Cinderella

The Cinderella I learned as a girl was not the Disney Cinderella.
My stepmother was much fiercer and more cruel.
She cut off her daughter's toes and heel to fit the glass slipper.
My stepsisters didn't accept failure when the slipper didn't fit.
They embraced mutilation to gain the prince.

I too wanted to be Cinderella but, in truth, I was a stepsister.
I cut off my belly laughs in favor of more melodious tones.
I cut off my desire and forgot what I wanted.
I cut off my hunger and food lost its savor.
I cut off my ambition and became content with my lot.
I cut off my pride and stood in the background.
I cut off my anger and smiled and smiled.

But, by God, I still have my feet.
I will walk back and retrieve my discarded parts.
I will stitch me back together.
I will be whole again.

WeaverRose - April 20, 2009

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Winter Birdnest at Night

Winter Birdnest

The Boss Chronicles

At work today I purchased printer cartridges today from LaserMonks, a Trappist monk outfit that re-manufactures printer cartridges to raise funds to support themselves and good works. You might be wondering what this has to do with anything, but the boss insists that we always pay the lowest possible price for everything and that I spend whatever time it takes to find the lowest price. Soooo, I found that the LaserMonks are a nickle cheaper than the outfit he was all impressed with and has urged me to use. So this is rebellion for me - being faithful to the "cheapest price" mandate, but finding a totally off the wall, unexpected supplier just to weird him out. So I'm laughing and enjoying this way too much. You see what I am driven to. It would be kinda sad if it weren't so fun.

More Light on the Economic Crisis

I found this video makes sense of my individual experience in the context of the wider trends and movements of the economy.

Sweet Sophie

When I pet my lovely cat
she has the softest fur.
I wonder as I hold her close
Do I feel soft to her?

WeaverRose
Spring 2008

Long Live The King!

If the lion is the King of Beasts
cousin Petie is a prince.
He holds his head so regally
in cool magnificence.

WeaverRose
Spring 2008

Cat Baths

When her feet get stinky
and wrinkle up your nose,
Sophie licks her paws
and bites between her toes.
That's how a cat takes a bath
as everybody knows.

WeaverRose
Spring 2008

Waxing Poetic Over Cats

Sophie & my toes.

Sometimes I wish I was a cat
but I really don't know how
to say all that I want to say
with just one word: meow.

WeaverRose
Spring 2008

Flying

Twirling on her butt on the hardwood floor
as her sister grips her hair and runs.
Quickly it happens, like water dancing,
and the hug that follows is just as fast.

WeaverRose, March 2008

Here's my new favorite website

Government is Good

Why Act To Prevent Climate Change?

It's a good question. Here's one answer.

Friday Cat Blogging - Where I'd like to be right now

Hi Eden
This is a picture of Sophie sleeping on my pillow. She likes to sleep with me in the winter when it's cold. Petie likes to sleep on Jim's legs.

Perfection

What is perfection and
how is it attained?

I used to know this.
I knew the policies,
and the guidelines.
I knew the rules and regulations.
I knew the black of it,
and the white of it.
I knew all of the do's
and all of the don'ts.

But I've lost my certainty.

Now, when I look into the mirror
or look into your eyes
and see that I would change nothing,
That is perfection.

For Mom on Mother's Day
WeaverRose
May 2007

Friday Cat Blogging - A Bridge Called My Legs

Petie and my DH.

Friday Cat Blogging - the Don't Bother Me Edition

Parting

I've heard that everything happens for a reason,
That it's time to get on with my life.
I'm supposed to fight it,
Not let it beat me.

But there is no enemy here.
No foe to conquer
Nor victory to be won.
There is only me
Enduring loss.

WeaverRose
February 2007

Winter

What can I say about winter that a thousand poets
haven't said before?
Shall I mention the bitterly cold air?
The snow that muffles sound?
The branches of trees stark against the colorless sky?
My bed warmed by my beloved and a cat?
What can I say about winter that a thousand poets
haven't said before?
That I love my life this winter day.

WeaverRose
February 2007

Discussing The Relationship

We're working too long, she said.
We don't have enough time together, she said.
There's precious little joy around here these days, she said.
Now I know that it's half my fault and half yours, she said.
But I'm mad at you for your half.

