Book of Days

Observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day

lvbirders — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:24:48 +0000

“Social Justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.”
- Pope John Paul II address to workers in San Paolo, Brazil 1980

A few links to share on this day:

* Ways to Celebrate MLK Day – Newsweek

* In His Own Words: Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes – Encarta

Josh and I will also be reading and discussing articles from the Washington Post, The New York Times and AlterNet News relating Dr. King and his ideas to current events such as the presidential race nominations and the impact of his ideas today.

Starting the day with Vinni Puh

lvbirders — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:17:07 +0000

While perusing blogs this morning as I sat and talked with my 18 yod breakfasting before school, I came across this post about a Russian Winnie the Poo. I clicked on the You Tube segment and there we were, two grown women, laughing and giggling like a bunch of little girls, enjoying a favorite character in a language we don’t even know. Winnie the Poo transcends any language barrier. I teased my daughter that if only Alex Ovechkin were here with us we could have it translated for us.

Somehow I don’t think Josh will be as tickled with all this as Lauren. Thank goodness for daughters.

Enjoying Literature

lvbirders — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:23:27 +0000

One of the things Josh and I try and do each day is listen to The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor. I had to laugh this afternoon as I shared this sentence from the piece on Richard Halliburton, travel and adventure writer. “By the mid-1930s, his books were so popular that his publishers gave him a blank check to travel wherever he wanted and do whatever he pleased — as long as he promised to write about it afterward.” Josh looked at me wide eyed and exclaimed, “That is so cool! I would so do that!”

Speaking of Garrison Keillor, we have also been listening to the audio tape, The Adventures of Guy Noir with Garrison Keillor. This tape contains segments of the Guy Noir skits from Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio show that we listen to on our local NPR station. There is something about the show that reminds us of the old radio shows my mom told us about that she used to listen to when she was a young girl.

We are also listening to the audio book of To Kill A Mockingbird. The book is read by Sissy Spacek and her voice just pulls you into the story. Not a hard thing to do with this family though as this is a favorite book of all of us.

Josh is reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because his sisters have said it is a book he shouldn’t miss. He just recently finished Ernest Hemingway’s, Green Hills of Africa, a Christmas present from one of his sisters and really enjoyed it. Not surprising as this is his favorite author.

A New Day, A New Year, A New Time to Study

lvbirders — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:06:49 +0000

A Quiet Morning

lvbirders — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:31:31 +0000

This poem, found on a favorite blog, spoke to me in so many different ways…

Just Delicate Needles

It’s so delicate, the light.
And there’s so little of it. The dark
is huge.
Just delicate needles, the light,
in an endless night.
And it has such a long way to go
through such desolate space.
So let’s be gentle with it.
Cherish it.
So it will come again in the morning.
We hope.–Rolf Jacobsen
Translated by Robert Hedin