Zen Warfare
Sun Tzu
Obama is constantly accused of not fighting back when he's attacked, which is quite often. That's exactly his intention. It disarms his opponents and turns them into quivering blobular things. By responding with hostility, the attacker gains more potency and thrust, or at least the illusion of it, but by refraining, the opponent is confused and ultimately diffused. It might not be the most useful technique in every case, but often it works, and for some, it's the way they prefer.
The battle starts. The first strike comes. "Hit back, hit back!!" they yell. The fever builds. They scream, cry, and some request blood. But you know what happens when you hit back? You get hit again.
When the fighter expects retaliation and it doesn't come, unless he also is skilled in the art of conflict, he can get dazed for a moment, unbalanced, and maybe lose any advantage he could have had. It diminishes him.
So John McCain attacked Barack Obama relentlessly in the debate, yet people have commented that the younger man didn't fight back. I'm not surprised. That's a clue right there. It's a matter of respect. And it requires weakness and fear. What does surprise me after one year and a half of not-fighting ... is why anyone would expect him to do that now.
A very interesting graph was set up by a focus group to track the candidates response in readable terms according to affiliation -- Republican, Democrat, and Independent. Whenever McCain insulted Obama, the approval went down. Yet when Obama said, "You're right, John," the graph consistently went up. On all three lines. I think this revelation is pretty accurate. People preferred the decorum, and I'm glad. It made for a fairly good debate.
As an Aries rising and Mars in Libra square Uranus I can be violent and bellicose, although not particularly aggressive. In other words, I don't start it. I also have Neptune there, so the crass hard edge of quarrel can be grating. But I'm still stuck with an irksome nature and here's one thing I've discovered. The best way to cream your opponent is to start by saying, "You're right."
Basic war 101.
Diana: 1st century Roman fresco
posted by jm at 1:52 AM
61 Comments:
You know, to go back to my drawn parallel between Obama and U.S. Grant, what characterized Grant's success as a general was that, even if he took dreadful losses, or if a battle was inconclusive, he kept moving forward.
Of course he marshaled his resources brilliantly and, unlike the rebels, was never short of fresh troops. But that kind of sounds familiar too.
What impresses me so watching Obama work is that he does exactly what is necessary for the occasion, and no more. He did not, so to speak, try to pull a Denver in Oxford.
And (pats self on back) the retro Merc. has hit Mrs. Alaska about as hard as I expected it would, and there's still three weeks to go!
-- jag
What impresses me so watching Obama work is that he does exactly what is necessary for the occasion, and no more. He did not, so to speak, try to pull a Denver in Oxford.
Excellent point. It's related to precision, among other things. The efficiency of his Virgo and strictness of Saturn in Capricorn. I think that trine is very good. He's a good strategist. He knows his goal and plans accordingly, but most of all he sticks with it even under pressure. It does sound like Grant. Good comparison to Denver.
The sticking with strategy is why he didn't jump to McCain's taunts. Ridiculous idea as much as a high percentage of witnesses might disagree.
even if he took dreadful losses, or if a battle was inconclusive, he kept moving forward.
Yes. Losses don't seem to faze him with his adherence to original strategy. He plans for them.
May I join you on the backpat, jag!
I caught Obama being interviewed by Bob Schieffer on Face The Nation this morning. Wonderful class act on both sides. Bob is a Pisces (25 feb 1937) with a Moon in Virgo and is always a gentleman though sharp as they come.
Listening to Barack is a pleasure. Bright, articulate and firm without being a bully. He doesn't seem to be slowed down at all by this Mercury Rx, in fact, it seems to be helping him express himself more clearly than ever.
From the response to the debate it looks like Barack's tactics of being assertive but not aggressive is paying off.
Another thought I had about all those twenty & thirty somethings who only have cell phones (like my step-daughter & her husband). They were brought up quite differently than McCain's generation and as a general rule got the message about the importance of communicating. My sense is far more of them will vote for Obama than the pollsters realize. Could that be where the landslide many astrologers are calling for is coming?
There is a way of fighting and there is a way of fighting! Some fight with their fists, some fight with money, some fight with their mind! Some fight dirty and underhanded while some fight with honor and respect. Barack also shows that to make a point or to lead one does not have to a "thug" mentallity and often the way to peace is through diplomacy.
He doesn't seem to be slowed down at all by this Mercury Rx, in fact, it seems to be helping him express himself more clearly than ever.
