OCT 8, 2022 – MARCH 19, 2023, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Highly recommend this creative historical display in Richmond, VA. (https://vmfa.museum/exhibitions/exhibitions/storied-strings-guitar-american-art/)
This project includes beautiful paintings, photos, and many guitars and musical recordings. Examples include:
Today’s homage haiku: Storied Strings p.2
pretty troubadour
with musical companion
your song sets us free
Attended the VMFA’s Original Exhibition Storied Strings: The Guitar in American Art. VFMA is the very impressive Virginia Museum of Fine Arts based in Richmond, VA. See https://vmfa.museum/pressroom/news/vmfas-original-exhibition-storied-strings-guitar-american-art-opens-october-8/
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States open 365 days a year with free general admission. For additional information, visit www.VMFA.museum.
I will share more in the days to come.
In the meantime, here is today’s haiku: Storied Strings
Pluck, slide or strum it
fingerpick, if you prefer –
music anywhere
Today we recognize someone who believed and practiced making his dreams, and the dreams of others, come true.
“Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Pausch learned he had pancreatic cancer in September 2006. In August 2007, he was given a terminal diagnosis: “three to six months of good health left”. He gave an upbeat lecture titled, “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He co-authored a book of the same name, The Last Lecture, which became a New York Times best-seller.
Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008, aged 47.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch
“Close friend Steve Seabolt, who was with Randy during his final moments noted that his ‘trademark wit and intellect were intact.’ At the end, as Dr. Pausch’s body was clearly failing, Mr. Seabolt said he told his friend, ‘It’s important for you to feel like you can let go. It’s okay.’
Dr. Pausch’s reply: ‘I’ll get back to you on that.’ And those, according to Mr. Seabolt, were the final words of Randy Pausch.” https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/randy-pauschs-last-words/
Today’s haiku: Happy Birthday Randy Pausch
Brick walls inspired you –
sharing your life inspired us –
do the best you can
Four years ago, automaker Subaru and the ASPCA teamed up to establish National Make a Dog’s Day. As the promotors explain:
“Dogs are now an integral part of our lives for most of us. They are among the most popular, misused, and underappreciated pets worldwide. A dog is intelligent, can follow instructions, and will stay loyal until the end. National Make a Dog’s Day is about spending time with our dogs and encouraging people to provide better conditions for all dogs. We must make sure that every dog has a forever home.” https://nationaltoday.com/national-make-a-dogs-day/
“How can you tell if a dog is happy? A high and waggy tail, floppy ears, relaxed body, playfulness, etc., are a few signs that the dog is happy.” Check out https://nationaltoday.com/national-make-a-dogs-day/
Here’s today’s haiku: Make a Dog’s Day
if you have a dog
you already know – if not,
foster one today
Today’s holiday emphasizes the mental health benefits pets can provide to all, especially veterans.
As noted on the Pets for Vets website (https://www.petsforvets.com/)
“He’s more than just a friend. He’s my battle buddy. He’s my left hand. We’re connected by a leash, but it’s really our umbilical cord. He’s sometimes more tuned into me than I’m tuned into me. He knows more about me than I do sometimes. He lets me know what’s going on.”
– Adam
Animals improve their (human companions’) lives in countless, remarkable ways.
Today’s haiku: National Pets for Veterans Day
we all need a friend
find a friend at the shelter
and let them love you
For eleven years now, the National Council of Teachers of English has celebrated a National Day On Writing. In a 2018 position paper, the group updated their definitions of writing, writers and the principles and purposes for writing. For example:
Writers need models and strategies—to find topics, issues, and questions to write about, to revise, to contextualize and connect their piece with others, to give and receive feedback. However, collecting those strategies is not enough; writers need practice not only in choosing a strategy to fit a particular purpose and context, but they also need practice in explaining why they made the choices they did.
See https://ncte.org/statement/teachingcomposition/.
