January 08, 2005

Dispatch from the Mother Ship:

I don't often watch Larry King--too many questions seem never to get asked, so frustrating--but last night I saw part of his show. "God and the tsunami." He had representatives of all the major religions. Deepak Chopra was very good, but almost too pc at times, as if that was his main reason for being there. The Christian pastor was way too born-again and embarrassing. The priest was somewhat better. By far the most impressive, in all the right ways, was Tikkun's editor, Rabbi Michael Lerner. He was perceptive, brilliant, and compassionate in exactly the right, balanced mix. Does he do weddings??? :)

*My mom periodically forgets that we're goyim: English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh ... And that no amount of wishing can make us Jewish.... Though thanks to my dad it is true that my brother and I were raised mainly by Jewish comedians.

 Posted by Melissa Price at 09:30 AM



January 07, 2005

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

-- Mary Oliver


This is my swan. Not even TEE-VEE can take it away from me.

 Posted by Melissa Price at 09:56 AM



January 06, 2005

This Morning

Enter without knocking, hard-working ant.
I'm just sitting here mulling over
What to do this dark, overcast day?
It was a night of the radio turned down low,
Fitful sleep, vague, troubling dreams.
I woke up lovesick and confused.
I thought I heard Estella in the garden singing
And some bird answering her,
But it was the rain. Dark tree tops swaying
And whispering. "Come to me my desire,"
I said. And she came to me by and by,
Her breath smelling of mint, her tongue
Wetting my cheek, and then she vanished.
Slowly day came, a gray streak of daylight
To bathe my hands and face in.
Hours passed, and then you crawled
Under the door, and stopped before me.
You visit the same tailors the mourners do,
Mr. Ant. I like the silence between us,
The quiet--that holy state even the rain
Knows about. Listen to her begin to fall,
As if with eyes closed,
Muting each drop in her wild-beating heart.

-- Charles Simic


 Posted by Melissa Price at 09:00 PM



January 03, 2005

Give Us Your Big Balls

From Deborah Solomon's New York Times Magazine interview with Jeanne L. Phillips, head of Bush's inaugural committee:

I hear one of the balls will be reserved for troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Yes, the Commander-in-Chief Ball. That is new. It will be about 2,000 servicemen and their guests. And that should be a really fun event for them.

As an alternative way of honoring them, did you or the president ever discuss canceling the nine balls and using the $40 million inaugural budget to purchase better equipment for the troops?
I think we felt like we would have a traditional set of events and we would focus on honoring the people who are serving the country right now -- not just the people in the armed forces, but also the community volunteers, the firemen, the policemen, the teachers, the people who serve at, you know, the -- well, it's called the StewPot in Dallas, people who work with the homeless.

How do any of them benefit from the inaugural balls?
I'm not sure that they do benefit from them.

Then how, exactly, are you honoring them?
Honoring service is what our theme is about.

 Posted by Melissa Price at 10:48 AM





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