As my child counts the minutes to Christmas, in what will undoubtedly be a short year from what he was used to, it is good to remember that children everywhere, in their innocence await Santa.
Thanks to the kind donations made by people like you, children of the some 800 souls left homeless when Villalobos appropriated their homes and properties got a Christmas they didn't expect.
From Mary Ann and Chile:
There was one little boy in town that asked his Dad about Santa coming soon. Dad said "No Santa isn't coming here this year". Well, when the boy saw Santa riding in the back of a pick-up truck in town, he ran to his Dad and told him that "Si, Santa is in town, and has toys for everyone". You can probably guess which boy it was by looking at the pictures. It touches a spot in you when you see all the kids in town excited about Santa and a gift for Christmas.
Ninety-nine percent of what we spent was purchased right here in the village.We all buy local and spread the share of revenue around to the various tiendas and restaurants.They have not seen this much business since last spring.We are receiving many, many thanks and that extends out to you.
(ed note: tienda=shops or stores)
As Michael and I struggle through his cancer, our lack of finances, my own health problems, it is good to remember that others still struggle more.
I will take Jake to buy and drop off a toy at a "Toys for Tots" today with whatever I make waitressing today. We should remember if we have a single thing to be grateful for, then we should share that with ones for whom there is little to be grateful. When we get Mike's Christmas bonus, I will set aside $20 from our overdue bill fund for Tenacatita.
Its a heartwarmer.
Pay it forward, my loves.... pay it forward!
To donate by paypal or snail mail to help those 800, go here:
"Love is the ultimate outlaw.
It just won't adhere to any rules.
The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice.
Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet.
That would mean that security is out of the question.
The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate.
My love for you has no strings attached.
I love you for free."
- Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)
I don't have much blog time this whole week, but the bats in the belfry keep making noise.
I have to admit it. I am a strange mixture about time. I hate being late or waiting when it comes to things of import. It always seems so dismissive to not value other people's time or they not yours... for time and what we do with it is all we have in the end. Its not like I care that someone finds their time taken, just call me & set me free from waiting, and give me the choice to wait or find my own time. But work? I have to be early for work to be comfortable. Strange, I know.
Yet in other ways I am infinitely patient. The only time to do something is exactly when you do it. I would despise a vacation ruled by itineraries. I might have fun in spite of it; but the best things come from freedom and unexpected pleasures; surprises, side roads and detours. We call it running on Indian time. My Mom always said we were ojib; but she claimed the prescient stuff was the Irish blood as well. Heh. Double witch. But I think important things can never be rushed. They either happen or don't in their own time. You can nudge, but never move time.
Tonight we move back to Real Time. I mean, to me it is always how it is supposed to be, its Standard Time that feels wrong. I never have much problem adjusting to time change. I suppose its because I just sleep when I'm tired, and eat when I'm hungry not by any damned clock. (in rebellion I presume from my father's militant holy-hour 11th commandment, thou shalt not be late for dinner, and dinner is 5 o'clock sharp, amen) Silly clocks.
So tonight? I'm thinking about time, and how I value so much when I spend it well. Think about your life, everything you do is creating the memories not only that sustain you, but others carry of you.
This is what I want to do with my time: Live wisely, speak soft words. Be gentle and loving. I want to linger with my thoughts on the kindness and softness given me. I want to appreciate this gift of life and loves and friends. This is my life, after all, and all I have to give, in my life.
Reset your clocks, kids. Be on my time. Its not losing an hour; its magic.
Tonight I dream that hour out of time. And tomorrow? An extra hour!
Last week, I left you hanging with OTW: Bienvenidos a Miami Part 1. In that Essay, I told you a little bit about my growing up in Miami, Florida, alongside the initial wave of Cuban refugees in the early 1960's. I also promised you I was going somewhere with this. Yes, I do have a Point. :P I will make good on that promise near the end below. And finally, I left you with a cliffhanger with my mention of my Cuban friend, Maria {not her real name}. Well, guess what? I have a surprise for you!
Let's pick up with a little snapshot phone convo between me and Maria, shortly after college.
She picks up on the third ring and I immediately lay into her. "Where the hell are you? It's one o'clock already! Ive been ready for an hour! We're gonna be late!!"
Maria is ever so casual. "Calmate, we have plenty of time. I'll be there to pick you up around 2, like I told you. Man! Calm down."
"But... the invitation says the wedding starts at 2, and it's a 45 minute drive, at least, up to Hollywood. We are sooooo late. This is so bad." I'm whining and pleading now.
Maria assures me and tries to explain. "Bueno, she's Cuban, remember? Are you kidding me? We would look so stupid if we actually had the nerve to arrive at 2PM. They'd lookit us like we're crazy."
"No, no, no, but Maria... he is Jewish! This is just so not done. You don't get it."
"No, you don't get it, the bride's family is Jewban. The groom doesn't count when it comes to a wedding anyway, ferchrissake. Hang up the phone and go fix your lipstick or something. Ill be there in a bit. Jewbans are on Cuban time, reglas cubanas. lolol
Okay, as culture clashes go, this one is certainly tame and a little funny, but it did happen, and yes, we were terribly late by the wall clock, with me fretting all the way of course, but it all turned out just fine. Maria was right. lol We arrived just as the ceremony started, at about 4PM, which was just right by the culture clock.
Kevin was a talented artist. He was a loving, gentle, kind soul. He could make me laugh so hard and for so long that it would actually start to piss me off--even then, I couldn't stop laughing. He had a sweet little black cat that he loved with all his heart. His favorite bands were Ride, Spiritualized, MBV, and he was obsessed with Bjork. He was the first person who ever made me feel like I mattered...he made me feel special. Because of Kevin, I became someone else...no..that isn't it...Because of Kevin, I became myself for the first time--he made me realize that person I'd been running from my whole life wasn't so bad after all.
He took his own life.
10 years ago today we were together, and I kissed him at the turn of the millennium.
The notion that he might not live to see age 30 never crossed my mind that night. 10 years ago...seems like last week. And now he's gone. There are things I will never be able to say or un-say to him.
I got some cheesy chain mail from an in-law today, and it was some sappy poem--the usual holiday tripe. But the last line made me cry:
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.
For Kevin (and me too, I suppose):
I pictured you in the sun wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees asking for sympathy
And being caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
And trying to find anything you can feel that you can believe in
May God's love be with you
Always....
May God's love be with you
I know i would apologize if i could see your eyes
'Cause when you showed me myself, you know, i became someone else
But i was caught in between all you wish for and all you need
I pictured you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
You can't keep awake
'Cause if i find
If i find my own way
How much will i find
If i find
If i find my own way
How much will i find
If i find
If i find my own way
How much will i find
You...
You...
I'll find you
You...
--
It is 2010 now, ten years since that kiss. I still feel that kiss, I still taste your lips, and I am still baptized by the scent of your skin afterward when I placed my head against your shoulder eyes closed nose and lips lightly brushing your neck as you caressed my face.
Kevin, the universe was kind enough to place another precious soul in my path, one that I have been blessed with the opportunity to share this life with. I have to go and be with him now, and I promise I won't make the same mistakes twice. I will spend the rest of my life making sure he knows how much I treasure him, how lucky and honored I feel that he has chosen me, and I promise not to take one millisecond of our lives together for granted. I promise to love him as though every day is our last day together.
Diane Gee's Wild, Wild Left is a Multi-authored collaboration of the Best and the Brightest moving the World to a Sane & Equitable Future for the World!
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