That's interesting neith. Maybe because it slows everyone else's forward motion. He was better than ever in the debate. Very interesting. Maybe his usual stammer is partly because he senses the rush around him.
This is wonderful about Bob Schieffer. I sense a change. I always thought the media was going to respond. This country loves communication with the Mars in Gemini so it could work well once people actually start listening and responding. Our Saturn also loves a great debate. I hope it all returns.
My sense is far more of them will vote for Obama than the pollsters realize. Could that be where the landslide many astrologers are calling for is coming?
That's a big part of it. generational change. Voter registration is beyond belief and with the organization, they are expected to show up at the polls. The Obama campaign planned it all and I think they've been expecting a landslide all along. What astrologers are predicting that? I always thought it would be. Too important a moment.
One of the main reasons for a landslide is to get him a mandate so he can fulfill his obligation to us. The people really do need power now. I think this is part of the cosmic reason. Once people stop crying about the rulers and turn their attention to him and the work ahead, a lot can be accomplished. It's such a major change, even though it will be slow and tedious.
From the response to the debate it looks like Barack's tactics of being assertive but not aggressive is paying off.
Yes. I think the polls will show it on Tuesday, the day Uranus moves off McCain's Saturn.
People are really starting to recognize and like him and I'll tell you one thing ... he grows on you.
Wonderful news, neith.
Barack also shows that to make a point or to lead one does not have to a "thug" mentality and often the way to peace is through diplomacy.
That would be good on the world stage, right? The money spent in Iraq could make up for the bailout.
Interesting you say this about the people gathering power. The City Council here has gone rogue on two volatile points: one, sanctioning, by way of a secret meeting, the use of violence against civilians and protestors during the RNC. Two, just recently, voting on the fate of a 20 year old program designed to revitalize city neighborhoods through $20 million in funding--delegated by the neighborhood organizations themselves--to remodel existing homes and businesses. Against the will of the public, the council basically killed it for reasons too complicated to go into here.
Already, an effort is underway to return the city councilperson's term to two years instead of four, to ensure more accountability.
Likewise, several efforts are underway nationally to kick out incumbent Congress-critters.
The pendulum is definitely swinging toward the grass-roots as people recognize and reclaim their role in government. We'll see how effective they'll be in the long run!
There's something inordinately soothing about Obama's voice and speech patterns once you get past the resistance. I'm particularly attuned to sound so I responded immediately. People pick up on different clues. I think people are so used to being lied to and attacked, that it's taking a minute to accept a bit of honesty, even though political games are there to some extent as they have to be. People expect to be assaulted every minute. Obama won't do it so they'll have to get accustomed to it. After they realize that it's really not boring, they might be delighted! The classroom or the playground!
His main theme is "no drama" and that's been one of the hardest parts in accepting his leadership. That's why the prelude to the debate happened. To juxtapose the false drama of McCain's stunts against the calm reasoned discussion of the country's future in the debates. At this point we need to do something and everyone knows it. The growing up thingy.
Obama's cool detachment has always bothered most everyone, but it just takes a little getting used to.
We have movie stars and sports figures for fun and games. We don't need it in our leaders. You remember the last movie star that led us! Now we can reroute, thankfully.
Omg joe!! Fantastic news!
The public will be effective in the long run. Have you ever tried to defy Uranus in Aries? I wouldn't recommend it. I have that set-up.:-) My parents gave up quickly and I raised myself.
I think the government is doing a double take right now realizing they might nor be getting way with so much anymore. It's all up to us. First the election, then the work and participation.
Likewise, several efforts are underway nationally to kick out incumbent Congress-critters.
This is exactly O's plan and it's been in the works for a long time. He wants to realign the government according to progressive principles and bring in a new generation of Congress-critters.
Very good news. Another plan of Obama's:
I want to take a moment to record the importance of posting this legislation [bailout] on the Web. Regardless of what we may think of the bill - I think it's necessary to help the American people, to keep unemployment for burgeoning, etc - we are certainly taking a very significant step in democracy when such important, controversial, urgent legislation is placed online for lawmakers and everyone else to see.
Transparency in Government
Hello all!
