Life

An Invitation

/ Anita Marie / Leave a comment

( message from Heather Blakey, owner of the Soul Food Cafe and Creator of the Soul Food Cafe Advent Calendar )

It is December and the year is coming to a close. Long standing members
will be familiar with the traditional Advent Calendars.

101 Nights At Soul Food
 is a brand new blog, incorporating my
posts on Wandering the Halls of Soul Food.

During the coming 101 nights I am taking people to parts of Soul Food
that have been lying quietly, relatively unnoticed. If you feel so
inclined you can engage by creating a journal, like Lori Gloyd, create
posts and publish these on a blog.

I decided I did not have a Calender in me this year but instead I am
offering a free program. If you are new to the site this really is the
ideal time to dip your toe in the water and get to know how it all works
and to immerse yourself in it.

I would like to think that there will be a number of blogs linked to
this blog so that people will be able to see just how Soul Food works.

The main thing is to participate. Everyone who has come to Soul Food has
grown while they are here. It really isn’t a snobby, cliquey site and
people have genuinely developed as they have worked with themes and with
one another.

Everyone is welcome to engage on this blog. The thing to remember though
is that it does take time and persistent effort to establish yourself
here.

So to engage, create a WordPress blog and begin posting. When you feel
ready you can share some of your responses and experiences on 101
Nights. I am hoping that long term members will help take us down memory
lane by reposting some of their favourite posts.

warm wishes
Heather Blakey
Soul Food Café

contact Heather:

heatherblakey at fastmail dot fm

Travails With A Skeleton

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment

bike skeleton 

“Wanderers eastward, wanderers west,
Know you why you cannot rest?
‘Tis that every mother’s son
Travails with a skeleton.

a.e. housman

“the immortal part”

Those Were The Days

/ Anita Marie / Leave a comment

 

Fotomat

 

Remember when cameras used flash bulbs and when you only had to wait a day to get your pictures developed?

Those were some wild times alright.

Stories From The South Portal

/ Anita Marie / 5 Comments
Photo: A.M. Moscoso

Photo: A.M. Moscoso

 before you ask- yes this is a true story

a.m.

There is a Crows Nest above my door at work.

The nest is about four years old and in those four years a family of Crows takes it over.

Let me ask you a question:

Do you know what happens when you get to close too close to their nest?

Let’s just say that Crows do not make good neighbors.

However, as I rule I don’t use this door because it’s the door that freight goes in and out of and opening it is a hassle. I use the side door which is right next to it.

Besides the obvious reasons for not wanting to bother the Crow Family I had other reasons for using the side door…

On some days I would stand next to the side door and watch the Crows dive bomb cars and people who went by their nest- okay, I’ll probably pay a price for this but I think it’s funny. After all, how many times do you need to have a crow try to body slam you or take the top of your head off before it occurs to you that you MIGHT be in the wrong place?

So one day in the middle of a particularly heated attack I look up and sitting on the door lentil above my head

is

A Crow.

It looked down at me, I looked up at it and I turned my head so that it could see me wink.

To this day we keep an eye on each other-

we seem to have something in common:

a very strange sense of humor.

Photo: A.M. Moscoso

Photo: A.M. Moscoso

What Do President Barack Obama and David Tennant Have In Common?

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment

President Obama

Okay.

It’s a tough question.

smirk

I asked my husband this question.

I said: ” Luis, guess what David Tennant and Barack Obama have in common”

He says, ” you. “

Okay, that was a good answer but in this case it was wrong.

Funny.

But wrong.

Here is the real answer:

In the survey of 9-11-year-olds by the National College for the Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services ( that’s in the U.K.) President Obama and David Tennant were the top two picks for “Dream Headteacher”

President Obama came in second- David Tennant came in first- there, that ought to make the Birthers and Teabaggers here in the U.S. happy.

All of that important insight aside, here is the complete list

The top 10 “dream headteachers”:

1 David Tennant;
2 Barack Obama;
3 JK Rowling;
4 Cheryl Cole;
5 David Beckham;
6 Will Smith;
7 Michelle Obama;
8 Alan Sugar;
9 Lewis Hamilton;
10 Alan Shearer.

