navwin » Discussion » pipTalk Lounge » Mistletoe Angel's Interactive Journal
pipTalk Lounge
Post A Reply Post New Topic Mistletoe Angel's Interactive Journal Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon

0 posted 2003-08-30 02:39 PM


---------Saturday, August 30, 2003---------

Hey everyone! Your favorite Mistletoe Angel here, which some of you also know as Singing Sparrow, DaffodilAngel, so many other cute names I come up with!

Welcome to my new interactive journal, where both those of you who have gotten to know me and those not quite familiar with me can get a close glimpse of my many thoughts, journies, escapades,
ponderings, epiphanies, dreams, sleepwalks, the whole package. I love to talk and love to hear other people talk too, so let's get to spread horizons!

Just this week, I began my second year at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Yep, yep, I know, for so long many continue to herald the domain as the #1 party school in the Mid-west, yet I would prefer a nice read and a mango smoothie over the disco lights and Smirnoff any evening. Guess I just like to live the dream of a pioneer or Robert Pirsig, getting to ride down the frontier line all over again. Makes me miss that mini Etch-A-Sketch I used to play with all the time as a boy, charting my own cities and by-passes. Re-inventing U.S 66 would be a miracle in my mind.

Anyway, here is my schedule for the Fall 2003 Term:


MONDAY-WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

12:00-12:50: Intro To Creative Writing
1:00-1:50: Intro To Humanities 1
2:00-2:50: Second Year Spanish
3:00-3:50: Recitation: umanities

TUESDAY-THURSDAY

2:00-3:15: History of the American Southwest

What's funny is how my mind wasn't originally aimed toward the arts and humanities. I remember quite so vividly engaged in chemistry and building rockets you can launch with a remote, making my own geodes and amethyst caves out of food coloring agents and styrofoam. In trying to escape the pressure from the bullies that picked on me walking home from school every afternoon, I would engage in these after-school extracurricular sci-fi classes. I'd make these models of molecules out of cornstarch and rice tortillas, or design your own matchbox cars then launch them with a magnet. It's funny how your parents may ask you time and time again what you want to be when you grow up, when simply the predilection is to simply be a child and explore all the possibilities. I never had a real happy childhood outside my family but a least I got to try and experiment. I believe our tastes never get sour or bitter, they only evolve, and I still respect those who dedicate their lives to finding technical solutions that can apply to our daily practical lives. Just isn't part of my repertoire, I suppose. Science has romance, no doubt, just not as much as before. There is a conduit that scientists follow in order to find new answers, and I guess I'm just a bit impatient in that department. I want to be able to create, paint, sculpt, be the architect of my own monument! And I want to share it! That's what art is all about, sharing. Vincent Van Gogh is a genius in my book, as is J. Ann Masiker, Gilbert Williams, and that artist our dear friend Suetang loves so very much, Josephine Wall. I just love that you share her art in your poetry, dearest Sue, as I believe to see as much art as possible is a blessing. And I vow to keep sharing also on my part!

Before I became part of this wonderful Passions family (I love you all so much, Pooh bear
hugs for everyone, yay! ) I went on wild Google searches trying to find magazines I could submit my poetry to. The first place I submitted poetry to was known as Perspectives Magazine. Come to think of it, it has been a while since I've been there, but if it still exists, it is at http://www.perspectivesmagazine.com.  I submitted four poems there: "An April Without Rain", "Good Morning Cameron", "Silver Linings", and I am unsure of the fourth but it may have been "Eta Carrirae", named after a white dwarf star that exploded in recent years. The host enjoyed my work, yet it was a slow site and I knew I needed to find more. So I tried Poets Place, and got only a couple submitted there. Then one March day while searching, I discovered a poetry forum by the name of Papa's Poetry Circle. One of the hosts was (yep, you guessed it) none other than our pal Cpat Hair! VAS (Virginia Salter) was also a frequent poster there, Mutington, Whittler, and others. I went by the name DaffodilAngel then, and I actually had my very own poetry forum later, by the name of "Dreaming With The Daffodils". I have always been fascinated with flowers, but daffodils in particular because my grandparents, who live in the southeast Missouri countryside, have meadows in their backyard filled with them, along with day lilies, and I just love to lie down among them (even when the honeybees are out, LOL!) I originally titled my own poetry forum that because of my surreal love for the daffodil meadow but now come to think of it more, I also titled my abode that as a tribute of love to my grandparents who I love ever so much. Yep, that was a wonderful experience for me. For a while my forum would have 30-40 poets a day posting there, and I love company. But then when I was deep in my studies, I couldn't watch over the forum and it finally collapsed, so I closed the forum but left open the archives so the memories can be there. There is always a possibility I will re-open the forum, as I would love all you friends of mine there, and I'll let you know if that becomes possible.

It was a very interesting experience for me to get to share poetry on a more social level. I would submit three times a day most days, then I decided to expand my vision. So I identified a link from Krysalis to the now-late forum Beyond The Bridge, featuring a fabulous poet by the name of Michelle who went by the nick-name Krysalis. She is quite talented, and I regret to inform I don't know where she may post her poetry now. But there I met so many familiar poets, such as Mutington, Startime, Whittler, and Cheryl. I guess at certain times moderating the place, Krysalis was going through some tough times, so we kept praying for her and if I recall correctly, she closed the forum suddenly when it may have become too much for her. It was quite a shame. I have much respect for her and know God is taking care of her and her loved ones. It was just before that time that Mutington (Joyce O'Neal) told me she had opened her own poetry forum, and I deeply appreciated her poetry and comments very much, so I joined in immediately. Even with a few small hiatuses in the running of the forum, Mutington's Meadow remains open (you can find her gorgeous forum at http://www.voy.com/7622/          
and I was one of her original "meadowlarks" as she loves to call her family of poet friends. The place just continued to get bigger and when the forum originally had a black background with yellow text font, she designed it so it truly felt second to nature itself. She put in gorgeous robin-egg sky wallpaper, added pictures of a meadow which she changed seasonly, and included WAV files of sparrows and orioles chirping and chipmunks giggling! It felt just like home, and though my studies kept me away from the forum a few periods of time, Joyce continues to call me a true meadowlark. I hold so much respect for her!

Finally, I discovered Passions in Poetry when I noticed Joyce and Startime (Karen), who was her
co-host at the time, posting there. When I first saw the forum I said "Wow, look at all those people here!". What did I have to lose? So I made my first post on December 17, 2000 at around 12:30 that afternoon. I went with the name Mistletoe Angel I suppose because my name was originally Daffodil Angel and Mistletoe Angel sounded appropriate for the winter and holiday season. Now when I think about my name more often, I think my name has more meaning than ever. I believe Christmas is the most beautiful holiday of all and along with celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is all about the values of family and loved ones, to share, to love, to give, to be merry. Shouldn't that be what life is all about? I certainly don't mean every day you must buy presents for your loved ones, but to give your love, share your love, to love unconditionally. I now truly believe I am a good person, and want to be everyone's companion. I want to try and make every day feel like Christmas to your hearts, knowing you have a friend and are special. Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross taught me these values when I watched their shows all the time, and I believe in them with all my heart. So I attempt
to set an example and spread the flu of love to everyone, as mistletoe is a parasite but some parasites can be beautiful if they make you feel warm and toasty inside.

I must admit that I took me a while to feel welcomed at Passions. I was guilty then about
believing the more comments you get for a poem, the more special you are. I never got above 8 comments on any poem until I neared my first anniversary at Passions. I had a huge streak of poems only getting 1 or 2 replies, sometimes zero. That truly made me feel a little sad inside. And I admit that before I didn't comment nearly as much as I do now, neverheless I still followed the suggested posting guidelines and made an effort on many occasins to comment to at least a few poems before posting. I guess I felt hopeless, but I stayed on Passions because I had a couple loyal friends posting alongside me that supported me, and, because I have a strong will at things I take pride in. Finally, when I was going through a period of depression, and truly wanted to leave Passions, so many of you wonderful friends tugged at the heart on my sleeve, begging me not to go. And I must confess that when I saw all your gorgeous comments and e-mails, it made me cry in floods of tears and gave my heart big hugs. So I stayed and since then this whole place feels like a second family to me, yay!

I'm going to...to the best of my ability...update as my story continues. We all have a story to tell
and I, for one, love to tell all about it, so my friends and loved ones can in the future have all
I say to remember me by. Love you all, here's Bear In The Big Blue House hugs for you all, yay!    

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (08-30-2003 02:48 PM).]

© Copyright 2003 Nadia Lockheart - All Rights Reserved
Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
1 posted 2003-08-31 11:06 AM


Noah, getting to know you better makes me love you even more now, my dear angel friend! This was so beautiful, so guileless, so open and honest. You share your heart, soul, talent--and some interesting tidbits and links! lol

I look forward to following your journal!

Loves 'n hugs,
Linda

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

2 posted 2003-08-31 11:24 AM


Noah?

Is that a mango smoothie with smirnoff?

hmmm...

serenity is intrigued.



smile, and since I am sadly lacking a life these days, I'll just live vicariously through YOU.

So...get out there and have some fun!

Nightshade
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962
just out of reach
3 posted 2003-08-31 03:23 PM



Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
4 posted 2003-08-31 11:30 PM


------------Sunday, August 31, 2003----------

Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved collecting various, random objects, pictures, and trinkets. Ambience is a $5.00 word for atmosphere, and I take almost any word written in dactyllic pronounciation seriously. Is that right?

Every generation leaves something behind that is truly "it". In my case, it would be Micro Machines, Boglins (remember those Smurfs Meet The Munsters things?) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Matchbox sets, Furbys, My Little Ponies, and of course...the legendary Pogs. You remember pogs, don't you? Those little cardboard capers in all sorts of groovy artistic designs that you pound with a slammer and get as many as you can that land face-up! Yep, I was part of that Hawaiian craze. Come Christmas of 1996, I probably raised the stock up $12.00 before Christmas eve.

I also got a Sega Genesis back then, and fell in love with Sonic the Hedgehog. I still have my Genesis, and I also have my Sonic plush toy, the Sonic mini-pinball machine, and I used to have the Sonic handheld game and Sonic cassette player. Except for Dr. Robotnik, who didn't love that spunky blue rodent? Some of my young wildest dreams was to have those candy-cane sneakers and run as fast as him. I even tried track-and-field as a child, and I was never that fast though I could jog long distances without pausing. For eight consecutive weeks I ran the famous annual Bolder-Boulder 10K race each Memorial Day. I have a picture from every one of those races, including the first year when I dumped lemon-lime Gatorade in my hair! It took a good three hours to get the stickiness out!

When you often hear about what boys love to play with, you usually hear army men. My grandpa did give me a shoebox filled with them, though I never played war with them. Instead, I invited them to join tea parties with my sisters, who used to collect My Little Ponies and Barbies and I just adored playing with them. That's OK, you can call me a goof if you want but I have truly always loved what girls play with, as that is how we should play with each other.

I also have a big love for stuffed animals. For instance, do you remember that cute, spunky chihuahua Gidget, who used to be the spokesperson for Taco Bell? (giggles) I still love that pup sooooooo much, and in fact I tape-recorded all his commericals I could find on a Maxwell VHS and love to watch them on a nothing-doing day. I have a stuffed Gidget that I keep beside me when I go to sleep, as well as a Tweety Bird, Mr. Bill, Woody Woodpecker, Brer Frog from Songs of The Southland, and a cute hamster in a gi with numchuks that sings "Kung-Fu Fighting" while twirling his numchuks when you push the button on his wrist. And...remember when Ty Beanie Babies were the real thing? I have a truckload of them, just because they look sooooooo cute. I also have some of those Grateful Deady bears. I have yet to find the Jerry Garcia collectors edition.

I too have action figures, in fact a good number of them. I have almost the whole collection of those Austin Powers action figures with those sound clips that speak one big catch-phrase from each character. I got Austin, Dr. Evil in both his grey suit and space suit, Mini-Me, Dr. Evil and Mini-Me with the Mini-Mobile, Fat (expletive), Scott Evil...much of the bandwagon. Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can happen to find Nigel Powers? That would be much appreciated!     In addition, I have Tarzan, the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, a few of the Crash Bandicoot series, Star Wars, Xena: Warrior Princess, my cousin Zackery gave me some of his WWF figurines, I have a lot of them. I got many in particular because I used to make my own creative home video action series, which I titled "Justice Offbeats", which I will talk about it next time.

But my passion in collecting goes far beyond toys. I am stoked in collecting items in every place I go to as possible. I collect business cards, license plates (I am up to 26 states so far) which I hang on my bedroom wall, posters, like the Shakira one I have on my closet, some of my favorite Avalanche players like Patrick Roy who retired earlier tis year from the NHL, and some of my favorite movies like The Breakfast Club, lava lamps, tie-dyed T-shirts, sarapes, Hawaiian shirts, incense holders, The Onion newspapers, hats, soda cans from foreign countries, Archie comics, bumper stickers with inspiring quotes, stickers with subliminal messages like "Free Tibet" and "Mind The Gap", brochures from state parks and Disney resorts, Latin candy wrappers, geodes, lunchboxes are some of my favorite collectables, like The Little Rascals & I Love Lucy, and many other trinkets that were "it" from earlier generations like chattering teeth and Rubix cubes. I make an effort to continue to update my bulletin board (which I haven't gotten to do as of late) as I believe that there is a reason why we all use bulletin boards. It represents a window of your soul, and I believe we all must festoon it like Michaelangelo painted the Sistine chapel ceiling or any Florence artist that made the most extraordinary frescoes, so take that wall and make a masterpiece that doesn't have to make sense until one takes time to examine it day by day, and then come to realize, "Hey, this is just you!".

By how I describe my room, some of you may think I am rather disorganized. I find that half-true. I believe I am as organized as I should be, for if you live on routine, schedules, and organization every day, I believe oneself begins to feel disorganized. Dedicating a life to keeping a house clean can somehow feel depressing to me. I am not thrilled about trash being on the floor or dirt being on the carpet, but I believe our rooms should have a mess in some way, just to know that we feel right at home. To me, keeping a house all spick and span in every aspect and coming home from work one day and stepping right into the room can truly not feel like home at all, rather like checking into a hotel or a house you're rentaling for Spring break. When I see the character me and my sisters rooms has, I feel lucky and free.

So, let this be the lesson for today! I have a nostrum for everyone who may feel constantly incarcerated in apathy and routine. Make it a mission (if you choose to accept it) to embrace the world each day, on every drive in your vehicle or stroll down the boulevard, and find something random or look for something random, or if you have a friend with you, each time speak of something different other than the usual tagline "How's it going?" or "Wassup?" or "How was your day?". God gave us a gift to speak and create, and offered us a library of beautiful words in various vernaculars, so take advantage of this limited-time offer and express yourself in various ways, as you only live once!

Uh oh, I hear your mom calling you, she wants you to clean your room! No wait, she said mess your room! You heard her, so get up there, scatter some magazines and photogaphs on the floor, and I guess I'll let you go for now! Take care now, bye bye then!

Love,
Noah Eaton

Currently In My CD Player:

More Than You Think You Are: matchbox twenty
New York: Lou Reed
A New Day At Midnight: David Gray



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-01-2003 04:19 AM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
5 posted 2003-09-01 06:00 PM


----------Monday, September 1, 2003----------



Heroes...exactly who (or whom) are heroes? I've seen this word take on too many various meanings through the pages I've read and the stories I hear from others. Your Webster's dictionary would define a hero (or heroine) as "a man (or woman) noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his life". Pondering this truth, if I had to pick the three most heroic acts ever seen or known through my own eyes, they would be Jesus sacrificing Himself to save us all from ultimate sin, Mister Rogers dedicating his entire life to providing the values of love and feeling special to our children,and Simon Birch in John Irving's classic "A Prayer for Owen Meany" sacrificing his 12-year old body from hypothermia to save many children, the priest, and Owen himself when the school bus plunges into the icy lake. I even cried seeing the movie, even when it wasn't exactly like the book, and I don't care what critics say: that movie truly touched and changed my life and how I view the true heroes of the world today. One half of my mind tells me our world lacks heroes, because I feel the world has changed, but hasn't evolved much. Hence I'm reminded of when Simon heartily exclaims ""...things will be different ... once God makes me a hero." Then, in the other half of my mind, we all have potential to be heroes, when I believe it when John Barth said, "Everyone is necessarily the hero of his (or her) own life story."

"What is a hero without love for mankind?", Doris Lessing once said. This is perhaps the biggest rhetorical question we face each day, yet it is astounding to me how many forget to contemplate it. Between the ages of 6 and 14 when I watched Mr. Rogers every morning on PBS at 6:30 in the morning before going to school with my red lunchbox, I valued his show just because I felt it was right. But now, growing up, I value Mr. Rogers and his show more than ever because I believe, truthfully, holding true to what we learned as children is how we should live as adults, as I believe God made little boys and little girls, not adults, because He believes we should hold true from the start and innocence is what we're born with. Sadly there are corrupt politicians who forget this, or perhaps never even realized this, and even when they rest their hands on the good book, they never truly understood it and that is why bombs are falling and children are crying in our world. Anyone can argue strongly with what a hero is nowadays, just as they would with what "freedom" means, but I truly believe there are heroes still living in this world, plenty of them, just patiently waiting to be identified.

"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes.". I believe in what Walter Schirra said, and in fact, what he said also truly changed my life, feeding me with the incentive that we all must love each other like brothers and sisters. I never forget every one of us is imperfect, but if God treats every one of us like sons and daughters, there is no excuse to why we can't set the same example. And that is just my incentive: to identify the world as my family, with everyone being my mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents from every generation, and all my parents-in-law twice removed. And yes, I know my family will have a bigger brother or two that will always pick on me, or perhaps a little sister that loves to taddle-tale, or a father that sometimes is neglectful, yet I can tolerate that as it only makes me stronger and helps e develop into the person I am born to be. We are family, never forget that.

So next time you see your brothers picking on others or making others cry in this world and it bothers you, you must approach them and let them know how you feel. Our politicians, philosophers, preachers, teachers...everyone, are our siblings in spirit, so next time you see one pinch or fight or bomb another, please speak out! That is not pure family conduct and when few of us take action, there is bound to never be a peaceful family reunion. That is how I envision a hero nowadays, a big brother who stands up for his little sister when a bully gives her a hard time, then mediates with the bully and if he doesn't cooperate, simply goes to detention and feels the pity.

Jesus never wore a red cape. Mr. Rogers was never in the Justice League (at least in the DC Comics). Simon Birch in many readers hearts was an angel sent from heaven, who never even flied. There are more heroes than you may think, so greet your neighbors warmly and tuck your children to bed with hugs and a kiss on the forehead.

OK, off I go now to catch The Powerpuff Girls! Bubbles is such a cutie! Onward to the Powerpuff Signal, whooooooooossshhh!

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-02-2003 02:03 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
6 posted 2003-09-02 12:26 PM


Noah, it is a privilege to read your journal!
It is full of Americana and should be put in a time capsule! You have so many wonderfully informative tidbits throughout your journal. A pleasure to read and I like getting to know you better! To know you, is to love you, my angel friend!


Linda


Wind
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Elite
since 2002-10-12
Posts 2981

7 posted 2003-09-02 07:26 PM


you are just the sweetest person in the world

insanity is not a crime

Enchantress
Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113
Canada eh.
8 posted 2003-09-02 09:42 PM


It is a real pleasure to get to know this side of you my friend.
What a sweetheart you are!
Big Hugs!

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
9 posted 2003-09-03 03:30 AM


-----------Wednesday, Septeber 3, 2003---------

Start your engines and set the controls for the heart of the sun...or at least prepare your low riders, and prepare to be dazzled with the christened origin of how I became the Mistletoe Angel you all know and love. Just try not to drive too fast, or use too much gas either, I hate to see someone pay $2.00 per gallon so this one is on me.

Before that magical February 2, 2000, when I first etched my quill upon the lucid white parchment, before the Rainbow Dancer emerged and cited my rainbow connection, before I got myself my beautiful Ovation acoustic, before I became a Serpahic Member upon these robin-egg blue pages, I was a lost spirit. You may not notice it, but I am currently in a massive stage of transformation, metamorphosis if you will, and the whole Tilt-A-Whirl joyride is exhilarating. I am seeing a whole bunch of new faces, exploring new horizons, my guitar has become my lover, and my voice is reaching for the sun, it's all dutch-door action.

Yes, before what I love to call the "Kaleidoscope Whistle" saga, there was one extraordinary man (I sure hope you're reading this, my friend) who reached his hand to me and got me immersed in the sonorous world of poetry and art...Philippe (Mozart) Ernewein. Take a bow, pass Go, collect $200.

Yes, this pony-tailed beatific bogart is my hero. My inspiration. My friend. Like The Lone Ranger, Prefontaine, and that DJ that smiled all throughout your high school party all put into that life-size teddy bear, customized deep in your inner Build-A-Bear workshop that first time you see his smile, with those friendly, beady eyes.

One day when I was feeling down and uninspired as many days, he told me his life story, written in the form of his incredible memoirs titled "Talkin' Tonto Deconstruction Blues", about how he grew up in Belgium, his father struggling of alcohol overdose and living only with his mom and siblings. He said he loved watching western gunslinger shows, especially The Lone Ranger. He said to his mom, "Mommy, are we really going to America to meet them? Are we? Are we? Are We?". And his mom promised him yes and when my teacher was 8, he moved to Virginia. Just like me, he got bullied by school kids, only because he could barely speak any English at all. He went to school on a very small school bus, he remembers, and also finally he learned English eventually and started to earn respect. Yet, he told me, he was still troubled. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. He was thinking "Who would ever thought I would make it this far, yet what is my grand incentive?" So when he got up to my age, he became a local disc jockey at a Richmond station, and that is actually the same time Dave Matthews was becoming popular in Virginia and touring with Hootie & The Blowfish all along the east coast. (As a matter of fact, you won't believe this, but Dave Matthews met him one fateful day and performed a few songs for my teacher in the backyard of his hometown including "Satellite" I am absolutely not kidding! They even asked him if he wanted to be a roadie, but he declined, saying he made up his mind and wanted to devote his life to college and teaching.

Finally, in inspiring him to start writing, my teacher, when he was 22, taught at a university in Louisiana. After a while, he said he got exhausted and wanted to find a place "far away from civilization". Someplace where he could dream peacefully, meditate, escape the pressures of obligation, the corundrum of expectation and routine, run over his dogma with karma. This place he went to was Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, a beautiful canyon which I actually visited with him two years ago, and there, he became a park ranger and eventually befriended all the Native American Indians there. They taught him how to make good dried bread there, displayed their traditional beliefs, and never feeling more free, he told me that moment changed his life forever and released him from the anxiety, the nervous energy. He then mentioned he searched diligently for the best schools and by Gods luck, he chose to devote his heart to Denver Academy and this is where we crossed paths.

Simply reading his memoirs and recognizing the pseudo nostalgia, the familiarity, has changed my life forever. Once he touched my heart, I wrote "An April Without Rain" about my tears. He said it was marvelous and told me I have to keep writing and let everyone know how I feel and replace the sadness with the beauty of life, which I have already soaked up much of, yay! That day was February 2, 2000 when I got my first poem out there. A little more than 10 months later would be when I first discovered Passions!

Of course I cut a long, artistic, colorful story short, so if you like to read the unabridged, uncensored, slick, sleek hardbound edition of this epic, visit your local library (At least it SHOULD be in there) or you can contact Mozart himself at pernewein@denveracademy.org

There, you will also see never-before-seen footage, from his college adventures in Louisiana to his action-packed dual with the arroyo. Maybe if we get lucky I can get the man in here and he can provide us with the Talkin' Tonto Deconstruction Blues Directors Cut! Kooky!

There are some other remarkable friends that have also driven me: Julie Doyle, Carrie Dunlap, Bill Petry, Carey Jones, Anne Laurie Twarogowski just to name a few of many. But I just want to acknowledge each of you wonderful friends individually in this journal so they'll just have to wait for the very, very, very near future! You know the proverb "Good things come to those who wait" and I am all about giving to my family. Yes, I am using the word "family" here, the proverbial use of "family" because I couldn't of got this far without you all. I never thought I'd make it this far, and there proves the whole notion of "Forsake thy inhibitions, pursue thy dreams". It is clear to me now...anything is possible, and I am going to embrace what may seem impossible. So let's hear it to everyone who gave me a hug, everyone who gave me a kiss on the cheek, everyone who gave me something to read, everyone who told me a good joke, everyone who made me cry, everyone who teased me, even those who had the nerve to pick on and intimidate me as a child. All is thankful, all is appreciated, all is forgiven, and all of you have transformed me into this Mistletoe Angel you see today!

Golly, it's getting late here (or shall I say early?). Barbara G. Harrison always said, "To sleep is an act of faith" so I better pay my tithes to the Sandman and make another bold pilgrimage to the Dreamweaver! Lights out, music on, and Elmo hugs and peace signs for all!

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-03-2003 03:34 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
10 posted 2003-09-03 11:22 PM


Noah, I don't ever want you to stop writing this journal! It's fascinating, informative, and entertaining! Your sense of humor shines through brilliantly. Your teacher sounds like a fascinating man.

You sound wonderful! So up-beat and happy! I think writing this is as good for you as it is for us to read! You are actually writing your autobiography!

Love ya, Angel Man!
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
11 posted 2003-09-04 04:33 PM


------------Wednesday, September 3, 2003------------

Connecting With Rainbows

Long in my life, I have been fascinated with flower power. Where the pollen got into my bloodstream, I don’t know: my father lives by schedules and practicality and my mother is deeply into politics yet the most loving and compassionate mother, so I guess I just discovered the passion on my own. I am a flower child; my heart belongs to the heart of the matter, and that heart of the matter is love itself. I oppose every war, as I find there is no excuse to resort to any form of violence between siblings. I have a lust for adventure and discovering myself through an array of misadventures and not through conformity. I believe we should all unite but not conform. I love to wear clothing that is unique: besides my extensive tie-dye selection I love to wear my Teva sandals everywhere, T-shirts with my favorite rock bands, Hawaiian shirts, anything with some sort of unrecognized, artistic value. Sometimes my mother insists I wear mono-colored T-shirts to school, and decide to obey her though I do not admire that fashion. And though of course I want to have a family in the future, thus I need to earn money, I truly am anti-capitalistic and should I become a rock star or famous artist, I will give much of it to my love and children and give much of the rest to Toys For Tots, Greenpeace, or some other organizations I admire, non-profit based ones. And…of course…my hair, has continued to grow out as I believe you can truly learn much about a person just by looking at their hair. I find my hair to have a lot of character, showing I am a free and rebellious spirit. My Spanish teacher Ms. Doyle said she loves men with long hair too because she finds a romance in them, some mystery, and everyone should have just a bit of mystery to themselves. You can be truthful and honest and have a little mystery in you! The only thing that divides me from the ultimate hippy back in the day was the fact I don’t smoke and am zero-tolerant to drugs and alcohol. That’s probably why the Flower Age died out I imagine, I love burning incense and the scents are so spiritually relaxing, but if you encage the spirits inside of you, you will only wither away quicker. Burn incense instead. Let the spirits dance around you. I love burning patchouli, the essence growing hippies always used to burn. Lotus Champa is great too. You’ve got to stay healthy if you are going to get out there and rebel; we need our lungs and we need our kidneys.

It truly is sad how these times have passed. I accept some change, but only if traditions are respected. Sadly, I truly believe tradition is fading to black in this country, from the FCC raising the consolidation cap to 35% and tarnishing the diversity in our media, to people like Rob Unz attempting to steal bi-lingual education and the romance of language diversity in the United States, to our politicians making dishonest excuses about going to war. Let’s face it, we’re slowly turning into an oligarchy, and so many do not support what’s going on. Come to think of it, that must be where I got diagnosed with the flower power syndrome, though I have been in love with this phenomenon since I was five years old.

I dream so many times of standing there on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, riding around with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters from sea to shining sea, publishing the first rainbow newspaper with holographic images and good news as the headlines, being signed as the lead singer for The Diggers and eventually seeing my face through a platinum record with them, opening up for Grateful Dead in ’69 and sitting in coffee shops over mochas with Peter Coyote. Dang, I wish I could talk as fast as that Neil Cassady. If I wanted to meet one person to have a deep and comely conversation with more than anyone in the world, it would be him, simply because he always had something to say, in fact Jerry Garcia said he was himself too much he was unbelievable and wanted to say “OK, take the energy down a tad, Neily!”. Wouldn’t that be so much fun to sit back in that 1939 Harvester with “Further” written on your shirt and talk the day and dream the nights over? I believe my nick-name would be “Kaleidoscope Whistle”. Those people are my friends: Timothy Leary, Chet Helms, Wavy Gravy, Bob Dylan; they are true American heroes, and I will make my world feel like Camp Winnarainbow and hold the proverb in my belt that Timothy taught us, “Turn on, tune in, and drop out!”

However, the pinnacle point of my developing interest in that good ole’ love was brought upon me in 1994, when I was 10 years old. Me and my mother and sisters drove to Nederland, a relaxing mountain town just west of Golden. There, upon stepping into the confectionery to purchase some Eldorado Spring Water and beef jerky, I encountered a writer by the name of Rainbow Dancer, who has become a staple character to my life’s adventure. He had his brown hat, a rainbow shirt with a white peace-sign labeled in the middle, and a big hunkin’ Polaroid camera laced around his neck. Immediately he was delighted to see me, noticing I was wearing a white cotton shirt with the words “Peace On” labeled on the top with a huge purple peace-sign symbol labeled in the middle with some psychedelic graffiti art drawn all along the edges. He said he was publishing a new book in Seattle, Washington, filled with his own poetic thoughts and pictures of many different people wearing peace-related clothing. So I let him be my guest, take a picture, and I shook hands with the chap and spent five minutes talking to him about his project before looking out upon the gorgeous Nederland reservoir. (God, it’s gorgeous) That moment truly inspired my life and eventually, six years later, I re-invented the legacy of the Rainbow Dancer in my own poetry (Yep, if you remember Rainbow Dancer, that is his origin). Who is the Rainbow Dancer exactly? He is both a metaphysical and terrestrial uncle to everyone, both a prophet and a painter, that inn-keeper somewhere over the rainbow in your imagination in that turquoise house. He is the host of springs and the honored guest of summers. He is truly a walking Summer of Love that can’t be stopped, because when the rain falls, seeing the rainbow after the storm is inevitable. The Rainbow Dancer truly is our bigger brother of grace, and he’ll be coming out to play more than ever soon, I assure you, yippee!

This summer was no Summer of Love whatsoever, but I know in my heart flower power will never wither. As Joseph Gallivan said, “Old hippies don't die, they just lie low until the laughter stops and their time comes round again.” We’re young forever in heart, so there’s the bonus. All I know is you’ve got to prove that. Stand up for what you believe in, whenever that sty in the lower part of your eye burns when you watch the news or grimace over the black-and-white headlines. “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” My good friend Bob Dylan said, so for God sakes just feel it against your back and let it carry you, for there’s more to us than just the turf we walk on. Pertain to the horizons.

I’ve grown up holding this spirit in me, and will intend to simply “be”. It is both a beautifully hopeful and heartbreaking thought to me, just like that last episode of The Wonder Years, when Kevin Arnold spends his last Independence Day vacation in his hometown after he loses his money and car in gambling, then knows the girl he always loved, Winnie, fell for a lifeguard, and then before Kevin goes hitch-hiking away, talks with Winnie about all the time that has passed by and how they grew up and that it is inevitable, and then talks about his family and friends and what they did after that final holiday, how him and Winnie wrote for eight years to each other and how Kevin eventually got  a son, then said…

“Growing up happens in a heartbeat.
One day you're in diapers; the next day you're gone.
But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul.

I remember a place... a town... a house like a lot of houses...
A yard like a lot of other yards...
On a street like a lot of other streets.

And the thing is... after all these years,
I still look back... with wonder.”




Though I wasn’t born when the series originally aired, I loved watching every episode on Nick At Nite, from the first kiss Kevin shared with Winnie to that finale, and I must say no series finale made me cry more than that. That episode truly tugged at my heart and changed my life forever, making me realize even though you do truly grow up (my condolences to Peter Pan, I will always believe in you) you can live with the boy or girl in your heart forever also, and I would be broken-hearted if I lost that boy in me. I will always believe in the boy in my heart, so my philosophy is simply to “be here now!” and live life to the fullest, living with a positive thinking environment and youth, charisma.

If I have a theme song attached to my life, it would undeniably be “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie. Every time I watch that movie and see Kermit The Frog strum this on the banjo, I flood in tears.  It was that moment that got me fascinated with rainbows, helping me pertain to them and imagine that place Dorothy dreams of over Kansas, and dream and see the world in color.

So, class, that is today’s lesson. Be excellent to each other, give the rainbow a big hug, and…peace out! Carry on, love is coming, love is coming to us all, open up your heart to the love!

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-04-2003 04:38 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
12 posted 2003-09-06 12:53 PM


Noah, you have so much in your head--and your heart!--and I love reading about it all!

An interesting note, just yesterday, from out of nowhere, I mentioned to a friend about how much I love Peter Coyote's voice. It is so distinctive. Have you heard any of the documentaries that he has narrated? His voice is even used in commercials. I would bet that he and James Earl Jones have made more money with their voices than they even did as actors!--Tra la la la, tra la la la--I'm practicing!

Keeping on writing, Angel Man!--and I'll keep on reading!--and enjoying!


Your friend,
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
13 posted 2003-09-06 01:07 PM


----------Friday, September 5, 2003----------

My Security Blanket

What I find to be the most fascinating aspect in writing ones own autobiography is to shed light on the deepest catacombs of ones soul. Yet, beyond the amethyst caves, there is so much more, and there is one mammoth condition of my life I'm open to share to all of you, in my loudest tone.

As I previously mentioned, I went through a deep depression throughout much of my childhood, particularly because both everyone misunderstood me and I even misunderstood myself. As kids my own age kept bullying me each and every day, it made me ultra-sensitive to seemingly everything in the school environment. I would go home many days with my arms or legs or face bleeding and take salt baths and cry to myself in them. My mother got very concerned and hugged me gently crying so many days worried and wondering what was wrong with me and what the remedy can be.

It wasn't until I was about 12 years old that upon a trip to a psychiatrist, the doctor discovered what I had. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, also known as Autistic Psychopathy.

For those of you unfamiliar with the condition (It has only been recently identified to professionals and parents and was added to the DSM IV in 1994) it is a neurobiological disorder first discovered by a German doctor named Hans Asperger in 1944, when he wrote a thesis discussing people with idiosyncratic behavior, one year after Leo Kanner completed his paper on autism. He identified that patients had lucid speech before age 4 (that wasn't my case) grammar and vocabulary are usually above average, speech is sometimes flat, voice is emotionless, and conversations always revolve around oneself.

In addition, the following things also are usually found in children and adults diagnosed with AS:

* Obsessed with complex topics
* IQs are average or above average (My IQ is 140)
* Dyslexia is common in patients
* Writing problems (Not me! )
* Mathematics problems (Though I am not interested, I was able to do 8th grade math in the first grade, my mentor Barb Miller told me)
* Lack common sense (Then again, some of us only dream for the good of others)
* Concrete thinking (versus abstract) (I feel I am the opposite, as though I have improved thinking concrete, I love thinking abstract as I struggle to critique and argue specific points)
* Movements are clumsy and awkward (As a boy, definitely, though I have improved great lengths)
* Odd forms of self-stimulatory behavior
* Sensory problems much stronger than those with autism
* Socially aware but struggles to make appropriate interaction
* Trouble with empathy (I'll let you decide)
* Often also diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and Hyperactivity Disorder. (Not me)
* Have difficulties with change (Definitely, though I can tolerate some change as long as tradition in myself and the world is kept)
* Ultra-sensitive to sounds, sights, and tastes (Definitely, though it was much more scary as a boy. When I was in a movie theatre, I cried aloud the sounds were too loud and the screen had too much light! Now the movies feel right at home to me!)
* Children may sound like "little professors"
* Prefer routine (I disagree. Routine to me is depressing and I desire a life filled with adventure. We only live once and the last thing I want to do is sit in routine.)
* Excellent memory
* Obsessed with spinning objects
* Hyperlexia is commonly demonstrated
* Susceptible to teasing and bullying (Most likely, though they also teased me of being "short" and "girlish")

Sadly, many autistic and AS patients have cases so severe, they fail to be able to open up at all to the world and lose all their confidence, thus leaving them isolated forever. Every time I know this truth, I cry to God, thanking Him so much for giving me the ability to communicate and live like everyone else and I ask Him to please watch over all His children who have severe cases and please understand the and let them be hugged and embraced by His gentleness. Sometimes I feel I am an entire new breed of AS that science has yet to pinpoint, that loves to think abstract and wants to live by adventure rather than routine, etc. Mr. Ernewein said he never doubted I am one of a kind, and in his honor I want to keep proving that each day and show my multi-facetedness.

Though I still am not the best socializer, Denver Academy really gave me the advantage to open to many, and it worked! I am so grateful to have many friends I'll never forget there, most of whom are teachers but I also made a few friends my own age! And though I may not have met any of you (yet) I am so grateful to have many of you Passions poets as my friends! We are family...doo doo doo doo......doo doo doo doo! (giggles)

Truly, what makes you different is truly like the security blanket Lionel always held close while sucking his thumb. Some may say he was childish, but truly he is so much wiser than many thought. He appreciated the notion that you must always hold something dear, and why not let that be what you cherish. His blanket was like his soul brother, his thumb like his heart beating on the outside, and sucking it like giving his heart a kiss. At least that's what I felt, I believe it's open to so many interpretations.
Charles Schulz was a genius, not only were the characters he created classics, but he also applied a unique philosophy to every character in every comic strip edition he created. God Bless You, rest in peace, Charles.

So now knowing a huge part of what makes me ME, there is one thing I ask for all of you in return. Know that you all are special, and never deny what makes you special and that you are special. And know, that...I'm proud of you, as Mr. Rogers encouraged us all in one of his most beautiful songs:


I'M PROUD OF YOU

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud

And that you're
Learning how important you are,
How important each person you see can be.
Discovering each one's specialty
Is the most important learning.

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud of you, too!


God Bless You all, hold that security blanket close to your heart, or whatever you cherish that is of great value to you, and seize the day! Care Bear hugs and high fives for all!

Long Live Linus!

Love,
Noah Eaton




I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-06-2003 01:09 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
14 posted 2003-09-07 05:27 PM


-----------Sunday, September 7, 2003---------

How Mistletoe Angel Got His Groove Back (Or Found It For The First Time)

Jimi Hendrix, rock and roll's greatest legend, once said, "Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music."

Truly, I used to not believe that. Like I mentioned in my last entry, I was ultra-sensitive to sounds and lights in the movie theatre as a child. The exact same thing happened to me when I listened to the music my dad played (which I now love so much). Bruce Cockburn, Jackson Browne, Peter Gabriel, The Who, R.E.M, Bruce Springsteen; those are all the artists he has worshipped all his life. But before I turned 11, I always failed to understand what they were saying. I heard no melody, no rhythm, no cadence, just a bunch of noise pollution. I couldn't remember any artists names or couldn't sing along to any songs except Christmas jingles. My world was nothing but amplified serenity.

Then, when I turned 11, I finally heard something that deeply touched my heart. That early 1995, when Counting Crows were just beginning to emerge as a famous rock and roll outfit, my dad put "August And Everything After" into his CD player of his car as we were driving east down Interstate 70 to Missouri to see our grandparents. Hearing the first track off the album, the hit "Round Here" literally made me cry, because the main riff had beauty to it I can hear and interpret. Then you hear Adam Duritz's heartfelt vocals, and from the start I knew I well esembled the character in his song. As time went on, that song only is of greater importance to me and then I saw an article all about the song that made me cry, which Adam Duritz explains:


"This guy has heard all those life lessons that you're given when you're a child about what you should do to be a good adult and carve out your name in society -- all those cliches. He's an adult now and has the rights to do the things that 10-year-olds aren't allowed to do -- but so what, it's nothing. Everything has such consequences for him, he can't touch anything or anyone, he's terrified. By the end of the song, he's so completely lost; he's become more of a ghost than a person, and he's taking other people down with him. When you are a kid, people are always telling you to wait and they are always sending you to bed early. Round Here is a song about someone facing a life that doesn't seem to be the logical end product of all the things that he thought were leading up to it. For a list of these cliches of childhood, see every line of every chorus. In that last chorus he is saying I got all the things I wanted when I grew up(e.g. not having to wait for anything, staying up late) and it doesn't seem to mean anything("i can't see nothing round here")."



Realizing that I was stuck inside this electric serenity, I became an apostle of Counting Crows. "Round Here" wasn't the only song that I felt deeply related to me, but also "A Murder Of One"

I can remember being eight years old and having infinite possibilities. But life ends up being so much less that we thought it would be when we were kids, with relationships that are so empty and stupid and brutal. If you don't find a way to break the chain and change in some way, then you wind up, as the rhyme goes: a murder of one, for sorrow.

From the first time I heard the song, then heard him more and more urgently say "You don't waste your life, baby!" and "CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE!" kept making the tears come out stronger and stronger each higher pitch he made with his empathetic vocals. If God is my greatest hero and Mr. Ernewein my second, Counting Crows would be my third biggest hero. Adam Duritz is like a psychiatrist in a poets heart, his words don't only make you amazed, but also heal. In addition, he shares the same anguish and tears I did, so he's like my bigger brother. I would eventually get to pay homage to the band in 2000 and see the at the Fillmore Auditorium with Live, another band I have huge respect for, and Bettie Servert.

So the first phase of my transformation to the music was complete. Still, I had no clue what music was, why we need it, how it is born. But at least I knew there was something about music that made me feel good, and truly I didn't know what that was until I was 15 and met Mr. Ernewein, my hero.

If you ever wanted to have a joyous conversation about any kind of music, Mr. Ernewein is the guy to want to meet. He is also a hippy at heart: while many schools are sadly trying to take away music programs due to the lack of appropriate funding, he will always rise and see to it Denver Academy has their music program. In addition, he centers music along many of his lectures. He has his own tradition known as "Music Of The Week", where he would select an artist, play clips from their songs during class, and make connections between the artist to English, literature, math, and social science. He even let students contribute considerations for Music Of The Week (I got him fascinated with Counting Crows and went to the concert with him), just never give him boy band music, Britney Spears, or Linkin Park or he'll throw them out the window, LOL!)

It was Mr. Ernewein himself that got me agglutinated with the beautiful, capricious, and diverse world of music in its entirety. I got hooked on the Dave Matthews Band from the start, after he told me the real-life story of him meeting Dave in person in Richmond, Virginia. matchbox twenty and Goo-Goo Dolls became a favorite of mine, as did all of my dad's favorite artists. Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and Led Zeppelin especially became high-rotation artists in my jukebox. I would bellow out lyrics in the shower, on my way home, and while running in cross-country territory. So much fun!

Mr. Ernewein convinced me that music is life. In fact, when I graduated as valedictorian of Denver Academy with a 3.98 grade-point average, I included the chorus lyric from Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes" in my speech in a spiritual context, declaring to the whole assembly that we all have a story to tell deep down, and it has only begun. Headmaster Jim Loan shook my hnd in person and said my speech was his favorite speech he heard in his many years at the Academy, and that to me is a milestone of my life, not only because I became a highly successful student coming out of great adversity, but that to me was a titan leap from all the social isolation I experienced before. I got this far because I got my groove back, I found my melody, my metronome, to walk the walk and talk the talk to. I saw my mom crying from the stage, in tears of joy, and that made me cry too because all I wanted to do was make her happy and proud and I felt I accomplished that goal.

Aware of this metamorphosis I was in, this rock and roll revolution baptized upon my heart and spirit, I felt I must contribute too. And the one artist that encouraged me to do so was Shakira.

Shakira said, "I'm wondering, where did they all go? The leaders who used to talk about love, like Gandhi and Martin Luther King? The ones who would show us alternatives." That immediately made me think about all the other music out there, expressing deep anguish, sorrow, and faithlessness, and I already fell deeply in love with Shakira and her music from the first time I heard "Whenever, Wherever". That song made me smile...so much harmony and so much grace, and seeing her sexy music video only deeply touched me more, seeing her sway her hips on the beach, the desert sands, the mountains, pure spiritual seduction. I immediately purchased "Laundry Service" and off the first listen I knew "Underneath Your Clothes" would also be a big hit, and it did. "Que Me Quedes Tu" makes me cry every time I listen to it too. Her grace, her charisma, her loving spirit inspired me to start my own songwriting; to contribute my love to the world, and that is what I am doing as we speak. Writing feel-good songs that sound like they were co-written by God Himself, that make everyone smile, cry, hold each others hand, make people hug each other, and simply to believe and feel.

So when I was 18, I picked up my first guitar and have been hooked to it ever since. I spend many afternoons up on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder strumming some covers and a few songs I wrote by improvization myself, using some of the earliest chords my guitar teacher taught me, or at the Glen Huntington Bandshell, a beautiful small amphi-theatre where the Colorado Shakespeare Festival hosts some performances every summer.

Aldous Huxley said "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." I believe that with all my heart, and I also believe expressing yourself in silence is not rewarding at all, so get yourself lost in the music. Get jiggy with Eminem, sing with me now, 1, 2, 3:


"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo"


Yay, now you're pimpin' shrimpin! LOL!

"Look, if you had one shot to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment,
would you capture it or just let it slip?"
Marshall Mathers certainly captured it. You never know if you'll succeed or fail unless you try, so get out there and rock on! And remember...

"Music doesn't lie.
If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music."

- Jimi Hendrix


Keep rocking the suburbs, set your guitars on fire, and pedal that whammy bar to the metal everyone!

Love,
Noah Eaton








I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***



[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-07-2003 05:44 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
15 posted 2003-09-09 03:24 PM


You're awesome, awesome, awesome! My eyes were literally welling up in tears as I read of how you blossomed at Denver Academy!--socially, scholastically, artistically...! Fantastic!--and graduated with a 3.98 average and were valedictorian! What a success story!

I knew that you were brilliant--but the 140 I.Q. just confirms it scientifically! And as far as having a good memory--well that is sooo obvious with your informative writes! You must be part elephant!

With your wonderful gifts, you are able to overcome the challenges that you have been presented with in this lifetime. You truly are special, Angel Boy! You rock!--and roll!

Loveya lots,
Your friend,
EA


Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
16 posted 2003-09-10 11:34 AM


-----------Wednesday, September 10, 2003---------

Andromeda, We Have A Problem

My family has long been fascinated with astrology and love following the statistics closely. I find some of it intriguing though sometimes I disagree heavily with much of what the star-sayers have to say. Today, my mother gave me a report off of astrology.com for my sign (I am a Scorpio) and I feel it is like the complete reversal of me:

--------------------Scorpio------------------
  
Symbol: the Scorpion
Ruling Planet: Mars/Pluto
Ruling House: Eighth House
Element: Water
Quality: Fixed
Body Parts: sex organs
Keyword: SEX
Date with destiny: Cancer, Pisces
Run for the hills: Leo, Aquarius
Where you glow: investigating
What makes you tick: chess
Fitness forecast: sex
Play date: chatting on the Internet
Perfect jobs: private investigator, surgeon
Best accessory: magnifying glass
A sure thing: magnetism
Destination: The Netherlands
Pleasure: mystery, calling the shots, passion
Pain: exposure, simplicity, interruption
What's my line? Yeah, Baby!

---------------------------------------------

First of all, the obvious reaction is who exactly writes these reports. They say they are of a professional class of astrologers, but what resources do they use? It is bewildering.

Secondly, how many times do they have to rub "sex" into the report? Reading that report almost made me feel powerless if that was actually the truth. That I am just some kind of vampire. I just can't accept that! Reading all the other reports for the signs, the lines are so much more meaningful while Scorpios are stuck with the Austin Powers cliche. It's alright if someone calls me sexy, and I have sensual dreams and fantasies like everyone else and I have even written some pretty erotic poetry, but I want to be seen as someone so much more, and I almost feel the astrologers stereotyped the signs critically.

Thirdly, I really don't consider myself a private investigator. Though I love to learn and hear stories, I also don't like to interrogate or perform espionage on other peoples affairs. I leave that to the papparazzi, who waste their precious energy forgetting their own lives and living within the shadows of Brad Pitt or Courtney Love, which must be so difficult. Though I believe celebrities are great in how they entertain us and inspire us, I also believe that nowadays people fail to be "their own celebrity" and talk too much about the Red Carpet Clan than about their own friends and family. We all are celebrities, just so many never become stars because they never let themselves be heard. Like I was saying, though it is a beautiful thing to have some mystery in life, I also believe you shouldn't spend your whole life trying to figure it out, trying to determine life and death, worry about death, the mystery of death, etc. I never want to be a detective on anything, I simply wish to be a photographer of life, and just capture all that appeals to me. I'm far too far-sighted to look through a magnifying glass.

I have been living in the shadows for too long and I desire to get exposed so I can share to the world what my heart can sing. Sometimes I wonder if the astrologers accidently read the star sheets upside-down and I'm situated on the opposite side of the plane. As if it the map was placed on a projection screen and the image was casted backwards. In this particular situation, I can't agree with the stars, or a much more sensible way to put it is I can't agree with the stargazers. I'm not going to live for just sex and FBI affairs, life is too fruitful and beautiful for routine. Routine is a slow way to die.

Pivotally, this has become the moment that I read nothing but the daily horoscopes. For it is He who has the Master Plan and knows where we all are going. Since I was 12, I have always depended on Him with all my heart though of course I am a rudimentary follower of Him and have yet to know much more about His plan. All I know is, I trust what He is doing, and I believe and love Him each and every day. I've got to simply stop taking the stars so seriously, despite how beautiful and bright they are, and acknowledge He is the one and only governing force.

So my word to you is to simply keep the faith and follow your heart. As Bob Marley sings in his powerful, poetic epitaph "The Redemption Song", my favorite Bob Marley song and one of my most favorite songs of all time, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds." In both life and death, this lyric has tremendous value that can never decrease. Not just for death, where your soul is finally free and gracing the heavens, but in life itself, where freedom can be achieved in inner-peace, in patience. That is good karma!

(angel hugs and high fives for everyone!)

Look to the skies!

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-10-2003 11:35 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
17 posted 2003-09-10 08:13 PM


"Yeah, Baby!"

I darn near fell off of my cloud laughing. This was so entertaining!

Sex! Sex! Sex! That's all you Scorpios think about! hahahaha

In your case, it is more like:
Romance! Romance! Romance!
--I do believe the "Sex!" is somewhat tempered by your angelic qualities!

Keep writing your journal! It is a such a pleasure to read!

Loves 'n Smilies Faces!
EA


Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
18 posted 2003-09-11 11:35 PM


---------Thursday, September 11, 2003--------



Today, we honor everyone in the world, who cried watching the horrific visions of the World Trade Center towers collapsing, whether it was on TV, heard on NPR, told to you by a friend, or if you may have been in New York City at the time and saw it before your very eyes! Tonight please light a candle, and hold to yourself a moment of pure silence with your loved ones with nothing but the candles light glowing, or out on you front porch, or wherever you may be. And while you're silently standing there, think of the children and pray for them. They are our future, thus we must teach them the meanings of love and kindness rather than hatred so these young, innocent, and educated souls can embrace the future with a grand beacon of hope and comfort. An old poet friend of mine, named Christopher L. Blanchett, who went by the name Wishmaster, taught me that, and I believe him. I believe so much of one's inner anguish evolves from some tumultuous situation or abuse from ones childhood in almost all cases, and if we can all do our part in being good mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, the future won't know hatred. That is why I find educating children to be critical to me, there are so many of us and I at least need to do what I can while hopefully others are willing to take the job elsehwere with love.

Sadly, the children of yesterday who are running the roles of leadership currently I believe are ruling with a lack of sympathy and love. I will not abuse others opinions, but I believe we have a bad president unfortunately. First and foremost, I do not believe in ANY war. Never have, never will. When a president wishes to attempt to solve a crisis with war instead of diplomacy, I cannot trust that president anymore. Furthermore, I will always choose an ugly truth over a white lie. Not only is Bush a figure who supports war, but also he has lied a number of times about the "weapons of mass destruction" that he justified as forged evidence in an excuse to spend up to a total of approximately $600 billion on war expenditure. With a fact that no weapons have been found, and the supporting claim in beginning the Iraq war that Saddam and his henchmen bought uranium from Nigeria being false, I find Bush not only a unsympathetic president but also a coward. There, I said it! Dixie-Chick me if you want, but we have something called freedom of speech here and plus, this is my journal. If you wish to argue, do so in your own seperate journal. Perhaps if Bush begins to spend less time focusing on blood-thirsty thoughts of revenge and the "free-trade organization" that will benefit the richer countries and deprive the poorer countries, and more time on funding schools and feeding our poor, I can at least give him a percentage of credibility.

Luckily I became eligible to vote for the 2004 Election, as well as my sister Noelle, who I love so very much, and though there is no clear dominant candidates from the other parties, I intend to simply support the dominant rival candidate just to hope to get Bush out. My philosophy is if one can't rule with love, that person doesn't deserve my vote, simple as that. Even if your vision of an ideal leader doesn't suit the other candidates, give them a chance then evaluate them along the way. I have currently been helping out and contributing with CoPirg, an environmental organization working to protect and save our forests from deforestation and oil-drilling! In addition, we intend to all participate in the 2004 Election against Bush.

I suppose the point I'm making is while I love America with all my heart and am proud to be one of Lady Liberty's children, and I have utmost sympathy and compassion for all the victims of 9/11 and for God to bless them all, I also have sympathy for the victims in Iraq, Afghanistan, all across the world, and I do not have sympathy for tose who go and make excuses and have to put everyone in harm there after a small group of the population there or elsewhere committed such cowardly acts. It is important that we report those Americans who continue to die in combat during the Iraq war and Iraq post-war, but we also need to know of the deaths of the Iraq civilians. It depresses me deeply to know the fact that over two thousand Iraq civilians have died, and barely anyone is reporting that. Truly, it breaks my heart to hear Darryl Worley's song "Have You Forgotten", which I by the way ridiculed his lyrics in my own poetic response, "Haven't You Forgotten Something?", and how he sings lyrics like these:

"They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it every day
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right"


It is absolutely scary when some people are believing these things. Can you imagine all the children of America staring right in front of the TV, rewinding coverage of the Boeing 757 and 767's crashing into the towers, with 400,000 pounds and 24,000 gallons of gas both bursting upon the fragile skyscrapers, hearing people like Adam Goldman, the best friend of an employer (James Gartenberg) who died in the explosion after hearing of the crash on the 86th floor were his office was located, calling his wife Jill that he loved her and may not make it out alive and wished for her to take care of everyone, then noticing the line disconnecting and getting buried in the deep debris, and hearing all his loved ones crying in endless tears in their memorial speeches? If this country is indeed out just looking for a fight, I would be ashamed to be part of this country, but I remain here because I know who the rule America is, the America which our founding fathers gave us more than 225 years ago, and I continue to live here as a beacon of hope, among many others, that know what Her true meaning is. I almost feel like a martyr sometimes, but then again, we all should, as we need to live our lives to the fullest; for ourselves and each other.

So what I beg of you all this evening, as you light your candles and pray, is not to only think about our precious loved ones, our precious brothers and sisters of Lady Liberty, who either died or were afflicted by September 11th, but also more importantly think of others across the world who have to live through routine the exact same anguish, whether it is war, pestilence, famine, poverty, disease, abuse, or any other certain condition. The people of Iraq bleed the same color we do. The people of Afghanistan bleed the same color we do. It doesn't matter what country you live in, you bleed the same color as those who live in the country next door to you, across the equator, or at twenty degrees longitude and forty degrees latitude, wherever. Keep in mind they also hurt, and many of which are also grieving and praying for us this very day, likely this very moment. Finally, ask yourself not what your nation can do for you, but what you can do for your nation. It is up to us and our children to decide what the future brings, and let us only pray it involves a bundle of love.

God Bless You All, and may we leave together tonight with a moment of silence for our loved ones...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you! (angel friendship hugs for everyone)

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-11-2003 11:40 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
19 posted 2003-09-12 01:00 AM


Wow! You are a passionate man who has the  the strength of his convictions--and who fearlessly stands up to be counted.

I have been sending up prayers today for the victims of 9/11 and their families.

I also pray for all of the victims of war around the world. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and end all suffering in our global village.

Peace, Love & Light,
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
20 posted 2003-09-14 04:35 AM


----------Saturday, September 13, 2003-------

Once again, I just have to stress exactly how special Johnny Cash is, and though I cried hearing of his passing to diabetes Thursday evening, I truly know deep down with all my heart that Johnny was blessed to live a long and fruitful life, and also he wished to be reunited as soon as possible with his wife June and after half a year, I am happy that he got what he wished, and now Johnny's legacy will forever be secure. Amen.

Johnny Cash is one of my most respected artists. No matter what song he wrote, whether it was the days he performed at the Grand Ole Opry with Marty Robbins, Carl Perkins and Ray Price, performing hymns and spiritual songs, or the days he rode on trains through Kentucky and Arkansas, recounting tales of Old Doc Brown and cowboys and coal-mining towns, to his compassionate contributions to the Native Americans through Apache Tears, to his days recording with Don Law as he rode around in his Jeep throughout the West becoming acquainted with the natives, sleeping under mesquite bushes, meditating under manzanita trees and drinking from barrel cactuses to write about the West, to celebrating the beauty of family and laughter in "Everybody Is A Nut" and in his childrens record, to writing songs for his whole family, including his late brother Jack and daughter Cindy, to writing of the politics in America and flooding the masses with his honest convictions in "The Man In Black" and "America", to collaborating with so many legendary artists like George Jones, Bob Wills, Jimmy Rodgers, Gene Autrey, Christopher Wren, Waylon Jennings, Billy Graham, The Statler Brothers, Jack Clement, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, and his own love June...wow...he is a legend, that I don't think I can ever pay the most proper respect to. So many songs of worship and adventure are ones I wish I wrote, but nevertheless I am proud they came from his genuflecting spirit. He may be the Man In Black, and he will also always be a being of pure light.

Though I heard of Johnny Cash throughout most of the latter part of my childhood, it was Mr. Ernewein that began to get me into actually understanding and appreciating him. My family are not big country music listeners, though I have bought a handful of his albums and have a huge respect for Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, and the Dixie Chicks. I suppose I don't listen to county radio anymore because it has simply forsaken its traditional storytelling roots and converted more to a pop or adult contemporary format, which I do love occasional hits on Country radio but overall am not quite compelled to the modern country bandwagon. It could also be because country-radio programmers are very strict to what they play, and are highly conservative-leaning, which it used to be a lot more selective.

Talking about the classics makes me wish I, myself, could write like a legendary storyteller. Though I don't believe in critics and don't care about what they say as I find it essential to give everything a shot, whether it is in ones preference or not, and thus don't get picky about what I write and get hard on what other people write, I do wish I could start living a huge life of adventure and write like that. Some poets here have a naturally born gift at that, like Capt. Hair and Balladeer, I don't think I could have ever come up with the Konrad concept.

Then again, I remind myself I am 19, and have a life of promises before me, and already am immersing myself in the linchpin of poetic versatility. Johnny Cash's versatility inspired me to follow his lead, along with the many musical destinations Paul Simon, Sting, and Peter Gabriel made, so I decided, "OK, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a huge play on words, and perform them like Jimi Hendrix to his guitar, Ludwig van Beethoven to his piano, Vincent Van Gogh to his colors, and to the grace of a belly dancer!" I want my poetry to be a cocktail of disparate flavors Baskin Robbins never picked up on, a May Pole that can stand twelve months a year, the saffron in a delicious plate of paella, with many visions and muses that contradict each other but also harmonize with each other. I want my words to break dance, lindy-hop, boogy-woogy, wango-tango. Guess I really am a big dork, but I'm proud to be an honorary dork. I actually consider "dork" a compliment, as despite the fact that they may get picked on, they are very sophisicated and cosmopolitan people. Like I mentioned before, many boys in elementary school called me "girlish", but I love living with my feminine side. At first, I was a little nervous, feeling like a cotquean when I started writing poetry and noticing no other boys my age doing so, then believing that it is important for men to let their emotions and tears flow, the confidence in writing poetry has since took precedent. Men who bottle up their emotions, to me, is one of the most saddening sights to see.

So how do I get all those inspirations, and how does my writing process work? I suppose the best advice is to go "hunting high and low". Sometimes I just write without taking my pen off the paper for ten, twenty, or thirty minutes, other times I write, tuck the piece away, and for days add on and edit the same piece, where plenty of pieces I've written remain tucked away and haven't been shared. Sometimes I take a trip to the Denver Art Museum, look at exhibitions and write inspirations using my spatial skills, sometimes I take some magazines from the dentist office, bring them home, grab a pair of scissors, snip many random images and words out, create a collage, and write a poem based on my aesthetic reaction in analyzing the details. Sometimes I walk down the streets, staring at the bumpers of automobiles parked in the residental district, copy the bumper sticker messages, and combine the messages together, or do the same thing with proverbs. They even come out of the things children say during recess, business slogans, anime cartoons, Discovery Channel, and cheesy sci-fi series from the 60's.

But most importantly, the golden rule of a writer is simply to keep reading. I make an effort to always have a good book queued with me. Currently, I am re-reading "The Odyssey" to pick up on the valuable themes. In fact, I am currently writing a drama satire of Homer's epic, where I fit each of the characters into fourth-grade children at recess. Odysseus (I call him Odie in my satire like the adorable sidekick pup of Garfield) attempts to win Penny's heart by overcoming the obsacles of bully's name-calling, tricks, and pranks, and stands up for his little brother's affection (Telemakhos in The Odyssey). Do you remember "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" That was a brilliant interpretation of "The Odyssey", gotta love Ulysses! Hey, does anyone know where I can find some of that Dapper Dan?

Reading is a valuable and essential part of life, and the real tool to becoming a great writer along with exploring, listening, and appreciating. So I encourage you children to be cool and stay in school, and for everyone else to, simply, read on. Let someones work be appreciated, and that favor will be returned surely.

I thank you all for being a huge motivation to my writing. With all your various styles and personas, you have shaped me into a jack-of-all-trades who now has a heart, a four-leaf clover optimism, and an ace up his sleeve. You (the proverbial you) are all a secondhand family to me, so come on in and let me give you all a big angel group hug! (gives angel group hug) Yay!

Write on, keep reading, plug those headphones on, and long live the man in black!

