Did you feel the Earth tilt toward the sun? Me neither. But it must have happened, because air, earth and water have called in another switch of seasons between the southern and northern hemispheres. Yeah, it’s called summer here in Minnesota where warm breezes whisper “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” and everything with fur or wings comes up, down or out of hiding. It also brings out the hairless bipeds in their denim cutoffs and halter tops on the promenades and back trails, one of which crosses Sullivan Acres at the lake shore. Me, I’m mostly on and in the water.
I’m in sorry need of
a gardener, though I throw a dash of crimson (Geraniums) here and there and a
tight stand of lavender (Veronica) in umber flowerpots before two of the
pillars separating my garage doors. Straight-line winds in excess of 80 mph
just pruned my trees, and several species of birds have graduated another class
of fledglings from a dozen nests in the shrubs, birdhouses and under my upper
deck. An occasional eagle swoops through my yard, but their would-be lunches
have grown savvy, keeping one eye on the sky and the other on the ground for sudden
shadows zooming over the lawn.
Lazy laughter drifts
around the lake, but the humor is more robust among my friends this summer.
That and the hush of magic that steals in and out of the changing light from
dawn till dusk fires my soul. And, as always, I visit the nights with their
starry gravitas and bittersweet passions like a pilgrim in search of Mecca.
I am mesmerized by
the circles of life. When you live long enough to see a few turns, it is
impossible to not be fascinated by the journeys of people you know or knew.
"…like a circle in a
spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel"
The Windmills of your Mind captures the
enchantment beautifully, doesn’t it?
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space…"
People often ask me if I’m going to write my autobiography, but I’d rather write the thousands of biographies of YOU who I have known out there in the world. So many from all walks of life… Was reminded of that this month when I heard from M-Lou Shefsky.
All of you in the
vast diaspora of Patton swimming will remember sharing that universe with her.
You probably haven’t heard her postscripts though – the years in Paraguay in
service to humanity and many others experiences as she rose to high ranks
across a spectrum of fields. And now she’s written a book celebrating her noted
oncologist father-in-law’s seminal role in Paul Newman’s philanthropic outreach,
titled: “Fulfilling Paul Newman’s
Dream—‘Raising a Little Hell’ and Healing at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.”
There’s much more at this Amazon link – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069270437X/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
A passel of new photos for you below: #1 Mickey Magic studying a new species of birds we discovered under a bridge (American Red Barns); #2-5 more shots of a 4th of July voyage from my backdoor; #6-7 yours truly at Crow-Hassan; #8 Linda Tyldesley’s new pet to replace the alligator; #9-13 five shots from four more aqua adventures this summer.
TABOOS,
JEALOUSIES & CROCODILES is the title of my latest column on
StorytellersUnplugged. It's a Q&A, which seems to be my most
popular format:
I get a lot of emails/messages from people who feel broken by disappointment. The things they once dreamed of have not come to pass. They’ve made choices that trap them in dead ends and the magic of hope has faded away. The way I look at it is that they have not yet learned how to partition their lives so that their purest selves can survive.
As I posted in FB, you make yourself worthy of what you want by keeping faith with it. When you betray it, you destroy your own magic and the magic of your dreams. That’s the essence of a romantic idealist. But the world is anything but romantic or idealistic nowadays. Still, you can carve out sanctuaries of idealism and innocence, if you want. Something to believe in without compromise. Something to say that all the perfections you wished for as a child can come true. Somewhere in this summer there is a green lane for you at twilight. Take it…
