Trying to Keep Up

Even though I am very proud of Dee and I for this huge leap we are taking, this European traveling thing, I can't help but wish we would have gotten to it much sooner (and I KNOW she does).  Case in point is our Kiwi cousin Libby who is taking her life by the horns and really getting out there.  She is a true adventurer and thank goodness she is sharing it with us and everyone.  I say, good for her, and "you go, girl."   If you'd like to see how one is supposed to travel, look at this http://journals.worldnomads.com/libby-k8/.   Keep it up cuz. 

Becky

From Flanders Fields.

This is somewhat a repeat of what I posted on Facebook, but I wanted to still post it in the Blog.  I don't feel that repeating what I said diminished the thought at all.

This is a World War I poem.  Actually written when there was only one Great War.  Little did the world know that we would not learn from this encounter.  It was written by a field surgeon, John McCrae, and was felt to have been written in his response to the death of a young friend,  Lieutenant Alex Helmer, during the second battle of Ypres.

Poppies had long been associated with this area, as Flanders had long been the site of bloody battles.

In 1855 Lord Macaulay, writing about the site of the Battle of Landen (in modern Belgium, not far from Ypres) in 1693, wrote "The next summer the soil, fertilised by twenty thousand corpses, broke forth into millions of poppies. The traveller who, on the road from Saint Tron to Tirlemont, saw that vast sheet of rich scarlet spreading from Landen to Neerwinden, could hardly help fancying that the figurative prediction of the Hebrew prophet was literally accomplished, that the earth was disclosing her blood, and refusing to cover the slain." (from Wikipedia)

John McCrae died himself, of pneumonia while still on active duty January 28, 1918 and is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission section of Wimereux Cemetery where our two great-uncles are buried. (I have a CD of pictures that a cousin of ours took when he was there, if anyone is interested.)

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below...

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields...

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands, we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields...

When I began thinking about this post, I was going to do a "Military Genealogy" of our family, but since Memorial Day is to honor those who have died in battle, I decided to wait until Veteran's day. 

I did enter a brief paragraph in Italian for my Italian Facebook friends, and I will repeat it here, because I think it is important, but I do not want it to anyway minimize the Great Sacrifice by men and women in battle since the beginning of time.

Per i miei amici su Facebook Italiani: Questo lunedì negli Stati Uniti è un giorno di memoria per tutti i soldati che sono morti in guerra. Credo che sia importante ricordare che ci sono molti tipi di morte, e molti non possono essere sepolti. Dobbiamo anche ricordare quelli che sono morti dentro. E ricordiamo...e ricordiamo....e non dimenticare mai...

For my Italian Facebook friends:  This Monday in the United States is a day of memory for all of the soldiers who have died in war.  I think that it is important to remeiber that there are many types of death, and many can not be buried.  We must also remember those who have died inside. And remember...and remember...and never forget.

Dee

If Pele Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy.

Pele must be ticked about something.  She has been messing with the volcanoes in Iceland again.  No, this isn't Pele, the Brazian soccer player...this is Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes.

Pele, Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes

I first heard about her when I was in the sixth grade in Hawaii.  Mrs. Read, my teacher, who was a Native Hawaiian,  would keep her class under control all week by telling part of a story or legend at the end of each day.  She was a good story-teller and she really brought the legends to life.  You can read more about Pele, and her rather unstable temper here.

It is entirely possible that erupting volcanoes are not covered with trip insurance, however it would be really maddening to have it happen when we are leaving.  If it happens while we are there, well I guess we will just have to live with the problem. :)

A cloud of smoke and ash over the Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland

This is not the same volcano that erupted in April 2010  "resulting in the worst peacetime air travel disruption in history".  This is another one which decided to do its thing yesterday with a repeat performance today.  I am thinking about my facebook friend, Shelly who is leaving for Verona June 1, and now has this to be concerned about.  She has tickets for June 2 and June 3 for a Zucchero concert, and she has been waiting for this for a long time.   So far, just the four international airports in Iceland are closed, and it will be awhile before the effects on the rest of Europe are known, but I hope Mother Nature realizes that we want to see the world, but not from the inside out. And if Pele is involved, maybe a little good Italian pasta, vino and music will sooth her temper long enough for us to at least get there...to heck with coming home.

Dee

And the Award for Best Co-Star in a Motion Picture is......

So what do movies with Johnny Depp, a sixteenth century courtesan, and an abandoned housewife on an adventure have in common? Well, the co-star in each case is Venice.


The first movie is my favorite (to this date) Italian movie "Pane e Tulipani". It is the delightful story of a woman who is trapped in a family that takes her for granted, is accidently left behind at a rest stop while on a family vacation, and decides in a life-changing moment to go to Venice.





The second is a period piece about a real woman who became a famous courtesan in 16th century Venice, and was later accused by the Roman Inquisition of being a witch. She was a "Dangerous Beauty".





Number three is "The Tourist". It has great shots of Venice, and even if it didn't, it has great shots of Johnny Depp, so it doesn't really need Venice, but together they make the movie worth watching. I don't actually remember much of the plot, but again, who cares?





So there is a variety of looks at the city that will be our gateway to Italy. Of all of the adventures depicted in these three movies, I hope our time there shows us the Venice of "Pane e Tulipani", the bridges, the alleys, and the little neighborhood squares. But if we happen to run into JD, well so much the better.

Dee

Blogging from a droid

I have no clue if this works, but I guess I will find out.  I really want to know how to read a blog on here, not write an entry.

Mother's Day: Abbi Cura di Te

I don't know if this song actually works as well for Mother's Day as I think it does, but I love it anyway.




Take Care of Yourself

The white roads
I run in freedom
but one person (is) here
always here
my mother
and the voice with which
she says to me
take care of yourself.

Day after day,
Flight of youth,
you know you accompany me,
only you
my queen
and now that I run away
you say to me
take care of yourself.

The sun knows where it goes
where I will sleep
on the other hand I don't know,
I will work,
I will grow
and I will think of you
this I know for certain.

I, who doesn't count
I, who has nothing
In this heart of mine
I will hold on to you
I pray for what you do not have
to you I also say
"take care of yourself"

The sun knows where it goes.
Where I sleep
On the other hand, I don't know
I will work
I will grow
And I will think of you, this for certain
I know.

(Thanks to Nomadi, with a very very rough translation by me)

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms. And from the Moms, for the Sons and Daughters we worry about "Abbi cura di te".

Happy Mother's Day, Becky.

Dee