Late Ripeness
“Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year,
I felt a door opening in me and I entered
the clarity of early morning.
One after another my former lives were departing,
like ships, together with their sorrow.
And the countries, cities, gardens, the bays of seas
assigned to my brush came closer,
ready now to be described better than they were before.
I was not separated from people,
grief and pity joined us.
We forget - I kept saying - that we are all children of the King.
For where we come from there is no division
into Yes and No, into is, was, and will be.
We were miserable, we used no more than a hundredth part
of the gift we received for our long journey.
Moments from yesterday and from centuries ago -
a sword blow, the painting of eyelashes before a mirror
of polished metal, a lethal musket shot, a caravel
staving its hull against a reef - they dwell in us,
waiting for a fulfillment.
I knew, always, that I would be a worker in the vineyard,
as are all men and women living at the same time,
whether they are aware of it or not.”
~ Czeslaw Milosz ~
My name is Cristina Jill Mosqueda Cooper. I pause looking at my name, and think about how much there is to explain with those words alone. My mother gave me a name to use in each of my worlds, Cristina for my Cuban life, and Jill for the American life. I suppose it is there were the paradoxes of my life began.
I have been many things in my life, from a housekeeper to a high school history teacher; but no matter what else I did, I was always a writer. I love words and the power and passion which they can be used to create. I love reading words, writing words, speaking words, and listening to words – especially words from people that I love and respect.
It is my desire to live life on my own terms, and willingly or not, I have paid the price demanded, by the world, to be myself. I share my life with Kate, with whom I have lived for the last 23 years, and Miss Merry Margaret, our little mutt who really is the world’s most perfect dog. I also travel, cook, garden, sculpt, and make large messes doing all of the above. Welcome to my world, that is all for now.
Web Site: http://thatisallfornow.com
The Big Swinger Polaroid Cameras at MIT We went to see an exhibit on technology, at MIT, in Boston; I was expecting this to be an outing more centered on Kate’s interest and not that I would see my first camera – well not mine, but one just like mine....
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“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a great danger to the privacy of the individual.” ~ Chief Justice Earl Warren ~ Privacy? “All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.” ~ Gabriel García Márquez ~ I have been thinking a lot about privacy lately. I have never been...
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Yet Another View from a Rest Stop The View from the Road is usually one picture which tells a story, on its own. This month, I offer you a series of photographs, which on their own very much tell a story; but which viewed together, as they were shot, offer a much...
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Here is to the Joy of Cards! I have worked very hard to reduce solicitation and business mail from my life; but I still love receiving personal greetings on paper! I keep cards and letters, and always enjoy re-reading an old note, from a loved soul. The world of e-cards and facebook congratulations and...
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Plantain Soup This is a wonderful first course for either a very typical Latin American dinner of pork, black beans and white rice, or if serving fish cooked in a sofrito, or it is a soup hearty enough to serve as a meal. I use a lot of coriander, as I love the...
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The Longfellow Garden “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~ Portland, Maine, which was once part of Massachusetts, has a very walkable downtown area which includes the first private home to become a museum in...
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Sitting at the beach is both calming and invigorating – thus magical. If you cannot get to the sea today, take a few minutes to listen to waves crashing on the shore; you may find yourself feeling extremely peaceful, yet astonishingly motivated to reach out and capture your dreams. Beach
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Spider! ‘ ‘I walked out into the yard one evening, and found this little spider hard at work. I could not believe that he had attached his web to grass! These pictures do a better job of capturing the web than the spider, but I do not think he will mind if we spend...
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To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Black Spruce Ledge (Lobstering Off Black Spruce Ledge) by N. C. Wyeth There are times, when words fail to describe the explosion of emotion, which color and brush strokes, from a masters hands,...
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Maraquita Bound You’re Maraquita bound, looking for old memories? Or trying to make new ones? It doesn’t matter which. When you walk down the street – glance up. See where we lived. See where we loved. My ghost inhabits Maraquita, you cannot easily forget me. Maraquita even sounds like...
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