be done. And there is so much paper work alone!
      I understand the extreme discontent in both of our countries, but when the change will only make matters worse, I just don’t see the point.

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      1. They knew a Leave vote would open the door to another independence referendum but they didn’t believe Leave would win. Even the leaders of the Leave campaign did not expect – nor want – to win, with the exception of the odious Nigel Farage. David Cameron promised to let the people decide as a way of gathering votes at the last general election.
        I have always believed Scotland should be independent and was very disappointed when people voted against it. A great many people were disappointed and bitter about the result but we accepted it with a lot more dignity than the EU referendum result. Scotland voted to remain in the EU but, as always, our wishes are ignored by the government in Westminster – a government we did not elect.
        At least we are not going to be inflicted with Boris Johnston as Prime Minister. If we had him and you have Trump – God help us!

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      2. I think Cameron should not have opened up that Pandora’s Box and I’m sure he is of the same mind right now. Hindsight is revealingly stunning, isn’t it? I believe if more of the younger people had gotten out to vote, the results would have been different. And they are the ones who will have to live with this the longest. Have you noticed the incredible similarities between Boris and Donald? I’m becoming paranoid thinking someone has created these ugly clones and has dispersed them to create disention in various parts of the world. ARGGGGHHHH!

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  7. Beautiful songs and words in a very wise and timely post .
    Unfortunately it appears to be human nature to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again until we finally learn . Some go through this process faster , but others do a lot of damage in the meantime 😦
    If we could only just pay attention to what is happening around us , study a bit of history , and read the words of the survivors like Elie Wiesel that you beautifully remembered here 🙂
    Wishing you a Happy Fourth of July
    Turtle Hugs

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      3. We surely can and should hope 🙂
        And we can do more , you with your blog posts and talking with everyone you interact with daily , me educating my kids and making them attentive to other’s needs , maybe we will just inspire some good fellows to run for office 😉
        Have a great week

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  9. A powerful post and also wonderful tribute to Weisel. Where is the grassroots energy and fight that figured so prominently in the 60s & 70s. Sometimes I really do wonder! Love the songs – I haven’t heard many Joni Mitchell songs so glad to listen to these. Must check out his Weisel’s book. I’ve read Primo Levi’s books.

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      1. Thank you so much, Clare. It was tough coming back to creative work, my brain and heart didn’t want to know. Each day things are feeling a bit more ‘normal’ – oh, how undervalued that is!

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  10. I am touched by this post Clare! I read it while playing the ‘Clouds’ video, what an impact. I appreciate this post, the meaning, the impact of it. I think there is a time in all our lives we must seek to end indifference and begin to see others as equals. Thanks for sharing a wonderful post on this day at this time for me to read. An impact you have upon me today. Happy 4th of July to you my dear friend. 🙂

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    1. Terry, I’m glad you visited me today and liked the message of this last post. I think I’m getting a bit too preachy, though and need to tone down a bit. But I have always felt very strongly about standing up to bullies. When I was little, my father used to remind me how small I was and to be careful. but that never stopped me and I took a few jabs for it.Not sorry about that at all.

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  12. Clare, I have the sense that as the comforting chimera of constant economic growth and expansion dissolves before our eyes, then indifference will be supplanted by political awareness and activism. I don’t believe that transition will be a comfortable one, at all, and the birthing pains will likely be hard to endure. There’s an essential tension between corporate interests, which partly own our political systems and control the legislature, and the citizenry at large. I may well, of course, be wrong, but I feel we’re beginning to see a paradigm shift which plays out enduringly within that same tension. Idealism will return, but in ugly forms as well as good. As to who will out, then I must say I’m not currently optimistic. Much may depend on the matter of empathic understanding, as you rightly point out; yet this capacity of we higher primates seems so rarely exercised.

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    1. Hariod, you realize,as do I, the glaring similarities of our political situation here in the US with the UK. I’ve long declared that we are more a corporatocracy than a democracy and I really do understand people’s frenzied need to break away at all costs. Off with their heads! But I feel the wrong type of person is taking up the cause. Boris and Donald are incredibly self-serving. They are unable, emotionally and intellectually, to handle the repercussions of where their hate rhetoric is leading us. They are too in love with the “power over” as opposed to the “power to”. And this is the critical point about the qualities needed in leaders who will help us through this miasma into a better place. They must be selfless and dedicated and intuitive and intelligent and empathetic at the very least. We both can agree that these two buffoons are none of the above. I hope you are right and idealism returns. I can’t help but wonder if we will have to endure a bloody revolution first.