I did not get to see the debate (no TV, LOL) but enjoyed seeing people's reactions online. When normally 'conservative' writers and reporters began calling in favor of Obama, I was elated. But then, I love Obama's style, my dad had the same ju-jitsu, he had to work with the public and defused many confrontations by 'killing 'em with kindness'. I often find myself doing the same. If nothing else, it embarasses the hell out of the enraged recipient...which actually makes it quite pleasurable and far more satisfing than any punch to the nose, LOL.
We are celebrating here- Just got back from Seattle, the Crab was cast as the lead 'baddie' in a movie being filmed around here. The shooting starts in a few weeks- by spring keep an eye out for "Forbidden Fruit"- a comedy about sex and apples... the last movie these guys made wound up on the Sundance channel, so maybe y'all will be able to see it :).
Speaking of Gobama! Here's some links to some more pics of Obama and kids grooving on each other.
With love to jm:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7236599
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7225207
One of the comments:
"A few months ago our paper had a big article about
Obama and kids. Teachers were startled at how into elections kids suddenly were... and they were focusing on kids pre-school to 6th. Several had fake elections for the first time because kids were so curious. (Most used cartoon characters)
And it was all about Obama. They loved Obama. It wasn't all parental influence...it happened in republican districts, it happened with kids whose parents were for Mccain or Clinton. Kids talk Obama, draw Obama, sing Obama.
They did note that in 6th grades there was usually a small group of girls who were all Hillary. (Hope they haven't gone McCain even if they can't vote)
The teachers and parents had never seen anything like it. Wish I had saved the article, it was very long so obviously had more info than this.
I love parents stories too, toddlers who become quiet and watched mesmerized when Obama ais speaking on TV. There was a guy on Kos who took his 4 year old to a fundraiser. When Obama was leaving she called out his name and he picked her up and talked to her for awhile. She calls it the happiest day of her life and she had recently been to Disneyland. She liked the day Obama held her and asked her name better.
Kids do recognize something and Obama has what it is."
Juno how wonderful!! Congrats to the crab! Sex and laughs! Life is good.
I saw those incredible pics and I was going to do another post. There is something there. Something big. Thank you so much for these stories.
The kids are adamant about their love and they take it upon themselves to do all kinds of things to express it outside of their parents' nudging. One little guy cut out a magazine cover pic when mommy wasn't looking and put it on his wall. "Obamma onna wall", he said. He wanted to keep it there to show everybody who came into the house. He was so proud.
The thing is - we feel it too, but don't express it so openly. Except me, of course! I'm not shy about love. Maybe everything else, but not that. 25 years with nothing but Leo taught me how.
But the kids love everything about him. What gets to me are the infants. They are especially intuitive. The one of him holding the newborn really got to me. The cradling. Obama is bringing an entirely new kind of man to politics.
His name comes from our spiritual body. the "O" to start with, and the bama that sounds like mama. The 'b' is the key, since it doesn't overpower the mama. It's common in other languages and cultures so maybe we miss those sounds here and mama is the closest we get to the primordial, at least in name identification. I think his name is an accurate representation of who he is and the collective connection he's here to live out. The kids recognize it immediately and they don't need to second guess.
I think there's symbolism as to where we're headed as a culture. Maybe opening up more. Hillary Clinton and McCain are harsh sounding in contrast. Palin and McCain sound like being caned and impaled. Enough torture? Soothe me mama!
She calls it the happiest day of her life and she had recently been to Disneyland. She liked the day Obama held her and asked her name better.
That says it all. And it's not even a fantasy.
Jm, right now i'm crying like a baby. The thing is- the pics of Obama with the babies remind me of my own father. He was the one who comforted the colicky babies in the family-staying up all night regardless of his other commitments in the morning... Other people's babies would fall asleep in his arms. I didn't cry when he died, as sick as he was it was a mercy, but I am finding it all released as I look at these photos...
Another amazing post adding to my tears of joy and recognition:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7226200
Thank you, jm. You are part of the reason these are tears of joy.
My dad was a cancer raised the most amazing leo (my grandma) and she loved everybody.
I still remember being a very small child back in the '60s driving around Peoria with grandma and having her gesture at a group of hippies and saying "Look at the flower children, aren't they wonderful"...
My father too!!! He had a Moon in Cancer and he was the one who nurtured me. Maybe that's why we respond so much to the motherly thing in these photos. He loved babies and he talked his own baby talk to them. We didn't understand but they did. The problem was, he talked baby talk to adults too! We both have the Cancer-Leo combo in our destinies.