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-14-2003 04:39 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
21 posted 2003-09-14 12:38 PM


"I'm going to make a huge play on words, and perform them like Jimi Hendrix to his guitar, Ludwig van Beethoven to his piano, Vincent Van Gogh to his colors, and to the grace of a belly dancer!" I want my poetry to be a cocktail of disparate flavors Baskin Robbins never picked up on, a May Pole that can stand twelve months a year, the saffron in a delicious plate of paella, with many visions and muses that contradict each other but also harmonize with each other. I want my words to break dance, lindy-hop, boogy-woogy, wango-tango. "

~ and you accomplish all the above--and more!

loveya lots!
EA

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
22 posted 2003-09-16 04:59 PM


--------Tuesday, September 16, 2003---------

Sometimes some of my wonderful friends here at Passions have said how I comment so much and how my post numbers are so high they can't count that high. (giggles in delight) Yeppers, I certainly love being here everyday and enjoying the great poetry and communicating with my family here, as this to me truly feels like a second family.

But there is more beyond the story of how I became Mistletoe Angel here. When I first joined Passions, I usually commented to five-six poems before posting a poem, in contrast to 50-400 comments before a poem now. I have always found commenting to be important because I find it selfish for someone to come just to post their poetry without acknowledging how special others works are. I find if you comment to someone, you will be given the favor in return. That poet will see how special his or her material is and will usually only want to make you feel special in return. Unfortunately, many forums I have been to before Passions had many selfish poets, and in result many poems were left without a response. That made me feel bad so I commented all the way down 1/3 of the page of the entire forum, although I only got a minimal of the thanks in return.

As I mentioned on my first entry, I joined Passions on December 17, 2000. I made a usual effort to comment to a half-dozen poems or so before posting a new poem of my own. Unfortunately, unlike many debut posts by new poets here at Passions, my debut was rather silent. "Rainbow Dancer's Lullaby" and "Your Lips" were my first two posts, and neither one got over 6 comments. Then, after my debut, rarely did my poems ever get to 5 comments, and I had a massive streak of 1-2 comment poems, with a handful even getting zero. Back then, I was under the false impression that the more comments you get, the more special you are. I was truly saddened by that, wondering how the heck I could fit into the family like Sunshine, Seymour Tabin, Irish Rose, or Balladeer. I felt I was lacking something deep inside, yet I continued to try, being inspired by the many stories of those whos truggled so long but succeeded due to perserverance.

It took almost an entire year for me to breakthrough into Passions. Few times now and then, I wanted to leave but because I had nowhere else to go, I stayed.

Finally, there came the day I got noticed on Passions and I finally found friends reach out to me. That day was December 12, 2001.

Originally being a fond fan of some poet's poetry and leaving friendly and cute replies like I still do, I made a reply to a Christmas poem that some poet wrote. I put a whole bunch of Christmas graphics in it before Ron limited the use of graphics to five so the memory of the server can be stable, and I used the kiss on the cheek icon and I accidently put (kiss on lips) on there when I was thinking of Joanna at the time and meant to edit it but absent-mindedly forgot to. Then again, I keep thinking about that accident and say "Big deal!". It wasn't said out of an ulterior motive and in many countries people kiss each other on the lips as a sign of affection, not sexually or romanticly. Three hours after I had made the reply, that poet did thank-yous on the thread and left an inappropriate reply, saying in all-capitalized letters warning me "not to leave any more of that mushy crap on the poets poetry again or you'll get a black eye and you won't look so angelic anymore!" (wipes tears) I cried so much after reading that reply that I felt like a bad person and wanted to leave Passions forever and cried on and on, and I couldn't write anything for two days, then finally on December 14th, 2001, I wrote the poem "Trouble" which sparked a lot of comments, and everyone begging me not to go and telling me I am no trouble at all and the way that poet acted was wrong and inappropriate, when I questioned "Am I trouble to all of you?" You can see the poem here:
/pip/Forum52/HTML/002108.html

That day, with the overwhelming number of responses, I realized that I had many friends surrounding me, and just because my poetry never got many comments didn't mean they weren't reading me, and some moderator begged that poet to edit the reply. Poets like Bill Charles, Irish Rose (I miss her so much), Enchantress, Mysteria, and Kit McCallum reached out to me and sent me heartfelt e-mails and E-cards. Some poets even went back and commented to some of my earlier threads as a sign, and then I knew I was no fool, and that that person could have e-mailed me in private and politely asked me to write more mature comments and because that one decided to harass me that person was the one who wronged. God teaches forgiveness, and I forgive this person with all my heart, for the poet only helped me grow and develop, but because of the fact that the poet didn't do her part in apologizing, I have never replied to this person's  poetry ever since, and will have nothing to do with her until this person makes her half of the forgiving bargain.

There is that popular proverb "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!". Truly, it is because of this person in a big way that I have identified my wonderful second family here. Sometime after that, another poet also wrote a nasty comment in response to a friendly reply I made to a poem on March 5, 2002. Later by e-mail I was told not to reply whatsoever in addition to other derogatory comments. I didn't even want to, for I believe in God's notion of turning the other cheek and wishing that person well. I forgive this person too, although, just like the former person I mentioned, I choose not to ever support the person's poetry unless that person apologizes. The comment made me sad but didn't affect me at all and only made me more determined to stay at Passions.

It was because of perserverance that I have blossomed at Passions, and I am more happier than ever. And I guess the lesson here for all of you reading this is not to continue to feel sorry for me, or not to reply to those two's poems just because they broke my heart, as they too are special, but that there will always be some people along the way that may push you around or not quite understand you, but if you continue to follow your heart and believe in yourself, you will succeed and all will be forgiven and with the power of forgiveness over those who can push you around, it only feels so much more better!

Every one of you are special, and I want you, yourself, to always know that! (big angel hugs for all) God Bless You and have a beautiful sun-shining day!



Love,
Noah Eaton




I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-17-2003 10:10 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
23 posted 2003-09-17 10:59 PM


---------Wednesday, September 17, 2003-------

There are very few things that upset me everyday, as I generally am an optimistic and comforted spirit. Sadly, the few things that upset me are also the most common problems we encounter each day, as I find no sin worse than a lie.

Recently, in my Creative Writing class, my professor instructed us to write in our journals what we believe the greatest lie in existence is. I responded, believing that an "ugly truth" is NEVER ugly, as an ugly truth is much more beautiful than a white lie. I even mentioned an ugly truth walks just as innocently as a "bridesmaid turtle". I am honestly not quite sure where that comparison came in, but the turtle came to my mind because they are calm and tread softly, and a truth always treads softly to me. I probably did lie sometime as a child, but much of my childhood is vague with the nightmares and seizures I experienced incessantly and as they always took precedent, everything else got blurry to me. I believe if I am caught telling a big whopper, I should be condemned, because according to the creed I follow, God cannot consider you a friend unless you share the Truth with Him! Same goes with socializing, and of course there are those who tolerate lies in hopes to get themselves out of lots of situations, but in almost every case, no one will ever tolerate you unless you are faithful and speak the Truth. How many Hollywood movies have you seen where relationships are broken and friendships are put on hiatus because someone lied? That would be #1 on the Family Feud Survey.

Thus comes the justification to why pride is considered one of the six cardinal sins. Of course it is good to have pride in yourself and others to the extent that we follow our hearts and stand up for one another, but pride is a double-edged sword and at least needs to be given a warning in context. But sadly, people use pride as a camouflage, and those people are only bound to fall into deception and delusion. Then they believe in something else and only get deeper into trouble and out of it all comes suffering and disillusionment. Believe me, I have seen this time and time again in my life, and I pray that fewer and fewer will deny and they can be saved.

That is why I take the Truth so very seriously. And it is difficult to get upset so often seeing this sin repeat itself over and over again, but I must stay strong and hope for salvation. Sometimes I speak too honestly, I cause concern or alarm, and I can tell you I did so once yesterday until toning down what I said. You can be honest without calling names or hurting anothers feelings or creating questions and arguments. I am a highly opinionated person and a handful of times before I always added depth to debates and arguments, but I only speak the truth and I also respect what everyone else has to say and let them know that as we all have the freedom to express ourselves. That is why I was angered when I heard what many in Louisiana and South Carolina were doing to the Dixie Chicks after Natalie Maines made one small comment that wasn't even a big deal whatsoever. What's so painful about saying, "Just to let you know, we are ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas?". We have freedom of speech here, and London certainly has it too, and Natalie didn't hurt anyone with what she said. However, those who reacted aggressively were, vandalizing their properties and giving them death threats. If freedom of action should be allowed too, then no one will ever be safe here. Same thing with what Susan Sarandon, Eddie Vedder, and Johnny Depp said. They have the right to voice their opinions, even if not widely accepted.

The point is I'm making is we are living in very difficult times, and we must all speak up in order to live comfortably and let the nation know what you can do for it. Please don't be shy to express your thoughts, for they make a big difference if many speak together, and as unbelievable as it may sound sometimes, you CAN make a difference. I cannot stress that enough because sadly many see to have the lack of faith or willpower to believe that. It is this fear alone that makes many things that can be possible impossible at this moment, but it doesn't have to work that way. The ground you walk on is your home too, or let your neighbors know you deserve a little respect too if their decisions break your heart. We're out of the age of peasants, proletariat, vassals and kings now. We are the people, and united we will always stand.

Let the Truth be told, and let the Truth win. For only the Truth shall set you free. Just be sure when you speak the Truth, you also do so in reason and be respectful. Profanity, name-calling, slurs, and broken hearts will never get us anywhere, only respect and love can show us the way!

God Bless You All and may the Truth be told in all its multi-facetedness! (angel hugs and high fives to all)

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-17-2003 11:00 PM).]

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

24 posted 2003-09-18 12:00 PM


Wow Noah.

You are so convincing I feel compelled to ask your advice.

Sunday, someone I knew died, a not too pretty or noble death. She lived a not too pretty or noble life. We were not friends. But I did and do maintain a loving relationship with her family as well as a seriously warped circle of "friends."

Now for my question--I refused to sign her online guestbook for her obituary and also feel that I should not attend the services, as she and I were certainly not friends. My husband thinks I should attend out of respect for the family. I feel it would be hypocrysy--and wish to remain "away"--for the same reason--respect for the family.

I feel like this relates to your question of "truth" and your admirable stance of integrity regarding such. So...sweet Noah, tell me?

When, if ever, does expressing the "truth" as we know it cross the line of "right thing to do"? (This, obviously, can apply to many things, not just this particular situation.)

So I ask you, Sweet Noah, (smile--I already see you in syndication too, btw) what do you think?

In your opinion, is truth (such as we know it) more imperative than the regard for others feelings?

tsk. I'm honestly confused.

(to get back to my personal issue)

How does one go about the mourning and burial of someone you won't miss?

sign me,

confused in N'Awlins  

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
25 posted 2003-09-18 08:38 AM



Noah?     You are wise beyond your years.

Serenity?  In your heart.  

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
26 posted 2003-09-18 10:16 PM



Hey, Noah! I'm with Serenity! You should have a column or some such thing. Your spirituality and inate wisdom would be invaluable in guiding our young people!

This was a very fine entry to your journal!

muchos huggums!
Linda

Nightshade
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962
just out of reach
27 posted 2003-09-19 01:39 PM


Noah -  God Bless you !!
  

Midnitesun
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Empyrean
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647
Gaia
28 posted 2003-09-19 02:51 PM


Sunshine, LOL, he is also wise beyond his ears.
Noah, I haven't read this entire thread yet...LOL, I work 2 jobs each is basically fulltime...
and then, there is Pips.
But what I've read is thoroughly enjoyable.

And did you know I too am a Scorpio?

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
29 posted 2003-09-24 04:18 AM


---------Wednesday, September 24 2003--------

Open Tuning Point Of View

As I begin to type here on a mild, tranquil second evening of autumn at 1:00, I find myself feeling in more of a "DGDgbd" mood as opposed to the "EADgbe" standard mood. In the heart of it all, I speak with the same tone you know and love, but along the edges my vocals go one step lower. It is difficult to explain, truly, so I think of what my guitar teacher taught me in converting from standard to open tuning:

1: Tune the sixth string (low E) down by a wholetone to D. To do this, refer to the pitch of the 4th string (D) which sounds one octave higher.

2: Tune the fifth string (A) down by a wholenote to G. To do this, refer to the pitch of the 3rd string (g) which sounds one octave higher.

3: The tuning of the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd (D,g,b) strings remain unchanged.

4: Tune the first string (e) down by a wholenote to d. To do this, refer to the pitch of the 4th string (D) which sounds one octave lower.


So deep in my sparrow vocal chords, I keep singing with the same tone of voice, but deep between my pharynx and trachea, my lower and higher pitches are mixed up and all sound one step lower. I don't know, it might be more of a minor-pentatonic realm, but I've been in the middle of this "indian summer mezzo piano" section of the year.

As I have said before, I wasn't always the optimistic, cheerful soul I am now. My childhood was overall a dissonance in orchestration, constantly composed in sorrow. I expressed one side of my trauma as a child in school, and another with Asperger's, but a third huge trauma affected me as a child, nightmares and gelastic and epilectic seizures.

Some of you have read my poem I posted for the first time, from my earliest days of writing poetry, titled "Oubilette". That is one among a handful of dark poems I wrote within the first few months I began writing poetry in winter 2000, all about child nightmares. My dad went on business trips quite a lot as I was growing up and sometimes my mom falls into deep sleeps easily, so I was alone quite a lot to cope with these demons. Almost every single black-and-blue night, I had horrible nightmares, and they seemed to gradually get worse every night, to the point when I was 10, I decided to become an insomniac, after I had a terrible dream when I was walking in a flourescent carnival set right in the middle of a graveyard. There were zombies taking out their eyes and throwing them at bottles to win prizes, half-bull, half-Medusa people hitting this hatchet against a platform like men do all the time at amusement parks to show their strength, only if the stone hit the bell in my nightmares, it would cut the rope of a guillotine blade and fall upon abducted victims who suffered nightmares like I did! I knew I had to wake up and kept trying to shake my head but I didn't notice a vampire coming up behind me with a tombstone and smashing me in the skull again and again and again! So for every night after I stayed up all the way until I could see the morning light, but I barely got any sleep because I went to school! It became too much for me and I couldn't win, and fell asleep every other night and suffered the same terrible nightmares. But it only got worse, as I also got seizures, particularly in September and October when I was a little boy, and I truly felt that The Exorcist was attempting to take over my entire body, and to make sure I couldn't fight back, my legs would be torn apart, and I truly felt the terrible vibration in my legs was the devil pulling at me!

My mom, who I've always loved soooooooo much, felt heartbroken for so long and I remember many times how she hugged me close, crying and weeping to God, "What's wrong with my little boy, please help him!" I went to the hospital and remember taking many shots and having wires and little sticky green adhesives attached to my head, arms, legs, and chest. Before they figured out I had Asperger's Syndrome and not any severe disease or paranoia, they explained to my mom about epilectic seizures and advised her to put me on Tegretol. And it worked! After about sixteen months on that medication, I was free at age 12 and have never had a seizure since, barely even a nightmare!

This is the reason why I hate the darkness and even speaking of it much anymore. I never go to bed before 11:00 and usually write poetry on my bed with the light on until just after midnight. But I also don't consider myself a severe insomniac, as I still get eight or more hours of sleep mos nights. I believe I have to be acquainted with the night and understand and remind myself time and time again how far I've come and that Pleiades and Andromeda and all the stars are angels all guiding over me and all of us! And every night I do fall asleep now, I almost always have beautiful, sweet dreams of falling in love with my dream girl of the future, seeing me and my dream wife in the future watching the birth of a baby girl before our very eyes, rainbows and unicorns and faeries, children dancing and holding hands in circles, even oocasional dreams of being with my Passions friends! They are sooooooooooo beautiful it makes me cry believing God makes me dream these sweet dreams and He fought the demons away with me! Ha ha Exorcist!

I guess the point I'm ending with is that this time of year brings back many memories for me and I'm just a little sad to be honest I couldn't dream a sweet dream as a little boy. I guess that's why I live my life now with the youth and spirit of a boy because besides believing we should all live with the spirit of the child in us for the sake of innocence and magic and love, I never got to be a boy as a boy and I believe there's a lot of catching-up to do here. This truly feels like the matutinal stage of my childhood each day I wake up all over again!

So if you see a new poem from me until Halloween or so that you think just doesn't sound like me and sounds a bit somber, forgive me, and think of that beautiful matchbox twenty song "Unwell" where Rob Thomas sings:


"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be..."


(angel friendship hugs for all) Of course all your wonderful love and friendship will always help me to strum in "standard tuning", yay, rock on and rock steady!

(dream catcher up, cosmic window up, lights off, headphones on)

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-24-2003 04:19 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
30 posted 2003-09-26 12:07 PM


When I lived in Nursing Residence, I had horrible nightmares and was afraid to go to sleep! It was a very old building and it was haunted. Being an intuitive, I saw and felt more than the other student nurses. My psychic abilities were well known and it freaked a few of the nurses out. I now use this gift as a medical intuitive, spiritual healer and I do psychic readings as well.

My bedroom was right next to the school's archives. On the other side of the wall that my bed was against, was a showcase with letters from Florence Nightengale--and those letters were only a few inches from where I slept--or tried to sleep--every night. I swear she was communicating with me! I was brought to the battlefields of the Crimea and everything was exceptionally vivid. Not very conducive to a good night's sleep.

I found this post to be another fascinating entry into your journal. I saved the guitar info. into my music file.

Loves 'n hugs,
EA


garysgirl
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Laureate
since 2002-09-29
Posts 19237
Florida, USA
31 posted 2003-09-28 05:37 PM


Noah, my sweet friend.......
I haven't commented to your journal entries until now, because I'm just enjoying reading about you, my friend.

Do you know what an exceptional writer and person that you are? I agree with all the good things the others have mentioned about you. Besides being a good writer, you have inner abilities to feel what others feel. Therefore, you have the ability to help people very much. I think you would be a very good writer in a magazine or newspaper.

Out of what I've read of your journal, my friend, many things have touched me and made me cry. This part right here was so special about how you feel about all of us here at Passions In Poetry.....

It was because of perserverance that I have blossomed at Passions, and I am more happier than ever. And I guess the lesson here for all of you reading this is not to continue to feel sorry for me, or not to reply to those two's poems just because they broke my heart, as they too are special, but that there will always be some people along the way that may push you around or not quite understand you, but if you continue to follow your heart and believe in yourself, you will succeed and all will be forgiven and with the power of forgiveness over those who can push you around, it only feels so much more better!  

Every one of you are special, and I want you, yourself, to always know that! (big angel hugs for all) God Bless You and have a beautiful sun-shining day!


I hope that you will always remember what a special part you are of this wonderful Passions Family Of Friends!!

With hugs and love,  
Ethel

gemjop
Member Elite
since 2002-11-18
Posts 2587
Pencilveinia, USA
32 posted 2003-09-28 06:20 PM


Noah I love reading you. You've come through so much m friend, I am proud to know someone like you. You have so much uplifting spirit!

Linda, My mother and I are much the same, once without realising, we were staying on an old world war site, where casualties were taken, a site which was bombed many times. my mum had flashback type experiences that made her feel incredibly upset and anxious, and I kept having the same nightmares at the scene of burning and people calling my name for help, who were seriously injured. my friend who was next to me said i was talking in my sleep, telling people not to die, to hold on. We found out a couple of years ago, the history of where we had stayed, and then it all made sense!And you do readings? I'm thinking of going for one soon, do you reccomend them? it really fascinates me.

~I wanna live, I wanna give, I've been a miner for a heart of gold~  Neil Young

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
33 posted 2003-09-29 02:38 PM


***********Monday, September 29, 2003***********

Honestly, I must say I have no idea currently why I'm in college. I understand what the mission (if you choose to accept it) is, to earn as associate, bachelor, or masters degree to make a "living". But deep in my heart, I find I don't want a "living", I want a "life"

I'll be open with you, I am overall unhappy in my college surroundings. I read the textbooks, but I reluctantly read many of them and lack the heart reading many of them. I got my first F since elementary school in Philosophy 101 because I am a bad test-taker and 75% percent of that grade was based on exam records, and I just am not great on tests because I am more of a spatial and creative learner I suppose. I even got a C in a required course: Writing & Rhetoric, last year, teaching students basically to write in a dry, bland, dull, lifeless, trite, pablum, moth-eaten, poker-faced format. Actually, to be honest, I am quite happy I received that mediocre grade for that course: I got my credit hours, and in addition I wasn’t converted from my artistic endeavors, where otherwise I would have been crushed in the jaws of routine and conformity, there leaving nothing left in me.

As I mentioned before, I graduated from Denver Academy, a private school, as valedictorian (3.98 Grade Point Average) and mentioned how happy I was there in a more brief degree, with so many memories I cherish with all dear heart. But they all go far beyond my hero, Mr. Ernewein. Throughout the run of this journal, I’ll tell you about all my other friends, companions, amigos, camarillas, etc. Right now, I feel like talking about the mission statement there and all their creative teaching methods. This is their mission statement which I took pride in in all four years I was there, which I am quoting from their official web site you can find here!
http://www.denveracademy.org

Their goal is basically “to help students who are functioning below grade level in some or all of the basic skill areas and who have experienced some negative impact on their self-concept, which it is not unusual for students with such backgrounds to become easily discouraged and to be anxious about exerting effort in academic areas for fear of not doing well.”

They also mention that “some of our students have identifiable sources of learning interference, such as dyslexia or attention deficits. Others have a history of generalized underachievement, usually because their learning style is not being considered in their current academic situation. After enrollment, the students show a significant increase in self-confidence and good study habits. The students flourish within the structured, closely supervised, and highly personal environment of Denver Academy.”

So many of my most precious memories revolve around both the old and new campuses. I remember sitting in Mr. Wood’s class as a freshman in the Core Division on the original Denver Academy campus ground on Race and Mississippi and reading “Animal Farm”, “1984”, “Watership Down”, “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “All’s Quiet On The Western Front” and making this huge colorful travel brochure to the rabbit warren out of neon cardboard paper and pasting with super glue pictures of rabbits and text for a project on Watership Down (I recommend that book to all of you) and creating this huge diarama with a group on the Maycomb County village in To Kill A Mockingbird, complete with Atticus Finch, the courthouse, Boo Radley’s tree, everything. I remember being in Special Studies Week and doing all kinds of unique learning skills like creating kites, looking for themes in Stephan King horrors, identifying irony in The Simpsons, and learning how to make these exotic graphs with Texas Instruments 83 Model calculators, and my favorite: learning about the beat poetry movement with Mr. Ernewein. I remember the golden age with Mr. Ernewein, from building a staircase out of Styrofoam, rainbow popsicle sticks and metal hinges for his Algebra II class in a project on measuring height and width in geometric shapes, to running cross-country with him and Charlie Campbell, Weston Wells, Kevin Beasley, Rob Buff, Billy Muniz (we loved emphasizing his stardom by his last name, LOL!) John Dreiling, and Andy Franz among others, who he was my coach for three years and we ran all over the middle of Colorado, from Bear Creek to Georgetown to Loveland to Sheridan, even during the heart of a blizzard in Colorado Springs with our small shorts on, to reading “Lord Of The Flies”, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”, “Night”, “Into The Wild” and (my personal favorite) “Zen And the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” in his literature class during my sophomore year and writing musical comparison presentation essays on Counting Crows, Dave Matthews band and Indigo Girls, along with my first batch of poetry and some narrative and technical writing in my sophomore English class, to even spending time after-school helping him put together the school’s first-ever paperback publication of original submitted student and teacher literary works which Corey Sandoval creatively titled “Voice In DA Crowd”. I will never forget those memories with him, along with a whole other batch of them.

I remember getting up on stage for the first time when I was a sophomore, playing Yussel in the Winter 2000 production “Fiddler On The Roof”, experiencing all that pressure and stage fright from the great drama teacher Leigh-Ann Jensen but learning so much from her through the 2 1/2 years I was in drama about acting and respecting her so much, then with my newly-found confidence coming back with a vengeance to star in Dead Poets Society as one of the students (I stood up on the table at the end of the play upon default of another student not present that evening), then playing a French foreign-exchange boy in “Marcus Is Walking”, a clumsy witness to an attempted murder in some comedy compilation program, and finally (the role I’m most proud of), one of the leading roles, Leonato, in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. I remember having to powder my hair salt-and-pepper to play the role and then coming home to see the huge darkness in the shower water as I rinsed it out of my hair.

I remember when everyone at Denver Academy bid farewell to the old campus on Race and Mississippi and moved to a new, even bigger campus, which was an abandoned hospital for curing patients with some disease (I forget what it was) just off of Iliff and Interstate 25. I remember being moved from Core to Prep and having two years of English and Literature with Ms. Jones, another teacher I have so much respect for and many memories, and two years of science courses with Mr. Petry. I remember how terribly petrified I was when I took Digital Electronics in my junior year with Mr. Petry, and how his usual teaching style is to discipline students into keeping them awake and motivated with the use of pressure and warning, and how the strictness was too much for me and made me tear up and then Mr. Petry and I got to know each other so much better ever since then and then he taught me in a different approach, and how we continued to develop a friendship and spent some lunchtimes at Tokyo Joes and talking about all sorts of things, from college thoughts to Denver Academy to personal life. I remember meeting Spanish teacher Ms. Doyle for the first time, and learning basic Spanish skills from her, and then becoming a best friend to her and sharing poetry with her and listening to her strum her guitar (I took her to the Shakira concert this year) I remember taking art courses with Ms. Dunlap, who is also one of my best friends, and making acrylic still-frames, painting, and using the potters wheel and making and glazing ceramic bowls and cups. She and Ms. Doyle even attempted to help get me on the Oprah Show because they believed my poetry was incredible and had to be shared to the world (I didn’t get on the show, but I got an autographed picture of Oprah and a friendly letter from her telling it is possible she’d put the thought up for consideration in the future and even if that didn’t happen, she found my poetry to be beautiful!) She is also a very special friend to me, along with the original art teacher Ms. Twarogowski, who just had the cutest smile and one of the most uplifting and happy spirits I’ve ever seen in anyone my whole life. She is that kind of person who could contagiously bring a smile to your face even during the coldest, darkest January morning. Ms. Erlandson is another teacher there that also had that wonderful uplifting spirit!

Finally, I remember standing up on that podium on graduation day, in my blue graduation outfit with the yellow rope over my shoulders, approaching the microphone where headmaster Jim Loan was to invite me up to say my valedictorian speech, literally feeling like I was going to burst into tears every second through, but bravely speaking my lungs out, watching some people in the audience below crying themselves, until finally reaching a catharsis of emotion in the end and crying silently in joy as I returned to my seat. Then after getting my high school diploma and getting off the stage, I remember Jim Loan saying my speech deeply got to his heart and he found himself feeling weak in a beautiful state, and my other teachers all giving me their hands.

These are my most prized memories of Denver Academy, which I consider so far to be my golden age of my life. I miss Denver Academy with all my heart and wish I could spend more time visiting there, as my driving skills are rusty and I have to get back to that. I guess I miss Denver Academy too much, but I am happy I am, for I want every student and teacher there who’s reading this to know that!

I guess what I’m trying to say here is college just feels nothing like Denver Academy. I miss those “families” that guide you along your way that make you feel right at home, I miss being able to learn through my heart and not through practicality. I guess, honestly, I am feeling alone and though I believe I have the heart and courage to embrace life alone, I believe you are always family also, and I haven’t had anyone around for over a year now. I also want to hold onto my character and not become someone else, avoid being eaten by the birds of prey of conformity. I’ve heard many stories about Harvard and Yale students feeling unhappy because despite getting higher education merits and getting a ticket for a successful future, they feel they’ve lost themselves and have no direction in life, they lost their character. I don’t want to become someone like that, and I guess I’m being put on by that pressure right now. I’m beginning to feel college isn’t my place, or at least University of Colorado is not my place, and wondering what the alternatives are, which I am unaware of. Ever so often I feel compelled not to go to my classes but I go anyway out of respect to my parents. My brother used to go to college and he skipped his classes, and before I thought that was ridiculous, but now I truly can see why he did so and support him, even if it was selfish to the extent of the money spent. Organized education just seems a bit depressing to me, just like Clear Channel devastating radio diversity, and it's not my cup of tea. I need more flexibility and flavor here to cover up the bland taste.

Maybe I should just switch my major from English to something else, maybe I should try to think outside the box, or maybe I just need a Red Bull. Either way, I’m about to go off to the two classes that make me feel comfortable, Creative Writing, and then to Humanities 101. I’m sure soon I might understand the possibilities more, and find some more peace of mind.

As Bill and Ted said, “Be excellent to each other, and…PARTY ON, DUDES!” (giggles in delight) I watched too many 80’s comedies this weekend!

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-29-2003 02:41 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
34 posted 2003-09-30 05:07 PM


***********Tuesday, September 30, 2003**********

Just thought I’d elaborate on my ramblings on college existence and the beauty of Boulder.

Outside of the severity of academics wrapped in a irreconcilable steel core curriculum, it’s not as bad. Though I wouldn’t ever be caught dead in a fraternity or cult, University of Colorado is quite a liberal college, and though I do not consider myself either left or right minded, Republican or Democrat, I would lean more as a liberal-independent definitely.

I have marched in many anti-war rallies on the UNC. I have joined in organizations to help kick George W. Bush out of office in 2004 because in my opinion he is among the worst presidents this nation has ever had because of his lies and thirst for war. I have signed petitions with Amnesty International to stop giving money to the Colombian military instead of the citizens, who use the money for warfare to kill all the poor families who grow drugs crops just to get the money to help their children and loved ones, and to save rainforests and prevent “W” from wreaking havoc on our national parks for oil. I have marched in pro-choice rallies (I won’t share my strong opinions here as abortion is a sensitive topic), I have worked to save prairie dogs from genocide, and I have contributed a lot to Greenpeace.

The fact is, I have a rebellious spirit, and I have been highly opinionated since early in my adolescent years. I just had to make this clear because it honestly troubles me when some poets here and everywhere say after I write a deeply politically-minded piece after writing a whole bunch of comforting and lovely pieces that this doesn’t sound like me at all and if I have changed. Those kind of comments truly do make me cry sometimes, making it seem like I am some kind of hypocrite or phony, and I have to say I find those kind of comments ignorant. I love all my Passions friends and I truly take you all as my friends and write cute and comely replies always because I believe in loving everyone, everyday unconditionally like Mr. Rogers taught me as a child. But sadly many are exploiting peoples freedoms and killing innocent animals and Mother Nature and I have no choice but to be a lover and a fighter, fighting without guns, fighting without swords, fighting without any weapon but my voice and my pen. We are all unique, so every one of you reading this, I guarantee, will disagree with me on at least one thing I’ve said, and don’t pretend you agree with me on all I have to say, for that is exactly what is wrong with our world today. Less than half of America participates in elections, less than half read their local newspaper each day, and because of this lack of commitment, we are accelerating into one, cold, sullen, acrimonious oligarchy. Why do you think the newspaper constantly reads that poisonous metonymy “The U.S believes…”? Uh huh! (winks) Therefore, it is my obligation to have to get physical with these issues and I certainly hope you are too, while also never taking for granted the simple beauties of the world. You don’t have to throw any punches, you don’t have to take any prisoners, just be both a lover and a fighter with your heart and voice.

This is what I enjoy about college. It is a melting pot of shared values, ideals, and knowledge, and everyday there’s something being said beyond class. Yesterday, right across of Hellems Arts and Sciences near the Hill, they had a huge Pro-Choice seminar, which I attended, heard the speakers, and got a Pro-Choice sticker and button. I only wish the courses could be equally as adventuresome.

Anyway, on a more upbeat note, I’ve been walking around Boulder this week with my Polaroid camera taking pictures of all the beautiful scenery along Boulder Creek and down to the Pearl Street Mall and west to Chautauqua Park. If you haven’t been to Boulder, I strongly recommend you visit sometime, as it is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen in the world so far in my life, along with Dingle in Ireland, San Diego, Portland, and Eugene.

Did you know that Boulder is commonly called the “Athens of the West”? Boulder has a rich and colorful history that goes back well as early as 1858, when prospectors from the mountains put up tents at Red Rocks just out of Boulder Canyon and Arapahoe Indians were nearby and were invited to feast with them after they hunted an ox. In fact, one tribe member was told he had a dream a great flood washed away the Native Indians but avoided the prospectors, a harbinger that the prospectors would stay. They found gold flakes in the mouth of the canyon, but when a cold winter came and complicated their plan to gather all the gold in one piece, Alfred A. Brookfield decided to set up a town there and became the city’s first president. Prospectors started gathering, making farms and raising livestock, and before Colorado was no longer part of the Nebraska Territory, the first building of what is now the University of Colorado was founded, now called Old Main. Then when railroads were built, tourism became a massive industry in Boulder, and many people started coming out just to see the mountains and for health, and then Boulder (which is the health food capital of the U.S) built the Sanitarium, where they have a spa, health food market, and country club. Then shortly after, the famous Chautauqua Park was commenced, a beautiful natural park, dining hall and auditorium where you can either just enjoy a nice serene and peaceful stroll through the park, or see silent movies or magicians or bird-watch.

Do you drink Celestial Seasonings tea? Celestial Seasonings was founded in Boulder too! The moment Boulder became considered a beautiful city and not just a tourist hotspot anymore, Boulder was always called the “Athens of the West” and they decided to further the true quality of the title, Boulder would undergo a huge architectural project, with so many buildings built from marble, the Carnegie Library being built as a replica of a Greek temple, banning saloons, and planting trees and bushes and gardens everywhere to make the entire city feel pleasant. With the Boulder Creek running through the middle of the town, you can spend a whole day walking through the city enjoying the beauty of nature all around you!

One place I especially love to spend much time at is the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. It was designed by over 40 Tajik artists to mirror the cultural beauty of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. That is my dream place to perform my music live to the public. The Boulder Theatre and the Glen Huntington Bandshell would be gorgeous places too to play.

Whenever I want to unwind after a long day in Boulder, I always go down to Chautauqua Park or the Pearl Street Mall. The Pearl Street Mall is no ordinary mall at all, in fact it is one of a kind. Despite Gap, Banana Republic, and Abercrombie & Finch crawling their fingers into the market, overall the stores are all original and independent businesses. I love having lunch many days at BD’s Mongolian Grill. Have you ever been to a Mongolian grill? If not (whether you eat meat or not) you must give into this experience! First, you select all the delicious veggies, meats, and pasta you want in a buffet style just like you do at Country Buffet or during your matutinal continental breakfast run, then you pick out of a selection of many different sauces and oils, from black bean to honey hoison to (my favorite) Mojo, a Caribbean sweet and tangy sauce. Finally, you hand your bowl to a chef and they put your cuisine on this giant griddle, using this giant metal sticks to cook the food to absolute perfection, soaking the flavor into all the food and making the meat (if you choose to have it) cooked just right. If you haven’t tried it, you don’t know what you’re missing!

The Pearl Street Mall also has a lot of outdoor entertainment all along the alluring streets. I remember a few years ago visiting Boulder once a week and watching Kenneth Lightfoot, a friendly entertainer from South Africa with his trusty green lovebird on his shoulder, throwing playing cards from the sidewalk up onto the rooftop of a business on the corner of 14th and Pearl and making it every time, even on a windy day. They always have guitarists out there on the benches too, which I happily contribute a dollar to their guitar cases every time I hear beauty. Hey, maybe I should go out there and do that, I could make money to contribute to more environmental groups!

Often I just love heading down to the Crystal Dragon or the Indigo Rose to pick up incense and hear Arabian and Tibetan music, or just step into the art galleries, look at all the paintings, and get inspirations for new poems (a good number of my poems are inspired by art). If the world is my oyster shell, I think I have found the pearl here!

Yep, the place to live here for me is Boulder, the “Gateway to the Glaciers”, the “Athens of the West”. It is my everyday holiday, it is my whistle stop, it is my hamlet, it is my locus, it is my goldmine, it is my élan vital. I’d take a Fair Winds hot air balloon ride over the city everyday if I could. But, I have a journey to complete, a dream to fulfill, and the world is my neighborhood so I gave many more neighbors in many more blocks to visit and have chamomile tea with!

Some Japanese proverb I value dearly says, “Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods” So go out there and find your laughing place!

“Everybody's got a laughing place
A laughing place to go
Take a frown, turn it upside down
And you'll find yours we know”


If honey fun is what we bring, boy are we in luck! (does happy dance down the primrose path)

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (09-30-2003 05:09 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
35 posted 2003-10-01 02:43 PM


**********Wednesday, October 1, 2003************

Recollection Moloch

Here's a shorter entry this time. I'm about to go in a little over half an hour to my Creatie Writing class to perform Allan Ginsberg's second portion of "Howl".

"Howl" is one of my favorite poems of all time because I don't think Allan could have summarized the evils of capitalism and government any better. I respect those poets who share both their sensitive side and have the strength to carry out their convictions in their loudest tones of voice. Allan Ginsberg (of course many are going to argue with this in this day in age) in my opinion is the closest to American I can ever imagine. He proves just how important freedom of speech is and how to use it. I wish I could summarize my political mind as brilliant as him, nevertheless I'm happy just staying true to myself, as typically I keep my cool and truly am a happy person overall and look more to the brighter side of life than the ugly political world. After Sepember 11th happened, I told myself and even promised myself I wouldn't write any more political poetry, because I felt and had hope that this terrible tragedy would bring the world so much closer together in shared sorrows and comfort. But the moment I heard President Bush declare war on Afghanistan and Iraq, I immediately changed my foolish mind and write it even more profusely than before. The fact is, little has changed and therefore I am obligated to keep standing tall.

Yesterday, I took a bunch of photographs with my Polaroid, and have assembled the art, photography, and some of my poetry together into a compilation I have titled "Strolling Through The Shasta Lilies". This will be my project for my Creative Writing class, which I plan to read aloud at some bookstores and coffee shops in Boulder. I'm hoping to get published in the near future, while I continue to rise to attention with my music fantasy career.

My music, unlike my poetry, will be dominantly upbeat and try not to lean too far in a political direction, kind of like Chris Martin and Coldplay, who Chris Martin is a huge political activist who I admire very much but keeps his music dominantly to emotion. I believe music is meant to revive and comfort the spirit therefore I want to write upbeat, spiritually enlightening anthems co-written by God entirely that can bring smiles to many faces and a glow to everyone's heart. I've written some love songs, and songs with a lot of proverbial meaning that doesn't only apply to myself but everyone. There's a lack of songs about love on the radio and I hope I can become one of the lucky souls to breakthrough into popular radio and deliver what would be like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross philosophy put to song! A few songs I've written are sad, but also I feel compassionate and can also deeply warm many hearts.

So it indeed must feel kind of funny I chose what is arguably the most controversial poem in American literature as my choice reading momentarily, but this is a poetry reading and not a concert. The Truth must be reminded to all and we must become acquainted with the Truth. I truly think of this reading I'm about to do as a "spiritual seminar" for everyone in Room 19 in Creative Writing 1191 in the Hellems Arts and Sciences building. You will sweat out of every pore, but in the end you acquire a new headstrong, fervored wit! That is my goal for today!

Have you ever read Plato's "The Symposium"? That's how I want the audience to feel like, where poetry discusses many dimensions and emotions bounce off one another in a friendly round-robin reading. In comparing myself to one of the characters of that assembly, I'm honestly not so sure where I fit in best but I'd say probably either Phaedrus or Aristophanes, probably because Phaedrus believes that Love co-existed with the world since the beginning and thus courage and faith was born, and Aristophanes with that godly sense just as many of us believe now, that God is the center of all love. It is indeed very intriguing reading with humanities so vividly linked to debates and philosophical discussions today.

Well, it's time for me to go get them with my tiger prowess! LOL! Of course, I have the prowess of Tigger of all tigers! Come on everyone, pounce with me!


”The wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is Tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers
Is I'm the only one”


Hehehe! Love you all! (bounces away like a frog on Valentines Day)

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (10-01-2003 02:44 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
36 posted 2003-10-03 01:48 PM


Noah, my pet, I adore you! Sorry I hadn't been in here for a bit, but you hadn't posted in your journal when I had popped by. So then I hadn't come back until now. Wow! Look at all I have missed!

I was captivated by your writing and your experiences and your thoughts and opinions and...
You may be feeling like a square peg in a round hole, but that is only because you are a glorious square peg that does not fit in the common place round hole of conformity!

You are a spirited trail blazer and pioneer! You can forge the square holes that will fit you to a T. I am thoroughly enjoying reading these entries into your journal. You are unique and you have a divine purpose for being incarnated at this time. It will gradually unfold and you will come into your own. Keep searching, and learning and growing and creating and asking and pondering and loving...

Love & Eternal Light,
EA
P.S. I giggled at you being "petrified" of Mr. Petrie!

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
37 posted 2003-10-25 02:24 PM


-----------Saturday, October 25, 2003----------

Support Your Local Honky-Tonk Sheriff

Haya'll doin?  Wow! Has it been three weeks already since where I left off last? That's much too long in Mistletoe Angel's world, it feels like eons. Then again, in my wildest imagination, I'm always traveling 66,000 miles an hour, the speed Earth revolves around the sun. You've got to find a way to travel that fast when it comes to learning how to fly. Speaking of which, have you heard in recent news that the Chandra X-ray observatory discovered 250 million light years away in the Perseus cluster a black hole that hums a B-flat billions of times deeper than the human ear can hear, 57 octaves below Middle C? I have always been fascinated with this planetary-intergalactic phenomena, as I believe the universe is swimming with infinite harmonies and wonders, which many we may never discover. And that's just fine with me, as I believe mystery is a grand part of life too, as long as something is there to compensate.

As you may have noticed, my poetry has been running through many themes lately. Just recently, it was "lost in space", and now it's countrified.

I have always been a country boy at heart, and I spent much of my time as a boy growing up in the heartland of southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri (pssst, Sheryl Crow is actually my aunt). She grew up in Cape Giradeau, Missouri, where my fathers side of the family grew up, and the Crow family name is actually linked to my family's name through my fathers side. When I was overall quite a depressed child, I always felt most comfortable every summer when we drove all across eastern Colorado, Kansas, and much of Missouri to visit my father's parents in Jackson just outside of Cape Giradeau. (If you ever care to stop by and have some pink lemonade with me, just get off at Exit 105 on Interstate 55, drive up the western Frontage Road to Route FF two miles north and I'm at the fifth house on the right-hand side! ) Those summers truly are my fondest memories from my childhood, perhaps my only fond memories from my boyhood. They are Catholics just like me, and I am actually the only Catholic in my family, and I go to church by myself on Sundays, as the rest of my family are Christians. I always loved going to church with them on Sunday in downtown Jackson, then heading over to the Frontier Market at U.S 61 and Rt. 177 up in Fruitland to get honey-cured ham, roasted turkey and deli meats every lunchtime. Before every meal except breakfast, we always speak a Catholic chant together because we believe there is nothing tastier than a meal in an immaculate kitchen. Then I remember many afternoons we'd either go on long walks together, drive that John Deere right through the tall green grass, walk around outside helping grandma pick the blackberries for her cobblers and grandpa pick the bagworms off the trees or just walk through the cornfields or head up to the Trail of Tears State Park to swim at Lake Boutin. And on many mornings during the week or on Saturday, my grandma and grandpa would always take me on long scenic drives in their pick-up truck across the country, listening to Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Brooks & Dunn, all kinds of great country artists in their cassette stereo as we drove north up U.S 61 to Hannibal to re-live Mark Twain's old storybook fairytale or St. Genevieve where history stands in Old America, all the way west to Lesterville to swim and climb the hot spring rocks at the Johnson Shut-Ins, south by southeast to New Madrid and onto Memphis, or east to the Illinois border, and crossing through Chester (the home of Popeye the sailor man, toot toot! ) and east across Interstate 57 to the coal mines or north to Sparta, Steelesville, or Red Bud. Then when the evenings came, we'd either stay home and have hearty dinners of roast beef, Texas hash, fried shrimp, beans, and country vegetables you couldn't even find at the Cracker Barrel, chase fireflies outside in the warm cobalt blue evening atmosphere, or sit around watching movies on that tele, and on weekends we made it a tradition to first have some catfish over at the Hideaway restaurant deep in the country then head over to the Little Ole Opry in Burfordsville to square-dance together, where local country bands always gather to play classic country favorites or classic rock songs. I like to think of that place as PG-rated honky-tonk, just fun for the whole family! You know you can't take the honky-tonk out of any girl...or child! LOL!

Last year I came out Thanksgiving with my family and my uncle's family came out too, and we all stayed at the Drury Inn just two miles away from their house. We were celebrating their 50th anniversary with a special party, and I helped get a few local country bands to come play for them at the Jackson Community Center. It truly was a magical evening, and we had so much fun line-dancing, we had a nice dinner buffet table with fried chicken and potatoes and baked beans and Country Time lemonade, and some pumpkin and blackberry pie for dessert. The couple days before this special night for them, we'd come to visit them during the day, and we headed across the Illinois border to Kaskaskia, which is where French colonizers used to set up their quarters and made fur trades up and down the Missouri river, with this port being another one of the most strategic trading areas besides St. Louis. It is a fascinating place, and god, the hydrangeas there are breathtaking all upon that watershed.

There's no exaggeration or coincidence to why they call Missouri the "Show-Me State". For every kid who wants to imagine what it would be like to be Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier, Missouri would be a close second to Tennessee any day. Whether it is seeing the Hunter-Dawson mansion in New Madrid with all that Mitchell and Rammelsberg furniture and the site of the historic earthquake, re-living that bygone era in Americana with 140-foot covered bridges and water-powered mills grinding corn into meal at Bollinger Mill, heading out west to the Ozarks in Branson to capture all that live entertainment, stroll through the caves and Silver Dollar City, fish and swim at Lake Taneycomo and catch an authentic performance straight from the Homestead House at J.K Ross's cabin of Harold Bell Wright's literary classic "Shepherd of the Hills" filled with that wholesome Ozark hospitality goodness, or up to St. Louis to hear some great blues and enjoy some of the sauciest ribs, Missouri truly is a second home to me.

By now you have seen much of my rock and roll side, but I truly am a country boy at heart, just like Elvis. I have a great love for the country life, and that is why now I am revealing so much of my love for the heartland in my new poetry. It is a tribute to my grandparents, who warmed me with that southern comfort and wisdom of love and hospitality to everyone, and, simply, to America. If you haven't talked to me on the phone yet, I don't have that country voice really (thanks a lot suburbian living, LOL!) but if you hear me say many consonants, you will hear that twang in them! My r's especially! LOL! So if I become famous with my music, you'll usually see me performing rock and roll tunes, but you'll bet at some point I'll record a country album if the opportunity dawns upon me to enter mainstream.

I'm so sorry it's been so long since you last heard from me here, so I made it up to y'all with this deep comeback entry! Y'all be good to one anuther and give your ma and pa big Cheerful Chimp hugs and reeel soon I'll be back with more! (gives Raggedy Ann hugs to everyone)

Y'all come back now, you hear?

Love,
Noah Eaton




I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (10-25-2003 02:25 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
38 posted 2003-10-27 11:01 PM


-----------Monday, October 27, 2003----------

Seeing Twenty-Twenty

Well, here I go, entering the final hours of my teens. Yet I feel just fine, and nothing feels strange to me. As Pablo Picasso said, "It takes a long time to grow young". I'm really believing this, as though we are forever young, I think it takes us a long time to realize that. And I feel much younger than I've ever been, as I could never set myself free as a child outside my grandparent's homestead, where I could dream with the daffodils and head over to Clarence's farm and see the llamas and horses. I feel I am capable of so much now. I feel as I continue to expand my guitar skills, I can get to go on the road in the near future and see all the rest of this country I love so much. I can sing rock and roll and submit lyrics to Nashville for country superstars to sing. I can sing kyries now and remember all the words to some of the selections. I can see a still-frame of any moment and write poetry, which I couldn't do when I was younger. I can walk the streets of Boulder or Denver and identify each corner, yet the people I see inspire something different each day. I can follow my dreams now that my roots are sturdy and my wings spanned out twelve feet outward. Guess before I was caved in this Kulturkampf, trying to find every little meaning of my life, trying to understand the golden rules while living them on my own. I always had this yearning but my diction was malapropian and my tone lacked fervor. All I needed was that one-way ticket, that passe partout to get access to the tollway, but I had nothing but insufficient funds through and through. Not any more, this Merry Prankster cowboy has a new road to go travellin' down!

Reminds me of another quote by Rudyard Kipling, "Youth had been a habit of hers for so long that she could not part with it." I only hope the rest of you are also holding true to that boy or girl in your heart, for youth only comes once in a lifetime, and even when a life may seem long, you don't want to take a minute of it for granted. If you ever heard George Strait's "Living and Living Well", you should know what I mean! I do believe I have taken some of my boyhood for granted, simply for not having the confidence to stand up and confront my fears from all the abuse and torment I've endured, and I vow to never let this happen to me again. If someone pushes me in front of a chain-link fence and wants to hurt my harmless body, I will stomp on that person's foot and run away. I will forgive everyone who hurt me in my first twenty years, and give angel hugs to all who gave me a smile. After all, I am the Mistletoe Angel and I believe Christmas is everyday in my world, and just want to give and share all I have to share. I believe a birthday is nothing but a number, but it is also an indicator, and I believe it is important each year to check the progress you made in the last year and where you intend to be going! Make the world your playground and see how many more warm gestures and smiles you'll identify! I think one of my favorite quotes that sums this all up is from Lucille Ball (who doesn't love Lucy? ) who said, "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." And no, I won't lie about my age, but I will pretend I'm younger!

I'm not one bit worried about growing up, all I ask is for every one of you here to see the angel boy smile in me as I grow each year! Linda, our Earth Angel you always make me smile when you call me "Angel Boy" because angels are grown-up while boys are children, and I truly believe I am a young man with the spirit of the boy in my heart! Keeping score, running the commentary play-by-play, being both the coach, the referee, and the star throwing those Hail Marys, in each shot I hope to see that caption in my friends minds! Nothing makes me feel happier and proud of myself than that! To see that playbill on every movie theatre wall, and while my name is there, there rests illustrated that youthful smile on my face!

I've got my tan lines, my Murphy bed atmosphere, my acoustic guitar, my Bob Ross T-shirt, my hippy-cowboy haircut, my Teva sandals so I can stick my toes out and feel the wind and green grass, my voice, my headset, and a whole lot of Polaroid memories of friends and places I've seen along the way. That's all I think I could ever ask for...well...except maybe for a hand! But I'm not going to worry, for I believe now the best things come to those who dream and have patience! We're constantly under new management within, but it's the same atmosphere!

Hey, by the way, have y'all seen "School of Rock"? I was dying to put up the review three weeks ago until the boards were temporarily down, but I have to say it has become my favorite movie in the last five years...literally! Man, I wish I was in that movie, it is so anthemic to me. That's exactly how I want to live, holding that guitar, swinging it about, loosey-goosey just like Jack Black says. (pledges allegiance to the band) If y'all like "The Bad News Bears", "Mr. Hollands Opus" or "Dead Poets Society", I guarantee you will fall in love with "School of Rock". It's the best family movie I've seen this year, with "Finding Nemo" also a great one. The movie has a little of a formula to it, but there are so many suprises that make it an accidental classic!

"And if you wanna be the teacher's pet,
Well baby you just better forget,
Rock got no reason,
Rock got no rhyme,
You better get me to school on time.

This is my final exam,
Now ya'll know who I am,
I might not be their perfect son,
But ya'll be rockin' when I'm done."


Rock and roll will always be in one half of my heart, country in the other. This is what I want to devote the rest of my years to, however more I may have left under Gods plan, and I'll be lovin' every second of it. Okay, maybe not the papparazzi, but you get the main idea!

So, twentieth birthday, I'm ready, ready to embrace the great wide open! As God is my witness, may these days bring me more blessings than I am predicting! Onward, my legions of hopes!

And thank you all so much for being my friends that have stood up and believed me up to this day. I'm proud to announce that our Earth Angel has set a new record for an earliest birthday greeting to me, by sending me a beautiful card six days before my birthday! Let me just say that whether you give me a birthday greeting six days before my birthday or six days after my birthday, I am always just as happy. Belated birthday greetings never hurt me one bit, for just knowing someone cares and thinks of me makes me feel warm inside like a Care Bear on a spring picnic! God Bless You All!

Remember these wise words of Franz Kafka: "Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty.
Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." Keep spreading your light to the world and let live, yay!

(hands complimentary piece of cake just for you)

Love,
Noah Eaton


I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (10-27-2003 11:02 PM).]

Trillium
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-03-09
Posts 12098
Idaho, USA
39 posted 2003-10-28 12:18 PM


Noah:  This is the first time I've read on this site and I was fascinated by some of your posts!  What a huge compilation of facts concerning your life and thoughts!

Not sure exactly which day is your birthday, but may it be your happiest ever and the beginning of new and even better experiences!

I am happy to know you Noah, in the lmited way we can on site, but I see many glimpses of who you are, behind your comments, and have always liked what I saw!

Love
Betty Lou

Betty Lou Hebert

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
40 posted 2003-10-28 04:44 PM


Dear sweet brilliant Angel Boy, I enjoyed every single line of these last two entries (as I did all of your previous ones!). I have missed reading your journal while this site was down.
I feel privileged to be privy to your autobiography before it hits the presses!

So much of your writing provokes nostalgic trips down my own personal memory lane. I have a perpetual smile on my cherubic face as you carry me along with the magic of your words.

You are so open and honest in your revelations about your life, your dreams, and your views. To know you is to love and admire you.

Happy 20th birthday, Angel Boy! You may be a man on the outside, but the spirit of the boy will live on forever.

May this be your best year ever and may you make great strides towards turning your dreams into realily.

With love,
Your friend,
Linda

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
41 posted 2003-10-31 02:42 PM


I finally got caught up on your journal. I like it. So I thought I would start one of my own here. I need a release. Ya know?

Cold hands means a warm heart

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
42 posted 2003-11-03 01:00 AM


**********Sunday, November 2, 2003***********

Come On Down, Y'All!

Hola! I hope you all had a wonderful, spooktacular All-Hallows-Eve! Though I didn't do much, I do believe no one can ever get too old to embrace the holiday spirit. Though I didn't go trick-or-treating, I did dress up and spooked the children that came to the door and made sure they got their sugar buzz! And thank you all soooooooooooo much for your wonderful birthday wishes! It was so creative for some of you to put up all those lovely Shakira pictures for me, you know how much I love and admire her, not just because she's so beautiful and one wonderful songwriter and singer but also because she is a beautiful, giving person who devotes her heart to the children and to her war-devastated nation of Colombia and beyond. In fact, just a week ago on October 24th, she became the youngest person ever to become a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Until she releases her next album in August of 2004, she is going to help improve education to children in South Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. And I must admit that UNICEF is the organization I'd love to represent more than any other organization in the world. Children are our future, and no child should be denied of his or her needs. They must be educated so they can understand what they can do for our world and for other children, they need to be told the truth so they don't become deceived, and most importantly, they need to be loved so they can promote love to the world. THAT is a big reason besides her wonderful songwriting why Shakira is my favorite artist, and other favorite artists of mine like Bono and Neil Young and Johnny Cash as well. So thank you for those beautiful pictures of her, along with all the wonderful compliments and wishes for me! I personally printed out each of your responses to cherish them forever! Pray that someday I'll get to represent UNICEF also, as while I believe I am making a difference, I could do so much more and just need that small boost into mainstream. And God will be my advisor all the time.

While we are partially on the topic of God, have you seen that new CBS program "Joan of Arcadia"? If you haven't seen it yet, set your controls for the heart of CBS Fridays at 7:00 (maybe 8:00 Central). It is about an Arcadia, California teenager, Joan Girardi, who, like Joan of Arc, is a close listener to God, and God, who in each episode appears in the form of many different people, gives her missions and directives, each with its own cryptic purpose. It's kind of like "Quantum Leap" visits "The OC" I guess! Meanwhile, her father Will Girardi, (Joe Mantegna, who plays Fat Tony on The Simpsons)who works as a police chief in Arcadia, works to make the community a safe place for everyone, and while experiencing the ups and downs with his family takes up many difficult cases due to heavy crime in the region. Joan's mother Helen (played by the wonderful actress Mary Steenburgen) her science-loving brother Luke, and her handicapped brother Kevin also add depth, humor, and drama to the family and each story. And if you haven't gotten to experience the greatness of Barbara Hall yet, this is your chance! Barbara Hall, the writer and creator of this show, truly is a wonderful role model for women that I admire so much, like Xena: Warrior Princess without the chrome-plated armor, just those traditional clothes. She believes in so many of the same things I do it's scary, like I'm compelled to say, "Stop agreeing with me on everything please!" LOL! So far, Joan has been told to take a highly-advanced chemistry class she doesn't like so she can get acquainted with a boyfriend, made her put up a yard sale so she can discover the painful past of her mother's life indirectly, and...on the last episode...made her take up cheerleading so she can discover the fateful crime of a student leaving a baby in a dumpster and helping to resolve the situation. So hop on that bandwagon now, this is definitely my favorite drama since Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Monk is also a decent program!

Speaking of good ol' television, it saddened me to hear that Rod Roddy died. You remember our ol' buddy Rod, don't you? (begins retrospective spell) Shoo-da-loo, shoo-da-loo, shoo-da-loo...



He was truly the best announcer there ever was. Whenever I'm not in school, I never miss a single episode of The Price Is Right, seeing Bob Barker and his enthusiastic spirit, enjoying every epic spin of the Big Wheel and the line between triumph and the agony of defeat on the Showcase, Rod Roddy and all his glittery sportscoats, all those high--spirited fans with flamboyant grins and signature happy dances with their own Bob Barker T-shirts on, I can't imagine a better mid-day viewing than this, well, maybe re-runs of "Joy of Painting". There will never be anyone who can jovially outcry, "Come on down!" like him. He is the father of that catchphrase, no one can ever beat him there, nada nada zip. So often I say to myself I wish I had his voice, so then I could just get everyone's attention. But I will not deny my voice, as it is God-given abd everyone's voice is special. I do admit I envy his incredible voice though, hehehe! Aw, come on Rod, tell me, how do you do it! LOL!

Recently I believe I have determined my main direction I desire to follow in my music career. I have always been fascinated with 80's rock in general. Many believe that the 80's was cheesy but I believe it was just fun and feel-good. I personally can't think of a band more fun than The B 52's. Their Malibu-surf guitar style is the kind I really want to use in the basis of many of my songs, along with The Cure and David Bowie inspired crunches. I believe music should be harmonious and make you feel-good, not a constant torch-song that sadly so much of modern radio is, umbraged by numbers about lost love, inner-demons, violence, and debauchery. And even when I believe everyone has the right to write sad songs, as I certainly have a few of my own, the music just isn't there enough. And I hope I can achieve some level of recognition for my nostalgic sound and bring smiles to many young faces with fresh, vibrant music. It's time that rock lobster owns the beach again and we're not ashamed to slip on that eye-shadow!

Finally, I'd just like to say how happy I am seeing Julie following my idea and setting up her own journal here on pipTalk Lounge. To know you is to love you and I was hoping others would follow my lead as I love to get to know all about you wonderful friends of mine here! Don't be shy, come on down! (clears dry throat) Ooops, once again that didn't come out right, by God, how the heck does Roddy do that? What I'd give to come up with such an interjection! Back to the drawing boards I go with my dunce hat on, hehehe!

(This has been a presentation of Channel 777, independently owned for those sick of watching Channel Z expand across the universe. Channel 777: Where Heavens Know No Limits.)

Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-03-2003 03:20 AM).]

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
43 posted 2003-11-03 01:00 PM


Awesome journal update. I am gonna update mine today sometime. Can't wait until the next update.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
44 posted 2003-11-04 12:56 PM



You inform and entertain with your illustrious journal entries. I feel like I am reading your diary ~ but with your permission! Thank you for the privilege!

I love getting to know the different sides of you, my multi-faceted and highly interesting friend!


Linda

Ratleader
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026
Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass
45 posted 2003-11-06 09:01 PM


"12:00-12:50: Intro To Creative Writing"

You are teaching this, right? If not, I'd hate to see what the grading curve is gonna look like......

~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>   ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº>  ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº>    ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº>
______________Ratleader______________

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
46 posted 2003-11-09 02:29 AM




**********Saturday, November 8, 2003*********

Reserved Seating At Andromeda

My oh my, I'm nearing three entire years as part of this Passions family. I have gotten to know a handful of you wonderful friends here, and this remarkable family continues to grow and grow. (Better expand the theatre upon the south side just a bit, we need more stadium seating!)

I have accomplished much within these three years here. I have gotten to know some true friends, and have also identified some critics of my personality and poetry. I have a huge list of friends here I always love commenting to their poems, and a small list of those I decide never to comment to again for personal reasons. I have stressed my versatility out and have explored various poetic realms, some which received better than others. And each year I get to appreciate the mission statement Ron has bestowed here more clearer than ever.

Nevertheless, I feel I am facing a new challenge that has placed pressure upon my shoulders. Though I do have readers, I feel I am struggling to find an "audience". A few of you (you know who you are) always love reading and replying to my work, but all at once, I sometimes feel there are some cliques within this poetic family in which none of them I fit quite in. I'm not strictly tied to storytelling, nor human emotions in general. I'm kind of off-the-wall, and I feel though my creative ability is at a high, my audience is a bit quiet recently. Somehow, I'll be honest with you, this does upset me, as despite making 200 or more comments a week many weeks, with over 28,000 posts and about 93% of them comments to others, I honestly feel I am not being returned the favor as much as I'd like. I don't even overpost, I don't post more than one poem a day almost every day, sometimes even post only one poe every three days or more, and you'd figure spacing your posts would bring in a lot of attention. Unfortunately, it hasn't really paid off for me either. And I don't want to sound a bit harsh at all, but some poets who rarely reply often get as many or more replies as me also (you know who you are also)! Guess I am whining a bit here.

This often makes me feel if I should take a hiatus from poetry for a limited time and come back refreshed hoping I can be read. Then again, I am not a quitter and believe I just have to keep searching myself and discover the formula. I must desquamate, shed that skin until I discover my finest voice that can enthrall an audience in, as I guess I seem disheveled to a lot of readers here, that I just don't fall into their cliques and have nothing to give or offer them. And it can be frustrating especially because I have no friends to talk to right now outside this place, as I've been on my own for over a year now and Denver Academy is quite a ways away from Boulder to commute and visit. Think of me as the latchkey child in an average family, like Duey on Malcolm In the Middle. I'm Pleistocene among a Holocene type of time. I walk like a well-rounded one but I follow a heptagon theory, where I'm rough and mysterious on one edge. Many constantly consider me a mysterious one and while I want to offer goody-bags of treats for all my friends, I also want to stand out in the foreground somehow. That's what I'm hoping to achieve through this new year at Passions and through my music and social commentary. If I can see those reserved seats continue to be filled with some others present around them, that'd be my victory signal.



