Rara Avis

Saw the man; did not see the plane. But I saw lots of other old planes in various stages of restoration or building, as well as WW1 ambulances, a despatch rider's motorcycle (a Triumph!) and a sweet little nest made inside an engine housing of an operational plane. Silly birdies -- they chose the worst place on a plane for a free ride. Little peepy mouths poked up to greet us from the nest, fortunately, so there was notification of life inside before the plane next took off.

Back in NM we have many little peepers here also needing rescuing. One was in the yard last night and is now on its way to the Wildlife Center in Española for rehabilitation. It's a robin, apparently, quite rare -- ha ha. Folly and Twist were arguing about who got to have it when The Humans stepped in and averted further carnage.

Nighttime reading these days takes me to the 14th century in England -- Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster, the ancestress of the royal house of Tudor and all subsequent houses up to today. Were it not for her illegitimate children...
Anyway, it is always good to read of places long ago and far away. I can't believe people actually survived those times to be ancestors of anybody now.

San Antonio

Off to see a man about a plane. In Texas, actually.

Gratitude

I've been thinking about gratitude lately: why do we want it, expect it, give it? The thank-you note has interestingly declined in use for gifts and increased in use for acknowledging that someone interviewed for a job or a space in a school. Curious. Why thank someone for just doing their job? Perhaps this could be called The New Obsequiousness. And we thought the Old Obsequiousness was unbearable. Does gratitude count when the underlying motivation is to curry favor? I think not. As someone near & dear to me says: we don't deserve credit for things that come easily to us. It's like the Victoria Cross: it's for valor, not bravery. As HM said when the medal was created, "Oh, it is for valor; they are all brave."
Back to gratitude. Of course we want the confirmation that a gift was received -- understandable. Consider, though, for whose real benefit has this gift been given: to enhance the rep of the giver? or to truly make another content? Real giving is not so easy. John Le Carre depicted a person giving another a special old book, long in his possession, whereupon the recipient commented he couldn't possibly take something so important to the donor. The friend replied, "Would you rather I gave you something I do not value?"

More Than a Month

More than a month since I last posted. Not a promising start that: one brief post per month. But coming up for air from a most unpleasant late winter/early spring does take some time. And I do mean "air" -- breathing while combating springtime allergies is a challenge.
Lots of knitting has been accomplished, however, several skirts, a vest, and morphing inspiration buzzes around frequently. Good things to remind one of confidence rocked soundly and feared gone. [Syntax courtesy of Lost in Austen. Very fun; do rent it.]

Daylight

Sometimes those late-night,uncontrolled ramblings in the back of my head are, I just know, the best posts I come up with. Of course, I don't rise and actually write them out. But there is the faint memory of having been really creative and articulate, at least at some point in my day.

Back here now in SFO, thinking, looking around, weighing options, remembering how lucky one is to have options at all. Chin up.

Re-Entry

It's short for "demobilized." In other words, released from an existence quite different from the one looming: sent home from active service with a small amount of cash, maybe some honors, maybe not, and hoping there is a life in this new world that can give meaning to the future. Many worthier than I have been here, are here every day. My experience is just a faint whisper of the returns of others who have been eye-deep in hell. I've not been in hell, just a funny version of what I thought was heaven.