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Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category
Fire in the Sky
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged Photography, red, sunflower on February 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »
A Post-Valentine’s Treat
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged flowers, orange, Photography, Postcards, roses on February 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »
My Indoor Garden
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged blossoms, cactus, garden, house plants, orange, Photography, pink on February 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »
My indoor garden sits on a glass-topped table. I don’t think I have much of a green thumb, but these little plants have done well so far this winter.
Sunday Musings: Gratitude
Posted in Inspiration, tagged father, gratitude, jim crow, mother, parents, segregation on February 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
There are times when I sit still, often in sunlight, that I am suddenly filled with a sense of gratitude. This bright beautiful morning I am filled with gratitude toward my parents. They were born in the 1920s and 1930s in the segregated south. Until certain laws were passed, they had to sit in the back of buses and use separate but decidely unequal facilities. They were spat upon — my father told me of incidents involving white kids on a school bus. They were certainly called nigger. They had every opportunity to let hate fill their hearts and to then pass that hate onto their children. But they did not.
Make no mistake. They shared their experiences with my brothers and I. They helped us process our own experiences. And though they may have expressed anger, they always taught us to love our fellow man. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That is what they communicated, if not in words, than certainly by their deeds. How grateful I am that our life journeys intertwined for so long.
Hidden Beauty: Sargent at the Boston Public Library
Posted in Inspiration, tagged Boston Public Library, john singer sargent, murals on February 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
With the winter winds whipping through Boston, I have been trying to remind myself of all the beauty to be found inside. There are few places in the city as beautiful as the main branch of the Boston Public Library (BPL). It is a mammoth structure located in the heart of Copley Square in the area known as the Back Bay. For the books alone, of course, it is well worth a visit. But, the BPL is also an architectural and artistic masterpiece. You can learn more on the BPL website, as well as a view this nice summary about the library murals on a website dedicated to John Singer Sargent. Below are a few pics I snapped recently.
Purchase Limited Edition Prints
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, Photography Exhibits, tagged limited edition print, photosbycynthia, sunset on February 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Limited edition of 75, unframed. Available here starting at $75.
“the water brought us, the water will take us away”
Posted in Inspiration, tagged Ebo Landing, slave narratives, the slave ship on February 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
I have written about “the Painter of Light” before on this blog. Joseph Mallord William Turner’s works have always drawn my eyes, but none moreso than this painting. The Slave Ship chronicles an actual event in British history — when over 100 African slaves were tossed overboard with shackles on their limbs into shark-infested waters. The people on that boat were herded into the sea like animals.
In 1803 in the waters of Dunbar Creek off St. Simons Island, SC a group of Africans also died in the ocean. In an area now known as Ebo Landing, the story seems to be that after a failed slave rebellion, a dozen or more Africans of the Igbo people decided to no longer be enslaved. Their leader’s voice rang out: “The water brought us and the water will take us away.” And then, together, they walked into the sea.
That story and many others are captured in American slave narratives. Here are just a few resources:
Virginia Slave Narratives
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/index.html
Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/
Oklahoma Slave Narratives
http://www.okgenweb.org/slave.htm
I hope you have a chance to read the words and hear the voices of these people long gone. Their stories should not be forgotten. If you know of other resources, please let me know. I’d love to post additional recommendations.
Sunday is for slow cooking.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged beans, colors, food, garlic, Photography, plums, white carnation on February 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »
View Through a White Web
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged baby's breath, Photography, white flowers on February 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Words + Images 