Tuesday, February 22

Flowers and Coffee and Even Chocolate...

I admit it. I love cut flowers. You can get them so cheaply at the local grocery store, and because you can get them so cheaply, I often throw a bouquet or two into my grocery cart. If you come to my house, there is usually a bouquet of flowers in a vase on my coffee table.

But then a week ago, the day after Valentines Day in fact, I read an article about flower farms in my local newspaper that I can’t stop thinking about.

There isn’t a the link to his particular editorial on line, but the writer quotes heavily from an online article entitled Valentine’s Day Sweatshops.

I will paraphrase: Did you know that around 70 percent of the 100,000 flower workers are women, and 20 percent are children? These flower workers are exposed to dangerous pesticides, (pesticides that have been long banned in our own country), long hours and poor pay.

So, all this time while I have been enjoying my cut flowers, some child has been exposed to toxins that may have left her permanently disabled.

For the past few week I’ve been researching this. The articles I have found have been heartbreaking. Do your own web search using the key words, flower farms, flower plantations, workers, conditions, and toxins and see what you come up with.

I haven't bought flowers in a week.

But, I’m also finding a bit of good news. Some flowers are being grown on flower cooperatives where the conditions, while not perfect, are at least getting better. Click on: Flower Label program.

That got me thinking about coffee, which is something I did know about, and when possible I try to purchase fair trade coffee. Did you see what I wrote? When possible. When it’s convenient for me. When I’m offered a choice. When I don’t have to go out of my way.

I need to change my thinking.

There’s an interesting article in Sojourners magazine, Java Justice: the difference that Fair Trade Makes.You may have to register, but it’s free.

Even chocolate is not immune. Read this from the Anti-slavery Society. Do we even need an anti-slavery society in 2005? Wasn’t that all decided in the 1800s? Apparently not.

As a mother, would I tolerate my child, or grandchild working in these conditions? Absolutely not. And as a Christian, shouldn't working for human rights issues be a priority? We, of all people should be making a difference. Jesus seems to command it.

He praised the righteous at the last judgment saying that when he was hungry, they fed him. when he was naked they clothed him, visited him when he was in prison, and cared for him when he was sick. Lord, they asked, when did we ever see you hungry? When did we ever visit you? Clothe you? Visit you in prison?

Jesus answered, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.’ That’s in Matthew 25: 31-46 and I’d encourage you to read the whole thing.

A news website that I try to look at on a fairly regular basis is Human Rights Watch. But don’t read it unless you want to come away with a new perspective.

Because I’m a Christian, things like slavery in West Africa, and child labor in south America and dangerous working conditions should matter to me. I pray for a heart like Christ's.
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Thursday, February 17

Three Movies and a Book...

This past week my husband and I rented three movies – all of which were good enough to write about here. Ray, the story of Ray Charles is phenomenal. I still can’t stop thinking about that movie. It reminded me, in many ways, of the movie my husband and I saw many, many years ago now about the life of Billie Holiday. The life of a traveling musician, no matter how rich one becomes – it’s a life spent on the road, a life where the temptations of the road remain the same.

The second one I saw was Cold Mountain. I watched this one alone while my husband was out teaching a boating class one evening. I rented it because I’ve fallen in love with the soundtrack, and decided I should see the movie that goes along with it. The backdrop was the awfulness of the Civil War and a love that creates the hope throughout it.

The third one we watched was Edges of the Lord, like Cold Mountain, a story set during war. It’s WW2 in Poland and a Jewish boy is passed off as a 'Catholic' and gets set off to relatives while his parents are taken away by the Nazis. It shows the brutality of war (I think of the war now in Iraq - it would be no different. The Civil War was no different.), the secret life of children, and a church that tries to have some sort of answer in the midst of things.

Now to the book. I’m just two chapters into The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and already I am becoming drawn into the story of this family in Afghanistan.
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Monday, February 14

Here's looking at you, kid...

On Friday my husband and I went to get-through-the-winter-Valentines-Day party which was also a staff party for his department at the university where he works. And because we had such a great time at the Christmas Gift Exchange everyone decided to have a Valentines gift exchange. Why not? The Valentines gifts had to be either red, white, chocolate or warm.

