Pope Francis’s core message of his first full day in Cuba has been “Serve other people, not ideology.”
People in the United States could very well receive the same core message when Francis arrives here later in the week.
Category: travel
SoCS: Pope Francis
I heard this morning that Pope Francis is en route to Cuba, where he will spend a few days before arriving in the US.
His route here will take him to Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia. There will be high profile speeches to the US Congress, UN General Assembly, and at a conference on the family in Philadelphia. There will also be several public Masses with attendance in the thousands for the indoors ones and hundreds of thousands when outdoors.
I have been eagerly anticipating his arrival and plan to watch the coverage, including a group “watch party” for the Congressional address.
I was reading an article by Father Tom Reese in NCR the other day, asking if people would really hear what Francis has to say while he is in the US. I know that I will be listening carefully. I also know that, while I will agree with many of the Pope’s points, I will disagree with others. For example, Francis, though he means well, does not understand women’s lives. While he is wonderful about acknowledging social justice issues with those in poverty or on the margins, he fails to notice that this group is disproportionately female and that sexism and sexual violence/exploitation play a large role in their plight.
I am especially interested in how the Congress, many of whose leaders are Catholic, will react to what is sure to be a challenging speech to them, probably on the grounds of climate change, militarism, lack of care for the country’s and the world’s most vulnerable, rampant consumerism, and greed.
I am hopeful that Pope Francis’s voice on environmental issues and systemic marginalization of those with the least economic resources, especially in the global South, will spark conversation that will lead to a strong US voice for the climate and environment and for justice, for “integral ecology” as the Pope terms it, so that there will be a strong international accord coming out to the Paris climate talks at the end of the year with full US participation in the implementation.
That sounds like I’m asking for a miracle.
Maybe I am.
But I think there is hope through Francis, who speaks not only to Catholics but to “all those of good will” and maybe even may reach those who are not especially “of good will.”
Godspeed, Francis. May you have a safe and fruitful journey.
*****
This is part of Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. This week’s prompt is route/root. Join us! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2015/09/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-1915/ 
Share this:
Father Daughter Wedding Dance – I Think My Husband Dislocated a Hip
For anyone who needs a smile or chuckle today, watch this father/daughter wedding dance video!
Our daughter’s wedding to her Prince Charming exceeded all expectations of celebration. The traditional Father Daughter wedding dance was no exception. For those of you convinced I am the wild and crazy one of the duo the illusion shall now be shattered.
Photo credit – Bretton Dyte Photography
Below is a video of the Dad and Daughter shenanigans thanks to our son.Things really get shaking at the 55 second mark. Watch for the well choreographed Macarena – Spice Girl transition. The big finale of the Gangnam style extravaganza is my personal favorite. No matter how many times I watch it I end up snorting with laughter.
Many of you were very kind as to do a dance to the sun gods for the wedding and we extend our sincere thanks for your efforts. The rain did stop late in the day, and turned to snow. Perhaps you were facing the…
View original post 27 more words
Share this:
Asking for Help – Please Share and Help Me Find My Sister
Jason has not seen his sister since he was two. She is still in Korea. Please visit his post and share on your blogs and other social media to see if we can help get the message to her.
Share this:
SoCS: Top of JC’s Mind
…because, seriously, when the prompt is “mind”, how could I not?
I started Top of JC’s Mind almost two years ago because several people told me that I should start a blog. I had originally planned to call it Top of My Mind, but that was already taken, so I put my initials in the title instead.
I know that I couldn’t contain myself to a single topic, so I set out to write about whatever is on the top of my mind, but that isn’t quite true.
You see, the top of my mind is a pretty crowded space. If I wrote about everything that was on the top of my mind in any given day, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else.
So, I write only a bit of what is at the top of my mind – and those bits have been distributed differently than I originally envisioned.
I had thought that I would write a lot about fracking – or anti-fracking, really – because I spent many moons writing commentary on it as part of the anti-fracking grassroots in New York State. And there is some writing in that vein, along with climate change and other environmental themes, but, with the (mostly) ban in place, that has slowed down, perhaps much to the relief of readers, as well as fracktivists.
I also thought that I would post more poetry than I do. The reason is that I am trying to publish in literary journals, nearly all of whom will only consider work that is not previously published. And, for the most part, that means that if they can google it, they won’t accept it, even if it is only out on my little blog with a dozen views. Consequently, I don’t put too many of my poems here unless they have appeared elsewhere first. Generally, the rights revert back to me after publication.
I have written more about family and personal experiences than I intended, largely due to circumstances. A year ago, our elders, Nana, Paco, and Grandma, all ran into health challenges and the top, middle, and bottom of my mind were all pretty much filled up with care-taking and concern. Then, there are the more fun family things to post, like spending five weeks in Hawai’i with my daughter E.
I do want to get back to posting more about topics, such as feminism, politics, and religion/ethics. The life of the mind is important to me. I just wish there was a more direct and faster way to get my thoughts onto the (computer) page.