What a bunch of smart kids they have over there in the U.K.

It must have something to do with that Health Care System they’ve got.

wink

Will The Real Joe Wilson Please Stand Up?

/ Anita Marie / Leave a comment

Here in Washington State…

and for those of you who are not in the know, this is the Washington waaayyyy on the west coast.

I know,

when you say Washington it causes confusion and people think you’re talking about DC.

So let me make this clear so that what you are about to read will make sense.

We’re on the California side of the Country.

Now that we have that established I can go on…

 

It would appear that not only is our State’s name causing  confusion out there in big old world

so is our

Joe Wilson

Joe- The Washington State- Wilson
Joe- The Washington State- Wilson

Our Joe Wilson is running for Superior Court Judge Position 2

here in Snohomish county in WASHINGTON STATE ( you know, the place where apples and Jimmy Hendrix come from ) and

I guess in the same way there is only one ‘Washington’ that counts, there must only be one ‘real’ Joe Wilson out there.

I’ve made that assumption because  Washington State’s Joe Wilson’s  Facebook page has been swamped with people who love or hate

Joe Wilson.

The problem is they think they are talking to the

OTHER

Joe Wilson.

 

I was talking to Washington State Joe Wilson and his wife yesterday and as we talked about his Facebook Page making the evening news I thought:

How the heck do I get on line right now so I can see this train wreck for myself?

I spent the rest of the time gleefully  imagining how bad it was going to be and then I started to worry NOTHING could live up to the things I had dreamt up.

I was SO wrong.

I found out that people went to Joe’s page and vomited all over it, not for a minute bothering to look at the Information Box on the left side of the Facebook page.

That’s the box that tells you

WHO IT IS YOU ARE TALKING TO.

 

My gosh, between nearly being blinded by the hate comments I almost went deaf from all of the flag snapping that was going on.

 

Still, it was great fun to visit Joe’s Facebook Page and continue to watch the comments come in. I just couldn’t  help myself.

It’s like when you drive by a traffic accident and think to yourself

I’m not going to look, I will not look, it’s wrong to look

and then you do.

 

Sheriff John Lovick and Joe 'From Washington' State Wilson- that's not...but you KNEW THAT RIGHT?

Sheriff John Lovick and Joe 'From Washington' State Wilson-... that's not...but you KNEW THAT RIGHT?

Here’s the thing- most of the time people don’t pay attention to Judicial races- and they should.

So.

 If this ” Joe Wilson Incident ”  gets people to look at those races from now on that  is not a bad thing.

I just wouldn’t count on it being this much fun.

 

LINKS:

Local Judicial Candidate Joe Wilson Mistaken For Lawmaker Who Yelled “You Lie” At President

I’m Joe Wilson, But Not THAT Joe Wilson!

Joe Wilson controversy shows up in Snohomish County race

THE FACEBOOK PAGE

 

 

 

 

With Obstruction In Their Hearts and Minds

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment

The thing to remember about Health Care Reform is that it IS about real people.

So it’s important to listen to real voices

like Ronnie Rays.

The Ballad of Tony and Sam

by

Ronnie Ray Jenkins

Tony worked, the factory floor; it was fifteen years last week
They cut his job on Friday, now he barely makes ends meet.
Now Tony is a sick, sick, man, without a health care plan,
He prays his kids stay healthy, but the stress is killing him.

Little Sammie… what’s his name… in the house across the street,
Has some kind of cancer, and he’s looking pretty weak.
His mommy has insurance, and pays a high, high, price.
But the coverage is limited; they told her so last night.

They say you rate a nation, by the way it treats it folks
Lately, it’s looking pretty sad.
When men, the likes of Tony, and kids like little Sam,
Are destined for an early grave, across this wealthy land.

So, Sammie went to heaven, and the wealthy doctor sighed,
Little Sammie’s mother stood at the door and cried.
The Senators said what a shame, something should be done
Then they took a nice long recess, and made themselves some fun.

Is there any reason to deny these folks the need
To not fear losing homes, and health
All because of greed.