I wasn't there when he died. I didn't want to see him suffer. We talked on the phone and he said not to come. I wanted to keep the last happy memory of us together in the hills of Pennsylvania.
He was in a coma the last day of his life and I called. My physician brother insisted that he wouldn't respond. I said I wanted to talk to him anyway. He put the phone to dad's ear. I told dad good-bye and that I'd see him later. Out of the cosmos came a tiny croaking voice, "Good-by", he said. Can you imagine the strength it took to do that? I'm crying again. I loved him so much.
Omg, your grandmother. That's your legacy with Leo rising. She's in your DNA. I get the same loving quality always from you juno.
I've been emotional too these last days. And the debate seemed to bring up the pride in all of us. The dignity, the strength, the centeredness that is so Leo, the pride, and the confidence in his people.
Thank you, jm. You are part of the reason these are tears of joy.
Juno. I thought I was through crying.
I guess not.
Thank you so much juno for these diaries. I think it came this weekend - the realization that we're doing it and how deep in our soul it goes.
I mentioned last night below about a documentary I watched last night called, "Legacy", about a family that made it out of the projects and off welfare. I cried for two hours non-stop. It's not an isolated case of violence and hatred but 400 years of history. The magnitude is hard to fathom. And we're just beginning. I'm so proud of the Obama family and amazed that he came out of our country. Sharing the joy makes it real.
So, despite the deserved sense of accomplishment these men and women felt, despite the irrefutable evidence of their own progress, our conversations were marked by another, more ominous strain. The boarded-up homes, the decaying storefronts, the aging church rolls, kids from unknown families who swaggered down the streets – loud congregations of teenaged boys, teenage girls feeding potato chips to crying toddlers, the discarded wrappers tumbling down the block – all of it whispered painful truths, told them the progress they’d found was ephemeral, rooted in thin soil; that it might not even last their lifetimes”.
B. Obama: Dreams From my Father
"Omg, your grandmother. That's your legacy with Leo rising. She's in your DNA. I get the same loving quality always from you juno."
It is a legacy. My oldest was born on her birthday, she considered it a birthday gift. I was going to put him up for adoption, single mother me, but she held him so fiercly and protectively in the hospital, that we just had to raise him as a family ;).
"I wasn't there when he died. I didn't want to see him suffer. We talked on the phone and he said not to come. I wanted to keep the last happy memory of us together in the hills of Pennsylvania."
I can identify. He didn't want to see me, nor me him. We had a deep tie together over jazz music. In the end the chemo put him in such pain he could no longer enjoy even music and he did not want me to see him. Of course, some family wanted me to feel bad about it, but he and I knew what was up. I said 'goodbye' a few days before his death and spent the day of his death in meditation and solitude.
Yep. Leo and cancer. It goes right to the heart of nurturance.
Is there an end to this liquid well? Juno I almost can't believe this. Your grandmother is here and I feel protected myself.
My own grandmother was killed in ethnic political psychosis so I never knew her. She was a towering figure in her European family and I was named after her.
I think there's something about this 29 Pluto that's bringing up the ancient lines and we Sagittarius types are vulnerable.
Oh your grandmother. She's mine too. Neptune opposite my Saturn in Leo just discovered her.
That night my dad died I listened to Patti Smith. I don't know if you like her or not, but All of this happening then and now reminds me of "Birdland"
"His father died and left him a little farm in New England.
All the long black funeral cars left the scene
And the boy was just standing there alone
Looking at the shiny red tractor
Him and his daddy used to sit inside
And circle the blue fields and grease the night.
It was if someone had spread butter on all the fine points of the stars
'Cause when he looked up they started to slip.
Then he put his head in the crux of his arm
And he started to drift, drift to the belly of a ship,
Let the ship slide open, and he went inside of it
And saw his daddy 'hind the control board streamin' beads of light,
He saw his daddy 'hind the control board,
And he was very different tonight
'Cause he was not human, he was not human.
And then the little boy's face lit up with such naked joy
That the sun burned around his lids and his eyes were like two suns,
White lids, white opals, seeing everything just a little bit too clearly
And he looked around and there was no black ship in sight,
No black funeral cars, nothing except for him the raven
And fell on his knees and looked up and cried out,
“No, daddy, don't leave me here alone,
Take me up, daddy, to the belly of your ship,
Let the ship slide open and I'll go inside of it
Where you're not human, you are not human.”
