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
“Tell Them Mike Sent You” Mike is a rather modest man, even though he is the Chief of Staff for the Governor of Hawaii, who in between his other duties, which I feel certain are very important, makes time to steer misguided tourist in the right direction, and even snap their picture, standing...
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“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” ~ George Washington ~ Painting by Rembrandt Peale, North Carolina Museum of Art
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Greece I bought this collection of postcards in 1991, on my second trip to Greece. For many years, they hung framed, in my kitchen; I am not sure why I repurposed their frame, but it may be time, at the very least, to find a new frame for them, as I am...
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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....
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Kate’s Bear Kate has been wanting to see a bear and a moose in the yard, in Maine. According to those in the know, there is no reason why they both should not show up one day; until then she has taken her bear, not Pooh with whom she has a true...
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Welcome Autumn In New England, autumn began announcing his impending arrival, a couple of weeks ago; almost as if Labor Day was actually the fall equinox. The first sign of fall were a few brightly colored leaves, which while beautiful, serve to remind me that the glorious hot days of...
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“Ohio Power” (Mother in the back row, and Marigold in the front, on the right hand side.) Shortly after we moved to California, when I was a child, after a brief but mostly sorrowful sojourn in Winslow, Arizona, we went to Angelus Temple, in Los Angeles, where my Father was preaching. As was...
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Your Story You have entrusted me with your story, but I do not yet know how to tell it. The hero’s and villain are clear even the plot is readily defined; yet the magnitude of your experience has left me stupefied. How can I do justice to what you have said?...
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Electric What? I love everything about this sign, and the establishment it advertises. I suppose, in no small part, my interest comes from having stayed in so many of these types of motels, throughout my life, but also because it represents what feels like a bygone era, a time when Americans simply put...
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“Remembrance Garden” We Will Never Forget There is a memorial at the Remembrance Garden, in Winslow, Arizona, that honors the memory of the events and the people impacted by the tragedy of 9-11. The plaque states: “These two steel beams from the World Trade Center, entrusted to the citizens of Winslow by...
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