Earth Day: 22 April

As I write this Earth Day 2012 is still 48 hours way. I am prepared--more so than ever before! Perhaps that's because I have lost enough weight that I have more mobility and can enjoy the world again:

Have you planned an Act of Green to celebrate Earth day? 

This old earth of ours needs as much help as we can give!

Available at Sometimes Saintly Nick's World

Available at Sometimes Saintly Nick's World

Earth Day 40

It's a Wonderful World

Louis Armstrong

Today is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. It doesn't seem it has been that long! Baxck in 1970 I was a newly commissioned U.S. army officer, a newly wed, and celebrating the First Earth Day, even though I wasn't sure what I was celebrating.

Back in 1970 I think that I was aware of polution, both the air and the ground kinds. I knew what air polution was because, for the first ten years of my life, I lived in the West End of Louisville and had to endure the horrible smell of what people living there called carbite, a chemical released into the air that was a by-product of calcium carbide manufacturing.  The reason the folks who lived near the duPont chemical plant called it car-bite is because the lime in the air ate the paint off of cars. I wonder what it did to our lungs?

I was aware of ground polutiion because I was an avid reader of the Walt Kelly's comic strip Pogo. Pogo's famous observation about the litter filling the swamp that was his home made an impact on me as a teenager -- and the words still do:

I was not aware of the problems of climate change, or conservation and biodiversity, or recycling, or of a lot more core issues. In fact, I am still learning about those issues.

Therefore, today I celebrate the earth. The more I understand about how the planet upon which I live and share with so many others has been and is being exploited for the profit of a few greedy human beings, the more angry I become. The more I come to understand this planet upon which I live and share with so many others, the more impressed and thankful I become.

Hear me, four quarters of the earth -- a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth. Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds. Great Spirit...all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer' hear me! ~ Black Elk, of the Oglata Sioux Nation

AMEN!

Celebrating Earth Day 2009

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

Time to plant trees

You're down on your knees

Time to plant trees

Near a swarm of bees

You plant a little tree

And it grows and grows

Or it may die in a winter's snow

Only God does know

I wrote the above poem when I was in the 4th grade. It won first place in an Arbor Day contest at Stephen Foster Elementary School here in Louisville. My prize was a young sappling to plant.

I watched that tree grow for more than twenty years, until a drunk driver plowed into the yard and the tree, killing it.

I've planted lots of trees and lots of rose bushes through the years, but that tree was my favorite.

But you know, no matter what, it really is a wonderful world. So today Alex and I are going to somehow plant another little tree to replace the one we lost over the weekend.

Have a blessed Earth Day!

Stuff, Bunny Update, and a Few KATZ

Earth Day Is April 22

Baby Bunny Update
Last night while I was in my living room, I saw the little rabbit scamper across the floor and go behind a large rocking chair in the corner. There is a deep, built-into-wall bookcase behind the chair and bunny has plenty of safe (from Alex) hiding space. I've placed a small dish of water and a bit of lettuce and carrot peelings beside the back of the chair. I hope the little fellow is OK. Perhaps I can coax him outside today.

Goat Rope
If you aren't familiar with the blog The Goat Rope, give yourself a gift and click on over. Today's post deals with "upside to the current economic crisis" and I found it most insightful.

My Computer
The computer is still not functioning OK. Among other problems, I still have no audio! I have been followed numerous suggestions and processes to get the computer to recognize its sound devices without success. No matter what I do, the damned 'puter still says: No Audio Device Selected.

Alex's Blog: Alexicon
For some time I have had others putting posts on Alex's blog. Blogger had been no help in stopping it. I have changed the Blogger ID and password, but it still happens. A reader has suggested that it may be one of the widgets on the sidebar that is the source. Unfortunately (1) for some unknown reason I can no longer access the blog's dashboard, therefore I'm unable to delete the posts or the widgets and (2) now a phishing site has made a post that transports one from Alexicon to the phisher's German web site.

Lots to Do
As you may deduce from the above items, I have lots to do. My energy level has been high the past few days, perhaps because I have been sleeping 12-13 hours a night. That's unusual for me! I was a bit concerned after the second sleep marathon until I remembered what my Uncle Frank would say, "You're sleeping because your body needs it. Listen to your body."

Holy Week
Here it is Tuesday of Holy Week and my clergy friend, Doug, still hasn't orders of worship written for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday! I offered to write them for him: I love writing liturgies and really, really miss doing so.

A Few KATZ