Weaver Rose
January 2007

Baptism

The Church welcomes you little one,
With your small head bobbing,
Your eyes lighting on this, then that.
The Priest intones the words of the ritual,
Pouring holy water,
Calling a baby to faith and obedience.

But as she rests on her mother’s shoulder
Listening to her voice
And gazes at her father’s face
Listening to his voice
She takes the offered hand
And draws them into her life.

WeaverRose
January 2007

Aunt Virginia's Carrot Cake

Combine in a large bowl

Sugar and flour
Baking powder to lift it up
Exotic cinnamon
Savory salt
Earthy carrots
Shining oil
Toothsome walnuts
Candied fruit and
Eggs, complete in themselves.

Bake a long, long time
first fast
then slow.

Then share this sustaining cake all around,

As hearty and rich and sweet
as the embrace of the absent baker.

WeaverRose
January 2007

Fall in Michigan (haiku)

The summer sun fades
And chlorophyll disappears
True colors emerge

WeaverRose
October 2006

Toothpaste

This weekend I noticed I will soon need a new tube of toothpaste. I considered using my DH's until the next shopping trip. This is why that is impossible.

Friday Cat Blogging (with poetry)

Sophie

Saturday Morning

I lie down with book in hand
Ready to wander unknown worlds.
Sophie joins me
Nestled between my breasts,
Cheek resting against my cheek,
Whiskers tickling.
Breathing.
Purring.
Tilting her head to expose the perfect place to scratch.
Body curled around the hand that caresses her belly.
It is impossible to read
but she is unconcerned.
It would never occur to her
to do other than that
which is cat
to do.

WeaverRose
October 2006

Friday Cat Blogging

Pete in a basket.

From the "Don't These People Have Real Problems to Make a Fuss About?" Department?

STATE IS NOT REMOVING "AMERICA" FROM CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IN MICHIGAN

May 24, 2006
LANSING -The Michigan Department of Education is not taking the word "America" or "American" out of the classrooms of Michigan.

In an opinion piece crafted by Michael Warren in today's Detroit News, the former State Board of Education member incorrectly states that the Michigan Department of Education has "ordered that our hard-working teachers not utter the words."

No such edict has gone out to school teachers across Michigan, nor will one, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. He explained that an independent association of Social Studies educators has discussed the issue of official U.S. documents or titles, but that any recommendations regarding changes in school curriculum have not even made it to his desk for review.

Inasmuch, Flanagan emphatically stated that, if such a recommendation ever came to his desk, it would be stopped in its tracks.

"We are not seeking to do away with the terms 'America' or 'American' from classroom instruction," Flanagan said. "It's not going to happen. I consider myself an American. We live in the United States of America. We are citizens of the United States of America. But the vernacular is that we're Americans."

These curriculum associations consist of curriculum content supervisors who represent diverse views and opinions.

"These are advisory groups," Flanagan said. "The conversations and internal communications between members of an independent association have been misconstrued as Department of Education policy. This is not a Department of Education policy, nor will it ever be our policy while I'm here. I would never approve the removal of 'America' or 'American' from our classrooms. Not on my watch."

# # #

Martin Ackley
Director of Communications
Michigan Department of Education

My first reaction is that the accusers in this story need to get a life. My second thought is that fake controversies can be very useful in an election year.

Serenity

Not to fear. This is a spoiler-free zone.

I just saw Serenity last night and I have to say it's everything I hoped it would be. I laughed. I cried. I'm going to see it again before it's out of the theaters.

One thing I liked about it is that it showed relatively little of the reavers, leaving the horror of them for you to imagine. Mostly you gathered that they were truly exceptionally bad and evil from the reactions of the main characters. Definitely a case of less is more for inspiring some good old movie fright.

More good things: good pacing, lots of action AND great dialogue, very witty.

Go see it.

When did women's rights cease to be human rights?

Meet the Press - August 21, 2005

MR. GERECHT: Actually, I'm not terribly worried about this. ... If Iraqis could develop a democracy that resembled America in the 1900s, I think we'd all be thrilled. I mean, women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy. We hope they're there. I think they will be there. But I think we need to put this into perspective.

"women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy"

What does he think women are? Housepets?

What's wrong with protecting terrorists?

