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Graphic: Heidi playing fiddle at Cranberry Thistle; photo by Steve Cook, Jonesborough Art Gallery
A Country Rag Occasional Treatsby Richard Ballonwho lives in northern Appalachia near the trail
The Harvest of A Temporary Thaw The swallows circled and nested in the oak tree this morning. I'd almost believed that spring had hoisted herself above the shrinking snow. But the winds of February have circled back to strike the rivulets still with one dead bird upon the ground. In Summer Even with your window thrown wide- a redwood windowbox boasts a screen of hybrid zinnias planted four inches apart and promptly pinched. These little soldiers chase the fireflies away, and shield the view of a garden all wild with purple veins galloping across the lawn. Easy as Hell Easy as hell to identify what isn't holy, yet to love, protect and live what is sacred is to venture down a road wide as all horizons so glorious it is said to terrify even the angels.[The Harvest of a Temporary Thaw appeared in The Pioneer Valley Forum 1994]
Graphic: Appalachian Trail, photo courtesy Steve Cook, Jonesborough Art Glass Gallery |
| "What the Republicans did, cleverly, was to establish effective "memes" in the minds of the public and the pundits. A meme, so named by the British evolutionist Richard Dawkins, is like a gene, except that instead of advancing through organisms, it moves through minds. Memes are simply ideas that demonstrate a high rate of survival and transmission. Bush became the "winner" of a dead heat, in the midst of an incomplete recount, when a premature victory was declared on her own unnecessary deadline by his Florida campaign co-chairwoman, who also held the crucial post of secretary of state. Once this bogus "certification" was final (Ms. Harris signing several copies on TV, including a valuable souvenir for herself), the Republicans referred to it endlessly as a valid event, even though it was clearly a shameless ploy to slam the door before the election escaped. A meme was born." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Inc. |
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Where the heck am I? --
Whisk me away
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