Turtle Woman

On rare occasions, I witness something beautiful and wonderous in nature. No, I'm not seeing platypuses again. The otters have not returned, nor the muskrat. Since they turned the big fountain back on in the lake, most of the birds have stayed away.

Yesterday I was working in my office and turned to my printer.  Something drew my attention outside. There on the sloping edge of the yard, a mama turtle was busily laying her eggs in the sparse grass and sandy soil. I watched her for a few minutes, glad I had seen film footage of turtles burying their eggs. Otherwise I don't know what I would think she was doing.

I don't know how many eggs she buried. She was a good-sized creature. Her shell measured probably 14-16 inches in length. Her head and neck extended another 5 inches or so. When I left my office about 20 minutes later, she was still out there doing her job.

In spirituality terms for some Native Americans, the appearance of a turtle in your life or your journeys (or meditations) signifies a pregnancy - nope not me that ship sailed long ago - longevity - or awakening to new possibilities.  I'll be interested to see what comes to pass.

On my last trip to Hawaii on the Big Island I met a kahuna. I learned later this unassuming man was known and revered internationally.  His signed pictures of the Dalai Llama and other spiritual teachers should have clued me in to his prominence.

At any rate, he insisted we stop on our way back from Kona to Hilo at a state park and historic site, Puuhonua O Honaunau, also known as the City of Refuge. In ancient times a warrior or anyone else could seek sanctuary there from his enemies. The refuge was honored by all people. Although it's also where they killed the Englishman who discovered their paradise, Captain Cook - go figure. Maybe they saw the future of their islands, taken over by foreign interests.

Legend said a great turtle ruled over the place. Indeed there is a small pond located back from the shoreline. Occasional bubbles rise to the surface which Hawaiians say is proof the turtle is in the pond.

So my friend and I stopped there late in the afternoon. The sun was already dropping toward the horizon. No one else was there when we arrived. We each went exploring in different areas.

Okay here's the deal, I studied different forms of spirituality - not religion. There are incredible worlds out there which can be reached by certain forms of meditation or since I had shamanic training, journeys. Usually you prepare to journey and state your intent. Once in a while it happens with no preparation - just zip and you're traveling. No I don't take drugs or drink alcohol.

At Puuhonua O Honaunau it happened to me. I met the spiritual turtle who guided me on an incredible experience. It was so incredible I had a really hard time coming down.

Funny thing was I started to chant, which I've been known to do. Wish I'd had my drum, but it didn't make the trip.  The kahuna and I discussed how we made our drums when I met him. He told me he'd always made the drum head out of shark's skin, the traditional way for his people. But he could no longer find anyone willing to go fish for the shark. So he ordered rawhide (cow) from Tandy Leather in Fort Worth. We had a good laugh because that's where I ordered the rawhide for my drum heads. Although I did order elkhide for the best drum I ever made...sorry I digress as usual.

Okay, okay, I was chanting not seeing who or what was around me. The next thing I knew there was a flash right in my eyes which brought me back.

I blinked and saw the sun was just about gone on the horizon. A tourist in polyester had put her camera right in my face, snapped a picture, and scuttled off to her companion saying, "I just got a picture of a real Hawarrian!" She giggled as she jiggled to the parking lot.

Angry at first at the loss of my journey, the connection broke and it was time to leave. I realized later - much later, it was supposed to happen that way.  I certainly didn't want to come back. We were always warned in our classes about being so enthralled we would not want to come back. At the time I was in that spiritual world I wanted to stay. In retrospect, the prospect frightens me.

Luckily my friend was driving. She guided me to the car, opened the door and pushed me inside. I was still very out of it. She insisted on stopping to get some take-out for us.  When she did, she insisted I eat right away.  It's the best way to ground yourself after such an experience. I couldn't tell you exactly what she brought me, only knew it was Asian.

As to what the turtle showed me/told me, that's private. But last night, I hit myself in the head and went "duh!" Seeing the turtle yesterday gained meaning for me.

Sometimes it takes time to work it all out.

Our country has been embroiled in lots of conflict in the last few months - first with the combatting candidates trying to gain the nominations for President; the presumptive nominees - neither of which appeal to some voters - recently we have experienced the horrendous killings in Orlando and the beautiful two-year-old who was dragged to his death by an alligator at a popular theme park.