I recently heard on NPR a Republican woman legislator say that the Democrats concern for torturing internees is the same as being more concerned about and willing to protect terrorists than our own people.

There are all kinds of reasons to protect the rights of prisoners, like for instance, if we want to guarantee our own rights we need to protect the rights of all people. Once we start sorting people into groups whose rights should be protected or denied any one of us runs the risk of ending up in the group whose rights are dispensible.

But to be honest I don't really care too much about the internees except in a theoretical sense. What I care passionately about is what kind of people we are. I want to protect us from becoming a people who torture or can live comfortably with torture being done in our name.

So Durbin has apologized

Apologized for saying that we should hold ourselves to a high standard in the conduct of our soldiers when we are holding prisoners. Apologized for questioning our behavior.

If the unexamined life is not worth living, is an unexamined national life good for us?

I know war is a dirty business, but it's not as dirty as abusing captured people who are unable to defend themselves or fight back. Who among us watched friends, relatives and neighbors become soldiers intent on defending us expecting them to come back as torturers?

Torturers aren't especially different from the rest of us you know. That's why we must hold our military accountable for their behavior and provide the widest possible support for humane behavior under admittedly difficult circumstances. That's why we can't let Bush and his administration off the hook for searching for "legal" ways to torture prisoners and declaring the Geneva Conventions "quaint". Won't we lose something valuable in our national life and character if we allow ourselves to cast away restraint in our dealings with those we imprison?

The Hands of Torturers

They hold the hoses, flip the switches,
grip and beat and cut the bodies, then
unzip and tend to their own hose pissing,
tuck it back in, run the razor
tender down the cheekbone, chuck
a buttock, fondle breasts, part labia.
From one body to another
how easily the hands can go.

Ursula K. LeGuin
Going Out With Peacocks and Other Poems

Torturers aren't especially different from the rest of us. That's why we must guard ourselves against and protect each other from becoming torturers.

Raising the Age of Retirement

John Tierney writes in his op-ed piece The Old and the Rested

Is it possible that people this age are still physically capable of putting in a full day's work at the office?

Americans now feel entitled to spend nearly a third of their adult lives in retirement. Their jobs are less physically demanding than their parents' were, but they're retiring younger and typically start collecting Social Security by age 62. Most could keep working - fewer than 10 percent of people 65 to 75 are in poor health - but, like Bartleby the Scrivener, they prefer not to.

The problem isn't that Americans have gotten intrinsically lazier. They're just responding to a wonderfully intentioned system that in practice promotes greed and sloth. Social Security is widely thought of as a kumbaya program that unites Americans in caring for the elderly, but it actually creates ugly political battles among generations.

Greed and sloth? When I look at the retirees I know I don't see greedy, lazy people, unless they were that way all their life. By the time someone is 64 or 67 I'm thinking their personality and character are pretty well formed and won't be hurt much by a modest stipend each month. And believe me, John, most of us out here get a modest check from Social Security. And what about those who work at relatively low paying, physically demanding jobs all of their employed lives and pay a price in wear and tear on their bodies? Should they have to work their whole lives to survive when we can pretty easily provide enough money through Social Security to make their later years easier?

That brings me to your "kumbaya program". In Social Security we have a social contract in which we agree to provide for each other a basic income during retirement. This isn't unearned welfare and we aren't soft in the head to want to do this. As adults we contribute to our community/country by our labor, by taking care of our families, by volunteering, by being faithful friends and in myriad other ways. It is reasonable for us to want to look out for each other in retirement and Social Security provides us a means to join together and do that in a way that is well administered, efficient and equitable. We don't have to be social Darwinists who grasp for ours and tough noogies to you if you didn't manage to grasp as much as the other guy.

Many retired people already do spend time volunteering, working part-time, taking care of young or sick relatives amongst other things. They don't magically become parasites the moment they get their first check from Social Security. They are free, maybe for the first time in their lives, to labor for love. This has value that deserves recognition. Social Security works pretty well and with a little tweaking (not a major overhaul, not private accounts) we can keep it healthy and continue to support each other in making our golden years a little more secure.

