Bits and Pieces: 11:11 on 11.11.11

Bits and Pieces: 11:11 on 11.11.11: How often does that happen? Only today, but then never again in my lifetime. That is pretty powerful stuff..... "never again in my lifetime...

11:11 on 11.11.11

How often does that happen?  Only today, but then never again in my lifetime. That is pretty powerful stuff..... "never again in my lifetime".  I have never considered "never again in my lifetime" as a reality until today.  There are countless things I will never do in my lifetime and countless people I will never meet in my lifetime and countless things I will not own in my lifetime and countless experiences I will not have in my  lifetime.  However, I have considered these to be choices I made, not dictates from the universe.  Never "again" is even worse as it speaks to the reality that something I had only once, I will have no more.  It is as if I am losing something as compared to never having something. 

So today I am experiencing the excitement of 11.11.11, but I am also grieving the loss of knowing I will never experience it again.  It is not like your "first" day of school, your "first" ice cream cone, your "first" plane ride.  You will have other days of schools, more ice cream and more plane rides.  It is something you had only once in your life and now it is gone.  Once, and never again.

This type of loss reminds me of the young victims of the Penn State sexual abuse scandal.  They had something once that was taken from them.  .  .  trust.   They will never get that back.  Their ability to trust anyone and to feel safe with anyone will never be what it was before Penn State stole it from them.    Reporting sexual abuse of minors to one's immediate supervisor is not enough.  When it happens, individuals need to step in right then and there to stop it.  Passing the buck up the ladder is easy. We know that sexual predators come in all forms: strangers, teachers, clergy members, parents, siblings, scout leaders, political leaders and yes, staff in the locker rooms of some of our most prestigious universities. 

I received an email this morning from an alumnus of Penn State who is trying to raise money for RAINN.  RAINN is a wonderful organization and I support them.  Giving money to RAINN is a good thing, but it does not excuse the complicity of Penn State's athletic department, funded and pampered by its alumni association, of creating a culture ripe for exploitation of young boys and men.

Raising money seems to be the antidote most used in this country to pay for one's sins or one's complicity in other people's sins.  Money does not solve the problem.  These Penn State alumni need to educate themselves and their community about sexual abuse.  They need to volunteer in their respective communities throughout the country.  They need to speak out.  Rape, incest and sexual abuse are not pleasant dinner table topics, but they need to be part of our every day language.  Writing a big check won't solve the problem.  Changing people's attitudes will.  Maybe each Penn State alumni who wants to make restitution for the crimes of its football team and its university administrators should get involved on a personal level.  Writing checks is the easy way out.

Get involved.  Don't pay someone else to get involved for you.  Change starts within you.

Dogs and Cats Living Together and Other Oddities

Folks are coming and going at the BP gas station, getting their cigarettes, papers, and snacks.  Two sisters just showed up at the B&B to share a weekend together.  I saw "30 pack man" again today from a distance and saw a young mother trying to tie her little girl's shoe.

Maybe tonight I will once again see a group of young mothers who gather at the park and take a power walk through town with their babies in strollers.  Not only are they having fun, but they are taking care of themselves.  Good for them.  I saw two repair people at the Dog House this morning.  The Dog House is (was) a cute little house with a picture window and an overhang above the door.  In the 50's it served as a candy store.  Now only dogs live there.  They are kept in the house, sit in the bay window, and bark.  No people live with them.  Unfortunately the Dog House sits two doors away from the Cat House.  The Cat house is full of cats inside and out.  There are bales of straw sitting around the yard along with empty cans and bags of cat food.  Cats gather at this house and breed and breed and breed.  Cats wander the neighborhood and the food and shelter brings other cats.  Needless to say there too many cats and dogs and they live to close together.

Observations from My Window

From my window I can see many things, including the daily ritual of "30 pack man" who rides his electric wheel chair up the street, across the highway and into the CVS parking lot.  Each day he buys a 30 pack of Busch Lite and goes to the park to drink it.  I saw him sitting in the park a couple of days ago.  He looks younger close-up.  His basket usually holds only beer and chips.  On Saturdays he makes two trips because he cannot buy beer on Sunday.  I have smiled at him, I have waved at him, but I have never heard his voice.  I have seen him pass my window six days a week and twice on Saturdays for five years for an estimated 1,825 sitings.  Let's round it down to 1,000 to account for the days I am not at my window.  We can even round it down to 100 and the point is the same.   One can almost set your watch by him.  He usually rolls by my window around 1:30 pm.  He is always alone.   I know where he lives (in subsidised housing) about 5 blocks away.   People who work at CVS have said that he cannot stand or walk.  Some speculate that he is a disabled Vietnam veteran while others speculate that he was injured in a car accident.

The point is that this stranger is a part of my life whether I like it or not.  But I have made no effort to get to know him, nor has anyone else to my knowledge.  He sort of blends in with the other characters who walk around town every day of the year come rain, shine, or snow.  We have names for them and we know "who" they are, but that is the end of it.  One was hit by a car a few years back and died on the street while another one died in his shed, alone.  I am hopeful that there is a secret good samaritan who does watch over our colorful characters.  Maybe I should consider joining them.

Letting Go.

Yesterday brought lots of surprises.  A good friend came to the realization that she needed to let go.  Let go of those old thoughts and patterns.  Let go of control.  Start from the beginning without preconceived ideas and boundaries.  The change in her is remarkable.

A sister has learned to let go of old fears and anger.  The change in her is remarkable.

What would our world be like if we all let go?  I find it a little scary to cut the ropes that secure is to the ground preventing us from floating away or falling off a cliff.  The ropes that keep us grounded also prevent us from moving forward.  Security is just that.  Security.  What if we just let go and saw where we landed?
I have seen to wonderful women do this in the last few days.  Maybe I should try it.