They were distributed ‘Yankee Swap’ style. (At least it’s called Yankee Swap up here in the cold north.) First off, everybody gets a number. Then, number 1 gets to choose and open up a gift. Number 2 gets to either take Number 1’s gift or choose an wrapped one. If Number 2 takes Number 1’s gift, Number 1 gets to choose and unwrap another gift. Number 3 now has two gifts to choose from, actually 3, if he wants to unwrap a gift. You get the idea, and I’m sure you’ve done this.

After a potluck supper and the gifts, in which my husband and I ended up with a jar of homemade salsa (which satisfied the requirements of being both red and warm) and a heart shaped box of chocolates, we all watched that classic love story, Casablanca.

A number of famous lines have come from that movie, I’m sure you’ll recognize a few of them:

Here’s looking at you, kid.

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world and she walks into mine.

We’ll always have Paris.

I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.

And of course, the song, that the movie made famous, As Time Goes By.

And here's a famous quote that doesn't come from the movie: Play it again, Sam. Never once does Ingrid Bergman say ‘play it again, Sam.' But she does say, 'play it, Sam.'

Now, for a history of this auspicious holiday, click here.

So, today if you want to impress your significant other, why not try a line or two from Casablanca.

Here's looking at you, kid.

Wednesday, February 9

Slogging forward, ever forward...

I am 50,000 words into the first draft of a new novel, which is about halfway. Like most writers, I hate writing first drafts, They are ugly and unwieldy and hideous. It’s not like the birth of a new human being. We have a new grandbaby coming in a month and I’ve seen the ultrasound pictures. God in his creativity can make something beautiful right off the bat.

Not me. Not most writers. I’ve got fingers coming out of heads and four or five arms and no legs and I’m not even sure the thing is going to live and breathe when I get it done. It’s an awful process this grabbing stray thoughts as they ramble through my head and get them down on paper.

All that is to say that first drafts are darn hard. I can find a million reasons not to get to my first draft each day. Doing laundry suddenly becomes so much fun!

But, when that first draft gets down and I know where the story is moving to and how it’s going to end (I still don’t know how this present story is going to end), then I go back to the beginning and the REAL writing begins, the fun part, for me. Suddenly it’s not so hard, because the book, the solid thing of a book is already there. It’s a real thing. Suddenly this thing that had not existed before, now exists. Come to think of it, it is sort of like giving birth. I have figured that it takes me approximately nine months to write a book from start to finish.

I love the revising part. It makes me feel like a writer, an artist. Right now I’m chainsawing my way through, and wood chips are flying everywhere. It's very ugly all around me. But soon, when I get this done, I will take out my chisels and very sharp exacto knives and whittle it into something that lives and breathes and is ready to be born.

On another note, a friend emailed this site for a Trivial Pursuit type board game which looks like great fun. (See all the things I can find to occupy my time when I should get out the chainsaw for the day.)

Wednesday, February 2

Happy Ground Hog Day…

I live in Canada and here in Canada we have four seasons. It’s kind of nice to know that when it’s down in the minus 30 range that in about six months it’ll probably be up in the plus 30 range and that we'll be swimming in the lake which is now covered in ice. (Those are Celsius, btw.We do Celsius here in Canada. Plus 30 is around high 90s)

And today is Ground Hog Day which marks the midway point between winter and spring. When you think about it, all of our holidays are mostly around the changes in seasons. Christmas is around the first day of winter. The first day of spring roughly coincides with Easter. Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year (and celebrated with great gusto in those northern locations where the sun doesn't set), is roughly around our Canada Day (July 1) and US Independence Day (July 4). And the fall equinox is sort of around Thanksgiving.

And then we have our little holidays between holidays, like Ground Hog Day. (And my birthday – which roughly falls between spring and summer - another holiday of great importance.)

I haven’t heard yet whether Wiarton Willie, Canada’s official weather-watching ground hog, has seen his shadow or not today– so I don’t know whether there will be six more weeks of winter. I don’t think so, however. I was out walking today and it was spring like and lovely.

Changing the subject, lately, I’ve been listening without pause to a new CD, the soundtrack from the movie, Cold Mountain. Great music, mournful music, some of it.

Speaking of sounds, here are some of my favorites:

1. The sound of a train at night.
2. The sound of coyotes or wolves howling at night.
3. The sound of boots crunching in the snow.

Have a wonderful Ground Hog Day, and I hope that YOUR Ground Hog doesn't see it's shadow.

Linda

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