Dona Nobis Pacem

 

Why are we so quick to demonize those who don't look like us or share our same life experiences? Thanks to Governor Abbott of Texas, my neighborhood up here in Chicagoland received a sudden, unexpected influx of migrants.

Instead of resenting them for panhandling, for cluttering our sidewalks, for using tax-payer dollars and community resources, let's consider what it's like for them.

•  Fleeing poverty and oppression with just the belongings they can carry.

•  Headed for Texas, where at least the climate is familiar, but ending up in the chilly midwest.

•  Unable to understand much of what is said around them as bureaucrats decide their fate.

•  Not allowed work permits for weeks, so they can't support themselves or their families.

What would happen if, instead of ignoring or glaring, we smiled at them? Treated them like neighbors instead of intruders. Gave them a dollar or at least a kind word. Made eye contact and connected through our common humanity, rather than assume they are here to "poison the blood" of our country.

Tensions would decrease and serenity increase. The world would be safer and more welcoming.

PEACE.

 
Find other peace bloggers here.

November Challenge: Day 3

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: A book you love.

My favorite book this year is Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony.

This charming biography concentrates on a very specific time in Jackie's life: from ages 19 to 24. It starts with Vassar and ends with her wedding to JFK, the day she became a public figure.

She began that five year period by making repeat trips to Europe. She forged a lifelong friendship with an elderly Irish priest, boarded with a widowed countess in Paris and became a regular at the theater and jazz clubs, and (my favorite part) was actually detained by the Russian embassy in Vienna because they suspected her of espionage!

When she returned stateside for good, she became engaged to and then broke up with a stockbroker, in large part because she did not want to be an upper middle class housewife. She preferred The Washington Herald, where she went from The Inquiring Camera Girl to a columnist with a byline. (Funny that a woman who would come to loathe the press found such satisfaction working for a newspaper.) Important though her job was to her, she had to give it up when she married because it was the 1950s and that's what women did. She believed that being the wife of a politician would be worth it and, as she wrote privately to Father Leonard, she had finally fallen in love.

This sensitive, insightful book got me wondering about my own mother and those years between high school and matrimony. I know there were no trips to Paris or Vienna for my mother, but I don't know what she did do during that period. The way my mom told her life story, nothing much happened to her until she met my dad. Of course, that's how most biographies treat that period of JBKO's life, too. This book makes me sorry I never asked about it when I could.

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash 

SUNDAY STEALING

 SUNDAY STEALING

1. Local events, parades or festivals – either in your hometown or state. Chicago has the annual Bud Billiken Parade every August. An offshoot of the Bud Billiken Club, the after school organization devoted to reading and community involvement, it celebrates "back to school." Lots of kids and marching bands and gymnastic displays. The mayor and gov are always there and celebrities, too. It's the largest African American parade in the nation. I thought every city had a Bud Billiken celebration until recently. But no, it's Chicago's very own.

   
   
    
   

2. Life update – what’s happened recently, moving house, family wedding, vacation, new pet, visited with a friend, and so on. I'm still learning how to be old. Yesterday I received a very important looking notice -- "Please do not open if your name is not shown on the front of this envelope" -- from National Government Services. It scared the crap out of me! What have I done wrong? Turns out nothing. In August, my primary care physician ordered lots of blood work as part of my annual physical. Either she or her staff used the wrong code on the paper work and/or didn't provide enough health history to justify them all and Medicare is refusing to pay for three of the tests. The notice says, in very formal and legal language, that as the patient I "could have no reasonable expectation" that these tests were not covered by Medicare and I will not be billed for them. My doctor's office has to pay. PHEW! It took five (5) pages to get me to this conclusion. Five nerve-wracking pages! Now I know what National Government Services is and how they work and if ever I receive another notice, I won't panic so.
   

3. Do you have any family traditions this month? Nope.
   

4. The holidays are about two months away, Do you begin shopping or creating now or wait until December? I shop all year around. If I see something that feels right for someone, I grab it. Here's my favorite find for 2024: My cousin Rose is studying cartography and is very picky about her little purses (they have to be small and vertical in orientation). I found this on Etsy and I think she'll love it.

    

   

   Check it out
   

    
   

5. What is your favorite November memory? I thoroughly enjoyed my Thanksgiving get togethers with my friends John and Gregory. We always got dressed up dined out. It was so much less stressful than the family gatherings I grew up with. Anyway, John died in April. Gregory and I are continuing what John called "Orphan's Thanksgiving" in his memory.
   

6. Now that the weather is getting cooler do you prefer? Staying indoors or going outdoors? What do you do? I love walking in this weather.
   

7. Describe your favorite local restaurant? It's a sports bar that specializes in seafood. Great clam chowder and lobster bisque, great vibe.
   

8. Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving? Friendsgiving
   

9. If you could take any class, what would you select? I'd kinda like to learn Spanish
   

10. To celebrate November would you rather enjoy pumpkin pie or sweet potato? Hmmm ... May I have both? For purely scientific reasons. I'd like to compare/contrast.
    

11. How do you handle setbacks and failures? Not well
    

12. If everything in your house had to be one color, which color would you choose? Pantone 294, Cubbie blue. 

    
    
    

13. Who or what would you haunt if you were a ghost? Paul McCartney. I'd like to hang with him and use my ghostly magic to make his life easier. Like Samantha on Bewitched. If he reaches for his cup of tea, I'd move it closer. Things like that. I'd be his indispensable spectral assistant.
    

14. Have you ever worn clothing with the labels still attached? No. I have very sensitive skin and wash everything before wearing it.
    

15. What's something weird that you recommend everyone try at least once? Alligator. I had it once -- breaded and on a stick. I don't remember how it tasted. I just recall that feeling quite proud of myself: "I'm eating alligator!"