Rate + Critique: Amazing Photos ( Score 5, Post 1)
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💕This picture and songs is dedicated to anyone who is either physically or mentally or even both, but in one way or another fighting a battle we know nothing about. My thoughts and heart 💕 goes out to them.
There is a saying or quote that I always try to live by, it goes as follows.
REMEMBER TO:
Always be kind
For everyone you
Meet is fighting a
Battle you know
Nothing about
A kind word, a friendly smile can mean the world to someone and change more than we think. It costs nothing to be empathetic, friendly, kind or caring. But for the one who receives your kindness and smile, it could mean or make all the difference. Therefore my friends, remember to always be kind. 💕
"Cover Me In Sunshine"
I've been dreaming of friendly faces
I've got so much time to kill
Just imagine people laughing
I know some day we will
And even if it's far away
Get me through another day
Cover me in sunshine
Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning
And everything will be alright
Cover me in sunshine
From a distance all these mountains
Are just some tiny hills
Wildflowers, they keep living
While they're just standing still
I've been missing yesterday
But what if there's a better place
Cover me in sunshine
Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning
And everything will be alright
Cover me in sunshine
Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning
And everything will be alright
Cover me in sunshine
La la la la
La la la la
Cover me in sunshine
Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning
And everything will be alright
Cover me in sunshine
💖💖In advance I want to thank you all for your always kindness, support, beautiful awards, favs, and messages. Please forgive me for not being as active as usually, just know I see all of your comments and awards and I appreciate them so much as well as each on of you for taking the time. You all mean a lot to me, you all truly make Flickr a lovely place to be. Huge, huge hugs and lots of love to you all💖💖
Wishing you another year full of love and fun despite all the trials we are sent. You are always a fighter, empathetic, kind, generous and a winner in your own way and I am so proud of you and am honoured to be your mother.
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
Though this episode begins in a more traditional non fiction way, with many facts about how many mushrooms perish when the snow falls and temperatures plummet, the episode evolves further with a more empathetic feel. Even a mushroom documentary film maker must show the human side to the mushrooms and how they can suffer. Thus, there is a definite arc to the episode with a thrilling culmination of the collective voices of the mushroom community as they proclaim the following poem:
For days, we witnessed the ominous
“Winter is Coming!"
Well, winter is here, with it’s equal
wonder and terror
We cling to each other
like words in a sentence
without as many spaces.
We are withered, weathered,
and struggling to survive.
Lost souls shivering below flying doves
Past selves and Future selves
Culminating in a grim present moment
How much longer must we suffer and
Yearn for each sliver of daylight?
Oh, won’t some sweet soul
Come gallantly along
Crunching on the oppressive white
Pick us up out of our misery
Tear us from the dark tree bark
With all the dirt that hides under fingernails
And eat us alive?
**All photos are copyrighted**
“The unique fingerprint of every individual defines our unique purpose and mission on earth.”
This picture is for my fabulous teacher and friend in SL who passed away few days ago.
He founded Blender Benders.
He has recorded videos, taught lessons and taught hundreds, even thousands of people in SL, how to use the 3D building program Blender, and how to create things for SL.
He was always patient, diligent, empathetic, creative and always helpful, and his mission in SL was to teach everyone interested in building in 3D. Also, it should be available to everyone, and therefore there was no charge for his lessons or videos. The only condition was, that one was in his classes.
RIP Dear Graham, teacher and friend.
Yesterday the sun was shining wonderfully, so I decided to go for another walk in my local big park and take some photos. Too good to miss the opportunity. A bit nervous I'd feel heartache, not having my Marnie with me - and of course, I did.
However, I'm so glad to have gone there, as I met two delightful gentlemen and their equally delightful dogs. They extended the hand of friendship to me, were so empathetic and even shared their dogs with me 😊 !
~ My picture edited slightly in Topaz Studio ~
I hope you like it, my Flickr friends 😃
Thanks for all your friendship, your views, faves and comments.
Her outer beauty is just a bonus, but it is her inner beauty that's most captivating.
She's loving, caring, kind hearted, empathetic and genuine.
She's comfortable in her own skin, therefore, she's able to compliment, celebrate, and build up others around her.
She's a quality Woman with a strong sense of self!
She doesn't need the spotlight, because she is the light wherever she goes.
Smart, confident, ambitious and fearless ..
Beautifully created from the inside out ..
-- Stephanie Lahart --
La partida de Jane Goodall deja una profunda tristeza en el mundo, no solo porque se ha ido una de las científicas más brillantes del último siglo, sino porque con ella se apaga una voz que supo unir la ciencia con la humanidad. Desde sus primeros pasos en Gombe, desafió los límites de lo que se creía posible, sin formación académica formal en sus inicios, se adentró en la selva para observar a los chimpancés y cambió radicalmente el modo en que entendemos la vida animal. Su mirada paciente y respetuosa permitió descubrir aspectos sorprendentes de estos primates —su capacidad para fabricar herramientas, sus vínculos sociales y emocionales, sus formas de comunicación— aportes que derrumbaron prejuicios y obligaron a repensar el lugar de los seres humanos en la naturaleza.
Pero el legado de Jane Goodall trasciende los hallazgos científicos. Fue una mujer que, en un mundo científico dominado por hombres, abrió caminos y demostró que la pasión, la perseverancia y la sensibilidad también son fuerzas transformadoras en la ciencia. Su valentía inspiró a generaciones de mujeres a creer en su capacidad para investigar, descubrir y liderar, ampliando las fronteras del conocimiento desde una perspectiva distinta, más inclusiva y empática.
A lo largo de su vida, Goodall se convirtió en una voz ética y moral, defensora de la conservación, de los derechos de los animales y del compromiso con las futuras generaciones. No solo nos enseñó a mirar a los chimpancés con otros ojos, sino a replantearnos nuestra responsabilidad hacia el planeta que compartimos. Su ausencia duele, pero su ejemplo seguirá iluminando el camino de la ciencia, de la defensa del medioambiente y del esfuerzo colectivo por un mundo más justo y consciente. Jane Goodall no fue solo una investigadora; fue un símbolo de esperanza, de coraje y de amor por la vida.
Jane Goodall's legacy transcends scientific discoveries. She was a woman who, in a male-dominated scientific world, paved the way and demonstrated that passion, perseverance, and sensitivity are also transformative forces in science. Her courage inspired generations of women to believe in their ability to research, discover, and lead, expanding the frontiers of knowledge from a different, more inclusive, and empathetic perspective.