But nobody heard the boy's cry of alarm.
Nobody there 'cept for the birds around the New England farm
And they gathered in all directions, like roses they scattered
And they were like compass grass coming together into the head of a shaman bouquet
Slit in his nose and all the others went shooting
And he saw the lights of traffic beckoning like the hands of Blake
Grabbing at his cheeks, taking out his neck,
All his limbs, everything was twisted and he said,
“I won't give up, won't give up, don't let me give up,
I won't give up, come here, let me go up fast,
Take me up quick, take me up, up to the belly of a ship
And the ship slides open and I go inside of it where I am not human.”
I am helium raven and this movie is mine,
So he cried out as he stretched the sky,
Pushing it all out like latex cartoon, am I all alone in this generation?
We'll just be dreaming of our nation night and day
And won't let up, won't let up and I see them coming in,
Oh, I couldn't hear them before, but I hear 'em now,
It's a radar scope in all silver and all platinum lights
Moving in like black ships, they were moving in, streams of them,
And he put up his hands and he said, “It's me, it's me,
I'll give you my eyes, take me up, oh now please take me up,
I'm helium raven waitin' for you, please take me up,
Don't leave me here!”
The son, the sign, the cross,
Like the shape of a tortured woman, the true shape of a tortured woman,
The mother standing in the doorway letting her sons
No longer presidents but prophets
They're all dreaming they're gonna bear the prophet,
He's gonna run through the fields dreaming of our nation
It's all gonna split his skull
It's gonna come out like a black bouquet shining
Like a fist that's gonna shoot them up
Like light, like Mohammed Boxer
Take them up up up up up up
Oh, let's go up, up, take me up, I'll go up,
I'm going up, I'm going up
Take me up, I'm going up, I'll go up there
Go up go up go up go up up up up up up up
Up, up to the belly of a ship.
Let the ship slide open and we'll go inside of it
Where we are not human, we're not human.
Well, there was sand, there were tiles,
The sun had melted the sand and it coagulated
Like a river of glass
When it hardened he looked at the surface
He saw his face
And where there were eyes were just two white opals, two white opals,
Where there were eyes there were just two white opals
And he looked up and the rays shot
And he saw raven comin' in
And he crawled on his back and he went up
Up up up up up up
Sha da do wop, da shaman do way, sha da do wop, da shaman do way,
Sha da do wop, da shaman do way, sha da do wop, da shaman do way,
Sha da do wop, da shaman do way,
We like birdland.
We had a deep tie together over jazz music.
We did too! I remember vividly the album called "Mixing drinks and Music" that we used to listen to together alone. No one else liked that kind of thing. We danced too.
Of course, some family wanted me to feel bad about it, but he and I knew what was up. I said 'goodbye' a few days before his death and spent the day of his death in meditation and solitude.
Me too!!!!!! Exactly. We understood. Eventually they came around to the understanding. My sister would call to castigate me to hell and I would sing her Nat King Cole songs. Yeah. She came around.
I wish I had grandma's birth time. Aug 22, 1916.
She was not quite 16 when she had my dad, July 4, 1932.
Him and his daddy used to sit inside
And circle the blue fields and grease the night.
It was if someone had spread butter on all the fine points of the stars
I love that.
Do you know Dory Previn? Her dad committed suicide and she wrote some stuff about him... let me find it.
"We did too! I remember vividly the album called "Mixing drinks and Music" that we used to listen to together alone. No one else liked that kind of thing. We danced too."
For us it was Stanley Turrentine and Fredie Hubbard's live album. And Keith Jarrett's solo piano Koln concerts. The Koln concerts are the best for sex...and they make me cry every time.
eek, that sounds bad. I discovered the Koln concerts for sex MANY years later, heheheh.
16!!!
Venus-Saturn-Pluto in Cancer! OMG. And your NN. Her South.
And Uranus in Aquarius. No wonder she wouldn't let your child go. Nurturing the world. That includes me right now!
Of course! I know you have safe and ordinary sex! Well ... unh.. Saggies are known for sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll.
I found the poem but it will take a minute, so make sure you read it later in case you start nodding begore I get it up.
"Do you know Dory Previn? Her dad committed suicide and she wrote some stuff about him... let me find it."
The name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've seen that.
She was married to Henry Mancini, I think it was, and then Mia Farrow stole him away. She's a poet songwriter not well known. You gotta read it!
