Porthole

I need to relearn empathy

llllllllllllspringlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

  ███████          PORTHOLE           ███████

SPRING: 17 Baha 177 (5 April 2020)
Is there any Remover of Difficulty save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God!
All are his servants and abide by His bidding.
- The Báb

MY THOUGHTS

Beyond my opinion of how you label yourself, I realize that those labels may be important to you. My world-view includes you, even if your view excludes me. I could be speaking of any number of social-economic-religious groups one finds on social media, in real life and here at WDC. Many fellow writers here have chosen to label themselves, while others don't. Some by their belief systems, avoid certain people, some exclude me. Oh ... not as a writer ... as a human being.

WEATHER

12°. 2 p.m. in Missoula
22°. 4 p.m. in Fayetteville, NC
14°. 9 p.m. in Porto. I still want to be there.
20°. 10 p.m. in Harare, Zimbabwe where zwisis resides.

IMAGES

Yesterday's walk: gleaming yellow buttercups, subdued yellow biscuitroot, no yellowbells yet. (Spring is late.) Smell of crushed sage between my fingers, dogs but no prairie dogs, sun breaking through the haze. A dry stony irrigation canal, green sprigs poking through stubble, a bonfire on 4th?

POULTRY

Not exactly what I wanted: "April 5 poem--an elegy for someone or something" 

PORK

Nope.

READING

Stalled. "Guardian of the Veil" by Gregory Spencer.

QUOTE

Nope.

MY LIFE

My neighbor Jacob is studying Irish. I should learn some:

Hello:          Dia dhuit
Good morning:          maidin mhaith
Have a good morning:          Bíodh maidin mhaith agat
Have a good evening:          Bíodh tráthnóna maith agat
Good evening:          tráthnóna maith
Good night:          Oíche mhaith

It's now 2:37 p.m. and I can't get moving. Lethargy has set in.

SENIOR CENTER and COFFEEHOUSE

Sunday but walked past both. Picked two grape hyacinths at the Senior Center. They have removed the outdoor benches at Bernice's Bakery.

O PINIONS!

Plenty.

WATT'S GNUS

There is a great need during a time of war, and imho this pandemic is war, for leaders to stand together. The attitude of these Churches Against Science and Reason puts the entire community at risk. My advice to Gov. Edwards? Arrest and put in jail, no bail, until Easter Monday. In the meantime padlock the doors, block the street and put a patrol enforcing the closure until the all-clear is given.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/louisiana-church-holds-services-defying-corona...

BLOGVILLE

"I will need to rethink how I respond to someone who is upset that they can't get or do something. Maybe by being helpful?

You: I went to six stores, wasted my whole day and can't find mace.
Me: If you can't find mace try nutmeg.

You: I can't find yeast to make my own bread.
Me: Fry bread uses baking powder but no yeast.
You: What's baking powder?
Me: Matzoh uses only flour and water.
You: I'm not Jewish.

You: Why can't people stop hoarding TP. I couldn't find my usual 24 pack.
Me: Use a reusable face towel.
You: For what?
Me: To wipe your ass.

So ... maybe I need some practice."

That was my response to "Invalid Entry"  by Charlie ~ for "JAFBG"  (A great place to rant, rated XGC).

I do need to work on realizing that there is real pain in not being able to do what you want, what you planned for, when you want and how you want to do it. My first response is "This isn't Burger King; you don't get to have it your way." Or: comparing one person's pain to another: "It's nice that a prepper like you gets to roam around your 5 acre ranchette with those two unruly brats and that poodle who missed his hair-clipping; BUT, my friends in Costa Rica have lost jobs and may not have any money left to eat. But of course, your pantry is half-full of the 120 rolls of TP your quiver-full needs, the freezer only has a side of beef and your son is moaning how he can't go buy another gun to add to the arsenal in your bunker. So, I feel your pain." NOT ... but maybe I should ...

1.831 views