Hey, y'all saw the eclipse tonight, right? Sometimes I hear others say "Big deal, it's not like I've never seen an eclipse before!" But truly, I have always been fascinated by the eclipses as I truly think there is an inexplicable providence depicted in each cycle of the moon and the sun. If you look back on history, it proves mankind has long been bewitched, smitten, prepossessed, tickled pink by this phenomenon. In fact, perhaps as early as October 22, 2134 B.C in ancient China, there are possible records of these cycles being registered in their memories. Hsi and Ho were hoping to predict the event and despite failing, they caught glimpse of this first possible record of the cycle and is written in an ancient document titled the Shu Ching. They even believe the eclipse was caused because of a dragon swallowing the sun, and to chase it away, the Chinese made commotion to try to scare it away and bring back daylight. Even in 585 B.C, a single eclipse changed the outcome of what would have been a bloody war between the Lydians and the Medes. When the eclipse suddenly occured, they called a truce and then made a peace agreement.

Even the Bible notes a significant eclipse. In 763 B.C, in Amos 8:9, it is said by God "And on that day, I will make the Sun go down at noon, and darken the Earth in broad daylight'." In fact, they say the Assyrians studied eclipses and much of the Bible's organization and time it was written is all thanks to eclipse timeline science.

All of this just convinces me more and more that I believe eclipses are more than just special-effects in the skies that Hollywood would kill to copyright. What if it all means something so much more? Being of much Cherokee blood, I value many myths, including "The Moon and the Thunders", where the sun is depicted as a young woman of the East and the moon a brother to her from the West, who the Sun had a lover but couldn't see his face and one day decided to speckle him with dust and upon a next visit discovered her love was the Moon, her brother, and embarrassed, the Moon makes himself thin and that is when the eclipse happens. Finally, I just have to say it is open to so much interpretation, but to me it is a message, a sign that can be preconceived so many ways, a chamber door opened from the heavens briefly. Either I just made you think or you think I'm just a big daydreaming dork, and that's OK too!



The truth is out there, and I'll believe it to the limit Mulder! God Bless You All, sweet dreams, and keep looking to the skies! To infinity and beyond...and then some!

"As long as the sun
shines one does not
ask for the moon."

Russian Proverb






Love,
Noah Eaton




I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-09-2003 03:14 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
47 posted 2003-11-13 11:13 PM


Noah, it near broke my heart that you would even contemplate getting away from writing poetry for awhile! As you know, I am one of your greatest fans! ~ and I even love it when you are "off the wall"! lol You are a bright and multi-faceted diamond who has so much to offer the world. Perhaps if you announced this journal, you would have more readers! I personally, do not want to miss a single entry! It is fascinating and entertaining reading!!!

I have cycles where my poems are being read by many readers, and then there are times when I have been sinking into oblivion with very few responses; however, I can always count on you as being one of them! We belong to a mutual admiration society!

Was not the full lunar eclipse absolutely awesome! I was at a big birthday bash and we all kept going outside to look at it. I was flanked by my two best friends (my boyfriend and my girlfriend) and they each had their arms wrapped around me. It was very special for me. A moment in time that I will never forget!

Thank you for all of the eclipse info! That was very interesting. I have been saving your journal to a special file. It will be my special Almanac, encyclopedia, and entertaining reading! It's like I'm getting several books for the price of NONE! lol I hope you continue writing your fascinating journal --and your fine poetry!

I love you, Angel Boy!
EA

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
48 posted 2003-11-16 02:11 AM


*********Saturday, November 15, 2003*********

Exhuming Rand McNally

I do declare...I'm as happy as a wound-up eight-day egg timer. A week from today I'm headin' out again on another cross-country escapade to good ol' Cape Giradeau, Missouri! You remember when I talked about this good ol' place, right? So for just a week Captain Archipalego is on vacation here in the next best place to Margheritaville, but fear not, as I'll be coming back with a barage of new footage, live from the backseat of the green Dodge mini-van within the next seven days, and keep an eye out...a suprise guest feature may pop in unexpectedly to greet you live from my journal from the co-pilot's chair. Who said you can't have guest appearences in a journal? Everyone has a story to tell, this is my biography, and surely there are many who love me who have something to say also. I like to think of this journal as an Inside The Actor's Studio meets Decameron. Encouraging us all that we are all our own celebrity, for all those out there who vicariously live like James Lipton, getting to imagine having conversations with the Hollywood favorites, that we are all made of stars and the world is a stage with life the theatre. So come on down and drop me a line, throw a rose on the stage, boo, whatever you want. It's all fair game!

Time and time again I have re-designed my intuition and pictured myself as a celebrity. As far back as I can remember, as young as six, I loved drawing comics all over padded paper, inspired by old Sega Genesis videogames I used to play: Phantasy Star II, Turrican, Sonic the Hedgehog, James Pond, games like that! I was addicted to videogames back then, and still get around to playing the Sony Playstation every once in a while with my mom's best friends' son Ryan (I'll tell you more about him and these comics in future journal entries!). And after writing a bunch of comics I still keep and many goofy short-stories throughout my rough elementary school years, I developed a deep love for making home movies. In fact, I have nine Sony 8 MP Standard Grade cassettes full of my own original material.

Let me talk to you about one particular show I made, which is also my favorite. Back when I was a freshman at Denver Academy, a year before I made my poetic debut, I had Mr. Ernewein (my hero) as a teacher, but it wsn't in English, it was in algebra. We did one particular project on measuring width and height, and built model staircases from different materials in determining height and width to make them sturdy and stable. I created mine from styrofoam blocks, rainbow popsicle sticks, metal hinges and crazy super glue. I was playing around with this board game called Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel, playing with the figurines like action figures, and then thought looking at the staircase in its completed state: "Hey, this would make the perfect prop for a home movie action series!". (picture of game box can be found below)
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewboardgameimage.php3?id=16784&title=pic1041278718jpg    

This day was March 21, 1999. I took some figurines from the box, two of them being the blue ninja and commander on the box, and gave them new names. I thought of a name for this new show, then it came to my mind: "Justice Offbeats". It was a squad of four warriors: Yocemento the blue ninja, who lost one of his arms in a battle against the Dark Legion, Phat Fatty, the red commando with a playful attitude and his plasma cannon, Adrenaline Man and his grave character, and The Forgotten Soldier, who is often taken for granted because of his social anxiety yet a wise soldier. Then, I took one of the evil Nepharites and, thinking of Austin Powers, named him Immoral Man (God, I'm such a dork, LOL!)

Then I gathered up all his Nepharite troops and monsters, and made them Immoral Man's henchmen, then took two spare styrofoam blocks, drew them faces and costumes, placed rainbow popsicle sticks on them as arms and ski-legs, and made them his bodyguards Styrofoam Sam and Styrofoam Cedrick. The plot of this fabulous pilot: the Justice Offbeats are rebelling against the Evil Empire before the flag is lowered and Immoral Man becomes emperor to bring wrath upon the citizens of Megalopoville. So the action is on! Only I don't believe in violence so I kept it tame and simply made it like some kind of Mel Brooks comedy, spoofing other action series like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and anime.

I got addicted to movie-making and kept creating new characters. In the second episode, I created my own labyrinth called Craytown, an amusement park ran by a Atchafalaya cajun native whose DNA was altered from leeches and became Mandrill, wearing his Lazarus Cape and the Crown of Cyrus, who challenges the heroes into escaping the labyrinth alive. In the third, Logan Log was created, an Aussie barker who attempts to ambush them in the Great Beyond which I filmed down in the greenway next to my house, and introduced Yojimbo, a tough-talking soldier presumed lost in combat but escaped alive who assists them and introduces them to the Tsunami Squad, a trio of renegade factions rebelling against the Evil Empire. Then I made Frigid Fred, an Irish gnome who was crygonically frozen in a snow globe and can create snow, Tinkertoy Troy, Mr. Mafia, Oberuce (the master of time and space, used an N. Tropy action figure) Kumo Lissente, Professor and Mini Harmful, and many other characters to bring balance to the stories.

Eventually, I even began to make episodes that were an hour long, and got my cousins, siblings, and neighbors to do voices for the characters. When I went out to see my cousins in Romeoville, Illinois that summer, my cousins Nick and Zackery had heard about my show and were begging to make a movie with me. So I said, "Let me look through your toy box!" and with all my characters present and my trusty camcorder, Zackery had a treasure trove of characters. Then I decided "Hey, let's create a new clan, and let's say desperately, Immoral Man is trying to trick them into being his allies and crushing the Justice Offbeats." There, The Lilans were born, with the leader being Burkoko, a man with mountain sheep horns coming out of his head riding his gallant white sterling. So, mixing all these new characters, comedy, and adventure, it became a tradition we watch every summer together! That was also the summer I revolutionized the usage of "snickerpuss", LOL! Later, I even begged Mr. Ernewein to become a character in an episode, and then, I made him the mayor of Megalopoville, Philippe McPherson, who is absent-minded in his job but loyal to the services of the good side in stopping a hunter named Marmot. That was absolutely hilarious! I got a friend of mine from Denver Academy named Weston Wells to provide his voice for Marmot.

So, as you can see, I am both a geek and a movie-lover! I even made a bunch of other small skits, like Billy the Boxelder, the Fattissues, HCN, Miniature Marvels: The Adventures of Colonel J. Onslaught, There's One In Every Family, and much more. There will be more on this another time, and in fact, I am considering making another episode of the Justice Offbeats in the very near future. Maybe eventually I can leak the tapes mainstream and you can behold the incredible epics...kind of.

But most recently, my latest film project has been live this whole time, filmed from my eyes. Getting to see me through my poetry and journal and my many misadventures take place, exhuming Rand McNally and following him on a wild goose chase that never ends across the heart of the heartland. Solubility is not necessary every moment of the way, as nonsense is beauty all by itself and some adventures truly just are for amusement. Projecting straight from my eyes, my ears, my heart, my mind, my subconscious, and featuring cameos from my family, my relatives, my friends, and guests like Clarence the farmer and Texaco Star-Mart check-out employees, you can see everything I see through sepia-tone, sans alka-seltzer precience and Benadryl head trips. Only one is worthy of being praised on these here adventures.....Ricola.........Ricola! Hey, where's my Swiss yodeling horn, how else can I pay homage? Perhaps wear a skirt?

Yep, I have no digital camera and am an amateur at getting pictures on the Internet from my scanner, but once this young grasshopper masters the art of photography publication, I'll add a complementary thread featuring photos from the road. Until then, try to picture my intense imagery and then run the images through your mind like triptychs from top to bottom really fast as if it was a negative film of a cartoon, or looking through a Fisher Price 3D View-Master, with each moment a whole different Reel Card you could slip right in. God Bless William Gruber, he's a true genius. Among all those children's classics out there, the View-Master will never grow obsolete as the films just keep coming! Crreeaaaakkkk...TWANG!!! Slide 1: Oh, lookey, there's me with a pecan log from Stuckeys! Crrreeeaaaakkkkkk...TWANG!!! Slide 2: Hehehe, check out this ladybug that landed on my wrist, bless that good luck! Here, you take it from here!

Well, during the Thanksgiving holiday, I'll keep dotting the i's and lower-case j's and crossing the t's and you can count on a lot more heartland songs comin' your way! As for now, I could use a sitz bath! Y'all take care now, time to chase down Rand McNally across the Mother Road!

This Just In: Rand McNally was spotted talkin' with John Deere. Oh no, you ain't gettin' away that easy, no sir!

Just keepin' it Reel, y'all!



Love,
Noah Eaton



I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-16-2003 02:44 AM).]

nakdthoughts
Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200
Between the Lines
49 posted 2003-11-16 03:06 PM


You do make smile in amazement at such an imagination..I can see someday you will be famous..not sure in what field but I think entertainment has you pegged...

hugs and have a safe trip

M

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
50 posted 2003-11-16 10:35 PM


May your filming career be a successful one. LOL You definitely have a knack for it by what I read.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
51 posted 2003-11-18 06:01 PM


Noah, I was smiling throughout this humorous and entertaining entry to your journal!
And you sound so happy!~ and that makes me happy! Sounds like you're about to embark on another adventure trip next week! There will be more grist for your poetic mill! I can't wait to see what surprises you might have in store for us!

My goodness, you are so flippin' brilliant! I was just amazed at at your creativity with your home movies and everything else that you have going on. If you dream of being famous, then Dear Angel Boy, you WILL be famous!

Your poetry and journal are so descriptive and full of vivid imagery, that you do not even need a camera to impart your visions!

You know I love you lots!
EA

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
52 posted 2003-11-19 12:01 PM


**********Monday, November 17, 2003********

Crikey! I'm Steppin' In Other Terri-tur-ree!

G'day, mates! I'm happy as larry you're all enjoying my poetic adventure here! I'm a happy little Vegemite enjoying all your great comments and compliments. So, what'd say we crack a tinnie? (of root beer of course)  

Now you're probably asking yourself why I'm in this Steve Irwin mood (God, I love that guy!). Well, our dearest friend Dee e-mailed me today, saying how she loves my journal (thank you very much, Dee! ) and that she hopes to see some Aussie in this journal sometime. Sadly, I have never been to Australia yet, though I'd love to go there and hug a koala (are they as friendly as they are cute?). But I dream of going there. My mom is a bit scared of going as she's seen Giant Sydney spiders on the Discovery Channel and is a bit timid of those things! But to me, it's just natures way, like our good friend Steve says about all animals, and I do love spiders just as much as any other creature. Anyway, Dee, I just wanted to declare my love and admiration for you, Sue Tancheff, Maree the Dark Angel, and all you other Aussies out there! You rock! Hey, how do you say "You rock!" in Australian? Oh yeah, Fosters!



Well, I'm less than a week away from goin' walkaboutin' across a whole different Outback: the True Blue territory. Me and my family got us a big green ute to drive across Tornado Alley through Kansas and Missouri. And we'll have our tuckerbox to chow from, our thongs on, and have a gander at all the countryside and its attractions. Then when the night comes, I'll just waltz my Matilda out and dream sweet dreams under the pearl stars. (Hey, I think I've seen Min Min lights out in the middle of Kansas!) But I'll be sure to have notes from the Wallaby track for all you to enjoy live from the Ute once I get back, and eventually, a live scrapbook to complement this interactive journal, filled with me and my family and my mates and anklebiters and so on! I really wish I could change my profile picture every week, unfortunately I just don't have enough pictures to go around! I've got a great one with me at Mother Cabrini shrine standing high on top of the plateau by the bell tower I'd love to get up there! Hehehe, here I go Earbashin' y'all again! I just love all language and just feel I have to express and use it with all my heart. You only live once, and I intend to leave behind as much of my thoughts and feelings as possible! Instead of using profanity, which is the only exception in using all language, I love diggin' up old Shakespearean or country insults. I guarantee they're much more effective, you should try 'em sometime!

So, someone tell me a little more of this great down under! I know of the Great Barrier Reef, I know of Ayers Rock, rugby, Kylie Minogue, that it is actually illegal to bounce on crocs there, Sue Tancheff's mystical garden and I know of the Aborginines and how the love to put that shrimp on the Barbie! But there must be myriads of other wonders down under! Perhaps Dee, Sue, or Dark Angel could fill me in! Take me beyond that Black Stump, mates! I'm a dill of a pickle at this moment! Guess I ain't doin' a very good job praising all you gorgeous Aussies out there! Oh well, I tried! LOL! Just let it get to your head that you all are special and from oceans apart, above all the coral, clair de lune waters and pygmy seahorse coves, I send hugs your way! Just call me Joe Bloggs. But this Joe Bloggs did learn some great Australian songs when he was a youngen. So gather 'round the Mulga and sing with me now:


"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,

Merry, merry king of the bush is he,

Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Kookaburra,

Gay your life must be.



Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Eating all the gumdrops he can see

Stop, Kookaburra, Stop, Kookaburra

Leave some there for me."



And you have that delightful Vegemite song!


"We're happy little Vegemites

As bright as bright can be.

We all enjoy our Vegemite

For breakfast, lunch, and tea.

Our mother says we're growing

stronger every single week.

Because we love our Vegemite.

We all adore our Vegemite.

It puts a rose in every cheek!"



Finally, who can forget those Bananas in Pajamas? Yep, it was you cobbers who started this former phenomenon, and no need to be embarrassed, I always had a crush on those mellow-yellow munchkins!


"Bananas,
in pajamas,
are coming down the stairs,

Bananas,
in pajamas,
are coming down in pairs,

Bananas,
in pajamas,
are chasing teddy bears,

'Cuz on Tuesdays,
they all try to catch them unawares."




Aw crikey, I just missed 'em again, ain't they gorgeous? Crikey, I need to take a cut lunch and a waterbottle, cuz catchin' those yellow rugrats is nothin' like catching those crocs! (giggles) Aw come on, fair go, mates! So I hope I brought a smile to all you Aussies out there, just wanted to show how much I love your culture, your dialect, your sayings, and...Steve Irwin for President! Lamingtons for all compliments of the Mistletoe Angel and wallaby wannabe!



Well, until next time, have fun out there in the wild blue yonder, but before I go, let me just tell you of this new feature to my journal which I got inspired to add from other journals out there looking for new ways to make it better. I have the "Emotion Meter" where the smiley you see reflects my overall current modd! And, like I said, I'm happier than a pig in dung right now!

I'm off like prawns in the sun now, so take care, y'all! (What's Australian for goodbye?) (smacks head) Crikey, I almost forgot again. Fosters! What was I thinkin'?

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-19-2003 12:50 AM).]

Dee
Member Elite
since 2000-08-19
Posts 2330
Queensland, Australia
53 posted 2003-11-19 07:48 PM


You beaudy Noah, your latest journal entry is a purla. Are you sure you've never been to Oz?

I thought you might be interested in this link...
http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

Have a gander at the piccies. I know you'll think they're grouse.

See ya round like a rissole mate.
Dee

Stand straight and tall, not the reflection as others see you, but as you truely are.        Clearwater

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
54 posted 2003-11-19 10:28 PM


This is a cool entry. I felt like I was in australia.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
55 posted 2003-11-24 07:23 PM


Noah, you rock! ~ the Ayers variety! lol

Good golly and gosh almighty, I was so entertained by your wit and charm that I feel I should be paying you for the privilege of reading this submission to your journal! You are a regular comedian! This was an incredibly colourful post! I'm going to miss you while you are gone!

Now, have yerself a great time, ya hear!

Bone vyages!

Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
56 posted 2003-11-26 04:14 PM


*********Wednesday, November 26, 2003********

Crikey! The Wog Got Me, Mate!

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to say, mate! Why ain't I at the Back of Bourke? Well, mate, sometimes nature can be cruel to us all, but that's just nature's way and I ain't whinging. Last Friday afternoon on the RTD B-Line ride from Boulder to the Westminster Center where I depart from via the University of Colorado, it was rush hour and the bus was getting crowded. Sometimes I get lucky and get to save a whole aisle to myself, but a nice ol' bloke politely asked me for a seat and I let him sit next to me. Sadly, throughout the 40 minute ride, he had a bad wog and was coughin' like crazy. And when you're sittin' next to the window, surrounded by a wall and the disease, mate, it is absolutely certain the wog will wrassle ya up. It sounded like he could have chundered and as much as I wanted to get out, I'm not that kind of bloke who says, "Hey, can you please stop coughing?". That's not very sportsmanlike, mate, so I conceded defeat! And I have to be honest with you, this is the first time I've gotten the woozies in over six years! The last time is when I had a case of pink eye when I was thirteen, and had to wear a patch over my right eye for three days! That was much worse compared to this itty bitty invador! Saturday I had a bit of that headache and dry throat, Sunday brought a bit of weakness of balance, the third day Monday was my toughest day with a semi-full package of typical cold symptoms, and yesterday all I was left with was some mucas in my throat! I'm at 99% effiencey today, mate, woooooooooo!

No worries, though! We had our little adventure post-poned to December 28th! And I won't have to worry about going on busses at all after the 15th when I complete my final exam! Wooooooooo! Then we'll really be headin' out beyond the Black Stump! However, I did have a whole other adventure, right here in my own home! Bedridden adventures! If I filled out a Nielsen card, it would look somethin' like this!

**********SATURDAY**********

(A marathon of Animal Planet videos followed by Trading Spaces)


**********SUNDAY************

Noon: "Overboard" (1987) Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell: A yachtsman's wife falls overboard, forgets who she is and becomes an Oregon carpenter's mate. 'PG' (A, L) 120 mins. TBS

2 P.M: "Home Alone" (1990) Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci: Accidentally left by his Paris-bound family, an 8-year old makes mincemeat of two burglars in the house. 'PG' (L, V) 120 mins. TBS

4 P.M: "Rush Hour" (1998) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker: A Los Angeles detective and a Hong Kong supercop become a team to rescue a Chinese consul's kidnapped daughter. 'PG-13' (A, L, V) 120 mins. TBS

6 P.M: "Nation Lampoon's Thanksgiving Reunion" (2003) Bryan Cranston: Chaos ensues when an anesthesiologist and his family travel to visit the man's hippie cousin in Idaho. 'Not Rated' 120 mins. TBS

(Realizing an all-new King Of The Hill was coming on Fox, I took action. You gotta love that Bobby!)

6:30 P.M: King Of The Hill

7 P.M: The Simpsons

7:30 P.M: The Simpsons

8 P.M: Malcolm In The Middle

8:30 P.M: Watched Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.


**********MONDAY**********

10 A.M: The Price Is Right

11 A.M: Baby Looney Tunes (Hehehe, I love them!)

11:30 A.M: A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

Noon: Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

12:30 A.M: The New Scooby-Doo Movies (featuring the Harlem Globetrotters)

(Temporarily I turned off the TV to listen to some Latin jazz on 89.3)

2 P.M: The Joy Of Painting with Bob Ross:
Lone Mountain: A view from the forest includes rocky mountains: KBDI-12 PBS

(Turned off TV temporarily at 2:30-4:30)

4:30 P.M: King Of The Hill

5 P.M: The Simpsons

5:30 P.M: King Of The Hill

6 P.M: The Simpsons

6:30 P.M: Everybody Loves Raymond: (Robert's Wedding)

7 P.M: Democratic Presidental Debate (Clark won it, with Edwards also getting strong points.)

9 P.M: Briefly watched Hardball with Chris Matthews


**********TUESDAY**********

10 A.M: The Price Is Right

11 A.M: (I had an appetite, and came back at noon)

Noon: Arvada Police Awards on Local Channel KATV-8 (I love seeing the Citizen Commendation Awards and hearing their stories)

2 P.M: The Joy Of Painting with Bob Ross: Seaside Harmony: A beach scene complete with clouds above the sea: KBDI-12 PBS

2:30 P.M: Mexico: One Plate At A Time: Starring Rick Bayless:
Lend Me Your Ears: Chocolate tamales, crema de elote, grilled corn

3 P.M: Amazing Animal Videos: (They showed a suburban home with an entire wall actually a beehive within, causing huge bee problems for quite some time reinforced within the concrete, as well as the Cockroach King, baby ducks saved from the sewer, and a cow healed)

4 P.M: The Crocodile Hunter: (Had many retrospective looks on his career, including a clip from the 80's, a moment his hand got bitten by a croc, his many dangerous snake encounters, bloopers, and other animal favorites)

5 P.M: The Simpsons

5:30 P.M: King Of The Hill

6 P.M: The Simpsons

6:30 P.M: Everybody Loves Raymond: (Grand finale to Robert's wedding)

7 P.M: (Watched "X2- X-Men United")

10:00 P.M: (Watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's")


*******************

So there you go, mate, just my extraordinary adventure without having to lift any of my limbs! I went cookin' some grub with Rick Bayless (Yep, he's the Smoky BBQ Chicken Baguette guy on the Burger King commerical), wrassled crocs with Steve Irwin and painted with Bob Ross. We're the Four Musketeers I suppose, hehehe! But there will be plenty more adventure where that came from!





Later I'm gonna check out your poems for the first time on Open Poetry #30, but now I gotta catch Bob Ross! Bon voyage...not so far a distance!

Current Mood: (Optimistic)

Love,
Noah Eaton





I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sun set and I perceive

***Live***

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-26-2003 04:20 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
57 posted 2003-11-26 10:54 PM


Ah, so that's what happened! You got laid up with the nasty flu bug! I had been surprised to have received replies from you when I thought you were supposed to be on the road having the time of your life! lol

I love that Steve Irwin! Both of my daughters used to watch his show with me.  He is one brave ~ and enthusiastic! ~ dude!

You will probably enjoy having your vacation at a later date because your exams will be behind you and you will be able relax more and just let go! No worries!

It was kinda neat reading your televsion revue! lol I felt as though I was there with you! I am enjoying reading your journal very much!

Nite, nite!
EA


Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
58 posted 2003-11-27 09:58 PM


27 November 2003

Hello all, this is not Mistletoe Angel but rather his friend Hypnosis.  For a while i have not posted here, but soon I may make a comeback.  He has requested that I post a special holiday short journal entry of some sort, so here I am and here I go.  Well, over the last couple of months, I have been working on writing music with my band (no name yet) in hope of producing an album by next fall.  It is a metal band, but instead of producing harsh vocals it will mostly be clean.  The songs will be set up like a story which takes place in the 13th or 14th century of two lovers who are tragically broken apart by war.  However I'll leave the rest in the music for the listeners.  I am really excited for how fast our work is coming together and how well we gel together so well.  Well, I'd like to blab on and on but my time is limited right now so maybe Ill have to write anoother time about my current life, which is pretty busy at this point, so I guess I will talk to all of you in later post.

I wish you all the happiest holidays with Mistletoe Angel.

A Life Lived Unexplored is a Life Not Worth Living

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-27-2003 10:05 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
59 posted 2003-11-28 12:16 PM


Hypnosis, it appears that you get along quite well with your alter ego, Noah! That's a good thing! That way the two of you can make great music together! tehe

Good luck to both of YOU!

&
EA


[This message has been edited by Earth Angel (11-28-2003 12:18 AM).]

Bec
Member
since 2001-02-23
Posts 475
Canberra
60 posted 2003-11-28 06:47 PM


Hi Noah

I know I'm a bit behind, but I loved the Aussie entry! For anyone who is interested, Steve Irwin's website is www.crocodilehunter.com  of course!

B  


"I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell"~ Matchbox 20

[This message has been edited by Bec (11-28-2003 06:48 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
61 posted 2003-11-30 02:54 PM


**********Saturday, November 29, 2003********

What I'd Give For A Pair Of Red And White Sneakers

Today I went back and played my Sega Genesis 16-Bit Video Game System for the first time in years, as I felt like playing Sonic the Hedgehog! To me, no game feels more liberating winning than any of the Sonic games, for you're fighting for a purpose; to save the lives of all the innocent animals who the evil Dr. Robotnik is trying to turn all into robots and destroy their environment for his factories and empire, and you get to kick Robotnik butt too. Literally I cry every time I win a Sonic game, knowing all the baby birds and bunnies and others would be safe and so would their wonderland and wishing while I was a freedom fighter I could be more like Sonic the Hedgehog. Playing every game can be heartaching sometimes, seeing forests on fire and before you see the animals run free from the robot interiors, having to fight the robot to set it free, and that there truly is someone so cruel who wants to hurt the lives of animals and their environments. But seeing Sonic and his fox friend Tails Prower win has always brought a smile to my heart, with Sonic rolling into a blue ball of justice, with his Kaiten Jump carging the robots and his Spin Dash and Hi no Tama Dash getting him through all the obstacles in each world.

Sonic the Hedgehog was my animated idol as a little boy, and still is an idol in my heart. I have my Sonic plush toy, who I keep close to me many nights with some of my other plush toys, the pinball game, the cassette player, the hand-held game, and many of his videogames. At first I just loved him because I had a dream to run like him and joined track and field and the Bolder-Boulder annual Memorial Day 10K race ton try and get there. Then, I started loving him because he had a good heart too, and that is why I love him so much now as he is a symbol of the environment and caring for it.



There is actually another reason behind what triggered me to play Sonic the Hedgehog today. Reading the new Rolling Stone article literally broke my heart, of the fact that in the real world, there is another Dr. Robotnik, another Dr. Eggman, who is trying to rid of all the environmental laws...George W. Bush, and the fact that it is only getting worse as he continues to try to destroy American and Canadian forests! (you can read the stories here)
http://www.rollingstone.com/features/nationalaffairs/featuregen.asp?pid=2154  
http://www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/2003.asp    

Reading the article made me cry, as though I may never get to show my sons or daughters in the future the wonderful Hanging Lake just outside of Glenwood Canyon because of all the oil wells and mining eroding the wonderland, or Sprague Lake up at the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park because of arsonists, or any natural park in particular because of urban sprawls! If I had a pair of red and white sneakers, I could hunt down "the real Eggman" and save all the poor lives of the lynxs and mountain goats and baby black bears and coyotes! But it just isn't the same in this world, I need comrades who can help me take down "the Death Egg", which is in this case the Administration, and without violence but resolve. When someone turns down both the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Water Act, you know something is up and it won't get any better until that man is out. If poets like Marti and Ethel and Trillium and Marge Tindal ever expect to take beautiful pictures again without gray smog or light pollution in the horizon for their poems, they would stand beside me. Frankly, it saddens me to know that there actually are people who support this war, and who glorified the deaths of Uday and Qusay broadcasted live on monitors across the world. I certainly wasn't cheering when I heard of the news at Dublin International Airport on the way to London-Heathrow. I found that barbaric, as though we were teleported back to the Dark Age where ordeals were allowed and the Plague swept. I cried realizing the fact here are actually blood-thirsty Americans who want to feast on the carrions of others. Whatever happened to the whole Christian ideal of forgiving and forgetting in this nation? If we didn't have this war, sure, as history proves, there will always be some who just have hate in their heart and wnat to hurt others. But this war only made everything worse. The thesis in support of this war is false; the Iraqis never bought uranium from Niger, blah blah blah. It was that claim that simply got the whole war started, and it is misleading information. Now the Iraqis simply are speechless, they don't know what to say, thinking our troops just came in there and killed for fun and sport, 17,000 to be exact. Because of this, they're now under the impression they'll never be free unless they become the thousands of new Osama bin Laden's and only make the world a bigger battleground! The Administration simply is nothing but a bunch of cowards, and Bush is one acorn who fell far from the tree, lying on one eye, failing to see anything in what's going on!

Then it simply makes me realize exactly why we have games like Sonic the Hedgehog! They are more than just a simulation to kick butt! There is something politically-minded about them too, all those binary oppositions. Man vs. nature. Science vs. nature. Justice vs. prejudice. In many ways I am to Sonic as Bush is to Dr. Robotnik. And next year I intend to get incredibly serious and it'll be payback time, as I work with all anti-Bush groups in getting him out of office and getting in a more peace-loving, respectful man. Sometimes one may think "Hey, that Angel ain't that angelic!" but you know, angels too fight, they fight without guns and sniper rifles and shovels and oil rigs stained with blood of the innocent. Angels have a fighting spirit of their own, and that is in divine justice. Angels scorn, angels warn, angels pity those who bring fear and dismay upon the children and that is where much poetic justice comes from. In this process, my wings may look ruffled and soiled to some, but I know what I am doing and it'll only be for the better. You think Clinton was a liar? Well he was, but his lies are nothing compared to those coming out of Bush. At least Clinton was straight-forward in office of his initiatives; Bush and his clan use euphemisms on everything, de-code words so they're interpreted in other meanings, and keep each plan clandestine until it's too late to stop it!

Let this be a warning to you all in preparation for next year. Either pull on those red and white sneakers and be a Freedom Fighter or sit there wearisome on Emerald Island and watch "the Death Egg" devour democracy and your America as you know it. It's your choice, and the next moves are yours! You know well who I am and what my position is, and I wouldn't change my convictions if my life depended on it.

Hey, by the way, I want to finish on a much more upbeat note. This Christmas I begged my parents to limit their spending on me and to contribute instead to a charity. So I came across a beautiful one called Heifer International. It is a non-profit 501 organization which every tax-deductible purchase of a gift animal or tree seedling helps families around the world in third-world countries become self-reliant, and ensues also the plants and animals are healthy and are treated with respect. Since 1944, Heifer International has helped more than 4.5 million families in more than 125 countries. You can order 2 oxen for the Philippines, 2 sheep for El Salvador families to produce wool, 2 goats to help provide milk to Guatemalan children, 2 flocks of chicks to help South Africa improve their nutrition and replenish their land, and so on! So if you want to give a little more this holiday season, I strongly recommend Heifer.

Hope you had the most happiest Thanksgivings with your loved ones! I sure did, and hope you enjoyed the little visit by my friend Randy. He is really getting into his heavy rock/metal project, while I keep working on my solo musical run, which is less loud and more world class rock. I'll let you in on much more of this in the near future!

(shows a Sonic peace sign)

Current Mood: (Worried, but also hopeful)



Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (11-30-2003 03:05 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
62 posted 2003-12-02 10:02 PM


**********Tuesday, December 2, 2003**********

Don't Kill Bill...And Spare The Soundtrack!

I've never been a fan of Quentin Tarantino, as I am not flattered by any sort of violence and his movies subtlety depict it too much, yet if there is one thing incredible about his movies, it's his soundtracks. I find Pulp Fiction to be one of the most overrated movies in recent years (along with "Leaving Las Vegas") yet that movie had a hit soundtrack. And if you haven't heard his latest soundtrack for "Kill Bill Part 1" yet, I strongly recommend you give it a listen. It is indeed difficult to classify, sounds like a hip mix of sonic 60's and 70's adventure or spy theme music blended with mariachi and samba, left out to simmer in the Guatemalan sun refried in country blues and re-mixed Burt Bacharach. This is probably my favorite soundtrack since the O' Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, which is my personal favorite. As incredible as the movie itself is, based on Homer's "The Odyssey", the soundtrack is epic. T-Bone Burnett produced the classic release, bringing back what true country music is all about. Harry McClintock, Norman Blake, Alison Krauss, The Stanley Brothers, and, of course, The Soggy Bottom Boys, they all are true American music legends. And if you dying to know just one more soundtrack recommendation, "Pleasantville" also is beautiful. Lots of great feel-good classic pop hits with a great Fiona Apple cover of The Beatles' "Across The Universe"

Lately on my guitar, I've been covering some Jason Mraz songs. I can now play "You & I Both", "Sleep All Day" and "On Love, In Sadness", all beautiful songs. I've written a number of my own songs lately and hope to get a demo disc out this spring to record companies. Here are some working song titles I have.

* Marshall Brodien
* Under New Management
* Your Story Checks Out
* Kid Tested, Mother Approved
* Epiphany
* Honky-Tonk 101
* Observatory
* Hamadryad
* Happy Accidents
* Charlie Horse
* Calling Card
* Points Of Departure

I hope to create a sound like my aunt Sheryl Crow at first, but then I intend to get very experimental once I get a fanbase going and introduce elements of world music to flavor the traditional two guitars, one bass, one drummer, and one keyboard proscenium template. I want to go beyond the conventional terminology of a traditional rock band and fill rock and roll with a nomenclature of new possibilities and horizons. Music is free-spirited, never nitty-gritty, no-frills, deep-seated brass tack. And I hope that the sound I am offering the world in the near future can find a place in someones soul, and if I hear from one other person it is inviting or hunky-dory or peachy keen, then I have done my job! In fact, thinking of my own music reminds me much of what I'm currently learning in Humanities 101: mannerism. It truly is a fascinating study of art. It derives from the Italian word maniera, suggesting intellectually intricate subjects, highly skilled techniques, and art concerned with beauty for its own sake. It is impossible to personify mannerism in a single style, but it always has virtuosity, sophisication, and fearless manipulations or distortions of formal conventions and the human anatomy. There are figures with exaggerated expressions and enigmatic gestures and rationale and uniformity is defied in this form of art. I personally am fascinated with abstract art. If you've ever gazed upon the great work Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino, I'll bet you haven't really given it a good analysis. It's that kind of painting you have to give time to appreciate, by studying everything individually, from Madonna and her 7 1/2 foot body with her elongated neck, to Christ lying there in her arms, practically over 40 pounds in weight already at birth in the painting and looking deceased, to the little man at the bottom right of the painting (Who is that little guy anyway?) to the crystal vase held by one of the children to the left. There is much more than meets the eye in this kind of unrealistic art. Amazing! Same goes with studying Venetian art, for instance Tintoretto's "The Last Supper". (his real name is Jacopo Robusti). Every individual figure in the painting depicting Jesus offering bread and wine and warning one of his apostles will betray him, and the use of light and darkness depicts the halos and guilt among the entourage. Incredible if you ask me!

By the way in Creative Writing 1191 I have been writing more than just poetry. Soon I will also post a short story called "Latchkey Confessionals" in Passions In Prose. This short story is deeply inspired by many of my travels with my grandparents up and down U.S 61, the Grandmother Route and the many stories I have endured from people in all sorts of towns and villages from Hannibal to Baton Rouge. I am personally proud of this accomplishment and am happy to offer prose in addition to my growing collection of poetry. In addition, I am also taking up playwrighting, and soon I will announce the unveiling of my own drama.

Wow, I sure am closing up 2003 with a bang I suppose. There's nothing like living with your youth, you know, and you've just got to go out there and get some goose pimples and mosquito bites every once in a while! And with Colorado being the mosquito paradise of America, I sure have gotten my share of mosquito bites, but that's alright. Just hope the West Nile epidemic dies down!

But of course I am not the only one getting experimental in my family. My mother also continues to try new things; she started taking classes in learning how to make stained glass window. I have always loved stained glass windows, and I remember as a little boy when walking into a church, the stained glass was always eye candy to me. When I was 12 and only then really began to embrace God, I was fascinated by the icons illustrated in the stained glass windows, and because my mom loves to visit churches all the time, I got to see my share of them, from Jesus as a shepherd to the crucifixion to the birth of Jesus with Mary holding Him in her arms, to the star glowing in the east at Nazarath. There again, art has been my window to appreciating and having a love for life!

Finally, of course, you know how I am a mad fan of Bob Ross. Next year I am making it a resolution to learn to paint like him, paint pretty mountains with lots of trees. Happy little tree limbs, look at all those little rascals, happy little bushes, so let that little rascal shake and play. You know me, like those big trees! LOL! Got some flashbacks of episodes last week I watched when I was sick tattooed in my head! But seriously, Bob Ross is more than just a painter, he is a hero to me, that kind of guy that makes it an incentive to only bring you a smile and never a frown. We need more people like him in entertainment, I'm personally getting tired of the Paris Hilton era.

As Bob Ross said, "It helps when you're doing these kind of things, maybe make up little stories in your mind." So take your heart like a paintbrush and let your heart live your own nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Soak up the sun, you little happy tree!

Current Mood: (Artistic)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-03-2003 04:42 PM).]

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
63 posted 2003-12-04 11:37 PM


That is cool you will be sending out a demo tape soon. I know I would buy your CD. I love the songs you write.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
64 posted 2003-12-05 12:23 PM


My goodness gracious, you certainly have a lot of irons in the fire! ~ and if you use your time wisely, each one of them will become HOT!!!

I liked your philanthropic idea of having your parents donate to charity what they would have spent on your Christmas presents for you.

I am a big fan of stained glass myself! I even have pieces of angels etc. hanging in front of some of my windows.

I am sure that the play that you have written on your life, would be absolutely fascinating.

I also hope that your songs get produced so that I can buy a CD of them!

Your passionate political pleas came across straight-forward and clear. You are not one to just sit idly and allowing the world and its troubles just pass you by!

Another fascinating entry to your journal! You are one busy little angel!

Take Care!

Peace, Love, Light, & Harmony.
P.S.
Good luck with your album! I look forward to some day owning one!



Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
65 posted 2003-12-07 06:36 PM


**********Sunday, December 7, 2003***********

Never A Place Such A Galliard Did Grace

"Dalle-beve, dalle-beve". The songs of the crickets have never sounded more dulcet. Now I recognize that birds sing their songs but fly away, while the cricket goes on where she sings. Troubadours and madrigals once again find their sacred voices resonating through the limber youth of morning. And from the throat of the swallow, a song of the psaltery is ripened in homage for the season:

"And al above ther lay a gay sautrie,
On which he made a-nyghtes melodie
So swetely that all the chambre rong;
And Angelus ad virginem he song....

Chaucer, The Miller's Tale


Wow, are you sure I didn't come from another age? Cause noon last Friday, I felt I slipped down through a portal of time, enjoying a concert through five centuries. The opening acts: Anon warming up the crowd with "Alleluya" and "Summer Has Come In", Carmina Burana and her extraordinary voice in "Exiit diluculo", the sound of Raimbaut de Vaquieras' piercing shawm from his double reed soul, the Troubadour Prominent Revival, Josquin des Prez and his krumhorn passion, and the grand finale: Thomas Morley and the Frog Galliard. All interpreted right at the University of Colorado through the Boulder Renaissance Consort, a quartet of fine ladies with the old soul bubbling deep in the bloodstream. They performed as a demonstration in part of a Humanities 1010 musical lecture, and what a joy it is to get to actually live the experience. Lectures have never quite cut it for me somehow. I feel if one just hears what is heard or read it as it is, what you learn in college just doesn't stick to you in most cases in the years beyond. I believe philosophy classes should be set in the style of a symposium, where you actually get to practice the philosophy in a real environment, just as Socrates and his students did. I believe art and music classes should be actually experiencing and appreciating the art and music more than the single voice of an educated one who appreciates it in one way. It truly was a great relief to get to have a lecture like this, and actually get to hear and feel the music, hear that psaltery tickle, hear the hurdy-gurdy is hunky-dory, get to feel the emotions of troubadours feel courtly love, feel the power of vocals. Somehow it saddens me to see many exams for the arts and humanities organized in Scantron, bromidic fill-in-the-bubble form. You just can't appreciate a painting in that manner or a composition, or a sculpture. What I experienced Friday gave me hope interactive learning can prosper again.

Some of you had some questions regarding one of my latest poems, "Marshall Brodien". You were all right of what it's about in one way or another. Well, as you know, Marshall Brodien is a famous magician, who used television mass-marketing to promote all kinds of magic goodies to the children. Since the late 1960's, he's sold millions of products, including 17 million sets of Svengali decks as TV Magic Cards, along with his 50 Tricks Magic Show, Magic Hat sets, and all kinds of simple card tricks he creates for Cadaco. He was even Wizzo the Wizard on Bozo, which is how I learned of him as a little boy, being a fan of this favorite clown of mine (tomorrow will be six years since his passing, God Bless and rest in peace Bozo!). I will never forget what I believe to be one of the most truest quotes ever spoken, "Laughter cannot be imitated. It comes from the heart.". Well Bozo, I don't imitate either, and you made me laugh and smile!



Marshall Brodien is basically a metaphor I created. At first I was thinking David Copperfield, but his magic is more complex and aimed more to the general public. I think every child believes in some sort of magic, but never quite understand it as it is an abstract idea. Ever too often they tend to experiment with it, tamper with it, then that leaves them thinking if they ever performed true magic. Then in the whole bewilderment of it all I think prejudice develops in oneself and in a way the magic works that like pulling a rabbit out of the hat and watching it multiply. One thing leads to another and sleight of hand gets all wrapped up in it, which can be a dangerous mix for a child who should be taught the basics, and disillusionment is the result once the cape is lifted and the red silk escapes the hand. You become all immured, cooped-up, and then you're forced to understand magic in order to ever hope to escape from the smoke-screen. Marshall Brodien is my metaphor of the common starving artist, who fails to see that magic seldom need to be spectacular because the magic was inside them all along, who eventually understands what it all means and only feels powerless within, and makes me ask, almost ashamed and saddened to ask, "How'd you do that?". In itself, that is magic, but a rather dark form of it that we simply don't like to see! When we think of magic, we think of wands and hats and fairy dust and wishing upon stars, and that's the way it should solely be, but it's far more than that, and that can be disillusioning! So this poem came out, thinking of an eight-year old child with Marshall Brodien's Magic Set, only hoping he belives he is making magic each moment!



(looking at Karen's new wonderful journal of her own, doing great Karen!) Wow, now I just realized that somehow I'm not making my journal interactive enough! What to do, what to do? Don't worry, this mad scientist is going back to the drawing boards...well, Etch-A-Sketch!

Wow, I can smell the aromas from the kitchen! We're currently transforming our kitchen into a sushi bar! We've got two pounds of ahi tuna and a pound of yellowtail along with all the general fix-ins! I happen to be very fond of raw fish, and I even love to eat all the ginger samples! Confucius ate a salk of ginger each hour to keep him healthy and I don't believe he ever got a major ailness! Ah, the many beautiful gifts of Mother Nature's womb!

Ooohhhhh...looks like the horseradish is calling me! Best I not offend her! Y'all have a grand finale to this great weekend, stay warm all you New England friends of mine, and dust off that psaltery if you have one and strum some heartstrings this holiday season! God I love the holidays! Next time let's sing some Christmas carols! For now to tide you over, send in the clowns!




Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-07-2003 06:40 PM).]

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
66 posted 2003-12-07 07:21 PM


Another awesome entry. i like reading your stuff.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
67 posted 2003-12-09 11:11 AM


"I believe philosophy classes should be set in the style of a symposium, where you actually get to practice the philosophy in a real environment, just as Socrates and his students did. I believe art and music classes should be actually experiencing and appreciating the art and music more than the single voice of an educated one who appreciates it in one way."

~ You're a thinker after my own heart!

"When we think of magic, we think of wands and hats and fairy dust and wishing upon stars, and that's the way it should solely be, but it's far more than that, and that can be disillusioning!"

~ D'accord! I love the magic of magic! I was indeed "disillusioned" when I found out that magic wasn't really magic at all! It was all sleight-of-hand! Bummer!

"Confucius ate a salk of ginger each hour to keep him healthy and I don't believe he ever got a major ailness! Ah, the many beautiful gifts of Mother Nature's womb!"

~ and he would know! lol Confuscius say, "Eat ginger ~ no get sick!"

The daikon is clearing my sinuses all the way up here in Ontario! Enjoy!

Enjoyed your "happy" mood journal entry! Heck, I enjoy all your varying mood entries!

Love ya, Angel Boy!
EA

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

68 posted 2003-12-09 12:55 PM


Noah? wanna switch lives for awhile?

You are so funny and so sweet and SO energetic.

sigh.

Think I'll limp back to my own journal now.

But damn yer cute.

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
69 posted 2003-12-12 06:00 PM


***********Friday, December 12, 2003*********

Poinsettia Popsicle

Wednesday happened to be a very emotional day for me personally. I had my last recitation of the semester for Humanities 1010, and my instructor, Kathleen Millersdaughter, was finishing discussing King Lear with the class and the themes on tragic heroism, tragedy, and disguises. By the end of the class, she made a personal statement of her overall thought of the class, saying "Now's the time I make my annual personal final statement of my feel to the class. And honestly, I have to say this is the worst class I have taught in my years at this university. The few of you who did join into the discussions always, I thank you, but overall I am very disappointed with the many of you, and I can only pray that soon you can become one out there who shows a love for discussing and thinking and feeling!".

Then there was a student to the back of me who responded in a sarcastic tone, "Well, with all due respect miss, some of us just don't like to talk, ok?". That comment I can tell, looking at Ms. Millersdaughter's face, behind her eyes made mer cry, and trying not to experience a catharsis of tears, responded, "You know, I think you all better just leave!"

Personally, I could feel her pity so deeply in my heart, and because I found her all along to be a very honest and courteous instructor, I couldn't just leave a good person feeling powerless and defeated, as I believe it is a naturally born instinct to do something when one who is true is down. Wouldn't you have done the same thing? Anyway, as everyone else left Room 190 at Eaton Humanities, I went up to her and said, "Ms. Millersdaughter, I just want you to know that though nothing may change the fact that this was your worst teaching experience ever, that you truly are the best instructor I've had yet at this university and it is people like you who encourage my constant love of learning! And I want you to carry on this day, knowing you have at least touched one student this semester deeply, and I thank you! God Bless You and I wish you and your loved ones the happiest holidays!". Right after I expressed my sympathetic sentiment to her, I could see a tear slide down her right cheek, and she said, "Thank you Noah, and may I say that you were one of the exceptions I was talking about, and you gave me hope that maybe the youth of tomorrow can express more of a love and appreciation for learning and not being ashamed to discuss it! I really appreciate what you said, God Bless You and have a merry Christmas!"

Why'd I do this? Because I am the Mistletoe Angel and I believe in my heart that no one should show a frown or a tear unless it is one of joy during the holiday season! Ms. Millersdaughter's heart was filled with too much burdening weight, and I wanted to lift at least a little bit of it from her. And though I can tell that some students took what she said as an offense, I respected what she said because it is true. During the last four months, I was only one of four people in Humanities 1010-081 who actively participated in class discussions regarding the reading and its ideals and values they teach. And I do understand that some students are simply shy to express themselves or have learning differences, but then again, I feel it is disrespectful too considering they could have chosen to drop out of the class three weeks after it began, they had their class syllabus and should have knew what was coming because it was pretty well-said, etc. So it truly saddened me to see a majority of my class failing to show interest in the beauty of the arts and literature, or at least not try. This is exactly an example of what's wrong with America today, why much of our youth won't participate in elections, why they constantly rebel against their parents who are not abusive and not believing what they have to say, etc. It is sad to see, and why I helped out Ms. Millersdaughter.



Anyway, this is the holiday season, so time to put on a smiley face again! Santa is just finishing up his vacation and is ready to rev up his sleigh jets again! Millions of children worldwide will be singing carols with their families and be showered in precious gifts. And the chestnuts will be poppin' like silver bells in the morning! But as always, I find it important that I must constantly remind everyone what the true meaning of Christmas is as there is nothing capitalistic about it. It is this very day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our loving Lord. In Judah, Isaiah saw a vision that he believed God had gifted him with. He heard him say, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son" and that He would be a faithful and counseling King, and that He would be born soon where the morning star shines. Then an angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her to prepare for the birth of a son she will name Jesus, the Son of God. She questioned why this may happen and said simply His power is within her and that's how she's a virgin and will give birth at Bethlelem. Afterwards, he met Joseph, who wanted not to get married but Gabriel encouraging him for the sake of this child and God.

Mary and Joseph would later both meet in Bethlelem, registering for a local census, but finding a hotel in the city with available rooms proved to be difficult. Urgently trying to follow the words of Gabriel, with every local hotel filled, they decided to go to a local manger to give birth to the child. Immediately, word got out of the birth by an angel and shepherds were offered praises to speak to this new-born angel boy. Meanwhile, three wise men, the Magi, came from the east, mentioning to Jerusalem they saw his star from where he was born in the east and encouraged King Herod (who would later betray Him) and his people to find Him. Herod would figure out His birth, while the Magi followed the star in the distance, finding Him cradled in the arms of Mary, and worshipped the boy with gifts and praises. In addition, God warned them all to stay away from Herod (sadly He would eventually be captured) as he would bring harm to the boy.



It was this glorious day that Jesus was born, the day of nativity, that the true spirit of Christmas is all about, and from this day, the ideals of giving and sharing have also become a magical and beautiful part of Christmas. I feel each year I must read this to the children as sadly the meaning of Christmas has taken a much capitalistic turn and in my personal opinion the world would be a much happier place if capitalism imploded and fell apart. This leaves many believing a material gift is the proper way of giving and simply giving the gift of love unconditionally won't satisfy. It is a sad truth I pray becomes eradicated someday and again the natural form of giving and sharing and peace on Earth is taught in every child's heart and from the child within all our hearts! I alone am not the only Mistletoe Angel, we can all be Mistletoe Angels (so many of you beautiful friends of mine already are anyway, yay!) and I hope that this happens! Mistletoe Angel is simply my personification of one who brings Christmas to everyone each day of the year, as I believe Christmas should be celebrated 365 days a year! So spread your wings, my Mistletoe Angel and Mistletoe Cherub friends!



Other than mistletoe (obviously, LOL!) there is one other ornament that I consider the most beautiful of all each Christmas that I love decorating my room in! Poinsettia, as my title for this entry suggests! Story has it that a poor Mexican girl named Pepita was trying to find a gift desperately for Christ at a local Christmas Eve Service. Walking to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, she was saddened and her cousin told her, ""I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," Desperate to find a deserving gift worthy of Him, she went in the fields and gathered some weeds, making a nosegay out of them. But looking at them broke her heart more and made her feel more saddened she couldn't show her Lord her appreciation of her in her heart returning to her village. However, Pedro's words resonated back to her and filled her with a bit of confidence as she layed the weeds at the nativity service. Then, all a sudden, the weeds blossomed with red flowers, and everyone had witnessed a miracle.


Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. That magical evening the red flowers were cherished on and on to this day and were called "Flores de Noche Buena", or Flowers of the Holy Night, also called poinsettia. I share this cherished story tradition also as I find that a gift should never have to come from a store, it should come from the heart and a gift from the heart is always better and more pure and beautiful than one from JC Penney or Macys. Let all your giving come from the heart and come from above, yay!



God Bless You All and I wish you all the happiest holidays! Mistletoe Hugs for all! (sends mistletoe hugs to all you friends of mine across the world)

Current Mood: (Happy)


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-12-2003 06:00 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
70 posted 2003-12-16 10:28 PM


Your current mood is "Happy" and it's contagious! This wonderful segment of your journal is chock full of Christmas cheer!

Regarding your "kiss" of kindness regarding your professor, you definitely were living up to your name of Mistletoe, Dear Angel!

Thank you for reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas. I was filled with such love as I read your words. Blessings to you and yours!

Love, Peace, & Good Will Among All Mankind,
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
71 posted 2003-12-17 02:21 AM


**********Tuesday, December 16, 2003*********

Unsolved Myths of Anatomy

Well in about 36 hours I'm taking up I.V Anesthesia in getting my wisdom teeth removed. I have no choice to get mine removed as unfortunately mine came in slightly sideways and any delays can result in increased risk of tooth decay, inflamation of surrounding gums, damage to surrounding teeth or risk of crooked jaw, or sometimes paresthesia, which I have learned is nerve damage that if you wait later to have them removed and it is recommended you have them removed can be the risk of permanent paresthesia in the mouth. I'm not taking any chances and want to be free of them suckers now, let me at them!

I have to be honest, though I am of course impressed with God and believe the human anatomy among infinite blessings He has offered us all, wisdom teeth is truly the only thing I don't understand that He added to our bodies. Not everyone has to get their wisdom teeth removed, but wisdom teeth truly have no known beneficial purpose. Out of all His creations, wisdom teeth are one I have always questioned. Sometimes I think "Wait, maybe He gave many of us them so when we get them removed He can show us how the pain and numbness is only modest compared to all the other horrors and catastrophes less fortunate people are challenged with across the world, and thus is why they have the name "wisdom teeth", like teaching us a lesson: "You think you know pain, try living in a crossfire of drug wars in Colombia, or be a hungry, starving child in Bangladesh, or experiencing all the bloodshed before your eyes in Afghanistan, Iraq, or wherever.". Although of course I know the real reason why they call them wisdom teeth; because they don't come in until between the age of 18 to 24, like they were gained through adolescence. This is however one of few creations I have ever questioned, ah, the unexplained mysteries of life! So, if you haven't let your dentist check on your wisdom teeth for a while, if you still have them, better safe than sorry I say!

So anyway, if you don't see me on here for two to three days starting Thursday and start to feel lonely without Mistletoe Angel putting wreaths all over the doors of the houses in your hearts, I will be recuperating just before spreading Christmas cheer. Just arching my head at 35 degrees, drinking some smoothies and Campbell's Chicken and Stars without spoons and straws and enjoying daytime public access television like a lil' drool money, chewing on gauze to disinfect my mouth, waiting for the bruises down to my neck to vanish and for the blood to clear up! Not exactly how I'd like to spend a pre-Christmas vacation, but no need to worry, it's just life, and this surgery will all be for the better for me, just some milkshake hugs would do just fine, yay!



Anyway, I am kind of looking forward to having this surgery now anyway. I am finished with my finals and have nothing better to do (well, except for be here with my Passions friends! ), plus though my dad will be out of town on business, I will have company. In a bulk thread, I mentioned I would talk about my lil buddy Ryan, and now is a wonderful time to introduce him! He is the son of my moms best friend Angie, who is 11 and has so much youth and energy always flowing in his little body! I really don't have many friends that I get to meet in person and Ryan always cheers me when he comes over, as he is that kind of boy that would always cheer up a church on Monday! He has a grand love for playing videogames, in fact he always loves to challenge me to all kinds of games, and I always respond to him when he says "Hey Noah, I'll beat you at this game!", "Oh yeah, come on, let's play!" Hehehe! Kids! I can never deny the voice of the little boy in my heart! I always like to think of him as my little brother I never had. We also love watching The Price Is Right together, and we sure love our share of cartoons from Dexter's Laboratory (one of my favorites, got to love Dexter's cute Russian accent) and Powerpuff Girls. He even taught me how to play Johnny B. Goode on my electric recently, as I have taught him how to play basic guitar! To be honest, whenever I see him, it is like meeting the little boy I used to be, re-living the whole experience only this time with a smile on my face. So anyway, it will feel so good to see him Friday and all throughout this holiday season while I am numb.

Right now I am working with this new song I'm writing which I played for my friend titled "Pretty Soon" and is believed it could be a future hit! That made me smile hearing that as I'd love to have a song touch many hearts and be remembered! Soon I'll post the lyrics after the holiday season!

Have the happiest holidays, enjoy that new Lord of the Rings movie if you intend to be part of the five-day weekend pachyderm, while I'll be the Lord of the Superstation from Thursday to Sunday! Have yourself a nice little fruitcake candy cane, my treat!



Current Mood: (Optimistic)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-17-2003 02:21 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
72 posted 2003-12-23 12:31 PM


Season's Greetings, Dear Mistletoe Angel!

I can appreciate what you must be going through with the recent removal of your wisdom teeth. I had four impacted wisdoms removed one at a time under local anaesthetic. They were growing horizontally with jawbone growing over them! By goodness, those extractions were horrendously awful!

I looked like a cross between a chipmunk and a raccoon! There was nothing angelic about that face! lol

Sorry that you are going through this, especially at this time of year, but it's best to get it over with and also not have your recuperative time interfere with your studies!

It sounds as though your friendship with Ryan is mutually beneficial! You are like a big brother who not only teaches him, but who understands him as well ~ and you share the love of video games. I too, enjoy playing them!!!

Well, my friend, I am sending you some healing light for a speedy recovery and  blessings for a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and joyful New Year!

Loves 'n hugs,
EA

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
73 posted 2003-12-23 01:37 PM


I have to get my wisdom teeth taken out too. My upper ones are already gone. 1 was taken out because a sinus infection got in to it. The other one rotted in my mouth. Now I just have the bottom 2 wisdom teeth ready to go. I am going to see a oral surgeant Janurary 5th about it.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
74 posted 2003-12-24 06:17 AM


*********Wednesday, December 24, 2003*********

Beautifully Numb

I'm currently in my sixth day of recuperation from the removal of my wisdom teeth. Suprisingly, the third day is known to be the most painful day for most patients, but then I felt the least pain, as the second day was the most painful for me. That makes me feel content inside knowing Nature is running her course just as a normal scab on your knee or elbow heals in time. Besides, what good are the holidays for, besides giving and sharing, by not getting to stuff your face over the fruitcake and figgy pudding and sugar plums and homemade fudge your grandparents send you each year? I've got to have my share of the Morris National Very Special Tower of Chocolate each year, with the luscious grand truffles, dusted chocolate, caramel chocolate truffles, French truffles with cappuccino, vanilla and hazelnut blends, and chocolate almond eclairs. And by golly, my surgery has been a great success and I have been able to even enjoy some of my mom's traditional roast beef dinner without ache. There was even a Smore kit that came in the mail from Morris National also from one of my father's employees as a token of his appreciation and me and Ryan toasted marshmallows over a house candle yesterday. Then we got one of those Hickory Farms deli packages from another, consisting of summer sausage, gouda cheese, pepper jack cheese, crackers, and a tangy hot sweet mustard that tastes great with pretzels. Ryan was there and made hors d'oeuvre out of it all that were quite delicious.

So, that has been my holiday diet, along with the Clindamycin HCL 150mg capsules, lindomycin antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections in my gums, Percocet 7.5/325 MG Tablets, which are operatives as oxycodone and acetaminophen for moderate to severe pain treatment, part narcotic pain-reliever binding to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, and acetaminophen that decreases the foundation of prostaglandins and reducing pain, and finally the Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% rinse, an antimicrobial oral rinse that softens the gums and reduces swelling and protects against infections. Not exactly my ideal holiday meal but my body needs the holiday love too.

Truly I do not remember much at all about my surgery. I simply remember Dr. Gerry Trammel sticking that needle in my right arm, noticing the bag filled with the anesthetic fluid, and for ten minutes saying "Hey, I don't feel sleepy at all!" then not noticing I ever fell asleep the next still frame I discover the surgery is complete and I am thinking, "Hey, has it only been fifteen minutes?" with the gauze in my mouth. I also remember when my mom gave me the Percocet and said this will make me feel "drunk" and I half-panicked saying "Hey, I've never drunk and never will, as I am zero-tolerant, so I can't begin to imagine what drunk feels like!" LOL! And I just spent much of the first two days lying on the couch, watching The Price Is Right and public broadcasting. Yesterday afternoon at 4:30, I came right back in Comfort Dental and Dr. Trammell said I am good to go, yay! So if you think surgery can slow the Mistletoe Angel and his giving spirit, think again, hehehe!

All my shopping is complete for my loved ones! I got my father "The Da Vinci Code" (if you haven't read this, I strongly recommend you do, it has much depth and mystery to it) my other a large print of a Tuscan garden door (she loves collecting paintings of doors among many worldly things) my sister Ellie an Orlando Bloom poster, my sister Noelle a Tool CD (she loves to listen to more metal-based rock than I do) my broher Larry the Trading Spaces hint-book, my friend Randy (Hypnosis) a George Carlin joke calendar, Ryan some Bob Marley incense and a book on many fun stop-watch games to play, and B.J, the boyfriend of my sister Noelle and my friend, the new Vertical Horizon album. It may have been a lot of work, but I find a romance in walking around in town during the holidays. The carolers, the lights, the festivities, and Starbucks serving egg nog lattes. I went to Flatirons Crossing in Broomfield, which truly is a big mall.



