L'aura del Campo

Golfball sized hail; 'teaching' a class.

SPRING: 16 Jalál (24 April)

         Fourth Day of Ridvan          

Weather where I am: 60º, a peek of sun

Weather in Vancouver, Canada: 55º and sunny.

Hail, Hail, the window's gone, the roof is leaking and the flowers are torn!

Worse hail I've ever seen! Last night around 9 p.m. there was golf-ball size 1" - 2" hail. It came from the north-west and there was a funnel that didn't come down, so we got lucky!

Me teach?

Spoke in front of a beginning class of the Department of Social Work/Welfare. By the time they got to me, they were falling asleep. So, I got them to stand up and move just a little. Had a great time. Didn't see any yawns. Typical class: less than half will be majors, the others won't. 3:1 females to male. The ratios only get worse at higher levels. Mostly white. Only a couple speak Spanish, a few have lived abroad (Botswana, Hong Kong, South Africa, Germany), three foreign students (Japan, Canada), almost all under 25, most under 21.

Experience? Zip, nada! Sara, however, shows promise. Her personality is INFP, the Healer. A good personality for social work. Told them to look up http://keirsey.com to learn who they are and about others. It's a good tool.

Spoke about many things. Felt bad that I didn't have handouts. Told them of a friend who is black and lesbian and asked who? and I meant WHO? in the audience would be able to reach out to her! With training? Maybe anyone. But this crowd was very blond, suburban, raised with their own bedroom (and some with their own bath), type of crowd. So ... lots of learning to be had.

Jeff Boney and I went to McDonald's this morning for free coffee. Quite a crowd. Lots of silver-haired folk! We both got to writing. I sketched this:

Monday at McDonald's

Over the bbabble of old men
move two red pens
the coffee's free
the rain drops wet
and in our silence
scrawled soot is writ
then downed with cream and sugar
drowned by drops
that swept away
like breakfast trays
are leavings of the morning's angst
or half-chewed biscuits.

The bbabble is the background sound
for spreading pitch:
your black ink speaks
of fallen leaves
my red crows flow
a morning rain. [163.74]

Bed and bath!

I got to sleep in a bed last night! Didn't have to get up at 7 either. Which would've been better if a friend hadn't called at 6. Silly me ... I didn't answer, thought it was someone else.

And I took a bath! First time in over a year . I shower every day, but it's not the same as soaking. Couldn't relax as much as I wanted to, either. Oh well, maybe I won't have to wait a whole 'nuther year.

TREASURE OF THE DAY

'For day-to-day cleanliness, we kept a supply of baby wipes on hand and went to a friend’s house once a week to shower and wash clothes, as well as refill our water jugs. We had moved the trailer from the back part of the land up to the front and situated it so the doors opened toward the back away from the road. I one day discovered that if I propped the door open just right, I could stand there, just outside the door, and—unseen by anyone who might be driving down the road—take a primitive shower. I set a gallon jug of water in the sun long enough to let it heat just enough, laid out a plastic bag to stand on and doffed my clothes.'

This is an excerpt from a tale that Chalaedra is telling in parts, of her life in a trailer in the pine woods of Texas. It has it's humor and lessons-to-be-learned. It is worth reading:

"Invalid Entry"  Eviction, a lesson learned from Frank.
"Invalid Entry"  Abandoning things, a travel trailer in Bastrop, Texas.
"Invalid Entry"  Pit for barbequeing goat transformed into a makeshift outhouse. No water. Taking a shower outside.
"Invalid Entry"  Scorpion stung? Walking on fire?

Or check it all out at:

Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. #1028995 by Not Available.

and help Chalaedra get over 2,000 views!

SENSED

Hail the size of golf-balls; leaf litter, branches; white peonies; rain; blue iris; bored students; yellow ridgedback hairdo; a sown tapestry being hung.