Massive metal
technological wonder
mechanical behemoth
gleaming red and orange and white
pulls into the gate
spews forth passengers and cargo
sits patiently
waits to consume more.
Tiny flesh and
bone and
feathers
dusky brown and grey
flits across the gate,
lands in the rafters,
sits
surveys
sings
and flies to who knows where.
28 March 2010
MIA, Gate J11
It is a day I remember not that well;
a day of death, a day of loss.
I stumbled along in grief and shock.
Barely knowing then what I said or did;
now less will come to mind.
While memories fail,
raw feelings return and tear my soul.
Yet of that fear-filled painful day,
one thing I gratefully recall:
you were there,
through it all,
you were there.
9 July 2011
Greeley, CO, Estes Park, CO
Filed under Friends
Behind gray green mountains
burns a brilliant golden pool;
light sabers stab the sky
then fade to wisps of brown
as day ends.
Summer 2001
West of Albuquerque
Rocky Mountain National Park
9 June 2011
A
solitary
purple
sentry
stands
at
its
appointed
post.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under National Park, Photo
The art of diplomacy is to avoid placing yourself in a position where you can be humiliated.
Sergio Vieira de Mello
The book of the moment is Chasing the Flame by Samantha Power – thanks Joe, Joel, and Ryan for the recommendation!
Power tells the story of Sergio Vieira de Mello and his career with the United Nations. Vieira de Mello joined the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 1969 and found himself engaged in many of the most critical UN efforts from the birth of Bangladesh in 1971-72 until his death in Iraq in 2003. As she recounts his life, Power provides insight into the man and a fascinating view of the UN and how it works.
The quote above relates to a moment when UN officials were turned back at a checkpoint in Cambodia as they tried to exercise the free movement promised to the UN by the Paris peace agreement. In the agreement, Cambodia’s four main factions agreed to demilitarize, allow refugees to return, and hold free elections. The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, a peacekeeping mission began to arrive in March 1992.
Vieiera de Mello’s assessment of diplomacy resonates with experience. There is wisdom in refraining from asking questions when one knows the answer and does not want to hear it. There is also wisdom in silence when one knows what answers could be and knows that among those answers are some one does not want to hear.
But – does the time not come when for the sake of truth, for the sake of justice, for the sake of others, for the sake of solid relationships – we must move ahead, make ourselves vulnerable, and take the risk of humiliation and even worse? Perhaps the question is how we recognize those times and how we respond when we do?
It will be interesting to see if this concept is explored any further in the book – either directly or simply through the life of Vieira de Mello. There is much to ponder.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Books, Friends, United Nations
At times during the Olympic coverage, I found myself yearning for Mary Poppins. When NBC aired stories of past Olympics, no matter how touching, I wondered if Voldemort had somehow cancelled the events of the day. But still, there were moments.
Andy Murray won a big tennis match. Usain Bolt provided a new understanding of a double double.
World records fell. Amazing performances took place again and again. But, as always, the moments that moved me, touched me, tugged at my heart and brought a tear to my eye had as much to do with the human spirit and grace and dignity and courage than they did with winning and losing. And I realized again why every two years either winter or summer I watch as much as I can, whatever I may think of the coverage. What I will take from London (and more may come as the games wind down) are:
Each moment a memory to hold, an affirmation of why the world gathers, and a reminder of what could be.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events
Remembering the trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland from earlier this year.
Revisiting the photos.
Still amazed by the Giant’s Causeway.
02 May 2012
Giant’s Causeway
I purchased my NFL Audio Pass tonight.
The Steelers play on Thursday. It is preseason. But it is football.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Football
Rocky Mountain National Park
9 July 2011
The journey through
Rocky Mountain National Park
continued.
At some point,
I learned that
National Park Rangers
enforce the speed limit.
But he was nice
and allowed a warning
to suffice.
This may have been before,
it may have been after;
for certain it is
a different spot in the park
and
a different shade of purple.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under National Park, Photo