Hey, have you seen "Elf" yet? I finally got to catch this Will Ferrell family-comedy today, and I must say it truly made me cry as it gave me hope there can still be more movies and specials with the authentic, innocent Christmas spirit in the future. Actually, he inspired me to try eating spaghetti with maple syrup for dinner tonight, and it's not bad at all. I mean, pancakes are also made out of grain just like pasta, so what's the problem there? That movie truly encouraged me to live up to my Mistletoe Angel name even more, to actually sing with my heart the Christmas songs I have loved since I was a mistletoe cherub, and to give everyone a hug. I have also always loved the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman classic cartoons, and I have to be honest that every time it makes me cry to see Frosty melt away before the children's eyes until next year! It almost feels like a best friend or brother is leaving for a very long time to me, and one summer when I was six I remember making my own Frosty from styrofoam and sipped Caprisun and sat by the kiddy pool with me! So please, don't see The Cat In The Hat and cherish the innocent portrayal of the Dr. Seuss classics you loved so much, and go see Elf. Maybe my enjoyment of the holidays is helping bring up the Clausometer on Santa's sleigh!



Just yesterday, Ryan re-acquainted me with an old friend of mine, Joe Bender. Remember everyone's favorite four inch tall bendable wire hero? Magnetic feet, magnetic hands, magnetic personality? I loved playing with him as a little boy, and have missed him for so long, guess I kept him hibernating in his tin shelter so long. Well he sure got his groove back today; with his peace pose, his scared pose, his Mummy outfit, his karate moves, he surely has to be the #1 model. Yep, Joe Bender is back and stretchin' again!



All of my friends here at Passions, I wish you and your whole families the most merriest Christmas! And remember always that the spirit of Christmas is in your heart everyday and like Elf, make it an effort to live Christmas everyday with the spirit of the kid in your heart, and that Jesus loves you and He is the reason so many holiday miracles we've cherished have happened, like the robin earning her red breast for keeping Jesus warm, the Christmas rose that blossomed from a sherpherd girl's tears as a gift to Him, the holly wreath that Jesus made shine that a little orphan boy gave Him as a present, the lamb's woolly coat that BaBa rewarded lambs by warming baby Jesus when His blanket was thin, the Christmas bell that a cow rang to help a lost blind boy find his way to Jesus. These are all holiday miracles, and all living proof if you believe in the holidays, the miracle will take effect in your heart and bring you great joy and laughter! Happiness is all about believing, no seeing, and I want you all to believe this Christmas and every day after! So I wish you all to warm that apple cider, keep the fireplace burning bright, and give your loved ones holly jolly hugs as love is what truly decks the halls anywhere! It's like the saying, "He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree." You ARE Christmas and you can pass on the magic to anyone, so I ask of you to all do at least one good deed for someone else this special day and make someone else smile. Giving is always the best reward! So as we all go for a friendship sleigh ride together in this wonderful weather, know Christ is always warming your heart just the way He has before.

God Bless You All and mistletoe X-mas hugs for all, yay!



"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."  
Charles Dickens.


Current Mood: (Loved)

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-24-2003 06:20 AM).]

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
75 posted 2003-12-25 12:21 PM


Looks like your having fun even though you went through surgery. I hope I am this perky after I get my bottom wisdom teeth removed.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
76 posted 2003-12-26 03:03 PM


***********Friday, December 26, 2003*********

Teaching The World To Sing Again

Though I believe that Christmas is in our hearts and at least should be given each day of the year for our children's sake and for the sake of the children in the rest of us, still I often find myself saddened the day after Christmas when I see others go on about their own lives and families be divided again. The evening of Christmas Day was truly difficult for me, as I was living with the spirit of the boy in my heart like I want to and talking and giggling in a playful and laughter tone, and then my mom tells me to cut that out and stop acting like an infant and that there is no such thing as Santa Claus.

Actually, on the contrary, there truly was a Santa Claus, and his spirit keeps living on, which my mom also said "No, it isn't!". And I'm not just saying this to make the children happy, but because its true.

The original Santa Claus was St. Nicholas himself. He was born in Lycia in the 4th century, who was a lovable man who became the patron saint of children because he loved them so much. He was also very charitable and this is known from Roman accounts during his time in patronage. He didn't have his sleigh, his signature red suit or Rudolph and his reindeer then, but he had his white beard, wore bishop's robes that were red and white, and through a feast of his own on December 6, a Christian feast day. Up until the sixteenth century, his spirit was praised all across Europe, and then when the Protestant banned him from many European countries, which he got replaced with secular ideals, the Dutch fell in love with him and called him their "protector of sails". He graced the design of the first Dutch ship that made it to America, the first church in New York City was named after him, and they offered Christmas items that would become symbols to the holiday tradition. And as for the stockings, in sixteenth-century Holland, instead of them at first, children placed wooden shoes filled with straw to feed St. Nick's donkey and in return the shoes would be filled with a small gift. America is where the stocking became used instead.

And his name? The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas "Sint Nikolass," which in the New World became "Sinterklass". later changed to "Santa Claus". America is where the spirit of Santa Claus would be illustrated deeper. Dr. Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem "The Night Before Christmas" was originally meant only to read to his children on Christmas Eve but a friend had sent his poem all across newspapers and his poem instantly became a classic, which is where the reindeer and the sleigh added to Santa's spirit. He also gained weight in illustration in America from a cartonnist named Thomas Nast, who published the cartoons all throughout Harper's Weekly magazine until 1886, revealing the shift from a thinner to a bigger Santa, also mentioning Santa makes toys all year at the North Pole and monitoring children's behavior for them to be rewarded. All of this evolved in America to add to this beautiful holiday, along with the elves, the magic, and so much more!



Not often do I like to express my self-pride, but I honestly have to say I am right and my mom either is wrong or she didn't know this. I also have to be honest and say in my mind I thought of what she said as a bit "cynical", in the manner that she stressed self-control way too much that she was too grave and seemed to lack the spirit beyond herself. You can be virtuous and be beyond your own body, in fact I believe that is more virtuous. Then again, who's to say who is right or not? All I know is that I believe what I do and believe is right and I'm not going to let anyone, even those closest to me, alter my views just because I love them with all my heart. So do me a favor and don't lie to your children and tell them there is no Santa Claus, what's the use of lying anyway when the holidays are about believing and not seeing! Besides it is NOT true.

I AM the Mistletoe Angel, and therefore I choose to believe in magic and that which is beautiful that many would be skeptical to believe in. I believe in the children, I believe in the child in my heart, I choose to act my shoe size (and my size is very small for a male my age) but live with spirit rather than practicality. I believe Christmas should be every day of the year, beyond the time the tree goes down and the crystalline icicles thaw from your gutter. I believe in uniting but not in conformity. Too many believe that Christmas is the most happiest holiday, and my simple question to all these people is "Why?". What about the holidays makes you feel all warm and toasty inside? What do you feel? What about it makes your heart sing? I think too often these questions are not asked and they could bring in so much more juice to the Clausometer.

So I have to say the lack of spirit in my mother yesterday kind of broke my heart halfway. Christmas Eve is supposed to be a happy day, and I want to see my loved ones happy and lively and filled with laughter and glee. It should be made illegal to use the words "hate" or any synonym of it on Christmas Day even. Love is what the whole world needs, and to sing together in homophony, all closing out on the same cadence together before startin again. To love beyond terrestrial values and engage in the spirit. The Christmas Tree is the Tree of Life, and even when the "Christmas" Tree isn't up, the foundation is always there and shouldn't be ignored.

Anyway, I hope that all of you had a spirited and merry Christmas! Keep the Dickens in you and I wish you a merry Christmas 365 days a year, yay! Also, I must wish you a happy new year now, as I am going to make that trip that I postponed from the sickness I got at Thanksgiving as I mentioned before this Sunday. I'll be posting my live messages from my written journal on this grand adventure, and soon I will have that photo journal up as I promised before in the near future. So remember, when you make that New Years Resolution, please make it something special and don't take it for granted. Mine...to simply keep living up to my pen name!



Y'all stay warm and cozy now, you hear?

Current Mood: & (Mix between hopeful and sad)

Bend it like Dickens!

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-26-2003 03:06 PM).]

Severn
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704

77 posted 2003-12-30 07:39 PM


Hi Noah.

I've read your last entry. I don't want to put a negative spin on things here, but you know what? For some people christmas isn't about happiness and joy. In fact, for some people christmas is the loneliest time of the year...

I was wondering why you weren't a little more understanding of your mother's so called lack of spirit? Why didn't you try to find out ~why~ she might not be feeling so enthusiastic? Perhaps you could've comforted her, or listened to her, or something, rather than sulk about her not understanding you. After all - isn't the spirit of christmas, according to you, about giving?

And christmas certainly isn't about some fat guy that Coca Cola invented either - even if he originates from St Nick.

You've touched nerves here, which I why I have said what I have.

Have a happy new year in any event.

K

[This message has been edited by Severn (12-30-2003 07:42 PM).]

the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
78 posted 2004-01-03 06:09 PM


I believe in magic too. Awesome update Noah. I hope you update soon.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
79 posted 2004-01-04 07:06 PM


***********Sunday, January 4, 2003***********

(Yay, it feels good to be back! The following I've got here are all the more than 75 pages of journal entries I wrote on the road within the past week, which I've decided to let you choose the ultimate title, which I'll let you decide in the end with some ideas I had! Soon enough the pictures will complement this journal on an upcoming Mistletoe Angel's Photo Journal thread! Hope you enjoy my great adventure!)


Sunday, December 28, 2003

Freightliner Undercover

7:42 A.M: Top of the dawn to y’all! And so I begin the long journey beyond that black stump in the True Blue! Call it the Inback if you will! It is a 22 degree Fahrenheit morning, with some pale teal, gray, and violet cloud cover, nothing more than God’s celestial overpass. Above it I believe cherubs are soaring upon unicorns on the rainbow ravines and those of the Seven Orders are riding together in the Merrymaker chariot, but here below the overpass it’s a feel good place in a feel good time too.

Just passed through Byers, a small sleepy town on the fruited plain thirty miles from Denver. Interstate 70 has long been the Father Road I’ve traveled down, my providence to the heartland where the country twang flows in my veins. It is like the tan lines I wear, my favorite sunburn, or a birthmark I’ve never noticed tucked under my bangs. I’m all with the highway wile, and just some of my other aliases include the Hayseed Gypsy, the Deer Trail Medicine Man or the Two-Wheeled Semi. Speaking of which, I just passed through Deer Trail, it is a cozy pleasant town on the prairie that only needs a Texaco and a family café to get around. Hoo-yeah!

As I said before, travellin’ is like becoming a human 3D View-Master, and that’s why I love adventure so much. I’m a little boy all over again eager to see all sorts of different slides. Hey, do you enjoy readin’ billboards and signs along the highways? I’ve always loved that, and hope to actually step into more of those towns myself and experience the stories there.

(Hey, just saw a Dodge pass me by with the vanity plate “Chris I”. What could that mean? Perhaps he’s a big Chris Issak fan, perhaps even the man himself? I’ve liked his music myself, and still when I see the Wicked Game video, all I have to say is…wow.

But passing through Cedar Point now, I’m just listenin’ to some of KBCO 97.3 FM’s world class rock, featurin’ the best Studio C performances of 2003. You ever listen to Triple A radio? That is my favorite format of all, and Boulder is where Triple A (basically Adult Alternative) radio was born. Studio C has become a key intimate live musical setting for adult alternative acts in 1993 when Counting Crows came to play a few songs before their debut made it big, including a cover of “The Ghost In You” which that cut would actually make the Clueless movie soundtrack (great movie by the way) making Studio C an incredibly popular musical crossroad. Right now I’m layin’ back to recordings from Shawn Colvin, Pete Yorn, Robert Bradly and the Family Band, The Waifs, Maroon 5, Damien Rice, and some beloved local artists.

Gonna take a small breather and enjoy the scenery with Miss Minty, my favorite mint Dodge Grand Caravan SE. Hi all y’all!


9:06 A.M: Just makin’ my way through Limon right now. I’m sure that Fireside Family restaurant is as cozy as they say it is with the holidays still basking in afterglow. Even Rip Griffin is all snug up warm in his truck plaza. Hey, I think I hear a song comin’!

Awww, there’s that sun I love so much, comin’ out like a Lemonhead in love! With windmills and power lines and Great Southern busses all along the Father Road, the setting unfolds and becomes precedent to me. I prefer the atmosphere beyond summer or spring shades, with beds of sunflowers and Black-eyed Susans and unthreshed corn and wheat fields spannin’ in perspective to the horizon line, with the sun in hot pursuit and the yellow-breasted songbird in standard tunin’, but the winter gives the country an essence of her own. Truckers cruisin’ down the interstate with their families or amigos, scarecrows gettin’ the attention with the harvests below their proud sturdy shoulder levels, hoarfrost beddin’ the landscape with jewels, it is the country re-illustrated. And I can create my own children’s book from these fascinations.

So here I am, live from the green van, with just the family, the Sony Car Ready CD-player, and this journal, with my wild imagination worn around me like a Technicolor jumpsuit. Right now, the audio selection is Aimee Mann’s “Lost In Space”. Truly a beautiful melancholy album. Drugs and the fight away from the addiction and those close to her are a central theme here, with “This Is How It Goes” “Pavlov’s Bell” and “Invisible Ink” all anthemic to me.

Peddlin’ with the metal live to you!

10:05 A.M: Here I am in Burlington, just ten miles from the state line. Home of the Kit Carson bonanza. Onto Kanorado now, the interstatial country town with Kansas heart and Colorado soul, the key to Kansas. Hey, while I’m there, where may I find Karilea and Tim, Passions’ sunny delights?

You know, so many people I know find Kansas to be the most boring state in America, but while Colorado, California, Oregon, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Louisiana, Hawaii and Florida all rank higher on my list, Kansas has a beauty all to herself. She is natural. She is original. She’s like the brand of potato chip without the sour cream and onion or salt and vinegar in the grocery store. She’s like the yellow ribbon of the country, swept from modern Miss America’s hair upon the untouched soil of our motherland.

Aw, it’s 10:18 now and we’ve reached Kansas. Kanorado, you’re lookin’ nice today. Middle Fork Beaver Creek’s a bit shy though. Kansas, anyway, is a state I admire for her traditional, laid-back pioneer pastoral nature. And Interstate 70 is the perfect scenic route in experiencing the state, only missing Wichita and a few smaller points of interest. You have Kansas City (the gateway to Missouri) Topeka, Salina, Junction City, Hays, Colby, a bunch of interesting stops along the way. Ah, yes, and of course…Goodland. Though as far as I’m concerned, the good land is all around us. Ooohhh, looks like South Fork Beaver Creek is more peppy today! Honestly, you haven’t had continental breakfast until you’ve made a cross-country trip like this and taste the honeycomb of the country. Speaking of which, what’s at the High Plains Museum, Karilea? There’s a lot of sorghum molasses flowin’ in the untamed fields of gold! In here, there sure is too with Captain Swing. You guessed it, Michelle Shocked is the current selection in the green van. Maybe it’s about time I gave the van a nickname, after all she’s been my friend since I was a little boy, with 91,000 miles on it before leavin’. The Green Giantress? Nah, too tough. Verve Verde? Don’t know. I’ll think of somethin’!

10:46 A.M (now 11:46 A.M) Foolin’ you? Just entered the Central Time Zone, that’s why, hehehe! We’ve seen our share of tumbleweeds down the dusty highway. Wow, there at Mile Marker 39, I saw this billboard of Pioneer Village 167 miles north on the Levant exit. A journey that long must be worth checkin’ out! But for now it’s time to quench my thirst at Colby, the Oasis on the Plains, home of the Prairie Museum of Art and History. God, I love the sight of the hay bales all around the Southwind Plaza. It is now high noon here on the high country! Yeee-haw! Kay yippee-yi-yay!

Next is Oakley, Prairie Dog Town USA, home of the largest prairie dog in the world, the five-legged cow, the six-legged steer and live rattlesnake colonies among many things including turkeys, buffaloes, pheasants, quails, raccoons, coyotes, badgers, all there in Prairie Dog Town, Exit 70. They also have a famous corn husking contest, the Fick Museum, and the authentic Kountry spirit enshrouding the town in its entire circumference, with golden plains, Zimmatics, and sage blanketing the fertile ground miles around and about. Across the Gove county line, the sun is now awakenin’ at 12:18 P.M like a mandarin lantern on Chinese New Year, and two miles out of Oakley at Mile Marker 78, a family of tumbleweeds just crossed the road together. How cute is that? That only convinces me again everythin’ is interconnected, a philosophy that needs no more explainin’. Tie my heart to a tumbleweed, Terri Clark, let my imagination and spirits go rollin’!

Wow, I just saw a Stuckey’s off the Grinnell exit. I love Stuckey’s. It’s a shame there ain’t many of those around like there used to be. Who can deny the pecan log rolls, the three T-shirts for 10 dollars deals and fresh Dairy Queen soft-serve on a typical summer day, or any day in that matter? Stuckey, it’s time to roll back with a vengeance! Unite with Waffle House and you’ll have a kick-butt domination duo!

The sky may have blue and black this mornin’, but now it is aflame in blue and gold with peppermint clouds gracin’ the south skies. Still, there’s no one like Jackson Browne who can re-enact a brilliant melancholy horizon. Cuz his Greatest Hits are currently the green van fad from Colby to Quinter, the gateway to Castle Rock. I’ve never ran on empty with him as my dad has played his poetic ballads around me since I was born and I have fallen in love with the Pretender and the shape of his heart ever since! Now it’s time to put in R.E.M’s greatest hits! Stompin’ grounds with stompin’ music, ain’t nothing’ like that! Michael Stipe, bless you!

12:55 P.M: It’s Christmas all over again, for Wakeeney is the Christmas city of the high plains, the cedar bluff. Out here in the open I feel I can sing and like a tunin’ fork the echo can span the great beyond and close the continental divide together. Now crossin’ through Ellis, you can feel sweet serenity flood the turf, with Alloway’s restaurant anointed in the calm, hay bales dotting graham cracker earth like chamomile gumdrops for the pastor’s teacup. From his kettle is where the missing colors are found, belongin’ to the curate who gathers the water from the illustrious fountain, rectorate to the bounty of the country, spillin’ full blood across the pacific skies that bring the eiderdown cotton soils warm colors, all true to the creed of the country, the cream of the crop, the hearty meal of the honorable working man after a recrudescent time of labor. Wow, how my imagination flares wildly. Now it is 1:13 and we’re entering Hays, winner of the 1996 All-American city title. You know how I love feelin’ All American! Time to take a well-deserved break and enjoy the Canta-Loopa-Tuna at the Country Kitchen!

2:31 P.M: Back on the van, all y’all! We either fish or cut bait out here, and I choose to be one who does the fishin’! Got myself a late breakfast and a matutinal dinner soup in one! Nothin’ like the Country’s Best Skillet, with those eggs any way you want it, bacon, sausage, diced ham over those baby red potatoes, with the best pancakes on the side goosed in maple (or in my case, boysenberry) syrup! And how about that calico bean soup? Gravy is synonymous with the mid-western and southern meal, so give me the flavor! It’s gotta have that twang to it, ain’t no thang like the twang! Go whole hog and go hog wild, ain’t that the berries! Here it undeniably is! Yeens grab yerselves a root but don’t go frog gigging now, y’all hear? LOL! Anyhow, it must truly feel good to sit in at 1:30 every Sunday afternoon after church and enjoy a buffet here. After all, they are proud to support the veterans, local schools, and boy scout unit #147.

Now we’ve passed Russell, known to be the home of Bob Dole. I remember when I watched the 1996 election when I was thirteen, and the smiles my mother displayed seeing Clinton get re-elected. I actually used to write a silly fictional story about traveling’ cross country, and passin’ through Russell, where the main character stopped and played ding-dong ditch on Dole and by putting the garden hose on his front doorstep made him trip in his pajamas! LOL! I never knew Dole that well, but I was personally glad Clinton got re-elected, as he overall did quite a good job, despite he could have done without the lie of his personal affair, which however the blame made a dextrose way out of hand. Hehehe, anyway, at 2:51, we have crossed this small town and onto Salina now.





3:43 P.M: Salina. What a pretty city on the plains. Probably the city that dots the exact center of the United States of America. How lovely it feels to be genuflecting on the heartbeat of America, where the Saline River carries blood, milk and honey to the veins of all the heartland. It is also the hometown of astronaut Joe Engle, as I am told by the sign. 47 degrees Fahrenheit and I’ve breezed through some of Bruce Springs teen’s “Born to Run”, Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and Ashley Mac Isaac’s “Hi, How Are You Today?”. Only eight miles to Abiliene now at 3:58, just crossing the Solomon River onto the Dickinson county line. Abiliene would have to be one of my two favorite cities in Kansas, along with Salina. Abiliene is home to many things: the American Indian art center, the Seelye mansion, the Eisenhower Center, the Dickinson County Historical Museum, the Greyhound Hall of Fame, some antique carousels and the antique telephone, and…of course…Russell Stover’s world-famous chocolates. If Salina is the heart of Kansas, I’d say Abiliene is the cowboy hat proudly worn on her head. OK, so does that make Wichita the lasso? I’m sorry to say I’ve never been to Wichita yet. You’d have to take tollway I-35 to get there, and I’e never been down that way. I’ve never touched Oklahoma, and have only been through certain regions of Texas, in Corpus Cristi and in the west of the state. Perhaps it’s because of Bush polluting the state into a nuclear, toxic wasteland that leaves me reluctant to take a vacation there, though despite his doings, Texas still has the western swing and kick. But I can say Colby is like the canteen the cowgirl Kansas wields, being the Oasis on the Plains, Oakley her rattleskin boots, Wakeeney her courteous smile, Hays her All-American attitude and now, entering Junction City at 4:18 P.M, I’ll have to observe a bit here and decide on how Junction City accessorizes her. I do remember it is home to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Kansas, the Milford Nature Center and Fish Hatchery, Custer House, the U.S Cavalry Museum, the First Territorial Capital and the famous Fort Riley, the war field of America. Out east from Fort Riley and Council Grove, for miles around you can see scenic creek roads from McDowell to Humboldt to Wabaunsee, oases, hillsides and cottages. Like I said, I love Kansas for her spacious, laid-back lifestyle. No huge metropolises, no urban sprawls, no large population growth, just you and the country the way it’s supposed to be. Occasionally you see the familiar sight of service stations and McDonalds, but Kansas sees to it the country tradition stands first, and the fifty-mile scenic stretch from Junction City to Topeka is an excellent example of that, with the undulating, bouncy highway adventure over and down the hillsides, creek beds, sunbeams specklin’ the groves, wind turbines hummin’ where the tall green grass grows, and Grandma Hoerner sitting on her front porch lookin’ out upon the Wabaunsee amber, baking her cornbread for her loved ones and crafting fine Jepson pottery. Sometimes you even see sheds with inspirational messages etched on them, like this shed I saw at around Mile Marker 325 sayin’ “No God…No Peace. Know God…Know Peace.” Makes me feel warm and toasty inside to see His message outstretched everywhere, you know, got to be reminded of how contagious and incandescent His grace can be.



4:52 P.M: The sun is beginnin’ to prepare her fort behind me, behind the mountains which now cannot be seen from five hundred miles away from home. Maple Hill is drenched in the ale of dusk, the pink-lemonade sun begins spellin’ her quintessential country sunset once again, always an enchantin’ benefaction and never a dull moment, and the shadows of this excursion get book-marked beneath the pavement and Mission Valley. Auburn road is burnin’ in cranberry haze, while Interstate 35 recoils like a diamondback to the south, where Topeka’s city limits rise at 5:05 P.M. Time to make a small break at Wanamaker Road to get some beverages at the BP mart. Lindyspring water is the brand of choice around here, can’t go wrong when spring is in the name!

5:14 P.M: So this is what purple haze is all about, that smoke on the water. Twilight sages fill the southeast sky, paintin’ a vibrant raspberry sherbet sky meltin’ upon the unwashed masses and Technicolor dreamers. This is Topeka, and the sky is swingin’ in maraschino cherry milango tonight. God must be so lucky to get to stick his clair de lune spoon into this perfect parfet that is melting over California Avenue and Lake Shawnee. Nightswimmin’ is on schedule early tonight, hopin’ to catch some fireflies of our own this late December evenin’. Onward upon the Kansas Turnpike to Kansas City, home of the Royals, Chiefs, and Applebees. Dreamin’ good in the neighborhood!

5:29 P.M: Right over the Douglas county line at godspeed, we’re approachin’ Kansas City at neck break pace. It’s dark out now but the green van light keeps my eyes in action. (looks around a bit) Wow, it’s 5:40 and we’re crossin’ over the Kansas River, a periwinkle ribbon of the low country. Twenty minutes from Kansas City now (spends some time playing Boxes)

6:01 P.M: Kansas City. Truly a Jungle Gym of classical urban country romance. Highways shoe-lacin’ together, knotting the duo-state city together, Central Avenue serpentine along the Kansas River run with the 18th street expressway, Truman Road, Van Brunt Blvd all jettin’ into the calyx and The Paseo alight all throughout the zipper of this wonderful city. Patsy Cline was one lucky woman, and I sure am too. From here on, my journals entries may be a bit short but sweet with the impendin’ darkness (don’t worry, it’s a good kind of darkness) but every writer needs time to dream, am I right? Hehehe! From Kansas City to Lee‘s Summit to Raytown to (hums song lyrics in my head)




Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

They got some crazy lil' women there,

And I'm gonna get me one.



I'm goin' be stand on the corner

Twelfth Street and Vine

I'm goin' be stand on the corner

Twelfth Street and Vine

With my Kansas City baby

And a bottle of Kansas City wine.



Well I might pick a train

I might pick a plane, but if I have to walk

I'm goin' just the same

Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

They got some crazy lil' women there

And I'm gonna get me one"



7:35 P.M: Just stopping’ in Boonville for some food and fuel. This will mark the first time I’ve eatin’ McDonalds in two years and a half. I’ve never been big on fast food, except I do kind of like the sandwiches at Wendys and Good Times. I enjoy eatin’ exotic foods that are inexpensive, from Wild Oats or Alfalfa’s or Mongolian and Thai restaurants. Nevertheless I do enjoy their French fries and I’ve tried their new white meat chicken McNuggets. Not that bad of a change. I’d sure love to fit on those yellow and black I’m Lovin’ It shorts and strut down the boardwalk on a midwinter day. I’m lovin’ it, and I’m fixin’ it!
Just a random thought: out here there’s just way too many XXX bookstores and video outlets. Just a few years back I only remember seein’ them seldom, but they’re multiplyin’ like cells under a microscope. Can someone pass me the eye soap, por favor? Truckers must buy 95% of the pornography in the world I swear, it is a bit saddenin’ to see them all along the highways where children should just pay attention to the scenery. (My apologies to the G-rated viewers here, you can now call this a PG thread, hehehe!)

8:23 P.M: Columbia, looking’ good tonight. That’s all, folks!

11:43 P.M: We’re there! Sweet dreams, everyone, love you all! Beddy-time for an unrested traveler! Hugs from the Hayseed Gypsy!

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-04-2004 07:30 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
80 posted 2004-01-04 11:31 PM


*********Monday, December 29, 2003*********

If The Hat Ain't Missin', I'm More Than Just Fishin'!



1:23 P.M: Home sweet home…the second home sweet home that is! Actually, I almost feel guilty having two Christmases. I wish everyone could see their families during this time of year, but sadly even with all the fine veterans in the army (the Salvation Army that is) and philanthropists and Toys For Tots, many still are stumped workin’ hard durin’ Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, I can’t let the misfortunes get to my head, as I pray each day like all my Catholic and Christian friends do and here I am, on the front porch lookin’ out, listenin’ to Willie Nelson’s "Tougher Than Leather", reading bulk issues of the Catholic Digest and Salesian Missions poetic contributions, and sippin’ on Country Time. I had always been fascinated with the anecdotes submitted in every subsequent issue of the Catholic Digest, so my grandmother signed me up for my own subscription. One of my favorites is from the March 1999 issue, with the story on Megan O’Hara written by her mother Peggy, the second child born in a large family who was diagnosed with Down syndrome and the doctor gave her and her mom Peggy information that was unencouraging that she may never walk or speak well and to put her in an institution, which they refused, and her husband Clark said, "God gave her to us, and God will provide for our needs, and hers." Megan went through a pulmonary illness, had heart surgery at 3 years old, nevertheless her and Clark remained optimistic that Megan would live a normal life and wouldn’t be treated differently than her other children, and Megan’s fist words were "Mommy, Daddy, love!" and she made baby steps that showed she could do more than what the doctors predicted. And though Matt, Maureen, Molly, Mark, and Patrick would all join the family, nearby friends and family always lended them a hand, and Megan excelled in speech and special need classes and also developed a love for athletics and proudly said, "I’m going to Special Olympics someday!" And with mixed tears of joy and fear for her little girl, she decided to let Megan join practice sessions for them and did speed-skating and when it was time for her to go to the winter games, worry filled her mothers heart and she prayed, "Dear God, don’t let Megan get sick, and help her not to be disappointed." and her husband said, "Peggy, we’ve worked hard to make her independent, now that she’s testin’ that independence, we have to learn to let her go." and one Sunday afternoon, when waitin’ for her to come home, she came out with a bright smile and a bronze medal tied to a red, white, and blue ribbon giggling, "Look Mom! Look Daddy! I won! I won!" and she kept earnin’ medals in so many different sports. Then one day, she heard that Wheaties wanted to put her picture on their next Wheaties box and she strided to Rochester to do it! And that story made me cry to see her parents wish of their little girl being "self-reliant, healthy, and happy" being fulfilled and knowing God answered their prayers.



Sometimes in the Catholic digests they also have beautiful submissions in Open Door, Help From the Heart, In Our Parish, and Words for Quiet Moments. Did you know, for instance, that your ability to deal with life is linked to how well you sleep, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Chernobyl, the Bhopal spill, the Challenger space-shuttle tragedy and the Three Mile Island spill are ALL linked to sleep deprivation? It’s even a fact 56,000 car crashes are reported each year by the police linked to drivers asleep at the wheel, and Canadian studies even say the day after Daylight Savings Time, when we lose an hour of sleep, traffic accidents increase 7%, but the day the clocks are turned back, accidents decrease by the exact same percentage. It is said by scientific research that we sleep in five stages, stage one being where your body relaxes and you think randomly, stage 2 a light sleep, stage 3-4 a ½ hour after Stage 2 the delta sleep where brain waves slow, brain blood flow lessens and growth hormone is secreted which children desperately need, then an hour later, REM sleep is achieved, where your brain is almost as active as when you’re awake and though your respiration and heart rate speed up, your muscles are paralyzed, and all the dreams unfold and children learn from them. How often have you dreamt or remembered your dreams? If you seldom do, please get yourself a nice slumber tonight! Dreams are a fascinating gift that should never be unraveled, and reveal ghosts of our true essence, and intergalactic passages to subsequent reconciliation. Life is all about dreamin’, so let your iris bounce at night! I’ve got so many Catholic Digest favorites I’d love to share with you, but I have much more I must talk about!

Nothin’ like sittin’ back in the kitchen and listenin’ to Willie Nelson’s "Me And Paul". Gotta love the cowboy in red braids! And nothing like the smell of pine in the air! It’s amazin’ how everythin’ in this kitchen feels like home. The pantry of downhome goodness, that cabinet filled with ceramic birds, glasses and collection of talkin’ hamsters from Gemmy (I love the dueling banjo ones especially! ) that stained glass window on the center west side of that monarch butterfly against a rainbow ribbon, the Barbara Mock painting hung to the right of the screen door to the sunroom on the north side of hummingbirds flitterin’ in a rosebud wreath, the porcelain angels on the shelf right next to it on the east side hung on the back of the cabinet, and the beautiful pencil sketch of Z. Sefton, "In Our Time" on the south side of a porch and two rockin’ chairs side by side with the poem,




"And when we grow old,
I’ll find two chairs,
And set them close,
Each sun-lit day,
That you and I,
In quiet joy,
May rock the world away."


That always makes me tear up happily knowin’ there’s livin’ proof in this house and other places across the world that eternal love exists and maybe I can find I too and grow old with her but in heart forever feel youthful! And here where the round kitchen table is placed over the mahogany oak floor, we always enjoy some Quaker oats cereal for breakfast early at 7:30 in the mornin’ deli meat, cheese, Fritos, Lays potato chips, gherkin pickles, manzanilla olives and peanut butter at lunch, and a wide array of favorites my grandmother cooks for dinner, from Texas hash to Salisbury steak to cornbread casserole to fried catfish to honeysuckle turkey, and pecan pie, blackberry cobbler and sponge cake for dessert. Before lunch and dinner, me and my grandparents and my aunts always speak a Catholic prayer before feastin’, for we believe the table is where peace is established, where our peace is joined between one another and bread is broken. It’s where we live in the moment, and as a Catholic Digest magazine illustrates on Paul’s Letter to the Philippines, "He learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phil 4:12). And how to? Do it now and not "someday" and accept imperfection, just gather all your blessings like guests at the table and know like them, scratches will be there but it’s natural, as we too have scratches and stains!

This is what can bring my grandparents and me close together but divide me and my parents just a lil’ bit, being the only Catholic in my non-extended family. My grandparents and I, though keepin’ religion and politics out of mealtimes, discuss various Catholic ideas constantly, with Pope John Paul II’s new Luminous Mysteries in the Rosary a hot topic right now. We believe in no extent that Catholics are not Christians and Christians are not Catholics, but I do believe Catholics look upon Christ at a celestial level, and through the Eucharist, while Christians hold a general belief that He exists and Jesus lives on. Nevertheless, my parents and I settle each others differences peacefully as I believe respect for each others beliefs create peace, and I love them so much! Wow, look at the time! Time sure flies when you’re kickin’ back like a cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs listenin’ to classic rock on 100.7 KGMO, classic rock all day, with John Boy and Billy in the mornin’ on the ol’ TEAC CX-210 Stereo Cassette Deck with the Panasonic Technics FM/AM Stereo Receiver SA-5170 that my uncle Rob bought for my grandfather in the service (Wow, quite a long metaphor!) Right next to the kitchen here, they have a beautiful sunroom, with rockin’ and lawn chairs about, oak and pine walls decorated with collections of old tools, collectable trains from Lionel and a bunch of other antique stores, from Burlington Northern to the Santa Fe to the Union Pacific to Chessie System to Jack Frost to Oscar Meyer, all makin’ routes around the Sunroom Expressway, belt buckles from General Electric to the San Francisco 1875 Cable Car to Raleigh Lights to Stihl chainsaws to the Pony Express to the Minnesota State Patrol to the 1951 Southern Police Institute, steins up to twelve inches tall, mining lanterns, Readers Digest condensed books, and an antique Truetone short-wave radio. We can get frequencies all the way from Des Moines, Iowa from here, sometimes from Laredo, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee or Cincinatti, Ohio dependin’ on the weather as the crow flies to all these places!



Well, best I call it a night here and head into REMville. I’ll sure be in Georgia on a fast train tonight, or let my mind wander at least. Oh, those old five and dimers still have it in ‘em!

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-04-2004 11:49 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
81 posted 2004-01-05 01:22 AM


**********Tuesday, December 30, 2003**********

777 Caliber Faith

10:20 A.M: Ahhhh. Beautiful Tuesday mornin’, at 42 degrees, barometer at 1016 millibars with 85% humidity. I sure set my circadian clock right on the button. Got my share of Grandma Ruth’s homemade Hullaoatloo, and listenin’ to "Me and Paul" all over again. Plus I’m here with my loved ones in a sweet home with central heating. What more can I ask for? Here we are, just out of the Advent, yet this paradoxical season is meant to endure twelve months a year. We learn the spirituality of patience and out of it seek perspiration out of anticipation, lookin’ out for Christ with our faith, faith in Emmanuel. Unnoticable things always occur and being attentive is what helps us enjoy the wait, and contemplate, being receptive to one moments grace. Not all is immediately accessible to us and need not be in our possession. Invite yourself to the limits. Don’t manipulate or count on His grace. It has already come to us in incarnate. He came in a stable, in an ordinary world, and made it holy. All of life I feel should be graced with this simple faith. The world is my playground and though I’ll dream and believe for my dreams to blossom, I know true happiness begins with me and comes in the present tense. Before "Behind the Music" and "All Access", there must be "Driven", and "Driven" is no TV show, it is your own ticket to ride. I’m hankerin’ but I’m not bowed up. Should I rise to gold or platinum record stardom and play Madison Square Gardens or Wembley Arena, I would never sacrifice the simple blessing, that seed of faith I’ve held in my tiny hand, rememberin’ where the origin uprooted. Faith is my guitar strap of choice!



2:20 P.M: Well, we’ve driven into Jackson to drop by the Country Mart for some ammo. My grandfather loves to head down to Jim Barks’ farm outside of Marble Hill for shooting cans and bottles just for fun and leisure. Jim Barks is a good friend of his who loves puttin’ a hundred and fifty miles on his Grand Am each day, with his love for cars and ranchin’ evident on his property. My grandfather brought along here his 22 Caliber Harrington Richardson 9-Shot Revolver and his 22 Caliber Air Rifle. Though I am not fond of guns and rather wish they were never customized to begin with, I found it wouldn’t hurt to shoot cans far from anyone or any natural habitat so I gave some rounds in. I’m a pretty good shot with the latter. Just wish guns could only be limited to these activities.

And here we go, down U.S 61, the Grandmother Road, and Route 34, onto Marble Hill. First we take Route 34 and Route 72 to Millersville, then take Route 34 southwest through Marble Hill, a small town in southeast Missouri recently recuperatin’ from a tornado. Just a mile south of Marble Hill, on Route ZZ, there’s Jim Barks’ ranch to the right, with his sawmill (which I saw as a boy) the junkyard, his ranch, garage, and little home.

And here we are. Best to wear headgear when firin’ so the eardrums don’t get that corundrum of panic. Here the junkyard is swimmin’ with yellow plastic chairs, Bar S corn dog packages, salad olive bottles, paper plates and Dr. Thunder cans. This would be the place for Oscar the Grouch. He could roast smores forever over the tire fires! Anyhow, time to give it a go!

4:20 P.M: Just met Jim Barks gettin’ out of his ranch. Quite a nice guy, has the authentic heartland spirit in his soul. Headin’ back home now for supper and relaxation now, yay!

Out over Hurricane Creek that boysenberry parfait is once again percolatin’ across the eastern horizon. Cherubs are finger-paintin’ the turnpikes of heaven and cotton candy clouds are comin’ out to say hello! Nectarine linen cloth covers the western sky where incandescent signals flare, a celestial hash brown casserole Uncle Herschel dreams of, a hash brown casserole with a citrus hint.



Underneath this polyester sky, I am tunin’ into All Things Considered on National Public Radio. Just heard about Ephedra gettin’ banned. Good work. A supplement that has killed a hundred and fifty people cannot be safe. Also heard about the record industries’ continuing woes for the fourth consecutive year. itunes, media mergers, and the ongoing Internet downloadin’ and file swappin’ all significant downfalls. It’s a pity that ones creative flexibility in studio is vanishin’, as Prince, Paul Simon, and Fleetwood Mac all flexed before and would never have made it nowadays otherwise. Let’s hope an everybody wins inonculation cures this dilemma. Momentarily, we’ll be back for leftover honeysuckle turkey and green beans with bacon bits in them! The ultimate meal for the chief cook and bottle washer!

Time to fill the bread basket and the alarm clock with Amish pride!



Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
82 posted 2004-01-05 04:13 AM


**********Wednesday, December 31, 2003**********

High Maintenace Leisure At 3600 RPM

Feliz Nuevo Ano! The eve, that is! Relax, just half a day away, yay! 11:15 A.M and quite a sun-shinin’ day outside! Over a cup of Raspberry Zinger tea last night, we talked on and on about what our grandchildrens’ first names should be, my future youngens, my mother and sister went on and on with their dumb Republican blonde jokes (they like to put Republican in with the blonde jokes) and meanwhile my grandfather and I talked about the new Rosary. Thumbin’ through some Unity magazines, slappin’ my pappy with a traditional lunch here, and piddlin’ beautifully listenin’ to the great Randy Travis’ “Always and Forever”. Randy Travis is one of my country favorites. “Forever And Ever, Amen”, “The Truth Is Lyin’ Next To You”, “Good Intentions” and “My House” are all soul food to my sunflower garden in my heart. Randy Travis, George Strait, and the Dixie Chicks would have to be my three modern country favorites!

[Edit Huge image removed - Ron]

I already got my New Years Resolution aired-up., and then again, shouldn’t we make them each week, perhaps even each day? Shouldn’t each day be about managin’ our dreams and lifestyles? It’s never too late to make a resolution, and only you have the power to determine your own resolution and make yours complete. Anyway, on a spiritual level, mine is to keep livin’ up to my Mistletoe Angel name and keep givin’, but on a more earthly level, I hope to get my demo disc out and about in my pursuit for a career take-off. Have faith in me soon you’ll get to hear my music as all y’all have waited too patiently for! I promise your anticipation wil be rewarded! What’s yours?

I cannot imagine a more comely livin’ room than this very one I’m sittin’ in right this moment. It puts the livin’ in living! Soft customized rockin’ chairs, that old robin-egg blue loveseat, those oak end tables between the chairs placed with coasters and poinsettia, big windows festooned with rosebud curtains, with authentic Rivoire and N. Scheneemann country paintings, family portraits, ceramic angels on shelves, and a Hamilton clock given to my grandpa after 25 years of service at Western Electric adornin’ the walls, and antique glass cabinets loaded with classic PEZ dispensers, ceramic eggs, Mr. Peanut toys, vases, and hand-crafted ornaments, with my grandma’s wedding dress beautifully tucked away in its own cabinet on the northeast side of the room. And, yep, gotta have your entertainment system. My grandparents love watchin’ crime investigation dramas on A&E and movies on Lifetime and USA, and my grandpa has an affinity for tape-recordin’ those movies on VHS with his beloved Quasar VHQ840 4 Head VHS Double Azimuth-Universal VCR/TV/Cable/DSS Remote box. He has libraries of films stored away in the closets!



My grandfather also has an enjoyed hobby of carpentry and hand-craftin’ in his shed workshop in the backyard. As a boy I remember him makin’ me birdhouses and an adorable tin man with a red heart worn on the outside that I hugged many nights before going to sleep that I still have tucked lovingly in my room, and a front porch lantern out of a bucket to attract moths and fireflies in the evenin’. Out there in his shed he has all kinds of tools, shippin’ docks full of ‘em, even a restricted section of them, plus a few small Briggs and Stratton Craftsman lawn mowers; an eighteen horsepower YTV/16 Varidrive with 3600 RPM, a GTV/18 Varidrive, a six-speed 44’’ eighteen horsepower Craftsman, and accessories to complement them. He also has his Yard Machines 4.5 horsepower 22” inch side discharge mulcher, his Craftsman 3.5 horsepower 25” vacuum, shredder and bagger, and a series of other hardware. Just now I got to see him workin’ on a new cabinet shelf, using his 10” compound miter saw to carve the wood to proper length and his Valuecraft Model 8180-4” by 6” disc and belt sander to smoothen it out. He’s also got a Delta 12 ½ by 6” planer, a SKIL 10” band saw, a power tool motor, his workshop is remarkable and magical here. It has a mingle-mangle of ideas and innovations. Standin’ with him in the workshop, he told me how he collects defunct lawn mowers and repairs the motors, re-furnishes them, and sells those Briggs and Stratton Varidrives. Keep in touch if you’re lookin’ for a fine lawn mower, he’s a no-haggle cavalier! He also re-builds old tractors!

Earlier we tried visitin’ the Trail of Tears historical museum, unfortunately it was closed for the holidays. Nevertheless we had a good drive along the scenic Mississippi River route, headin’ up to Route 177 on U.S 61 and takin’ it down seven miles east to Neely’s Landing, right on the foot of the Mississippi River basin. Just north of the state park on Route 177 is a Proctor and Gamble industrial complex, where my grandpa said he was a millwright when he moved to Missouri in 1983, after he had went to a union hall and got a union card and when cursed with cabin fever in February 1983 got a job for four months until layoffs were made and he rejected returnin’ once they blew over and the company rebounded. And so now, we headed into the state park and got to see all the winter scenery and lovely, serene Lake Boutin , my favorite Show-Me swimmin’ hole! Lickity-Split would be my favorite Show-Me waterslide!

So we didn’t get to experience the tour, but we still got just the adventure we needed! On the way back west on Route 177, we passed Hickory Hills Road, where my second cousins live up on the fourth house to the right. Jim, Debra, Jeremy, Chris, and Nathan Shank. It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard from the, and I still pray for Debra and the family after Debra’s car accident.



With my Aunt Helena, I sat down in my favorite maroon-chestnut rockin’ chair tunin’ into That 70’s Show and King of the Hill. Tonight I’m tunin’ in at 11:00 to catch America’s Party hosted by Ryan Seacrest. For those of you who have watched the program now later reading’ this very journal, my brother Larry and his best friend Colin may be featured on the program having won a VIP pass from my local alternative radio station from Fort Collins, 93.3 KTCL, to fly out to Las Vegas with other winners. Metallica, Ashanti, Keith Urban, Westside Connection, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Puddle of Mudd will perform and like Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2004 they say will feature all kinds of entertainment. I’ll be lookin’ for you, brother! But for now, time for some ice cream! Prairie Farms ice cream!

9:00 P.M: Just tunin’ in now to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2004, yep, the world’s oldest teenager’s annual tradition. Kicked it off with Avril Lavigne, the biggest movie and CD of 2003, and now Tim McGraw is singin’ “That’s Why God Made Mexico”. Beautiful. And wow, I’d hold it in nine hours to get Dick’s attention! Here, we’ve got Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, lots of great artists, but now time to turn into America’s Party where part of my family is on the spot!

11:00 P.M: I’m at the edge of my seat hopin’ to catch Larry and Colin in Las Vegas in the American Wedding DVD bachelor party! And here’s the countdown! Five…four…three…two…one…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! FELIZ NUEVO ANO! FELIZ NUEVO ANO, TODAS LAS PERSONAS!!! Smoothies for everyone!

Uggghhh, I’m really not enjoyin’ America’s Party, too much lewd, raunchy, crass entertainment and behavior! I wouldn’t be surprised if Larry and Colin were duckin’ for cover in the basement! Personally, I find the whole Paris Hilton Incorporated bonanza disgustin’. She’s like the real-life Billy Madison. The only part I’ve liked about this party is Hootie and the Blowfish performin’ a great cover of “The Goodbye Girl”. Everythin’ else is givin’ me a virtual hangover, so I’m goin’ to conserve my soberness, spray on the eye soap and call it a night forty-five minutes into 2004. Bound to be either a beautiful year with new freedom or a beautiful year that ends in incarceration, should Bush have his way…again. He is the greatest threat to world peace in my humble opinion and when he’s removed from office and another takes his place and gets a chance, hopefully another can rule with love rather than hate or vengeance and settle the disorder and dilemmas in this corrupted government and world with diplomacy and understanding rather than by blind rage and anger that passes the facts and people and puts the victim taken on by white hot hatred in an oubilette of ignorance. 2003 had a victory definitely with Saddam’s capture, who without doubt was a great terror, but it was all the troops who accomplished this feat and doesn’t change my personal opinion of Bush at all or of the war being a good idea, which I am against all war. Bush is a war criminal and the least humanist president ever. How can one possibly think or agree Bush is THE or one of the best presidents ever when he is the most secretive, lobbyist-governed U.S president of all time who is so ultra short-sighted he has no clue what’s goin’ on in the average Joe’s life or even his daughters’ lives is the big question I have. I can never trust an administration like that that is not open-door policy to the people and peoples’ liberties are at stake, peoples environments, peoples geography, peoples’ health, peoples’ freedoms. Even when it may seem all is quiet above, underground a large percentage of his initiatives and incentives are carried out, selling this nation in his own auction. If you thought my political poetry was robust in 2003, wait until this year, as I’m going to be mighty serious in-between my rainbow sharin’ and see to it a fresh new face is revealed hopefully! I pray for this!



Happy New Year, Happy New Year everybody!

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Ron (01-05-2004 09:03 AM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
83 posted 2004-01-05 08:56 PM


**********Thursday, January 1, 2004*********

185 Skyline Drive



12:27 P.M: Ahhhh…the first day of 2004. Nothin’ like unsealing a fresh new year by getting’ up early to see the sun rise. The clouds are acceleratin’ in, so I may be enjoyin’ some January rain here! In Colorado you practically never get January rain, it’s either a second Gobi desert or a blizzard bluff. And I’m used to livin’ in this second Gobi desert, but I’m a puppy in love when I’m singin’ in the rain! Particularly because we’re part of the Mile High Club (in elevation, that is!) where there’s lil’ humidity and less oxygen and more atmospheric pressure! With low humidity, you get more cool air in the clouds, not warm enough to produce rain! Here, the country always feels like home when you have either the fresh-scented rain or amber sunshine, with Frosty occasionally comin’ out to play! Prancin’ poplars rockin’ out on the rollin’ meadows with the swayin’ hackberry trees, with the cardinals and rabbits all skimperin’ in the southland tureen! Livin’ on the front porch is like experiencin’ a nursery rhyme Lenten season year-round. Churnin’ the butter and tastin’ the wild berries and the sight of Arabian horses patterin’ in the distance are all natural joys to observe, remindin’ me of the saying, "Every day propound to yourself a rosary or chaplet of good works to present to God at night", a wise potpourri of words from Jer. Taylor. Just like the many fine quilters and crafters of the good land, let us assemble the beads together and make a heirloom out of the gifts. Yay, aunt Judy just came through the screen door of the sunroom! I just love her, she is one hip hippy chick! Momentarily I’m goin’ down to get to see her trailer, yay! (slips on sandals and rushes to the Big Green)

1:42 P.M: Here we are, 185 Skyline Drive, in lil’ Mulberry Acres! My Aunt Judy’s new bungalow! Truly I’ve always wanted to live in a trailer sometime before I start a family as it truly is cozy and serene! It’s inexpensive, you have plenty of company, and especially here it is not at all like a trailer park or vaudeville or shanty-town. But here in LOT-114 just off of the frontage road on I-55, I’ve discovered a third home, or second-and-a-half home, on this worldly Discovery Zone. Walkin’ into that front door, her home is truly a palace! Fuchsia carpets, blue oval rugs in each room used as doormats, a rose armchair and a comfortable couch beside it each with floral pillows, a livin’ room with this and a home entertainment system and on the mantle of it a Galileo thermometer, gold swans, a prayer of Jabez plaque and flowers, end tables decorated with vases, flowers, and candles, paintings of Laurie Korogadan and Doug Brega’s lighthouse photography hung all over the walls against floral and kitchen wallpaper, potpourri in every corner of the home, Harvey-Davidson mugs on her refrigerator, with a cute postcard of a bulldog on a hog saying, "Grab life by the throttle…and don’t look back." right on it, with other words of wisdom flooding the domain, from nursin’ prayers, a stone on her livin’ room end table sayin’ "Strive to learn, before you die, from what you run, and to, and why.", postcards on her bulletin board readin’ "Believe, dream, will, and put it in the hands of God." and "Hold an image of the life you want, and that image will become fact." even a lovely bedstool that says, "All things grow with love". She has plenty of windows that bring plenty of sunlight in, framed in lace and autumn leaf curtains, buttoned with lights, latticed kitchen mirrors beside the table and the appliance island, and a nearby flat roof that makes the sound of rain tappin’ the tin roof comfortin’. Just like a metal box that’s Alladin’s palace on the inside.



There on the west side of her manor, she has her own craft attic where she runs her business, "Jewlz by Judy". "Jewlz By Judy" is her own private custom and ready to wear jewelry hut (for scintillatin’, phantasmagorical jewelry, call (573) 243-9343). She also has a friend who writes marvelous poetry who’s in the antique business, wih my favorite, "Overheard on a Salt Marsh" hung on her workshop’s north side wall. She makes jewelry, dream catchers, wind chimes, all sorts of precious collectables.

After admirin’ her sanctuary beyond the curb, we sat down in her livin’ room and Judy told us about her experiences on Tangier Island just off of Chesapeake Bay (she has a map on her livin’ room wall), a 45-minute boat ride from the Virginia peninsula, and all the fishermen there who fish and do crabbing and oyster food preparation, and all the drudgers and brogans and nippers with English that speak unusual words as well. She also has her beloved Holly with her, a half-poodle, half-Chihuahua (I love to call her a poohuahua! ) who has micro-valve perlapse sadly but still is an active lovin’ and friendly companion! She is very smart. Judy would say, "Awww, let me see your belly!" and she’d roll over on her back. Say "Say pretty!" and she’ll stand up. Declare "Talk to me!" and she’ll leech her lil’ head out and bark! Ask her "Need some water, you want some water?" and she’ll answer by tip-toeing over to her water dish and drink to say "No" or make a little moan for "Yes". And then, there’s my absolute favorite trick: announce "Is it time for a treat?" and she’ll delightedly fan her ears like the propeller of Jay-Jay the jet plane on a spring day, or me when the sparrows are singin’ outside, and gets a treat happily! Then you say "You’re a good baby!" and she’ll lie in your lap!

With Holly bringin’ me and everyone best friendship, Judy then pulled out her CD-scrapbooks from under the Daewob in the cabinet, showin’ us all her favorites from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Eric Clapton to Jewel to B.B King to Woodstock to the Lilith Festival to Styx and Aerosmith, and put in her CD player what was currently her favorite artist: Tony Joe White. Immediately I got hooked on his guitar style and his mysterious Tom Waitsesque voice, in selections from his album "The Beginning" like "Rich Woman Blues", "More Of This Than That" and "Clovis Green". I’ve got to get his album, he’s a future star in the makin’! It was truly a pleasure to get to feel like home in Judy’s home. I have an affinity for gettin’ to see the homes of my loved ones and friends, as I believe they get you to know a person so much better, and their tradin’ of spaces all is symbolic of the caretaker or decorator! Though Paige Davis may be the #1 syndicated decorating master, YOU are YOUR own best interior designer!



Bye-bye, 185 Skyline Drive! The Frontage Road can truly be the back road adventurous experience, aside from the high-octane circuit. Next to Mulberry Acres on the I-55 Outer Road north is Concrete Castings, a concrete and ceramic statue and garden-décor boutique. They have a few camels that roam free on the acres there, as the llamas, horses, and goats do on Clarence’s family farm, a good Missourian friend of mine.

3:00 P.M: Word association can be quite a gaucherie! When you have to blurt above all blurtifiers that ever blurtified, that is! Me and my family brought along Blurt! to challenge our motor and reaction speed skills to the test! Blah, I’m not a very good blurter! Though I am seen as highly intelligent to my loved ones, I am not Quick Draw McGraw. In fact, I think my palm’s license has expired! Aw well, I love to see my family all best me, yay, those slap-action cats!

My grandmother is busy preparin’ her New Years Day supper tradition of ham, beans, and cornbread. She told me there’s a sayin’ if you eat this each New Year, you won’t get hungry the rest of the year. Though I doubt it, LOL, it’s a delicious meal nevertheless! Bein’ a New Years party-pooper in public, I’m relishin’ the Monk marathon on USA. That’s right! “Who’s the obsessive compulsive detective that’s a total mess with all his ticks? Monk! (You’re damn right!) Who’s the man who has to wipe after shakin’ hands? Monk! (Can you dig it?) Who’s the cat who solves the crime when the cops don’t have the time? Monk! They say this Monk is afraid of germs! (Wipe your mouth!) I’m talkin’ about Monk, baby! (We can dig it!) He’s a complicated man but no one understands him but his nurse! LOL! Couldn’t resist! Tony Shalhoub is one suave superfly, with just, um, a thousand small phobias or so! He vacuums in a grid and is afraid of walkin’ on diagonal carpets or tiles, likes his haircut measured at exactly a certain inch, he doesn’t like makin’ left turns or seeing right turns turnin’ or yieldin’, likes his buttons cross-stitched, and likes to start at one when countin’, working’ up numerals. My favorite episode has got to be the plane one, where Monk investigates a murderer on a commerical flight but his phobias of flying get him in trouble with the flight attendant. My favorite part is when a lil’ girl sittin’ in front of him gives him a riddle, "Pete and Repeat are in a boat. Pete falls out, who’s left?" and answering, "Repeat!", she says the same riddle over and over again, pushin’ him to the poin the was about to cry or bail and with a look of defeat, he turns his head to an extension cord salesman sittin’ beside him who whispers "It’s repeat!" and Monk responds silently, "Thank you!" LOL! One of my favorite shows in years, you must tune in if you haven’t already!



Time to rest my angel head on a luxurious feather bed, OK, the floor in the livin’ room in a big orange sleepin’ bag! Aw well, it’s still a bed to me, yay! Buenas noches!

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-06-2004 01:32 AM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
84 posted 2004-01-05 11:56 PM


**********Friday, January 2, 2004**********



Honky-Tonk Til' You Drop

Wow, how I covered 61 pages already? God, guess I don’t know my own right wrist! Can we get properly acquainted, Twisty? Soon enough perhaps this relentless spiel of subconscious farrago can get published, on my watch it’ll surely never earn a Caldecott honor but a simple high-five suthern style will suffice! But what do I know? There’ll be Tasha Tudor mornings, Veneer afternoons and Z. Riles evenings. All I need is that Brookstone wireless transmitter to let me decide the day!

61.2 degrees currently, at 93% humidity, 58 degree dewpoint, south winds at 15 miles an hour, barometer at 30.03 inches, visibility 5 miles, ceiling 500 feet, with already .31 inches of precipitation through one day into the new year. It’s a bit too cloudy to be an en brochette type of day, but it is a gorgeous cloudy day, that kind of cloudy day that don’t topple a smile cattywampus. Perched on the front porch, lookin’ out, I see Grandpa’s sheds, his cardinal birdfeeder, the marble gavel, a stone birdbath swarmin’ with cardinals and finches, the old Mary concrete statue standin’ out in the middle of the lawn in a flowerbed, in front of the propane tank that keeps this home warm, sleeping blackberry, potato, and corn plants and bushes patiently awaitin’ Groundhog Day, spruces and cedars and oaks all about, a simonizin’ collage indeed. With a high expected at 72 today, it is undoubtedly a teaser for another lush spring ahead, a preconceived matinee. The southland in the springtime is unarguably in my heart heaven on Earth, but even with the trees bare of their chartreuse and emerald dresses and the EXL ceiling fans off, it is the closest to spring this winter day can get. I’ll sure miss this beautiful second home when I go home tomorrow, and I can’t help but feel a bit sad inside, but again I live in my eternal Advent and know in time I’ll be comin’ on back, again and again!

Yay, we’re givin’ the Trail of Tears state park another go today! This time, there’s no stoppin’ us! Nuh-uh, no way, no how! Despite Mark Twain’s boyhood storybook vision of the Big Money ruther a fantasy now, some of is unadulterated beauty lives on, immortal as the Cherokee cry in my heart, which will forever resonate across this nation its heartwrenchin’ but resurrectin’ spirit song, as the Cherokee will forever be Ani Yunwiya, the Principle People of this land!

Ever since I was a boy, I have endured the darkness and grief felt by my ancestors of the Cherokee community from the stories I have read. Of how my people used to live an undisturbed lifestyle in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the Carolinas and Georgia, who their tribes always had one white chief for peace and one red chief for war all before the mid-17th century, when after Hernando De Soto charted the Cherokee towns in the Appalachians in 1540, the Louisiana Purchase ratification about three hundred years later would eventually force over 18,000 Cherokees to move west across the Mississippi with Sequoyah tryin’ to get them safe and sound on their Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, with 1,600 fallin’ from starvation and chlora and other diseases along the way in summer and autumn of 1838. Hearin’ the echoes of their tragic and agonizin’ stories, from the Georgia lottery of their land to the wods of Winfield Scott sayin’ "Spare me, I beseech you…the horror of witnessing the destruction of the Cherokees." to the journals of Dr. C Lilybridge, Lieutenant Edward Deas and Mrs. Rebecca Neugin, all expressin’ the cry of protest and compassion for my Cherokee people, to the saddening loss of Princess Otahki when she sacrificed her only blanket, and her life, to save the life of a lil’ Cherokee girl! I’m just blessed that the Cherokee spirit lives on even if still oppressed and ostracized! I am Cherokee and am proud to be Cherokee, one of the Ani Yunwiya!



Trail of Tears State Park, just like all the Mississippi river basin, floods with natural scenery! We’re takin’ the scenic route this time around, down Route W from Route 177 south, down to Route V, and east there to the state park. Passin’ through the small town of Oriole, there’s luscious deciduous foliage shawlin’ the hills, a salmon blaze, with the cloud cover rustin’ the sepia-toned earth. Lil’ creekbeds and ditches splurtin’ like summer garden hoses back and forth, slip-n-slides for dragonflies and Kentucky warblers, all Mother Nature’s sacred all-season water park. Should’ve I been a cowboy?

Yay, it’s open! Nothin’ like a walk through the Vancill Hollow Natural Area or the Indian Creek wild area, flourishin’ with an extended family of river birch, eastern red cedar, possum haw, hazel alder, box elder and slippery elms, watercolored with honey locust, cucumber magnolias, purple trilliums and white wake robins, and high on the branches in the canopy, ovenbirds and Baltimore orioles cry “hew-lee!”. Whether now in the heart of winter where the Mississippi kites glide above a covered soil of dead leaves, opossum jaws, turkey beards, clam shells, beaver incisors and deer molars, in autumn when wild turkeys roam eagerly and carefree among trails jeweled with sweet gum seed, sumac berries, walnut husks and acorns, or in a full-bloom spring and summer with red-eared sliders jumpin’ and surfin’ in the big drink, black ducks quackin’ within the hickory wilderness, and toads hopscotchin’ over the shelf mushrooms and between the wild grape vines, and the evening bades welcome to an Eucharist of gypsy moths! Whether to the west or to the east, in the old growth or out on the prairie, over the river bluffs or under the forest ceiling, the Mississippi is like no place else, it is every pioneer and Mark Twain martyr’s home and indisputable territory!

In honor of my family’s heritage, I need say but one universally valuable word: Peewah. It is translated as “Come follow in this direction”, so I invite you to come along with me, we can sing “Kum-Ba-Yah” and roast some smores and I’ll let you wear the red, white, and blue bandanna! It’s a free world, my friend!

4:35 P.M: Being the only exception to my "all sandals, all the time" rule on this vacation, I’m slippin’ on my boots to prepare for a traditional grand finale to our vacations together; catfish dinner down at the Hideaway then cruisin’ over to the Lil Ol’ Opry, a honky-tonk just out of town where every Saturday night it’s happenin’! Except it’s Friday night, and Lil’ Ol’ Opry is only open on Saturdays, so this calls for a substitute honky-tonk. So we’re workin’ everythin’ out by goin’ to American Legions, where they turn their post into a public honky-tonk every Friday night in the Cape Giradeau area in downtown Jackson. Heck yeah, time to boot-scootin’ boogie!



Just a while ago, I saw the end of "Blast From the Past", an adorable movie I love so much, and the former half of "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" on the small kitchen telly, while enjoyin’ this Ronnoco cappuccino, fresh from the D-Mart. Selected globally…roasted locally…no way like that! God, is it really 65 degrees right now? I think I’m guilty for committin’ early spring vacation fraud!

