Monday, December 8, 2008

Everybody Hurts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flvuy5vC4vk

We've all had days like this. Here's hoping today isn't one of them.
If you know someone who is hurting, take a few minutes to reach out to them.
Calm your mind so you can hear your heart.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Today is my father's birthday

Today is my father's birthday. Dec. 6, 1911. My father passed away in 1980, when I was 25. We were very close and I still miss him to this day. Henry Thomas Noble. Grew up in southern rural Georgia in a very poor family, with lots of kids, never got past 8th grade as the nearest high school was too far away. Left home at 13 to start working. Got married and started a family in the Great Depression. Had five children, two of whom passed away as infants. A hard life.

He was full of love. He loved to tell stories. He was an extrovert, unlike his youngest daughter. He had a great sense of humor, although characteristically corny, and loved to tease. When I was a child, every night I sat on the edge of his bed and he told me stories from his life. I wish I had written them down. I would have been the next Laura Ingalls. He worked hard, was honest, was generous with family and friends. He embraced life, with all it's highs and lows. He was diagnosed with liver cancer, fought hard but really we all knew the treatment would only extend his life by a few months. I regret that he never met his grandson Ted. I regret that he never saw the next phase of my life where I tried hard to live by the values that he instilled in me.

Dad, I love you. You are always with me.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Harvey Milk, the movie



In about a week, the Harvey Milk movie will come to Madison. I really encourage you to go see it, even if you don't know who he is. He was the first openly gay elected official and very inspirational. Watch the Youtube video. I had a close friend who was living in San Francisco at the time. His name was Kurt and he was gay. He was one of my best friends in high school. He lived there during this time and in fact lived across from city hall. Harvey Milk helped paved the way for more social acceptance and understanding of gays and lesbians. Understanding is everything. It eliminates fear, bigotry and bias.
The photo is my friend Kurt, me, and my husband Jim, circa..... 1978ish.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

and the lights are back on


Well friends and family. I started a blog, a few people told me they read it, but I couldn't tell if anyone was reading it - or enjoying it - or had anything to say. So I stopped. I didn't want to write to empty air nor impose on you. Then people asked where it went.

I did enjoy it. But I don't know if others did. So this time, the game is different. Please feel free to leave a comment. About anything. Practice random acts of blogging. One thought leads to another. Follow it and see where it goes. Sometimes the journeys without destinations are the most interesting of all.