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      1. Thankyou for that, dear Clare, though I had wondered if I’d been a little too political just here on your lovely site, and if my own sentiments ran parallel to yours, which it now seems they do. As for Trump, then with your permission I’ll offer this extract from Richard Rorty’s last book, from 1998, Achieving Our Country:

        Many writers on socioeconomic policy have warned that the old industrialized democracies are heading into a Weimar-like period, one in which populist movements are likely to overturn constitutional governments. Edward Luttwak, for example, has suggested that fascism may be the American future. The point of his book – The Endangered American Dream – is that members of labor unions, and unorganized unskilled workers, will sooner or later realize that their government is not even trying to prevent wages from sinking or to prevent jobs from being exported. Around the same time, they will realize that suburban white-collar workers—themselves desperately afraid of being downsized—are not going to let themselves be taxed to provide social benefits for anyone else.

        At that point, something will crack. The non-suburban electorate will decide that the system has failed and start looking around for a strongman to vote for—someone willing to assure them that, once he is elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen, and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots. A scenario like that of Sinclair Lewis’ novel – It Can’t Happen Here – may then be played out. For once a strongman takes office, nobody can predict what will happen. In 1932, most of the predictions made about what would happen if Hindenburg named Hitler chancellor were wildly overoptimistic.

        One thing that is very likely to happen is that the gains made in the past forty years by black and brown Americans, and by homosexuals, will be wiped out. Jocular contempt for women will come back into fashion. The words “nigger” and “kike” will once again be heard in the workplace. All the sadism which the academic Left has tried to make unacceptable to its students will come flooding back. All the resentment which badly educated Americans feel about having their manners dictated to them by college graduates will find an outlet.

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      2. Hariod, I had never intended to write about my political, religious and social beliefs when I first began blogging last year. I wanted to become involved in conversations about the importance of early reading in the lives of children. Obviously, much has changed and the bloggers I now converse with are such an international and varied group that I’ve entered territory way beyond children’s books. This is fine, although I fear appearing too judgmental at times. But these are very strange times and it is hard for me to remain quiet on certain topics.
        I fear Luttwak’s prediction is a possible reality for us here in the US. I’ve always thought there some day would be a violent revolution of sorts and I would imagine that is still a great possibility given the loss of our American Dream; and it has been lost, I’ve no doubt. It will eventually turn into our own American Nightmare if the sadistic strongmen are let off their leashes. I will certainly read Rorty and Luttwak’s works as they do seem to be expressing what I’ve been feeling in my heart for quite some time. Charley and I were discussing the latest media reports last night and I blurted out, “From now on I’m only voting for women! It’s the one way I can see to drastically change the course we’ve been on for so long.” Of course, this is a bit simplistic, but I do feel kinder, gentler voices are sorely needed. President Jimmy Carter opened a forum on human rights workers with these words: “What is needed now, more than ever, is leadership that steers us away from fear and fosters greater confidence in the inherent goodness and ingenuity of humanity.” I am proud to say I voted for that man. He is a true salesman and works tirelessly for human rights. We need more men and women leaders who think like him.
        Hariod, I wish we lived closer to each other. We could have some fine discussions over tea, methinks! Clare

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  13. I sometimes think that you and I are siamese twins seperated at birth …. well said, timely and I hope your readers will take it to heart and share the sentiment. Maybe this time, out of turbulence we might find peace. Happy Fourth of July to you and your lovely husband and those delectable felines 🙂

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    1. Yes, I was visiting you yesterday and realized we were both on the same page. And it truly is a dangerous world right now. I might add that Jimmy Carter is working toward the idea of a more peaceful world and understands that leadership is the key to this goal. He’s meeting with a peace group right now. As to your hiatus, I was on Face Book a while back and after a year, closed my account. I recently opened it again but use it infrequently for much the same reasons you mention. I seem to do better with blogging and find many people like yourself who actually deal with difficult topics in a sane, respectful way. Thank you for stopping by.

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    1. Thank you, Dennis. I thought of you while I was writing this post . And thank you, once more, for the music link. I will check it out right now. Clare PS Hopefully, the sun burn has faded and you are moving around once again.😎

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      1. One thought on the link is that for those people out there that are still looking at clouds maybe they are tired of them and are “Waiting for the Sun”. Or maybe we are waiting for people to stand up again for something real like people in the 60’s and early 70’s did instead of the joke junk they try to stand up for now to take advantage of social media.
        P.S Don’t worry I never was sunburned I take medicines that mess with my skin if I’m out in the sun to long.