Throughout her life, Goodall became an ethical and moral voice, an advocate for conservation, animal rights, and a commitment to future generations. She not only taught us to look at chimpanzees with different eyes, but also to rethink our responsibility to the planet we share. Her absence hurts, but her example will continue to light the way for science, environmental advocacy, and the collective effort for a more just and conscious world. Jane Goodall was not just a researcher; she was a symbol of hope, courage.
✿ NO WAR ✿
As a vegan, I care about all animals but especially cats. They've always been my favorite animal from the time that I could crawl and teach them the alphabet (pro tip-this is also a good way to encourage kids to start reading).
I care about humans, too...and I have a hard time not overcoming to depression when I think of so many suffering and not just in this time of Coronavirus but always. Devastation, poverty, hunger...it may have all increased with Covid 19 but these are not new to the world because of the inequalities perpetually sustained by those in power. But, in addition to all of those out there impacted by these issues, I also think about all these stray street cats without enough food already. I'm grateful there's people in the world like Jamie McKenzie that devote so much time, energy, and love to it (his photostream is below):
www.flickr.com/photos/jamiemck/
But for every human like him, there are probably ten more who don't care at all, or worse, would probably harm all the little animals.
And why does this matter? Because, as Temple Grandin named one of her books so aptly, Animals Make Us Human. Being empathetic also makes us human. Making kind choices makes us human and indeed it redeems us.
**All photos are copyrighted**
This is the tail-end of an amazing photo opportunity.
It was almost a missed opportunity.
I was in a restaurant, Seamill House (in Seamill), having a lovely meal, when this weather system was moving across the sky. The view from the dining area was fantastic, but I felt it would be rude to leave the table to take photographs.
I can feel my photographer's frustration and panic in my chest as I type this, as the memory evokes an empathetic response at seeing a great opportunity but not being able to respond.
Eventually some other diners got up to take smartphone camera shots and I took the liberty to join them, but it was through glass and my smartphone camera isn't exactly a DSLR.
I was so frustrated but eventually we finished, paid up and headed down to the nearby shore in time to catch this. It was almost too late, the light was failing fast, but I hastily erected my tripod and got a few shots of the dying embers of the day.
It was hard to choose which one to post.
There isn't much LR here, just some basic levels adjustments.
I'm not paid to say this but the Seamill House makes great food and has such an amazing view, not dissimilar to this. Well worth a visit if you get the chance.
© All my images are copyright. Please respect copyright.
Thank you.
(Popelairia conversii) B28I3481 Tatama Reserve - Colombia
Uncommon species
In the third book that i'm actually writing i wrote :
"In scientific literature, it is said that only great apes share with humans a non-oral ability to understand and feel the emotions of others without the intervention of speech. I consider this to be ethnocentrism. First of all, because there are absolutely no empathetic human beings. And then, because I have been with animals all my life. As a magnetizer-experimenter, I shared many intense feelings with them. Any pet owner can hear this: some animals are more empathetic than many humans."
Symbolism.
Cyclamen symbolises the empathetic, devoted heart, and was therefore planted beside old monasteries, ribats [ Islamic monasteries ] , a sort of fortress........ and churchyards in the countries around the Mediterranean. In Japan, the cyclamen is the holy flower of love.
I was lucky to be given two plants by a friend to plant.
Digitally crafted urban visual-poem of vibrant rainy night reflections... the busy, crowded, unemotional city becomes a softer, more empathetic place on a rainy evening. Gave it a ‘wood block print’ type feeling....
Created from my old Tokyo photo.
All rights reserved. This photo is not authorized for use on your blogs, pin boards, websites or use in any other way. You may NOT download this image without written permission from iSEEthings, Jeff Fornear.
Spend your time with intelligent, empathetic, and educated people. Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be. Choose friends you're happy to have met, people you admire, people who respect you. People who make your day a little brighter, simply by being there. Life is too short to waste time with people who suck the happiness out of you. Kaelyn and Jacky...you are those people!💕
And best wishes too! Have you finally resolved the matter of human insatiability and greed? Is social exclusion now a matter of the past, and have you learned to think empathetically? Are you, unlike us, no longer prone to superstition and mental manipulation by populists? Have you found new traditions that are less dangerous than the ideologies and religions we had then? Is the conflict of capital and labour a thing of the past? Are you still in charge or is artificial intelligence calling the shots? What planet are you actually on?
Mitakon Speedmaster at F0.95. Actually, this was just a test shot (comparing this lens with the 7Artisans 35/1.2 and the Pentacon 30/3.5). But then I thought of Kurt Tucholsky's book "Gruss nach vorn" (1926/31) where he is addressing the readers of 1985 and asking some uncomfortable questions. I think it is time to ask again.
- Nager en eaux troubles -
Ma vue se brouille
tellement sur notre monde.
Empathique sans doute maladroite.
Sensiblement naïve.
Beaucoup trop de gens ont tendance
à faire payer aux autres leur colère,
ou simplement leurs propres problèmes.
- Du flou à l'éclaircie -
__________________________
- Swimming in troubled waters -
My vision is blurring
so much about our world.
Empathetic without doubt clumsy.
Sensibly naive.
Far too many people tend
to make others pay for their anger,
or just their own problems.
- From blur to thinning -
Tokyo rainy night series. Digitally crafted urban visual-poem of vibrant rainy night reflections... the busy, crowded, unemotional city becomes a softer, more empathetic place on a rainy evening. These warm inviting neighborhoods are just a few streets from the huge high rise office buildings.
Gave it a ‘wood block print’ type feeling....
Created from my old Tokyo photo.
All rights reserved. This photo is not authorized for use on your blogs, pin boards, websites or use in any other way. You may NOT download this image without written permission from iSEEthings, Jeff Fornear.
"With his empathetic, but above all honest documentary eye, Chris Killip (UK, 1946-2020) is regarded as one of the most influential post-war British photographers. He spent long periods in the North of England in the 1970s and 1980s, a turbulent period for this region, with one large factory after another being forced to close, leading to massive unemployment and poverty."
In Explore October 18, 2024
Jayme: Look at this one, Dusty. It's kinda fun.
Dusty: It's OK, I guess.
Jayme: It's cute. It looks almost as if you and Dash are dancing.
Dusty: Yuck. Why would I dance with Dash? Besides, he's way too old to dance.
Jayme: That's not nice.
Dusty: Well, it's true. In dog years he's ancient. Like, as old as you, probably.
Jayme: Gee, thanks.
Dusty: If you ask me, a better title would be, "Self-less Boy Scout Helps Old Grandpa Across The Street".