Although that would be overwhelming.
No one needs that much Top of JC’s Mind.
Except for me, of course, for whom there is no escape…
*****
This post is part of Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week’s prompt is “mind.” Join us! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2015/08/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-2215/
Share this:
Calling people from around the world!
A few days ago, I re-blogged this post: https://ireadencyclopedias.wordpress.com/2015/08/08/reaching-out-to-the-world/
from Jay Dee of I Read Encyclopedias for Fun. He is trying to get comments from as many countries as possible. So far, people have responded from USA, Canada, UK, Germany and Ireland. Let’s help him expand the list!
Here’s how you can help:
1) If you are from another country – and I know I have regular visitors from India and Australia – please click on the link and leave a comment, telling Jay Dee where you are from.
2) If you have a blog, are on Facebook, tweet, or engage in any other social media, please consider sharing the link with your followers. There are handy sharing buttons at the end of the post or you can copy and post the link yourself.
Let’s see if we can get visitors from dozens of countries for Jay Dee! Thanks!
Share this:
poet-tree
When I was visiting Beth in Honolulu this summer, we would walk up the hill in Kaimuki to go to the big Saturday morning farmers’ market at Kapi’olani Community College. There is always a huge array of fruits, vegetables, baked goods, jams, pickles, etc., as well as lots of prepared foods and beverages to enjoy there. (Also, lots and lots of people, as it is listed in the tour guides and some of the bus tours bring people there.)
We would walk home through campus and pass by their poet-tree, which is a world community poetry project. Visitors are invited to write a poem and leave it in a jar. Then, the poems are sorted into geographic regions, sealed in plastic, and affixed to the poet-tree, which has pegs for different countries or regions.
On the last weekend of my visit, I brought a poem to contribute to the project. E sent me this photo over the weekend, showing it on display! The poem itself is one I wrote several years ago. and, as often happens, there is a bit of poetic license. I realize it is a hard to read in the photo, so here it is:
Two Trees
A pair of gum trees
Reaching tall in the courtyard
Bark flashing streaks:
grey, red-brown, green, vibrant orange
A paint-by-number from childhood come to life.
Transplanted into Hawaiian soil
You grow at a prodigious rate
As do my own daughters
Also transplanted there.
(Note: The trees are rainbow eucalyptus.)
Share this:
Reaching Out to the World
Geography is one of the many interests of blogger Jay Dee of “I Read Encyclopedias for Fun.” He has started a fun thread to bring in visitors from all over the world. Join the fun! Visit, comment, and share, share, share!
– JC
Welcome. I see you’re from Earth. That’s great, because I want to have visitors from all over the world. So, here’s what I’d like to do. It’s my Reaching Out to the World Project.
I’m sure you’re from somewhere on that map. Well, I’d like you to do a few simple things for this project. It’s really easy.
First, leave a comment on this post saying which country you’re originally from.
Second, share this post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Reddit, and so on. Reblog if you like.
Third, and this is optional, tell your international blogger friends about this post, and ask them to leave a comment.
Easy, isn’t it? I’ll update the countries that are represented here in a list below. I’d love to see blogs from all over the world. Everyone has a unique perspective. So, if you’re interested, then leave your comment…
View original post 28 more words
Share this:
Poem: “Sturbridge, Massachusetts”
I am pleased to announce that Silver Birch Press has published my poem “Sturbridge, Massachusetts” as part of their “My Perfect Vacation” series. Just follow this link: https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/sturbridge-massachusetts-poem-by-joanne-corey-my-perfect-vacation-series/
As a bonus, there is a photo of B and me cutting our wedding cake, which I scanned from a photo in our wedding album to accompany this poem. It was a spice cake with butter cream frosting, which was an exotic choice back in 1982. It was delicious.
Feel free to comment here or on the Silver Birch Press page – or both!
Share this:
Binghamton in words and photos
A very interesting take on a trip to Binghamton NY with lots of great photos by Arian Horbovetz. https://ariandavidphotography.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/binghamton-a-city-of-two-tales/
One slight quibble: The renewed arts scene in downtown Binghamton was not largely the work of the young artists. It was local, established middle-aged and elder artists and gallery owners who started First Fridays and the arts emphasis downtown. The young artists now here are the fruits of those efforts. The downtown renewal they began drew the University Center and housing into the downtown area, which has accelerated the revitalization process and made many new businesses possible.
Soon, one of the old factory buildings will house the Binghamton Hi-Tech Incubator, designed to help new businesses open, building on research from Binghamton University and the area’s traditional strength in technology industries.
Our Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council also has a proposal for further development of the Binghamton/Johnson City/Endicott corridor, if our region wins one of the $500 million grants that the state has offered in the latest competition. Personally, I think the Southern Tier should have been given a grant directly as Buffalo was, but I know our proposal is strong, so hopes are high that we will get an award.
Joanne Corey 