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  16. I was born toward the end of the 1960s, but I still know and enjoy the music of all the singers you mentioned. (I’ve always liked folk music.)

    Personally, I don’t think things are going backwards. Rather, it seems to me that we really do just go round and round, as in the song referenced by your title. Basic human nature doesn’t change. Individuals can be massively influenced by terrible experiences, but once that generation passes on, subsequent generations are fully capable of making all the same mistakes again.

    If ever there was a century that showed the world the dangers of listening to racist demagogues, it was the previous one, yet here we all are not so many decades later and what do we find? Donald Trump in America, NIgel Farage in Britain, and just the other day the re-emergence of Pauline Hanson in Australia.

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    1. Born in the 60’s? You are a youngster 👶!
      Yes, I agree that we just seem to be going around making the same mistakes, over and over. But here in the US, we’ve never bordered so close to Fascism as we seem to be right now and that would truly be a backwards step. I am going to read up on Hanson. And here I thought it was just the men!

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      1. I can certainly understand your concern. Needless to say, the thought of a Trump presidency fills me with dread. I read somewhere that if Donald Trump becomes the 45th president, America may not need a 46th. The writer meant it as a joke, but it was a little too unsettling a thought for me to laugh much at it.

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      2. Bun, We are all dreading even the thought of him in office. It’s a travesty on so many levels. Hariod Braun’s comments under this post are very telling and he has suggested two books I might read on the loss of the American Dream and the potential for the US to become a Fascist State. Ah, I can see my blog posts now with the new heading “Living My Old Age in a Time of Anarchy”. I spent some time researching Pauline Hanson and she is one scary chick! And I thought Sarah Palin was self-absorbed, ignorant and out for what she could get! Hanson is much more persistent than Palin and after many years of unsuccessful runs, she finally has achieved her goal. My Dad used to run the elections in our city and he always cautioned, “They won’t remember what you said, but they’ll remember the name. Name and Brand recognition – so that’s what it’s come down to? And like you, I’m not laughing and very unsettled. Clare

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      3. Sadly, I think it’s possible for the US or any other country to become a fascist state because countries are made up of people and human nature doesn’t change. The particular institutions within a country can accelerate or hinder the process, of course, but complacency is a very real danger. I’ve been rather depressed to see so many of the political class on the right talking about Donald Trump as though he were any other candidate. There have been some exceptions too, thank goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with George Will about anything else in my life, but his decision to leave the Republican Party over Donald Trump struck me as a brave and principled stand. I just wish many more people were doing the same.

        Incidentally, I very much agree with your assessment of Pauline Hanson. She’s just another one of the depressingly long list of political bigots who seek to blame all their country’s problems on some easy-to-target group. I always find it grimly amusing that for all they bang on about protecting their unique culture/heritage/racial purity or whatever, right-wing populists tend to be so very similar to one another.

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      4. George Will is a respected, conservative journalist and I think the move by the buffoon to bar the Washington Post really emphasized for Will and all other writers that the buffoon has no intention of protecting anyone’s constitutional rights. Freedom of the Press was not something the buffoon should have messed with. I am noticing subtle changes in the way media is handling the buffoon’s mis-steps aka lies. They are actually calling him out on the national news. If there is anything positive to see at the end of this election year tunnel, it’s that the Republican Party, as we have known it,will have some severe restructuring to do when the buffoon loses and the damage has been done. And I foresee that lots of damage will be done at that convention.

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      5. I hope you’re right. The best possible outcome to all this would be if Donald Trump is thrashed in the election and the Republican Party is forced to once again join the real world where facts are facts, science exists and the answer to every question is not, “More guns! More guns!”

