Pawprints From Space

Autumn ... change  Not the dying of the world but sleep. Plants seem to die and yet they do not. They go to sleep. The roots are nice and cozy down deep in the soil, or the seeds tucked quietly away waiting for the returning sun. Leaves whisper along the streets, skipping ahead of the wind and chasing each other along paths and across grass .. like laughter skips along with children. Nature at play. Cooler air makes animals frisk and frolic, the oppressive heat of summer a fading memory. Even indoor cats get all puffy tailed and race around the house with sudden bursts of kitty-insanity. Horses play tag in pastures and even normally calm cattle suddenly kick up their heels. Cooler air is invigorating to all. And yet ... Change is difficult, change is sadness as well as joy. The bright flowers of summer have faded away, the sweet birdsong of spring is a memory. These warmer months enchant poets to craft words of love. Autumn and winter coax forth phras...

Where have they gone? The dedicated community service folk. You know the ones, the people who get involved and roll up their sleeves. The sort that jump right in there and "do what needs doin" regardless of the cost in time or money. Service clubs across the area - perhaps across the country - are asking this question. So are nonprofits struggling to find board members and volunteers - let alone donors. School districts long for parents to get involved and actually DO something other than complain. It's sad.  Whatever happened to civic responsibility? To giving back to a community that has given you so much? And more than on the national "make a difference day" - I am not talking about one day a year. I am talking about working to make your community a better place EVERY day. Whether that is by being a vocal cheerleader for what's great where you live, shopping local or actually being part of something greater than yourself. Your communi...

Guess what: This is NOT a political piece! So relax, you can breathe now ... maybe   It is always SO much fun to have to explain what you meant when you said what you said because some overly sensitive/paranoid individual (or group of individuals) jumped to a conclusion. Just ask a political candidate.   As a person who specifically says exactly what she means, this drives me nuts.   For example: I will say that I "have" to be somewhere to do something. And I do. Why? Because I have made a commitment to be there.   Maybe that is to show up for work. Maybe it is to help my mother out. Maybe it is to attend a party I have RSVP'ed to in the affirmative. Maybe it is an event. Maybe it is a volunteer organization. Maybe it is a meeting for an organization. Whatever "it" if I have somehow, some way committed to be there then .... I HAVE to be there. It is that simple. If something unforeseen gets in the way I call and let someone know I can't be ...

I am reminded recently, daily it seems, of a phrase ... why can't we all just get along . Probably paraphrased but poignant all the same in the midst of all the negative advertising, mud slinging and viciousness of the political "season". And that's just among friends on Facebook!! Never mind what the various candidates in local, state and federal elections are saying about each other. That rhetoric might be nasty but it can't hold a candle to the way people are bashing - and defriending - each other online for daring to have a different opinion. There is apparently no such thing as civil discourse these days when it comes to the election. People who are supposed to be friends are ripping into each other and simply being cruel. There is no call for it. None. Part of what makes it great to live in the United States is the fact that we can voice different opinions! You can have a say (by voting) in what goes on. To hear some of these people talk it is t...