If you don't want to read a somewhat personal rant/vent over a recent incident in my life, then just go on to the next diary. I need to get this out and I need feedback from friends who DO care about who gets into the White House.

Picture this: We're watching Primary Colors on the tube. I hate watching such politically motivated movies and they make me wonder at the mindset of those who a) make the movie in the first place, and b) put it on the air during the Primary Season in 2008. I'm always leery of such morality plays, though it's a pretty good one. A few comments are exchanged regarding the movie. He dismisses all politicians as bad news. Our 'discussion' starts getting more heated on both sides as we go on.

[editor's note, by Quotefiend] This is cross-posted at My Blog.

In honor of the Blogathon about the Environment, I am going to speak about Organic Gardening, its pleasures, its usefulness, its benefits to the environment and to our health, both physical and spiritual.

I’m sure most of you have at least heard of ‘Organic’, as a farming/gardening method. What does that really mean? According to Organic Gardening Magazine...

Follow me across the tracks:::::::::::::::::::::::::>

As many of you here on the Street know, I lost my brother to a heart attack on September 30th. It was sudden, and unexpected, though he had a history of strokes and was on medication to deal with them. He had a slight lisp when I last saw him in 2003, along with a bit of extra tiredness and slurring of words in the evening. Yet, he had a love of life that sparkled in his eyes and came out in silly jokes, pranks, and an infectuous smile.

He lived in the country outside Watertown, WI, on a small plot of land he and his lady wife called "The Place", in a home he built from scratch. They have three cats that roamed freely in and out, and a big garden. His greatest joy was photography; he was a professional, taking wedding pictures and photos of folks for whatever event was important to them. In the last few years, however, his business dried up--due, I'd imagine, to the advent of affordable digital cameras.

Follow me across the tracks::::

I want to give great big Wolverine Hugs to the Street Prophets who are all in cahoots with Loggersbrat, bluetownship, Rain, and Wolfie in the "Save the Prophets at Casa Fiend from Starving to Death" Project, with departments that are still semi-super-secret at this time, too.

From all of us here at Casa Fiend, we are profoundly and deeply grateful--and humbled--by y'all. No better witness to the Progressive, Spiritually Awake, Loving and Generous (Oh, so generous!) spirits of Street Prophets exists. We salute you! In lieu of us dancing (a mind destroying picture, to be sure!), we give you Cheerleaders:

Thank you. You honor us sooooo much! Follow across the tracks for the Delay Report--err, recounting--of the Adventure. --->

“You see what power is—holding someone else's fear in your hand and showing it to them!”
~~ Amy Tan

.

(Saturday, April 14th—later in the afternoon)

The sun was only two hours away from setting, and the shadows were long in the yard when Janet, Elly, and Miry, materialized on the west side of the tall hedge that bordered the eastern edge of Ev’s backyard. Ivan and Tatiana had plans to create an arched gateway through the dense greenery, but now there wasn’t one. It was quiet, except for birds singing, the wind gently rustling the newly leafed trees, and Adam’s humming. The child was finishing a complex construction in a configuration that Elly had never seen before. When he noticed the women, he abandoned his play and ran over to them as they walked towards the f’raa’ehl.

"First weigh the considerations, then take the risks."
~~ Helmuth von Moltke

.

(Saturday, April 14th)

The controlled chaos of continuing packing and moving began by nine o’clock that sunny Saturday after the eventful night of Jesse’s birthday. Jesse had decided to wait until his adoptive Grandparents were able to attend before finishing his birthday celebration. Everyone approved of the decision, and they planned to have a supper barbecue after the moving exertions of the day were finished.

Fresh to the Kiiyahkihn, Ivan and Tatiana were eager to finally feel the energy of the k’ree’ehl on the farm. The group of enginors teleported directly there, though the elders did not direct the transfer.

Ben and Elly watched knowingly as the Rykoffs stood within the k’ree’ehl’s column of power. Jesse and Miry felt their happiness as well as their parents did, each wondering if they would ever find a person to love them as much as Ivan and Tatiana loved each other.

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
~~ Joseph Campbell

.

(Friday afternoon, April 13th)

Ben Wynne arrived in the Cameron area just before three o'clock, coming in from the east. He did not know the area at all and telepathically called for help in getting to Ev's house. He knew he'd better not teleport with the suburban in broad daylight.

