Sunshine

The defeat of Orban in Hungary is a hopeful signal of what may be a possible way for the U.S. to rid itself of our own despotic regime.  At the same time there is no guarantee that what comes after will ultimately help restore democracy.  The course of events that led to Orban's defeat and the uncertainties that follow are nicely recounted in Jacobin.

Deb Haaland for Governor

 We enjoyed attending a campaign event today with Deb Haaland, who seems likely to be New Mexico's next governor.

Such good energy, intelligence and moral clarity.  What a contrast to what comes out of Washington these days!

Look at Deb's website for her plans for the State and some of her life story which makes her such a good fit for the job. 

Former State Senator, Jerry Ortiz y Pino, provided the session's introduction to Haaland's history and experience with due credit to the details from the good Wikipedia article about her. 

Walking The Dog

Spring Finery

This large Siamese was following a woman pushing a stroller.  He was complaining loudly, apparently wanting her to stop, but she plowed on around the corner and left him behind.  I called him and he walked in my direction, but I was not the human he was looking for.

The Final Frontier

 News reports of the recent flight around the moon talked about the astronauts impressions of seeing the far side, and their adaptations to space travel including toilet repair.  One pictures them jockeying for position at the capsule's window trying to make snapshots of the moon's surface.  Had they taken time for a space walk, we might have seen this scenario:

 What is clear is that for all that money spent  little  real science was accomplished.  Humans are not required for making pictures, or really anything else in space exploration.

Crazy Brave: A Memoir

photo: Shawn Miller

Joy Harjo's memoir provides some valuable insights into what it is like to grow up as a minority person surrounded by an often-hostile dominant culture.  In addition to that cultural challenge, Harjo also had to contend wirh violent abuse by her step-father which ultimately drove her to abandon her family home as a teenager.  Just surviving those experiences seems remarkable enough, but on top of that Harjo found her way to a functional and productive adult life;  a life which included becoming the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States.

What struck me early on in Harjo's story was how much it resembled the story of another woman half a world away, that of novelist Arundhati  Roy.  As a member of a Syrian Christian family Roy had to constantly contend with living in the shadow of the Hindu majority.  She also, like Harjo, was subjected to parental abuse which drove her to leave home as a teenager, and to negotiate a precarious voyage to adulthood to ultimately achieve success at the highest level. 

Both women were highly intelligent and both showed early interest in creative pursuits which seemed to help to sustain their dreams in the face of daunting circumstances.  Were those traits the secret to their ultimate successes?  Many others with similar traits and experiences must have proceeded into unsatisfying lives and untimely deaths.  Sheer luck certainly played a role.

I am left wondering if Harjo and Roy ever had the chance to sit down together to compare their life experiences or, if not, how such a meeting might help us to understand how devastating early adversity might be overcome. 

Seven Cranes

NHCC

 I'm looking forward to this event at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

I enjoyed taking a number of classes at the Instituto Cervantes.  The most memorable was taught by the poet, Tony Mares, who spent his childhood in Albuquerque's Old Town.  Courses at that level have not been offered for some time, so I'm hoping this Day of the Book is a sign of better things to come.