Down U.S 61, the Grandmother Road, we go, but we’ll be takin’ a lil’ shortcut this time to the western edge of town, through Route D, down to Broadridge Drive by their junior high school, and south on West Drive down to Jackson Blvd at Route 34 and Route 72, where we take Route 72 across to Route 51, take Route 51 south to Route A, and west on there aways is the Hideaway, a rural restaurant favorite which used to be Denman’s Grocery but became the pride of Marquand, Missouri. I always love ordenin’ the grilled catfish there, some of my favorite catch of the day in the whole world, and takin’ three packages of lemon juice to kick in the juices. My grandpa has all kinds of friends who come in here, like Cowboy Kenny, who constructed the concrete walkway around the sides of his house. He said on Route 51 at Junction Route K, and down to Route M, he has a concrete business there. Yay, an appetizer of cole slaw and hush puppies, yay! Mmmmm, that’s my kind of catfish! Reelin’ in the big fish alright! Now onto American Legions Post 158 for the Friday dance party!

6:55 P.M: American Legions Post 158, in service since 1919, when the first commander took order in this town and post. Here our beloved soldiers and those in service of our forces are praised and our veterans are gifted with honor and pride as every soldier should! One commander of this post, Norman H. Sebastain, who was commander in 1996, sadly died recently at a local hospital where my aunt Judy nurses at and I asked her by telephone to offer my adoration to him in honor! Every year I go out to visit, I go with my  grandmother and Aunt Helena to make adorations to sick and ailing patients at the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Giradeau. I also make adorations for children and the elderly at the Catholic Community Center in Colorado, as I believe every brother and sister needs faith healing to complement the guardian angels that watch over them. It makes me happy to see them smile when lovin’ comfort finds its way to their hearts.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to dance once! I absolutely love country music but it truly can make me cry ever so often as so many songs represent love that lasts forever or heartbreak and not havin’ a girl’s hand to hold can’t help but make me tear up, as though I’m still in the heartbreak category. And with no one wantin’ to even let me participate in their chair dance, I just went up to Table 2 to study the steel guitar and Wade’s lead electric guitar. Guess with God bein’ the chief executive of the National Honky-Tonk Bar Association, he makes 7/8 of His children dancers and the remaining eighth the musicians who make the honky-tonk rhythm. Perhaps I am undeniably among that 1/8 minority whose mission is to make the dancers’ heels’ swing and bring lovers and strangers together and in reward some girl will be seduced by my charm and I will win her heart! That thought makes me feel better as good things come to those who wait in this Grand Advent, though I still wish someone would a least dance with me!



I just love the twang of steel guitar! I don’t intend to put that in all my songs but definitely get it in there in a handful of songs and make it family with the guitars, various percussion, bass, mandolins, sitars, fiddles, and mariachi instruments to name a few. I want to create a diverse palette of sounds that don’t sound alike to one another. Nelly Furtado has a good example of that in her new album "Folklore", like in "Powerless (Say What You Want)". I just love her and her music, even her looks are very unique but very natural. She’s got the banjo, the mandolin, and guitar all mixed in there, beautiful.

This marks about the end of this excitin’ adventure! Nevertheless returnin’ home tomorrow morning will birth the beginnin’ of many more adventures. Next time we come out during a summer, we’re headin’ out to Graceland (yep, ol’ Memphis, Tennessee!) and also we’re headin’ to New York next Christmas and Costa Rica sometime soon! Yay, more expeditions, yay!

I miss all my Passions friends so much, love you all, and I love you family and grandma and grandpa! I love you Aunt Judy and Helena! I love you Holly! I love you Jim Barks! I love you Mississippi River! I love you 100.7 KGMO, mince meat pie and Gemmy hamsters!

Time to retire and rise and shine like a baby rooster, yay!

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
85 posted 2004-01-06 12:33 PM


**********Saturday, January 3, 2004**********

Flippin’ The Dial Twang Style!

9:20 A.M: Slowly, after huggin’ my grandparents and aunts au revoir, I watch the vision of them in the rear-view mirror of our mint Dodge Grand Caravan SE shrink, which for a moment always makes me cry just a little feelin’ like movin’ away from home! Guess that naturally happens when you love someone too much!

Wonder what I’ll do once I get back for these one and a half weeks of winter break I have remainin’! Maybe learn to play those "twang" riffs from Wade’s guitar, maybe begin Bob Ross paintings. I’ll figure it out soon enough! I’m just jugglin’ between 100.7 KGMO and 103.3 KLOU, an oldies station! Missouri sure loves REO Speedwagon and Styx. The Chicago influence resistance is futile!

U.S 61, the Grandmother Road, and Interstate 55, her Grandson, offer me so many familiar sights, from Perryville, St. Genevieve, New Madrid, St. Louis, all the way north to the Missouri River and all the way south to the Louisiana bayous. 9:57 I was in Perryville, 10:06 across the St. Genevieve county line, now at 11:05 back in St. Louis, and once again I smell that eucalyptus again from my boyhood, lookin’ through perma-glass sunglasses at all the interstate chronicles. Now crossin’ the Missouri River one of two times along Interstate 70 at 11:10, I see the ripples extend over the heartland, from St. Charles to O’Fallon at 11:18 A.M, where T.R Hughes’ famous ballpark is, to the calm of Lake Saint Louis and its water tower, to Wentzville at 11:25 where the original Yaba’s Deli Pizza thrives.

I just put it in the first audio cassette tape of Mitch Album’s "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", who also wrote the brilliant "Tuesdays With Morrie", a new New York Times best-seller. I heard it is absolutely wonderful! Wonderful audio to complement film-strips of Peterbilt and J. Hunt truck escapades, yellow-tiled signs that read like magnetic poetry along the highway, statuaries, and sleepy marshes. Let’s give it a listen!

12:32 P.M: Heh-heh, there ain’t no country cookin’ and shoppin’ like Cracker Barrel. I have loved this place forever with the good eatins, all the beautiful crafts and nostalgic gifts like the giant checkerboard, the John Deere merchandise bonanza, collectable country dolls for each month of the year, classic radio favorites on cassette, ceramic roosters, classic toy favorites like Wooly Willy, and old ads and crafts all over the walls like Royal Crown cola, Clabber Girl baking powder, Green River soda, KOOL cigars and Economy pretzels. Here at the Columbia location, we got a table near the entrance of the restaurant, with a cute quilted colorful bear robe hung on the wall with a Raggedy Ann and Andy one hung beside it to the right. I got me a spicy grilled catfish dinner with steak fries, turnip greens, and Vidalia sweet onion rings. I also polished it down with a caramel milkshake, and got some Sour Gummi Worms for the road, yay! Cracker Barrel always feels like the second kitchen to me!



1:30 P.M: Already "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" is deeply touchin’ my heart and makin’ me cry, gettin’ off the Columbia exit 128A U.S 63 from Jefferson City to Moberly. I’m not goin’ to spoil the fun for those of you who want to read it and haven’t done so yet but the first person Eddie meets brought me to tears, who Eddie is the main character who dies at age 83 tryin’ to save a little girl from an amusement park cart accident at Ruby Pier, feelin’ her hands before wakin’ in heaven, unsure if he had saved her or not and discovering his life better from five different people that revolved in his life for him. I already feel this book can affect my life so very much in my thoughts of God and how meaningful every special persons life is and how we touch people intangibly without being aware of how we did it.



As I keep listenin’ to this heartfelt jewel of fiction, I continue to fall in love with the Missouri I have known and loved. Loveall RV’s, Hitchhiker’s blazin’ down the left lanes, Ozarkland with all its traditional spirit, from moccasins to Arkansas toothpicks to fireworks to fine leather and their famous walnut bowls, the lush green surroundin’ Lamine River, all the many miracle miles leadin’ back to Kansas City.

Now I shall lie back for a while and enjoy this charming story!

3:25 P.M: Just crossed over the Kansas state line. Crossin’ the Missouri state line is always the second of two times that make me tear up a little every trip. But I have a whole other reason to cry right now; the story only touches my heart more and more each person Eddie meets and lesson he learns from each person! From childhood to the horrors of war to his relationship to his father, a crescendo of emotion fills Mitch’s poetic words and I feel now I struggle to stop the flowing of tears. I now know three of the people he meets and the three lessons collected from them. By about 4:10 we’ll make it to Topeka I imagine, and I’ll identify the fourth person and the lesson by then. Did he save the girl, I won’t tell you, you’ll have to find out yourself!

5:31 P.M: (tears flooding my cheeks) Just finished the most beautiful fiction I’ve read in years. In my loudest tone from the bottom of my heart, even through the fiercest of intermingled tears of applause and emotion, I MUST recommend it to everyone! The ending is the most beautiful ending I have ever read, and I have to say the fourth and fifth people seriously touch me he most (I can’t give them away, but you’ll undoubtedly cry too when you find out!) Even the atmosphere is so heartfelt, from the scenery all about Ruby Pier, from the Dipsy-Doodle to the lollipop swings to the Tunnel of Love to the stardust bandshell, to the spires and turrets stretchin’ up to the heavens, to how his Ruby Pier changed over the years from the pennywhistle arcade music to rock music and how it changed Eddie too and his love Margareet, everythin’ is something I can feel ever so closely. I feel like I MUST be the director of the movie adapted on this classic, it is the movie I am born to create, or at least I MUST write the original song for the motion picture soundtrack and also write the music video concept for it. Other songs that should be put in the soundtrack if made into a movie? I thought of Five For Fighting’s "100 Years" just now, which has become one of my favorite songs recently and makes me cry listenin’ to it too! PLEASE read "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", I guarantee it’ll pluck your heartstrings!

After the great flood of tears, I need to listen to some good ol’ rock and roll to loosen me up again. We just passed through Abiliene at 5:31 and crossin’ onto Saline County at 5:38. Abilene, Salina, it is so great to see the both of you again! Miss you too!



6:42 P.M: Passin’ Russell by again, and we’re flippin’ the dial between a few great stations: 94.9 KISS, 96.9, a classic rock station, and KBTL, another rock favorite station. Wichita, you rock! The Doors, Rush, The Beatles, that’s the stuff!

Shortly we’ll be stoppin’ in Hays for dinner, once more at McDonalds. OK, just this once again until next year, hehehe! We just turned the dial to their local public broadcasting station, playin’ some great cajun music live from the Fitzgerald Theatre. Wow, they said I can find more on http://www.landsend.com  . I better check it out once I get home! It’s about another four and a half hours from here!

8:03 P.M: Back on the road again! Even after McDonalds twice in one week, I’m still fit as a fiddle, I’ll tell you wut! From here on, with the darkness, I probably won’t write much, but we are expected to go through some winter conditions once we cross through Limon or so so…bring it on! Hehehe, I love it when Frosty the Snowman comes out to play, although he can be mischievous when he ices up the roads! That’s OK, I love you no matter what, Frosty, yay!

(Around 10:30 P.M) By god, just gettin’ out of Deer Trail, the storm is really beginnin’ to take off. Feels like with all the flurries swarmin’ at our windshield we’re travellin’ light speed through space on purgatory like in Star Wars. Activate…Ludicrous Speed! LOL! How did Spaceballs get in my head? I sure love Barf in that movie, I’ll give you that, John Candy is one of my favorite comedians!

Wow, hardly can see anything! But we’re makin’ it safe and sound through this white hole anyhow! Come in, come in, your landing gear is down, but your wheels got the greased lightnin’!

A few hours ago, we started listenin’ to Mary Higgins Clark’s "On The Street That You Live", though just now I lost attention concentratin’ on the winter journey! I have a hunch who the killer is though, hehehe! Here come some plows now to take care of business! Yay, Mr. Plow wins again!

11:15 P.M: We’ve made it back to Denver, hooray! Well, it’s time to call closure to this adventure, but this will certainly be a keeper I’ll never forgotten and I hope entertained some others who will read it tomorrow or so! Any artist or dreamer can bear a lazy man’s load and I feel I have lifted all the heartland home with me, or ran a manege this past week. Well I sure ran a manege alright, one of dreams, visions, and All-American twang! It’s gotta have that twang to it, so give me that thang!



Even every blind hog finds an acorn now and then, as scarce as hen’s teeth but is exactly what makes one unique and the melodies one composes. We all have an accent, twang, or pitch in our inner-voice, and you have just identified some of mine. What’s yer thang? (raggedy ann and andy hugs for all)

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
86 posted 2004-01-09 10:05 PM


Noah, it was wonderful seeing Salina mentioned.  So many do not realize that our little area of the world is so widely traveled East to West, and how much we have to offer everyone.  I'm glad you had a wonderful vacation!
garysgirl
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Laureate
since 2002-09-29
Posts 19237
Florida, USA
87 posted 2004-01-26 05:09 AM


Noah, this is very interesting. I'm glad that you had such a wonderful vacation.
Alicat
Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094
Coastal Texas
88 posted 2004-01-26 12:06 PM


Well, interesting journal, even though the sheer amount of images tends to lock up this dialup user. 30 images on page 4. I tried to be patient, but around image 15, I decided to simply use the STOP button on my IE toolbar, as the bandwidth load was keeping any other web application from running, not to mention the drawing of comment panes. I would like to read this journal from beginning to the current entry, but this slow 45.3 kb/s connection just can't handle the linked graphic loads. Nothing personal, but you've lost this reader.
the_loner_23
Member Ascendant
since 2002-06-08
Posts 5479
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
89 posted 2004-01-26 06:27 PM


I loved the way you described the whole trip. it was like I went on it with you. And The Great Smokies, Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline drive are very beuatiful. I have been on all 3 a lot in my life.

Cold hands means a warm heart

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
90 posted 2004-01-29 07:47 PM


*********Thursday, January 29, 2004*********

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On...And I Mean LOTS Of It!

Wow! It has been quite a while since I've updated here! For those of you who have been tilting at the edge of your seat thinking "Aw, c'mon Noah, you're killin' me here, say something!" I apologize, as I have been getting adjusted to my schedule first so I feel comfortable now and am used to it! The captain is back in his crows nest!

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of my favorite memory from 2003; the Shakira concert at the Pepsi Center with my friend Ms. Doyle (Paloma de Paz) who was my former Spanish teacher from Denver Academy. Sometimes looking back on beautiful past memories can make you feel emotional, especially when you memorize them so well. Turning my head I can envision the whole day, January 28, 2003, like a holographic animation. Seeing Shakira, my idol, was phosphorescent, but even more resplendant was getting to share the experience with a friend. Last night I literally cried remembering it all while listening to "Laundry Service", with a smile on my face being lullabied to "Que Me Quedes Tu". Paloma de Paz, if you're reading this, I am forever blessed with your friendship and you truly bring peace to many hearts, God Bless You!

I remember her picking me up around 4:30 at my house, and then giving her directions to the Pepsi Center down the interstate in Espanol, "Izquierda, Derecha, Izquierda, Derecha!" It was quite a warm January evening, it got up to about 60 that day, and it was still incredibly mild outside. And all around bright orange, amber, and pink hues flashed about the skies! Felt like a big bubblegum sorbet! Before the concert at 7:30 we went over to the Denver Pavillions and ate at Sevilla's on the third floor, an absolutely captivating, ambrosial Spanish restaurant and salsa club. We spoke between English and Spanish on and on about Shakira, poetry, and proverbos en Espanol projected on the walls. Then we had some delicious Ceviche as an appetizer before enjoying some absolutely delicious Paella Clásica Sevilla, with all that saffron, chorizo sausage, and manzanilla olives with mussels, clams, chicken, the works. Sevilla's has got to be my favorite non-Oriental restaurant forever, probably a very praised #2 on my list. I really should go back for the Mariachi Happy Hour, Miami Nights or for Free Salsa Lessons. I've always been in love with the Latin culture and would love to dance Latin. Hey, I can be the next Carlos Gardel, the Nuevo Zorzal Criollo!  

"Si supieras,
que aun dentro de mi alma,
conservo aquel cariño
que tuve para ti...
Quien sabe si supieras
que nunca te he olvidado,
volviendo a tu pasado
te acordaras de mi..."


Hehehe, the Latin music truly is an aphrodisiac to me! Me and Ms. Doyle then had...the Obsesion de Chocolate!

Dun-dun-dun!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

LOL! No, it's alright, no harm there, but it truly was one of the most delicious cakes I ever tasted! Now how about that Banana Acaramelada, that sure must be one hot mama of a dessert, you're next to dance!

Once we enjoyed a wonderful meal, we stepped out to the RTD Light Rail and took it down 16th Street to where we parked, and then rode off down to the Pepsi Center. Immediately getting in, I made sure I got my Shakira T-shirt (the very one I proudly wear in my semi-gloss Passions picture!) another one for collecting and my Shakira tourbook. We went up the escalator shortly after, as I put on my official Shakira merchandise to the third floor, where our seats were: Section 323, Row 2, Seats 21 and 22, which I paid a proud $78 for in this grand Tour de la Mongosta experience.

It was rather high up, but I brought along my pair of mini-binoculars so we can see the opening act, Pay The Girl. First, at 7:30, Pay The Girl took the stage, a new rock act based in Cincinatti, Ohio, who got their name when hanging out at a local diner in Athens, Ohio, and they wished to have enough money to pay for tuition and still have some left to party, and there when the waitress came to them with the bill their initial reaction was to look at each other and say "Go ahead, pay the girl!"

Jason Phelps, the lead-singer of the band, kicked off a set of six powerful rockers from their release of their self-titled debut album. The band has a striking resemblance to Bon Jovi and Live with a mix of radio-friendly and heavy rock, with matchbox twenty-esque lyrical soul. They opened with three heavy-rock ballads, including "Traded" and "All You Are", followed by "Junkie", a lament about emotions during the most difficult times, "Beverly", a bittersweet radio-friendly rocker about first love which would sound great as their second single, and they closed the set with their first single, "Freeze".

After their performance, they said fans can see them in Section 102, which I went to and shook hands with the band members. They were awesome, I acually got their album when it came out that March, great blend of rock!

After a half-hour break, Shakira finally began to shake up the crowd. The stage was covered with a red and yellow curtain featuring the mongoose on the left side and the cobra on the right, resembling the "Tour of the Mongoose", which from beginning to end of her performance the message of peace was delivered.

Finally, the lights dimmed and the curtains glared red, with the mongoose and cobra each shining a bright silver as the classic rock hit "Welcome to the Jungle" played loud. As the song came to a closure, the curtains opened up, and Shakira’s nine-piece band began a rock introduction, then, Shakira finally ran onto stage with fire bursting from both sides of her on the stage and began her seductive belly-dance to Ojos Asi, her Arabic-flavored rocker, beginning with a solo dance then entering right into the lyrics, lengthening the song from its original duration with her belly-dancing.

The rocker was followed by another Latin rocker, Si Te Vas, which Shakira encouraged much audience participation in singing on. Then, she grabbed an electric guitar and strummed along to her power ballad "Fool", following that performance up with the salsa-flavored Ciega Sordomuda, one of her three career #1 hits.

Afterward, she stopped to welcome everyone to the Tour of the Mongoose and encouraged everyone to have peace and to hug your loved ones and in the meantime also have fun. She then stepped down from the balcony and leaped right into Rules, followed by Estoy Aqui, which she had everyone singing along the chorus too. Next, she started up her new single, The One, which had many of her fans singing along also. The television screen then featured an inspirational quote by Jimi Hendrix, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace"

Once again, she grabbed a guitar, only this time an acoustic one, and stopped to say "Some of you may not know this one, but this is off of Donde Estan Los Ladrones and hope you all like it" and played Inevitable, with a powerful hard-rock ending.

All a sudden another inspirational quote appeared, and the floor began to light up with color, as Shakira appeared performing a drum solo for a minute then climbing down from the drum-set shouting "Are you ready for more, ARE YOU READY FOR MORE?" and more fire burst from the side of the stage and she began her disco-romp Ready For The Good Times, which she both sang along to and also shouted to the audience “Are you ready for the good times?” and had everyone repeating the chorus. After the melodious dance-club ballad, she soared into another ballad, Underneath Your Clothes, in the acoustic version.

Then, the lights all went out, and on the television screen, a movie clip appeared featuring people in the E.R leaning over a bed watching the heartbeat monitor and praying that whatever was there would live, and after the heartbeat disappeared, after a break of silence, it came on again and the bold big red letters “Rock and Roll Will Never Die” appeared and fire exploded on the stage and Shakira ran out to cover Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like A Lady”, where she performed an impressive John Popper-esque harmonica solo before cruising in bellowing “What a funky lady…” Following that cover was a cover of AC/DC’s “Back To Black” which had Shakira up to her best belly-dancing of the evening and sliding her legs over the balcony poles and kneeling to the floor on her hands and knees with her slow sensual dancing until closing up the rocker, featuring the neon lights shining behind her.

After two exciting covers, she got back to her basics and stormed up Octavo Dia, where the television screen began showing a clip of George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein playing a game of chess in black and white and Shakira began her Grammy-winning political masterpiece “Octavo Dia”, an urgent cry for world peace. Toward the end of the song, Shakira stopped as the band kept playing and said “I’ll tell you something, I don’t like to sing about politics. I like to sing about something much more important. I like to sing about love, and love is lacking in our leaders, and our leaders are lacking love! So give peace a chance!” and then skipped around on stage as the band had a long hard-rock conclusion with the video clip revealing Bush and Hussein as puppets dradled by the Grim Reaper and showed scenes of starving children and homeless while the two world leaders placed oil rigs, tanks, guns, and factories on the chess board, and the song slowly came to a mellow close with a dove against a black-and-white radio screen slowly soaring, then turning into many doves in neon as her dread-locked keyboardist immediately rose to the stage to assist in vocals with Shakira on the reggae-flavored “Un Poco De Amor” which he lent the reggae vocals in English and Shakira the rest in Spanish with the doves turning into many symbols on the screen and by the songs closure the symbols turned into smiles and into hearts to represent love.

Next, red and white lights flashed upon Shakira as she began her rocker “Poem To A Horse”, a song about drugs ruining anyones life and emotions. After another explosive rocker, Shakira toned down the audience with the soft, sonorous love ballad “Tu” with the keyboardist on piano, then closing up the set with an exciting performance of Objection, with her crawling on her hands and knees and staring into the camera lens against the beat of the drums until finally crooning the rocker. She then said “You all are wonderful, rock on Denver, have a wonderful night!” and her and her band disappeared but then Shakira rose up from beneath the stage with a chandelier on her head and began another dance until beginning the exciting encore of Whenever, Wherever, with Shakira beginning with more lovely belly-dancing then beginning to sing along with the whole audience singing the chorus with her. By the songs explosive finish, she stood on the ladder platform and rose high above the audience pointing to everyone in the audience “Now it’s your turn!” and from each section everyone singing the chorus” until finally she got everyone and the ladder took her back down onto the stage, continuing to dance and sing the song then leaping up into the air onto the floor and fire and sparks going off from the left side of the stage to the right side of the stage and finally she said “You all have a good night, and remember, whenever, wherever, we’re meant to be together! Peace everyone!” and bowed and jumped down into a trapdoor as final fireworks went off and confetti filled the whole auditorium as her band continued to rock for two more minutes with the black-and-white clip of the mongoose and the cobra on the screen and the second the mongoose attacked its neck exploded on the final guitar riff with the message "Bite the head off of hatred" filling the screen. then they bowed and left the stage.

That was most beautiful! Shakira is by far the one person I would dream to have dinner with some night out of any celebrity. Ms. Doyle was literally baptized by that evening and now I have turned her into an all shook-up Shakira maniac! LOL! I have done my job, I have taken over Denver Academy with Latin fever! Call it Sangriaenza!

This will be one memory I will never forget! What was your favorite memory of 2003? Please feel free to share, I love stories and believe everyone has a scintillating one to share!

Buenas noches, todos los amigos de mi! Adios para ahora!

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-29-2004 11:04 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
91 posted 2004-02-23 12:20 PM


*********Sunday, February 22, 2004*********

Confessions Of A Pepper Bar Drama Commodore

Alright, it’s about time I got some more flagstone embedded here! Over three weeks on hiatus here is just much too long, just been having a lot of responsibilities behind the scenes to take care of. Essay-writing for instance, something I’m not quite thrilled about, but there’s no time to shellac Michel Eyquem de Montaigne now. So many more lighter things to talk about have evolved, so let’s take it from the maraschino cherry!

First of all, it just so happens I’ll be moving to Portland, Oregon THIS summer. It appears my dad, who has worked at Avery Dennison for sixteen years, has had some rough disputes with his colleagues and is stepping down from his métier in pursuit of a vocation that so much better represents him, something with more flexibility, right on target with his bailiwick. Well, they say , “What is good for the swarm is not good for the bee." so I can reason with the frustration of being a mason bee living under the queen’s enforcement. I also recognize it is said, "The diligence of the hive produces the wealth of honey.", but that is just nature’s way, as Steve Irwin puts it.

Say, speaking of Steve Irwin, it is a shame he mindlessly put his son at risk in the crocodile’s terri-tur-ree! I still love Steve Irwin and his show, but I think he should think hard about what he has done and think when he should be fit to be a serious father. He must be thanking God the whole Michael Jackson and Kobe Bryant scandals have kept his story from blowing out of the water. Or…crikey, then his life would be like Bourke Street on Christmas Eve!

So, starting this June, you may be seeing me off like prawns in the sun for a while, and, believe me, it always feels like a dogs breakfast when I’m away from my friends for any length of time, but soon I’ll be adjusted in my all new home, only forty-five minutes from the drink where I’ve dreamed to be so long. I’ll be transferring to Lewis & Clark or Portland State University most likely, both very fine colleges so I’ve been told (though I’m still not sure why I’m there to tell the truth) and beginning a whole new phase of my life. The West Coast, for one thing, is the stamping ground of many of the best coffee shops and multi-leveled bookstores, the perfect places to set up a musical career, and with Portland being almost midway down the coastline, I’m at the hotbed of the Gravy Railroad. There’s no better place to straddle the fence than there! Not just that, but Oregon is also one of the most geographically diverse places, having seven of all ten principal climate zones. You’ve got your marine climate, your mountains, your dense temperate forests, desert, grasslands, sub-arctic regions at highest elevations, even a little rainforest to the south. You’ve got the resplendent Mount Hood, the mighty Crater Lake, the grasslands of Wallowa County, the hairy-stemmed checker-mallow and coastal manroot extending across the Salmon River basin, Crescent Beach at Ecola State Park, the Rogue River, Todd Lake and Waldo Lake within the fresh Deschutes National Forest, Umpqua National Forest, and, of course, U.S 101, the official scenic route of the West Coast. My oh my, what exciting adventures will Mistletoe Angel experience from here? I’ll probably be hopping on and on between Portland, Eugene and Corvallis. And during holidays I can hop on down to San Francisco to join in the coffee shop hoodang and protest action, to San Diego for Cinco de Mayo or to Seattle for one heck of a rock concert. This angel’s about to go boldly where no angel’s gone before, well, at least it feels like a whole new journey!

What I’ll miss most about Colorado I suppose is all my friends at Denver Academy. I couldn’t express enough how much they have done for me and influenced me. At least I got to see Mr. Ernewein about a month ago and said he’d be willing to drive over a thousand miles just to visit me. How wonderful it is indeed! It truly makes me feel I already have my own fan club and he is my #1 die-hard fan (not including my own family, of course!). I have yet to get the news to Ms. Doyle, and I’m going to visit Denver Academy multiple times before I embark on this grand new voyage. After all, going to the Shakira concert with her was literally panegyrizing, a baptizing of the youth deep in my heart that I’ll never forget. I truly hope somewhere we’ll cross paths again, as I always have to have my friends close by. Mr. Ernewein, Ms. Doyle, Ms. Dunlap and Ms. Twarogoswki (my two favorite art teachers), Mr. Wood, Mr. Webber, Mr. Dierker, Mr. Petry, Ms. Jones, Angie & Ryan, Randy Meador, uggghhhh, so many to mention, none I ever want to forget. You have all influenced the first major era of my life, and I shall carry your wisdom on into the next phase. Know you will all feel like you are right by my side, and maybe should I break through into mainstream and be the star of the show, I’ll see your familiar gleaming faces in the crowd. That would be a dream come true!

Ahhhhh, I’m already feeling a bit schmaltzy. Now I should be celebrating the last few months here in colorful Colorado, which is just what I’ll do. For one, have you all seen the new Quiznos commercials? They’re scary, but scary enough to tickle me pink, LOL! What are those two furry things that are the new spokesanimals of Quiznos? Hamsters? Gerbils? Somehow I think they might be mice…dead mice anyway. Stop-action animated dead vermin, one with a bowler hat, one with an 18th-century commodore’s hat, both with those maloccluded human teeth and bulging, differing eyeballs. The one with the commodore’s hat is playing a guitar in the two new commercials, while the other one is singing! LOL! It sounds absolutely harebrained, doesn’t it? Gotta admit the commercials are catchy if you hear them though, the close-ups of the subs, the folk music, all springing out at you like cardboard zombies in a haunted house! It’s like an infectious, deranged kind of please-make-it-stop gimmick, with the songs stuck in your head it almost sounds cool. Besides, who can resist such lyrics like these from a mouse that sounds just like Brak on Adult Swim?


"We love the subs! Because they are good to us!
The Quiznos subs.
They are tasty, they are crunchy.
They are warm because they toast them.
They got a pepper barrrrrrr!."




Mmmmmmmm…that’s making me hungry, makes me want to head over to the pepper barrrrrrrr right now and dowse my eggs in Jimmy's Batch 81™ Three Pepper Chili Sauce. There’s no place like Quiznos, seriously, where you can get your subs fast made with ciaballa bread! Hehehe, I’ll have trouble sleeping tonight, who knew a jingle would get #1 for the week in spins at KAGL, Mistletoe Angel’s jukebox in his head? Aw well, my mind’s happy, it stays on the playlist!

Yeah, I know, I still watch too much TV! Guess I still need to grow up! LOL! But I’m not crazy at all for the "Big Fat Obnoxious Little Eden Joe Millionaire Simple Life" craze at least! I keep sensible to what I watch I feel: get my daily dose of The Price Is Right, Joy of Painting and The Simpsons, some good clean Monday Night CBS chuckles, Smallville on Wednesday, and Joan of Arcadia and Monk on Friday. A grand healthy complete diet I must say! And on Saturday night, I love checking out Public Broadcasting, or my local channel, or QVC or the Home Shopping Network. Gotta love their enthusiasm on those networks!

Finally, I’d just like to add before I get my angel beauty sleep that I’m so happy you’re feeling much better, sweet Linda! You truly are our Earth Angel and you are one big reason you have inspired this Mistletoe buddy of yours and a most enthusiastic fan of what I have to say! (special angel hugs) God Bless You and your daughter and all your loved ones!

I’ve got so much to talk about, and holding that thought, you will be sure to see many posts ahead! For KALC runs 24/7, where “you’ll always see the sky sparkling with diamonds.” Spread the silver, y’all!

Current Mood: Happy

Love,
Noah Eaton

steavenr
Member Elite
since 2003-11-17
Posts 4058

92 posted 2004-02-23 01:45 AM


Noah, enjoyed your journal of your travels throught the Missouri heartland...have driven down those same roads...you did the landscape and scenery good by your well written descriptions.
Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
93 posted 2004-02-28 06:10 AM


**********Saturday, February 28, 2004*********

Lifting The Lamp By The Golden Door

The gloves are off and the race for the White House has begun! I am firm on who I’m supporting and it should seem pretty explicit on who I’m supporting. So in what will most likely be the most rigorous, harrowing, vehement election year ever in our nation’s history, taking into fact that our nation has never been this polarized. Despite all the backstabbing, eavesdropping, scuttlebutt, dirty shame, obloquy, and dirty linen back-fence talk, one will rise above it all, and I truly believe it is Kerry. So the only three words appropriate to say here is, “Bring it on!”

Hey, have you heard about the Howard Stern cancellations? Six Clear Channel markets removed his show, (all the Clear Channel markets promoting his program) after Howard Stern put on another cartridge of his signature obnoxious Stern-speak, because the FCC said he violated the so-called “decency rules”. First of all, I have to say that I have always found Howard Stern to be sleazy, rude, juvenile, and even rather offensive (his remarks about Columbine especially tough to digest). However, I do believe in the freedom of speech and actually believe Howard Stern made a great intellectual point that it’s only because of Janet’s boob-flashing this happened to him. As much as I wish Howard Stern’s show would go away, the FCC are just plain hypocrites. Howard Stern’s show has been on the air for over a decade (remember “Private Parts” anyone, which grossed $100 million here? That was eight years ago!). If he should have gotten kicked off the air it should have been after his Columbine remarks. But the fact the FCC let all his equally offensive talk get by these many years, along with a large number of other degrading TV programming, and all a sudden decide to use Janet Jackson as a weapon and punish everyone else, that is utmost bamboozlement. Why the heck are all the conservatives still complaining? They wanted deregulation and they got it! Yesterday: Dixie Chicks. Today: Howard Stern. Tomorrow: the world! I never thought I’d ever side with Howard Stern on anything, well Howard, you’re the latest victim of something just short of fascism.

Frankly, I also can’t help but feel flabbergasted by all those who can still support war, even when they doubt there are weapons of mass destruction or no democratic system will ever be established in the war-torn nations. It is upsetting and disheartening to see 56% of those in a recent poll say the war was still worth it even if no weapons of mass destruction were ever there. How beastly and primitive is that? Last time I checked this was a nation who held strong to Christian notions like “turn the other cheek” and “forgiving and forgetting”, or “In God We Trust”. Ah yes, and I thought the plaque on the Statue of Liberty inscribed with the poem “The New Colossus” said this:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”


I’ve aid this to all my friends and I’ll say it again. If you support a war, you are not a true believer in peace. There goes a saying by Moshe Dayan that reads, “If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” I personally pity all out there who have the notion war brings peace. I have been opinionated since I was 12 and stand by my creed firmly I will not support a leader who produces the desire and lust for revenge, hatred or the thirst for retribution. Oh yeah, and wasn’t it our very own Thomas Jefferson who said, “Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.”? George Washington who said, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”? Benjamin Franklin who said, “There never was a good war or a bad peace.”? All these great American figures we so-called “value” would spit on the pavement if they saw this discrimination and suppression happening on this same land hey once stood on. If 56% of the people truly believed the war was worth it overall, then, well, over half of this nation has no clue what peace is and doesn’t hold the notion of peace dear. In fact, over half would be hypocrites in this case, according to Gersonides, who said, “A peace that comes from fear and not from the heart is the opposite of peace.” Nonviolence is the supreme law of life and I choose to obey that law if forced to choose only one particular principle. Bush claims he is a religious man, so he should know the Bible proverbs “Seek peace, and pursue it.” and “The peace makers shall be called the children of God.” Instead, he follows the notion, “War is like love, it always finds a way.”

So, if you truly believe in peace, let it come from where the heart is at, not from a club in hand. Let yourself feel blind, deaf and dumb and still feel the vision of peace boiling through your veins. That’s truly feeling the quietude it offers. The problem is our leaders see too hard they become short-sighted, hear too much they can’t make out the voices, and talk too much they are just plain stupid. Our leaders desperately need to learn to love again, and Bush has shown he is incapable of that, so time for the next model to grace the catwalk, and pray it’s one step forward. And if you are one of those who say “Freedom isn’t free” or “Freedom comes with a price”, you’re speaking the ultimate whopper of them all.

As of late, I have been participating vivaciously in many volunteer organizations and activist programs across the University of Colorado campus. “Food Not Bombs” is my favorite of them all. It started in 1980 in Cambridge, Massachusetts when anti-nuclear activists charged on for nonviolence. Every group recovers food that would be thrown out and out of it makes hot vegetarian meals served on city parks free of charge without restrictions. The San Francisco Charter has even been arrested 1,000 times in trying to silence their protest against their mayor’s anti-homeless policies. Amnesty International is working on releasing these “Prisoners of Conscience” as we speak, let’s all hope for their quick freedom. This program is allied with many other groups including Earth First!, The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (Leonard is a Lakota/Anishnabe acticist and artist of the Native American Movement who has been imprisoned since 1976 for the questioning of a shooting on the Pine Ridge Reservation), Anarchist Black Cross (helping provide aid to imprisoned activists and defend resistance) Homes Not Jails, (working to end homelessness and abolish the prison industrial complex) Anti Racist Action, In Defense of Animals, the Free Radio Movement, Greenpeace, practically all the positive social change enterprises. I am more than proud to represent these fantastic movements and hope to change the world for the better with these many dedicated colleagues.

Let 2004 be a year of change in our nation, free of division, free of suppression, free of silencing and free of war and the warmongers who have warred. I vow to do all in my power to help make Bush the next “one-term president”

(giggles) By the way, I got more of the scoop on those beloved Quiznos critters. You know, that “screeching, levitating prosimian in a bowler hat” with his guitar-strumming buddy! These characters were created by Joel Veitch, who makes shows for the British Broadcasting Company, and he calls them “spongmonkeys”. Supposedly Quiznos reported a guy from their ad firm department got the clip in an e-mail from a friend and thought “By George, I think I’ve got the master plan for our next campaign!” Joel’s web-site is here, they even are featured in a 2003 clip:
http://www.rathergood.com/

Apparently these “spongmonkeys” are getting a love-hate relationship. Many are describing them in many different ways from “gerbils with birth defects; Mr. Potato Rats; drug-addled, castrato hamsters; and "hell lemurs". I like to think of them as cross-breeds of pygmy marmosets and Furbys born in Monty Python’s make-up room.

So much to talk about, not enough time to finish right now! Love you all, and remember, “Peace, like charity, begins at home” as Mr. Franklin Roosevelt said, so give your younger sister a hug and tidy up your bed! That’s better!

Current Mood: &   (Happy, not to mention youthful)

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
94 posted 2004-03-13 10:58 PM


**********Saturday, March 13, 2004***********

Back On The Love Bus, Y'All!

As my big move rapidly approaches this June or so, I often have to remind myself of all the special friendships I've made here in Colorado. I have experienced losses of my own, from my dear friend Cameron Strickland to the loss of a dear cousin of mine. However, I've never had to say goodbye to my closest friends, whom I will always be bonded in a camarederie of smiles with. I really never like to think about goodbye, as it has to be the saddest word in all of mankind's vernacular. I try to omit the word from my vocabulary often and substitute it for "See you soon!". Even then that sounds a bit schmaltzy. Finally, I decide the appropriate response is, "In case I don't see you tomorrow, good morning, good afternoon and good night!"

There is a proverb that goes, “Friends are the siblings God never gave us.” I believe we are all God’s children and thus we are all brothers and sisters to one another, which some we get to know more about and truly weave the thaumaturgic tapestry of life with us. An Arabic poet said, “A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away." Every thread of life to me is like a ribbon of color granted from the rainbow and sifted together within your heart like a colored sand sculpture you customize yourself at an amusement park. So I must proclaim on and on just how some of my best of friends have touched me along the way.

Ms. Doyle, you’ll always be Paloma de Paz. I still remember so clearly being in one of the first Spanish classes you ever taught at Denver Academy. I remember sitting around and hearing you and Ms. Dunlap strum away your guitars (you are one special person who inspired me to start songwriting). I remember walking down Santa Fe Boulevard in the spring, admiring the barrio and enjoying sweets at the local bakery. I remember reading my own poetry to you after school, ever so often my most personal poetry as well, LOL! I remember that field trip in 2001, watching the flamenco dancers over at East High. I remember your homemade gazpacho as if I was drinking it now, being transformed in the Shakira rock and roll baptism with you, you attempting to teach us how to tie a red ribbon with your feet in dance. Every moment is its own treasure, and you always live up to your online resume, bringing “love and logic” to the world on a daily basis. We really have to get together and write a song to commemorate our friendship, mi amiga, and teach me all that flamenco menagerie! For the rest of you reading, please check out her and her husband Jim’s web-page. One of my all-time favorites to my Links folder!
http://www.yarnold.com/

She, like me, is also a songwriter, and she has a graceful, inspiring voice that can make your blood smoothen like butter in the sun. Her songs truly make me cry as her sincerity and heart is always right there in her songs, from the Cakewalk stair-stepping melodies in the serfdom-inspired “Sangre Fria” (Cold Blood) to the ode of her cousin Charley, who tragically committed suicide in 1998 in “¡Ay Carlito!” (Oh Carlito!). You can download and enjoy these two tracks here:
http://www.yarnold.com/music/sangrefria.MP3  http://www.yarnold.com/music/aycarlito.MP3

Randy Meador, our friendship dates back over a decade ago! Running in the halls at Warder Elementary during an autumn parent/teacher conference. I’ll always have those later memories in my video encyclopedia of giggles, guffaws, titters, hee-haws, cackles, and classic fun-loving high time hoopla. When little seemed to ever charge my spiritual batteries, you were the bringer of laughter, the top banana, the baggy-pants man who uproared a har-de-har and turned every dull moment into a clambake. They say, “at the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” How more true can that be? If there’s one person I know who always has something new to say like Neal Cassidey did, it was you, Randy. I’ll never forget the times we impersonated Saturday Night Live characters, went camping at White Ranch Park and burned my old pair of sneakers there, dragging that steel rail up and down the side of the cliff and throwing it off the apex, all those trips we made to the Westminster Recreation Center, Elitch Gardens, and Guitar Center throughout the years, that year you ran the Bolder-Boulder with me, and that golden time we went to Orlando together that November in 2001 with my cousins and me, you, and Zack shared a room at the Sheraton World Resort, where we sat around producing George Carlin quirks and reading the lips of the many characters on their hotel channel commerical. My friends in my early life have been few but your upbeat, confident spirit made calisthenics on each day I walked the great road of life. It’s not just your sense of humor but also your spirit and zeal for life and outreaching heart that captivates me. You’ll always be a good friend!

Ryan Irish, you and your mom Angie always bring a spark of warmth to the neighborhood. Often things can get real slow around here in Harvest Lane, where neighbors don’t like to greet each other often, but all the way from Golden you also bring with you the golden road to unlimited devotion, not to mention unlimited high spirits. Yep you sure can be a little rascal, but a lovable little rascal that always wakes me up and gets me on my feet. Because of you I’m reunited with some of my long lost friends: Joe Bender, stopwatch games, Kum-Ba-Yah, not to mention got me acquainted with The Sims. You’re someone everyone would be lucky to have for a friend! Rock on, and remember, “none but ourselves can free our minds”. Yep, Mr. Marley said those fine words himself, you reggae rasta you!

Ms. Dunlap, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Twarogowski, all of you brought color and art into my soul. Encouraging me to breathe rainbows and paint from every vein and capillary of my body. Ms. Twarogowski, you were the first to invite me into its magical world, and had faith for me from the start, giving me that special invitation into your Art Theory and Criticism class where Ms. Lohr’s room used to be, projecting all those familiar, wonderful paintings, sculptures and monuments and helping me to look deeper into each labor of love and discover something I never recognized before in admiring art (yep, I still remember that sacred peg, BUMPVERR! Balance, Unity, Movement, Perspective, Variety, Emphasis, Repetition, Rhythm! ) And I am most honest with what I’m about to say: out of the menagerie of smiles I have seen in this sweet world, yours has always been the most illuminating. Even when you cry, your beaming, warm heart sings, for your compassion and love wears a smile of its own and if only there were a billion people like you, no one would ever feel neglected here! Each and every day you continue to “paint hearts” not just on the canvas but inside the children of the Earth too. And Ms. Dunlap and Ms. Wilson, you are two special people who share the warmth she does, and you are exactly who inspired “The Rising” and “Isis Dreams” deep inside of me. Our exchanging of artistic and musical tastes and ideals helped expand my horizons and make room for new colors in my rainbow. Hey, do me a favor and keep that door-painting tradition going! As far as I’m concerned, Denver Academy is the Camp Winnarainbow east of the Continental Divide, and with the opening of each new child’s heart, flows more endless possibilities! “An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.” So let your paintbrush sing!

Mr. Petry, I remember the first time I was acquainted with you in Digital Electronics, and I will not lie, I was intimidated a bit. But despite the early fears and scare tactics I felt during the first semester, you opened up to me when I felt insecure and nervous and helped me to get to know you as truly an understanding, compassionate and special friend. I have to be honest I still don’t understand the topography of the whiteboard or the relationship between the red and blue circuits, LOL, but you taught me something far more important, from within your heart! And I’ll always be thankful for that and the anecdotes you shared openly to me through projects and lunches at Tokyo Joe’s. I’ll continue to carry your word with me, give it out, and let it come back like the very boomerang I smoothened out in your Physics class.

Ms. Jones, you share the same love for literature and the written and spoken word just like Mr. Ernewein. Where Mr. Ernewein started, you continued and invited me into the great classics, including Wallace Stegner’s The Big Rock Candy Mountain, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s The Story Of A Shipwrecked Sailor (now one of my favorite poets and authors), The Odyssey, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s Othello, Henry V, All’s Well That Ends Well and Much Ado About Nothing, which I will never forget the year-end production I was ecstatic to produce a leading charge in as Leonato. I can still memorize a vast amount of the dialogue I spent weeks learning to remember, 107 lines to be exact! Not to mention hours I spent making calligraphy, a seminar on poetry and philosophy, and writing essay after essay, poem after poem, and reading all those fine articles from The New Yorker and Newsweek’s Anna Quindlen. Thank you for getting me immersed in all aspects of language and rhetoric, and cheering us on to each and every extent. Your determination made it all possible.

Mr. McMillan, you always make the classroom environment feel just like a lounge before and after class. Along with enjoying your lectures on world history, you made your room feel like a cross between Today, Behind The Music and Yasgur’s Farm. And why should it not? It was exciting making those newscasts on world history for each chapter. I still remember interviewing Henry the VIII and informing all those travelers out there on the perfect getaway: the Seven Cities of Cibola! LOL! Music always filled your atmosphere, in fact I got the whole Merle Haggard and Apples In Stereo aureole still surrounding my inner-jukebox. Peace to you, my brother!

Mr. McManis and Mr. Loose, one of my all-time favorite memories at Denver Academy was with you! Mr. Loose, your trailer was my School of Rock, and you were my Jack Black, yeah! Though I have had an intense love affair with music from the start, you two got me into actually being in the show. Watching all those interviews and documentaries on the History of Rock and Roll, then assembling our very own band was an exhilarating experience. Out of that we all spawned our first single, “Weather Girl”, and I still have that very copy of our demo disc, complete with that hit featuring my cowbell Fred Schneider vocals and my greased lightning Elvis improv through the bridge, a darker untitled song, and a solo instrumental we crafted together. Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock! In the grand sermon of Jack Black, God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick butt. We are your humble servants. Please give us the power to blow people's minds with our high voltage rock. In your name we pray, Amen.

Mr. Dierker, it was a delight being part of your Seven Senses at Washington Park class, not to mention learning a little bit about Lesotho and Thailand. Hey, I still remember the Thai greeting “Sawadee dawn chow”. Mr. Miller, it was a delightful hearing all those O. Henry short stories and learning a bit about ornithology with you around the campus. Mr. Veltry, it was a delight having you around in Mr. Wood’s homeroom as a teacher assistant and talking to you through lunch periods and between classes. Ms. Lohr, Mr. Lucas, Ms. Jensen, Ms. Erlandson, Mr. Webber, all of you, you are all one special rainbow family to me. If I didn’t discover samadhi there, I definitely discovered magic and a sense of wonder, and most importantly of all, love.

Charlie Campbell, John Drieling, Kien Arnold, Peter Archer, Rachel Meyer, Cal Hackstaff, Weston Wells, Aaron Hallenbeck, Andy Franz, Scott Portlock, Justin Kief, Alex Morgan, Corey Sandoval, and so many others I regretfully have forgotten to name, you all were wonderful company. From cross-country to on the stage to Experientials to just between lunch periods, you all influenced me in many unique ways. Kevin Beasley, I know you’ll continue to run the extra mile, and Andrew Lieberman I know you’ll keep setting up the grand stage of life with passion. You all rule!

Even some people who if even only for a minute I’ve met, you all matter too. Rainbow Dancer, Kenneth Lightfoot, Fast Eddie Ermoian, who always regales you with stories, politics and old-fashioned Boulder rigmarole in his Chicago attitude, all those down at the Soda Rock at 2217 E Mississippi Avenue, Brett Saunders (“The Sage”) who always provides philosophy and wisdom to my morning routine and commute, Tom Martino the Troubleshooter who helps me detect scams and mare’s nests from all around from the airwaves and beyond, all of you have contributed too. Have a cigar, oh, I forgot, I don’t smoke, OK, have a kefir!

Phew, I think I got most if not all of the guiding spirits of my life thus far! Who knows what new friends and lodestars I’ll discover in Portland, but I believe life is one immeasurable, boundless theme park, where the heart is always where the kiosk is at, with God and my brothers and sisters cicerones  taking me by the hand and showing me the most wondrous of the sights and sounds it nurtures. Maybe my dream girl is walking in downtown Portland in the dusk as I speak. I certainly hope I find her there, as I believe in a thing called love with all my heart and everyone needs someone to walk beside, to lean on, to share the experiences and joys and tears the Good Lord and life bestows upon us. I have yet to hold a girl’s hand, it must be the most beautiful, softest feeling of all. For now, I’ll just kiss my pillow and pretend it’s my girl, keep enjoying my dreams, and hum the mantra “Hare Krishna” from the top of my lungs as if I was standing in the Avalon Ballroom on January 29, 1967 during the Mantra-Rock Dance.

Until the summer, I am going to sit back and enjoy the ride through the rest of my Colorado era! Come in any time and have a cup of tea with me at the Dushanbe Teahouse, mi casa es su casa!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton





"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
95 posted 2004-03-15 01:51 PM


***********Monday, March 15, 2004***********

Love Is For Everyone

Just thought I should add my two cents on a huge debate confronting our society as it is; the issue of same-sex marriage. The queued banning proposal is indeed the hot topic right now, and all I can say is I don't understand how someone would prefer editing the constitution with a rusty flat-tipped red marker for good than not change the unconstitutional constitution and let everyone love as they please, regardless of your sex, religion, or perference. By God, it will certainly be a miracle when we have a president who not only realizes but practices what he preaches that love is the driving force of humanity, not greed, power, oil, or the deed to Madison Avenue. We're wasting years at a time trying to determine where the medium in ou society is and then just covering it with red tape. We're all tangled in the red tape and love doesn't involve time, it involves commitment. Hey Bush, did you know the original draft of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper, eh? So were American flags, Levis 501 jeans and the medicines that we all consider all-American, meanwhile you have someone who's claiming to protect the "sanctity of marriage" (like there even is one) and the Constitution who has turned Texas into a toxic wasteland. Ironic, don't you think?

Thomas Jefferson said, "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country." And YES, he ACTUALLY said that. Heck, even Henry Ford built and powered his 1908 Model-T with hemp. Our constitution has endured for over 225 years and these pillars of our society have of late been daunted by the chisels of the prospectors of the new age. Our Constitution, itself, is both a signifier and signified of hemp, if you read Saussure. Our own forefathers called it "man's greatest plant ally". It is spiritually enlightening and a linchpin of vitality and life to many. In fact it was never outlawed until the twentieth century, but hemp has been on the upswing again. Hemp can solve many of the environmental problems in our world, not to mention make all the same things that Bush's buddies Texaco, Bechtel and Halliburton are tearing up the ozone layer to find the oil to make.

So why do I talk about hemp a lot to make my point on the issue? Like I said, hemp is a representation of us throughout the first two centuries we lived as a nation. Hemp is like the natural order of things, our liberties, rights, and perquisites. When you tear or usurp the fabric, the very viscous foundation of our society, that is unnatural. Last time I checked, the preamble to our Declration of Independence stated, "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..." Are you sure we're in the same nation here?

Mother Teresa said, "It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters." Don't you think it's only fair that everyone should have the right to be happy and unselfishly allow everyone to have happiness without restrictions? I can't stress how many times the notion that "to love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another." is important to me, and our politicians just don't see that. Love fails, only when we fail to love, that's the only reason this is a full-blown, all-encompassing argument. I strongly believe if Jesus were here, He would wish everyone to live a healthy and happy life, and wouldn't ban any single person's right to marry. Quit arguing and treat each other with respect, just as my second-grade teacher Mrs. Bear said.

Besides, where's the "sanctity of marriage" anyway? Ever since the Revolution of Manners and Morals before World War I began in 1916, divorces have multiplied like rabbits. Did you know between the two World Wars, divorces had doubled, and now just less than half of marriages experience divorce? The whole "sanctity of marriage" is a huge overstatement, a pretension that the media has spread full-blown. Perhaps if you're really sensitive about the "sancity of marriage", you should spend less time worrying about others and spend more time improving your very own. That's my advice to Bush and Co.

"In all that we do let us do it for love." I say under the wise words of Chris Cotton. For God's sake spread the meaning and let the cannabus plant bloom again! Let us all love and love let us.

Current Mood: Happy & Determined

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
96 posted 2004-04-08 02:31 PM


I have just spent ages reading your illustrious words and insights! I am so overcome with my awe of who and what you are! I thoroughly enjoyed going on that cross-country trip with you and your family! Oh, I just realized that I didn't actually go on that trip! You just made it all so real to me! lol ~ the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes... You also brought fond memories back to me on my trips years ago into the States and enjoying those big, stick-to-your-ribs breakfasts and the stops at Stuckies. You are such an incredible writer, my friend! I am so utterly impressed with your writing abilities ~ and you! Your personality and charm literally leap off the blue pages!

Each one of your journal submissions captivated me and held my interest. I would be honored to have that cup of tea with you!
Su casa es mi casa y mi casa es su casa, mi amigo angello! lol

I hope that your move to Portland in June goes well and that all your dreams come true. You have such a pioneering spirit and I know that whatever you put your mind to, you will succeed in! I have so much affection for you and I'm rooting for you on all levels. I also hope your "dream girl" will become a reality and that the two of you can walk joyously into your glorious future together.

Love always,
Your friend,
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
97 posted 2004-04-11 01:22 PM


**********Saturday, April 10, 2004**********

Almost Everything Is Really Simple, And Life May Not Be, But That's Good Enough For Me!

Another sleeper thaws! We stand informed, thickly warmed! Joie de vivre again breathes through spring’s rhytidectomy! And my oh my, how sweet it is!

I made the most of the 56th Annual Conference Of World Affairs this week and immersed myself in the wonders of this cherished tradition, catching up on the infinite fellowship of the world through the arts, humanities, politics, and cultural identities. Monday marked the inauguration of the event, with a hallmark breakfast buffet provided by Illegal Pete’s and CoPirg. So I enjoyed my matutinal breakfast burrito, a nice cup of Bolder Blends ginseng tea and then expanded my minds in this cosmic vaudeville.

There is so much to say, but my favorite day would have to be Friday. At 1:00 I thumbed my way to the University Memorial Center, Lecture Hall 235, for 5502: Musicians: Born Or Made?. It was moderated by Jack Walker and featured an incredible group of panelists. Nora York, a singer and visual artist who has performed at numerous concerts including the Newport Jazz and Bell Atlantic Jazz Festivals, written scores for TV series and movies, and teaches the renowned class, “The Creative Voice” at New York University, a class that teaches pathways to fundamental elements in a creative process, as interpretation has been integral to her creative process. There was Nelson Rangell, who was rated among the most underrated artists in the jazz industry by JAZZIZ magazine, a trained soprano, alto and tenor saxophonist and flute and piccolo virtuoso, who started the flute at age 15 and in only six months was studying classical and jazz at the Interlochen Arts Academy, was voted Best High School Jazz Soloist by Down Beat magazine's national competition  and went on to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he won the prestigious magazine's college-level national competition. Ever since, he’s recorded 12 CDs, with three being Billboard Jazz best-sellers. And finally, Brad Goode, a Steeplechase recording artist and started playing violin when he was four, played guitar at age 11, learned many of Louis Armstrong’s solos at age 13, who now plays at major festivals at night clubs around the world.

And so there I was, an aspiring artist ready to tickle my fancy with more of the philosophy to the universal language, asking myself the apostrophized question: “Are musicians made or born?”. Nora stepped up to the plate first, speaking of how she was an unruly child in Chicago, who virtually at two years old got dropped off at Carl Orph’s training classes, practicing with rhythm sticks and glockenspiels, and shortly after remembered Dr. Zipper’s orchestra bringing Peter And The Wolf through Chicago, influencing her to take piano, and, until she was 15, studied the guitar, cello, violin and flute as well. Then, she said she stopped abruptly at 15, then eventually had a band with Peter Allen, who she called “the 6th grade Mick Jagger, even when hard to imagine one” where she rehearsed in his basement “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, then when she finally made the public performance, she got tense, and was fired for the first time, and then was only interested in visual art. From there, she spoke of graduating from high school, working in a South American literacy program, then going to college. That’s when she said when she was 20, a defining moment of her life eclipsed when she went to Bangkok in 1976 and met a Wayne Newton look-alike at the Italian Pavilion night-club, and sang there, where, through finishing college, had that bee in her bottom to continue to sing and perform and moved to New York, where shortly after working for Sears and Roebuck, found a voice teacher in 1979 and put her vocals to the test at the Barbie Doll show, playing Nora of the North on the downtown art circuit. Then she expressed her obsession with Jimi Hendrix and “Manic Depression“, having a short time in the ex-cop heavy metal rock band Distracted in Brooklyn, and meeting Dave Foster, a jazz musician who she said she became rebelliously crazy and loyal to, also working with Television drummer Billy Ficca and eventually earning a recording contract in Japan, earning an impressive $40,000 for a jazz record, where she said time wore on, and new ideas always comes from a conceptual platform, saying, “I’m really a thief, absorbing harmonic information!”. Finally, she believed musicians are made and they work on their hearts and minds.

Then Brad Good offered a second opinion, speaking of several anecdotes, the first traveling with the Woody Herman Orchestra in New England, and someone saying, “Hey, you think you’re good, wait till you hear these guys play!” and then, describing the way the orchestra practices, with one band playing, then the other playing, then with all the musicians divided into clinics, he recalled going to the gymnasium, and surely enough, he found the other band to be “a young version of the Buddy Rich band”, then remembering being put into clinics and teaching his students how to play Three Blind Mice by taking a simple melody, making sure you can sing it all the way through from the first to the last note, and not to worry about the keys and only start from a starting note. Then he heard and would tell them, “OK, you got the rhythm, but you don’t have the right notes, so play it again!” and continuing to practice, with one student getting the notes higher in succession, another lower in succession, the fifth student with all three notes the same sounding, and so forth, he’d tell them, “OK, we’ll deal with this issue soon, I promise!” until the and director stood behind suddenly, beginning to shake, red in the face, shouting, “Come on, you can do it!” and Brad, though not intending to do so, got on the spot, saying “Stop! Let’s just get out of this alive!” and, going through the ordeal, later got back on the bus, with the trumpet section complaining, “Oh, how could you do that to us?”. It would be that moment when Brad noticed, “There wasn’t anyone who knew about music!” and that here in America, the relationship is purely visual, with the notes, set of directions, and mechanical and visual components, but believes improvisation is also essential, saying “You hear music in your head, let it come through your fingers without much interruption to the brain!”, otherwise meaning, “You pick up your instrument and play what you hear!” as being important. He then shared his early life anecdote to support his pojnt, recalling when he was four having no parents with musical background, and learning the violin at Lincoln School every morning at 6:30 with Mr. Ninnyginny, who would smack his knuckles with a bow if his hand position of the instrument was wrong or if he missed a note, expressing the act as a cruel form of torture that grew him to hating the violin and music at age 8, noting the fact no other kids were playing the violin, there were no groups he could play with, and every boy’s childhood dream was to play baseball and he wanted to do just that, and after a hiatus from music, discovered Dave Novias, whose dad had a guitar and played Rod Stewart, KISS and Aeromsith tunes which he grew to be fascinated with and began to play the guitar at his house, who then at age 11 began to play music for the fun of it with other people without a piece of paper with his agile fingers disciplined through the violin years effortlessly grasping the strings Taking it in stride, he was introduced to Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow, and his fist jazz record as a teenager by Hornet Colmon and Don Cherry, which he said expressed all his teenage feelings, then, later, stepping into a music store and rummaging through the Free/Take More bin, he found Bay Brown and May Roch in the bunch, warning his friend, “Check it out, this may sound like Hornet!” then hearing it, thought, “This sounds like what they wish they could have done!” Finishing up his thoughts, he believed in his experience that the real question for aspiring musicians is, “How do you perceive music, and what are your options?” and musicians usually at first are not encouraged independent thinking and are trained to close their minds and ears and be prevented from relating to certain kinds of music, believing if you are fooled, you were born with a trumpet in your mouth, and musicians are born, though many are just unmade.

Then yet another illuminating view came in! Nelson Rangell reminisced coming from a musical family, whose father used to be a violinist but became a doctor and psychiatrist, who said his parents were aesthetic people, both too poor to have an instrument living in Brooklyn. Yet his siblings also had musical blood, he said, with his brother Andrew a former C.U student and well-known concert pianist in Boston, who has good and bad days due to an unfortunate case of hand paralysis, his brother Bobby living in Europe more than twenty years now and being a woodwind player for the National Jazz Orchestra of France, and his sister Paula a jazz and R&B singer in New Orleans. He then spoke of getting married, having two children, and living a simple suburban life, who recalls one day going to the Boulder Humane Society with his friend Brad to get a dog, and got Jes the Labrador, saying, “Hey, Jes and Jake could be friends and we can take them to the park each day!” It was then he compared choosing the right dog to how he chose his path into music, believing music is almost demonstrative of the gene pool, with something intrinsic of that strain to a certain type of seven dogs, which one would have the capability to be his dog, which the relationship between the dog and him and his wife was generic but soon enough, spending more time learning of certain things, leaned against him affectionately as a sort of communication, which he believed musicians also have that communication. He believes every place has “The Kid” and remembering being in Columbus with Brad, he saw “The Kid” there, who noted there they drew the line at 11 for young talent and if you were older, they were not interested, but believed personally that regardless of age there are a lot of good button-pushers everywhere, and he’s interested in the notion, “Try to listen, take a good look inside myself!” and see always to the first degree “What are they doing with their gift, what is the musician’s humanity, what is their experience?” Still young, he went to the New England Conservatory as a classical flutist, and also played the saxophone a bit and loved being the loudest most obnoxious saxophonist. He spoke of his love and philosophy of music saying, “Joy is limited, but I am a great believer in execution, in getting the parts and the tuning right fast!”, and that in modern music education, it is all style over substance, and we’re “jaundiced to a skill level, but only to a certain degree, and great skill is not that rare!”, and that the style over substance condition is a lackadaisical form of execution in his mind, where only a modest amount of discipline and education would make good button-pushers in aspiring artists everywhere. He finally believed that musicians are born with talents, but he wants to know how they experiment with them and how they follow up and through, how their drive and ambitions are formed, and what they hope to accomplish. He finally spoke of his amazement in how caddy it is how students search for mistakes in music and says, “It’s amazing how fast this goes by!”, and of his stepson’s incredible spatial intelligence, solving puzzles at breakneck speed, making him ask him, “How do you do it so fast?” and his simple answer being, “I just see it”, and with his wisdom believing for musicians to pinpoint mistakes and form musical execution, they “just know it!”