Jayme: Uh, yeah, kinda looks like that, doesn't it? Except a "self-less boy scout" you are not. Face it, kiddo, you are skating by on your youth and good looks right now. And that won't last forever.
Dusty: Of course not. And then people will see me for my generous and kind and empathetic heart.
Jayme: Oh. So you're getting a heart transplant?
Dusty: Hardy, har har.
Jayme: Dusty, I love you, but you could and should be learning from your elders. Dash (and I) has a lot to teach you. You would do well to pay attention.
Dusty: Whatever, Boomer.
Cyclamen symbolises the empathetic, devoted heart, and was therefore planted beside old monasteries and churchyards in the countries around the Mediterranean
Bronze sculpture by Erica Morgan. The sculpture is overlooking the Abbey Theatre, on the left, and a complex of sports halls, to the right. The town, St Albans, was originally a Roman city, Verulamium. The artist, very empathetically, supplied the centurion with a raincoat - something you need up in the north.
Tribute to Norma Jean - empathetically accompanied by Elton John:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S4DeMnpjuI
Happy Women's Day to all the lovely, creative and powerful ladies here on Flickr! :)
The female albatross at left (KP163) is at least 18 years old in this photo since she was banded as an adult in 2006. She seems to have lost her long-term monogamous mate (O289); he hasn’t been observed for several seasons. I saw her attending a hatchling in the 2019-20 season, but she has been courting other albatrosses, not nesting, since then. Laysan albatross are not sexually dimorphic, so I’m not sure if the bird at right (O939) is male or female (it was not genetically tested during banding.) It may be a potential suitor looking for an opportunity to establish a bond and mate, or perhaps an empathetic female. It’s difficult not to be anthropomorphic with these birds that display such elaborate, complex behavior.
I was so happy to stumble upon this temporary artwork in the Dunedin Botanic gardens a few years ago.
I love the way it sung with the background...
from this place, of this place...
******************************************
Work by artist Kate Fitzharris,
Situated in the Dunedin botanic gardens,
made using raw materials from within the gardens itself.
'The Commons explores the blurred lines between what we often think of as distinct spaces or perspectives: private/public, individual/collective, domestic/wild, human/nature, object/viewer. It reminds us that wild public places can be as intimate and homely as our domestic spaces, and that we have wild roots to our domestic lives. The Commons refers to places and resources not owned privately, but held in common and managed for the collective good. It also alludes to seeking out what we hold in common with each other and what we find around us, so we may have a more empathetic, connected world view.'
www.dunedindreambrokerage.nz/projects/the-commons-katefit...
I love his eyes.
He is intelligent.
He is empathetic.
He is patient.
He is gentle.
He is always eager for a sniff.
He tries his best to communicate.
A gentle reminder about copyright and intellectual property-
Ⓒ Cassidy Photography (All images in this Flickr portfolio)
It doesn’t make you too emotional, too soft, or in any way too much. It has been and always will be a strength.
The truth is that you can be soft and still be strong.
You aren’t a rock, immune to the shift and pull off the world around you.
You’re the ocean. Always ebbing and flowing; easily affected by the moon and weather. But immense and deep.
Resilient and powerful.
Bounding with life. Yes, you feel things intensely and yes, you’re wounded by others.
But it’s the intensity of your feelings that gives you such incredible insight into who you are and what you need to feel whole.
It’s that intensity that makes you deeply connected to yourself and the world around you.
And it’s your wounds that allow you to be empathetic and compassionate towards the wounds of others.
Wounds that give you an awareness to recognize when people are hurting, and tools to offer support in ways that less sensitive people might not be able to.
I know that it’s so hard to believe in the moment when your cells are incapacitated by your feelings, but your sensitivity is truly a gift.
Don’t let anyone, including yourself, convince you otherwise.
— Daniell Koepke : Archaeology for The Woman's Soul
"I wanna come over
To hell with the consequence
You told me you love me
That's all I believe
I wanna come over
It's a need I can't explain
To see you again
I wanna come over"
From "I Want to Come Over" by Melissa Etheridge
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckt0TuK0qv0
Shesa? You always leave your light on for me. Every night, I always just want to touch you once more.
You and I have been left behind by those who filled us with fears, some kind of sins...
We turned and stopped denying the fire. Now lover, I burn and you let me in.
I ALWAYS wanna come over.
:-)
- Katherine Marie
XOXO
"Strange and beautiful
Are the stars tonight
That dance around your head
In your eyes I see that perfect world
I hope that doesn't sound too weird
And I want all the world to know
That your love's all I need
All that I need
And if we're lost
Then we are lost together
Yeah if we're lost
We are lost together"
From "Lost Together" by Blue Rodeo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEYdwiVAP9o
Every time I get a chance to be peaceful with Shesa, we end up getting lost with each other...the world as we know it gets left behind and we end up in one of our own - always lost in emotion, but always together.
I love how we are pushing forward softly, respectfully and lovingly bae...
I love getting lost in your arms, eyes and most importantly - your love.
Thank you for being ever caring, empathetic, and oh so very romantic hon.
I look forward to getting lost together with you again soon.
- Your Kitty Katie
xoxo
Dedicated to all incompetent, pressapochistic, arrogant, conceited, false doctors who abandon patients, who do not activate all resources such as home cancer care, medical and psychiatric support etc. .... ITALIAN HEALTHCARE SUCKS. They make it seem to the world that Italy excels in healthcare, if you are poor and without recommendations if you are not lucky enough to find an empathetic and conscientious doctor..... in Italy you die before your time.
www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/01/06/buco-asl-massa-gup-as...
www.lanazione.it/massa-carrara/cronaca/frode-assicurative...
urbanpost.it/bambina-di-sei-mesi-lacerata-da-una-supposta...
www.antenna3.tv/2018/10/26/morti-sospette-al-noa-di-massa...
www.movimento5stelletoscana.it/sanita-nuovo-ospedale-apua...
www.google.com/amp/s/iltirreno.gelocal.it/massa/cronaca/2...
m.toscanamedianews.it/errori-nei-verbali-delle-cartelle-c...
necrologie.iltirreno.gelocal.it/news/22189
www-lanazione-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.lanazione.it/...
www.quinewsmassacarrara.it/toscanamedia/muore-un-operaio-...
www.voceapuana.com/politica/2019/01/07/noa-ortopedia-senz...
www.lanazione.it/massa-carrara/cronaca/pronto-soccorso-de...
www.quinewsmassacarrara.it/morto-nel-letto-di-ospedale-tr...
www.gruppoleganord.toscana.it/elisa-montemagni-ed-andrea-...
www.assocarenews.it/primo-piano/toscana-33-infermieri-di-...
www.lanazione.it/massa-carrara/cronaca/medico-arrestato-n...
www.lagazzettadimassaecarrara.it/cronaca/2016/08/noa-o-oa...
www.0585news.com/2018/03/11/denuncia-querela-nei-confront...
www.infermieritalia.com/2019/02/08/asl-toscana-no-continu...
www.voceapuana.com/politica/2018/12/28/noa-tegola-da-un-m...
m.quinewsmassacarrara.it/medico-condannato.htm
iltirreno-gelocal-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/iltirreno.gel...
iltirreno-gelocal-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/iltirreno.gel...
www-lanazione-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.lanazione.it/...
www-lanazione-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.lanazione.it/...
www.lagazzettadimassaecarrara.it/politica/2019/01/benedet...
What are Dreamers without their parents? How will these children ever grow up to love the country that betrayed and took so much away from them?
I was lucky to be raised by parents who taught me to be compassionate and speak my mind and I am thankful every day for that. But, being empathetic in this current world means you spend so much of your time also feeling depressed about reality. There is far too much hate in America right now.
"I-I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me the excitations
Close my eyes, she's somehow closer now
Softly smile, I know she must be kind
When I look in her eyes
She goes with me to a blossom world
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me excitations
Ah, ah, my my, what elation
I don't know where but she sends me there
Oh, my my, what a sensation
Oh, my my, what elation
Oh, my my, what
Gotta keep those lovin' good vibrations a-happenin' with her
She's giving me the excitations
I'm pickin' up good vibrations"
Pulled from "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkPyB-g3asI
Shesa and I exploring new places and we take our relationship into new spaces...
Lawd I love the vibrations she exudes. The give me "excitations".
I love and appreciate you and our new time together Ms Shesa Quandry.
I gotta keep those love good vibrations a-happenin' with her...
- Katherine Marie
All Happy With Glee
XOXO
"You saw through me all this time
I'd forgotten people are kind
I was hurting and you knew
So you showed me what to do
You said "I will listen, tell it all
When you're finished we'll talk more"
But I didn't know how, so we took it in turns
To my surprise we found my words"
From "Ready Now" by Dodie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee41m9AH58w
I am ready now...we found my words by taking it in turns...
Thank you for understanding me Shesa...
With so much love,
- Katherine Marie
xoxo
I need you back
Here with me
Why don't you return
Are you scared
That you might not want
To leave me?
It is time to find me again
Where it all began
It is time to find yourself
Where your life
Opened right up
And you could really see
I have been calling you
Calling for so long now
You have heard me
Not forgotten me
But you are denying me
Why is that so?
Leave it all now
Answer my love for you
Let me remind you
Of what I am to you
You have always known
What we can do
This image is calling me, to go back. And I must answer. I thought I would place this work up here at this point as I have been reflecting on my journey of sharing my work after many years of seclusion. This image reminds me of when things started to connect for me after a tumultuous time in 2019.
Then my dear friend the vicar [who quite frankly saved my sanity back in 2019] persuaded me that other people would really like to see my work, that he was convinced that it had some value and possible qualities to it that could help and comfort them. I didn't know what was going to happen or if anybody would respond to my work. I set up a website on Wix.com, and using their design editor, I designed how I wanted the site to look. I knew how I wanted it to appear, as the poetry and images are meant to be seen together, as they are deeply connected. It took me over five months and many long hours.
Then I decided to join Flickr as I liked the format and the way people were interacting. It seemed to me a platform that would suit me better than some others. I saw that people were also writing about their images, experiences and poetry. But I still didn't know if people would respond. Nobody knew me on here, nobody in my life except my partner knew I was thinking of joining. Nobody until recently knew I even took photographs.
On another social site I have remained a bit niche, shall we say, but I have met some nice people on there.
However, on here it seems to be a different story and after nearly eight months, I have been constantly surprised and delighted that you seem to like this melancholic, empathetic photographer and poet. Thank you to all who have viewed, faved and commented. You have got me over the 100,000K mark and counting, and things seem to have changed a bit.
So I will keep going and we will see where it leads. There will be patches of time where I am working on my pieces and then I will load the work up on here and my website. The good thing is that I have a backlog of work to do stored in my files! I am compelled to do this work, as it gives me great peace and joy, and I enjoy sharing it with you all.
Forgive me in the future if I have to do a 'multi-thank you' on some of the work if there are lots of faves; I shall always endeavour to answer comments as usual, but now more people have found me, I felt that I just wanted to to let you know that I still appreciate your generosity.
But while this work of mine is still forthcoming and I am able to create it I sense I must do just that. I am in my middle years, I do not have time to waste.
I hope that you will continue to accompany me on my creative and spiritual journey and enjoy the work that appears!
Best Wishes, and thank you again, Shelley.
For more work, please have a look at my website:
It's so surreal to me, even after almost 19 years of being in Second Life, how one can meet another who has travelled in similar circles that cross, but never in the same one yet find that that same one is the right track. It's wonderful and a gift really.
Our world keeps spinning.
A gift known as Shesa has been around and near me through various ways and means in Second Life for years. We knew OF each other, never KNEW each other is all..
Then one night, I watched her dance burlesque and things just..changed...suddenly I was in the same track she was and our circles synced up. We were orbiting our world together.
We share so much common history and so much current interest, yet never had ever had had a chance to connect things because we never knew how close we really ran with each other.
She's watched me dance before...we've shared meet ups with other partners together before...but never just...her and I before...
She is so kind, so polite, so mindful, so empathetic and so...careful...with my feelings, my thoughts and...my heart...
She's mature. Caringly so.
Her and I are circling together now and be it as friends or eventually more so...we ARE together and it IS finally just...
Simpatico...
I might have been orbiting on a similar plain to you Ms Quandry, but right now...now that we are in the same circle...the same orbit...together...
Although:
I just want to just stop the world...and melt with you...
"I'll stop the world and melt with you
(Let's stop the world)
I've seen some changes but it's getting better all the time
(Let's stop the world)
There's nothing you and I won't do
(Let's stop the world)
I'll stop the world and melt with you
… The future's open wide"
I will see you soon Ms Quandry ;-)
With best intention and a future open wide,
- Ms Katherine Marie McAuley
This is one of the 124 of 148 picture that Flickr's servers "Ate" for reasons unknown in spring 2023. It took Flickr 3 days and 6 people to get them all back, but the stories with them..my journals and thoughts...were gone forever...
All I have is these pictures to try to remember it all...
I miss my friend Meghan...I miss being on the water with her...just drifting... we were friends and no one ever believed that...
Now she is gone and all I can remember from this lovely image of her and I is her racing down a dock yelling "BOAT! BOAT! BOAT!" as she insisted on buying me one...
I miss my friend so much. I hate those who got jealous of something that never was...so wrecked what was there...
I miss you Megs...very much...
boat...boat...boat.. :-(
- Your Katie Kat
XOXO
There is an odd debate that's been going on within agnostic/atheist circles basically forever. It boils down to this - if someone offers or asks if they can pray for you, do you "let" them?
First, it's nice to be asked. I suppose that's true regardless of your beliefs. The people praying for others truly believe that it works in some way. It may not get you want you want, but it "works."
Second, you can't really stop them. They're going to do it regardless. And that's fine.
If you are a non-believer, you don't believe their prayers are effective in any real way. But also, if you're at least somewhat empathetic, you'll understand that it's *usually* coming from a good place.
True, there are some people who state that they're going to pray for you as a sort of dig or insult. But they're not saying this in good faith (oddly enough). It's also not asking, and isn't what I'm talking about.
But if someone asks if they can pray for me, I generally accept and trust that they are concerned about me; that they have no other way they feel they can help. It might not do anything at all for me, but for them, when they're feeling helpless, who am I to deny them some sort of comfort?
.
.
.
'Apparent'
Camera: Mamiya RB67
Film: ORWO UN54 (Lomo Potsdam)
Process: HC-110H; 7.5mins
Kansas
July 2024
Ms. Quandry is one of THE best people to lay upon in ALL of Second Life and I will Fight On That Hill!!
For reals though, the best part of my days lately are the ends of them as I am with Shesa in world, in her arms or her in mine and we just "are".
She is a loving "comfort" that I know is there always for me to lean on as I am for her.
The title should read "Shesa: Nice Comfort" perhaps instead, but when will I ever waste a chance to lay down a good pun? ;-)
I love you to the stars and and back hon as I know...just know...that the stars are where you fell from.
Je t'aime BBG...je t'aime
- Your Katie
EDX0452. XB243833.XT
Estructural = Empathetic Hearts...............
Art. MIX Edited-DX-Blur
Doble Exposición MIX-DX CINEMA.chrome + V4.Color
PHOTO-T.I.M.S. MIX-Transfer. Video - mov
Selecc. DGV -Dramatic Cold- Tonal color chrome tonal v4
tribute dedicated to cinema...
Gracias por compartir.
Agradezco a todos su seguimiento atención, favoritas y amables comentarios….
Muchas gracias por vuestra visita .
Thank you very much for your visit and comments.
Molt agraït per la vostra visita, atencions i comentaris.
Très reconnaissant pour votre visite, l'attention et les commentaires.
©-PHOTO-DGV
"Things could be stranger but I don't know how
I'm going through changes now
I've spent a lifetime trying to figure it out
I'm going through changes now
And I've just begun
Under a purple sun
There's many reasons we are what we become
I'm going through changes, ripping out pages
I'm going through changes now
I knew it once, but I forgot
I'm going through changes now
We want everything but what we got
I'm going through changes now
Maybe it's too soon
Under a purple moon
But I'd ride off with you in a big balloon
I'm going through changes, rattling cages
I'm going through changes now
Things could be different but I don't know how
I'm going through changes, through all of the strangeness
I'm going through changes now"
"Changes" by Langhorne Slim
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK-Tbcy66jY
We'll figure it out. We've had lifetimes to figure it out. We'll rip out pages, through all the strangeness. We're ready - together - to go through changes now even if we don;t know how :-)
- Katherine Marie to Ms. Quandry
This picture is #44 in the 100 Strangers Project - Round 3
Meet Marzia.
We were in Rome for a few days for a family vacation, and after a long day of sightseeing, stopped by to pick some food. Luckily, as always, the camera was in hand and when I saw Marzia in the distance thought it would be a great opportunity for a stranger portrait (especially with the beautiful evening light and her lovely vibrant attire and a terrific personality). As stranger photographers will attest - approaching a stranger even after doing it many times still be a huge challenge, especially being in foreign land, and with possible language barriers- so hesitated a bit before I decided to make my request. However, Marzia was an absolute pleasure to connect with - very friendly and with a happy attitude. Pretty conversant in English, she was also in a great mood as she was approved for a new job and was happy to be part of the pictures as a memory of the day. Hailing from Genoa, her current job is of a Municipal officer with accounting duties but she will now be working as a financial economic analyst for the customs agency. A beautiful lady indeed with amazing eyes, she was extremely comfortable with the camera, as you can see, despite the random pictures. She loves singing and travel as her hobbies. Her favorite quality of herself is being empathetic. Thank you for being a part of these pictures with so much enthusiasm Marzia- and for waiting more than the 5 minutes I requested It was indeed wonderful to make your acquaintance. Wish you all the very best for your future
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
For my other pictures on this project: 100 Strangers - Round 2.
For pictures from my prior attempt at 100 Strangers: 100 Strangers - Round 1.
Simply Happy
My Writing: April 11, 2024
There are times I cannot express myself enough
Sometimes I overexpress myself
But one thing I know, is I communicate quite well
And, today... I am simply happy
You may ask, "Why are you simply happy"
And, to you, I will say... "Why not?"
It's been so long since I have been able to say
That I am happy in any way
Today, simply happy fits perfectly
For today, I am perfectly me in all ways
I no longer hide my embarrassment
No longer do I feel ashamed
Who I am is unique and special
I am who I always knew I was and could be
I am smart, passionate, and empathetic
Smiles, and it's okay to be all three
So, today... I am simply happy to be me
Happy to have no chains binding me
A future that's endless and possibilities abound
So, today I am happy that I am me
...or how Honky Tonk and Sister Bill got their nicknames. If it happened in the Hill Country, it probably happened at Mamacitas.
This is an essay about the Texas Hill Country, but it's going to take me a long way around to get to the Hill Country. I'll add a paragraph here and there as the spirit moves me. Nicknames are easy to come by in the Texas Hill Country. Any naming incident that sparks a full two minutes of laughter is apt to create a life long nick name.
I got mine early on when Sherry began her career as a Methodist minister. Churches she was assigned to by the Bishop had never or seldom had female pastors and for the most part the pastor was called Brother Smith, Brother John, Brother Ralph or Brother Bubba, maybe even Brother Slim or Brother whatever. At Sherry's first church one of the men was speaking to Sherry in front of a crowd and referred to her as Brother Sherry. The crowd erupted in laughter and that sparked me to ad lib, "Well I guess that makes me Sister Bill." It stuck, and from then on everywhere we've gone I've become Sister Bill. Strangly enough, the Brother Sherry didn't stick and she's always been Pastor Sherry. It's funny how that works. This system makes a good litmus test as to who you can trust too. Those who use it in derision are easy to pick up on and you can depend on it, they will become your enemies. It's always good to know who your enmies are. Next time I'm in the mood to post, I'll tell you who Honky Tonk is and how she got her nickname.
Joy got her name from British author,Ruth Hamilton. Joy is the pianist at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Texas where Sherry and I spent nine exciting years before we moved to Kerrville five years ago. Joy is my age (80+-) and grew up in a series of Methodist churches. Her father was a Methodist preacher. When she was junior high age she was so good on piano, she started playing the church organ where her father preached. Joy became famous with her junior high school peers by playing the country-western/pop hit "Pistol Packing Mama" to a slow hymn cadence in church during certain parts of the service. Her father never was able to hear the plaintive admonition, "Laaaaaaay thaaaaaat pistooooool dooooown, baaaaabe, laaaaaay thaaaaaat pistoooooool doooooown; Pistooooooool Paaaaaaacking Maaaaaaama puuuuuut thaaaaaaat guuuuuuun awaaaaaaaaay." Of one thing you can be sure, every junior high kid in the Methodist church heard the message and nobody ever figured out why the kids would often become so giggly and out of control, especially when they heard the tune telling them, "Oh, she kicked out my windshield, she hit me over the head. She cussed and cried and said I'd lied and wished that I was dead. Lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down, Pistol Packing Mama, put that gun away!"
Naturally Joy grew into a natural musician and could improvise without even having to consciously think about it. During the nine years we were rewarded with her weekly concerts, I noticed that she would often spontaneously begin the add character to the hymns. Some came out with the feel of honky tonk country western and some even took on a boogie beat. She did this naturally, but seemed not to be able to do it on demand. Perhaps demand made her self conscious. For that reason when Ruth Hamilton begged me to tape "Honky Tonk" (that's the name Ruth began to call her because she could never remember the name Joy Feuge) and send her the tape, I made a noble effort. I was never able to get a tape, but Ruth's name "Honky Tonk" stuck and that's what we call Joy to this day. Next, I'll tell you something about a Texas Hill Country institution, Mamacita's Mexican Restaurant, serving Mexican food, but owned and operated by an American Muslim Iranian. That gets him in trouble with the area's fundamentalist cowboy Christians from time to time, to which he pays no attention and simply continues to oeprate a superb small chain of Mexican restaurants. He operates one in San Antonio, one in San Marcos, one in Fredericksburg and one in Kerrville. It just goes to show, you can't hold a good man down.
I've been eating at Mamacita's restaurants for years now and when I began writing this piece couldn't even remember the owner and founder's name. Sherry found this link on the internet and it is so interesting and complete I'm going to post it word for word:
*********************
Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurant: Oh Mama!
Profile
By Kathryn Jones
Thursday, 24 January 2008
There are four Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurants in Texas, the largest of which seats 400 people.
Premier Business Partners:
DeCoty Coffee Co.
Known to most as simply “Hagi,” Hossein Hagigholam left Iran for the United States in 1976 with a dream to make it big in the land of opportunity.
His initial plan was to study civil engineering. But, as fate should have it, he now owns and operates four Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurants in Kerrville, Texas, with four other locations in Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, San Marcos and San Antonio, Texas. The smallest location seats 250 people and the largest seats 400 people.
In an interview with Food and Drink, Hagi reveals how he transitioned from a lonely dishwasher who could barely speak English to a successful entrepreneur with plans to turn his Tex-Mex restaurant into a nationally recognized franchise.
The ride has not been an easy one, he adds, but with a little faith and hard work, dreams really can come true.
Food and Drink: What brought you to the United States?
Hossein Hagigholam: From the time I was a boy, I wanted to come to America. Before the revolution in Iran, lots of Iranians came to the United States to become engineers and doctors, and then they went back home.
Without any knowledge of English, my first place to go was Houston. There was a school for English as a second language called ESL Houston.
If there were 40 students, 35 of them were Iranians, so the teachers learned how to speak our language instead of us learning English.
I knew in order to make it in the United States I had to learn the language, so I researched which college in Texas had less Iranians. Shreiner College had only one Iranian student, so that’s how I ended up in Kerrville. While I studied, I found a job in the restaurants.
If you are a foreigner and don’t know any English, the only job you have is washing dishes. I later became a bus boy and then a waiter.
As a waiter, that’s when you really make it big. I was so happy about how much money I was making as a waiter that I took three jobs: the breakfast shift in one restaurant, the lunch shift in another and the dinner shift in the third.
I remember one time a customer asked me if we took Visa, and I thought they were asking me if I had a visa. I thought I was in trouble somehow, so I ran home as fast as I could.
My manager called me the next day and asked, “What happened?” I said, “Someone wanted me to show him my visa.” He said, “No, you idiot! They were asking you if we accept Visa – the credit card.”
FAD: I can see how you would feel anxious about that. In 1979, American hostages were taken at the embassy in Tehran and President Jimmy Carter called for all Iranian students in the U.S. whose visas had expired to leave the country by the spring of 1980. You must have been devastated.
HH: The world just shattered on me, because now I had to go back. I had learned English, started earning money and I was dating Ruth.
The only way I could stay in the country was if she married me, and she wouldn’t marry me. She said, “Look, I’m 20 and you’re 21. We’re young and you come from another country and my parents won’t let me.”
I finally talked Ruth into marrying me. You talk about begging! Her parents gave their permission because of the difficult situation, but it was on the condition that we live apart for six months.
I tell people I really got married for the green card, but we’re still married after 25 years and we adopted two wonderful children. I think that says a lot.
FAD: Is it true you named the restaurant after Ruth?
HH: She is Spanish and I used to call her “Mamacita” when I was a waiter. I decided to name the restaurant Mamacita’s because it means grandmother, good-looking lady – all the goodies.
FAD: In 1985, you and a business partner opened the first Mamacita’s in Kerrville. Was it challenging to get it off the ground?
HH: Not really. We opened the second restaurant in Fredericksburg in 1988, followed by one in San Marcos in 1996, and then the biggest location, which is in San Antonio, in 2003.
And then, in 2005, we tore our original restaurant down and built a new restaurant. If there were a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for most expensive restaurant ever built per capita, it would be this restaurant, because we spent $10 million in a city with a population of only 25,000 people.
It is very tough to make money when you open a $10 million restaurant, but because of our confidence and if you treat people the way you want to be treated, anything can work. In fact, Kerrville is a German town. People say, “How could an Iranian come to the United States and build a Mexican restaurant in a German community and make it?” My answer to that is, “Only in America, of course.”
FAD: Can you share some tips in how to run a successful restaurant?
HH: If a restaurant has five elements, the owner will hit the jackpot in this business. If he has four out of five, he will make a living out of it. And if he has less than that, it is better not to mess with the restaurant business.
These elements are quality, service, location, atmosphere and reasonable prices.
Of course quality and service are always important, but I wanted to give an atmosphere that not every causal restaurant can do. In our Kerrville location, we have a third of the actual size of the Alamo inside of our restaurant.
A mechanical Davy Crockett sits on top of the roof that plays the music like the movie “Alamo.” Also, in our San Antonio location, we created a village that makes you feel like you are outside even though you are inside. It has fiber-optic stars and village shops and bakeries in it.
FAD: Having worked in restaurants when you were in college, would you say that makes you a more empathetic boss?
HH: Many casual restaurants have just one general manager that takes care of the quality of the food and the service.
When I used to work in the bottom line myself, I found that it was difficult to put all of this work on the shoulder of one person and expect him to control costs and increase sales.
So, this is why each of our locations has two general managers – one for back of house and one for front of house. We also took away any administrative work for them. Each of our locations has at least six managers.
This is what makes us different. I believe in spending money to make money when it comes to [hiring good employees.] We have a good 4 percent budgeted to training at all times.
We talk to them about the golden rule [of the restaurant business.] If you treat someone the way you want to be treated, it will increase the sales.
FAD: What is Mamacita’s perspective on providing customers with exceptional service?
HH: All of our customers can testify that no customer can walk out unless a manager has visited their table. We believe if a customer is unhappy, they will tell us when they leave.
Usually, if they are unhappy, they don’t say anything and just don’t come back.
But by having a manager shake hands and talk to them, they will feel comfortable enough to tell us what we did wrong.
We appreciate the compliments, but what we really want to hear is if there are any complaints.
I tell my management that when people go out to eat, they are in a good mood.
You never see a husband tell his wife, “Let’s go out to eat,” and the wife gets upset about it. Everybody is happy when they go out to eat, and if they choose your restaurant, you should feel honored. So, do whatever it takes to please them. They like attention.
You know, lots of Middle Eastern people that have businesses complain because they say we lost business because of the 9/11 terrorist action.
I disagree on that because my business has been doing well and I think it is because of how we treat people.
I make a lot of speeches about America, the land of opportunity. What I always emphasize at the end is this: Whoever doesn’t make it in this country, it is their own fault. I am one of those guys that really appreciate the country for what it has done for me.
FAD: What’s next for Mamacita’s?
HH: We would like to open locations in Austin, Houston and Dallas in the near future. We’ll do it one at a time. I don’t open a restaurant until I have its general managers ready. I have no plan after that yet.
You never know. Maybe a successful, nationally recognized chain will discover us and we could make a deal to take this nationwide.
********************
When Hagi shut down the Kerrville Mamacita's Restaurant to build that ten million dollar culinary mansion, some of the Shiite Christians in Kerrville became very upset because the architect had put a small, simple dome on the structure and it reminded them of a Muslim Mosque for some reason. They demanded the dome be removed, despite the fact the State Capitol in Austin has a dome, some churches have domes and the dome, while a Moorish design, is commonplace in Spain and Mexico AND this is a MEXICAN food restaurant, OK? My friend Frank Clark says Hagi told him, "I don't have the kind of money to buy this quality of advertising." As expected, the dome remained, the new reataurant opened and the furror subsided.
Second to the mechanical Davy Crockett who from time to time activates and play the fiddle on the ramparts of the similated Alamo in Mamacita's in Kerrville are the murals painted by Haigi's brother whose name I have never heard and can't find on the internet. Hagi's brother is a truly outstanding artist and at some time in the future I'm going to photograph some of the interior and post it here. Mexican restaurants around the Southwest are famous for their absolutely crude murals, but Mamacita's redeems them all. Hagi's brother is a wonderful muralist.
For almost fifteen years now, Mamacita's has been a part of Hill Country living for Sherry and me and the good people of the First Methodist Church in Johnson City Texas. We meet there to celebrate birthdays and for a long time after Sherry and I moved to Kerrville we met regularily at Mamacita's in Fredericksburg. Same driving distance from Kerrville and from Johnson City.
I recommend Mamacita's to anyone as being the best eating experience you'll ever have. Their New York strip is flawless and substitute the baked potatoe for guacamole salad and you'll have a low carb meal to die for. The Mamacita's salad is perfect weight control meal IF you'll skip the taco shell. If you're not on a diet the Mexican food is delicious, the tortillas are always hot and honey with butter is always available on request.
As Kathryn Jones described in her profile, I can't remember ever eating at Mamacita's without someone from management stopping by the table and asking if everything is alright, which reminds me of the only negative experience I've ever had at a Mamacita's restaurant.
Several years ago Sherry and I met seven or eight of the Johnson City folks at the Fredericksburg Mamacita's for one of our monthly reunions. As always I was low-carb dieting and ordered a Mamacita's Salad to get some healthy carbs as opposed to sugar laden carbs. Unlike any other Mamacita's salad I'd ever eaten this one was very short on vegetables. I mentioned it to the person next to me and when the waiter came around asking if everything was ok, that person told him my complaint. It has always been my policy NOT to complain at a restaurant, but I've worked too many police cases concerned with what a cook can do to a customer in way of retaliation. Spit in the food is the least of the possibilities. Whatever the revenge, there's always someone in the kitchen who wants to get even with the cook and so the retaliation gets reported. So, there I sit, not wanting to complain but really disappointed in the amount of vegetables I was served. My friend from Johnson City has spilled the beans and I'm forced to admit I thought the salad was skimpy. The waiter went to the kitchen and returned witha such a large plate of vegetables AND chicken which I hadn't complained about that it was obvious the cook was angered and this amount of food was his way of retaliating and an attempt to make me look foolish for daring to complain. I did eat some more vegetables and the shared the rest of the extra food with everyone at the table. Johnson City folks are not short on appetite, so nothing went to waste. I can see the cook's point of view. He or she probably sees tons of salad thrown out by customers who eat the grilled chicken, pick around on the vegetables and then send the remainder back to the kitchen to be disposed of. I was still disappointed in the arrogance of the cook and the attempt to make me look ridiculous. Maybe the cook was having trouble their spouse, who knows? In fifteen years that's the only negative experience I've had at a Mamacita's.
