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
To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed. ~William Blake ~ Eh quoi! Tu es jaloux? Aren’t You Jealous? Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin, the French Post Impressionist is one of my favorite...
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I Do Not Know Her Name! Do you have pictures like this? I met this woman, at the hotel we were staying, well more like a rooming house in Chelsea, where only female guest were permitted. She was on her way to India, if I recall, having settled a law suit, over...
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The Conquerors, Roosevelt, Truman the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941 – 1945 By Michael Beschloss “So this is the fellow who changed my life.” ~ Henry Morgenthau Jr. addressing Gerhart Riegner ~ The Conquerors has been a page turner and an eye opener. I will admit that may not be true for every...
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Welcome to our Family Photo Album. As we progress, below you will find photographs of many of the people which have been included in these pages, over the years. I hope that you will enjoy further getting to know the ThatIsAllForNow family of friends. Dru, Kate, and Colleen Aunt Gen and Uncle Ray...
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Alaskan Sunset or Sunrise I am longing for cooler days and nights. A view from an Alaskan road!
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What Happens After Hello? I’ve been wondering, what will happen if I dial your number? The phone will ring, and ring, and ring. I am certain of that part. You never quickly pick-up, for anyone, but there was a moment in time when I seemed to matter a little more than others, and you...
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Sadly Seeing to Believe “Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:29 (NIV) It seems like a lifetime away now, but I will never forget having crossed the Adriatic from Brindisi, Italy to arrive in Greece, before...
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Magnolias This ubiquitous tree pleasantly dots not only the South but many other parts of the country, always inspiring, at least in me, a bit of wonder, and a desire to touch the soft, cushiony petals of the large flowers. While the trees are usually very large, providing ample...
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To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed. ~William Blake ~ Orphan Girl at the Cemetery, by Eugene Delacroix, at the Louvre
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Little White House Warm Springs, Georgia This was another one of those unexpected stops, on a list of places I had hoped to visit, but did not quite see how I would find myself in Warm Springs, Georgia, at President Franklin Roosevelt’s Little White House. It was a stop that included Andersonville,...
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