Ev returned from his afternoon of helping move boxes around for his Grandmother up in Wisconsin, to send Ben specific driving instructions. His return also signaled the official end of the workday. Everyone scattered to clean up and prepare for the dual celebration of Jesse's birthday and Ben's arrival from New York. Rig went home to shower, while Janet waited for Tatiana to ready herself up at the farm. Ivan showered and changed at the new house. They returned just as he and Tatiana came over to join in the festivities. Rig met them about the same time. Janet introduced Ron to Ivan and Tatiana, who immediately adopted him.

“It is wonderful how quickly you get used to things, even the most astonishing.”
~~ Edith Nesbitt

.

(Friday Morning, April 13th in Cameron)

Elly had been up for hours when Ev and Janet came down from their room on the morning of Friday the thirteenth—the residents of Ev’s house ignoring the superstitions revolving around that date.

Outside, the older kids were reading the books Elly had chosen for them reflecting the material they would have been dealing with in school. She knew it was a temporary fix to a long-term situation, but she didn’t want to get a full curriculum figured out until they settled at the new farm.

She was at the kitchen table sipping coffee and reading the Cameron Clarion as Ev and Janet walked in. Ev came straight to the table, but Janet stopped and filled two cups with brew, doctoring them with both cream and sugar. After, she came and sat down next to Ev, across from Elly. They both said nothing—just sipped their coffee. Cocking an eyebrow, Elly watched them. “Sleep late, you two?”

"A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular."
~~ Adlai Stevenson

.

(April 12th, Thursday)

Across Cameron Thursday afternoon, Theodore Barnes was at his desk in the palatial office that he maintained to direct and control the many cells of his growing organization, the Protectors of Humanity. Written reports of cell activities vied with articles of research done by top scientists of like mind; he would read them all, but currently, he awaited Rudy Drasberg. His secretary Lola, a buxom woman with limited intelligence, would notify him when Rudy arrived. Until then, he read the dossier on his possible new assistant—Dana Lawford.

He opened the folder and read of the man’s accomplishments, his philosophy, and connections in the world of Illinois politics. Unfortunately, the résumé did not include a photograph, but the testimonials were all very revealing, if not exactly specific. He and Lawford seemed to be cut from the same cloth, though Lawford had much more education than he.

“Ask about your neighbors, then buy the house.”
~~ Jewish Proverb

.

(Tuesday, April 10, 73)

An overcast Tuesday greeted the inhabitants of the Rykoff house on Sunnyvale Circle. Ev and Janet were going to spend their day dealing with the plumber and the three plasterers Pat had scared up. Elly was going to check with Ben on his progress in selling their farm, and the elder Rykoffs were all set to haggle over the house next door.

By lunch, it was drizzling and 1019 was down in the yards; the plasterers were finished—except for the bathroom—and paid. The plumber was totally baffled as to how Ev was going to get a tub into that space with the walls framed in, and awed by seeing it in place when he returned to work in the afternoon. Elly fed him, the plasterers, and the rest of the residents, sandwiches, chicken stew, and fresh baked bread. Ivan and Tatiana reported on the house next door, regaling them with Russian-laced descriptions and the progress that they were making on the sale.

“There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go.”
~~ Richard Bach

.

(April 9th, Monday afternoon.)

Sam Sanderval was busy at his desk, doing paperwork he despised. There were days—especially in spring—when he wished he had stayed in Train Service, working the West Pool. Outside, it was windy and about fifty-five degrees in the shade. It was great switching weather. Inside, it was almost seventy degrees, but the scents of the spring didn’t make it to his cramped, roughly organized office. Routine paper shuffling annoyed him, but he went through each piece with a modicum of attention.

“Love is not limited by convenience; it is the inconvenient times that make you realize how much you are truly loved.”
~~ Michael A. Mejia

.

(Monday, April 9th, early morning.)

Janet awoke before sunrise Monday morning, listening to the distinctive song of robins staking out their territories. That familiar, much-loved melody echoed in her mind with the entwined notes of Ahrdree and Jenine as she lay nestled against Ev’s shoulder. His breathing was still very slow and deep, telling her he was asleep. She treasured the time she had with him, knowing—after their conversation the night before—that soon they would be separated by well-meaning, but old-fashioned, relatives that she—and Ev—didn’t have the heart with which to argue.

Ahrdree?

Good morning, siiur’kiirehn, the silicrys sang gently in her mind.