Drawing: Dorothy and Toto

Drawing: Dorothy and Toto. Pencil, 9" x 12" mixed media paper. 

A little personal note: I walk a black terrier-poodle that reminds me of Toto.

In these days I am in my own way praying for the refugees fleeing the extreme violence and poverty of Honduras, El Salvador, and other places in Central America, now also Mexico. I am following the life and death journey of the thousands, including women, children, pregnant women, elders, walking 1,000 and more miles in search of a place to survive and live safely.

I am infinitely grateful for my blessings of basic necessities and safety. I am extremely concerned about current political chaos, governmental dysfunction, and growing disparities and divisiveness. I was reminded only last night by a friend online to step away from the roiling drama and view this period of tragedy, waste, and harm in historical context. That long view, that "there's so much cruelty but so much beauty, too," and making folk art and writing, afford some respite.

In the sequence of time I am journeying toward Dia de los Muertos, 2018 (Day of the Dead), which takes place in Mexico on November 1, 2, 3. I have recently both been met with the news of death and have been remembering people now gone. I have participated in a couple of Festival of the Calaveras events sponsored by Tlalnepantla Arts. I have posted my reminiscences of previous years at Day of the Dead in Mexico and Day of the Dead 2017. And, here you'll find a link to photos from the 2015 Minnesota History Center Day of the Dead celebration.

Finally, here are two excerpts from "Little Gidding," part five of Four Quartets, published in 1942 by T.S. Eliot. Reading the entire poem in an English literature class at the University of Minnesota in 1974 was a privilege I have not forgotten.

We die with the dying:
See, they depart, and we go with them.
We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.

               *  *  *

And the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.