28 May 2017
Portola Valley, California
Most of the time I have no idea about the name of the flowers that are in the photos I take.
Parishioners at Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley let me know this is the California Poppy, the state flower.
Filed under Photo
It was the longest siege of a capital city in modern history, and produced the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.
– Sylvia Poggioli
And everyday he made me wonder
Where did he ever find
The music midst the madness
The courage to be kind
The long forgotten beauty
We thought was blown away
– John McCutcheon
In the Streets of Sarajevo
April 5, 1992 saw the first casualties in what became a 1,425 day siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.
More than 10,000 residents died because of shelling, bombing, the blockade, sniper fire, and other aspects of the siege.
In the midst of the siege, “the madness” to use John McCutcheon’s word, Vedran Smailović, of the Sarajevo Philarmonic Orchestra, played his cello in publuc. He played in ruined buildings, often performing Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor. He played at funerals during the siege, even though snipers often targeted by snipers.
After mortar fire killed 22 people as the stood in a bread line, Smailović played for 22 straight days in their honor. This part of Smailović’s story has made its way into writings and song. In an article in The Australian, Smailović expands on his experience:
I didn’t play for 22 days, I played all my life in Sarajevo and for the two years of the siege each and every day. They keep saying I played at four in the afternoon, but the explosion was at 10 in the morning and I am not stupid, I wasn’t looking to get shot by snipers so I varied my routine. I never stopped playing music throughout the siege.
Twenty-two days, two years, all his life. The time frame is unimportant. What matters is that Smailović found music and courage and grace and love to make a witness in the face of war and horror.
I give thanks for the Cellist of Sarajevo, and I look for others who, to paraphrase McCutcheon, “do not stand aside … refuse to be defeated … and rage against the tide.”
See you along the Trail.
P.S. After leaving Sarajevo, Vedran Smailović collaborated with Irish singer-songwriter and peace activist Tommy Sands to create an album Sarajevo/Belfast.
P.P.S. I use the image of the CD cover because it is a photo I took of a copy of the CD I own.
Filed under Current Events, Music
10 May 2017
Old Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Filed under Louisville, Photo
In a recent post, Marci Auld Glass looks both at the recent, and repeated, use of the word “loser” by the president and at the role losing plays in our lives. This post is made with her permission.
Some quotes that caught my attention follow. Check out Marci’s whole post.
At the least, equating depraved terrorists with people on the losing side of the democratic process is inadequate, requiring the word “loser” to stretch far beyond it’s meaning.
In truth, we are all losers, and we should be. When we lose, we learn–about ourselves, about others, about the level of work needed to reach our goals, and the way the world sometimes rewards people who aren’t the ones who work the hardest or who are the most qualified.
To call everyone else “losers” only reveals a shallow insult and a failure of comprehension about the value of not always coming out on top. Kareem Abdul Jabbar said, “You can’t win unless you learn how to lose”.
Marci’s words remind me that I am grateful for the times I took risks; the times I tried to do new things or things a step or two or ten beyond my capacity; the times I did my best and fell short. I am grateful for the times I have lost and what I have learned.
Thank you, Marci, for calling out the word “loser”. Thank you for the reminder of the role losing plays in life.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, Friends
Along the Graybeard Trail 