Poised for tomorrow

Photo by Ihsan Zaatari - used with permission

Poised for tomorrow

There she stands
Just starting her journey
All dressed up in her flowered dress
and pretty pink hat

Looking forward to the future.
There are shadows on her path -
dark things which obscure
the brightness of her being

But she can see ahead
there just at the curve
the path is bright and clear
unobscured - ready for her

ready for her as she starts out
her world is getting broader
brighter, less limited
for her and her sisters
all of them

Poised for the future
ready for what tomorrow will bring
embracing the full rich life
that awaits her.

Jay Cole Simser

Sunday Salute XIII

Jane Goodall

Born April 3, 1934

Jane Goodall is the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees, having closely observed their behavior for the past quarter century in the jungles of the Gombe Game Reserve in Africa, living in the chimps' environment and gaining their confidence.

Her observations and discoveries are intemationally heralded. Her research and writing have made, and are making, revolutionary inroads into scientific thinking regarding the evolutions of humans.

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”  

“If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.”

“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place--or not to bother”

“Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved.”  

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right. ”

“Michael Pollan likens consumer choices to pulling single threads out of a garment. We pull a thread from the garment when we refuse to purchase eggs or meat from birds who were raised in confinement, whose beaks were clipped so they could never once taste their natural diet of worms and insects. We pull out a thread when we refuse to bring home a hormone-fattened turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We pull a thread when we refuse to buy meat or dairy products from cows who were never allowed to chew grass, or breathe fresh air, or feel the warm sun on their backs.

The more threads we pull, the more difficult it is for the industry to stay intact. You demand eggs and meat without hormones, and the industry will have to figure out how it can raise farm animals without them. Let the animals graze outside and it slows production. Eventually the whole thing will have to unravel.

If the factory farm does indeed unravel - and it must - then there is hope that we can, gradually, reverse the environmental damage it has caused. Once the animal feed operations have gone and livestock are once again able to graze, there will be a massive reduction in the agricultural chemicals currently used to grow grain for animals. And eventually, the horrendous contamination caused by animal waste can be cleaned up. None of this will be easy.

The hardest part of returning to a truly healthy environment may be changing the current totally unsustainable heavy-meat-eating culture of increasing numbers of people around the world. But we must try. We must make a start, one by one.”

― Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating

 

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

“

“And if we dare to look into those eyes, then we shall feel their suffering in our hearts. More and more people have seen that appeal and felt it in their hearts. All around the world there is an awakening of understanding and compassion, and understanding that reaches out to help the suffering animals in their vanishing homelands. That embraces hungry, sick, and desperate human beings, people who are starving while the fortunate among us have so much more than we need. And if, one by one, we help them, the hurting animals, the desperate humans, then together we shall alleviate so much of the hunger, fear, and pain in the world. Together we can bring change to the world, gradually replacing fear and hatred with compassion and love. Love for all living beings.”

Jane Goodall

Previous Salutes
  Mohandas Gandhi
 Eleanor Roosevelt    Lyndon B. Johnson      Michelle Obama
Helen Hayes   Marion Wright Edelman     Bishop Gene Robinson
Bishop Desmond Tutu       Rachel Carson          Helen Keller
Martin Luther King, Jr          Dalai Lama         Dag Hammarskjold

Something for Saturday

You may have noticed a new link on the sidebar.  The picture of Thoth will take you to a collection of my (and others) writings about Freemasonry. I have opinions as you well know.  There are currently 156 articles about aspects of Freemasonry that are on the blog.  Some are long, some are short and a few are just photographic events.  What I would suggest doing (if you are interested) is go the the sidebar and scroll through the list of articles,  Look for one that strikes your fancy.  Click on it and go take a look.  You can comment on any article that is there and express your opinions.  I have copied the comments that were left when the article was up on Bailey's Buddy so they are there also.

Found For Friday

 LAWYER OPERATION RECOVERY

A lawyer awakened after a serious operation, only to find herself in a dark room with all the blinds drawn.

"Why are all the blinds closed?" she asked her doctor.

"Well," the surgeon responded, "they're fighting this huge multi-alarm fire just across the street from the hospital, and we didn't want you to wake up and think the operation had failed."

 What do you call a melon that's not allowed to get married?

Can't elope.

 A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and

found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted

on complaining to the local civic official, who apologized profusely

saying, "I must have taken Leif off my census."

 There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin, one slept

on an elk skin, and the third slept on a hippopotamus skin. All three

became pregnant. The first two each had a baby boy. The one who

slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys. This just goes to prove

that the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws

of the other two hides. (Some of you may need help with this one)

 A skeptical anthropologist was cataloguing South American folk remedies

with the assistance of a tribal elder who indicated that the leaves of a

particular fern were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the

anthropologist expressed his doubts, the elder looked him in the eye

and said, "Let me tell you, with fronds like these, you don't need enemas."

 The police found and arrested two young people the other day. One was drinking battery acid and the other was eating fireworks.

They charged one ... and let the other one off.

 Did you see the movie about the cannibal that ate his mother-in-law?

It was named Gladiator.

 The police answered a call from the local convent about a strange object circling overhead. When the officer arrived, he asked the Mother Superior what kind of object it was. "I can't say", she replied, "but sister Elizabeth says she knows exactly what it was, do you want to speak with her?"

"That's ok", said the policeman, "I'll just put it down as a nun-identified flying object."

An Indian chief had three wives, each of whom was pregnant. The first gave birth to a boy. The chief was so elated he built her a teepee made of deer hide. A few days later, the second gave birth, also to a boy. The chief was very happy. He built her a teepee made of antelope hide. The third wife gave birth a few days later, but the chief kept the details a secret. He built this one a two story teepee, made out of a hippopotamus hide. The chief then challenged the tribe to guess what had occurred.

Many tried, unsuccessfully. Finally, one young brave declared that the third wife had given birth to twin boys.

"Correct," said the chief. "How did you figure it out?"

The warrior answered, "It's elementary. The value of the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons of the squaws of the other two hides."

A relaxing visit to the Amana Colonies in Eastern Iowa. Photos By bob Kelly

The control buttons in the lower corners of the view frame will allow you to stop and start the video, as well as go all the way to 1080p HD resolution, and full screen if you want a big picture (recommended!)

Enjoy!

Wednesday Leading Age Spring Convention

 I spent (most of) the day in Des Moines attending the Leading Age Convention or workshop or whatever.

I thought the best thing about the meeting was meeting "George" at one of the exhibitor's booths and the collection of "stuff"  (mostly pens) that I was able to get.

Because I am on the Eastern Star Masonic Home Board we decided that we would attend the meetings.

I attended two talks and the Keynote speaker.  The Keynote speaker and one of the breakout

speakers were essentially robotic in their delivery.  The just sort of babbled and I did not get much of interest out of their talks.

I had planned on attending one more session bust it was being given by the same person who gave the talk just before it so I "escaped"  -  Miles and Molly were glad that I had done so.

They were hungry and I enjoyed my time with them.  Then I worked on my new Masonic Blog.  I have moved 98 articles which I had written from the Buddy to the new Blog.  I though it might be interesting to see what I had written.  And it is not just my own writing but also from friends who helped out by writing guest blogs for me.   I go back to the conference tomorrow morning.  I am hoping that the speakers will be more interesting.  We are also going to have our Home Board Meeting at the same time.  Multi-tasking.. Off to bed...But this won't go up until the morning.