[Trash Day; Somerville, MA, 2016]
Like everywhere else, Greater Boston has its own rhythms, its own special events—and its residents mark their calendars accordingly. In an area dominated by college students, for example, Moving Day, September First, equals tie-ups all over the city as thousands of rental trucks block traffic on narrow city streets. And residents know that the day before, the sidewalks of Allston and Brighton and Somerville and Cambridge will be, well, trashed. Deal!
But sometimes The Red Sox Nation needs to ask “What the frig?” Like thinking it’s okay that on Opening Day, two F-!5 jets fly over Fenway Park. Right after the national anthem. (The timing’s carefully scripted, apparently) Huh? Why is conflating screaming, Mach 2.5 fighter aircraft with baseball A Thing?
But, maybe, wise, peace-loving souls are behind what certainly looks like normalizing the war machine? Because even though I knew those damned jets were due, I have no words to describe the terror I felt when they actually roared over my house! Like End of the World terror. Heart-racing. Paralyzing. But also, just for a fleeting moment, a deep-in-my-gut connection with every man, woman and child living in war zones followed by, in the silence that followed, my deep-in-my-gut relief that I live where I do. And then, of course, enormous sadness.
I like it. Thanks, Patricia!
Lita
Dear Patricia,
Well, hi, there, Patricia, my so, so very For Always awesomely precious and dearly special soul sisterfriend Christian Quaker woman who you’re For Always so, so very much!!!!! FINALLY, I am able to very joyfully write to you and your blog with responding in writing my very heartfelt, thorough, and detailed thoughts, ideas, and comments now that I am at home more and more often at my computer. I’ve been just bursting with such very eager and delightful anticipation in order to do so and it is such a joyous blessing and such great fun for me to do so being my very joy, honor, blessing, and pleasure, Patricia!!!!!! Wow, sister, what a very uplifting, interesting, and fun-filled blog post article here by very especially absolutely awesome YOU, Patricia!!!!! Wow!!!!! Yay!!!! Sisterfriend, I so, so very much love, enjoy, and appreciate the great links which you have as usual as always featured and included with this very powerfully outstanding and fascinating blog post article. The title of this super blog post article is just perfect and very applicable here with its superbly super picture accompanying it, sister. It is just such a blessed joy to read about your great city of Boston and how I know you live in Somerville, sister, and the other link was very intriguing as well, my so, so very dearest and darling friend. Sister, where I live in my Iowa City, Iowa is also a college town with The University of Iowa. Sister, I can sure relate to what your city has happening because of the college students. The major moving in date in my Iowa City is on August 1st because The University of Iowa starts its Fall Semester early when it is still August. Wow, do the college students discard very many good things which are wonderful and in such excellent condition, Patricia!! I know what you mean about the college students doing so in your absolutely fantastic area, my friend. I remember that back in the 1990s someone threw out a TV and set it by the garbage can so I took a chance and grabbed the TV and it worked perfectly without any problems, sister! That was such a great TV and it lasted for years and years! Sister, wow, throwing away a perfectly great TV here! Wow, I’ve even found other great items in such excellent condition that the college students here throw away, sisterfriend! Wow!!!!!! We also have ginormous traffic problems when the students come back to school for the Fall, my absolutely fantastic friend. It can be a nightmare as well navigating around my Iowa City at that time just like for your superb area as well, sister and friend of mine, Patricia!
Sister I, too, would have been so frightened by the Mach 2.5 fighter aircraft if I had been at your greatly majestic and historic Fenway Park for that and nearby to hear that like you were in your home. Sister, this reminds me of the time in my previous apartment one afternoon I heard an enormously loud noise above my apartment that made my building reverberate and it sounded like someone was hovering over my building in a helicopter, sister!!!!! Wow, the noise was so loud!!!!! That was really scary for me, sister!!!!! I wonder what was going on with that? Sister, I have something in common with you my precious sister and with other fans in The Red Sox Nation. I absolutely cannot stand the New York Yankees!!!!!!! :)!!!!!!. I can be an honorary Red Sox Nation Boston Red Sox fan, my friend and sister Patricia!!!!! Sister, when I was growing up and through the present I’d be so intimidated by The Green Monster when like my Cleveland Indians were playing the Boston Red Sox that one of your very excellent and fine players would get a great hit against us off of The Green Monster, my friend and sister! Sister, before Big Papi David Ortiz retired I’d be so, so very scared and worried when he would come to bat against the Cleveland Indians with him being such a fierce slugger that I thought that he’d hit one out of the park against us or otherwise get a superbly super hit against the Cleveland Indians! Wow, was he an all-star player and such a splendid and productively powerful hitter, friend and sister of mine, Patricia!!!!!
Sister, I’m with you here and I can so relate to the terror you felt even knowing those jets were due like with your paralyzing End of the World terror. It seems to me, too, like sagacious pacifists are behind what definitely very much indeed appears to be normalizing the war machine, Patricia. Oh, my very heart breaks and aches with yours, too, sisterfriend, about the so, so very dearest folks around our troubled world living in war zones and with the invasive terror they face, endure, and experience every day without ever ceasing. Oh, how I pray for these so, so very dear, women, children, men, and I am just terrified for them, sisterfriend!!!!! I am left with such enormous sadness as well, my dear, dearest Patricia!!!!!
Sister, I thank-YOU so, so very much straight from my very, very heart, and from my very, very heart, mind, soul, and spirit for praying for and thinking of me the way you do as usual as always!!!!! I can feel your very heartfelt, loving, and thorough prayers and thoughts for me and they are for sure truly helping and blessing me!!!!!! Thank-YOU, thank-YOU, thank-YOU so, so much, Patricia!!!!! I can for sure feel all of your so, so very lovingly heartfelt and sensitively caring prayers and thoughts for me from each and every one of you and I am just so helped and very incredibly blessed by all of you doing so for me!!!!!! Sister, I so, so very much daily and very frequently in praying without ceasing pray for and think of YOU, my dearest and darling sister and friend of mine, Patricia, for your so very dear husband, for your Loved One in the long term care facility, for your spectacular children, for your very precious grandchildren, for your siblings and all of the rest of your family, for your so, so very blessedly pure in heart friendsfamily at your Friends Meeting at Cambridge, for your yoga class friends, and, in fact, for all of your friends!!!!! I keep you all covered with praying without ceasing prayers and thoughts sending to each and every one of you my very heart and love with such great positive energy!!!!!! Sister, I thank Spirit continually for YOU, Patricia, and for YOUR presence in my life!!!!!! Yay for YOU, Patricia!!!!! Yay for our very sisterhood and friendship, Patricia!!!!!! Wow!!!!! Yay!!!!!! God so, so very much loves and cherishes YOU, Patricia, and so do I!!!!! I just can’t wait until your phenomenal Welling Up book website goes up so that I can have the great and blessed joy in reading pleasure of reading your outstanding and awe-inspiring book!!!!! I was praying so hard for this to come into fruition, Patricia!!!!! Please have such a wondrously wonderful weekend and may all of your very days be so, so very especially blessed, Patricia!!!!!! Yay Yay yay Yay!!!!!!
Very Warmly and Sincerely For Always my so, so very For Always awesomely precious and dearly special soul sisterfriend Christian Quaker white woman who you’re For Always so, so very much, Patricia, with My and God’s Peace and Love For You For Always, sister of mine, and with Such Blessings and Such Very Even More Blessings For You For Always, friend of mine,
Yours For Always soul sisterfriend Christian black woman and For Always in the very great spirit of unity and solidarity, Sherry Gordon in Iowa City, Iowa