"And Uranus in Aquarius. No wonder she wouldn't let your child go. Nurturing the world."
OMG that is her. There are family stories of the people she would take in during the depression, certainly no family went hungry on the farm. She was the most magnanimous person I have ever encountered. She died just a couple of years ago. She had been a nurse and was still volenteering her time to nursing homes (dealing often with people even younger than herself) when she was diagnosed with cancer at 93.. She refused treatment and died within a few weeks.
I am very proud of her. She was a heck of a lady.
She also wrote country western songs for Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Freddy Fender. The lyrics to 'When the Last Teardrop Falls' are hers.
And as a legacy as well, my NN conjuncts my dad's sun.
with my daddy in the attic
with my
daddy in the attic
with my
daddy in the attic
that is where
my being wants to bed
with the mattress ticking showing
and the tattered pillow slip
and the pine
unpainted rafters overhead
with the
door closed on my mama
and my sibling competition
and my Shirley Temple doll
that truly cries
and my essay on religion
with the paper star
proving tangibly
i'd won the second prize
with my daddy in the attic
with my daddy in he attic
that is where
my dark attraction lies
with his madness on the nightstand
placed beside
his loaded gun
in the terrifying nearness of his eyes
with no window spying neighbors
and no
husbands in the future
to intrude
upon our attic
past the stair
where we'll live on
peanut butter
spread across assorted crackers
and he'll play
his clarinet
when i despair
Dory Previn.
There are family stories of the people she would take in during the depression, certainly no family went hungry on the farm.
OMG exactly!!! Cancer-Aquarius.
She refused treatment and died within a few weeks.
She's my gal.
Thank you. That is amazing, I will look up more Dory Previn.
My dad and I were bound by jazz. Noone else in the family 'got'it. he would tell me stories of the greats coming to play at a little roadhouse in the middle of nowhere in IL, but he saw Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington among others.
She also wrote country western songs for Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Freddy Fender. The lyrics to 'When the Last Teardrop Falls' are hers.
Omg. I'm in tears again. I love C&W. Oh no. I have so much ahead of me.
Thank you so much Juno's grandmother for reminding me. Omg.
The NN and Sun. Oh oh oh. Life asks so much. I'm not going to be able to escape. You have no idea what just happened juno. Omg.
Venus, Cancer, presidents, fathers, grandmothers, babies.....
And LEO!!!!!!!!!
Dad was a radio fan. I worked here in Bellingham right next to a Radio museum and in the window were radios like he used to have, that he would have me listen to broadcasts in foreign languague- or in codes that he would explain.
They have their own radio station and play old jazz and radio plays, My dad would have loved it.
Cancer the water sign- I think they like sound waves.
Stupid me. She was married to Andre Previn.
I've heard this story many times. About fathers, jazz and daughters. Sometimes I think it's because we have to find alternative routes to emotional sharing with the guys.
There's a deaf musician called Evelyn Glennie who talks about sharing music with her father in Scotland before she lost her hearing at 12. It's compelling. Same thing. They'd play together when the others wer gone and the memories haunted her forever.
Cancer the water sign- I think they like sound waves.
I think you're right. I love love love the radio. In my childhood I slept with the radio next to my ear all night. Through my teen years. Me, the night, solitude, and sound.
My Moon in Cancer dad had rhythm like I do and he was exceptionally quiet. We would drive in the hills all day and not speak. We were the only ones who appreciated silence. We listened to the animals and something unnamed.
At the end of his life I discovered that he knew exatly what I would like.
"Omg. I'm in tears again. I love C&W. Oh no. I have so much ahead of me."
She was proud of the achievement awards she won in Nashville. I was a (still am I'm afraid) rock-n-roller at the time and never appreciated it as much as I should have. She actually won an award for "the cleanest songs in Country"...at a time where a lot of them were about beer, etc. The award was a necklace on a gold chain with praying hands....
She also hosted a country western program on local (Peoria) tv, She also played Auntie Mame in a dinner theater production.
She was a totally straight bohemian before her time.
PS her name was Edith. If I had ever had a daughter she would have been named Edith/Edie.
She is wonderful. My favorite is Western Swing .. Bob Wills, Eddie Arnold, even Gene Autry, some Marty Robbins, and guys like that.
Kitty Wells is another favorite. I like old C&W. It's just folk music.
