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
Guava Cake I have decided to update this page, in response to my recent trip to Hawai’i, during which I literally ate Guava Cake every day! The cakes I ate, the best being at Dee Lite Bakery, http://www.stghi.com/location-dillingham.htm, were filled with a layer of whip cream; my post below is incorrect. Also, for...
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My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok “I drew him sitting on the parkway bench in front of our apartment house. In the spring and early summer, and sometimes in the beginning weeks of autumn, he would sit on the bench with my mother on a festival afternoon. They would talk quietly together...
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In all of His Wonder On a drive through southern New England, as fall burst forward, I found myself repeatedly pulling over to capture nature at her finest. Trees bursting with apples Stone walls, the quintessential New England element in landscaping Wild strawberries? It is amazing what Nature...
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Shanksville 9-11 On a very cold winter day, we ventured to Shanksville Pennsylvania, the site where flight 93 crashed, on September 11, 2001. We had arrived in the area the night before, spending the evening in Somerset, from which the path to the site is clearly marked. It was a dreary...
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To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ The Lunch by Claude Monet I should like my garden to look like this, as well as my guest who come for tea. Art can never existe without naked beauty displaced....
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Flamingo Gas Station Have you ever run across an abandoned building and let your mind run wild? I love this gas station, maybe because it is pink, or because it is called Flamingo, or because it is in the Everglades National Park; but walking around it, I could not help but imagine...
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A Turtle Taking a Break Normally, we see the turtles in the lake, behind the house. The water feeds from the Everglades into the ocean, thus we are often blessed with wildlife from otters to alligators. I have seen turtles on land, but never one so at peace in the garden. He...
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Happy Birthday Juan A couple of years ago, I was walking Merry, my dear dog, at Joy’s, my older sister, and her husband, Juan’s, house. Their neighbor was apparently replacing his windows, and remnants of the project, including the old windows, were strewn around his front yard. When I got back to Joy and...
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To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Miners in the Sierras 1851-1852 by Charles Christian Nahl and August Wenderoth I love color! When looking at art, I am often drawn to the color on the canvas before the subject of...
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I have spent more than a few nights at rest stops. In the right car, with a reclining seat, plenty of leg room, pillow, blanket, and eye shades I can get an adequate nights rest – well, at least a few hours. There are ample reasons to spend the night in the car,...
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