I have to honestly say I learned a great deal about the discipline and visual art of music from these fascinating maestros(as). After their fifteen minute chats, there was a panel discussion, where after someone asked about their opinion of smooth jazz music, which they generally saw as a huge corporate involvement that best functions as background music at work, a pen pal of Arbitron and “increasingly generic and mundane, crushing many ambitions, having a negative effect on artistic ambition”, I asked, “Joni Mitchell said, ‘Record companies don’t want artists anymore, they only want those who cooperate!’ In a broader sense, what are your feelings to the FCC’s increasing deregulation of media and large corporate conglomerates like Clear Channel dominating the airwaves and touring industries, and do you see this as helpful or harmful to the future of artistic invention?”. My question certainly provoked the panel, LOL! Dora spoke of her disappointment to the further homogenization of the media and of Phil Donahue’s and Howard Stern’s punishing from the airwaves, and at this rate everyone will be desensitized to the point people can’t tell sugar and maple syrup apart, or the thin edge of the wedge. Then another asked, “What is your ideal view of education for young children, what would it sound like?”, which Brad answered, “Encourage them to experiment, have fun, use user-friendly instruments! I believe the general teachings of music can be categorized in four quadrants: sound, melody, harmony and rhythm. Melody and harmony should be held till later, start by relating intuitively or ‘ear-based’, trust their instincts, then eventually introduce more difficult techniques!”. Nora added, “You know, the older I get, the more I find myself going back to childhood songs! I love singing them, and believe anyone can learn to sing, for singing is a built-in instrument. It’s like being a painter; if you are a painter, you have a palette, and if you sing green and white, you just sing green and white! I only sing how I feel I started singing professionally when I was 29, and I considered myself audible when I was 34”. Then Nelson added, “If you are a parent of a musician, do NOT push them to practice, let it be their thing, let them decide, and when they decide, they’ll DECIDE!”. Finally, another asked, “If you stop doing it, can you un-make the talent?”, which generally they believed it does happen sometimes, especially with prodigies who have meteoric talent but end up never getting an inch better since they were 18, and conversely, in life, there can be certain internal experiences that can harden our abilities, that there are indeed scenarios in talent! Let’s pray that my canary song does not become unsung anytime soon, yay!

Right afterward, I also stayed for 5701: A Poetry Party in the same room, moderated by Judith Houlding, featuring a diverse mix of talented poets and scholars, including Al Young, a U.C Berkeley graduate who has taught poetry and fictional writing at nine universities, written novels, collections of poetry, essays, memoirs, anthologies and film scripts, and a two-time recipient of The New York Times’ Notable Book of the Year award, Shamako Noble, a hip-hop artist and MC who founded the Hip-Hop Congress, an organization aiming to raise awareness of social issues of the hip-hop generation and work as a clearinghouse for social justice and equality, who is a San Francisco underground favorite who recorded “The Return of the Coming of the Aftermath” and an immense community-building force, Liz Weir, an Irish professional storyteller who promotes Irish literature, traveling the world telling stories to children and adults, the author of Boom Chicka Boom, a children’s story compilation, the presenter of BBC Radio series The Gift of the Gab, the writer of children’s commercials in Northern Ireland, helping to establish peace in the region and educate the children in respecting differences, and David Watts, an on-camera medical host for PBS and Lifetime, a host of a radio program on medicine for NPR’s “All Things Considered”, and the host of a forthcoming one-hour special, “Powerful Words: Poetry and the Art of Healing”, also the founder and director of Writing the Medical Experience, a conference where writers and doctors speak of the healing experiences between literature and medicine, and the writer of three books of poetry!

Al Young began, speaking of his experiences in North Carolina at Davidson College, a Presbyterian one, only later learning both Ava Gardner and Thelonious Monk were North Carolinans, sharing a poem about Ava Gardner titled “Ava, She Was One Of Your Women”, followed by a poem about jazz musician Lionel Hampton, and a final poem inspired by his travels to Europe, where he said people can memorize 10,000 line poems and when people make mistakes, they start back from the beginning, and read the poem “April in Paris” inspired by the song.

Shamako Noble followed with, honestly, one of my favorite performances I’ve seen yet! He orally-interpreted his whole poem, “Almost Everything Is Really Simple”, a grand socially and politically motivated hip-hop metronomed masterpiece, and another piece from his acclaimed, “The Return of the Coming of the Aftermath”. It honestly felt like I was front and center at a hip-hop concert, or at least at a coffee shop in San Francisco witnessing his poetic somersaults.

Liz Weir enlightened the crowd with her accent, reading “Exchange”, her admiration of my beloved Dushanbe Teahouse and fantasizing Dushanbe reading a Sky-Map on an entire airplane flight in “Sky Map” , her love of Claire County in Ireland and of the Good Friday Agreement there in “Post-Script”, the compassion of a sad child in “Red Rose”, and the sensual confidence of a woman in “Homage In My Hips”.

Finally, David Watts ignited us all with the comedic firecracker of the party with “The Day I Showed My P**** To The Lady Doctor”, all about a nervous feeling he felt revealing his genitals to the doctor where he had a rash and worried of infection, and another grand ballad from his collection.

Then, we all got together to read our own pieces of poetry in the Poetry Party, where I stepped up to perform my piece, “Birkenstocks In The Snow”, which I got an applause out of and a huge compliment from both Liz and Shamako, yay! (gives self hug) I couldn’t have been more ecstatic taking part in the company and sharing my living voice in the company of others, especially from all around the world, in a room of over a thousand people! Perhaps my life story can grow to be as romantic as all their exciting journeys and quests! Of course as Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”

Speaking of which, it sure felt like a huge step to me Wednesday, when I got to step back onto the campus of my beloved Denver Academy for the first time in twenty-two months. Waking up at 5:15 in the morning, getting to the RTD Park N Ride by 6:30, and taking the DD bus down U.S 36 and across Denver on Colorado Boulevard to Denver Academy will always be beyond worth it in my heart, as so much of my heart and soul grew and was nurtured there and I never want to take any of my friends for granted, as that is truly my second family. By 7:15, I got to Evans Avenue, and there it’s just a two-block walk to Denver Academy, and when I finally got there, seeing the campus before my very eyes, it literally made me shiver and cry in tears of mixed emotion, as it can feel so emotional to retrace your footsteps onto grounds of sentimental value and gentle, warm tears fall from your eyes, seeing that special place you’ve loved is just the way it always was, knowing, “Boy, it still feels like home, and it’s the most beautiful feeling of all!”

Because the Prep School building is usually the first to open, I went in there first, and, boy, how the interior design has sure overgone a gargantuan metamorphosis! There’s paintings all over the walls, new white and black tiles on the floors (it used to be a polyester type of carpet), and in the lounge where there only used to be the lockers, a grand piano, the secretary’s desk, a couple of study tables and vending machines, there is now computers, a Foozball table, a glide hockey table and standing lamps. Wow, some things do change, and some things don’t, like the charm and mission statement of Denver Academy!

I stepped into Mr. McMillin’s room first, where Josh, my former team-mate and friend on the cross-country team, recognized me, and, honestly, he was saying, stunned: “Wow, you look a WHOLE lot different!” (I have grown my hair out and wear more imported clothing and Vedic beads since my days at Denver Academy) Blushing with a smile, I nodded and like old friends we asked questions and talked and each moment he was literally exasperating, even hysterically laughing, saying, “My God, you look SO much different, I can’t get over it!” (giggles in delight)

Then I went to, you guessed it, my old buddy Mr. Ernewein’s trailer, and got to meet all his wonderful students as well this year, yay! I sat around and read along with his homeroom on a selection about real-life Leo The Late Bloomers; students with special, unique learning capabilities, which made me cry reading of so many beautiful children’s rises over adversities in their own individual ways! Then I followed them to their weekly hall meeting in the Core Division (which now they have a special talent show as part of the program, yay!) and got to see a wonderful improvisational score ditty and a talented pianist performance.

Even more astonished I was, discovering I had come to visit on the same day the Ambassador of Iran was visiting, yay! So I went to the Prep Division, where he was guest-speaking in Mr. Petry’s former room and laboratory, where I got to hear him speak to me and Mr. Miller’s homeroom about the importance of his career, his thoughts and concerns of the war on Iraq, the war in Israel and Palestine, George W. Bush, and how one should put the love for his or her own country above any single person by all means. I also earned his complimentary handshake, ooohhhhh…I ain’t ever washing this hand!  LOL!

Of course, a visit could never be complete without visiting my friends Ms. Doyle (Paloma de Paz) and Ms. Dunlap, yay! I visited Ms. Doyle first, catching up on our post-Shakira lives, then I shared with her the new Shakira CD/DVD “Live & Off The Record” and in return she gave me a CD with some of her music videos on it, yay! I played to her some of my new songs and some Shakira covers and other favorite covers of mine (I played much worse than I usually play as I wasn’t used to playing an acoustic with much larger frets and strings, LOL!) Then I rushed over to Ms. Dunlap in her art room, admiring all the wonderful new doors, sculptures, and paintings (My favorites were a pair of doors with the flower-power watercolor theme and a huge mural featuring various single frames drawn by all different students!). Immediately we gave each other an angel friendship hug and I cried in joy seeing her beautiful smile that always brings a tug to my heartstrings and she smiled, saying, “Awwwwwww, you are one of the most loving hearts anyone can be blessed to know, you are a true giver, Noah!” and I told her all about my new songwriting and dreams and moving to Portland and then she showed me her new loveseat sculpted all from clay, and then I gave her a whole new idea, saying, “Ooooohhhh, maybe you can paint this in a way that it represents a loveseat, like a proverbial loveseat with smiley face hearts and flowers and baby bumblebees and everything that represents love, friendship, and happiness!” and in cheerful arousal, she said, “Ooohhhh…Noah, that’s a wonderful idea!” and soon we are going to decorate it as a love seat, yay!

Finally, at 1:00, I went back to Mr. Ernewein’s and met a good old friend of mine who I used to be part of a carpool with for my last two years a Denver Academy, Bryce Lawson. My, how he’s grown! He reminds me very much of Pee-Wee Hermann (Paul Reubens), without the problems with the law he’s been having, which are very unfortunate indeed as I always loved watching the Pee-Wee Hermann show and the movie “Pee-Wee Hermann’s Big Adventure” as a boy. It is quite coincidental indeed, as Bryce also loves to ride his bicycle, in fact, he always rides his T-REK 2200 from Arvada to Denver and back, a distance covering about 25 miles. He’s born to make it to the Tour De France in the not so distant future, yay!

So, it was beautiful seeing all my old friends, as I believe it is important to revisit the friends we make along the path of life and catch up on times, for the primrose path would never be magical when there’s no butterflies flittering and fireflies flickering and bunnies hopping along the way cheering you on, which I believe friendship makes up the whole natural order of ones joie de vivre. So with the move to Portland being a couple months away, it indeed is an emotional time for me, but I welcome it with open arms, as I know my friends won’t forget me and will always love me and I will always keep in touch with them and even more blessings await me ahead. After all, they’d have to especially in the “City of Roses”! There’s entire Japanese gardens there buzzing with flowerbeds of beauties!

(angel friendship hugs for everyone) You have waited much too long for a new entry, so you deserved this long, heartwarming one from my heart to yours! Love you all and remember, “A child needs love the most when he least deserves it.” so always nurture that inner-child of yours and you’ll never go wrong, for we may grow up, but we never grow older!

Current Mood (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Nightshade
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962
just out of reach
98 posted 2004-04-11 10:25 PM


Noah, after reading this most recent post of yours, I would say that no matter where you go, or what you do in life, it will be outstanding!!
  You leave me breathless with all of your visits, friends, accomplishments etc. You are a wonder.....and you are wonderful. Don't ever change my sweet friend.
Happy Easter! hugs, Chris

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
99 posted 2004-04-11 10:56 PM


**********Sunday, April 11, 2004**********

Just A Modest Proposal

Happy Easter everyone! Yep, you can exhale now, the Lenten season has come to a close, and, as it always promises, we only strengthen a deeper friendship to our Lord and through much soul-searching and repentance we unravel more of our true nature and discover spring through our very hearts, which these forty days represent no matter how frigid the days, how torpid the skies, how relentless the winter winds may be, all things are possible and things again can be made new as spring is living proof of the rewards we are blessed with from grazing the fields and our spirits. This is one important reason why I believe spring is the most beautiful of all the seasons. It represents what faith can accomplish, and faith should be everyone’s middle name. If I ever have a daughter, I’d love to name her Faith, as my love for her, as with all children, will always be filled with faith that she will grow rich in love and, though there may be adversity, it will only make her more stronger and angelic as a girl!

Did you know that the Lenten season dates back well to possibly the third century? It always makes me feel so good to see that some things never change, especially the celebration of our Christ. Originally the Lenten season was a time for the catechumens to prepare for their baptisms, and then it took on a whole new meaning at the end of the fourth century when it also became accepted as a time for the ritual of humiliation for every penitent. Thus that is how the notion of the Lenten fasting experience as “dying to self” became known, and the liturgical value developed, one in which anyone, men, women, boys, girls, could participate fully in the renewal of life in the celebration of Christ’s rising. It used to only last for eight days, but it became forty, and though I still don’t exactly know why, I think it has something to do with what was written in the Lord’s temptation. Also, I believe Jesus was alone in the wilderness for forty days, so the Lenten season is almost like a ritual drama to me, in which we personify ourselves in the sandals of Jesus, as we are all faithful children of God who just need to rededicate ourselves. Ever so much I am reminded by John 6:60, 66, NIV “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”. It deeply saddens me knowing that this indeed is a reality many of us face. You always see everyone on their best behavior, dressed up debonair, wearing a muscled smile, and claiming all is well, but that truly is a lie, as life is not always meant to be joyous (you’re probably laughing hearing that from someone optimistic like me, LOL! ) but it is the truth. Faith is not something you get out of lying, faith is something you get out of the Truth. I think ever so much people believe if they lie saying they’re fine, they believe it breeds faith and then if done constantly, all the nightmares vanish into thin air. But if that’s true, then there wouldn’t be anything important behind the Incarnation, and THIS is why we celebrate this special holiday. Do you think Jesus was happy suffering from temptation? Do you think Jesus was happy starving and parched of thirst for so long? Do you think Jesus was happy being crucified on that cross? No, not at all, if anything, that was nothing but sorrow, agony and despair. But Jesus didn’t decide to confront all of this so that we wouldn’t have to experience them, He do all of this so He could teach us to take dignity in the little pains of life we may endure. We all indeed suffer. I have suffered in my childhood, I have listened to your stories of tears you’ve endured over the years, and no one can argue that I was miserable being abused and mistreated, but I also believe that those scars have helped me become the person I am today, capable of feeling the pity of others, and I take great dignity in the tears of blood I’ve shed.  I also know NO ONE will ever fully comprehend the suffering Jesus experienced, for there will NEVER be an act of goodness that equals or even compares to that of Jesus, but we can be the best people we can become as possible, so I urge you all, if anything on this great day, to dignify your own tears and pains, then, through the edification, share your love to all those around you.

The exact same teachings of Easter are mirrored throughout our society as well. In ancient times there would always be lepers screaming “Unclean!” on the streets, encouraging all others to keep their distance and avoid becoming infected by the impurity also. If you seriously believe that we all have evolved since then and will never commit to such an puerile endeavor, open your eyes, that is EXACTLY what we’re doing each day. You may have never thought of it this way, but we do have lepers all throughout our society, social lepers albeit, who are saddened, all alone, who have faced their inner demons as well and, because they were rejected before, close their hearts to the rest of the world, screaming even to those who wish to help them, “Leave me alone!”. They don’t scream that because they really want to be alone, they just fear they’ll be rejected again and go through the same cycle of heartache again. And it’s the same thing with the emotions we feel, we tend to tuck them away when it feels hopeless crawling under that person’s skin and kissing away their tears. Jesus, however, who was hungry, thirsty, cold, betrayal, loneliness, agony, sorrow, and ultimately, death, STILL gave His dignity to ever child of God. I don’t know about you, but I find that not merely a miracle, but a blessing. How often do you see ANYONE experience virtually every known adversity of the world and STILL have the strength, STILL have the courage to say to every child, “Everything will be alright, my child, this I promise you?”. It is incredible. He even gave the demoniac of the Gadarenes his dignity, which no other mortal ever did. The fact is, His suffering was His way to Glory, the Crucifixion the Way to Resurrection. We are all His friends and together we must accept life is joyous, but not only joyous, that we do experience these pains, so may we sympathetically join in fellowship with Christ this very day, who now is guiding us with light and love above the heavens.

I feel if you understand just that during the Lenten season, then you have touched His greatness! Ash Wednesday is significant because it is a token of mourning, as in medieval times people would enter the church with dirty, naked feet and they would throw ashes from palm branches blessed the previous Palm Sunday over their heads, placing them on their foreheads in anointment to understand the suffering of others and seek growth through repentance. Maundy Thursday is essential as it commemorates the institution of the Holy Supper, and is the Day of Foot Washing. According to the revered words of the Gospel John 13: 14-15, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet,”, it is a time to cleanse of oneself and love one another. As verse 34 is read, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,” as well as, the command of the Epistle, I Corinthians 11: 24-25, “This do in remembrance of Me.”, this day is a valued day to me in my Catholic faith for every one of us to love each other in His name! Often on this day baskets are given to the poor, as honored by the Gospel teaching, “Mandatum novum do vobis," Then there’s Good Friday, in which we remember the crucifixion of Jesus, the “Day of the Lord’s Passion”. This is the day when redemption is made, and we mourn Him, in which there is three days of darkness and silence, until this very day, where we celebrate His return, a return of His love, a Love immortal and true.

God Bless You all this very day, and for all of you who have children, share the blessings of this day to every one of them. Candidly, I can say that I do not consider the Easter bunny a lie. Though I agree it has become treated as another deadly commerical widget, the bunny has its value too. As early as the 1500’s in Germany, the bunny has been a symbol of Easter and the Easter Bunny tradition began in the 1800’s. In the 1700’s, the Americans were introduced to the tradition the moment the Pennsylvania Dutch shipped to shore, with many young children anxiously and ebullient for Oschter Haws and his gifts. Asian and Eurasian cultures depict him as a messenger of life, the Celtics as a symbol of fertility and new life, and the Germans as the giver of new life each spring. So Easter is also treated to me like the gateway to spring, with all of life re-awakening and singing again in concordance. No one is necessarily lying here. The eggs are a symbol of fertility, like the hatching of baby birds each April and May! The decorations of the eggs well represent the colors and blessings the spring offers us, how we intuitively earmark the blessings God bestows upon us all, and celebrating the diversity of life, from polished, tumbled marbled eggs to Ukrainian Pysanki eggs, made from melted beeswax and many different dyes. The Greeks dye their eggs red to symbolize the most precious blood of Christ, the Germans and Austrians dye theirs green on Maundy Thursday to represent the Last Supper, and Armenians even paint religious images and icons on theirs. Polish girls even used to send them to their loved ones to represent their feelings to a loved one, as the fertility meaning behind the egg avows. All of the other symbols of Easter well imbue with the Easter traditions. The Easter basket originated from the Catholic custom of bringing Easter food to mass to be blessed, with the Pennsylvania Dutch inspiring the “rabbit’s nest” straw and tinsel. The bells represent the light of the world, and they’d sound all year until Maundy Thursday, to sound again on Easter after a time of mourning and celebrating His return, also representing every equinox and solstice too, when a small time when they won’t ring, it is a period of silence to reflect on the past seasons and when they begin clanging again it celebrates light coming back into the world. The Easter lily, or Candidum Lily, represents purity, chastity and innocence, and is the symbol of the Resurrection and Easter because it flowers from what seems as a lifeless bulb, also the symbol of fertility among Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures and the symbol of the Virgin Mary. The cross and the sheep represent new life. And then, there’s the Lenten wreath, made of rose vines and thistle, which represents the "Crown of Thrones' placed upon our Lord's head by Pontius Pilate when he mockingly proclaimed Him to be "The King of the Jews", with those six white candles representing the six weeks of Lent, one black candle that is lit on Good Friday, and three nails of the nails used to place Christ upon the cross. So never believe you lied to your child about there being an Easter bunny. The Easter bunny is in us all, as we are all hoppity-hopping about spreading new life and joy among one another.

(giggles) For me, every day I want to nurture my inner-child. G.K Chesterson says, “Happy is he who still loves something he loved in the nursery: He has not been broken in two by time; he is not two men, but one, and he has saved not only his soul but his life.” I almost consider “man” to be a blunt, gruff, lackadaisical, crotchety, hog-tying, rather dirty word sometimes. Ever so often men are stereotyped as expected to be strong, stern, rigid, and stiff-necked, and I believe strength is a value, but men should always never be afraid to share their emotions too, and ever so often I see those who are deadpan, poker-faced, stony-eyed, thick-skinned, or, just simply, emotionless. I just have to say to myself, “When I grow up, I want to be a boy forever!”. Boys too are being taught not to cry and become men too early, but I believe what Friedrich Nietzsche said, saying, “In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play. “ And that’s just what I want to do; give the boy in my heart a hug each day and hold his little hand each step of the way. “Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do”. I believe in this always, which applies especially today in a time where all you see on newspaper headlines and MSNBC is the war on terrorism and fears of possible terrorism attacks each day. That is not what our children should be hearing. Instead, we should take Goethe’s word for it and ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste again.

So I beg of you, now that the spring has come, don’t take what it has to offer for granted. Embrace your inner-child, go outside and toss Frisbees, do the Watusi, at least go on a walk around your neighborhood every once in a while. The admission is free for this cosmic zoo, so take advantage of the time! Believe me, Christ wants it that way for every one of us! Don’t forget all He endured compared to every one of us, yet He still smiled seeing the children.

God Bless You All, and…namaste!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
100 posted 2004-04-15 08:28 PM


**********Thursday, April 15, 2004**********

180 Degree Shift To The Rainbow

Yay! It’s the 100th post spectacular for this journal! Wooooooo! (does happy dance) Wow, I started my journal about three months prior to Serenity’s and already hers is over five times larger! (giggles) I suppose since I’ve long lived in the suburbs, it is not exactly easy to get around a lot and travel, and when you are isolated from the city and the cradle of life, you tend to lose a keen sense of savoir-faire that could well have made great posts in here every day. But I’m not complaining. Some days we’ve just got to enjoy and live the day from sunrise to sunset. While Passions feels like home, I also am aware life shouldn’t be lived staring at a screen all day, as it is important to find balance in all you do.

Woo-hoo, the Colorado caucuses were this Tuesday, and I placed my sentimental vote for Kucinich. I’ll be supporting Kerry no matter what come November and intend to dedicate myself in promoting the democrats for a change in leadership, though Kucinich has long been my favorite of the field. We desperately need someone who can rule with hope rather than fear, and Kucinich has an uplifting spirit that could generate a return to blue skied diplomacy again. Politics needs a fresh face and Kucinich has been my idol as of late.

Speaking of which, this week is Election Week at the University of Colorado and I’ve been heavily engaging in college politics this week. I am a co-head of the movement “180 Degree Shift At The 11th Hour”. This week I have set up a campaign booth on the University Memorial Center, speaking and encouraging everyone into this movement, working to get our referendum passed. Our mission is to keep universities from investing and offering financial support from corporations that violate human rights and destroy the environment (e.g Halliburton, Bechtel, Texaco), take $70 million of student and public money from the world’s wealthiest multi-national corporations and back into the communities in a practical and ethical manner (prevent universities from investing from the stock market), work to free all universities from sweatshop tie-ins, valuing and fighting for women’s rights (90% of sweatshop workers are women and girls), continue to fight for a shift to non-toxic alternatives in industry to save our environment and educate young people of the value of our environment, and make sure all profit universities make are made without investing in criminal corporations or the slaughtering of forests and rainforests.

We believe our society is being raped with myths, and minds are not for sale. Did you know, for instance, that in 1997, the UN Conference on Trade and Development reported that wages for unskilled workers had dropped by 20 to 30 percent in developing countries that had liberalized trade laws to attract manufacturing business from developed countries? Sweat shops are prominent forces in these very countries, and even here in the U.S, the most richest country in the world, sweat shops remain a curse. In fact, the U.S Department of Labor reported that more than half of the 22,000 American sweatshops violate minimum wage and overtime laws, and 75% of U.S garment manufacturers violate the health, medical, and safety rights of their workers. Yet we continue to be deceived by the boondoggling braggadocio dripping from the mouths of the tycoons and we are treated like their meat tickets. Another such misconception is thrown around that when multi-national corporations spread into less-developed countries, all those who live in poverty have lives changed for the better, which also is a lie. In fact, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where workers make clothing for Disney, they get paid $2.15 a day, while their expenses daily are at $6.12. Inevitably at this rate no money can ever be saved in their cookie jars for their children’s college funds, to pay for their water and heating bills, even for a single run to the grocery store. They fail to even reach one-third of the bar of an average family income. 180 11’s mission is to expose the underbelly of these myths, and once and for all force corporations to come clean and defend civil rights to the far extent.

Ultimately, we also are working to pass this referendum to protect human rights and democracy in general. Though this is a young organization, we believe we are a great representation and archetypal of civil respect, freedom and dignity, and we believe those 27 million slaves forced in labor for corporations should also be freed and respected. CU has contracts with Nike in Indonesia and has a bond from the government of Colombia, investing in the drug trade there, both known for their brutality on other individuals. And we are fervent in forcing CU and other colleges in illegal pursuits to shed apart those contracts and invest only in companies who have honorable, respectful working environments.

We are zero-tolerant on the heinous atrocities of corporations who support war, harm individuals and harm the environment. We’re working to topple CU’s contract with Lockheed Martin, who make weapons out of depleted uranium waste and dumped hydrazine rocket fuel into backyards, killing 13 children, Coors, who Peter Coors and his drunken colleagues have dumped toxic and industrial waste into the Lowry Landfill, poisoning river systems and the public sewer system, DOW Chemical, who makes napalm jelly used in war weapons and machines and the creator of chemicals, particularly dioxin, which have damaged immune systems, nervous systems, genes and are the guilty conscience behind the Union Carbide gas tragedy in Bhapal, India, killing 20,000 and causing untold ecological and environmental damage for years to come, poisoning any children who may play nearby the old factory, Peabody Coal, which has relocated 12,000 Native Americans from the Four Corners to destroy their land to excavate for coal, Texaco, whose barrels of oil have killed species, people, and rainforests in Ecuador, and Chevron, whose helicopter shot at Nigerian protesters against their violation of human rights along with Shell oil. Along with all other companies who manifest greed such as this, we will have nothing to do with their avarice brickbat lust and work to emancipate our institutions from their destructive policies.

Finally, we believe “minds are not for sale”, which the corporate class is purposely intending to label this as a left vs. right situation to distract the pursuing of the truth and real issues of our society and the quest for knowledge. This is no war against the left and right, it’s all about the top and the bottom. The richest 5% of America own 95% of the wealth, and the richest 1% of the world have virtually half the world’s wealth, which more and more is becoming privatized each moment. This 1984 theory is rapidly becoming alive, and this Orwelliology must be dissolved before we are all treated like commodities produced and manufactured on sterile assembly lines.

Please, it would mean the world to me and my colleagues if you pray that our referendum is passed and support us for a future of hope and grace. The only naivety is procrastination, for procrastination arrests the development of what hope and faith can accomplish. I put this mentality in mind each time I passionately speak my mind, from urging everyone to sign a petition to the Prime Minister of Canada to prevent the building of their own missile defense system, all the way up to Bush’s stubborn and ignorant policies, and I do not intend to ever let it go. Bush may continue to go on portraying himself as a man without fault, stubbornly hide away his mea culpas, who needs his questions printed out ahead of time in his very few public appearances so he can plot a lie or quick way out of the truth, who can’t stand on his own feet and confidently speak out his own heart and mind on the spot, and continue to window dress, but slowly more and more are beginning to discover the truth, that the American people will know he has no plan to win the war on terror, and more will isolate him, understanding the real stakes. I believe I’m speaking for many here. Only 44% now approve of his worldwide diplomacy, only 49% approve of the war on Iraq, down sharply from 61% a few months ago. A majority of college students like myself continue to substantially grow more dissatisfied with Bush. His job approval rating has tanked from 61 to 47 percent in just six months. This proves that Bush has produced nothing but lingering doubts in the full spectrum of our nation, and in my mind anyone who polarizes a nation or creates widespread doubt doesn’t deserve to be re-elected, besides my lasting philosophy I’ll never re-elect a warmonger. So I intend to help re-beat Bush come November, in hope we can return to a nation seeking the American dream, the promise of hope and freedom from mental slavery. I may be young and ideologically-minded and may not have experience in politics beyond student politics, but I do know what I believe in and believe every politician should believe in something for the greater good, and believe the ideals I hold faithfully to are of a value to many.

I also voted in favor this week for other great organizations, including Hip Hop Congress, an organization aiming to spread knowledge through music and increased community activity and awareness, with open mic sessions and poetry slams and local talent searches always being hosted, Stop Hate on Campus, a student-owned and operated organization creating fun opportunities free of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Tran phobia and other biases and hatreds, Club Tango, bringing multiple forms of dancing to campus life, and many environmental organizations.

Hey, what’s with Bob Dylan appearing on those Victoria’s Secret commerical ads?  Heck, I’ve always thought of him as a sexy man, perhaps still the sexiest man in rock and roll, but, whooooo! LOL! I figured Sting would be the most likely middle-aged sex symbol to appear in those commercials! LOL! Bob does look good in those ads though. I love quite a pleasant surprise. Wonder if Laetitia Casta will make a cameo in one of his future videos!

Stay cool, everyone!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
101 posted 2004-04-15 09:47 PM


Hi Noah

I just stopped by to give you a hug.  

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
102 posted 2004-04-18 05:45 PM


**********Sunday, April 18, 2004**********



Less Guns, More Cookies And Naps At Three O’Clock

Well, I guess you just can’t win them all.

Friday marked a dark day for our organization “180 Degree Shift in the Eleventh Hour“. In our university election via ivote, we lost by a mere170 votes. That may sound like plenty, but on a huge campus like the University of Colorado, it is not a lot at all. Over 2,500 supported our referendum, but sadly a larger 2,700 put it down. Though it saddens me to see this golden opportunity dim down, I graciously thank the 2,500 who rooted for us, you all rock! Furthermore you give us hope that, even if not under this very name, such an organization can win over in the very near future in the next generation. By then I’ll be focusing my services in Portland, but across the continental divide I will be cheering you all on.

It also was a gloomy day for Club Tango, another club I fervently supported, as I believe dance is a grand art of life and to promote it on the university campus and let it blend into our lives in flying colors would lead us all to a more vibrant and spirited life. However, the majority disagreed, losing by over 1,500 votes. Hip Hop Congress also lost! So it truly was a triple crown of thorns today!

It wasn’t all bad news though. Our environmental programs won with flying colors, as did Stop Hate On Campus. And thank God the latter passed!

So now that my time at 180/11 has come to a closure, you’re probably asking, “What is next for the Mistletoe Angel?”. Though I am disappointed by the election results, I am not discouraged, and believe a simple loss cannot stop me from changing the world. Of course I will continue to staunchly stand beside Kerry and the Democrats to get some fresh faces into the White House come November, and when I move to Portland in a month and a half, I will also haul along my ideologies as well and put them into practice for the children of tomorrow, for there are many I know who do wish for a U-turn back to the age of innocence. But more importantly, I still hold firm to my belief that I hate politics more than anything in the world, and only participate in them because it is my social responsibility to represent what is right in my conscience, and so I will not let them dominate my life and will let music and the arts do that. I want to form a band in Portland and write uplifting music to the world, with a rock and roll approach but blended with other worldly sounds. In case I never become a commerical breakthrough, I will simply continue to write music for the fun of it and work for child education.

Now that I have got out of the way, being a current Colorado resident who lives a mere half an hour from Littleton, I have to express my deepest sentiments of the Columbine tragedy. Today marks the fifth anniversary of this tragedy, the worst display of school violence in the history of our nation, and with this reminder comes two emotions; the tears and compassion I share with all the victims and their families, and secondly a political point.

I remember clearly the very day the tragedy happened: April 20, 1999. I was in my sophomore year at Denver Academy, in Mr. Ernewein’s homeroom. Because in my classroom Mr. Renewing (my hero) assigns us jobs of the week, which rotate each week, including being the Microwave Guru, cleaning the floors, reading the homework assignments, and selecting the Music of the Week, my job was watering his beautiful plants. Back before Clear Channel got its claws on KBCO-FM, we’d always listen to the great diverse adult alternative music on the station during the school day. Shortly we were to prepare for Literature and suddenly, I heard a late breaking news update on the station and, with the volume fairly down, I asked Mr. E to turn it up. Right when he did, the first audible word we heard was “massacre”. We kept listening and was shocked to hear it was happening at…Columbine High School. Immediately the question buzzing like a rusty neon sign on loose hinges was, “Who would even possess the thought of inflicting arm on all those innocent children?”. I began to cry, and Mr. E gave me a hug sharing my sentiments. I felt weak and believed I couldn’t concentrate on my studies. I surely wasn’t the only one who felt speechless. One classmate had every reason to feel that way, Kacey Revis, whose dearest friend was a student enrolled there. Eventually we found out he had been shot in the ankle about a week or so after the tragedy. As far as I remember, school actually wasn’t cancelled the rest of that day, but we did abstain from our routine schedule and had a compassionate values class and threw some Frisbee around on the lawn outside to try to lift the burdens. I must have went to the water fountain a dozen times that day because my throat felt tight and parched.

I would be lying if I said I understood exactly how all the students at Columbine felt that day. Though I had been abused as a little boy throughout elementary school, that is NOTHING compared to having to crawl around under cafeteria tables and around the library and make the run for the front door in the risk of being shot to death. The whole school itself was quite close to blowing up, and thank God the S.W.A.T team found the pipe bombs in time. The fact is, I can’t even begin to fathom the rapid heartbeat each student endured that day. However, any single display of compassion I believe is enough to console even the heart beating out of control, or the heart frozen cold and numb. God Bless Columbine, their students, their faculty, the parents of their wonderful students, and all those who hand-crafted those blue and white ribbons in their love and honor.

Which brings me to my ultimate point, regarding yesterday’s news of Cheney working to re-legalize guns of all varieties again in light of the Second Amendment and encouraging all NRA members to vote for Bush. Quite frankly, I’ve always found the Second Amendment to be the most poorly written amendment in the constitution, simply because “the right to bear arms” is an over generalized statement. I do believe in the right to defend ones self and family, but I’ve never found guns to be the answer. Perhaps I am a bit of a hypocrite to the Second Amendment, but, then again, the main argument I always hear about the Second Amendment is, “I believe we have the right to bear arms, but only by ‘common sense’”. And that is EXACTLY what’s wrong with this amendment. “Common sense” is an abstract concept, that is, everyone has their own idea of what “common sense” is, so it is a rhetorical term. And currently the motif that is being expressed by NRA followers is “God, guns and freedom”. That, in my opinion, is just sick and sad to hear. School violence has increased to its greatest index yet, we’ve had those recent sniper attacks that killed random people in the Washington D.C metro area, where is the “freedom”? In my view, where there are guns, no one is safe. The victim, obviously, but also the holder of the gun, who is subject to all the anger and despair and bewilderment and eloquence nerved at the cartridge, which can radically affect ones self. You have little children who unpredictably wander about and are curious of all kinds of things, which is not uncommon they get their little hands on a weapon. Moreover, many don’t even purchase a gun to protect their families, they buy one for recreational purposes like hunting and shooting targets. I can’t even begin to understand how so many in the NRA are so adamant over guns, could you even begin to imagine a society equivalent to some Grand Theft Auto videogame where you can own napalm throwers and grenade launchers and at any moment one can have one in broad daylight? It was bad enough that we had 9/11 with the regulation in effect, but can you imagine an attack WITH the ban lifted? To me, it seems hypocritical that Bush and his administration claims to be deeply concerned with terrorism and would stop at nothing to get to the entire root canal of it, yet they are working to get weapons more prominent in our society than ever before. There are plenty of other ways to protect yourself, you know. Karate, pepper spray, you make the choice.

It seems just like 9/11, a limited number of people learned nothing from the Columbine tragedy. A gun is a weapon of war, and we don’t want to suddenly have sporadic wars on our streets with AK-47’s and Uzis. Therefore I a proud to be part of a current 19-page blacklist of NRA enemies, which includes Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, Maya Angelou, Drew Barrymore, and my aunt Sheryl Crow! No one is safe when guns are around.

Perhaps I am a rebel to the Second Amendment, which states only that “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Then again, what is specified by “bearing”? Bearing, too, can mean several different things, according to the American Heritage Dictionary. It can mean holding up or supporting, it can mean moving around or carrying them while supporting, it can mean to be tolerant of supporting. The NRA is just blowing the right to “bear” way out of proportion, and the abstract feel of the Second Amendment is exactly what makes it the most poorly written portion of our Bill of Rights.

So, please, I beg you, let us pray that the Columbine tragedy doesn’t repeat itself, and for a start we must stop the acceleration of weapon purchasing in each environment. We have our militia for a reason, it doesn’t mean that all of us should have to be militia too. We are heroes and defenders simply by being mothers and fathers, and it is the love of our children that protects them, not a cantankerous collection of steel, potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur. So cradle your child today, sing her or him a sweet song, and for those of you who aren’t parents yet like me, give your brother or sister or best friend a hug and have fun in the sun.

As for all the blessed students and teachers at Columbine, rest assured that He is always guiding you with His light, and will always amend the broken wings of His sparrows. Once again, I offer my angel hug to everyone there, as well as my annual blue and white ribbon!

So Cassie Bernall, Steve Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthews Ketcher, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough, Rachel Scott, John Tomlin, Isaiah Shoels, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez, and Dave Sanders, a teacher who used every ounce of love and courage in his body to protect the children, God Bless You All, and let us confront our fears in the future with open hands and not guns. For the children of tomorrow!

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap. ~Barbara Jordan”

Current Mood: (Optimistic)

Love,
Noah Eaton






"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (04-20-2004 01:10 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
103 posted 2004-04-18 05:49 PM




Awwwwwwwww, and before I forget, here are angel hugs back to Martie and Linda, yay!



Yay! Awwwwwww! (does happy dance)

Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
104 posted 2004-04-21 11:50 PM


Well, you certainly have been a busy little angel! No moss is going to collect beneath your magnificent wings! I loved reading about the personal stories of the speakers at the conference. It was so informative and I enjoyed the peeks into their worlds.

It was great that you were able to meet up with your old friends and catch up on each other's news.

Thanks for the Bible lesson and the interesting facts on Lenten and Easter. You certainly are a fount of information! You're a walking (and singing!) encyclopedia! I don't know how you manage to retain so much in your impressive gray matter! lol

You are onc incredibly interesting (and interested!) young man! Keep on learning, and doing and growing ~ and sharing!

Your journal is an absolute gift to your readers! Thank you!


Your friend,
Linda

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
105 posted 2004-12-02 07:41 PM


********Thursday, December 2, 2004********

Guess Who’s Back...Back Again...Mistletoe’s Back...Tell A Friend…

Holy Saskatoon! Seven and a half months sure fly by when you’re having fun! Me and my mind have wandered a many miles since where we last left off, and my intuition has coruscated faster than all the traffic lights in the country. I’ve been like MacGyver in birkenstocks and Aspasia combed through my hair, where I make the most of each moment and embrace the day like the social butterfly I am, reciting on and on under my second nature of, “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.", a.k.a the Rabindranath Effect. Then, whenever there’s a moment of stale stillness, I like to break the silence like Columbo and say, “One more thing…” like the intuitive musician I am, believing that it’s all about tension and repose in the way you live and play and when a rhythm is messy, you just have to sub-divide in your head and let your heartstrings do the humming in-between claps and whistles. It’s like in that episode “Bushmaster” when MacGyver said, “Egg whites are good for a lot of things; lemon merangue pie, angel food cake, and clogging up radiators." Sometimes we rush through life and much too much etiquette into certain things, but I’m just simply the free-spirited type. Making the best out of what you’ve got and seeing how far you can go with it. Not doing the latter would be like taking the cake from the oven before it’s finished rising and then there’s no time for the seasonings to fluff up through the yeast or getting to frosten it up. That’s the MacGyver instinct. Either that or I’m getting old already! Those of you who may be thinking, “What the, what’s someone like Mistletoe Angel doing chirpin’ about MacGyver? LOL!

I have been writing in my journal ever since I moved here to Portland, Oregon in June (I’ve got a whole archive of entries I still desire to type up and add here) but this would have to be the first public posting I’ve added here since moving. I’m already loving everything about the City of Roses. The neighbors here are far more friendlier than those I had in the suburbs of Arvada. Heck, our neighbors next door of 2581 NE 31st Avenue, John and his daughter Annabella, greeted my family with smoked salmon and chanterelle mushrooms. Wow, I mean, what are the odds a neighbor will offer you chantarelle mushrooms? Chantanelles are world-class mushrooms which have earned acclaim from the Italians, who call them Girolle, and the Germans, who call them Pfifferling, both acclaimed names for their superb flavor. Even Chinese folk remedies have for centuries attributed curative powers to the Chanterelle, using them particularly for vision and respiratory problems. It’s so special that no one has been able to cultivate this mushroom yet, and has only been known to grow in the wild womb of Mother Nature. All I can say is, “Wow, I’ve got a lot of thinking to do in seeing how I can repay them for this too-generous of a gift!” I tossed and grilled them up into some stir-fries the five days after receiving them, by God they’d make a satisfying side dish alone! Guess it's time for me to prep up the saffron farm and run apaella factory if I expect to ever return the favor in time!

It’s far more easier to get around here in Portland as well. Back in the Denver metropolitan area, it is difficult to get anywhere without a car, especially during the hectic T-REX transportation construction project. There has been a great urban sprawl from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, yet there hasn’t even been a proposed final resolution for a light rail project from Denver to Boulder along the busy U.S 36 freeway stretch. Here in Portland, you can get anywhere easily simply by walking. I’ve probably already walked more here in Portland these first five months living here than I had in Colorado throughout my first two-and-a-half years in college. I’ve actually lost weight since moving here, weighing 157 when moving and now weigh 148. I did my share of walking in Boulder as well, though my real purpose was going to school there and then coming home on the B-line bus so I never really got to feel the greatest pleasure and freedom in it. I swear on Mondays alone I must walk over 10,000 steps. I’d walk down 31st street to Broadway, take Broadway on down to the Lloyd Center, hop on the Tri-Met Max light rail, get off at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and walk south six blocks down to Portland State. Or on Saturdays I just love to walk along a length of the Willamette waterfront from the Saturday market. This sort of trip involves about three thousand steps, and it isn’t even exhausting. I enjoy walking so much now I even stepped right into that DMV and replaced my driver’s license with a student ID card. Besides refusing to drive in protest to all the major oil companies like Halliburton and Shell which are profiteering sadly off this war in Iraq, I find walking is just so very sexy. So sexy and free-spirited. Then comes that “Go anywhere, do anything” ritornelle again. It was Hal Bortland who said, “All walking is discovery.  On foot we take the time to see things whole.” It truly is a great art to saunter. I’ve never felt so sexy and healthy before. Now, all I need is some dream girl to walk beside me. (sigh)

Portland is the best life has gotten for me in all my memory. Of course, every place has its catch, though I find Portland’s flaws far less troubling than many other places I’ve been. First of all, if you’re going to live in Portland, you have to get used to brushing your teeth seriously. Portland is one of the unique areas of the country where the water doesn’t include flouride, a necessary agent to preventing cavities and protecting tooth enamel. I guess Portland likes to see to it they can be as all-natural as they can be, LOL! So, you may want to give your chompers a twiceover here just in case!

Then, Oregon also does happen to have one of the highest unemployment rates of any state in the U.S at 6.6%. So, you can expect to have difficulty to find a place to work when you first move here, and it would benefit greatly to get some retail experience behind you so you can take advantage of the economic climate here.

Yep, life is good. In Colorado, I was moving around the playground of life and getting to see how everything works and letting my imagination run wild and figure out how to find my wings. Oregon is like the swings of my journey, learning to swing as high as I can, headspring from the tips of my heels and use my wings to take flight to my dreams. I want to fly free now and see that there’s far more than just the stars themselves in this glorious universe. I’m kind of like Columbo at that time when receiving an invitation to become part of an air crash investigating team, having been told they are all pilots and they would train him, and he said, “Oh, no thanks. My ears pop in an elevator. In fact, I don't like even being this tall." Faith is my elevator, faith is my co-pilot, and I feel personally the sky could never be the limit. Some days I just want to feel shorter, other days I just like to think taller, that’s what it is with me. The beaten path, the consuetude, the daily grind just doesn’t arouse me. I’ll decide the days I like to make myself appear taller so I can touch the stars or boldly have my spirit leap tall buildings in a single bound. Other times I just feel sexy making myself appear small, aroused by how I am just an iota in the thaumaturgic tapestry of life, yet I am capable of so much, I can create so much, and influence the way some things are.

Ever since I became the butterfly, breaking out of the cocoon of my misanthropic past, my motto has been each morning, "Put your feet on the ground, then lift yourself up!" Even for those who are shorter, like myself, in height. I think of what Nelson Mandela said, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It isn't just some of us. It is everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Then, I take this glory of God I manifest and let it lift me up to embrace what MacGyver thought of as "another day, a whole new set of possibilities." and float around the neighborhood like Jacques Cousteau. I may be in a whole different region of this great nation, with all kinds of new neighbors and new situations, but the world is my playground and I just find myself in a different part of the playground, that's all. It’s a beautiful feeling, and it’s sexy. And that, my friend, is the Rabindranath Effect.

Happy hour’s on me, Horchatas for everyone!

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
106 posted 2004-12-03 04:40 PM


********Friday, December 3, 2004********

Presents of Presence

"Children need your presence more than your presents" Jesse Jackson

Each day, I am only convinced more and more based on my experiences in community-building and social outreach that children truly are the future, and that we must embrace and devote ourselves to the whole of the child not just through school, but from the neighborhood, the community, the household as well.

Unfortunately, when I grew up much of my early life in Arvada, Colorado, I didn’t get much guidance attending Warder H. Elementary school. They lacked a conflict mediation program, so I wasn’t able to sort out my differences with the boys in school who found me too different or oversensitive. They didn’t have a diversity of methods in their educational approach, and often I found myself in Ms. Miller’s office, the special student counselor, and went through a recurring plethora of reading, sequential and motor skills tests.

But worst of all, they didn’t have an established code of ethics. They had no mission statement, which I’ve found to be the sine qua non of the quality of each and every school and the educational leadership it guarantees and provides each child. I later learned that Warder H. Elementary school didn’t even a national PTA membership until 1998, two years after I graduated and was homeschooled through middle school. Isn’t it troubling to imagine any school, without promoting the full welfare of children, without securing adequate laws for the care and protection of our youth, without developing needed involvement from the general public to ensure a child’s full education which is socially, mentally and physically sound?

After all, we often hear the proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child". So, where is the leadership? Where is the community? What must be done, or, what is example, to bringing the village together again for the sake of our children?

I've just been wrapping up my first semester at Portland State University, and being new to the community, having not lived here for a year yet and obtaining resident status, I've only been able to run a part-time schedule. One of my two classes is a sophomore inquiry called "Leadership for Change" a course designed to improve our leadership skills.

Reading the list of community partners for this course, in providing possible organizations we could volunteer to fulfill our volunteer hours, I read about Buckman Elementary SUN school, a local elementary school famous for being an arts magnet school, thus allowing anyone in the community to volunteer. Visiting the school on the first week of October, I learned the school was governed by three fundamental philosophies; the need to "living as a community of learners", the lifetime commitment in helping students "connect with and influence their environment", and that "diversity is to be respected and celebrated"

Initially, looking over the number of after-school classes they offered, including those with names like "Hogwarts Revisited" and "Broadway Revue: Rock to Bach", I liked what I saw and decided to devote my time in serving the children at Buckman Elementary.

The first observation I decided to make the first day was to see their ethics in action. Being a SUN school, I was curious to know exactly what that meant, and so I decided to research the profile behind the three initials.

According to their official web-site, SUN stands for "Schools Uniting Neighborhoods" and is a collaborative effort that has endured since 1998, when the City of Portland and Multnomah County agreed to partner up to support school success and education by forming a "school-based delivery model". In result, a committee of representatives from the county, city, state, school districts and local community organizations was formed, which met for seven months to design this ideal delivery model. The labor of love formed in the process was an expanded community school proposal that "added educational activities and social services, and increased the involvement of families, community members and local businesses."

In 1999, the name "SUN Schools" was chosen by the Multnomah County Youth Advisory Board and in the few months following, eight schools were chosen to become SUN schools, in which were decided based on four characteristics; "a successful history of integrating services and intergovernmental collaboration", "a successful history of community partnerships", "had a three to five year plan which integrates the broad parameters of this concept on a local level", and that the school had challenging neighborhood conditions, such as "underserving by social support services", high numbers of students from different backgrounds, or challenged by unemployment or poverty. Buckman is one of these original eight schools chosen.

I agreed to begin working that following Tuesday. I believed the first observation I should make was to see how these ethics are put in action. The cornerstone ethic of SUN schools I learned was that learning "involves personal discovery, action, observation and reflection" and that their creative, hands-on active education program "is a process of respecting one’s self, the arts, and our connections to others and the natural world." I agreed to myself I would serve as a volunteer in a number of these after-school classes and volunteer and instruct the children under these guiding principles of personal discovery, action, observation and reflection, in my optimistic hope to uphold these virtues for the sake of these children, to see to it they didn’t have a difficult time in elementary school like I had, one with a lack of guidance and leadership.

October 14th was the first day I volunteered. It was a Thursday, and I asked Joshua Green, the SUN program supervisor, if there was a specific class that needed volunteers. He said that the Beginners Chess class could use some help in Room 108. I agreed to head on in and help out, for I knew enough about chess to teach and have always found it to be a game great at improving decision-making, critical thinking and motor skill abilities.

I was told basically to help keep the kids motivated and to stay focused in their games. Occasionally, there was a student who would get exhausted or burnt out playing or thinking for so long, so you would expect children to often get up out of their chairs and trance around the room. All in all, I was impressed by how engaged all the children were in their games and as I saw the victorious smile or epiphany of thought on each occasional face, I found it to be a golden opportunity to witness a personal discovery, so I  ask the child, "How do you feel?" or "Why did you make that move?" One answer I still remember from this second grade boy, in setting up a checkmate three moves later, is, "I feel patterns, I felt this one!"

That answer impressed me, and that had me thinking for about ten minutes after class. I asked the pony-tailed goombah Beginners Chess instructer if he takes on this same sort of personal discovery exercise and what his thought was on that second grade boy’s answer. He said, "It definitely means a lot, it shows they treat chess more than just a game!"

In the first week of class, I recall reading Komives’ "An Introduction to Leadership", where she and several other scholars decide to define leadership as "a relational process of people together attempting to accomplish change or make a difference to benefit the common good." With the times ever changing, it’s no wonder how much more difficult it is than ever to relate or uphold responsibility for so much. Komives adds to this insight by quoting from P.J Palmer’s publication "The active life: A spirituality of work, creativity, and caring" that often we envision ourselves in a "spiritual renaissance" and are often involved in "a renewed search for contemplative values in the flurry of our active lives."

Already, I had begun to feel and appreciate what makes Buckman Elementary a special school that stands out among many others, and already believed the school truly fostered the respect of diversity and committed to embracing the full potential of each child, but I knew another important step was to identify just what makes the leadership efforts here exemplary, efforts which so many other swchools would envy to adopt.

Peter Vaill, a professor from the University of St. Thomas, likes to think of these times as "swirling rapids of permanent white water" and that simply working harder is not the way to fight the tides, but rather working smarter. Working smarter collectively, knowing that "collaborative practices build more community and commitment than isolated, individual actions do.", reflectively smarter in taking the time to make sense out of what is happening "in order to gain perspective and understanding" and "keep a sense of common purpose" and spiritually smarter in being aware of our values that help shape our character. In this co-op personal leadership approach, Vaill claims we can gain new insight and understand and recognize paradigms and the progress we’ve made.

Thinking this lesson over had me reflecting on my days as a boy in Warder Elementary, where I felt, perhaps, the problem with my old school was it was one of those isolated, individual communities Vaill was talking about. There was no collective or spiritual structure, and reflecting back on the experience I thought of Warder as having a "play it as we go" approach rather than a sense of collective reflective insight. I took that particular thought to heart and decided to let it relate to my next volunteering experiences, where "reflection" would come to play and I would also take the time to observe several other classrooms and see how they operated.

On October 26th, I volunteered to help out with Storytime Players, a class where you not only read stories to the children, you also have them act out the stories. We were reading, "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon, a book about a young girl named Camilla who tries to be like everyone else and, though she loved eating lima beans, refuses to eat them so she could be liked by everyone else. Then she finds herself waking up one morning with stripes all over, and goes through endless predicaments until she decides to eat lima beans and then is brought back to normal.

After finishing reading the book, I asked the children, "Why did eating lima beans take away Camilla’s stripes?" One third-grade girl in a red Pooh shirt said, "Because she found out it’s important to be yourself!" Then I asked, "Have you ever seen a striped person?" and after a unanimous sonance of "No!", another girl answered, "But it doesn’t mean other things don’t have stripes...zebras and tigers have them!"

Again, the answers these two girls made were exactly the answers I was hoping to hear. Like Camilla in her story, this very week I was learning about understanding yourself as an individual in leadership. We often get so indulged into something, we also tend to forget about thinking of the things that shape our personal identities and motivate us each step of the way. Self-awareness is one key motivator in building character, something which Camilla developed late in the story. Komives mentions that "high self-esteem is a result of valuing your self-concept." Bette Midler, one woman I have an immense respect and admiration for, is also quoted for saying, "I didn’t belong as a kid, and that always bothered me. If only I’d known that one day my differentness would be an asset, then my early life would have been much easier." It is people like Miss Midler who have influenced me to stay strong. I mean, when you are working on a pineapple farm in much of your young life and surrounded by those who doubt you can make it big time despite having your own self-determination and summoning of will, and the next day you become "The Rose", that's just inspiring. I still cry everytime I see the end of this classic movie, with her hardcore hippy attitude yet downhome charm, and she just had too much to drink and crawls to her hometown concert she's performing at, and then sings her heart out before passing away on stage. One of my favorite single performances ever.

I saw Midler in their eyes. The two girls spoke in a tone filled with self-confidence; they knew that you may never be able to change some things about yourself, but you can always rely on your strengths and influences to build self-esteem and to learn more and more. It was then I decided, "How about we act out this story now!". I told a girl acting out Camilla to, as she played her role, act out her lack of self-confidence before and her gaining of it in the end. And through one cut, the girl did just that!

It was this experience that I felt set example to their ethic of "focusing on the whole child". Here, I saw a clear example not only of personal discovery, but of all four essentials. In action I saw the girl perform the role of Camilla, in finding her self-esteem. I observed the two girls in their thoughtful answers and the one performing as Camilla and their contributions to the class. And, finally, I saw these examples reflecting the core of the values system adopted at Buckman.

Two weeks later, on November 9th, after suggesting to the teacher of Storytime Players to choose a story that also incorporates the moral of understanding others, she decided on "Giraffes Can’t Dance" by Giles Andreae, a book about a giraffe who wants to dance, but with crooked knees, jellylike neck and long wobbly legs, is the laughing stock at the annual Jungle Dance, until a cricket tells him that those who are different "just need a different song" and then finds his voice to the music of the moon, where his soulful dancing wins over the whole animal kingdom and teaches young readers that everyone can be wonderful, and we will in embracing the voice within.

I was reminded earlier in the year when learning of the social learning approach, which J. Thomas Wren explains under moral development. After you govern yourself and find your integrity or find your voice, it takes observation to be able to relate or interpret other everyday life situations. Albert Bandura, a modern social psychologist, believes that "the fundamental approach of social learning theorists is based on the recognition that behavior is in large measure determined by situational factors outside the individual" and that the individual plays a major role in analyzing the situation through psychological response.

In other words, it’s basically the notion of "It takes a whole village to raise a child" all over again, in that we all must "attend to actions of others" and witness the situations, remember what happened and also what happened to who was being observed, choose to imitate or not according to our moral conscience, and treat each evaluation as a learning experience.

Ultimately, through understanding yourself and observing others, then interacting among others, you grow to acknowledge the importance of community, which I once again indeed felt since the first day walking down those colorful halls. Komives likes to think of building community as "creating a feel of ‘we’ out of lots of ‘I’s’" William B. Gudykunst, a professor of speech communication at California State University, believes there are seven community building principles; be committed, be mindful, be unconditionally accepting, be concerned for yourself and others, be understanding, be ethical, and finally, be peaceful. Following this mental model, Gudykunst claims individuals "will listen more keenly, seek resolution of differences, respect each other even when there are disagreements on specific issues, and be generous and patient."

In the weeks following November 9th, I looked at the big picture, and saw for myself what I saw in Beginners Chess and Storytime Players, from helping bake Greek sugar cookies in International Cooking to teaching kids about Van Gogh in Artventures. Teachers committed to the futures of the children, teachers and community volunteers unconditionally accepting to the questions and concerns of parents in-between periods and after school, and, all in all, one strong understanding, appreciative, peaceful environment. I felt I was taken in and accepted as part of the community, and have felt a proud sense of satisfaction, witnessing relations between children and teachers and the community blossom, first by understanding my role, then understanding the roles of others, and finally identifying our roles together in this community.

William Butler Yeats once said, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." In my experience I’ve found not only have I helped see the fire light in each child’s heart, but in my own, for I have been blessed to know a school which brings out the best in us all and influence the whole community at large, and I will be forever grateful for serving Buckman Elementary these past seven weeks.

My final thought for now is this: Do it for them. If you've been busy with work and haven't gotten to watch over your kids as much as you usually like, give them a hug when you get home or before you go to bed. Ask them how their day was in an inviting, comforting tone. It is essential especially under a difficult current social climate like this, where ever so often our kids can come home with the bleeding questions like, "Mommy, is what I heard on the news true?" or "Dad, why are you sad?".

I'm upset just as millions of other Americans are about this election season, and believe in many aspects things will only get worse before they get better. So I say to the many who voted for Kerry but felt all along Bush would win and held the pessimistic view with them throughout the election season, "You may be right, but just try and have a good feeling nevertheless. After all, doesn't it feel great to have a good feeling in you, rather than let your troubles pin you down like a ball and chain?"

I think it's incredibly sexy to have a positive outlook in life and summon the will to smile through each storm. I don't think it's disingenuous to smile when there are so many problems in the world. Rather I think of it as sexy, as therapeutic, and healthy. I'm just going to get up each morning as always, put my bare feet on the ground, leap out of bed like Tatiana Grigorieva (my lil' Aussie appreciation tidbit of the day! ) and let my hair swim and my hips shake down the street, wearing my signature smile. I'm going to do it, and smile, for the children, and for myself.

And I don't deny that there is much work to be done, and I'm committed to my activism work as always, from stopping this war to saving our environment to funding our public schools. I believe the money our schools receive is mismanaged, titles keep changing, there’s a high turnover rate in leadership, reorganization is constant and inconsistent, there's this voracious tendency to jump on new trends that are costly and imperfected, and faculty positions continue to rotate, all unhealthy elements for the public school system and...for our children.

As I've professed before, I am a staunch opponent to the No Child Left Behind Act because it's a siege on the public education system, rooted on empty promises, false dichotomies, helter-skelter, punishment to underperforming schools, and the allowing of privatization to as much as a child’s future. I mean, how could you possibly consider NCLB a focus on the whole child and integrating the full range of humanities, arts and sciences and social diversity to them when the NCLB act has not been tested and promotes more transience than ever before, and focuses on a strict curriculum of reading and math test scores. Those who succeed the first time in these tests are privileged in learning various other subjects, while those struggling with these tests are stuck with a basic "Reading First" program. In result of this, you always see what some activists like to think of as a "packaging over content" approach to the children.

I am against all that. The children deserve more, and understanding these politics only opens up the soft spot in my heart for them ever more in the need to have them dance like the giraffes in their beloved book.

More than just the children are being hurt by NCLB too. The NCLB puts an immense amount of pressure and distrust on public schools, expecting each school to reach a threshold of performance or will face consequences or sanctions by the government. No Child Left Behind is more
testimonial than it is scientific and schools are being eyed like a hawk under a "Hawthorne effect", also known as the theory there's a tendency to work harder and better when under pressure. But through a strict studying as this, many academic studies have found relations among faculties have suffered or been squandered in the process.

You always hear that a relationship is based on trust and communication, and building such relations in the school environment is the necessary step to beginning to resolve these conflicts. Activists and teachers alike must act and communicate accordingly and respectfully. Norms must be eastablished to stop the reckless constant reorganization process, so teachers and education advocates can save their breathes and make their voices heard for the good of the community. A code of ethics must be agreed upon and adopted in a diplomatic process through schools and organizations alike, mission statements which acknowledge the fundamental need to "teach the whole child" and teach as a community of learners. Finally, the money must be managed responsibly and the general public must be convinced that these schools need the money, not the lip service.

Angela Schwindt said, "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." If we deny each child the education he or she deserves, we are denying ourselves the gifts and blessings the children can give to the world. In returning our trust to the child, to the teacher, to the citizen, we’ll restore a sound leadership which will lead to fiscal responsibility, stronger relations and motivation among educational groups nation-wide, and in return, we return the great essence of the community and, most importantly, the essence of life.

And THAT is exactly why I am obsessed with talking about children all the time. We not only reward them, we are rewarding ourselves in enriching their lives. I believe so much needs to be done, and NOW, but I am optimistic each day, because I have felt my heart open to many children at Buckman and in Colorado and believe in our children and that the ethics of SUN schools can echo throughout the heartland of this great nation.

I Children!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
107 posted 2004-12-03 07:50 PM


You keep singing, Noah...it is young people such as yourself who will keep this world going in the right direction.

When we learn to live with defeat, and put as positive a face on it as we possibly can...and not dwell in a negative past...only then will we change history!  

But that too brings up an interesting concept...