I've about had it with the news lately - way too much negativity. And one final point I am still in mourning for my late father.

Is it any wonder the turtle showed up for me? I'm glad she did. I will watch over her eggs for her.

Here's a picture of me from a couple of years ago with the elk hide drum I made.

Blessings to you all.

Kristin Painter's wonderful series - Nocturne Falls

Kristin Painter created a town somewhere in Georgia, where everyday is Halloween.  The town is named Nocturne Falls.

So far six full novels and a couple of short works are published. I just finished reading #6, The Shifter Romances the Writer. It's about a human romance writer whose best friend is married to one of the creators of Nocturne Falls.  After a messy break-up, our heroine is persuaded to move to Nocturne Falls.

The only trouble is, this town where everyday is Halloween (their town motto), a tourist trap for people wanting a fun vacation - is filled with and run by real supernaturals.  They work very hard to make sure the tourists never catch on.

There are gargoyles decorating the fountains and patrolling the skies; vampires walking around the streets; a vampire has a sweet shop where she makes delectable candy and incredible cakes and pies. The friendly neighborhood jewelry designer is fae. The bridal shop is run by a powerful witch. A werewolf owns and operates the local biker bar, where the burgers are huge and irresistible, and her brother is the town's sheriff.

This is the one town where the supernaturals can be who they are with regular people none the wiser.  It's a great premise for the series.

There is also a spin-off series, "The Jayne Frost Mysteries." So far, there has been one novel in the series. I'm hoping for many more.  You see Jayne Frost, the daughter of Jack Frost, is an elf with brilliant investigative skills.

Ms. Painter writes an enjoyable book filled with comedy and drama.  The reader comes to care about these beings and their daily struggles.

Check out this terrific series of entertaining and fun novels.

Oh and she posted on Facebook there is now an adult coloring book based on the series. Two bad I can't stay within the lines!

Enjoy.

Until next time...

Platypuses in the Pond

It's been a hard week and it's only Tuesday. First my perception of the name Colin has been forever changed. Prior to last week, the name Colin, held only a vague distaste for me. I used to work with a strange man named Colin. He was sort of a combo preppy and hippie.  (The only hippie I ever knew who wore Italian loafers instead of sandals. Lots of the guys walked barefoot.) Even in the 1970s he stood out from the crowd.

But no, Colin was one of the names on the World Meteorological Assn. list from which the names of storms are given.  These lists repeat every six years. Some of the bad ones, i.e. Katrina, are forever retired.

This time, Colin was a minor blowhard in the form of a minimal tropical storm.

My anticipation was worse than the actual event itself.  Don't you hate it when that happens? Plus, in the past, my plan would have been to retreat to my father's big, well built house with my little dogs. But Dad is no longer with us. His house sold five months ago.

So I faced Colin all alone - not a pleasant prospect. I went out and got a few supplies. Then the day before Colin was due to come to town I moved the plants in my container garden out of harm's way.  The ones on the back patio were moved up by the building out of the wind entirely. There is an overhang covering a good-sized patio.

My precious plumeria plants were transported to my kitchen, along with an orchid cactus.

Nervous and glued to the Weather Channel as Colin huffed and puffed his way toward us, I slept less than usual.  Doesn't make clear thinking, let me tell you. The night before he got here, I didn't sleep more than two hours.  Naturally on THE day, I was a tired grumpy mess of nerves. The last thing I need these days is more stress.

Sigh, it will probably result in my serial killer in my work-in-progress committing one more murder.

We made it through the day and night with our power intact, no trees crashing down on the building, no rains entering my place from the roof or the foundation.

I slept okay last night after I checked the radar to make sure Colin was making a quick exit. But with all the stress, I woke up woozy, read out-of-it, lacking in energy.

Making through the morning, I watched the noon news and saw the damage caused by tornadoes around the area. Then I decided to go out, so I took my dogs outside before I left.

While they were enjoying the sunshine and wandering around in the grass, something drew my attention. Movement as something ran down the bank off to my right, and then jumped in the water. It immediately went under but not very far.  I could still see it just under the surface.

It wasn't too big, maybe twelve to eighteen inches long with a wide body and either flippers or paws. It swam, dog-paddle style.  It had a long snout, though I never got a good enough look at it to really see the face.

I wondered if it could be an otter or a muskrat, both species have been seen in the pond before.  But the long nose didn't look right. We do have cormorants who dive under water, but they don't jump in the water, they fly to the surface and land on top. I thought is it a strangely shaped gator? No, gators slide into the water and swim on the surface trolling for food before going under. Couldn't figure it out.

When I was out on my errand, I realized what it looked like - a platypus!! This is the second time I thought I saw a platypus in that retention pond.

Only problem is, there aren't any in Florida...I checked. I suppose the odd one could have been smuggled in, but they are not native to this continent. They are only indigenous to eastern Australia.

So how could they get here? Would a dingo bring them?!!!

I looked up the reason a platypus would appear to someone as a spirit animal. Okay, yes, I'm weird, but I deal with the world as I see it...Said if the platypus has appeared to you, you enjoy a solitary profession...duh, I write in my private little office, accompanied by Amazon Prime Radio and my two elderly tzus.  It also said I should embrace my weirdness or something to the effect...

The ship has long since sailed on that one, platypus.

I will be putting up a post on Kristin Painter's wonderful series of novels entitled, Nocturne Falls, in a few days.

Take care and avoid blowhards named Colin.

Until next time...

Captain America CIVIL WAR

Well after days of being a dilly dallier, I finally made it to see Captain America Civil War today. Whew what a ride it is...

I expected it to be dark, but it is even darker than I expected in its tone. You see, the Avengers have been called to account for all the damage they caused in the past when "helping" the world populace.  Of course the accusers don't take into consideration that it's usually the bad guys doing most of the damage. Well, the hulk did sort of mess up NYC along with the rampaging aliens in the first Avengers movie. Hydra AND Shield were both responsible for wrecking parts of DC in "Captain America and The Winter Soldier." Then Tony Stark's accidental creation was responsible for destroying a whole Balkan country when the Avengers fought Ultron.

There is the devastation in this new one when they are the targets of well-equipped assassins in Captain America Civil War. Civilians were killed and city blocks were turned to rubble. The king of the African country in which the original devastation occurred was killed in the fray.  His son and heir, played by the versatile Chadwick Boseman, demands justice. He also has a super alter ego known as the Panther.

That does it for the world community. Many countries band together to require the Avengers to register their true identities, places of residence, and to agree not to act independently. They face imprisonment if they step out of line.  The world wants to tell them when to act and when not to. As you can imagine such an idea doesn't sit well with some of the Avengers.

A small number of the Avengers agree to the terms and sign. However, Captain America (arguably the best-known and most popular) does not. Some of the Avengers line up behind him and refuse to sign. So we have two groups of former Avengers fighting against each other with the CIA demanding to know the whereabouts of Thor and the Hulk...good luck finding either of them with Thor off world and David Banner hiding in relative obscurity as long as he keeps his temper.

To add spark to the growing fire, the CIA captures The Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, Captain America's lifelong friend.

Naturally the Cap wants his friend out of custody, but the government refuses. Unfortunately for them the psychiatrist assigned to question Barnes is a fake. He feeds poor Barnes the code words programmed into him and the Winter Soldier is off and running once more.

Half of the former Avengers side with Stark and sign the accords.  The other half side with the Cap and refuse.

For the big cataclysmic battle each group brings in a new person or two.  On the side of Stark (Iron Man), he brings in the teen-aged Spiderman. On the side of the Cap, he brings in Ant Man.  Both Tom Holland as Spiderman and Paul Rudd as Ant Man provide some necessary comic relief.  Spiderman hasn't discovered all his capabilities and flounders occasionally. Ant Man has dry wit and a humorous take on his situation. One of his bits is hysterical. Believe me with all the darkness of the film, watching old friends battle each other, the humor is needed.

There is a final battle in the film which only succeeds in alienating the participants more.

You can bet there will be a sequel, but it may still be very dark. And for those of you are avid fans of the films, don't forget Thanos is out there in space vowing to get rid of the Avengers and subdue the Earth once and for all...

Like all Marvel films this one has another scene after the credits have begun to roll. But this one has a second scene added after all the credits are done. I have to say these are the longest credits I've ever seen on any movie. They ran for about fifteen minutes...but there is another scene at the end which I'm sure leads to yet another film for a single character...

Can't help it, I love the Marvel movies.

Oh and look for Stan Lee, the elder statesman of Marvel comics in another quirky cameo in this one.

Lastly are you Team Iron Man? Or are you Team Captain America? I for one am forever with the Cap.

Take care. For those of us in the southeast it's been a stormy few days. Thankfully I wore a hoodie when I went to the movie today because I walked out into a severe storm and needed the protection!

Enjoy your favorite actors in their latest films. Nothing is like it in our culture.

Until later...

Night Shift, Book 3 in the Midnight Texas trilogy by Charlaine Harris

Sorry, I've been offline for a few days. My computer crashed recently and it took some time to get it scrubbed/cleaned, and new better protection downloaded.

One of my favorite authors, Charlaine Harris, released the latest book in her Midnight Texas series.  This third book is entitled Night Shift and brings back all the strange residents of the tiny Texas town.

I don't want to reveal too much about this book.  It was originally meant to be the third and final book in a trilogy. However, while some of the mysteries & plot lines are resolved in this book, there are others left hanging...I hope for more books about the unresolved characters in the future.

Also, NBC is already in production for a series, entitled "Midnight Texas" due to be a midseason replacement for the fall lineup. If you Google it, you can see pictures of the cast, some of whom appear to be in character costume.

Charlaine Harris known as the writer of the Sookie Stackhouse books (which became the popular HBO series "True Blood"), is also known for several mystery series which the Hallmark Channel has turned into movies. Now, of course Midnight Texas will hit the airwaves.

She is an excellent writer.  Her vivid characters come alive, be they supernatural beings or just plain folks. Ms. Harris possesses knowledge of human (and inhuman) behavior, colored with regional habits, slang, and landscape.

Midnight, Texas is a far cry from Bon Temps, LA. In the Sookie Stackhouse books, the characters negotiated their way through the swamps and backwoods. Midnight, Texas is dry, open plains, if you've ever been to dusty west Texas, you'll recognize it from her books.

Check out the Midnight Texas trilogy. I read them in order but you can do what you like.

P.S. since it's the same universe as the one of which Sookie is a resident, there is a bit of crossover...

Until next time!

Take care.

The Fifth Wave

I wanted to see The Fifth Wave in a movie theater, but time (and other commitments) got away from me, so I put it on my pay-per-view list.

The story is taken by the novel written by Rick Yancey.

The film is somewhat familiar. It reminded me in places of Red Dawn, Battle Los Angeles (the Aaron Eckhart version), and the TNT series Falling Skies. It reminded me of those earlier works in a good way.

It is the story centered on a family in a small northern town. One day, Cassie (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a typical teenager in high school with a huge crush on Ben (Nick Robinson).  Then this strange metal object appears in the sky above them.  It hovers there for days.  It's the only one in the country apparently. The kids keep going to school although there are fewer and fewer students there as families flee the area.

It's only the first wave of the invasion...next thing is an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) used to knock out all power on the planet...yep, no cell phones, TV, cars with electronic components, no running water, no electricity as the power stations are dead and the planes all fall out of the sky...you know the 21st century citizen's worst nightmare.

Okay also in the second wave, something (you don't know what) makes all the water on Earth go ballistic and flood the land masses. There are some good special effects in these scenes. Huge ocean waves first engulf a ritzy resort area which reminds me of South Beach in Miami, and then the action moves on elsewhere.

The third wave comes in the form of a pandemic which wipes out much of the remaining population.

The fourth wave is the actual invasion but it is not what you'd think.

At any rate, Cassie has gone from being your average high school girl to a gun-toting survivalist. She hunts for her younger brother. They were  forcibly separated when the Army (US) marched into the refugee camp and took the children away. Her parents are both dead by this time.

Cassie is determined to find her younger brother, Sam. Along the way, she meets Evan (Alex Roe) (Hunk Alert!) who makes her forget about Ben.

This is an entertaining sci-fi film. Yes, there is some violence.  They are at war, after all. But it is an engaging story.

The cast members make you root for their characters, mostly. Liev Schreiber in the role of an Army Colonel does a great job as a cold officer sending children off to fight.

I won't spoil the story for you. I will say the survivors band together at the end forming a resistance group (like in Red Dawn and Falling Skies). There are a few unresolved issues which may result in a sequel.

