The Optimists' Creed
worth reposting, worth saving, worth reading again every day!

Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Tonight, I get to meet the daughter of a hero of mine, and give her the poem I wrote for her much beloved, respected, admired - worshipped - mother. I wrote this poem years ago, and I've shared it many times, but never with the family to whom it truly belongs. Tonight, I hope my words reach the heart of Nina Simone through her daughter Lisa, and that she understands that, before her mother left us, there were people in this town who were unbelievably proud to be from, or living in the same place where her mother was raised, people who understand what it's like to feel as if you don't belong, people who have something to say, and look to Nina for the inspiration to be able to find our voices.
I belong here now, and so does Nina. I wish we had all been able to give each other a chance, before it was to late for her to recieve the heroes' welcome-home that she deserved, and to give and recieve the forgiveness that we all deserve. But through her family, and through the people of Tryon - especially our Dr. Crys, another beloved, talented native - not giving up, doing what it takes to build the bridge, we have come to be able to celebrate and share her legacy, and our pride in Tryon's most auspicious child, Eunice Waymon, nee Nina Simone.

Here's this poem, yet again, reposted from my blog on Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Nina

You sing to me
when the hurt is so deep
that nothing else can touch it.
Your voice is rough and strong,
like my fathers hand resting on my back,
weighted heavy with long years
of understanding ache.

You know the burdens
of love and salvation,
the sound of grief
at the bottom of a glass,
and you talk to me, soul sister,
any time I need to hear.

Sundays,
I walk past the place
where you slept and dreamed
of other lives, of freedom.
I imagine that you came this way,
swinging your arms,
singing softly to the graveyard.

Did you sit here
on your steps and cry so loud
that all the Mill Village
dogs would howl,
but not another human could hear you?
I hear it, and I howl too.

Now, all the wealthy white men –
actors, poets and politicians –
have their names plastered
on every other building.
Not one of them knows me,
or you, or cares.
Civic pride has a limit, I suppose.

I know you won’t come home –
I can’t blame you.
I came here to get away from home.
But your voice still rings down Markham,
across Scriven creek valley,
and gives me courage to face another day here.

My civic pride says:
“She got out.
Will I ever?”
It also says:
”Of all the things I’ve found here,
I am most proud of you and I.

-sll 1999

by the way, i can't tell you what a joy it is to live in a place where you are able to wake to the sound of the river on a gorgeous spring morning, fix breakfast and coffee for self and friends and then pack folks up to go hear Lisa Simone Kelley sing to children for free. blessed be!!!
Crys, and everyone who has been a part of this amazing project, thank you so much for all you have done. Thank you for letting me help a little. And for letting  me hold the power in my little hand. <3

The Island of Bubba Moreau?

Normally, the news depresses, frightens and worries me to no end, but I surf it nonetheless, to stay in tune and to gauge the worlds' internal and external temperature as best I can. Sometimes I run across news stories that make me happy and give me hope, and other times I find stories that simply assure me that things are pretty much as I suspect them to be. This morning, the headlines handed me one of those - with added 'brouhaha'*
The Yahoo News header actually read: "DNA test results dispute Bigfoot brouhaha"
The sub-header reads: "Bigfoot claim a bust - DNA tests from the alleged body of a Bigfoot" and then there's a photo of these two guys, and then it says: Opossum involved"...
OPOSSUM INVOLVED! like the 'possum helped them scheme it up - if so, it was probably the smartest of the three… today is clearly my jackpot golden ticket news day.
"Also present were Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two who say they discovered the Bigfoot corpse while hiking in the woods of northern Georgia. They also are co-owners of a company that offers Bigfoot merchandise." [NO?! REALLY?!?! What a coincidence!]
"Despite the dubious photo and the commercial interests of the alleged discoverers, the Bigfoot claim drew interest from Australia to Europe and even The New York Times." If you have a chance, open the article and check out the photo of the business partner of these two WunderKind. I think I saw his picture in the dictionary next to "shifty".

Besides, everybody knows that BigFoot lives in Saluda, NC.
-s

*Terry Pratchett fans and people who think like Terry and his fans will understand why seeing this word in the headlines thrilled me so deeply.
Currently reading : The Truth By Terry Pratchett