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      6. Bun, the Republican party could end up breaking into two or three parties after the convention. And they are in need of a severe overhaul. It’s important to have more than one party. Here in RI, we have hardly any Republican representation in our State Legislature. We are an extremely Catholic, Democratic state and it is not healthy nor is it conducive for growth.
        PS The sad thing is that we could end up with another Revolution/State of Civil Unrest on our hands- not the best way to iron out problems. Clare

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  17. Great post! Thanks for sharing with all of us. I love how you illustrate the fact that songwriters and poets and I’m going to throw in there novelists reflect the problems our their times and create change. 🙂

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    1. Lisa, definitely novelists. The arts are so important in their influence on the populace. It certainly is the reason that artwork, architecture and books have been destroyed during past revolutions. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Much appreciated! Clare

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      1. You’re so right, Clare. I’m a big World War II buff and I’m reading “Salt to the Sea” right now. And one of the characters is an Art Restorer. It shows how the Nazis stole art from the Jews and hid it. Very good story. I love the stories where the underdog wins in the end. 🙂

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      2. Oh, there was a movie, The Monuments Men, a few years back about a group who went searching for the art works that had been stolen. Hitler gave orders to blow up the hiding places if his plans failed. They had to find them before they were destroyed. And of course the later movie, the Woman in gold with Helen Mirren.

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      3. I saw both of those movies. Very good! I also saw “The Book Thief” and read the book. Another book that was awesome was “All the Light You Cannot See.” I’m going to reread that one. It was that good. 🙂

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      4. Yes, saw the movies and read them both. I know you’re a WWII fanatic but have you ever read the Maisie Hobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear? The first book begins with the end of WWI and the succeeding books lead up to WWII and I’m sure she will cover that. Beautifully written and historically well-done.Winspear has a blog, too.

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  19. What a fantastic post, Clare! Like you, the voices of Pete Seegar, Peter, Paul and Mary, Buffy St. Marie, Phil Ochs, and Dylan were rallying calls set to music in the background of our early lives. (Doug actually sang in a folk group) Ellie Wiesel’s passing stirs such an echo of those times when we tried to wake up the world around us and wanted to work to make it better. I am actually quite encouraged that at the same time some voices today want to look backward to some view of an idyllic (and xenophobic) past, young people have flocked to the idealism (of Sander’s ideas) of making an inspired world that cares for all. Amazing how music forms the background of our lives…and changes things. Such a gentle way of promoting making a difference and yet I think quiet and gentle can ultimately be so much more powerful than ranting and screaming for attention. Wiesel came to Syracuse while we lived there and spoke to a huge concert hall filled with people. Sitting in a chair on a Persian rug with a table next to him and in the quietest voice stirred the crowd with his thoughts and then took questions which he thoughtfully answered. A very meaningful moment and despite the crowd intimate, like listening to a beloved uncle impart the deepest wisdom. Thanks for stirring these memories…Jo

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    1. So many gentle, kind people have left this earth and I’m hoping they are being replaced with those who believe strongly in the possibility of peaceful co-existence. I knew you would like folk music, and I’d imagined you in the folk band, not Doug. Do you remember Hootenannies? I loved growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, but I have to say, retirement beats it all !

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      1. Of course, I remember Hootenannies! Doug’s group was the Raleigh Tavern Singers. He sang and played acoustic guitar, 6 and 12 string. I just loved singing along! I’m so glad you wrote the tribute to Ellie Weisel, we may not see his like soon, but I’ve always loved how many kids continued to be in the audience for Pete Seegar and Peter, Paul and the incomparable Mary. Gives me hope as do my grandkids. No bigotry, race and lgbt stuff irrelevant to most and a bit less bullying, though still some. Kids can be a bit mean, and the ones with the doting “my kid can do no wrong” parents are the worst. Doug is about to retire and after my lay off I’ve stopped looking and am just enjoying! Amazing how much we’ve shared!

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      2. You two will have the greatest time together in retirement! Charley and I really love doing our own “things’ and then doing things together. We’ve been retired for over ten years and it feels like just yesterday. I’m looking forward to the blogs all about your adventures. Sharing is never over-rated!

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  20. A deeply thought-provoking post Clare. I see a growing indifference, a disillusionment in our national and world politics. We must face it down, become more informed and speak out. How privileged to be able to vote, how under-valued it appears today. I’ve been dismayed by the pride some people have taken in making a donkey vote – one that doesn’t count.

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    1. Robyn, Yes, I agree. I’ve been following the political situations in the UK and Australia. Boris and Pauline could get together with the donald and do some 3 stooges routines. I’m taking a break from posting this week in hopes that my mind will move on to other topics for a while.I’m not looking forward to the nominating conventions here in the US at the end of July. It just might send me over the top! Clare

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      2. I must live in a pickle jar, because no one I know thinks that way, either. And I don’t think I want to venture out to where people are thinking hateful, anti-human thoughts. What a black hole that must be to live in! I’ll take my pickle jar any day.

