If you follow my blogs you know they’re normally light. I talk about the current book I’m promoting or the flowers blooming in my garden. But today, I had to say something serious.
I lived through the race riots of the 1960’s. I was young and idealistic. I saw the plight of people who had been held down for so long and I wanted to help. I’m not as young or as liberal as I once was. I’ve worked hard and raised kids and sometimes I think I’ve become less kind. Life will do that to you. But the race riots all over our country again are killing me – bringing back some old feelings. We, as Americans, have already fought this war once with the Civil Rights Movement. We don’t need to do it again.
I don’t know the full story of what happened to George Floyd. There are a lot of stories floating around out there. But I know one thing, the man who knelt on his neck had been up on charges of abuse 19 times before (That number comes from a story I read. I can’t confirm it). He should have been tossed off the force at least 19 times and he wasn’t. He was out on the streets in a position of power and he didn’t need that power. There was one story about the fact that Mr. Floyd and Officer Chauvin had a history – they’d worked security together in a bar. That would add more depth to what happened. But I do know that the officer who knelt on Floyd has been arrested, as he should be. There will be trial and he is innocent until proven guilty.
I don’t know if Mr. Floyd resisted arrest. But let’s pretend he was pink with purple spots and tried to kill everyone around him. Whatever he did he didn’t deserve to die like that. And what of the other police and onlookers with cameras. Why did they not stop it? One cop, no matter how big and armed, could have been overcome by that many people. George Floyd didn’t have to die that way. And now, people are angry. They should be.
Our constitution gives us the right of peaceful assembly. The main word there being peaceful. The riots that are taking place all over the country are far from peaceful. People want to be heard. But burning property of hardworking people who had nothing to do with this tragedy is not the way to do things. I saw pictures of Minneapolis and protests led by the Amish community there. Peaceful but dramatic. When was the last time you saw a protest placard in the hands of an Amish woman in a long gray dress? The people have had enough.
It is time the US government, and local police, take a look at how this type of tragedy is being handled. The last thing this country needs is another civil war and we are on the brink of one – with a pandemic in the background. We’re better than this.
We may need a little Desiderata, the poem by Max Urhmann, read here by Lorene Greene. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=desiderata+poem&docid=608015748047307066&mid=ABA8B0B5EBD3F6DC7396ABA8B0B5EBD3F6DC7396&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
Be kind.
I’m sure the rest of the world is having as much trouble staying home and doing nothing as I am. But this is getting ridiculous! It’s not as if I am doing without, we have food to eat and a nice home to live in, but I really want to travel. And I can’t at this time.
Last year when The Wild Rose Press called for submissions for novellas based on a fictional Vermont Inn, the noise of mad scribbling and typing could be heard around the globe. Not all of The Wild Rose Press authors live in the United States. The story would be built around a quaint Vermont Inn nestled in a tiny town with lots of eclectic characters.
It’s Mother’s Day and today we celebrate mothers everywhere and their contribution to the world. I looked for a picture of my mother in the stacks that desperately needed attention and came up with this one. She was young, maybe unmarried, I don’t have a date on it. She married Dad right after WWII and they had my oldest sister a few years later. Eventually they had 3 daughters. I resisted using the one of her in a bathing suit. She might have come up from the grave to chase me with a stick! She was a piece of work.
The second picture is my daughter who is now a mother too. This adorable photo was taken when she was about two years old. She has been my lifelong friend as well as my daughter. I had her with I was barely 20 and I had to practice motherhood on her. But when her brother came along was when I really became a mother. Women with one child are mothers, but women with multiple children should be canonized before death. I have a niece with 8, my grandmother also had 8, and I have a friend who raised 5 on her own. I only thought I was stressed. Stressed, but blessed. I couldn’t have survived without them.
Last week in my blog I talked about the Heavener Runestone 
The Heavener Runestone 
My sister is an inspiration. I didn’t get permission to talk about this and I may now be off her Christmas list (assuming she reads my blog), but she’s a bad ass. With the pandemic she is going to work at Walmart everyday and stocking shelves, selling fabric and crafts to people stuck in the house – and she’s not alone. The people who work in retail are there every day to take care of us. They sling boxes and stock shelves so we can rush out the door with our treasures. On top of that she’s had two back surgeries in the last year and I know standing on her feet is harder than it is for most. But she’s not old enough for retirement yet and needs the income and insurance. I also know she has good friends there and she feels a loyalty to them, her employer, and the customers she serves.
Back in January, I came up with the subject of More Experiences and Fewer Possessions. I had no idea what would happen to our world. I envisioned cleaning out the closets and taking trips to places I’d never been.
It’s Sunday and I need to think of a blog to write about. I like to think someone reads these and I know they do because I get a comment now and then. So, with that said, I need a good topic. My husband said, “write about the Coronavirus like everyone else.” Sigh. We’re all sick of it. Some of us are sick – hopefully not you.
I know all of you are as sick of the pandemic as I am. I’m tired of being inside and I’m sick of cooking most of our meals. I need a Mexican restaurant! But, I’m happy to say I’m healthy.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 