I can see why she was into it. That was the roadshow music of the time and some of the best came out during the Depression. The shows they put on were wonderful. I don't like the ones today. Too scrambled, too much video. Just far too much input.
I love Auntie Mame. What a character your grandmother was. Nothing like a Leo for stage presence.
Edie.
HA HA HA HA!!!!
The award was a necklace on a gold chain with praying hands....
"My Moon in Cancer dad had rhythm like I do and he was exceptionally quiet. We would drive in the hills all day and not speak. We were the only ones who appreciated silence. We listened to the animals and something unnamed."
My father loved music but had no talent- not unlike myself, I can sing but not much else. He used to say he was '5 before he could even play on the linoleum'. He also taught me the revernce of nature- he was a field biology major when he met my mother and I suspect I was concieved in the'Meesemobile'- so called because it was rusted out on the floor and he would set his live traps for mice, etc while he and my mom snogged in the relative warmth of the vehicle, pulling the traps up thru the holes in the floor from time to time.
"She is wonderful. My favorite is Western Swing .. Bob Wills, Eddie Arnold, even Gene Autry, some Marty Robbins, and guys like that."
That's what she liked and would sing to us (offtune, I might add) all the time.
She was the most magnanimous person I have ever encountered.
I like to keep this in mind while the others are crying about Wall Street and everything being stolen from them.The bad guys. It's Pluto in Capricorn time and it would have to happen anyway. I like to think of your grandmother and how we can help one another get through hard times, not so much complaining, but living with what we have, sharing if we can, and enjoying life anyway.
Another thing about my grandma- she had men dating her until the end. After my grandpa died she was always dating. They'd bring her gifts, one guy owned a wine shop so she always had this weird european wine around. She never committed again after grandpa, but she obviously enjoyed the attention, that Leo.
"I like to keep this in mind while the others are crying about Wall Street and everything being stolen from them.The bad guys. It's Pluto in Capricorn time and it would have to happen anyway. I like to think of your grandmother and how we can help one another get through hard times, not so much complaining, but living with what we have, sharing if we can, and enjoying life anyway."
That's what I think too. I think we can make it no matter what if we just band together. It's one of the things that brought me to this place in WA. They have a real local economy here and an awareness that we are here together.
you can sing?????? Yeeeaaaay!!!!
HA HA!! Your conception!
I would have loved your grandmother. Like my husband who knew every popular tune written in US history and he sang them all to me. It's getting close to party time again. I suspect that mans Leo time too. I'm so glad my next prez has three planets there.
Btw, his asc is 18, exactly on your Saturn.
So I said one afternoon to my singer, "I'm in a quandary as to what to do about dinner," while we headed to the grocery store.
"I usually broil mine," he offered, then broke into another song.
WA is the place.
I'm going to grow old like edith. Wine and song and funny suitors who like to dance.
Yes. Local things are going to happen. There is an odd joyousness around this crash as if relief has come and we can start over with a new guy in DC dealing with all that and our communities coming together to make our towns comfortable. I don't know why I feel so optimistic. But why should I even inquire?
I shall look up Evelyn Glennie.
I'm starting to fade, and I have a job interview tomorrow, so I must go. Thank You. I feel grounded again, being able to talk about my family for the first time in forever has made me feel so much better. And if anyone is looking out for humankind from beyond, it's my Grandma Edith. She would have melted at those Obama pics. She knew how much babies need to trust. This has been a wonderful conversation, jm. Is there, by chance, anyway I can hook up w/you via e-mail? I have pictures to share that I frankly don't know how to post otherwise.
"Btw, his asc is 18, exactly on your Saturn."
Obama, yes, 18 Aq rising. And his sun is 12 leo conjuct my rising.
He is everything I strive to be and thus I salute him.
Of course I am a fan. After I saw his chart, there was no question.
Got it, hon. And I will talk to you anon.
Once again, thanks. I'm glad I'm coming back more often. Conversation with you makes me feel more balanced and that's a good thing!
G'night!
G'night, juno. And once again. I love you.
Balanced? Me?
This thing about legacy and soul is real to me. How deeply the American Black Culture has woven into our feelings with the influence of their music, not just here, but worldwide. It's connected us in an experiential way that the forced separations can't touch. I'm sure there are other fibers too. It's a lot of sensation for our culture to digest right now and then on top of it all, the banks go nuts. At this point I can only hang on for the ride.
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