What if we are on nothing more than a plain old-fashioned record player... and God or some other higher power is playing the record at his/her discretion...then golden oldies are going to be played in a new time...and we will hear the same as our ancestors did before us...

[ah, a fantasy only with some records...]

I take this insight from the insight I had from an older adopted sister...who talked one day to me when I was about your age, Noah...when she was in biology and in looking through the microscope...thought about we humans might possibly be seen by God under a microscope, like we saw ants...

her impression has always stayed in the back of my mind...

You, Noah...are making a HUGE impression, and I wish you much success in your life, your music, and your ambitions!


Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
108 posted 2004-12-04 03:28 PM




(giggles) Awwwwwww, thanks Karilea! That is quite an impression, isn't it. Tell her too that objects are often closer than they appear. We are all indeed grains of salt under God's looking glass, but it is such a fascinating, sexy, empowering feeling when you may be small but when God looks down on each of us, how distinguished and colorful we all can be.

What can I say? I just do what I do. Sometimes what I do may not be right, but I believe in the long run when you look back, it makes more sense why you do something and it just proves once and for all we are all walking contradictions, all cocktails that make up all the essences and opposites that attract in life.

All this talking has made me thirsty, by the way. How about a yerba mate?



Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
109 posted 2004-12-04 05:41 PM


********Saturday, December 4, 2004********

Let’s Put Here Back In Hereditary  

Behind each day, there’s a whole story once told begging for attention. I think it’s amazing how we’ve come so far yet we never take the time to acknowledge all the wonderful milestones and crowning strokes on each very day before as we are self-indulged each day in our lil’ cynosure of five-minute showers and Dannon Frusions. Sometimes we are often tempted to say that’s the story of our life. Or maybe we have just watched too much of Doug Heffernan on “The King of Queens”.

I am convinced more than ever each day “Everything is interconnected”. Did you know it was on this day in 1867 that the National Grange of Husbandry was founded? Yeppers, it is thanks to this posse that agriculture and social rural life in America continues to prosper. All Sweet 16 parties at the Grange Hall; sponsered in part by the Grange! That very steak that’s currently freeze-dried in your Frigidaire is part of the story of your life, we just don’t think of it happen.

You remember Little Freddy, right? Freddy ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon, a.k.a Freddy Cannon, a.k.a Freddy Karmon, a.k.a Frederick Anthony Picariello? Well, he arrived on the scene this day in 1940, who would grow up to become our Rock N. Roll Baby. Courtesy of Boom Boom, he gave us such cannonades as “Transistor Sister”, “Tallahassee Lassie” and “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans”. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask for some time now, is Palisades Park real? I think in one of my dreams I must have been there, and I was with my dream girl and this, for some odd inexplicable reason, became a 45 of our lives.


”Last night I took a walk after dark
A swingin' place called Palisades Park
To have some fun and see what I could see
That's where the girls are

I took a ride on a shoot-the-chute
That girl I sat beside was awful cute
And after while she was holdin' hands with me

My heart was flyin' up like a rocket ship
Down like a roller coaster
Back like a loop-the-loop
And around like a merry-go-round

We ate and ate at a hot dog stand
We danced around to a rockin' band
And when I could, I gave that girl a hug
In the tunnel of love

You'll never know how great a kiss can feel
When you stop at the top of a Ferris wheel
When I fell in love down at Palisades Park.”


Hey, does Abigail Beecher still teach? I guess I’m going to have call his supervisor. I mean, honestly, have you ever know a teacher who knows her history from A to Z, drives a XKE AND dance the Watusi? Come on, you’re killing us, you loose cannon, share the wealth!

Dallas, Texas became the largest American city on this day in 1985 to pass a no-smoking law for restaurants, eh…EH? Oh. Well, who could forget the opening of “Psycho”, the one film that would define a generation in taking baths rather than showers.

Looking back, it simply has me thinking, “Hey, why don’t we take advantage of each day and put the “here” back in “hereditary”? Nah, there’s not a chance you’ll have a cherry soda with Abigail Beecher anytime soon. But I mean, can you even believe there are so many magazines and tabloids that always write this stuff out about Martha Stewart getting in trouble for making jelly for her toast out of berries from the prison patch, or “Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria cheats on TV…AND IN REAL LIFE TOO!”, or “Ashlee Simpson to Perform “Live” for AOL”. In their eyes, it’s all NEWS. Better yet, you can easily find it at the check-out register in every local supermarket, while the other newspapers are tucked away in the aisle next to laundry detergent and cosmetics, so, according to Radok, it must be our #1 Most Trusted News Source. They basically use the same slogan as the Oregonian uses; “Practically Indispensible”. They know if you put a picture of George Bush in the paper, it won’t sell, but if you stamp one with Regis Philbin dressed up as Nick Lachey in there, that’s a double play loud enough to put Chuck Hearn into a force of habit and bellow out, “"You can put this one in the refrigerator. The door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O is jiggling, and I haven’t even turned on the stove yet!” Or if you thought the discovery on this day of a Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Turkey by the National Geographic Society that revealed more of the archeaological mysteries of King Tutankhamen was fascinating, wait until you hear about that purported likeness of the Virgin Mary in a cheese sandwich discovered by that eBay jewelry designer, or the single grain of breakfast cereal with an uncanny resemblance to cuddly movie alien E.T. Sure, William Albright made some major impressive discoveries like excavating several Biblical ruins and discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls, but…look at the toast, it’s sooooooo cool!

So, with that said, if this is really where all the news comes from, why don’t we take advantage of the day and write out our own self-celebrity editions for each day and make our own history from it? That’s what everyone wants, right? We’re all our own best celebrity, so maybe if we embrace that truth, the world may be spinning a lot faster than we have more to entertain the world with, not to mention entertain ourselves.

I don’t know, maybe something like this:


Noah Eaton Claims ‘Dancing The Monkey’ With Abigail Beecher

POSTED: 5:11 pm EST December 4, 2004
UPDATED: 5:55 pm EST December 4, 2004

Noah reportedly has sheeps eyes for Lana Lang.

MISTLETOPIA: It seems Mitchell Leisen may still be writing screenplays; only this time in the inner-most desires of our subconsciousness.

Noah Eaton of Portland, Oregon claims he “could have sworn” visiting Abigail Beecher” in his dreams last night, where he reportedly “danced the monkey” along with a full high school auditorium.

“I recall hearing Freddy’s song back when I was nine!” Eaton told The Daily Sparkplug for its Saturday edition. “She had that sloppy sweater, pony tail, blue sunglasses, I knew it ad to have been her!”

Asking if Ms. Beecher indeed knew her history from A to Z, Eaton responded, “When you know all the astronomers from Marc Aaronson to Fritz Zwicky, who could possibly be wrong?”

The reported dream interpreter did not immediately reply to e-mailed queries seeking comment, claiming he just wanted to "dream up a dream date" with sexy "Smallville" dreamboat Kristin Kreuk!

"There’s something about someone who is both unassuming yet attention-getting that’s very sexy!" Eaton replied. "Superman dumped her for Lois Lane, now's the time to make my seasons greetings to her."

Freddy Cannon’s "Abigail Beecher", which peaked at #16 on the Billboard chart in 1964, a song about a history teacher who enchants a local high school with her rock-and-roll attitude and surfing moves, became a cultural sensation.

*******************************


You report, you decide!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
110 posted 2004-12-05 11:39 AM


Noah, you rock! I swear to God in the heavens that He sent an angel to live among we humans! ~ Me! ~ lol I jest, my friend! 'Tis YOU that I am referring to!

I am so pleased to know that you were made welcome when you moved from Colorado to Oregon! BTW I love wild mushrooms! Chanterelles are a delicacy. My Dad used to take me into the woods and meadows looking for a variety of the saphrocytic delights. I love frying them up in real butter, with some Celtic sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and top up a couple of pieces of homemade bread nicely toasted! I'm salivating just thinking of it!

It still amazes me how quickly you settled in in your new environs! ~ and soon after were the co-leader in organizing a 10,000 strong political rally! My goodness! You truly are a go-getter! Anything that you put your mind to ~ becomes reality! ~ So continue to think big!

What you are doing for our young people will relay into a better world for all of us! They are the future generations that hopefully can save our planet! My generation sure as heck has done a pretty good job of polluting it. You are helping to raise the collective consciousness through your conscientious and philanthropic involvement with our young people.

Your journal is like a fascinating journey for all of us priviledged to read it! You are, in fact, writing a book! ~ Your autobiography!

You are a fascinating young man, Angel Boy ~ and I enjoy our friendship! Again, I say ~ YOU ROCK!

Loving hugs,
Linda


Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
111 posted 2004-12-05 02:43 PM




(giggles) Oh Linda, no, YOU are the angel. I mean, I'm just the Mistletoe Angel, the angel of a small part of the Earth. But you're the Earth Angel, you're the angel of everything on this planet. There's no competing! (falls to knees and wails like Wayne Campbell) I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!

(giggles) I absolutely LOVE mushrooms. Both my sisters are vegetarians too like myself and they absolutely dislike them and so does my mom, but I can't get enough of them (and no, and they're not for shhhhrooms either, LOL! ) They are perfect in stir-fries, or you can season them in garlic, butter and soy sauce, you can do just about anything to them. Chantarelles are everywhere here and you can just go out into the wilderness and find beds of them sprouting about!

Awwwwwww, yeah, I did settle in pretty quickly, didn't I? In some of my journal entries that I still haven't gotten to type up yet between April and December, I was very emotional leaving Colorado and cried pretty much the whole trip there because, after all, anyone who leaves a childhood home behind surely must feel that way, and I didn't want to think of Oregon as Act II of my life, rather my life as one big act filled with many unpredictable situations and characters. So, it was just emotional being very reflective on growing my roots and spreading my wings there, and staring into each empty room and seeing the torn swingset in our old sandbox, it is a hartwrenching vision to see.

But everyone in Portland is sooooooo friendly. Far more friendlier than those in my Arvada neighborhood. Basically everyone there lives alternative lifestyles. I wanted to move to San Francisco most of all, which is my favorite metropolitan city in the U.S and the hotbed of so many progressive visions, not to mention the home of the Flower Age, but the land value is jus too expensive down there, so Portland made a great alternative. Even so, I only live nine hours from San Francisco and three hours from Seattle, so, I could always go down to San Francisco for a four-day weekend. And, I have to tell you, co-leading that major rally and seeing all the colorful banners and children hopping around in peace capes, that had to have been some of the sixties spirit returning! I felt it!



All I can say about trying to save this planet is, pray for my generation. I am only one spirit, and I can only hope much of the rest of my generation represents similar sentiments as I do in the need to save our forests, respect diversity in education, and stop war as a foreign policy, period. We need all the hope we can get! My next entry focuses on one of these issues.

God Bless You, Angel Friend, YOU rock!



Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
112 posted 2004-12-05 04:01 PM


********Sunday, December 5, 2004********

Sword of Velvet

As I continue to shake my head, hearing about the continuing war in Iraq and how so many could create a monster like this once again, I tend to try and look behind at the spiritual aspect of it. After all, “moral values” was considered the top issue for 22 percent of voters, above the economy/jobs at 20%, the war on terrorism at 19%, and Iraq at 15%. Exit polls showed that nearly one-fourth of voters, 23 percent of them, called themselves evangelicals and/or born again Christians. Among those voters, 78 percent voted for Bush, 21 percent for Kerry. And according to the exit polling data, Bush led 64-35 percent among those who attend church more than one time a week, and 58-41 among those who attend church once a week.

Leering at these results, my aesthetic reaction is, “What is it with all the active church-goers voting for the war, and all the secular citizens voting against this war?” Is there something that is being looked at the wrong way or is being misinterpreted? After all, I’ve always believed the Bible is the Good Book, the Library of Divine Revelation”, consisting of the voices of every social stature from kings to peasants, all sacred words binded together for the purpose of showing the path to redemption and righteousness and understanding the Holy Law. So, I feel, though I don't like to lecture anyone about religion or what they should believe, I believe it is important to share my personal belief to some of the words of wisdom expressed in this Good Book.

Ever so often, you hear from Exodus 20:1-17 about the Ten Commandments and the most mentioned one of all, “Thou shalt not kill”. Everyone can agree there, but there seems to have always been quite a debate on the meaning of the word. Those scholars in favor of the war would say that the Hebrew meaning of the word “kill” actually means “murder” or “to slay someone in a violent manner unjustly." I recognize myself that there are indeed hateful people in the world who fuse their emotions into a negative energy and use it to spill terror, malice, vengeance and harm on the world. Even so, I find it astounding how when I ask many in favor of the war that killing 100,000 in vengeance is certainly wrong in trying to capture and dismantle a network of terrorist organizations, often you hear “No!”. Isn’t the killing of innocent children murder? Isn’t the killing of women and family members who just so happen to only be in the wrong place at the wrong time murder?

I assume the one scripture in the Good Book that is often misinterpreted has to be in Matthew 10:34, where Jesus says, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." I believe with all my heart that the “sword” he speaks of IS peace. Unfortunately, perhaps many have fathomed this like Orwellian 1984 speak: “War is Peace”.

I grew up in a Catholic background, as I’ve talked about several times before in this journal, and I have read and learned many lessons of the Good Book and its teachings. In the past few years, I have turned away from the Church to some degree as I believe it has gotten too adversarially or unilaterally involved in politics and political campaigns, so I am no longer an active church-goer, but I believe I understand enough about the Bible to interpret the hypocrisy and misinterpretation the neo-con right has undertaken in using the Good Book as a weapon in justifying the need of pre-emptive war and banning abortion and assaulting the public education system. I strongly believe myself in reading enough of these verses that it was clear that the mission of Jesus, and his message, was peace, and it was to be spread and affirmed peacefully only.

In Matthew 26, line 52, it is written, "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Some may think, “See, He believes in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours! Saddam drawed the sword, so that means we must make him die by our sword!” I don’t believe that, and believe it is rather meant that the hatchet must be buried, and those who try and use it will be punished or made critical judgement by the Lord.

Look at Lines 51-56 in Luke 9 and in Luke 10 as well:


”Luke 9:
51  As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,
    Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
52  And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan
    village to get things ready for him;
53  but the people there did not welcome him, because he was
    heading for Jerusalem.
54  When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked,
    "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to
    destroy them?"
55  But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
56  and they went to another village.

Luke 10:
1  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them
   two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was
   about to go.
2  He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
   Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into
   his harvest field.
3  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."

5  "When you enter a house, first say, `Peace to this house.'
6  If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him;
   if not, it will return to you."

10  But when you enter a town and are not welcomed,
    go into its streets and say,
11  `Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off
    against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'


I absolutely believe that we all need a little faith in our lives, and absolutely believe without it, or rejecting God, I suppose personally to me we all see things far more blurrier. However, these verses tell me straight up that no one should use force ever to spread the message, and we can always expect those who won’t listen. So, just turn the other cheek and go on to those who do keep their ears open to the teachings.

There’s even more scriptures which wash like sinew against my heart in the belief that Jesus preached a non-violent peace, not a militaristic peace. In Matthew 10, where the “sword” is mentioned, I feel if you focus on the single line 34, it may sound one way, but if you read the entire verse, you get a different feel.

Looking at lines 35-39, you read the following:


35 For I have come to turn `a man against his father, a daughter
    against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
36  a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
37  Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me
    is not worthy of me;
    anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me
    is not worthy of me;
38  and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me
    is not worthy of me.
39  Whoever finds his life will lose it,
    and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."


I feel reading these lines that there is no violent conscious behind these words at all. Rather I think of the “sword” as almost like a Phaedrus from “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” sort of metaphor. It’s dividing the light and the darkness and such, and it is a heavy sword for all those who wish to spread His teachings must carry, for the Truth is the most powerful tool of all and behind it there carries a major responsibility and testimony, but it is not a sword to fight with, rather a metaphoric sword to carry peacefully in seperating the darkness from the Earth and spreading his peaceful teachings, and it is not a tool to smite prejudice and hatred and violence among one another.

There are other shaky passages that I believe are blatantly misinterpreted often as well, in my heart, such as this, from Matthew 24, lines 6-8:


”6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”


I believe it doesn’t mean it gives us the right to just pick fights each day until the Second Coming many of us believe in. I understand in the Good Book that governments were created for the sole purpose of maintaining law and protecting people within the borders. I truly support our young men and women in uniform, for I believe they DO have a purpose, and just like what was said in that verse. Protect OUR people, protect the people within OUR borders. I do support a defensive military that operates on our own soil, NOT an offensive foreign military. I understand too why we have detention centers and police academies and prisons and rehabilitation centers. We can always expect mothers and fathers to turn on each other and disobey the Law, we can always expect sons and daughters to turn onto each other, we can always expect twice removed third cousins to turn on one another. So we have these institutions and while I disagree with police brutality and violence and such, I understand why we have these institutions in our society.

Which is also why, while I don’t like to think about it and prefer not to, many fear about a mandatory draft returning, where ALL young citizens 18-26 or something like that would be forced to serve a two-year rotation of military or civilian service in the U.S military. The Good Book clearly speaks of all physically and emotionally fit men 20 years and older eligible to be drafted and participate in the military in the sense of nationalism. However, the Good Book also clearly says the following:


”Deuteronomy 20:8 (KJV):

8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.”


That strikes me as the right to being a conscientious objector. If your heart is faint of fighting any war, you shouldn’t have to fight. It also specifically says if you just moved into a new home, or if you just started a new business, or if you were engaged to be married, or if you were just married and shouldn’t go to war for a year, males should be excused from having to serve. I know many veterans here from Vietnam who were forced to go regardless of these rules.

Frankly, I still can’t over how so many actually believe in this war. If you believe in war, you simply don’t believe in the true light of peace, period. And those of you who do support the war, I don’t wish no ill will or hatred to you. I just believe somewhere along the way there was miscommunication or misguiding. I pray to myself perhaps just like Vietnam, the “silent majority” will soon rise up and more and more will finally see the ugly monster of psychological warfare been created and the need to bury it once and for all, and work and set aside our differences and work to try and re-build communities rather than downscale them, to try and understand one another, understand where the terrorists are coming from, and work to rid of these terrorizing instincts.
For, like it reads in Matthew 5, lines 3-9:


3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”


So, let’s do it for peace, let’s do it for love, everyone, and do just as we are told in line 34 of John 13,

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Wow, I sure said a lot here! Let’s pray this war ends as soon as possible, as I will keep doing my part in protesting it as long as it takes, for the good and decency of our great nation, for the good and decency of this world, for the good of our young men and women serving down there who I hope return home as soon as possible to their loved ones and families, hopefully before Christmas (hey, it could happen! )

God Bless You all, and...peace, love, and harmony!

Current Mood: (Hopeful)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
113 posted 2004-12-05 06:23 PM


********Sunday, December 5, 2004********

Star-Crossed Star Love

My previous post was a bit serious-toned, and I never enjoy being real serious, so I thought I’d end this day’s readings on an enjoyable note and treat you all with a bonus dose of mistletoe serum!

Speaking of religion and moral values, have you ever watched “Joan of Arcadia”? (I believe I talked about the show once before). I believe the show is perfect for everyone, especially teenagers and young Americans, in teaching God and values in a fun and positive way. It’s about a teenage girl named Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn of “General Hospital”) who communicates with God, who appears in many different forms and personalities, gives her directives, and she acts upon them and each episode leads into a whole different type of situation with a moral attacked to each episode. She also has a father Will (Joe Mantegna), who works as a police detective in Arcadia who works to make the community a safe place for everyone, and while experiencing the ups and downs with his family takes up many difficult cases due to heavy crime in the region, sometimes having to make very painful sacrifices and tough decisions, as well as a mother Helen (Mary Steenburgen) who teaches art at Joan’s high school who recently has been trying to get re-connected with God after a loss-of-faith experience with her son Kevin’s (Jason Ritter) accident, who also adds density to the show along with Joan’s other brother Luke (Michael Welch), a science-loving fellow with eyes for Joan’s friend Grace Polk (Becky Waelstrom), with an eccentric, rebellious, rough-around-the-edges but considerate persona. Barbara Hall produces and writes the show, who is a wonderful writer and role model for women and youth everywhere. I cried watching the season finale last season, when Joan finds out she had Lyme’s disease after experiencing several blurry, sickening, nauseus experiences just as she was finishing her first year at Arcadia High, and experiences a crisis of faith that has her struggling to recognize God and the devil, who tell her to do different things, and in result winds up in the hospital, seeing God standing in her hospital room in multiple personality forms, silent, refusing to answer her as she begs Him to speak to her, and through the grieving process she temporarily loses faith and doesn’t believe in God, but later again begins to re-discover her faith she lost. I also cried in that recent episode where Joan’s best friend Judith was stabbed and passed away in that episode while she was going on her first date with her boyfriend Adam, and since has been upset and desperate begging God for answers in why Judih had to go, and when her and her friends are discussing the best way to remember her, Joan remembers Judith wanting her to learn how to juggle like her so she learns to juggle.



I have to get this off my chest. I have a HUGE crush on Amber Tamblyn. I love Amber Tamblyn. She’s so lovely. She has this genuine personality of hers that makes her a wonderful, beautiful person to know, and a warm, comforting face. Did you know she’s a poet too? If you’ve ever been to her official web-site, she also shares some of her poetry with her, which has been published in some San Francisco publications like Cups and Poetry USA. I especially love “Plenty of Ships” and “She Howls” where she writes,


Amber Tamblyn's Writing Page

(sigh) I just love her personality. She even writes this brutally honest ramble where she talks about how hard Hollywood can be, and that she enjoys working there but talks about dishing out all the dirt on SCAM artists everywhere who try and take advantage of you and that in the Screen Actors Guild, only 5% work and the rest are hoping for auditions and are constantly feeling the heartache of rejection. Honesty is the most important quality to me and I just love her for being candid and guileless. She also is very politically-motivated as I am and shares my liberal views. Just when I thought I was one of few who cared at all about Buy Nothing Day! On November 26th, which is often considered the busiest shopping day of the year, which I celebrate this day because I believe we live in an obsessive-compulsive corporate climate and for just one day it would be nice to live beyond material means, Amber Tamblyn is promoting this day too on her official web-site! You go girl! (does happy dance) She has the same love of great activist networks (AdBusters.org, MoveOn.org, The Lahiji Project) not to mention a great taste in music (Ani DiFranco, Neil Young, Thelonious Monk). It kind of makes me blush saying this, but Amber’s the kind of girl I want to have in my life. (sigh) Hey, she was born only five months before me!       I literally am a hopeless romantic, aren’t I? First Kristin Kreuk, now this! (giggles) That’s probably just the Scorpio in me again, we Scorpios often are entrapped star-crossed lovers! But Amber rocks on Joan! You’ll love her too I’m sure!



When I played Leonato in my senior year of high school Shakespeare production of “Much Ado About Nothing”, I remember in the auditions before our opening night that everyone seemed to be goofing around or preoccupied and Ms. Jensen was saying, “Come on, stay focused, it seems the only one putting passion into his role here is Noah! Put heart into it!”. I guess by passion she was referring to the part in the play where Leonato, who is bought into the deception of his daughter Hero being a tramp, bellows like a bullhorn, “Hero; do not ope thine eyes, for, did I think thou wouldst not quickly die, Thought I thy spirits were stronger than thy shames, myself would, on the rearward of reproaches, strike at thy life. Grieved I, I had but one? Why had I one?
Why ever wast thou lovely in my eyes? O, she is fallen Into a pit of ink!” LOL! After acting that part out, with everyone aware of my gentle, shy, nice guy persona, I remember everyone stood frozen like, “Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wowwwwwww!” (giggles)

A whole bunch of my fellow senior well-wishers were saying, “Hey, Noah my brother, ever thought of going to Hollywood?” I’ve always enjoyed acting and would love to get more involved with college drama productions soon, and indeed I am fascinated with living the star life. If I become big in music or writing and am given that chance, I will surely take it. But I do follow Amber’s advice in that Hollywood should be taken as a secondary option, like writing was first for her. Ever since I was Mistletoe Cherub, I’ve always loved movies and pop culture, and indeed, let’s be honest, we’d all dream to have one of those houses you see on VH1’s The Fabulous Life, if not for ourselves and our own material interests, for our families so they can grow up in a nice environment.

But just like with great power, with great fame, there comes great responsibility and commitment. The truth is, there are many in Hollywood who write or star in adventure flicks but never go on vacations with their families or explore the world beyond Hollywood and Vine anymore, there are many who write or star in fantasy flicks but they are so absorbed in thespecial lighting and green screens that they don’t have time to explore their imaginations and wild ambitions, there are many who write or act in romance flicks but have never fallen in love, or at least have a lasting love relationship or a family to come home too. Hollywood can certainly be a plastic environment, where all those catch-phrases you hear from Arnold Schwartzenegger and Clint Eastwood can be exciting at the cinema, but when you hear them through everyday dialogue, the catch-phrase culture can feel so long-winded.

Then you have to also just accept all the hype, teasing and juicy morsels that come included with the full package of fame. Ben Hecht once said, “People's sex habits are as well known in Hollywood as their political opinions, and much less criticized.” Maybe because I am a Scorpio I would be used to all that, as I am open about my celebrity crushes and romantic and sensual dream experiences! (giggles) But when it all becomes the run of the mill, there just isn’t any romance to it anymore.

So, if I ever get the opportunity to act or grace the red carpet, I’d love to. But I want to live life, not just have a life. I want to follow my intuition and pave my own tie-dye carpet through life and toward my dreams, and if they love me for it and more doors open before me, I will show them my appreciation being their guest of honor. Maybe I can play God on a future episode of Joan of Arcadia!

(sigh) My head feels light and tingly like a velvet balloon thinking about AmTam and my dream girl! I’m going up to my bedroom to daydream for a while!

Current Mood: (Lovesick: I feel like this ever so often)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-05-2004 10:20 PM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
114 posted 2004-12-06 04:10 PM


Thank you for the kind words, Dear Grown-up Cherub! lol My head is spinning from reading all the words that spilled from your magnificent mind! Each journal is like going for a ride on a merry-go-round! So many thoughts, ideas, visions, emotions, information ~ and creativity! What a fantastic writer you are! ~ and a highly interesting man to boot!

I was intrigued by the voter/voting statistics that you quoted regarding the church-goers. Very curious indeed!

Thank you for the bible refresher! Reminded me of what I had forgotten! lol

As you know, I am a big believer in your abilities ~ and you walking down the Red Carpet is quite in the realm of possibility!

Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with your readers! To know you ~ is to love you! ~ and admire you!

Love,
Your friend,
Linda xo

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
115 posted 2004-12-06 07:41 PM


********Monday, December 6, 2004********

Dr. Zomb Whistles Underwater

A few of you sent me some amusing e-mails, sharing your own personal experiences of Portland (overwhelmingly positive I might add!) I just can’t get over how lucky I am to be here in the City of Roses so to do this illustrious city more justice, I’ll get down to the verdant heart of the matter.

The first major thing you should know about Oregon if you want to become my next-door neighbor is, if you want to pump your own gasoline, well, you can FUH-GET ABOUT IT! Oregon is only one of two states in the U.S of A (New Jersey is the other) where a gasoline pump is off-limits to the average motorist. Under ORS 480.315-320, passed over five decades ago, it reads, "An owner, operator or employee of a filling station service station, garage, or other dispensary where class 1 flammable liquids are dispensed at retail may not permit any person other than the owner, operator or employee to use or manipulate any pump, hose, pipe or other device for dispensing the liquids into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle or other retail container."

So, according to the rest of the text of the bill, if you accidentally pump your own gasoline, you are given a civil penalty that must be paid 10 days after order of up to $500. Out of curiousity I did a little research to find some rationalizations in the law, and they list 17 declarations. Some of them I happened to find very amusing.

Here are a few:


”1) The dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids by dispensers properly trained in appropriate safety procedures reduces fire hazards directly associated with the dispensing of Class 1 flammable liquids.

7) Exposure to toxic fumes represents a health hazard to customers dispensing Class 1 flammable liquids.

10a) The significantly higher prices typically charged for full-service fuel dispensing in states where self service is permitted at retail discriminates against customers with lower incomes, who are under greater economic pressure to subject themselves to the inconvenience and hazards of self-service.

11) The increased use of self-service at retail in other states has contributed to diminishing the availability of automotive repair facilities at gasoline stations.

14) Self service dispensing at retail contributes to unemployment, particularly among young people.

17) Small children left unattended when customers leave to make payment at self service stations creates a dangerous situation.”


I mean, personally, I don’t know, it’s tempting to be the trapezoid, but I don’t really buy numbers 11 and 14 especially. Ah well, everyone’s happy I suppose. It must be even more amusing to visit the other 48 states and be told to keep your hands off that pump. Many in every other state must compare something like that to that you can’t buy your own Wonder bread off a supermarket shelf. I don’t exactly see a rationalization behind the law, but, I’m not complaining! I'm a walking protest machine! Got no car, need no oil!

The second thing is here in Oregon, we have no sales tax. Yippee! That’ll give my fingers much needed rest in digging for pennies! Benjamin Franklin once said, “Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes." How true that still is, though we get off quite a bit easier here, hehehe! (giggles) I believe Alaska, Delaware, Montana, and New Hampshire are the only other states without a sales tax, although in some Alaskan cities I’m told they charge a 5% sales tax. I’m lovin this!

Oh yeah, there are some other crazy laws you should be aware of before moving here:


• Canned corn is not to be used as bait for fishing.
• It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property
• One may not bathe without wearing "suitable clothing," i.e.,that which covers one's body from neck to knee.
• Ice cream may not be eaten on Sundays (Ha ha, I’ve rebelled against this fifty times already!)


If you live in Beaverton, you have to pay a $10 permit to be aloowed to install a burgular alarm. In Eugene, they say it is legal to conduct a horse race or a symphony concert! In Hood River it is illegal to juggle without a license. In Klamath Falls it is illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snake’s head off with your cane (maybe their lawmakers took Whacking Day on The Simpsons too seriously) In Stanfield, no more than two people can share the same drink. In Marion, ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before delivering a sermon. In Myrtle Creek, if you want to box with a roo, well, that’s just too bad, because you can’t, bloke! And, finally, right here in Portland, I am not allowed to whistle underwater, I’m not allowed to have a wedding ceremony at a skating rink, and can’t wear roller skates in restrooms (Aw man, but you know how I love roller-skating in movie cinema restrooms after the show!)

Nah, I’m not using any scare tactics to keep you all out of the City of Roses! (giggles) But the law is the voice of the land after all, and if it is a crime to eat Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra on Sundays, then consider my entire current past here checkered! LOL! I don’t know, maybe if you put a noseplug on, you might get away with whistling underwater! Who doesn’t enjoy whistling underwater? Not me!

Yep, ol’ “Stumptown” has its share of celebrities as well. Thanks to Matt Groening, unlikely star streetnames like Terwilliger Boulevard, Flanders Street and Lovejoy Street have become luminary to pop culture thanks to his Simpsons. And yes, before you ask, it is true the infamous Tonya Harding was a Portland native for quite some time. Did you know such hit movies including “The Ring”, “Free Willy” and “Mr. Holland’s Opus” were filmed here? Did you know that “Mr. Holland’s Opus” was filmed at Grant High School, where my younger sister Ellie now goes to? We live only two blocks away from this Hollywood archaeological site! And finally, who could forget where another one of Portland’s many nicknames came from; “Little Beirut”? You can credit that to the passionate demonstrations formed when Ronald Reagen, George H.W Bush, and George W. Bush came to town! Yep, we’re all a bunch of progressive martyrs! (giggles)

The “City of Bridges” has a very diverse environment and the city is considered divided into five major parts, with four corners and North Portland. In the northwest corner, you have the Pearl District (the only part of Portland I really stay away from) which is more upscale. This whole area used to be a major warehouse area until they have converting the district into upscale lofts. There’s also the Old Town and Chinatown districts, which I’ve walked through a many number of times, including in my weekly rallies.

Northeast Portland is where I live. It’s the most racially diverse area of Portland, with some of the most high-land value neighborhoods like Irvington and Hollywood. Much of the area between Killingsworth and Fremont is considered “da Hood” where you’ll really feel their diverse culture. There’s also the Lloyd Center, where I always cross through on my way to the university and on my way back home, and the Rose Quarter, where Portland’s only major league sports team, the Trail Blazers, play.

Head on over to the southwest corner and there you’ll find my favorite crash pad, Pioneer Courthouse Square, which is often called “dowtown’s living room”. Have you ever heard that Everclear smash, “I Will Buy You A New Life”? where Art sings, “I will buy you that big houseway up in the West Hills?” The West Hills are right here. They’re a more suburbian part of Portland that’s very expensive. And all three major Portland colleges are located here, Portland State University, Lewis & Clark, and Oregon State.

My absolute favorite corner of Portland, however, would have to be the southeast side. All around the Belmont and Hawthorne districts, you’ll feel a very Bohemian, hippy-esque culture. I love to hang out every weekend and smell the sandalwood in Jambo World Crafts or reload my hemp lip balm cache at the Third Eye Shoppe. Plus, you get a great view of Mt. Tabor just standing on the corner of Hawthorne and 39th at eight-thirty in the evening on a midsummer day. During the summer, I would just sit back on a bench in Laurelhurst Park and that’s where I wrote some of my more mystifying poetry like “Tourmaline” and “Neptune Retrograde”. Once you move east of 82nd Avenue, it begins to look a lot more uglier and run-down, but everything west of 82nd is appeasing.

Veritably, I am having a mad love affair with Portland radio. Sometimes hearing the variety here, I feel robbed when living in Colorado, where I feel as though I was never given any eclectic taste. I am madly in love with KBOO community radio (that’s 90.7 on your FM dial). Each day of the week has its own multifarous programming line-up, with a different host for each music, spoken arts, news and activism segment. Right now my mind’s been sapid to the sonorous bliss of Jazz in the Afternoon. My personal recommendations of don’t-miss programming are Kaleidoscope Sounds with Delilah Brazil, Vinyl Pajama Party with Brian Combs, and Dr. Zomb’s Stereo Obscura. KBOO is killer!

But what I love most of all about Portland is that it is so easy to get around this city. In contrast to living in the suburbs, where I was stuck around at home, failing to get around and enjoy eveything beyond my backyard, you can walk anywhere, do anything. I’ve never felt sexier in my life. I just slip on my Birkenstocks, fly out the front door like a sparrow just married, and smile as I grace down Broadway. I look back on a long Monday where I walk over ten thousand steps, when some doctors say walking at least 2,000 steps a day on average helps you from gaining any additional weight, and I say, “That’s sexy!” I still can’t get over losing nine pounds in such a short span of time, especially when I’m in a major growth state of my life. I was always right about average in weight and below average in height, but now ever so often I hear, “Hey Noah, you look a lot thinner than I last remember!” (giggles) I feel I am in total control with myself now and have the impulse and stamina to do anything. Fellow protesters in Portland have already said I’m “the sexiest protester they’ve ever seen in Portland”. (blushes) Some explained by saying most protesters always wear black hoods and have grave, dirty, woebegone faces with shipwreck expressions, but I arouse the crowds with my bright colors, smile, and my shaking of the hips and twirling on my heels. I was called a lot of things back in Colorado, but “sexy” was never a synonym there. And I believe it is healthy to feel naturally sexy.

I’ve been writing some new material, by the way! Soon I want to record this cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love”. You gotta love Grace Slick’s voice. I already know I myself can’t make justice of her one-of-a-kind voice. She has one of few most unconventional voices in all rock and roll, along with Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa and Neil Young. She has always been quite the character, perhaps being credited for the first major use of the F word in a “Volunteers” song, not to mention I believe once trying to mix LSD into Nixon’s tea (giggles) She’s a wild child, but this kid’s alright!  I don’t know what she’s doing now (I think she’s a painter) but I still love her! Let’s hope I win her approval for my version of the track, cuz she may very well get medieval on me!

Whew, this is a loaded entry! Then again, I kept you starving for more for seven-and-a-half months, so it’s only fair I feed you with these longer entries! Hopefully these updates will suffice for the holes I put in your stomachs! (giggles) Think I’ll be off now for another soiree with my feet! Strike a pose to the sun, everyone!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-06-2004 08:26 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
116 posted 2004-12-07 04:03 PM


********Tuesday, December 7, 2004********

Rosie The Riveter Can't Be Wrong

Some of you who may be perplexed or overwhelmed by the corporate climate in this post-election season so much, you know you want to break away but just can’t think of the best strategy in doing so, I thought I’d give some advice to you.

First things first, when you go out to eat, try all you can to eat at locally-owned diners. When you go to get your groceries, either go to a privately-owned supermarket or a small local chain (a.k.a Trader Joe’s, Zupan’s). When you go to get your coffee, try a different locally-owned coffee shop each time rather than Starbucks. My parents now have an insurance office set up on the second floor of a commerical bungalow at 15th and Broadway, right above Ruen Thai restaurant, where the owner Pai has been grieving a bit about Bush being re-elected, thus the (un)Patriot Act certainly staying in place, where rigid security measures will keep Pai from getting his adopted child from China he has longed for. Often I love to dine there on the weekends or occasionally on a day during the week. Their lemongrass soup and vegetable curries are killer! Then, two doors down across from the birkenstock store Footwise and a clothing store, there’s Peet’s coffee, a locally-owned chain, where I often like to get my jasmine pearls, and just down 15th street across from the Lloyd Center, there’s Bibo, where they make fruit smoothies, and the delicious acai bowl, a rare fruit bowl topped with bananas, yogurt and hemp toasted granola.

But if you absolutely have to cross into corporate territory sometimes, it helps to know which companies have contributed to political parties and which party (if not both) they contribute to. There are many companies that catered to the GOP interests this election season, sometimes the facts can be overwhelming. But there are those that lean the other way as well, rest assured of that.

The following is a list of corporate money that went to partisan political campaigns in 2000, broken down by Dems and Repubs.  Flooding the democratic process with corporate dollars erodes democracy regardless of this or that party, which the system itself is dangerously flawed and corrupted by corporate influence. I have highlighted the corporations that leaned Republican in red, corporations that leaned Democratic in blue. Of course I don’t consider myself a Democrat either, and even question the ethics of some Democrat-leaning companies like Levi & Strauss, Martha Stewart Living and Costco, but you’ll get the general idea here.

*******General Goods*******

Price Club/Costco donated $225K, of which 99% went to Democrats
Rite Aid, $517K, 60% to Democrats
Magla Products (Stanley tools, Mr. Clean), $22K, 100% to Democrats
Warnaco (undergarments), $55K, 73% to Democrats
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,       $153K, 99% to Democrats
Estee Lauder, $448K, 95% to Democrats
Guess? Inc., $145K, 98% to Democrats
Calvin Klein, $78K, 100% to Democrats
Liz Claiborne, Inc., $34K, 97% to Democrats
Levi Straus, $26K, 97% to Democrats
Olan Mills, $175K, 99% to Democrats


WalMart, $467K, 97% to Republicans;
K-Mart, $524K, 86% to Republicans;
Home Depot, $298K, 89% to republicans;
Target, $226K, 70% to republicans;
Circuit City Stores, $261K, 95% to republicans;
3M Co., $281K, 87% to republicans;
Hallmark Cards,  $319K, 92% to republicans;
Amway,  $391K, 100% republican;
Kohler Co. (plumbing fixtures), $283K, 100% republicans;
B.F. Goodrich (tires), $215K, 97% to republicans;
Proctor & Gamble, $243K, 79% to Republicans


*******Spirits*******

Southern Wine & Spirits, $213K, 73% to Democrats
Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons (includes beverage business, plus considerable media interests), $2M+, 67% Democrats
Gallo Winery, $337K, 95% to Democrats


Coors, $174K, 92% to Republicans; (also Budweiser - sd);
Brown-Forman Corp. (Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels,  Bushmills, Korbel wines as well as Lenox China, Dansk, Gorham Silver), $644, 80% to Republicans


*******Food*******

Sonic Corporation, $83K, 98% to Democrats
Triarc Companies (Arby's, T.J. Cinnamon's, Pasta Connections), $112K, 96% to Democrats


Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (chicken), $366K, 100% republican;
Outback Steakhouse, $641K, 95% republican;
Tricon Global Restaurants (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), $133K, 87% republican;
Brinker International (Maggiano's, Brinker Cafe, Chili's, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Crazymel's, Corner Baker, EatZis), $242K, 83% republican;
Waffle House, $279K, 100% republican;
McDonald's Corp., $197K, 86% republican;
Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Bahama Breeze), $121K, 89% republican;


*******Traveling and/or dining*******
Hyatt Corporation,       $187K, 80% to Democrats

Marriott International, $323K, 81% to republicans;
Holiday Inns, $38K, 71% to republicans.


*************************************

So, as you can see, so much of our climate is influenced by corporate interests, which also sadly partake cultural interests in adversarial manners. While I’m at it, I would also like to share to you the Top 25 Republican Party donors between 1999-2003 with global consumer brands. Some of the following companies aren’t quite so adversarial, like I know PepsiCo gave about just as much to other parties, but still is good to know. (Source: Ethical Consumer magazine)

Altria (renamed from Philip Morris): $6.5 million (In one of my next threads I will reveal exactly what is consisted in Altria’s mass arsenal, which includes Kool-Aid, Oscar Meyer and Post cereals.)
AT&T: $5.36 million
Microsoft Corp: $5.12 million
United Parcel Services: $4.48 million
MBNA (financial services): $4.38 million
Citigroup: $3.93 million
Pfizer: $3.9 million
FedEx Corp: $3.4 million
Bristol-Myers Squibb: $3.4 million
GlaxoSmithKline: $3 million
Wal-Mart: $2.85 million
General Electric: $2.58 million
Exxon/Mobil: $2.35 million
AOL/Time Warner: $2.31 million
Anheuser Busch: $2.23 million
Chevron/Texaco: $2.2 million
PepsiCo: $1.9 million
Schering Plough: $1.8 million
Archer Daniels Midland: $1.8 million
Wyeth (formerly American Home Products): $1.74 million
Alticor Inc.: $1.7 million
American Airlines: $1.62 million
Ford: $1.52 million
BP Amoco: $1.25 million
Disney: $1.25 million


Being aware which corporations support which political parties and agendas might help you make more informed choices as you vote with your  purchases this holiday season. For YOU, YOURSELF, possess the most powerful weapon in the world, the mighty dollar. So if you feel powerless in changing the state of the environment, the economy, and this senseless, immoral war, think again! You have the CHOICE to decide how and where you spend each dollar you so righteously earn, and until these corporations cease to all adversarial public funding of the current administration, fight the power!

And just because some corporations are abusing their wealth and authority on living conditions everywhere doesn’t mean there aren’t sensible alternatives. I strongly support the investment in the underdogs, in small-cap stocks, many of which are independently-owned companies, many of which are barely heard of. That is why I am a fervent fan and follower of The Lahiji Group, where a 20-year old stock guru and mutual fund manager Christopher Lahiji decided to rather invest in the small companies instead of the Altria’s and Microsoft behemoths, and he spent a whole year just paroosing through annual reports of almost 13,000 companies, assembling 149 he thought most underrated and recommended being invested in. I just find what Lahiji has done evry admirable, and I believe he has already launching the next major grassroots movement of America. His official web-site is located here:

http://www.lahiji.com/

Personally, I find protesting and living free from an overwhelmingly corporate climate so very sexy. I admit it’s a challenge, but we can do it. Hey, Rosie the Riveter said we can do so so she has to be right! I’m already taking a huge step in trading this Microsoft for an Apple, and I’ve been doing my homework in finding a dentally-proven alternative toothpaste to Crest. I feel sexy already for already effectively remaining free from everything Altira, not to mention travelling the organic way; by walking. I haven’t spent a single penny on gasoline this entire year! More power to me!

And, finally, please, if you still have strong feelings and frustrations after this election, don’t wait four years to express your dissent! Get involved! For there are many other ways to fuel the fire for social change. Find out about the local grassroots and activism organizations in your area and volunteer! These organizations are the ones that are making the change locally in your community, for the way the work for social progress has always went is to think globally, act locally. HELP THEM OUT! If every year we could raise money and rally support the way people did for the Kerry/Bush campaigns, surely these organizations can have the funding and numbers they need to make the change we want to see in politics! Just take one or two hours of your time a week at least, that would mean much not only to each organizations working hard for the good of all of us, but mean much also to the world at large. Be persistent. Don’t let the grief and anger tear you up inside and have you concede defeat. Use the catharsis of emotion and sustain it into a catharsis of hope, of passion, of vision.

Here’s a few organizations I find to set a great example for the re-building of democracy and social change:

*

http://www.codepinkalert.org  (Multi-generational women’s group for peace, committed to taking the streets with smarts and style and strategy)

*

http://adbusters.org/home  (Global community network ushering in the social activist movement of the information age)

*

http://www.girlsinitiativenetwork.org  (Empowering middle school aged girls through education, activism and community)

*

http://www.kfa.org  (Krishnamurti Foundation of America: Krishnamurti stated about education, "Present-day education is a complete failure because it has overemphasized technique. In overemphasizing technique we destroy man. To cultivate capacity and efficiency without understanding life, without having a comprehensive perception of the ways of thought and desire, will only make us increasingly ruthless, which is to engender wars and jeopardize our physical security." (Education and the Significance of Life)

*

http://www.jewsforglobaljustice.org  (Pro-Jewish, Pro-Palestinian group of activists committed to ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.)

*

http://www.humanunity.org  (Human Unity endorses Human Agreement & Wholeness and Healthy Environment)

*

http://www.gandhiinstitute.org  (The mission of the Gandhi Institute is to apply the principles of nonviolence as a force to prevent violence and to resolve personal and public conflicts locally, nationally and globally through research, education and programming.)

*

http://www.nationalhomeless.org  (Advocacy network of homeless persons, activists, service providers, and others committed to a single goal. That goal is to end homelessness)

*

http://www.warresisters.org  (Believes that all war is a crime against humanity. They are determined not to support any kind of war, international or civil, and to strive nonviolently for the removal of all causes of war.)

*

http://www.peacetaxfund.org  (Non-profit advocacy organization that works solely to pass legislation which would provide a way for citizens to participate in the tax system without violating beliefs about conscience and war)

*

Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. So, be the change. Be the vision. Be the passion.

Current Mood: (Rebelliously Upbeat & Determined)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
117 posted 2004-12-11 04:50 PM


As I promised earlier this week, I now will provide you with the scoop on exactly what the behemoth Altria owns (formerly Philip Morris) who happened to be the largest corporate donor to the Republican Party between 1999 and this year. When you first look at their vast inventory, your first response will obviously be that you’re overwhelmed over how much they own, but know there is far more to life beyond the corporate climate and YOU possess the greatest weapon of all, the dollar bill, so YOU have the right to spend it any way you want to, and if you want to see to it your very dollars don’t go into funding this senseless war in Iraq or environmental destruction or suppression of civil liberties, YOU can do so simply by not buying into these corporate gargantuans and look for healthy alternatives. As long as Altria decides to continue encouraging this senseless war in Iraq and the selling of products that encourage tobacco sales and advertising for smoking aimed at young adults, etc. that lead to higher costs for medical service, I am declaring myself Altria-free.

Here you are. Altria owns the following:

****************Bacon*******************

Oscar Meyer
Louis Rich

****************Breakfast Beverage*****************

Postum

****************Cereal****************

(ALL POST CEREALS)
Alpha-Bits
Banana Nut Crunch
Blueberry Morning
Cinna-Cluster Raisin Bran
Cranberry Almond Crunch
Frosted Shredded Wheat
Fruit & Fibre
Golden Crisp
Grape-Nuts
Great Grains
Honey Bunches of Oats
Honey Comb
Nabisco (Puerto Rico only)
Natural Bran Flakes
Oreo O’s
Pebbles
Raisin Bran
Shredded Wheat
Shredded Wheat n’ Bran
Spoon Size Shredded Wheat
Toasties
Waffle Crisp
100% Bran


****************Cereal Bars***************

Nabisco

****************Coating Mix***************

Shake n’ Bake
Oven fry


****************Coffee******************

General Foods
International Coffees
Gevalia
Maxim
Maxwell House
Sanka
Starbucks
Yuban

****************Cold Cuts*******************

Oscar Meyer
Louis Rich

****************Condiments******************

Grey Poupon
Kraft
Sauceworks

****************Cooked Cereal****************

Shredded Wheat

****************Cookies*****************

Lorna Doone
National Arrowroot
Newtons
Nilla
Nutter Butter
Oreo
Peak Freans
Pecan Passion
Pecanz
Pinwheels
SnackWell’s
Social Tea
Stella D’oro
Teddy Grahams
Wild Thornberry’s

****************Crackers*****************

Air Crisps
Better Cheddars
Cheese Nips
Crown Pilot
Doo Dad
Flavor Crisps
Harvest Crisps
Honey Maid
Nabisco Grahams
Nabs
Premium
Ritz
Royal Lunch
SnackWell’s
Stoned Wheat Thins
Triscuit
Waverly
Wheatsworth
Wheat Thins
Zwieback

****************Dinner Kits*****************

Taco Bell

****************Dips****************

Kraft

****************Dog Biscuits***************

Milk-Bone

****************Dry-Packaged Desserts****************

Dream Whip
D-Zerta
Jell-O
Knox Gelatine
Minute

****************Energy Bars***************

Balance

****************Frozen Pizza***************

California Pizza Kitchen
DiGiorno
Jack’s
Tombstone

****************Frozen Treats****************

Kool-Aid Slushies

****************Frozen Whipped Topping***************

Cool Whip

****************Hot Dogs*****************

Oscar Meyer

****************Ice Cream Topping***************

Kraft

****************Lunch Combinations***************

Lunchables

****************Macaroni & Cheese****************

It’s Pasta Anytime
Kraft
Kraft Easy Mac
Velveeta

****************Margarine***************

Parkay (Puerto Rico only)

****************Meat Alternatives**************

Boca

****************Meat Snacks**************

Tombstone

****************Pasta Salads**************

Kraft

****************Pastas & Sauces**************

DiGiorno

****************Pectins**************

Certo
Sure-Jell

*******************Pickles/Sauerkraut***************

Claussen

****************Pie Crusts***************

Honey Maid
Nilla
Oreo

****************Ready-to-Eat Desserts***************

Jell-O
Handi-Snacks

****************Rice*****************

Minute

****************Salad Dressings****************

Good Seasons
Kraft
Seven Seas

****************Snack Nuts**************

Corn Nuts
PB Crisps
Planters

****************Sour Cream***************

Breakstone’s
Knudsen

****************Spoonable Dressing***************

Kraft Mayo
Miracle Whip

****************Steak Sauce**************

A-1

****************Stuffing Mix****************

Stove Top

****************Sugar Confectioneries**************

Altoids
CremeSavers Hard Candy
CremeSavers Soft Candy
Jet-Puffed
Kraft Caramels
Life Savers
Nabisco Fun Fruits
Toblerone
Trolli

********************Yogurt*****************

Breyers
Jell-O
Light n’ Lively

********************************

Take a close look at this, if you too are concerned as I am about our out-of-control corporate climate, the war in Iraq, ethics, etc. And remember, YOU have the power!

Current Mood: (Happy & Rebellious)

Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
118 posted 2004-12-11 04:52 PM


********Saturday, December 11, 2004********

Blanket Metaphysics

Yesterday, as always since I have moved to Portland in June, where I attend the weekly Portland Peaceful Response Coalition rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 5 sharp, I was encountered by a conservative-leaning columnist for a local Christian magazine, who claimed he was running a project on understanding the progressive movement and the instincts behind it. He asked me for an interview and I agreed to accept it, because, after all, I was aware he may have been trying to run a smear campaign of sorts in an effort to take soundbytes and make us look hypocritical or like heathens, but I believe personally it is important to be building communities and understanding one another and where we’re all coming from, so I let them interview me. In a way I consider myself an anthropologist, who’s been working to understand the behavior of our society at large and where we went wrong.

He asked me some tough questions, particularly on the war in Iraq and “wouldn’t you consider that liberation?” or “No democracy, Iraq is going to have elections next month, I beg to differ sir, why do you think that?” and I applied my knowledge of the Good Book and my personal experience to my answers, responding saying, “Look, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality!” I believe everyone in the world desires and dreams to be free, to find peace. Where we disagree is how we go about achieving freedom for all. Look, this war is a very sensitive topic and I don’t want to storm up any more brimstone here, but I just believe in my heart that war only divides people and throughout history, I believe war has never solved anything. Weapons may be vanquished and heinous men may be dethroned, but the tension always remains, and it can always erupt any time like a volcano all over again! No, I believe in the non-violent form of peace, and that peace should be achieved through open arms and understanding.”

One question that made me smile was at the very end, where he was finished talking about the war and asked me, “You appeared to look very happy tonight in the rally. You looked like you were in love. Why is that?”.

I was so happy to see him noticing that, because that’s just what I want to accomplish. I answered by giggling, “I wish, I want to be in love more than anything in the world!” then telling him, “I believe protesting is a form of art in itself, and, like all art, should be inspiring, enthralling, intuitive. Often when we think about protesters, we depict images of black hoods, heads looking down, dirty faces, and lots of angst. Personally, I’ve overcome many obstacles in my early life because of my differences, which encouraged bullying on me, seizures, nightmares and suicidal thoughts. But, there were many loved ones who came and accepted my differences and for who I am and their love and compassion helped get me close to God and to see the sunshine and rainbows in life, and I believe if I can overcome years of adversity like that, I can overcome anything. Look, I don’t believe it is disingenuous to smile in times of crises. Everyone needs hope, and though I feel passionate and saddened on much of what’s happening in the world, I believe you have to take the tears and grief and transfuse them into positive energy. Thomas Paine said, “It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself” I quote William Blake as well when he said, “The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” I truly am a happy person now, and believe especially during this holiday season, I must keep giving the gift that keeps on giving, which is the faith I hold in my heart, the faith for better days ahead, and they say smiles are contagious, so I find it healthy to smile, healthy to bring this positive force behind the concerns of each rally!”

His question made me smile also because, if some think I must be in love now when I’m not, I think, “Just imagine how you’ll feel when you really ARE in love!” (giggles) Sometimes I think maybe my eyes will literally be shaped like hearts and beat strongly, bulging out of my eyes, or a blizzard of pink hearts will come bubbling out of my ears every time I sigh with eyes half-closed, half-lost in a dream experience! (sigh) I don’t even have a girl yet, yet whenever I have nothing to do and I have romantic, passionate daydreams of my dream girl, I just want to lie in my bed under my velvet covers and dream for a few hours, and often I like to kiss my velvet blanket in slow-motion, gently caressing my lips against the soft fabric, often gently gently brushing my church tongue against it, pretending it’s the luscious lips of my dream girl that I’m kissing for the first time. (blushes) I literally am having an affair with my blanket! (giggles) The day I finally have my love dove in my arms, and she says, “Mmmmm, you’re a good kisser!” you’ll know where I got my practice!



As you know, I am very open about my celebrity crushes. You know how I love Amber Tamblyn, Kristin Kreuk and Shakira! I also absolutely love Michelle Branch. She had a steamy, scandalous photo shoot for the January 2004 issue of Maxim early this year, which I own that issue and her sultry centerfold actually inspired my sexy summertime pop poem, "Dressed To Grill". (giggles) I had much respect for Michelle Branch already for writing her own songs at such a young age and already establishing herself and going multi-platinum by just being herself, and I believe she has much potential behind her as she continues to grow. Then, after seeing her pose, oooohhh, she has both a cute face and a hot body and personality! (giggles) Often I just love to stare at her on the cover, where she looks so bold, beautiful, and so very sexy! I love Michelle. She's featured as my laptop desktop wallpaper.



Jamie-Lynn DiScala (a.k.a Jamie-Lynn Sigler)  also has that cute, sweet type of sensuality to her. She truly can seem like the shy, rapturous songbird she really is, as her name is Meadow Soprano on the Sopranos (I love that name) but she also has a sassy, bold, playful nature to her that makes her captivating and seductive on screen! Keep warblin', sweet Meadow!

Manton said, “Desires are the pulses of the soul; as physicians judge by the appetite, so may you by desires.” (giggles) I’ve been having these strong feelings ever since I was 14. Sometimes I feel as though I must have the strongest libido in the world or something, or I feel as though mine malfunctioned and I wonder if it is supposed to be natural to feel lovesick when you’re not even in love. I had strong feelings for Joanna when we used to talk all the time, just as she temporarily had strong feelings for me, and my love for her was very strong, even when we never met. We were star-crossed misunderstood lovers. My love for her inspired me to make her a ceramic heart for a Christmas gift, send her bath & body products and a stuffed Tigger doll, write about a hundred poems all dedicated to her. For hours at a time every night, I’d talk to her on instant-message, and I remember often she felt sad because she didn’t like her body image or something, and I told her ever so much how much I loved her and she was angelic to me, and then she’d always write (kiss kiss) on the screen and those single moments made my head feel dizzy and my cheeks shine cerise and inhale as deep as I possibly could so I could let out the most amorous sigh. (sigh) Our love didn’t last, and she won’t talk to me anymore, and we never met, yet that time we felt a spark in one another alone made me feel lovesick every day.

They say Scorpio is the sign of sex and those like myself are the most sensually energetic of all the signs. They say union with the beloved is a “sacrament”, or “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace." and that Scorpios love to lose themselves passionately in love to discover the mystical meaning of the union that’s greater than individuality and to be married both spiritually and in flesh. (sigh) Astrologists say our appetites are virtually insatiable, and we are effortless in attracting lovers and are pretty magnetic. Many astrologists also agree that emotionally we tend to be vulnerable, and the best types of signs to have healthy relationships with both emotionally and sexually are Pisces, Taurus and Cancer, while sexually we can choose about any sign!

Though I disagree with some of what is said about my sign, like mentioning we are more susceptible to fevers than most signs (I’ve only been sick twice in an eight-year span and didn’t have a fever either time) and that I don’t enjoy crime and punishment and law enforcement, I don’t enjoy keeping in touch with the dark side of life, as I prefer to stay on the sunny side of life because the sunny side makes me feel most empowered and inspired, and they say Scorpios have a keen business sense and love making money, but in fact I believe I am the opposite of that as I can’t even understand basic terms like “checks and balances” and have no interest in knowing what it means.

But I believe I truly am what they say about my sign in my love life and sexuality. I really want to “get laid” as they say and dream of loving a girl with all my heart. But I want to love everything about my dream girl when I finally have her in my life. I don’t only want to feel her warm body, I also want to love and cherish everything she is; her heartbeat singing with mine, her warm tears of joy, the light in her eyes, the soft trembling of her lips, the soft brushing of her eyelashes as I hold her close, the glare of her soft sliky hair. I’d love to find freckles on her body and trace constellations with them, or paint pictures softly with my hands upon her goddess body. When I love my butterfly angel, I want her to be the one who feels most alive, special, and loved. I believe love and sex are important parts of life, and the latter should be something special, a magical metamorphosis of love and friendship where two hearts are incubated in the light of ones everlasting love for one another. When I make love to my Mistletoe Angeless, I want the experience to mean something, to be a special moment that will never be forgotten, and want the experience to be so incredible that the next day my dream girl is wearing an angelic smile throughout the morning, and she feels this way every time I can’t keep my eyes off of her. And each moment she feels sad and is in tears, I want to be there for her and kiss her tears away, and each moment she is in doubt, I want to be there to talk and be open and honest with her. I want to love my angel in every way possible, and have an everlasting strong emotional relationship too, whether it is with a Pisces, Taurus or Cancer or not.

I’m not in love, but I feel lovesick, and I love how that feels, and can only imagine what really being in love must feel like. Don’t worry if I fall in love soon and I’m missing from Passions for two weeks. During that time I’ll be head over heels with my girl and when I’m not with her lying in my bed dreaming of her for hours and writing love songs making beats from every skipped heartbeat my heart will be beating.

Rainer Marie Rilke said, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves.” Portland is the third-best city for re-locating singles in this great nation, and I believe there are many beautiful girls who are dreaming and looking for someone special just as I am, and I believe, I truly believe with all my heart, that my dream girl may be among them, yay! Then my eyes will truly be shaped like hearts and beat like my heart, yay! (sigh)

(sigh) I’m going to lie down and daydream for a little while now and continue practicing my first kiss with my velvet blanket! (sigh)

Current Mood: (Lovesick)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (12-12-2004 12:18 AM).]

Earth Angel
Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215
Realms of Light
119 posted 2004-12-13 03:01 PM


Oh, my! I am so thankful that you informed me that it is against the law to knock off the head of a snake with a walking cane! But then again, I don't have need of a cane because I'm an "angel" and I fly everywhere! But as the saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed"!

Your posts are so interesting and informative! I'm beginning to feel like a native Oregonian! Oregon is becoming my second home ~ and I've never even been there! You are bringing the State to your readers!

You should also put your journal in a time capsule! You have so many statistics and interesting tidbits about the world of today, that it would be fascinating for future generations to discover and read! Mind you, I also think that your memoirs should one day be published so that it can reach a wider audience! You are a walking (flying???) encyclopedia! ~ and an entertainer!

Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. So, be the change. Be the vision. Be the passion." ~ and that you are, my wonderfully spirited friend!!!

Now regarding your lovesickness, I hope your angeless comes along soon! You are a volcano waiting to happen! lol My goodness! She'll be in for the ride of her life! I have a feeling that it won't be long before she finds you!!! Couple 2

Keep the faith and keep on smiling,

Linda
P.S. I have no doubt that you are Portland's
"sexiest protester" ~ in person and personality!

[This message has been edited by Earth Angel (12-13-2004 03:32 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
120 posted 2004-12-15 07:20 PM


********Wednesday, December 15, 2004********

Resurrecting the Righteous Feast

Often during the holiday season, we think not only of our dearest and loved ones, but in the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we often think of those who seem as though they have no families, have no mothers they could go home to for the holidays or daughters that would fly into town to visit. Often we think of the homeless as well, who I have identified with ever too often. Everyday I walk through downtown, I get an average of 16 to 20 “Do you have any spare change?” responses, and ever so often I’m just sad I don’t have any change to offer them, because most of the faces I seem look genuine and you could see the bloodstains in their eyes, with an honest, gravid stare.

All at once, while we think of those who have fewer, they’re often taken for granted all the same. Job 29:12 says "I rescued the poor who cried for help".We must awaken more to the cries of the poor not just as a nation, but in this world. Each day I take my magnaminity mission to heart, and it is not just a physical routine I abide by, it is my spiritual experience, my religious experience. In Proverbs 19:17, it reads, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.” I truly believe this with all my heart, for if I alone get that warm smile after seeing an orphaned child get that gift he had been dreaming of so long or when an elderly citizen feels comforted during the otherwise lonesome times at a community center when a high school student or girl scout comes to visit, imagine just what God must be thinking.

