“What is a country but a borderless sentence, a life?
What is a country but a life sentence?”
Ocean Vuong
Freedom
“Freedom is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey.”
Ocean Vuong
What Is Patriotism? by Carol P. Christ
Some thoughts for today, July 4, Independence Day. What do others think?
July 4, American Independence Day, has come and gone. Perhaps now is as good a time as any to reflect on patriotism. What is it? What does it mean from a feminist perspective? What is the relationship between patriotism and militarism? Can one be a patriot and oppose war? Can one be a patriot and deny that “America is the greatest country in the world,” the foundation of the doctrine of American exceptionalism?
In a recent blog, Caroline Kline called attention to the use of patriarchal God language in the patriotic hymns her child was asked to sing in the 1st grade. She wondered if this God language could be changed to female positive or gender neutral. Her post prompted me to ask if changing pronouns would be enough and to revisit the question of patriotism and nationalism.
While I had opposed the Vietnam War in the 1960s and…
View original post 922 more words
Summer Beauty
These Mexican Bird of Paradise speak for themselves.
Vacationing in New York City–Part Two
We tried to pick a non-rainy day to go to the Bronx Zoo. Yet, when we arrived, storm clouds swirled; it did not look good. Luckily, the threat never materialized. I had forgotten just how large it is. This June, the vegetation reminded me of a tropical jungle except the species of plants differ.
This zoo is huge and old with elegant, classical style buildings.
These photos were taken in the Madagascar building.
Water flows everywhere, making for a very natural feeling environment for many of the animals.
The okapi can really blend in with its forested environment. This is one of my grandson’s favorites.
The gorilla area is so large I was never able to discern its perimeters. This seemed good to me; they have lots of room.
If you do not want to spend much of your time walking from exhibit to exhibit, some of which are not close to each other or are very large in terms of acres, a shuttle circles the zoo regularly and you can get off and on at various stops.
Another option is to ride the Monorail which goes all around the huge Asia exhibit. The only downside is, due to the area in which the animals have to roam, you may not see many up close. Can you find the tiger?
This is an Asian rhino and we were told she especially likes hanging out in the water.
Red pandas are not related to pandas at all. Although they are a unique species, they are most closely related to raccoons and weasels.
Many people criticize zoos and would rather have animals roaming free. Sadly, some animals are already extinct in the wild. A number of animals at the zoo fit this category. In some cases the zoo has a breeding program and are working on reintroduction programs which will reintroduce extinct species back into their original wild habitats.
No matter how you plan to get to the zoo, you are going to have to walk some distance unless you hire a car or taxi. You can take the subway and walk about 1/2 mile or so, or you can take the bus but will have to walk to the correct bus stop to catch the express bus which stops near the zoo entrance. We took the bus which allowed us to get a sort of “tour” of Uptown, Harlem, and the Bronx. It was comfortable and not very crowded. I took the following photo at 124th street.
A small community garden.
Vacationing in New York City-Part One
Earlier in June, my daughter, grandson, and I went to NYC for ten days. We had no particular plans, stayed about three blocks from the East River in Midtown, conveniently only a couple of blocks from the subway so going up and down Manhattan was easy. We did not do a lot of the usual touristy things. Mostly we wandered around, exploring.
This is a view from the hotel room on the 18th floor. Yes, there are people living in some of these buildings, complete with patios, patio furniture, and in some cases plants.
The first evening we traveled way downtown, got off the subway at Spring Street, and walked to a soba noodle place which had many vegetarian options–my grandson is vegetarian. We liked it so much we intended to go back but somehow never accomplished that. I would recommend this place for those who like Korean, Japanese, etc. food. Sadly, I do not recall the name.
The next day we went downtown again and did something touristy, had lunch in Little Italy. We had no idea which restaurant to pick so picked this one: Caffe Napoli. My grandson liked their cheese ravioli with marinara sauce so much, he ate two entire platefuls. I had the beet salad. I am not a bread eater normally but liked theirs so much with the olive oil and herbs that I could not stop eating it. This place was a hit for us so we went back in the evening several days later.
After lunch we took a very long walk through Soho over to Washington Square Park. We spent quite a lot of time there people watching.
If you have heard of the college, New York University (NYU), and have never been there, you might be surprised to discover it does not have a campus in the usual sense. Its “campus” is comprised of buildings around and near this park.
Twice we ate at a place close to the hotel: Clinton Hall at 230 East 51st Street. They have good veggie burgers and a giant salad served in a huge beer stein, among a variety of options. They also provide all sorts of games you can play while waiting on food, etc. I would not recommend this place near or on the weekend, however, unless you like loud. It is a very popular hangout for young, professional people and was so noisy then that we could not even talk to each other without shouting.
One touristy thing we did was take the subway uptown to Central Park and eat lunch at Tavern On the Green. The salmon patty was excellent. It was a sunny day, the guests seemed happy except for one man who demanded to be seated in a part of the restaurant that was closed. He did not succeed. The meal was good, the atmosphere sunny and pleasant. It was relaxing and fun.
Three times we went uptown to the Barnes and Nobles on 86th Street. We also visited the one at 555 Fifth Avenue. We are book people, and it seems we end up at book stores everywhere we travel. My grandson had to stop buying books because of concerns about luggage being over the weight limit. The most unique bookstore we visited is Kinokuniya just across from Bryant Park. I highly recommend this place. Not only do they have all sorts of books both in English and Japanese, but they also sell various Japanese art items some of which are very beautiful. I had to seriously restrain myself. My daughter and I sat in their cafe, I drank matcha latte, and we watched the activities across the street in Bryant Park while grandson explored the huge graphic novel area.
Practice
“Whatever we practice, we get really great at. If we practice flexibility, humility, courage, we get strong at those things. If we practice rigidness, ego, cowardice, we get strong at those things.” Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen
Day Trip to Wineries and a Lebanese Restaurant Near Lubbock, Texas
Yesterday, Martina, my exchange student from Italy, and I drove to Lubbock so I could say goodbye to Venty, the young woman from Indonesia, whom I co-sponsored at Texas Tech University in conjunction with the teachers’ sorority Alpha Delta Kappa. She received her Masters in Applied Linguistics recently. She will return to her home in what used to be called the Spice Islands later in June.
First, we decided to try something new for lunch. Neither had eaten much food from the Eastern Mediterranean area so we went to Manara. For appetizers we ordered falafel, dolma, and baba ganoush, none of which they had eaten before. After enjoying these appetizers, two of us ordered the kafta kabob dinner and one ordered the chicken. Although the salad was rather ordinary, the saffron rice was heavenly. The kabobs had somewhat different spices than the kabobs I have previously eaten but were fine. They were served with two sauces: garlic yogurt and another which was quite spicy. We enjoyed both. If you want to try something different while in Lubbock, I recommend this restaurant. I would go there just to eat the saffron rice.
Second, once I discovered that Venty did not know there are vineyards and wineries near Lubbock, we decided to take a run over to Caprock and Llano Estacado Wineries. Llano has recently opened an expansive new tasting room. Caprock is still called Caprock Winery, but the wine produced there is called English Newsom Cellars. The following photos were taken at Caprock and Venty’s house.
On a Ranch Working Cattle
Today Martina, my exchange student from Milano, Italy, and I went with my students of the Wildorado Cattle Company to work cattle on a ranch west of Amarillo. When I posted this on Facebook, a city friend asked what does working cattle mean. These were calves of various sizes, both male and female, all Angus.
First, a person on horseback heels a calf (ropes it by its hind feet) and drags it to the branding area. Then, depending on the size of the calf, a few persons flank it (hold it down) while a person gives it shots, e.g. vaccines, vitamins, another brands it with a hot iron, and someone else ear tags it. If it is a male, its testicles are cut off. Having raised cattle, this was not new to me. However, for a girl from Milano, it was the definitive Texas ranching experience.
I think we worked over a hundred calves during the morning which started at a chilly 47 with a strong West Texas wind. Later, in the afternoon it warmed up about 30 degrees. The wind just now finally quit; it is 8:54. Here are a couple of photos of the day’s activities.
Three people from the National Angus Association headquartered in St. Joesph, Missouri, were there making a documentary. Although currently I live in the country in the Panhandle of Texas, I grew up on a farm about 30 miles from St. Joesph. Small world.
Appreciation
A few weeks ago it was Teacher Appreciation Week. Several students brought me things, home made cookies, something orange–my favorite color, a gift certificate. However, two notes written by the students themselves caught my eye. One especially made me smile a lot. Here they are:
“Thank you for improving my language skills and being such an amazing teacher.”
“Ms. Lightle
“Thank you for making all of us laugh every single day! Your craziness and how you stay true to you, even when we say stupid things, and make you angry. We have not known you for very long, but we hope we can keep you here at LEAST until we graduate!”
Love, ”
I do not think I am one speck funny. However, for years now, students keep telling me I am super funny. I have no idea what I do to make them think this, but guess it does not matter.
It is a beautiful spring day, exceptionally green for the Panhandle of Texas. Papers are graded. Now, I am going to read, cook cod with lemon and fennel, feed horses, and watch the moon rise.
Enjoy!
