Cristina Jill

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


In Nature

October 14, 2017

Cotton     I spent my freshman and sophomore years of high school in Delano, California; where oddly for only living there two years, we managed to live in two different homes. When I walked to school from the first house, which was on the “right side of the tracks”, I passed a large...
Read More »

Favorite Books

October 12, 2017

Sitting By My Bedside     “One sure window into a person’s soul is his reading list.” ~ Mary B. W. Tabor ~ What are you reading?  Are you looking for your next great read?  Here is a look at what is sitting by my bedside, and which I am pleased to recommend. Let...
Read More »

Public Square

October 11, 2017

Winnie-the-Pooh and His Friends At The New York Public Library     “If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together . . . there is something you must always remember.  You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  But the most important thing is even if...
Read More »

A View from the Road

October 8, 2017

The Sign     It is “the” Las Vegas sign. The image was designed in 1959, by Betty Willis, who declined to hold the copyright, as she felt it was a gift to the city; thus it has been photographed by amateur and professional alike, and graced everything from magnets, yes, I have one,...
Read More »

Holiday’s

October 6, 2017

Tea House     I know I am a little behind, in welcoming autumn this year. I am not ready; yes I have put out the appropriate decorations, and whether I want them to or not, the foliage is changing, and the leaves are falling. But since this move to New England, my love...
Read More »

Art

October 4, 2017

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~      James Abbott McNeill Whistler by Coast of Brittany (Alone with the Tide) I love being surprised by an artist work; I would not have imagined this to be a piece by...
Read More »

From the Editor

October 1, 2017

NFL: Adopt an Intern     On my private social media, I posted an article regarding boycotting the NFL. A person who I genuinely love and respect that is I guess ‘family in-law’,  responded to my post with a very sincere and thoughtful comment; I took no offense at her words, but I did...
Read More »

Poet’s Corner

October 1, 2017

I Am Always Wrong   I do not seem to have a single thought instead I feel bombarded by a thousand words and ideas all crashing into one another circling around my mind as if driven by their own will instead of mine I am too old to continue to believe in happy endings...
Read More »

A View from the Road

September 29, 2017

Apollo 3 Vanity plates do not always grab my attention, but how often have you seen Apollo 3 sitting in front of you in traffic, in the Maryland / DC area? Because of where I saw the plates, I assumed they were somehow tied to the space mission, but it turns out there is...
Read More »

Perfect Post Cards – Picture and a Thousand Words

September 28, 2017

The Miracle Mile     Once upon a time, I used to live off of Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California. I happened to move there shortly after the original Brown Derby Restaurant, the one shaped like a derby hat, was demolished. One evening, after walking around the Ambassador Hotel, I ventured north a...
Read More »



Art


Copy Protected by Chetan's WP-Copyprotect.