Don’t get me wrong here. I believe it is a wonderful thing to purchase gifts or your loved ones and have nothing against that. I myself buy presents perennially for my loved ones with money, because after all, who doesn’t love some new music or a good book? But I also believe under this corporate culture, we often overlook the finer things of the holidays, and often individuals are left behind, not feeling so jolly. Every child loves Santa Claus, with his shimmering beard, rosey cheeks and a laugh all guttural and mirthful, so shouldn’t it be a magical experience every year? Should there be more to it than just the selective hiring process at Sepia Digital Event Photography, a 15-year-old company based out of Houston, Texas, where about one in 75 are selected to be Santa?

After all, the gift-granting main attraction at a local mall near you is hired, groomed and trained much like any other employee. The only difference is, he has a legendary namethat is the envy and delight to all who love the holiday season. Sepia alone currently employs 85 Santas and over 500 elves-called the cast and crew-and is contracted in 44 malls around the country, including the Lloyd Center in Northeast Portland. We can date back the history of Santa’s appearance in malls to the 1950s, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Even before then, most Santas lived in department stores for the Holiday season. Back then, parents would have to wait weeks to receive photos of their children with Santa. With recent advances in digital photography, however, pictures of any size are available almost instantly.

According to the Star Tribune, each mall offering visits with Santa will spend nearly $22,000 on decorating, building Santa villages and the like, and some mall owners believe that having a Santa increases patronage. Moreover, the majority of malls will celebrate Santa's arrival with a special event, usually a parade, special breakfast, or reindeer feeding.
For the most part, photography companies are responsible for placing Santas in malls every Christmas. Usually the mall provides the decorations, and photo companies provide Santas, elves, and photographers. But Sepia and Noerr and other big companies have really built-up single-handedly the wonderland in each mall, hoping to fulfill the whole of each child’s imagination who would just love to sit on Santa’s lap and declare what they want for Christmas.
But Santa alone can’t make the holidays happy. Remember always that the magic of Christmas lies in your heart. Won’t it be utterly special to share that magic to someone unconditionally? And if you have the opprtunity to spread much more cheer beyond your family, your loved ones, your friends, your nices and nephews, your twice-removed third cousins, why not to those who need it most, who often are presently doubting anyone will lift their spirits up at least for a day? After all, it says in Proverbs 21:13, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” I believe in the philosophy, “The more you give, the more you get!” and usually what you get is not of material worth, but spiritually you feel a spark set a flame in the hearth in your heart, a feeling you don’t get from a box or a package.

Today, I did just that, opening my ears to the cries of the poor by sacrificing my late sleep to head over to City Hall at 9:30 in the morning and making a testimony opposing the so-called Sit-Lie Ordination, which I believe discriminates against the rights of citizens and the sidewalks and the homeless. Title 14 is the section of city code that governs the use public space, and now over the past several years, the City Attorney's office began a process of rewriting this section of the city code. This revision was intended only to clarify the language in this code and to bring it into compliance with state law. In January of this year, attorneys from the Oregon Law Center, the ACLU of Oregon, and the Metropolitan Public Defenders objected to 13 of the proposed revisions in Title 14, which they said would "enact numerous new criminal offenses and . . . vastly expand the offenses that already exist."

The most famous of these new criminal offenses is the proposed "Sit/Lie" ordinance. The "Sit/Lie" ordinance makes it illegal for a person to stand, sit or lie on a public right of way if that conduct "'would cause a pedestrian or other user of 'any part' of the right of way reasonably to take action to move around or avoid” that person. "Because at any time a person stand, sits, or lies on the sidewalk she 'would cause' another using that particular area of the side walk to take action to move around her, the ordinance can be read to permit law enforcement officers to treat, any sitting, lying or standing on public right of way as criminal conduct."

I believe I am speaking for everyone when I believe in my heart that these are our streets and sidewalks and crosswalksand we must see to it they are treated with the utmost respect and those who commute and walk upon them each day. But here in Portland, a place with an unemployment rate of 6.5% and at least 1,600 homeless citizens always on the streets, who have no place else to go, they need the sidewalks to sit and think things over or to recline next to a wall in their sleeping bags, where they consider their beds. It is crazy enough we even have homeless citizens, but it is ludicrous when you’re taking away a homeless individual’s right to seek refuge in public squares, etc.

The ordinance, named P.C.C. 14A 50.030, reads the following:

Guidelines For Enforcement of P.C.C. 14A.50.030 (Obstructions As Nuisances)

P.C.C. 14A.50.030

OBSRUCTIONS AS NUISANCES

A. Unless specifically authorized by ordinance, it is unlawful for any person to obstruct any street or sidewalk, or any part thereof, or to place or cause to be placed, or permit to remain thereon, anything that obstructs or interferes with the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or that is in violation of parking lane, zone or meter regulations for motor vehicles. Such an obstruction hereby is declared to be a public nuisance. The City Engineer, the City Traffic Engineer, or the Chief of Police may summarily abate any such obstruction or the obstruction may be abated as set forth in Chapter 29.20.

B. The provisions of this Section do not apply to merchandise in course of receipt or delivery, unless that merchandise is permitted to remain upon a street or sidewalk for a period longer than 2 hours. The vehicle in which merchandise is delivered is subject to all parking regulations as described in Title 16.


So I made my testimony today at City Hall, claiming, in that the propnents themselves have confessed there hasn’t been a consensus arrangement on the ordination yet, that this is impulsed by impatience and lack of faith in our existing pedestrian code and that there is too much helter-skelter and discrimination in this ordination. The civil liberties of the homeless must be respected, and I believe there just needs to be more of a public effort, more storming and norming to see to it there is responsibility to the law while also not suppressing the rights of the homeless, day laboreres and the whole city. If we can no longer use public sidewalks to chat with friends, take a rest, wait for a ride... what other community rights can be taken away?

Why do I bother doing this. Because I believe it’s a pure, kind gesture, and in my spiritual experience, on my Good Samaritan vision quest, I’ve recognized more and more the notion that we must "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9)

But, I had a great time, getting out and for the first time ever speaking at City Hall. Mayor Vera Katz seemed impressed by what I brought to the table, and after my testimony, she said to me, “You seem to me like you’re quite a thoughtful, bright, charismatic young man. It is young individuals like yourself who bring passion to the community. Out of curiosity, migh I ask, what made you want to move here?” And I said, “I’ve travelled around much of this great nation, and four years ago I was enthralled by the natural scenery and atmosphere of Portland. Not only that, but I also believe Portland has a great pride in its cultural diversity. The culture always inspires me!” and then I saw the smile on her face as I left the bench. We’ll have to see where this goes from here, and I welcome the challenge ahead!

If you have been looking back at my previous politically-toned entries, and are intrigued by challenging our obsessive-compulsive corporate culture, yet seem bewildered where to begin in celebrating this Christmas season without giving away multitudes to corporate behemoths, this Mistletoe Angel is always here and happy to help out.

Again, I’d like to mention once more I have personally told my parents to limit their spending on me and give much of my Christmas money instead to contribute to the charity Heifer Intenational (http://www.heifer.org ).

It is a non-profit 501 organization which every tax-deductible purchase of a gift animal or tree seedling helps families around the world in third-world countries become self-reliant, and ensues also the plants and animals are healthy and are treated with respect under their mooto, “Ending Hunger, Caring For The Earth”. Since 1944, Heifer International has helped more than 4.5 million families in more than 125 countries. They basically have believed in the philosophy since 1944 that if you “teach a man to fish”, or are provided sustainable amounts of food and income, they can lift themselves out of hunger and poverty permanently. Many third world nations sadly are not given the chance or these sustainable numbers by their governments, and to the critics who think $13 billion is just too much to ask for in providing basic health care and nutrition needs to the world’s poorest people, that is exactly how much Wall Street gave as bonuses in 2000, so as you can see, hunger has little to do with nature and everything rather with how we allocate our resources. And I believe by contributing to this wonderful organization, I am lifting someone or a family out of hunger, poverty and environmental degradation. After all, Christmas is the happiest time of year, and I want to see it I make those in less fortunate communities have something to cheer about this year.
http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts

The Good Gifts Catalogue is another great and creative way to give the gift that keeps on giving AND for the good of the less fortunate! They’re in their second year now as a charity, thanks to their trust director Hilary Blume, who set up this charitable site after being flooded with countless unwanted wedding anniversary gifts. You can buy anything, from phone cards to children in care, prisoners, refugees, to dog training programs, to bicycles for Ethiopian midwives so they and their children can visit more local villages, to planting some silver birches, to building a village library. Their catalog is rich, diverse and innovative, designed to make a graceful gesture full of holiday spirit tin touching the lives of the less fortunate who, like you and I, believe in the values and tastes and interests of friends and family that mark the significant occasions of life. Generously chip in a few bucks for a box hive so children in Zimbabwe could have honey, or a dowry for orphans in Rwanda, or saris and warm shawls from weavers in Gujurat to protect widows and poor women in north India during the cold winter and to get closer to earning a living wage, anything. Have fun and give a hand.
There are a number of other like charities and philanthropist organizations you can also contribute to, if you are tired of getting Chanel no. 5 and want to give a gift that can make a lasting impression. Here are some I visited I also found meaningful:

****************************************

http://www.mytwofrontteeth.org/?c=1002  (MyTwoFrontTeeth.org's vision is to reduce the pain of poverty and help strengthen the bonds of society by bringing simplicity, efficiency, and personalization to the charitable gift-giving process, thereby encouraging all to experience the incredible power and joy of giving)

*

http://www.worldvision.org  (Another great alternative gift catalog)

*

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk  (U.K based regulator of a wide list of trusted, efficient charities)

*

http://www.greatgifts.org/(40sgw355ztezmdqnu3uofk45)/Default.aspx  (Another great source for alternative, goodwill gift giving)

*

http://www.charitygifts.com  (A charity Christmas card/gift shopping mall)

*

http://www.vetaid.org  (Non-profit, international development organization working for reduction in poverty and increase in food security of people dependent on livestock.)

*********************************************

Finally, try and find some time in the next week and a half to volunteer an hour or two at your local rescue mission. It is the gift of the heart, through involvement and community-building, that helps feed and care for the hundreds of homeless and needy men, women and children. Unconditional acts of kindness is great stewardship. Give generously to make a difference into their lives, become a friend to the homeless! I’ve volunteered myself numerous times before when working at the Denver Rescue Mission, serving french onion soup and warm rolls to a diverse group of residents, helping store away the bread in the storage room, and then, yep, I also was happy to help out with cleaning dirty dishes smothered with macaroni and cheese and ranch dressing. I even got a break time and got to talk to some local residents, who would tell me their own anecdotes and life experiences, and they truly made me feel welcome and all toasty inside each holiday season. It’s an enlightening experience.

So, take some time and help prepare and serve some meals to hometown residents, assist with the stuffing and distrbution of Christmas stockings for the children before Christmas, help out with the Adopt-A-Family program and provide impoverished families presents and a dinner to make their Christmas day special, help pack and distribute food boxes to needy individuals and families, volunteer at the Santa Shop, meet up with two to five friends of yours, call your local Family Rescue Ministry hotline, and set up a mentor session, anything of these sorts is wonderful. Or, you could also always give a monetary gift to help provide hot meals, safe shelter, clean clothes and Christian counseling to hungry, hurting, and homeless people. It’s these simple acts of kindness that bring out the Christmas cheer not only to others, but in ourselves.

I leave you with these words I also find immesnely meaningful:

"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives or your rich neighbors;if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed. Although they can not repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:12-14)

Why does Scrooge love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? It’s not because every dollar is dear to him, but because every buck is dear to him! (giggles)

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
121 posted 2004-12-15 07:48 PM




(giggles) Linda, do you have something you have to say here about your history between you and snakes? (giggles)



I feel I haven't done portland nearly enough justice yet, like I could never give Boulder enough. Isn't the "City of Roses" just the prettiest name? When I can find my dream girl and kiss her, I could comfortably declare out loud, "I had my first kiss in the City of Roses!" (sigh)



(giggles) I'm just tellin' it like it is! (smiles) I am convinced if I just say it as it is and it can be published as an autobiography, I feel I can do anything. I've never felt sexier in all my life, and I love feeling spiritually, emotionally and physically sexy.



Awwwwwwww, thanks sooooooo much as always in encouraging me that true love will find her way to my heart! I absolutely hope you're right, who knows, tomorrow, maybe when I turn the corner of 39th and Hawthorne, maybe I'll trip on her shoelace, and she'll help me up and see a little cut on my cheek and I'll gaze into her beautiful angelic face as she licks a cotton swab and wipes the dirt from the scrape! (sigh)

Mmmmmmm, I see! (giggles) They say we Scorpios are the sexiest sign in the zodiac, but what is often misunderstood about our sign (astrologists often agree we are also the most misunderstood sign) is that we're not just sexy in that we love sex and are great at making love, but that we also love to transcend ourselves in the spiritual aspects of life. The phoenix is one bird that relates heavily to the sign of Scorpio, which is the confident, courageous, positive transformer that transcends the personal ego, which I often believe I am, having been hurt ever so often before, but only rising up again and becoming stronger. That's an incredibly sexy feeling when you feel the troubles of the world have crashed on you like a meteorite, then after the dust settles, you rise again, with fire burning around your spirit and casting prisms and wearing one sexy smile. I love that "sexiest protester" label and will keep arousing the city with all the sexy inner-essence of me; the sympathy of the dove, the intuition of the eagle, the determination of the phoenix, all part of me. I'm me, and I love living emotionally, physically and spiritually sexy.

Love you, Angel Leo!



Love,
Noah Eaton

"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
122 posted 2004-12-22 02:11 PM


hey, yo, this is zack, noah's cousin, visiting from chicago, and i just wanted to come on in here and say something and wish you all a merry christmas too.

noah's such a great guy. each day after school, i just like to check to see if he has written something new or added to this journal. honestly i generally don't like hippys because they're dirty and i don't really like hanging with those who don't shower, but noah is one i admire very much. he really loves and understands people, and he's cool. he's that kind of person that loves to bring out the best of each moment, see good and hope in everything. some often say i'm negative in how i view things, but i like how noah sees life. he sure loves to smile and yep he sure loves to dream. in fact yesterday he told me he was having lovey-dovey daydreams again and said, "hey zack, i'll be right back, i'm going to go daydream for a while!" and after twenty minutes or so, he came back down and said, "hey, want to go on a walk?"

i guess one thing i think most highly about my cousin is that he really does cry, but also wears a smile most of the time when he isn't crying. i want to learn to be able to smile like he does. he's very honest about how he feels.

yeah, it's all good. i'll be going back home real soon, and i miss my cousin as always. that's ok though, his journal makes me feel he's talking to me all the time.

hey, i'm out. bye, and merry xmas!

zack

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
123 posted 2004-12-22 05:02 PM


********Wednesday, December 22, 2004********

Three Fourths of Hygiene Is Holiday Spirit

Zack, thank you so very much, firstly, for your most kind and loving words. They mean so much to me, and you know how much, as always, that I love you from the bottom of my heart!

Last Friday around 9:21 P.M, my cousins flew into Portland International Airport from Chicago, where we immediately drove from there for three and a half hours to a beach house we rented down in Waldport. Where the forest meets the sea. Yep, we tunneled down Interstate 5 into Albany, then took Route 34 straight through Corvallis, along the Wells and Crooked Creeks and gliding along with the Alsea River, across the Siuslaw National Forest and straight into Waldport, catching up on times and wailing along with the B-52’s and Postal Service on the way through the passes and switchbacks. In case you want to encounter our little love shack on a scenic drive, it is 5198 SW Pacific Coast Highway, right in the heart of Waconda Beach.

I have always loved my cousins very much. Zack is a Virgo (September 21) and his sister Brandi is a Taurus (May 2). Virgos have always fascinated me because it is the only zodiacal sign represented by a female, often referred to as a “potentially creative girl, delicately lovely; sometimes as a somewhat older woman, intelligent but rather pedantic and spinsterish.” I also understand very much how Virgos often lean toward conservatism in many aspects of life, from emotions to opinions. I am blessed to have one of his deep friendships, as I understand how when we’re young, we often are in camouflage and grow to find trust out there in others. I believe we all conceal emotions every once in a while like Virgos often tend to do. Virgos are really practical and sophisicated individuals, and often are indulged and aware of all the possible shortcomings in each passing moment. Zack truly is a still water running deep, and deep down, even when others may find difficulty sensing the true sympathy and kindness in his heart with his shy reserved demeanor, I have known it. (sigh) They also say because responsibility and perfectionism often puts Virgos to the test and therefork irks them if something goes wrong, they can tend to be worrisome or cynical sometimes. Zack did say that often many say he’s negative in how he looks at life, and I do sense that, though I believe he also makes a great effort in always looking beyond the prudence and overspeculation. Zack is really into music. He plays the guitar much better than I do, as well as the drums, and I have great faith he can excel as a musician. They say Virgos naturally make great musicians, as well as bookkeepers, chemists, welfare workers, critics, and physicists. I love Zack very much and see great potential in him.

(giggles) And yep, they do love good hygiene too, noting in his special post he made that generally he doesn’t care hanging around hippies because of their bad hygiene! (giggles) I do shower, by the way, and understand his sentiments very much. I respect that. After all, a Lebanese proverb reads, “Hygiene is two thirds of health”. I’ve said ever so much I believe it is wonderful to feel naturally and spiritually healthy and sexy, and I make sure I live up to my lips!

Brandi is a Taurus, one Taurus I also love very much. They’re also very practical just like Virgos, fairly conservative, and love aesthetic tastes of art, music and luxury. They’re very down to earth, and believe that beauty cannot be owned, only appreciated, and can be very deeply siritually inclined. Brandi is really into the life of France and the French, and I can see why, because they really love the arts, luxury and the pleasures of life. Gotta love that too!

We reached our beach house just south of Waldport about fifteen minutes after midnight Friday. It was quite a cozy little nook. The kitchen was narrow and all, but, hey, we got two showers! There was quite a lot of central heating, in fact it was quite hot in the house, but you can’t beat the heat. After leafing through the many bookshelfs and sailor paraphernalia, I set up my bed on the orange couch in the southwest corner of the house, which seemed to be the sunroom of the house, and slept there while my cousins took the bunkbeds just outside the room, my mom took the red living room couch, my sisters one of two rooms on the north end of the house, and my dad alone in the remaining room next to it.

Saturday, I slept late, fifteen minutes past noon, and I got up to take some long strolls on the beachside, first taking about two thousand steps south in company with Zack and my dad, then around dusk between four thousand to five thousand more the opposite direction with Brandi and my sisters (we found at least twenty sets of sand-dollar halves). Most of mid-day, my parents were gone doing some Christmas shopping up and down the coast, so I hung around the house, eating mangoes and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, playing backgammon, and opening up their Christmas present early that they insisted I do (I got a Tangrams calendar and twenty-five bucks). Then, when they returned around 6:30, shortly after we headed down to The Drift Inn in Yachats (official web-site:  http://www.the-drift-inn.com ) for some great northwest cuisine. Well…okay…so what I ordered wasn’t exactly northwest (Vegetarian Teriyaki Rice Bowl) but I made sure I kept the cultural flavor in by purchasing some Black Pepper Fries as an appetizer. I’ve been vegetarian for almost a year now so indeed when living in the northwest, you kind of fall out of culture without the blackberry hazelnut salmon, pan seared halibut or seafood chowder seasoned in Greenland cockles. Ah well, can’t please everyone!

Then, once we got home, because my sister’s present so happened to be the beautiful film Amelie, we decided to tune in and spend our evening watching this intuitive cupcake waitress solve the mystery of life and open herself to love! Amelie may very well be my favorite cinema philanthropist! Can’t go wrong with someone who brings along her widowed father’s lawn gnome on a tour of the world to cheer him up in his longing to travel AND reverses the doorknobs and reprograms the speed dial of a grocer who's mean to his assistant! Amelie earns a special place on my long list of friends, hehe!

We were particular active on Sunday, when we decided to head on up into Newport, the Friendliest. Did you know that in 1855 it was right here where new settlers discovered oysters, before the city was founded in 1882? Newport is a thriving fishing harbor, but surrounded by the small city and community spirit. I love walking along the waterfront and staring out across Yaquina Bay, or walking along the docks and peeking at the seals that lollygag down on the planks just over the water. We just parallel-parked along 8th Avenue, walked up and down Bay Boulevard, saw the seals, peeked into many great shops including Jambo World Crafts, and got some salt water taffy including some egg nog pieces, mmmmm, good holiday spirit. Afterward, we headed on down to Seal Rock State Park, two and a half hours before the high tide at six o’clock, where we stayed till around 4:15, dipping our feet into the agate sand and checking out the tide pools. In fact I also found a starfish high up on the beach sand (must have been desposited there overnight by the ebb) but it felt a bit moist still so I would have felt guilty keeping it, for as much as I’ve always wanted to collect a starfish I found myself on the beach before my very eyes, I also don’t want to feel guilty knowing it was still living and having to kill it softly. So I gently placed it on a rock over the water where the sea water can kiss it and just celebrated the moment that I even luckily found a starfish. I think that counts for something, yay!

My dad wanted to attempt to make a beach fire so me and the girls decided to head down to the Grand Central Pizzeria at 245 Highway 101 to pick up some dinner. I got myself a Bento bowl and some more of those black pepper fries to go. Unfortunately, returning back, we learned the wood was just too wet and were unable to start a real fire. Ah well  it’s all understood. I would have loved to sing a Kum-Ba-Yah acappella, but this is December, and I suppose even when you’re not at home, home is still where the heart is. So we just aimlessly chatted the night away and watched Tommy Boy on USA.

Check-out time being at eleven, we left the house around 10:30 Monday afternoon, crooning along to some records Zackary conveniently packed with him, including The Killers’ “Hot Fuss”, Green Day’s “American Idiot” and some David Bowie. We returned to Portland around 1:30 and my cousins finally got to see our current house, which received critical acclaim from Zack. We immediately decided to head out, joined up with my sister’s new boyfriend Mike, and share the sights and sounds of the City of Roses to our patient cousins, after I cooked up some rice, where our first stop lead us over to the Portland State University campus, where we then hopped aboard the Portland Streetcar and headed over to 10th & Couch, where the nation’s largest single bookstore, Powell’s, is located. We spent about a hour just wandering through the literary dirge factory, piling through sepulchers of poetry and grottos of political science. After my beloved Brandi picked up some new selections, we headed back on home, where we had some soup and I jammed with Zack and Mike much of the rest of the night with my acoustic. Mike was showing me some interesting finger-picking exercises, like making polyphonic strumming loops with the first and third strings up the neck from the 12th to the 5th frets, which I kind of incorporated into my own little solos.

Yesterday was probably my favorite day being out with the cousins. First, learning that me and my sisters all got my dad the exact same gift for Christmas (we all love Aimee Mann and we figured we should check out Til Tuesday for him) I stopped by the Borders in the Yamhill District to return my duplicate and traded it for The Pretenders’ “Learning to Crawl”. Then, we boarded the Streetcar and headed over to the 23rd Avenue District, where there are many upscale, trendy little shops (they often are nicknamed”trendy-third”) We had some lunch over at Pepino’s Mexican Restaurant, then went hopping between apparel, cosmetic and music shops. It’s a nice lil’ Bohemian enclave indeed. Me and Zack even decided to put on a little makeup at Coreen Salome. I do like the feeling of powder on my cheeks, and I do believe I look good with santorini eyeshadow. (giggles)

But my favorite part of yesterday was when we all went to the Grotto (The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother)  (http://www.thegrotto.org ) a beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and botanical garden administered by the Friars of the Order of Servants of Mary, to cherish the amazing display of Chrismas lights and cheer on the choirs chanting at the Grotto’s 600-seat chapel. I always believe it was a most wonderful thing, and feeling, to attend at least one choir concert each holiday season, because the music is one thing that lifts our spirits during this time of year, and often it is the children who are singing these enchanting songs you know by heart, and both music and children are the essence of holiday spirit to us all. I was blessed to have heard the Mountain View High School Sound Celebration and the Eastwinds Flute Choir perform, all those high school kids sounded beautifully. The tension and repose in “Breath of Heaven” literally made me cry, it was especially moving, as was classics like “Silent Night”, “I Wonder As I Wonder” and “The Thunder Man” equally moving. I believe it would be a wonderful tradition for all to attend a choir concert at least once every Christmas season, it is the best honey you can get for your holiday tea.

My cousins are just about to leave, and I am blessed to have spent some wonderful time with them this very first holiday season in Portland. I love them very much, and, remember, all of you are always welcome here. I would love to have a chai latte with any of you anytime over at the Hawthorne Café. Heck, I’ll even make the holiday deal eligible throughout the year and top you up with some whipped cream and raspberry on your holiday mocha. For I am the Mistletoe Angel, and I do all I can to spread holiday cheer 365 days a year!

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Nightshade
Deputy Moderator 5 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962
just out of reach
124 posted 2004-12-22 09:30 PM



Noah, you are simply a sweetheart.
Glad you had a wonderful visit with your relatives. I wish you all the best in the coming New Year. Never change...no never.
     Holiday Hugs, Chris

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
125 posted 2005-01-05 10:15 PM


********Wednesday, January 5, 2005********

Wild Pom-Pom Caprice On Circuit

Feliz Nuevo Ano! Hope all of out there had the most merriest Christmas and a first happy four days to this new year! Now, along with kicking off the New Year with my first entry of 2005, we also kick off Page 6! Wooooooooo!

I’ve never been much for making resolutions each New Years Day, as I just find you should just go with the flow in embracing life and let each long-term resolution, the daydreams of each Saturday morning, wishes, and wildest fantasies bleed together in living color like your Electric Rainbow Windows Media Player visualation. But I do know what I really want and aspire for. As naturally as I want a relationship to grow with some girl I may meet real soon, perhaps even the girl of my dreams, I really hope to go on my first date this year, as well as kick off my band project. Hey, even better, wouldn’t it be great if I found a beautiful girl this year who also became a co-vocalist in my band project? Who said having another vocalist of the opposite sex in the same band is no longer in fashion? Jefferson Airplane had Grace Slick. Damien Rice has Lisa Hannigan. The Apples in Stereo always trade off vocalists. (sigh) Sharing a microphone with a girl on stage truly would be a supersonic kiss to anyone’s cheek!

For those of you who are wondering what direction exactly I’m taking my rock and roll to have an idea what it will sound like when finally accessible to you all, well, I’m absolutely in love with the power pop genre. Generally you’re influenced by all you listen too, and for a person like me who’s never been happier and felt sexier in all my life, it’s the uplifting, electric power-pop pulse that always keeps my heart beating loud. I want my vocals to sound like have a battery under my tongue and a ’67 Vox AC-30 plugged to my heartstrings. Piqued with the caprice of Jellyfish and The Oohs, the psychedelic hairpin of the B-52’s and The Posies, frizzed with the atomic bubblegum zing of The Apples In Stereo and Teenage Fanbase, basted in the juices of my favorite influences such as Sun Sawed 1/2 , the JTG Implosion and New Pornographers, and finally apple-cheeked with worldly influences all across the format. I got a bongo for Christmas and I have been implanting my poetic whimsy to the heartbeat of percussion like some mad hippy scientist. (giggles) So basically I am still working to see it the sound is friendly to the cultural dernier cri, but also fresh and, most importantly, whimsical lipstick to each listener, as smiles are contagious and I believe the music industry could use far more of a smile. They need to smile like they mean it!



Speaking of rock and roll, Puffy AmiYumi rock! Yep, you may have heard OF them, but say Hi Hi to Puffy AmiYumi, Japan’s pop goddesses, who I believe are destined to be a major success story internationally 2005. I’ve been hooked to their new cartoon series on Cartoon Network, “Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi”. The show is Ami and Yumi in animated form, featuring all their great bubblegum power pop, touring the world in their continued dream job to keep rocking the world off its axis. Ami and Yumi are cute, talented, and sexy, with Yumi a hard-rocking chick who has a true rock and roll attitude and a deadpan delivery, and Ami the more optimistic, happy-go-lucky girl with strawberry pom-pom hair and lets rainbows guide her on the road. Of course, as it is with most rock bands on their tour busses, each trip can be quite an adventure, with their short, fesity manager Kaz, who is their manager, promoter, bus driver, and kind of a godfather to them, though he also can be a lil’ mischievious and money-obsessed and often get the girls into off-the-map trouble and all kinds of nutty endorsements. (giggles) Anyway, I’ve really been getting into their music lately. I got their soundtrack for the cartoon, as well as “An Illustrated History”. “True Asia”, “Wild Girls On Circuit” and “K2G” have put a cherry cola virus in my playlist! Holy Chapatsu! (giggles) You want some Inari with your seven deities of good fortune? You go girls, rock on, Planet Tokyo!



Hey, I may very well like go Konami in some of my tracks! (skips about like a disco octopus on my intuitive dance mat) Yep, a lil’ Rock Rock Revolution is in my head each and every day! Tuck in that spectrum between my loose fingers after revving up some asanas, flare up that guitar on fire with one loud down stroke, then sugar-coat it with a dance revolution of beats, arpeggios and melodic feedback. While I still don’t have a girl in my life, rock and roll is my ultimate love affair. So the guitars will be all tuned up and loud, but will also be fun-loving and melodic!

I’m also happy to report I’m pursuing acting again. After almost a three-year hiatus from the performing arts since playing Leonato in “Much Ado About Nothing” before graduating as valedictorian from Denver Academy, I am taking TA 101, Theater Appreciation, this term, and am looking to audition in the next production on Portland State campus. My sister, too, after finding dissatisfaction with criminal justice studies, is looking into acting now as well, and I am cheering her on very much. I went to all her high school productions and sat in the front roll in most of them and I indeed believe she can do anything she sets her heart to!

Sometimes some of you question my happiness when saying I often write really serious responses in the Alley thread that are political and rather worrisome. The fact is, personally, I am happy, but after all, I’m not the victim in much of what’s happening in the world right now. I’m not a victim of the proposed gay marriage ban that I believe will spell out inequality in this nation if allowed. I’m not a victim of the Muslim population who many feel an increasing resentment toward and believe their civil rights should be restricted by the U.S government. I’m not a victim of the war in Iraq physically. I’m no victim to much of these problems, but I believe everyone deserves the right to be happy and free and I feel it would be selfish for me not to commit myself to honoring their rights and I would be betraying their potential happiness in silence. You can be happy and be concerned and sympathetic to others without being disingenuous. Same like I said before that protesting is a form art and I don’t find it disingenuous to flash a smile when doing so.

Some say when protesting I kind of give off this “Lindsay Lohan vibe” (giggles) I really loved her in “Mean Girls”, that has got to be my favorite comedy of 2004. I understand when anyone is all over the tabloids, or anyone is frequently indulged to their breasts being 100% real that it usually strikes you as someone who is pretentious or so, but I do sympathize with Lindsay and believe she means well. I mean, her parents Michael and Diana just got divorced three weeks ago after Michael was sentenced to seek treatment at an in-patient alcohol and substance abuse facility. How would any typical person feel in that situation? I would be devastated, and especially when you’re still a teenage girl and the whole world is revolving around you, you’ve got to respect it’s a difficult time for any girl, and especially difficult for some brave soul like Lindsay. Besides, who wouldn’t be sick and tied of all those rumors thrown at you like croquet balls? So, I’m not quite sure where that comparison came from, but I do have that sassy side to me that just wants to have fun and make the scene, and I do take that as a compliment. Lindsay does have quite that yummy face too, doesn’t she? Lindsay is cool to me and I think she’s more of a cute girl than a mean girl! Kisses to her and her drama queen stamina!



Here’s to the new year! “Anything is possible...Hi-Hi Puffy Ami Yumi show...Hi Hi Puf...”. (giggles) What do they put in that miso soup?

Current Mood: (Happy)

Love,
Noah Eaton



"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
126 posted 2005-01-21 02:19 PM


********Friday, January 21, 2005********



Yellow Curry Distress Call

Oh-see-yoh! Today, we go through another day in the first month of this new year, as well as the first full day after Bush's inauguration for his second term. Everyone by know should know my positioning, as I can't say I'm thrilled at all of this happening and oppose a majority of his policies, but I wish no ill will to this man and hope these next four years not just Bush, but every one of us alike, can work to bring this nation back together and unite it once again.

61% said in a CNN poll that they find it inappropriate that protests should happen on the day of the Inauguration. Alicat pondered respect vs. dissent in a new Alley thread yesterday, which I offered my input on. So indeed it may have you wondering, "So, if you truly believe we all must make an effort to re-unite the country, wouldn't protesting yesterday be, rather, the opposite attitude?"

Indeed there was quite a diverse flavor of citizens skipping work and ditching school to attend the day-long protests in Portland yesterday, with diverse ranges of messages on their signs and banners. Some were there with signs like "War is Terrorism" (I believe that) and "When the rich start a war, who pays the price?". Others with signs saying, "Our dreams will never fit in their ballot boxes" and "51% is Not a Mandate" (also true). Some used religious messages such as "What does the Lord require of you? To do justly (be fair), love mercy (be kind), walk humbly (be teachable) with Thy God" (from Misah 6-8). Some leaned to the manipulations and lies of the administration with signs reading "Real Eyes Realize Real Lies" and "Tell Us The Truth". Others were more extreme with signs reading "Fascism Has Come To America" and "End This Fascist Government" while others preferred to be gentle, such as with my Martin Luther King Jr. quotation banner and "Peace is Possible". College students, feminists, environmentalists, families, homeless citizens, even children, were all out there, from the Portland State Anti-Inauguration Carnival outside the Smith Center at SW Park and Montgomery, to the all-day Peace Vigil at Terry Schrunk Plaza at 3rd and Madison featuring lines of Tibetan prayer flags honoring all the 1,359 U.S troops that have died in battle as well as wishes from the community, along with live music from the Fallen Angel Choir, a group of four women who write hilarious satirical political lyrics using already popular songs as melodies, and multiple speakers, including myself, to the Code Pink Tin Foil Hat Inagaural Parade at the MLK Convention Center, which the tin foil represents something they want to send to the Bush administration to offer the troops as some sort of protection, to the huge rally of between 2,000-5,000 that gathered at Burnside and Park Avenue at 3:30 and marched all across Portland for multiple hours, from the Broadway Marriott Hotel which has been the primary gathering place for Republicans in celebration of big significant events, to the Oregonian headquarters, which is so influenced on the corporate media and fails to print the messages of progressives and social struggles, to the Forest Service Regional Headquarters.

Now, there were some out there protesting in belief Bush stole yet another election with the Diebold machines and Kenneth Blackwell Ohio's Katherine Harris and all, but unlike the first time, I believe Bush was democratically elected this time around (maybe not completely since Gore should have been the incumbent candidate in 2004) and he won fair and square, even when I do believe there was voter suppression and irregularities that must be taken seriously.

The purpose in protesting on this second Inauguration of Bush was clearly because Bush declared his election victory as a "mandate". 51% is NOT a mandate. According to the dictionary, a mandate is “a command or an authorization given by the political electorate to its representatives.”. Perhaps because the definition doesn't imply what percentage specifies a mandate status, this is why this argument is even being made. But consider the following.

About 76 million Americans didn't even vote. That's about 16 million more than all those who voted Bush. Besides that, John Kerry got more votes than any other Democratic challenger in history (over 57 million) and when 49% vote otherwise, that puts an election within the margin of error percentage-wise. Over 57 million is a record for those who voted NOT to vote for someone.

*****************************************

Besides that:

* Bush's 54% percentage of electoral votes is the lowest for any incumbent running for re-election since Woodrow Wilson.

* He won with the lowest percentage of the popular vote (51%) of any incumbent running for re-election since Truman (Clinton doesn't count because Perot was a more challenging third-party candidate than Thurmond and Wallace were in 1948).

* He won by the lowest margin of the popular vote (3.5 million) of any incumbent running for re-election since Truman (His was a 2.1 million margin). Don't forget also only 50 million voted back in the day.

* Simply rack up his re-election victory to those of other re-election incumbents: Clinton won the popular vote by 8.2 million, Reagen by 16.8 million, Nixon by 17.8 million, Lyndon B. Johnson by 15.6 million, and Dwight D. Eisenhower by 9.8 million.

*******************************************

So 51% is CLEARLY not a mandate victory percentage. Me, among millions of other Americans, believe we will not allow ourselves to be mandated, or have them speak for us all, and have the corporate media keep fictionalizing us and making up more and more propaganda and lies. Bush said the other day winning the election has proven America's position on Iraq. That's, of course, nothing but a lie. I will not allow him to speak for me and the millions of other Americans about this war in Iraq, and pretend everyone is in support of the killing and destruction everyday down there.

So what do we do to sluice through this window dressing? We must get out there and reveal ourselves. The more, the merrier, for the more you have out there getting involved in dissent, the more you'll shake off these illusions the media paints us with. It's symbolic of that the nation is still deeply divided, whether he is willing to accept that fact or not, and we are as American as they are, yet they keep neglecting the true spirit of America by neglecting one side of it.

THAT is why I was out there in protest, and I want everyone to understand that in that I wasn't intentionally trying to do nothing but give Bush and his supporters a hard time or hassle them around in disrespect. Alicat was saying in the "Basic Respect" thread, "Would it be too much to ask, irregardless of the situation, that when someone is having a special day, to let them have that day?  One day out of 4 years.". I respect and appreciate his understanding very much, as Alicat is a wonderful friend to me and I respect deeply his thoughtfulness and consideration in discussion. I just said in response that I really do appreciate his concern, but then again, this problem just goes both ways. When will progressive values be respected in our corporate media? When will the Bill of Rights enjoy the same respect and vitality as the Constitution? When will all political parties get the same equal treatment in the democratic process? We've been waiting far more than four years for that. There's a place and time for everything, but I truly believe the progressive voice is being silenced and somewhat oppressed, we're not being given any time, and going out there to protest was saying, "We demand time, we demand a place!"

I'd like to end this politically-charged entry on a more positive note. Here is the transcript of my own speech, with some partial response to Bush's own...

*******************************************

Welcome everyone! Now this is what I call a warm front!

(giggles)

Bet you've all enjoyed this unseasonably warm weather this past week! I, myself, couldn't envision a better day to get out there and be involved with your community! I'm...I'm so proud of you all for just being here and embracing the voice within.

Now, we're all out here today with one thing in common. We all share this voice within, this voice within that believes in the utmost greatness for America, the beautiful, the land of the free. And this day, we feel the home of the free just isn't as free as it could be. Whether it's public education, unemployment, rising of health care costs, or anything in particular that we feel most strongly about, America's promise is not being ultimately fulfilled. But the main reason a majority of us are here is because of this ongoing war in Iraq, and the cry for true freedom and peace.

Earlier today, on the steps of the Capitol, Mr. Bush made his second inaugural address. Twenty-seven times in his 17-minute speech, the word "freedom" transpired, emblemed under this thesis, "The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

Regardless if you're a Democrat, Republican, Green or independent, whether you're red, blue or unclassified in color, regardless of your religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, background or color of your skin, we all believe in a dream for the greater good, we all believe in seeking peace and freedom.

It is simply how we go about achieving peace, how we go about finding freedom, that seperates us in the world. We here believe non-violence and peace go hand in hand by true definition. It can be achieved not through arms, nor through retaliation, but through unconditional love and understanding.

This Monday, we honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. He would have been 76 Monday. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of conviction, destiny, and wisdom, who offered us a vision we all nurture and carry forward today. A vision of non-violence, a vision of the complete liberation of mankind, a vision of civil equality.

Martin Luther King Jr. said December 11th, 1964, "Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. opposed and protested against the war in Vietnam, for he believed, as he said, "love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.". He recognized that understanding and hearing out the other side's point of view is essential in resolving the deepest conflicts in our world, and through his deepest spiritual awareness, he believed "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

Today, we have witnessed the philosophy of this most honored man being challenged among so-called "terrorists". In result, Muslim-Americans have fallen victim to this all too familiar suspicion, silence, and oppression. These so-labeled "terrorists" are being argued they are exception to the rights of the Geneva Conventions, almost as though terrorists are being treated or classified as sub-humans.

It was Dr. King who said, "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will." It is not until we grab the lamp and let it lead us through this deep misunderstanding that we can begin to make amends, find where in history we lost course and what went wrong, so we can work to see to it this void doesn't deepen itself.

In our experiences, as diverse as they are, we believe ourselves that "war is a poor chisel in carving out tomorrow", for, "in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Dr. King also once said, "If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

Today, we sweep the streets of Portland with this message at heart. A message to America for peace, a message to America for reconciliation, a message to America for rejuvenation.

We ARE ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom. Let us go about it the right way, with a sword that heals, a sword of non-violence, and take that first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Let us continue to protest this war and continue to pray that our young men and women in uniform will come home as soon as possible, but moreover, let this protest rather make a positive impact and edify each community in how they can make a difference. Let us put our emotions forth in a positive light and should those who are more cynical about making peace possible in the world without arms, let us not raise our voices in angst, but rather blow them kisses, for when we say we're anti-war, we shouldn't only mean a material war, but all war in general. Let us not fight fighting words with fighting words and continue to encourage the cultural war on the streets, and rather try and make this experience comforting and welcoming.

Peace is possible. The time is always right to do what is right. So let's go out there and make quality of this time and promote our message of peace and justice!

God Bless You All, peace, love, and harmony!

******************************************

Love,
Noah Eaton




"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20


[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-21-2005 07:09 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
127 posted 2005-01-27 05:51 PM


********Thursday, January 27, 2005********

Taming of the Flame

Just once more I thought I'd provide my thoughts regarding Bush's second inauguration speech, which I believe is indeed powerfully idealistic and visionary, and in many ways, frightening and intimidating. When you say "freedom" 27 times during seventeen minutes and "liberty" 15 times, often you can repeat words so frequently you could distort their meaning.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/20/bush.transcript/index.html

There's no doubt in my mind that this may likely be his most memorable speech of his presidency to date, not to mention the one that will be most analyzed from here on out as the senseless war on terror continues.

First of all, the speech was obviously loaded with explicit references to God, but there's far more to it than that. It was also filled with even more hidden allusions to the Bible. And if that isn't enough, the speech was embedded with very hidden messages to his evangelical base. So many allusions with so many interpretations that even got former Reagan speechwriter Peter Robinson saying the speech was "wide open for interpretation," and to him "felt like quite an overreach."  

Former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan even wrote in Friday's Wall Street Journal that the speech was "startling," "over the top" and "left me with a bad feeling." She added the speech was "heavenish" and wrote, "It was a God-drenched speech" adding that his declaration to end tyranny "seemed to me to land somewhere between dreamy and disturbing."

Pat Buchanan denounced the speech as well specifically for asserting the right "to intervene in the internal affairs of every nation on earth and that is, quite simply, a recipe for endless war. And war is the death of republics."

London's Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper described the speech as "pretentious and meaningless," and called "the democracy which President Bush is heralding" to be a "bloody democracy which cost the lives of 100,000 Iraqi martyrs."

Consider the parallels between Bush's speech and the Good Book.

*******************************************

Exhibit A:

George W. Bush: "Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens. From all of you I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure."

Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure."

*

Exhibit B:

George W. Bush: "Freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul."

Psalm 107: "He satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness."

*

Exhibit C:

George W. Bush: "This untamed fire will burn those who fight its progress."

Jeremiah 17:27: "I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem."

Jeremiah 50:32: "I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her."

*

Exhibit D:

George W. Bush: "And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free."

Ephesians: "He led the captives free."

*

Exhibit E:

George W. Bush: "After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical -- and then there came a day of fire."

1 Corinthians 3:13: "Every man's work shall be made manifests for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."

*

Exhibit F:

George W. Bush: "...ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever..."

Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

*

Exhibit G:

George W. Bush: "And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free."

Job 27: "May my enemies be like the wicked, my adversaries like the unjust. However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat."

*

Exhibit H:

George W. Bush: "History also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty,"

Acts 3:15: "You killed the author of life"

Hebrews 12:2: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith"

*

Exhibit I:



As a Catholic, I was raised on the teachings of Jesus Christ and related to the Bible much of my life and still do this day. I believe with all my heart Jesus Christ was an apostle of non-violence, and I've also learned from my experience that this "freedom" is not our gift to deliver; it's the gift of the Almighty. Yet Bush identifies himself as God's UPS man, or the agent of the Author. He continues to insist, or at least insinuate, God put him in the Oval Office.

After 9/11, he gave a speech by the same speechwriter of his inaugural address, Michael Gerson, and after the speech Gerson said to Bush, "Oh, you gave a great speech, Mr. President. I knew right then that God wanted you to be in the Oval Office." Bush said back, "God wants us all to be where we are." On the campaign trail last year in Pennsylvania, he said, "God speaks through me."

This type of attitde and thinking is just wrong to me. I feel it in my heart. The First Amendment clearly says that there shall be "no establishment of religion." That's exactly what he was doing January 20th, and has made it feel those without faith don't have a place in the United States of America, or making it feel less like home for those who believe the church and state must remain seperated.

The rleigious context is not the only thing to deeply interpret here. The historical context, itself, is distorted.

There's some irony behind what Bush said here:

"Across the generations, we’ve proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one's fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation. It's the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it's the urgent requirement of our national security, and the calling of our time."

The truth is, our founding fathers were actually slave-holders. And the fact they were just that doesn't make them bad presidents or founding fathers, but the nation was actually founded on slavery before the era of Abraham Lincoln and, in some ways, our earliest presidents didn't even like the prospect of democracy.

John Quincy Adams said, "the United States is not a paladin that goes forth to slay dragons. If we were, we could become mistress of the world and in the process we would lose our own soul."

Those words couldn’t ring any more true to my ears. I wish our nation at large could take this understanding to heart and learn this lesson and apply it to how we resolve these conflicts worldwide, rather than insinuate a global war that won’t stop in Iraq. And in result of the latter, because of this senseless war in Iraq, our great nation is more divided from the world than ever.

Ever si ce I was a little boy, as I’ve said before, I always believed Jesus Christ characterized non-violence and unconditional love. And to this day, I still believe that with all my heart. In fact, now I have come to understand not only does he characterize non-violence or a teacher of non-violence, he is the sign of non-violence.

Along with what I’ve mentioned before in backing up my belief, I have always taken these verses to heart and applied them to my Catholic discussions:

*

"I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Mt. 18.3

"Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judge yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned." Lk 6.27

"You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: 'You must not kill; and anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.' But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court." Mt. 5.21-22

"You have learnt how it was said: 'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.' But I say to you, Offer the wicked man no resistance. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him." Mt. 5.38-41

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those whose persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Mt. 5.43-46

"You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another." Mt. 10.22-23

*

I strongly believe Jesus would be shaking his head sadly if he saw what was happening now, with the further mirroring and retaliation of hatred and violence against one another. I believe He wouldn’t allow wars like this, and believe them to be wrong as well.

Everyone in this world deserves to be free, and I dream and wish for freedom for all each and every day. However, I do not believe in war in achieving this "freedom" and "peace" worldwide, for I believe war only leaves ugliness and tension behind, which the tension is a disease that always mutates into some other form of sorrow, malice, hatred or despair.

I designed this entry as not to simply libel Bush. I do not hate George W. Bush, for hate retracts itself and I believe we are all God's children and he, to me, is just a bigger brother that is just bullying many and is unaware of it. I simply believe Bush is a misguided, troubled, sad spirit, and delusional of many of the values he speaks of. Some may believe I am doing nothing but giving him a hard time. That's not true either. I believe I am a forgiving person, but the fact is, the first step of the forgiveness process begins with admitting your own fault or wrong-doing. Bush has been unwilling to open up and so it's just right I can't forgive him until that day comes, and he has a lot of penitence to make for the many losses in Iraq.

The final thought here is, I'm just saddened to see Christianity and the teachings of Christ and His disciples being bended to the will of politics and war. I believe it's only going to hurt this nation and have many worldwide questioning the essence of our cherished Christian values.

I'm also equally as saddened to see, like on Fox News, Islamophobia and Islamic religion frequently being described as a "religion of hate", like on that segment of Hannity and Colmes from September 2002 when televangelist Pat Robertson talked about Muhammad: "This man was an absolute wild-eyed fanatic. He was a robber and a brigand. And to say that these terrorists distort Islam, they're carrying out Islam." Then Hannity, instead of condemning or questioning his statements, encouraged them by responding, "So Islam is a threat bigger than what most people are willing to say publicly? Do you think it's inevitable, then, that the world is going to be in conflict, perhaps even at war, with Islam for many decades to come?" Then Bill O'Reilly has also compared the Quran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf"

That's not true. Over 99% of those who follow Islam are not terrorists. Just like with any faction or belief, there will always be those few that will try and give the belief or religion a bad name. Unfortunately it seems to be working on Islam and there's been so much anti-Islam bias on the corporate media!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." If only those billions the government keeps spending on this senseless war can be directed instead for education, we can educate the children the true values of every culture and every religion so we won't have to keep lifting veils too little too late to recognize the truth. It may not be too late, but we can't afford to waste another moment. So let us pray for this non-violent peace, love, and understanding many of us worldwide yearn for so vety much.

Peace, love, and harmony to all, and God Bless You!

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton


"You'll find something that's enough to keep you
But if the bright lights don't receive you
You should turn yourself around and come back home" MB20

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (01-27-2005 07:47 PM).]

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
128 posted 2005-02-08 03:11 PM


Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Proliferating the Dream

OK, so this will be the third entry in a roll in which is politically-charged, and I can see how some may think this is metamorphosizing into a liberal blog. I do not mean for this journal to become such a blog, but this past week there have been many stories in which have hit home to me regarding free speech vs. patriotism, and one comes from my own backyard.

My old home, the University of Colorado, where I attended for two years before transferring to Portland State University in moving with my family to the Beaver State, is in the electric limelight (yet again) as Ward Churchill, the professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado, is under controversy after responses to his controversial essay following the attacks on September 11th. In the essay, Churchill cites victims of the terrorist attacks "little Eichmanns," in a direct comparison to Hitler henchman and Holocaust engineer Adolf Eichmann. He also cites Pentagon victims as quote, "military targets, pure and simple." and characterized some of the World Trade Center victims not as innocent but as quote, "braying, self-importantly into their cell phones arranging power lunches and stock transactions."

This essay has been generating mixed interpretations, including those of Bill O'Reilly, among many free speech activists as well.

Though the essay was written over two years ago, Hamilton College, a small liberal arts college in upstate New York, had contracted with Ward Churchill to speak. Several students, among them Matthew Coppo, who lost his father in the 9/11 attacks on the WTC, mounted an on-campus protest, citing the essay linked above as reason to cancel Professor Churchill's lecture. The President of the College, Joan Hinde Stewart, refused. In light of the controversy, Churchill waived his usual $3500 speakers' fee. On Friday O'Reilly told his viewers to send letters of protest to the College.

This morning, Hamilton College announced it was canceling the lecture, citing death threats against Ms. Stewart. She has been accompanied by bodyguard for several days.

Fox News's Bill O'Reilly has since picked up on this story, insisting he believes Churchill should be fired from the University of Colorado, who has also said the following in a Friday segment:

"Yes. You know what this is all about? This is about political correctness once again. That's what this is about. This guy is a native American. He feels that genocide was perpetuated on his race. And therefore, he can hate his country and say anything he wants."

Ward Churchill responded to the controversy with this response: http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/ward_churchill_responds.html  

Free speech activists are coming to the defense of Churchill upon the University of Colorado campus and elsewhere, claiming even if most do not agree with his opinion, the Bill of Rights values the protection of unpopular or minority viewpoints.

First of all, let me say I don't agree with his bold, extreme comments. In fact they’e disturbing to hear. But, I absolutely believe in Voltaire's notion that "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it."

First, as far as Churchill is concerned, let me say that I went to the University of Colorado for two years before moving to Portland. And, in my experience, I can tell you this. There's no doubt that the University of Colorado is a very liberal university. The whole city of Boulder is considered "the liberal eye of Colorado". Denver also leans to the left, but otherwise, the rest of Colorado leans right, especially Colorado Springs, where Fort Carson is. I recall many times having lunch on the University Memorial Center grounds, where often some form of activist project was happening, most of the time environmentally-related. I co-headed the project "180 Degree Shift At The Eleventh Hour" in a move to ask the university to stop accepting grants and donations from corporations with troubling or abysmal records on human rights, the environment and economic justice. Coors, Lockheed Martin and Peabody Coal were the big three.

Since learning about the Ward Churchill incident, I phoned some of my ex-180 colleagues this week and wanted to get the scoop. And here's what one of them said to me:

"Professor Churchill is not a rabble-rouser seeking a larger audience. In fact no one here seemed to know who he is and his name was "not on the radar" until this whole thing was showcased by the Fox News Channel."

I asked other colleagues if they had known Ward and had the same sort of response.
So I feel if opponents of Ward feel that the whole university is cursed by this sort of thinking, that certainly isn't true, and I believe my experience there speaks that well. No doubt the college is influenced by strong liberal ideals politically and culturally, but Churchill's opinions are no metonymy for the university at large.

There’s a very important angle to this argument as well that has been discussed on some cable news programs, regarding taxpayer dollars/education.

When I look at it from that perspective, I sympathize and respect what is being meant. I felt this exact same way when the war in Iraq began. Much of our own tax-paying money is being directed to the war, and I cried out, "No, I will have no part in this, I don't want to fund any penny into the sad realization some innocent person may be killed" because I just don't believe in it in my heart and gut.

Like O'Reilly and Hannity and those on the right may be feeling now toward this controversy, I wanted to find a way around the war, in paying my taxes as every true American should without also contributing to the war. I found some good advice and solace here:
http://www.peacetaxfund.org/  

Just today, the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee is encouraging taxpayers opposed to the war in Iraq to file a Peace Tax Return when they file taxes with the IRS. The group has published two types of Peace Tax Returns -- one for tax resisters who are refusing to pay for part or all of their federal taxes and another for taxpayers who want to request the federal government divert their taxes to nonmilitary programs. The letter reads in part, "Each year at least half of our tax dollars are used to pay for current and past wars. If instead this money were invested in peace initiatives and aid programs we could truly build a better and more secure world."

I welcome those who want to find such a way like Peace Tax Fund has done in paying your taxes without feeling you're chipping away nickels into the salary of a professor whose views are the antipole of yours. I would respect and support such an endeavor in reforming the tax funding rules.

But I don't believe Churchill should be fired from the University of Colorado. The source of all this tension came from an opinion not expressed in public, but in an essay originally published on-line. It's been around for over three years now, and Churchill also has a strong resume behind him which seems to indicate despite a few controversial essays on that and that non-violent protests do absolutely nothing, Churchill is a distinguished and serious educator.

*

I’ll also tell you this. I’m getting saddened and exhausted from all that anti-UN rhetoric floating around as generated from Move America Forward.

I believe in my heart the United Nations has done more for the good of humanity than any other major organization in history. Those regular participants of the Alley may debate all they want about it, but I just believe in either case, the U.N isn’t getting the credit they deserve, regardless of your feel on the developing U.N Oil-For-Food scandal.

I not only believe it’s important to give the U.N credit for their accomplishments this past half a century, I believe it’s patriotic to be pro-U.N.

Think back to 1999, for example. The 1999 regular budget of the UN amounted to $1.26 billion, of which the US share is about 25 percent or $300 million (the US share of the world economy is also about 25 percent). And it is that regular budget that funds UN activities, staff, and the basics, but does not cover peacekeeping operations or the cost of running specialized UN agencies. When you sum it all up, the entire UN program, including peacekeeping and specialized agencies, runs on about $10 billion a year, and two-thirds of the finances come from voluntary contributions from the member states.

Think about it. We’ve got the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN's Children's FUND (UNICEF), the list goes on and on and on. And it can overwhelm anyone a first sight and lead to the interpretation that it’d take trillions of dollars to keep it all afloat.

But look at it this way. The US federal government collected and disburses then about 180 times what the U.N budget is. ($1.8 trillion) without even counting what the states themselves spend. Vermont and South Dakota had the two smallest budgets that year but still each had one of $2 billion. The entire U.N budget is equal to that of the New York police department, the budget for UN worldwide human rights activities is smaller than that of the Zürich Opera House, and the cost of UN peacekeeping, below $1 billion in 1998, is less than two-tenth of one percent of world military spending (probably much lower than that now)

I’d certainly be impressed if I were you, anyone reading this should be. $10 billion really isn’t a lot in real terms, and I believe so much has been accomplished on a soft budget. Smallpox is virtually gone all over the world. Peaceful diplomatic solutions for co-existence, democracy, literacy programs, and sustainability just a few of the many benefits of this grand organization. The promotion of international trade. About half of the vaccines in the world are purchased by UNICEF.

The United Nations was founded right here in America, on October 24, 1945 in San Francisco. America itself is the mother to this enduring organization, and it needs to go back to its roots. Go back to the sense of that first meeting "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and use this same common sense in finding non-violent ways to stopping nuclear proliferation, something which I believe hasn't been taken as seriously as it should. Embrace the ethics of human rights in the fullest form, one of the cornerstones since the beginning for the UN. Its creation was largely influenced by World War II atrocities, after all, and I feel we need to once again embrace the "Universal Declration of Human Rights" ideals in assuring scandals like Guantanamo and Abu-Ghraib don't repeat themselves. All at once, something must be done as well about the genocide in Sudan as well, etc as that also violates human rights.

The United States has long been a mother to this organization, nurturing it and letting it grow to fulfill the needs of many. Indeed anyone can admit, like any organization, it could have done more at times, we could disagree or question their motives sometimes, and sometimes just couldn’t mediate a conflict. We’re human after all, and it is just up to us to accept he imperfections sometimes and just get up and keep the community alive to hope for a strong second wind. And I believe the U.N does just that round the clock, in ensuring help is on the way.

I don’t agree with the U.N on everything, and wish they could be doing more in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, Kashmir and Sudan. But I don’t believe I should be expected to agree with any organization on anything. You just have to look at all the good aside from their struggles. Indonesia became an independent nation largely due to their diplomacy. They stabilized the Dominican Republic in the mid-60’s. Cyprus has been peaceful since they got involved in 1974. Namibia became independent under their help. And East Timor finally achieved their independence about three years ago after decades of carnage and strife, thanks to the calling of internatonial pressure called upon by the U.N.

They formed the United Nations Decade for Women in 1975 in Mexico to see to it women are recognized and paid for all the unwaged work they do in every level of the government and at home, and through extensive lobbying in supporting their rights to child benefits, childcare, pensions, etc. the governments decided to measure and value unwaged work for them.

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations gathered in forming the "Convention on the Rights of the Child" in setting goals and standards for improving the health and education of children in underdeveloped nations worldwide, which was signed by 109 countries and attended by more than 70 world leaders. One major finding during the convention was that 14 million children under the age of five die each year from malnutrition or a variety of diseases, most of them preventable. They planned to reduce child mortality by a third and to reduce malnutrition by as much as half. Sixty countries succeeded in reducing child mortality by one-third. Though they didn't reduce malnutrition by one-third, they still made very significant progress by reducing malnutrition globally for children under five from 177 million in 1990 to 150 million in 2000, where they reported malnutrition levels falling from 23 to 16 percent in East Asia and the Pacific. Access to safe drinking water improved from 77 to 82 percent in that same time-frame. They also had goals to reduce the gender gap in schools worldwide. They split it in half, with huge progress made in South Asia. They said they would work to eradicate polio and guinea-worm infection once and for all. In 1988, polio was endemic in 125 countries, now, it's only endemic in 10 countries, while guinea-worm infections and other diseases have seemingly vanished from many regions of the world.

The United Nations has played a significant role in improving standards of living all throughout the world. They deserve our thanks, so I tip my hat to them for a job well done. And to all those U.N bashers out there who insist to lambaste the organization for everything they do, or take the oil-for-food scandal as an indication that everything they do is corrupt, I insist you take the time to look at the big picture and recognize all the many bridges that have formed between communities worldwide, which all find dependence and trust in this great organization. And I believe that’s an outstanding form of patriotism in not just loving your country, but loving the world community.

It was our President John F. Kennedy who said in 1961, “The United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace...”

And indeed I feel the instruments of war continue to be proliferated across the globe with further isolation, prejudice and irresponsibility. I for one believe the instruments of war and peace are not alike. Only unconditional love for not just your country, but the world, can proliferate the instruments of peace universally in the end. I just find something’s incredibly wrong when our military and defense budget is growing by billions while Medicaid and other domestic programs are losing billions. And that $419 billion that is being called on for defense spending doesn’t even include the money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The basic qualities of life are being defunded, and it is time we have that fact come to everyone’s attention before more negligence arises.

In closing statements, I’d like to share this dream I believe in which is read from Page 58, The Miracle, Joy and Art of Living: My Testament to Life, Volume 1:

”I dream that all governments will join their minds and hearts
to manage this beautiful Earth and its precious humanity
in peace, justice and happiness,
That all religions will join
in a global spirituality,
That all people will become
a caring family,
That all scientists will join
in a united, ethical science,
That all corporations will unite
in a global cooperative
to preserve nature and all humanity.
I believe that once and for ever,
we will eliminate all wars,
violence and armaments
from this miraculous planet.
I dream that the incredible and
growing distance between rich and poor,
between and inside nations
will be eliminated as a blemish
to the miracle of life.
I dream that we will stop the destruction
of our miraculous, so richly endowed planetary home.
I dream that we will eliminate all lies, corruption and
immoral advertisements
for purely monetary purposes.
I dream that we will all live
simple, frugal lives in order
not to waste unduly the precious
resources of our planet.
I dream that each decade and centennial
will be celebrated as a great
world wide thanksgiving for our successes.
I dream that we will succeed in making our planet
the ultimate success of God,
of the mysterious forces of the
universe of which each of us
is a miraculous, cosmic unit.
I dream that the United Nations will
declare a yearly World Thanksgiving Day
Dear brothers and sisters,
dear children, youth, adults and elderly,
dear spirits of all the departed
let us join forces in fulfilling
God's loving destiny intended
for all of humanity.”


Love,
Noah Eaton



"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"

Mother Teresa

[This message has been edited by Mistletoe Angel (02-09-2005 06:29 PM).]

Tais
Member
since 2004-01-28
Posts 92
Ontario, Canada
129 posted 2005-03-05 06:34 PM


Hi Noah !!!

Such a wonderful and interesting journal!

I enjoyed reading it.

God bless

Tais


sweetpoetess
Member
since 2005-02-27
Posts 428
Florida
130 posted 2005-03-09 04:11 PM


  I enjoy your journal. Personally I wish George Bush was not president again. Look forward to your next entry.

Poetry is beauty in words.

BlackSwan
Registered
New Member
Posts 1

131 posted 2017-01-31 03:59 AM


if you want to get some info about Anna Quindlen, check here for some facts of her life!

Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Discussion » pipTalk Lounge » Mistletoe Angel's Interactive Journal

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary