Isn't it funny...

Mardi Gras Madness

Mardi Gras Madness

By Mary Beth Magee

"T'row me som'pin, mistah!" yells the crowd along the curb,

And the riders throw them something as if they could be heard.

The roar of human masses drowns out single voice or thought.

Only beads, doubloons and trinkets can appease the crowd's onslaught.

As purple, green and golden hues shade everything in sight,

The distant roar of motorcycles nearing sounds so right.

Horses step in rhythm, cadence clopping as they pass.

At a float's approach the crowds surge toward the street, en masse.

Last fling before the austere days of Lent, we celebrate

With parties, food and bright parades to make the grayness wait.

A pretty string of beads to keep, a blazoned cup to hold,

A treasured doubloon to collect become Mardi Gras gold.

At midnight, Carnival will end, like Cinderella's ball

And costumes put away in attics, closets in the hall

Remind us of the fun and laughs we shared with loved ones dear.

And we start counting down the days to Mardi Gras, next year.

Mary Beth Magee

Mary Beth draws on her curiosity and love of research to explore the world around her and write about it. New Orleans native, she now lives in northern CA, by way of Chicagoland. She first saw her name in print as a juvenile book reviewer her hometown paper and hasn't stopped writing since. Her checkered past includes stints as a telephone operator, substitute school teacher, cosmetic sales, home health aide, government contractor, kitchen help in a deli, real estate sales, office manager and corporate trainer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, focusing on adult learning. Over the years, her writings covered news and feature articles, book and movie reviews, training materials, greeting cards, short fiction, poetry, and church bulletins.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Prayers Needed: Tornado Touches Down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Emergency officials say an apparent tornado has caused significant damage in Hattiesburg, Miss., after passing along a main road.  The tornado seems to ha e passed over two of the three places where I lived when I was in Hattiesburg.  I have not been able to find out the extent of the damage.

Forrest County Fire Coordinator Chip Brown says there is major damage in Hattiesburg and Petal, including on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. He couldn't confirm injuries. Thankfully, the tornado hit while many students were away for the Mardi Gras holiday.

He said the damage was still being evaluated, but that the storm passed along a main Hattiesburg thoroughfare.  The people in Hattiesburg and all of my friends there would greatly appreciate it if you would join me in praying for them and that they will be able to recover from this quickly.

Psalms 23

Psalm 23 

King James Bible 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

He leadeth me beside the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; 

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: 

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

Thankfully He is always with us!

Moment of Zen: Good Advice

West Point Story

A beautiful photo of a West Point cadet escorting his boyfriend to a winter formal is making the blogosphere rounds.

The photo appears on the Facebook page of Knights Out, the West Point alumni support group for LGBT soldiers. The men in the photo were not named by the site.

"This, ladies and gentleman, is progress at an Academy in which we can be proud," the caption reads. "A member of the Academy's Spectrum group and his boyfriend at Yearling Winter Weekend last weekend."

As Towleroad points out, Yearlings are technically sophomores.

I'd rather...

...be cuddled with my cat right now instead of at work.  It's a nasty rain day.  One of those days you should just stay in bed, but the world goes on, and I have too much to do this week than be able to sleep.

I've Entered the Modern World...

At least by my students' standards I have.  I got an iPhone.  It's an iPhone 4, but it's still an iPhone.  I've actually had an iPad for over a year thanks to a wonderful friend of mine who gave it to me as a gift, but not an iPhone.  I've had a Blackberry, thus according to my students, I'm "way" behind.  It's really very cool, and so far, I'm enjoying it.  However, don't expect any pics like the one above to show up.  I won't be posting any sexy pics on GWiP (NSFW).

Water

Water

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The water understands

Civilization well;

It wets my foot, but prettily,

It chills my life, but wittily,

It is not disconcerted,

It is not broken-hearted:

Well used, it decketh joy,

Adorneth, doubleth joy:

Ill used, it will destroy,

In perfect time and measure

With a face of golden pleasure

Elegantly destroy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Known in the local literary circle as "The Sage of Concord," Ralph Waldo Emerson became the chief spokesman for Transcendentalism, the American philosophic and literary movement. Centered in New England during the 19th century, Transcendentalism was a reaction against scientific rationalism.

Emerson is one of my favorite Transcendentalist.  Actually, he is probably my favorite.  His essays and poems always make sense to me.  I've always found Thoreau to be a bit nuts, as we're the majority of the Transcendentalists.  I do like Margaret Fuller, but for other reasons.  I also don't completely identify her with the Transcendentalist, she was so much more.  Ralph Waldo Emerson's first book, Nature (1836), is perhaps the best expression of his Transcendentalism, the belief that everything in our world—even a drop of dew—is a microcosm of the universe. His concept of the Over-Soul—a Supreme Mind that every man and woman share—allowed Transcendentalists to disregard external authority and to rely instead on direct experience. "Trust thyself," Emerson's motto, became the code of Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and W. E. Channing. From 1842 to 1844, Emerson edited the Transcendentalist journal, The Dial.

Emerson wrote a poetic prose, ordering his essays by recurring themes and images. His poetry, on the other hand, is often called harsh and didactic. Among Emerson's most well known works are Essays, First and Second Series (1841, 1844). The First Series includes Emerson's famous essay, "Self-Reliance," in which the writer instructs his listener to examine his relationship with Nature and God, and to trust his own judgment above all others.

Emerson's other volumes include Poems (1847), Representative Men, The Conduct of Life (1860), and English Traits (1865). His best-known addresses are The American Scholar (1837) and The Divinity School Address, which he delivered before the graduates of the Harvard Divinity School, shocking Boston's conservative clergymen with his descriptions of the divinity of man and the humanity of Jesus.

Emerson's philosophy is characterized by its reliance on intuition as the only way to comprehend reality, and his concepts owe much to the works of Plotinus, Swedenborg, and Böhme. A believer in the "divine sufficiency of the individual," Emerson was a steady optimist. His refusal to grant the existence of evil caused Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry James, Sr., among others, to doubt his judgment. In spite of their skepticism, Emerson's beliefs are of central importance in the history of American culture.

Sent from my iPad

Potpourri

Like the Jeopardy category, this post can be about anything.  In fact it will probably be about nothing.  I have numerous ways of coming up with posts, such as, hearing something interesting, reading an interesting news story, some piece of research, or something that happens at school.  Sometimes, I just have nothing.  I draw a complete blank. This is one of those times.  I thought about writing about the Super Bowl, but it just turned out to be a disappointment since the 49ers lost.  Then I thought about complaining about how fed up I am with FedEx, since in the last week they have messed up the delivery of two different packages, but I didn't feel like a diatribe about the lack of good customer service anymore.

I came up with nothing in the end. So here is a potpourri post with a great picture from SteveXS's blog (NSFW).