They say they rate a nation, by the way it treats it folks
And sometimes you just have to wonder why
Would a nation, ever be so great
To stand with empty eyes, with obstruction in their hearts, and minds
To let its people die.

He Didn’t Even Wear A Cape

/ Anita Marie / 6 Comments

hypnosis eyeglasses

I am feeling so cheated right now.

I mean it, I am crushed.

I was promised by some blond woman on FAUX news that President Obama was going to use mind control on kids, that he was going to take away their free will and turn them into mindless drones ( Ha, I’ll be that had Pharmaceutical Companies scared out of their minds ).

I have never been so excited: I thought President Obama was going to pull an Amazing Kreskin…maybe even a Mandrake The Magician on us.

He did not.

He didn’t even wear a cape when he made his speech to the School Kids of  America.

Curses.

Do you hear me?

Curses FAUX News- you big old liars.

From now on stick to promoting Teabagger Parties and that crazy woman who thinks President Obama was born in a mud hut in Kenya.

You’re good at that and nobody is listening to that anyway, it’s not like they pay attention to those reports. After all,  the minute you guys say ” Tea” or “Kenya” people either turn the channel or they start  running around in front of the TV in circles and barking.

I was hoping to see a good Magic Show today.

Instead I am nursing a crushed dream- you know, the one I have always had  invovling having a Magician For President.

Thanks FAUX news….thanks a bunch- why don’t you go and pull a rabbit out of your hat. 

 

 

As The Crow Flies

/ Anita Marie / Leave a comment

So here’s the big news.

Miley Ray Cyrus is safe.

She has a stalker and he’s been caught and he is going to face Felony Charges.

OH THANK YOU GOD THE POP PRINCESS IS SAFE.

That makes one safe kid in the  world.

However, in Puyallup Washington some Middle School Kids are walking down a busy road with no sidewalks because their bus service has been cut.

Somebody made the decision that it was okay for these kids to dodge busy traffic to get to school because- wait for it.

Crows can fly the route.

Woul you let your kid walk this route in the dark to school in the dark at Six in the Morning? I'll bet Miley's Parents wouldn't
Would you let your kid walk this route in the dark to school in the dark at Six in the Morning? I’ll bet Miley’s Parents wouldn’t

That’s right kids get to play Dodge Truck  at six in the morning in the dark because it’s been decided that if a crow can navigatge this route so  can a child.

A human one.

Hey now, this crow thing may sound strange

but

at least Miley Ray Cryus is safe.

 I guess we can feel good about that.

I do wonder though- how did HER parents get that Crow to circle her head?

King Five News Story with video clip of the route  HERE

Pussycat Pussycat

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment
Photo By: Alvimann

Photo By: Alvimann

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?
I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under her chair.

So, in the past week my laptop died, my sister went in for surgery to have a lump removed from her arm (she is a breast cancer survivor ) and in Seattle they are repaving the street- which happens to be my ceiling at work.

I have been listening to pounding, jack hammers and buzzing ( God, where is that sound coming from anyway? Have the streets crews awakened some sleeping demon…Where the HELL is that sound coming from?”)

That repaving has given me a new outlook on a certain issue.

That issue happens to be torture- if you do it somebody needs to send you to jail where you should spend the rest of your days trading cigarettes for you life.

But yesterday I went to my friend’s house for an afternoon that involved Wine Spritzers, a chocolate fountain, Cockles and Clams ( freshly dug that morning ) stories about San Francisco and guys in the Navy ( ahem ).

 I also heard great stories from some newly made friends who are from the local Native Tribes in my area- and those stories were awesome. In addition, I learned that Canoe teams from Hawaii worked on and spent time here, particiaptating in events with the Tribes on all things Canoe right here in Washington State…how cool is that?

They ate seafood together, sang together and spent time on the water together.

How awesome is that?

So sorry no pictures.

Sometimes you have to make the choice, if you are behind the camera you can’t very well be in front of it too- can you?

Besides, I’m writer first and yesterday not only did I feed my brain, I fed my soul

and it was

DE-LICIOUS.

Photo By:Alvimann

Photo By:Alvimann