"It's so deep, it's so wide / Your inside / Synchronicity"

This evening I biked (for the first time in two weeks) over to Romanello's Roseland to meet Joe T. for a glass of wine and some fried ravioli. We don't see each other as much when we are not organizing hugely sucessful poetry marathons or writing songs together. Usually the place is empty, there's some Sinatra playing, and that's about it.

I'd been there a minute maybe when I realized I knew almost every person in the room . It was the City Honors Women's Faculty Happy Hour--teachers who'd taught me, who I'd taught with....and it was Irene McVay's retirement. (See page 2.) She is the last of the people I knew, and who has known me for 20 years. Amazing coincidence...synchronicity. A gift.

All day the sky flaunted dramatic dark clouds, then long moments of bright sunlight.

I'm in love with my town, these days. Again.

Someone Else! Like Me! Sorta!

I've been inspired by some blogs (does anyone call them online journals anymore) lately, like Self Taught Girl (I relate to her talk about writing, aloneness, insecurity, and Buddhist practice), Wish Jar Journal, and local hero Nancy J. Parisi.

***

Three Truths and a Lie:

* My sweetie and I listened to Abba for hours yesterday.
* I have only just discovered Shonen Knife.
* The dog has a new purple bandana.
* I know how to yodel.

A Poet's Summer Announcement

"Summer is coming, summer is coming.
I know it, I know it, I know it.
Light again, leaf again, life again, love again.
Yes, my wild little Poet."
--Alfred Lord Tennyson

Photos!

I joined Flickr, at last, and got the sweet upgrade from my Jill.

Rising, and then some

Buffalo Rising is a free quarterly magazine put out by several of my friends and neighbors. It profiles experiences in my town just the way I would (and has published photos of mine), and it the sort of publication you might send to friends who've moved away or never yet come to visit (I'm looking at you, everyone but Sean).

I'm happy to see that BR has a new blog, updated daily, which is not only drawing attention to fun stuff like Brad Pitt in a Michael Morgulis "City of No Illusions" t-shirt, but drawing the B-lo together in a virtual sense, as I haven't enjoyed since leaving San Francisco. I notice that people I know (poets, librarians, teachers) are blogging and contributing. It's good to see them online, even if Buffalo will always be a place where I'll more often run into them on the street or at the bookstore or at the bar.

La Salle Park, and the river, in the fog.



And another happiness, lilacs outside my window.

But I didn't stay long...

This weekend I went to see the Peter Brötzmann Tentet at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (which my mother has always called The Hysterical Society). I liked the sound from outside the window best.

Then I went to see Jeez Luweez at a smoky bar in the neighborhood where I lived as a kid. They were good, and I enjoyed the thrift-store pictures of lighthouses on the walls.



I had a good time, though.

But I Shop At Payless, I Swear

I dreamed last night that I was a character on Sex & The City, and I was given a small, attractive bomb to set off on a boat. I decided I was not interested in killing people and went shopping instead, leaving a (very lovely, I must admit) shoe behind.

I try to live by these principles.

42 Laws of Maat

1. I honor virtue
2. I benefit without conflict
3. I am non-violent
4. I respect the property of others
5. I affirm that all life is sacred
6. I give offerings that are genuine and generous
7. I live in truth
8. I hold sacred those objects consecrated to the Divine
9. I speak the truth
10. I consume only my fair share
11. I speak words of good intent
12. I relate in peace
13. I honor animals as sacred
14. I can be trusted
15. I care for the earth
16. I keep my own council
17. I speak positively of others
18. I remain in balance with my emotions
19. I am trustful in my relationships
20. I hold purity in high esteem
21. I spread joy
22. I do the best I can
23. I communicate with compassion
24. I listen to opposing opinions
25. I create harmony
26. I invoke laughter
27. I am open to love in various forms
28. I am forgiving
29. I am non-abusive
30. I act respectfully of others
31. I am non-judgemental
32. I follow my inner guidance
33. I speak without disturbing others
34. I do good
35. I give blessings
36. I keep the waters pure
37. I speak with optimism
38. I praise the Goddess
39. I am humble
40. I achieve with integrity
41. I advance through my own abilities
42. I embrace the all

How To Build Community

(This is a list I've loved since I first encountered it. And I do try to live by it.)

Turn Off Your TV

Leave Your House

Know Your Neighbors

Look Up When You Are Walking

Greet People

Sit On Your Stoop

Plant Flowers

Use Your Library

Play Together

Buy From Local Merchants

Share What You Have

Help A Dog

Take Children to the Park

Garden Together

Support Neighborhood Schools

Fix It Even If You Didn't Break It

Have Pot Lucks

Honor Elders

Pick Up Litter

Read Stories Aloud

Dance In the Street

Talk to the Mail Carrier

Listen to the Birds

Put Up a Swing

Help Carry Something Heavy

Barter For Your Goods

Start a Tradition

Ask a Question

Hire Young People for Odd Jobs

Organize a Block Party

Bake Extra and Share

Ask For Help When You Need It

Open Your Shades

Sing Together

Share Your Skills

Take Back the Night

Turn Up the Music

Turn Down the Music

Listen Before You React To Anger

Mediate a Conflict

Seek To Understand

Learn From New and
Uncomfortable Angles

Know that No One Is Silent
Though Many Are Not Heard
Work to Change This

Urban Epiphany was a great success.

Ice Boom to Blame for Buffalo's Late Spring?

"The ice boom could result in air temperatures along the shore of Lake Erie, on average, being at least 16 degrees colder, maybe more, over the course of a season, according to the study."

Chicago

When I visit a city, I like to do three things: go to Lush, have Ethiopian food, and go to a bath house/spa for sauna & soak. I've done two of those things already in Chicago, and will complete the list sometime tomorrow. All this between meetings and meals with colleagues. (Last night, a great dinner at Adobo and a fun evening at Second City.)



Lake Michigan.



The pretty tablecloth at Ethiopian Diamond.


Me on the El Platform, tired & windblown.