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      4. Dear Robyn, After reading your post, I decided to write something today and it set off a catastrophe. The first draft did not have the “s” in my link to your post and so it led readers nowhere. Spelling errors were not corrected and there was no title or tags! As I was correcting these errors on the draft, I realized it had gotten published and then the craziness began, trying to right it all as I was getting comments by the second. Charley is making me dinner right now and I’m having a beer- or maybe 2 or 3!Where’s that pickle jar? Clare🍺

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      5. Oh no! Must have been the way you were holding your tongue!! Seriously I have those days. Awful when drafts take off into the ether before they’re finished. Morning here when you’re comment came through so too early for a calming ale here. My dad wouldn’t have a drink until the ‘sun was over the yardarm’

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      6. It’s now morning here in RI and the rain has cleared out. the gardens needed it – lots of Day Lilies and pink spirea. The hydrangea are very slow to bloom this year and not many buds. I’m feeling better, although I now have 2 of the same posts on my site with different commenters under each – so I guess it will stay as a reminder to me to be more careful. No ale for me today!

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      7. Pleased you’re feeling better Clare. Somehow when I’m feeling low, the right moments – or people- come along to lift me again. I wish I could walk in your garden with you. It must be a picture at present. I do love hydrangea. I put one in last year but it’s yet to flower. It’s 2:15 am here. I’ve woken and can’t go back to sleep so thought to reply to your comments. Don’t be concerned about the blog glitch. Everyone has them. Love and light coming your way. Robyn

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      8. I often seem to wake up in the early hours of the morning, too. I hope you had a nice nap later on in the day.
        My gardens are quite overgrown right now; filled with yellow and red and orange daylilies, red crocosmia, white feverfew, bright yellow English primrose and coreopsis. I’ve let it all grow wild for the moment. Eventually, I’ll tame it down with hoeing and weeding and pruning. Outside in the yard I have three tiny bunnies that run in and out of the gardens, chased by a herd of chipmunks and there are birds’ nests in the bushes. So I’ve let the little beasties take over. It provides endless entertainment for ZuZu and Roxie (and me). Sweet dreams, my friend and thank you for the love and light❣️☀️

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      9. Clare, your garden sounds truly idyllic. Its wildness is my kind of garden. The maintenance of a garden should never be a chore. It happens when its supposed to is the way I like to think about it.
        My little granddaughter (6yrs) split her head open yesterday. Her brother (8yrs) collided with her on the trampoline. Blood gushed from the scalp and made a big impression on the children. It was the ‘what ifs’ that kept me from sleep. She is recovered and delighting in repeating the story. Much of what worries me in the dark hours is not the problem it seemed once the sun comes up.

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      10. “I am relieved that your granddaughter is all right. It is such a worry, sometimes, when you let yourself think “what if?”, but this time the “what if” is that she is fine and much tougher for the experience. And she has a story to tell and something to hold over her brother forever! Yes, there is always the morning when the sun comes up. Today is going to be a very good day for both of us!

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  21. So many thoughts come up as I read this beautiful call for grace, compassion, and a voice. I was raised on all those great songs too, Claire. I thought the 60’s would change the country – that we’d grow up with the values of peace, love, and compassion and manifest those qualities as adults. Yet, the politics of today is based on fear and all its ugliness. Elie Wiesel’s words are no less important today than they were 60 years ago. Just gotta keep speaking them. ❤

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    1. The people, like you, who comment on my blog are such caring, empathetic voices. I am in wonder at the fact that these other, hateful voices, are in such control politically. I also believe that we do have to be more vocal in our beliefs in an attempt to drown out the hatred. A year and a half ago, when I began this blog, I never intended to venture into the topics I find myself emmeshed in. I just wanted to write about the importance of early reading with young children. I am not sure how I arrived at the place I’m at now, but I feel it’s important to support each other in trying to get a message of peace out there, somehow, in our own small way. Thanks for your touching comment and for stopping by to chat. 💞 Clare

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  22. Very thought-provoking, Clare, and you’ve related your theme so well to that wonderful song by Joni Mitchell. Indifference seems to be the way in which so many things are viewed nowadays.

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    1. Yes, Millie, it truly is the case. And so, you have a new Iron Lady at the helm. I wonder if it will make a difference in how the departure from the EU is handled in the long run? I truly hope the UK comes through this all and grows stronger in the years to come. I am not sure what will happen here in the US politically, but I will tell you one thing- I am very nervous about the Republican Convention next week. And now another attack in Nice. What will become of us?

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