From New Orleans to Hopedale
From New Orleans to Hopedale
37+ miles and two water crossings
14-15 February 2009
Orleans and St Bernard Parishes, Louisiana
++++++++++
with special thanks to all at
A Studio in the Woods :
. Lucianne & Joe Carmichael
. Ama Rogan
. Cammie Hill-Prewitt
. Anne Mueller
. Dave Baker
Monique Verdin
Mollie Day
Selina & Joe Gonzalez
Matine and Xavier Verdin
Capt Mike Williams
Ken Wells
Bob Turner, Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East
Stevan Spencer, Orleans Levee Board
Lake Borgne Basin Levee Board
Chris Gilmore, US Army Corps of Engineers
Randy Boudreaux, Southern Scrap Recycling
Bayou Bienvenue Flood Gate Operator :
Mark Theard, Orleans Levee District
Bayou Dupree Flood Gate Operator :
Captain Russell S Gelvin, Jr., Lake Borgne Basin Levee District
Supervisor, Pumping Station :
Peter S. Bauer, Lake Borgne Basin Levee District
Jan Gilbert
Dawn M. Barrios
Ryan Prewitt
the porpoise of MRGO
that donkey on the levee
the snake that didn't strike me
and the coyotes of Hopedale
and all the folks who came to Open Studio
thank you.
anne
-
Labels: connecting, fabulous, love, luck, memory, MRGO, proximity, spontaneous, translation, walk, water
journey in the night
when all saints day
became
Día de los Muertos
we sat together again
in the place where memory lives on
-
Labels: connecting, death, dispersal, love, memory, night, transformation
retreat into forest
After tiring of the feuding monks of Kosambi, the Buddha left to spend a year in the forest with no monks or lay people in attendance, The elephant known as Palilayaka cleared a path to a hidden cave and brought him fresh fruits every day. A monkey also attended the Buddha, bringing him his most valued posession, a honeycomb.
When Buddha departed to return to Kosambi, Palilayaka attempted to follow him into the forest. The Buddha warned him, "From here on is the territory of men and a great danger to animals such as you." Palilayaka stood and roared with grief. As soon as the Buddha was out of sight, his heart broke and he died right where he stood.
-
Labels: death, dispersal, love, woods
the journey of a letter (two)
Dear Peter,
I know that you are very very tired now. Maybe too tired to read, so you & Sally are together and she is reading this aloud to you. You know how much I love you two, my dear friends, and I wish I could be there right now to spend time with you – to be present, with compassion and love, to keep you company & to be together. You are always in my heart Peter. That may sound corny but it is true! Maybe because I live so far away I always carry this lifetime of experiences, moments, memories with me – so for us it is folk mass (long ago), catching up in the driveway, sitting at the kitchen table, walking our dogs, the hole in the hedge between our houses --- the little moments, the Big moments. I kept the wrapper from the Stollen cake you brought me last Christmas – here – wrapping your letter- because it makes me smile – you make me smile Peter! Thank you for being my friend – I cherish our friendship always.
I found something recently while walking the dog at Half Moon Bay – the beach we walked when you came to visit – yes in August I was walking and when I came up from the beach I stopped with the dog to take my shoe off & dump the sand out. When I leaned on the fence post to stabilize myself, I saw this stone cross inside the fence post – someone left it there.
I don’t always know why I find things but I
CAN recognize their significance – things stick out to me and sometimes they really do
STICK OUT, as in this case! I thought you might like to have it now you know the story and how it reminds me of you, of us, of our walk there – our day together. The stone – I forget what kind it is – it as a nice feel to it and a little weight, feels good in the hand, if you hold it.
I have enclosed some photos from my
Florida walk in April – when I jumped out of a plane & walked 24 miles by myself in the dark on the Canaveral
National Seashore. It was grueling, exhausting, difficult, and at the same time, enlightening. When I was really really tired and maybe a bit concerned about being washed away to sea or stopping and not getting up all by myself, I
found a
letter on the small strip of beach, at my feet while walking, it was tied to a balloon and the wind carried it hundreds of miles then it washed up on the shore at my feet, and I found it in the dark! It made me so happy to know there was communication from a stranger, that this synchronicity happened. I was so tired I could not break the plastic string to open the letter while I was walking in the night but I tied the balloon to my backpack and it knocked around keeping my company. Also, the moon was near full and cast my shadow ahead of me in the sand as I walked. I could now see the shadow of the balloon cast in front of me as well – it really cheered me up and I didn’t feel so alone on my exhausting journey.
I hope this letter cheers you up like the one I found on the beach – and like the balloon I may not be in your direct line of sight but you know I’m with you wherever your journey takes you.
I love you very much Peter – I know you know that!
I will be home Friday ----
Labels: death, fabulous, letter, love, mail, memory, moon, night, ocean, sea, walk
trick or treat
my friend is very ill, i buy a ticket to go back home.
my eyes weary as i drive, i realize this will be our last time together.
is it harder to say goodbye for the last time
when you know it is the last time,
when the person is still there,
and you do the leaving.
i don't want to write these words
my little niece will be a fairy, we will go trick or treating.
-
Labels: death, love, memory, throw me something mister
day by day
JAN 01: cast a spell to ensure good luck throughout the year
JAN 21: St Agnes Day, a time of year associated with the brewing of LOVE PHILTRES (potions) and the casting of LOVE ENCHANTMENTS
[ JAN 22]
FEB 02:
Candlemas. weather divination; spells involving sacred groves
FEB 13: eve of St Valentine's Day
FEB 14: St Valentine's Day
Labels: 22, love, schedule, spell, woods
lucky in love
to find a length of RED RIBBON, RED LACE, RED CORD or RED WOOL is an omen of luck in love. if you should find such an omen, pick it up and while doing so, make a wish regarding the one you love. if you have no one special in mind, signifies new love will be making a dramatic appearance.
should be kept as a love amulet
Labels: found, love, luck, spell
a love spell cast upon this river
hard sweet hard is a love spell cast upon this river of ideas we feed the sea.
Labels: love, mail, map, MRGO, ocean, river, sea, spell, water