The Texas Hill Country is full of anomaly, so it's no wonder that an Iranian man can become a millionaire with Mexican restaurants in German communities. Fredericksburg is even more German than Kerrville. San Marcos and San Antonio have strong German influences too. Go figure. Now I want to tell you about a mystery writer who writes murder mysteries in and around Blanco County, yep, Blanco county where I was a reserve deputy for several years after I retired from SWT Police Dept. as an investigator.
At all those birthday parties at Mamacitas there was the "viewing of the presents and cards" ritual which I've described in the narrative of another ritual. Sherry always shops for certain people on our list and I shop for others, we've never discussed it, it just seemed to fall into place. One of the people I always bought the present for was "Honky Tonk" who is the pianist at the First Methodist Church in Johnson City and a very close friend as well. I always bought her music CDs and usually gospel music. She found out I collected author-signed books and so that's what she always gave me for my birthday.
My eyes were really bad for a long time and so I collected a bunch of those books without seriosly reading them. One set of books were by a young mystery writer named Ben Rehder. Joy (Honky-Tonk) went to several book signings and so I built up a collection Ben's novels. All of his novels take place in Blanco County of which Johnson City is not only the County Seat, but is the home town of former president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
When I retired in 1998 I was seventy-one years old and had never written anything more than a police report, but upon retiring I began to write essays and short stories and had so much fun I completely lost my identity as a police sketch artist and watercolorist. I've read a lot of the local Blanco county writing generated by the Blanco County Historical Society and others and I'm here to testify this stuff will put you to sleep quicker than prescription drugs. So you have the picture; there I was with faulty glasses, a collection of novels obviously done by a local guy...nothing here I can't wait a while for...right?
So, several years later and a new pair of glasses, this time prescribed by an optometrist and NOT a opthomologist...HURRAY, I can read again. So, I picked up a Ben Rehder novel and VIOLA' this guy is really good. This is really just like Blanco County. He's talking about the Sherrif's Office and I rode for several years as a reserve deputy with one of the full time deputies and we had experiences very similar to the ones Ben tells about in his novels.
I did feel like Ben's tales were a little tame though. Like in "Murder, She Wrote" it seemed like Blanco County might begin to compete with Cabot Cove for the title, Murder Capital of the World. I was tempted to write Ben and tell him to let go a little bit and make the cases really as bizarre as the ones we actually worked. There was the guy who carried female garments in his car and when he came up on a dead deer along the road, he'd dress the remains in the female attire and have his carnal way with them. A combination the density of cell phones and Baptists got the guy arrested pretty quickly and his case was investigated and taken to the district attorney.
Another case I wanted to tell Ben about was the one involving some young men who had small explosives used on coyote bait. They began a campaign to blow up all the rural mail boxes in the north part of the county. In this case the volume of the explosion plus the denisty of ranchers, pickup trucks and deer rifles brought about arrests before too many mail boxes had to be replaced or before someone was killed or injured getting their mail or before the county has to investigate the strange deaths of two young men blown up in a pickuptruck sitting in front of a rural mailbox. It would have probably been written up as a double suicide.
I had three of Ben's autographed books and read all three nonstop and was amazed at the quality of his writing and the universal appeal these books would have. When he spoke of eating at Ronny's Barbeque, it was like being home. I have eaten at Ronny's many times and it's just like Ben tells it.
When I finished each novel I passed them on to my best bud, Frank Clark, who wanted to read them because although he doesn't come from a law-enforcement background, he comes from a Central Texas deer hunting background. His wife called me and complained; she said she wasn't getting her sleep. He wakes her up all through the night laughing his ass off, so I decided I gotta get online and order everything this guy has written.
Online at Ben's website I was amazed to find out that Ben is writing these in a vein of HUMOR. It even cites the genre as being humorous mystery novels. What humor? These are serious law enforcement novels of Blanco County, just the way she is! Damn! Did I ever feel like a hick. I ordered everything he's written and Holy Moly which isn't even off the press yet.
As of today Holy Moly is the only one I haven't read. "Gun Shy" is my favorite, but there's not one in the set that isn't a fantastic read. In my case, I can't put them down and it's a good thing I'm retired, otherwise I'd have used up all my sick leave for the next two decades. Frank is still reading and Michele is beginning to look a little "red in the eye" but otherwise we'll just have to wait for "Holy Moly" to come out and hope Ben is presently working on a new novel. The main man is a game warden who helps with the Sherrif's Department's criminal cases. That's the truth or at least very close to reality, we had a game warden in Hays County who was skilled and certified in Forensic Hypnosis and worked with police sketch artists on all kinds of cases.
This ends my little essay on the 'Life in the Texas Hill Country" and I apologize for it being a lot longer than I intended it to be. In closing, I'll simply say, "If you're not already living in the Hill Country, start now making your plans to move here; the life you save may be your own."
I'm a terrible proof reader and it may be weeks before I get around to the first tip toe back through....be patient, I'm old...ok?
This is Ben Rehder's website and you'll be relieved to know Ben doesn't have to rely on the likes of me for his publicity. Kinky Friendman of Texas Monthly fame recommends Ben highly.
Rhama: "I Don't Feel Well...Every Bone In My Body Hurts."
Me Being Supportive And Empathetic: "Um...Want One More?"
And That There Is How I Got To Sleep On The Couch.
For this challenge, I am Pisces personified. In keeping with the Piscean penchant for extreme creativity, I have designed my Neptunian outfit with an eye for the avant garde. Characterized to be "dreamy, mystical, and artistic", Pisces has often been symbolized by two fish, representing a duality or a yīnyáng within the zodiac. Here, the face is hidden to give emphasis on the ethereal and changing nature of Pisces and that I am not one but two beings to make a whole.
The silver tiara is emblazoned with the corresponding astrological symbol, and what might at first appear to be a pair of antennae sprouting from it is actually the constellation Pisces. The sleeveless dress – which boldly wraps around my entire head - is covered with faintly luminescent fish scales. It is bordered with strands of pearls, shining like stars and strands of other constellations while the billowy skirt suggests a moon jellyfish or sea anemone. The necklace, outer skirt, and ribbons around my feet are flecked with aquamarine, the Piscean birthstone.
The two fish encircling me represent the dual nature of Pisces – one representing my intuitive, empathetic and imaginative side, and the other my tendency to be an overly romantic and sensitive daydreamer.