Ultrasound required before an abortion

A few years ago I was riding through Owosso, Michigan and some anti-abortion demonstrators were on a corner with their signs, including huge pictures of what looked like chopped up babies. I was just horrified. I believe I understand the commitment and passion of those who want to put an end to abortion, I just couldn't believe that they would use such poor judgment about what they are willing to inflict on random passersby.

This brings me to the lastest action of the Michigan legislature on the abortion front. They've passed a bill to require an ultrasound test for women seeking an abortion. Their hope is that when women see the pictures of their embryo they will abandon their intention to abort. Lawmakers hasten to add that the law doesn't require that women be forced to look at the pictures.

This is just wrong on so many levels. There is the issue of bypassing a doctor's judgment about what is medically necessary for his/her patient, the state requiring unnecessary medical testing and the expense to a patient who is not likely to be able to afford it. This law turns health care providers into state-appointed officials charged with tormenting women who are seeking medical care. This law effectively places those street corner demonstrators into a medical examining room.

Do anti-abortion activisits really think they can prevent women from exersizing their right to abortion this way? Hasn't it occurred to them that it might be a better idea to do the kind of work that would help women avoid being in a situation in which abortion remains the best of all options? We know that economic security reduces the number of abortions, so why aren't they on street corners with pictures of people suffering from poverty and lack of employment? I read recently that 1 in 4 children in this country go to bed hungry at night. Schools are setting up programs for kids who rely on free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs at school that will provide them with food on weekends and school breaks. How about a law to require merchants to distribute pictures of families standing in soup kitchen lines to purchasers of luxury goods?

Parents Fight For Their Children - Against the Military

We used to hear stories of underage men lying about their age to enlist in the military to go fight, giving themselves to a great cause. Parents have always sent their sons (and now daughters) into the military filled with fear for their safety and pride in their sacrifice and idealism. Now we are reading about parents fighting to keep military recruiters out of high schools and away from their kids.

We used to be able to think there was such a thing as a "good war" and that we could be fighting to save the world from tyranny and genocide. Maybe there will be a good war again someday. In the meantime all we have is the Iraq war and parents with strong memories of the war in Viet Nam and they are not about to sacrifice their children in a bad war.

Sports and Politics

As I was reading about the goings on in the House, Senate and Administration with their strategies, actions and counteractions the thought occurred to me that sometimes the enjoyment I take in following politics is a lot like a sports enthusiast's pleasure in following sports. All the arcana of obscure rules and the study of strategy and tactics... and how fun it is when my side scores... how much it hurts when my side fumbles...the exhiliration of victory and the agony of defeat.

I'm also keenly aware that politics has real consequences in the real world for real people. If politics is a sport, it is truly a blood sport.

Anti Anti-bullying Programs in Schools?

The Houston Voice Online reports that the Southern Baptist Convention will be considering a resolution proposed by Rev. Voddie Baucham, Jr. and Bruce Shortt to encourage churches to investigate whether local public schools in their cities are promoting homosexuality by means of "diversity training, multicultural education, anti-bullying and safe schools".

Anti-bullying? Safe schools?

I'm having trouble understanding the paranoia of Christian extremists. I understand and sympathize with their struggle to raise their children according to their values in a wholesome and healthy environment . This is a universal dilemma in my estimation. Parents may draw their lines in different places but they all have to deal with limited support in their communities and the wider world. So how do some people conclude that anti-bullying programs in public schools undermine their efforts to raise their children according their values? I don't think that they would say that they want their kids to be bullies but here they are taking a stand against the programs that schools use to prevent bullying.

Well, it seems that anti-bullying programs, and their close cousins diversity training and multicultural education, are just a front for the conspiracy to get Christian kids to accept the gay agenda. Who woulda thought? I'd have thought that teaching elementary kids to find non-violent ways to resolve conflict and discouraging them from bullying would be pretty harmless. I'd have thought that teaching kids about other cultures would be a good thing. Given that they are pretty likely to encounter people from other cultures countless times in their lives it might be a good idea for them to have some sensitivity to differences and the ability to interact skillfully. I'd have thought that safe schools is a worthy and reasonable goal.

There will always be the risk that kids will grow up to think differently than their parents, about gays and lots of other things both important and trivial. Even so parents do have a great deal of influence on their kids so there will surely be future generations of right-wing extremist Christians.

And that's what makes my paranoia kick in.