I enjoy the challenge of seventeen-syllable haiku because the structure requires brevity. Someday I will attempt the Six-Word Story format. 🙂
Today’s haiku: On Writing
words, words and more words
often dilute our message –
simply, less is more
Learn more about this holiday at https://nationaltoday.com/national-day-on-writing/
Each Wednesday morning, I walk dogs at Stray Rescue STL in downtown St. Louis, MO. The facility is full and the staff appreciate any volunteer help they receive to provide the dogs exercise, fresh air and TLC while their individual “apartments” are being cleaned.
Here are the five dogs I walked last Wednesday:
Each were a delight to spend time with and would be a wonderful companion dog for a “furever” family.
As I head into the facility this morning, I’m hopeful that one or more may have been adopted in the past week but I know the odds are not in their favor. As much as I’d like to bring them home, we have already adopted four animals and anymore would be too much at this time.
Fortunately, Stray Rescue STL is a no-kill facility so they will continue to receive food, shelter and daily exercise until, someday, a very lucky human will recognize the canine companion that waits for them.
Please consider adopting or fostering a dog from your local shelter.
Today’s haiku: Dog Walking
people come and go
but a dog prefers to stay
with you forever
“A bold, blunt instrument of hatred and violence at the onset of his film career, Peter Boyle recoiled from that repugnant, politically incorrect ‘working class’ image to eventually play gruff, gentler bears and even comedy monsters in a career that lasted four decades.” https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001967/bio
Known most for his roles in the comedy movie Young Frankenstein and the hit TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, Peter Boyle was a delight to watch and a source of laughter for many years.
“Boyle’s death (December 12, 2006) had a tremendous effect on his former co-stars from Everybody Loves Raymond, which had ceased production less than two years before his death. When asked to comment on Boyle’s death, his cast members heaped praise on Boyle. Ray Romano was personally affected by the loss, saying, ‘He gave me great advice, he always made me laugh, and the way he connected with everyone around him amazed me.’ Patricia Heaton stated, ‘Peter was an incredible man who made all of us who had the privilege of working with him aspire to be better actors.’ …
After Boyle died, his widow Loraine Alterman Boyle established the Peter Boyle Memorial Fund in support of the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Boyle
Today’s haiku: Happy Birthday Peter Boyle
We laugh and we cry –
you humbly role modeled while
“Puttin on the Ritz”
Since 1985, October 17 has been celebrated as Black Poetry Day “to honor all the talented African American poets, both past and present. If you’re a literature enthusiast, poet, or writer — no matter your race — you’ll absolutely love Black Poetry Day where you can celebrate black heritage and history. Black Poetry Day is celebrated in commemoration of the birth of the man popularly referred to as the father of African American literature, Jupiter Hammon, the first published black poet in the United States of America.” See https://nationaltoday.com/black-poetry-day/
Famous black poets include Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou and more recently Amanda Gorman, pictured above. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Gorman
Today’s humble haiku: Black Poetry Day
different voices
reveal a loving spectrum
for all to adore
October 16 is Global Cat Day. Formerly known as National Feral Cat Day, the founding organization Alley Cat Allies (https://www.alleycat.org/) established the day in 2001 to promote awareness for saving community cat lives, preventing their harm and encouraging nonlethal neutering of cats before returning them to their chosen freedom. (See https://www.alleycat.org/global-cat-day-is-october-16-take-the-pledge-to-fight-cruelty/)
The picture above is the cat that adopted us one day and accepted food, water and a safe place to sleep in our barn on cold nights. We followed the TNR (Trap – Neuter – Return) protocol with our veterinarian. Otherwise, Buddy would travel the countryside as he pleased.
Today’s haiku is dedicated to Buddy: Global Cat Day
one day you arrived
we enjoyed your company
until you moved on
We’re not sure what happened to Buddy, but we know for a short while we were graced with his presence.
For more information on how you can help feral cats, check out https://www.alleycat.org/about/frequently-asked-questions-faq/
Life Matters 