It's a tense movie in places, but it is also short, just shy of two hours. I intended to do some other things while the film was on, but it kept my attention, always a good indicator.

If you like the aforementioned films and television series, check out The Fifth Wave.

Okay, warning, warning!!!! Captain America: Civil War opens in four days...I'll post my review when I've seen it.  You know me and the Cap...

Until next time, take care and enjoy our wide and varied pop culture.

Jackie Robinson - a film by Ken Burns

Sorry I haven't been to the movies lately. I've been working on my current novel in progress and dealing with my late father's estate, including the taxes.

I watched Ken Burns' excellent documentary about James Roosevelt Robinson - aka Jackie Robinson - the first half anyway on the night it was originally aired. Then I ended up recording the second part and only watched it this morning.

Let me say as usual Ken Burns delivers a quality product. His documentary is a portrait of a living, breathing human being, not some glorified image of a sports god.

One year older than Mr. Robinson's first born, I have vague memories of him as a player in the major leagues. My father was a huge sports fan and loved baseball. So every Saturday afternoon our big box with the little screen TV would be tuned to baseball games. When Jackie Robinson retired in 1956, I was seven years old.

Ken Burns tells the story of a man, intelligent, athletic powerhouse, who made his way in the world with few apologies.

A tremendous athlete he lettered in four sports in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He quit UCLA after the basketball season of his senior year. His older brother Mark Robinson had been on the US Team at the 1936 Olympics held in Hitler's Germany. Mark finished second in one race behind Jesse Owens, putting two African Americans on the podium at the Olympics for which Hitler declared they would be a celebration of Aryan superiority...uh huh.

Jackie had already broken his older brother's record for the long jump and eyed the Olympics as a goal. However, they were due to be held in 1940 when Europe was at war, thus they were cancelled.

Jackie enlisted in the military and qualified to become an officer, after asserting his rights as a qualified candidate, he was finally allowed to go to officers' candidate school. He passed the course and graduated as a Second Lieutenant.

He met a lovely young woman named Rachel in college. They were together off and on during the war and later during his career with the "Negro League" in baseball. In 1947, when Branch Rickey called Robinson to his office and signed him to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers he asked if Jackie had a girlfriend. On finding he did, Rickey advised him to marry her. So Jackie and Rachel were married and traveled the world of baseball together.

Of course in 1947 racial inequality was literally the law in many places. So the journey was fraught with perils which the young couple faced together. Branch Rickey said years later he knew Jackie Robinson would face many things as the first African-American in major league baseball. That's why he encouraged Robinson to marry Rachel.

Rickey had made a deal with his young player when he signed the shortstop. He told Robinson he must not react negatively to anything or protest any unjust call. Once the young man got in the game, he did as his manager asked. Rachel would often be at the games and hear some of the taunts and insults. When they were home alone, she helped him process through the indignities. Mr. Rickey was a smart guy.

After Robinson's phenomenal success, other major league teams began recruiting great players from the "Negro Leagues." When the other players came to the game, Mr. Rickey removed the restriction from Jackie's behavior during the games. From then on, Jackie spoke his mind like any other player could.

His health failing along with his abilities, Jackie retired in 1956. Mr. Rickey had been ousted from the Dodgers.  His successor was not as impressed with the older Jackie and often kept him on the bench. At the end of the 1956 season, Jackie was traded to another team. He had already accepted a position as a vice-president for Chock Full O' Nuts, a coffee company (precursor to Starbuck's) which had stores literally all over many cities in the northeast. So when he was ordered to report to the new team, he retired from baseball. He got a lot of negative press but weathered the criticism and moved on with his life.

Somehow he made friends with Richard Nixon. The vice-president under President Eisenhower, Nixon was an affable guy with Jackie. (That doesn't sound much like the Nixon I remember...) Jackie supported Nixon for president in 1960 against John F. Kennedy. The civil rights movement was growing. Dr. Martin Luther King was coming to prominence. In a peaceful demonstration somewhere in the deep south - I don't remember if it was Mississippi or Alabama - Dr. King was arrested and sentenced to a chain gang. Knowing what he would face under such conditions, Jackie Robinson asked Nixon to intervene. Nixon refused. Others asked Kennedy, who was not up on the civil rights issues at that time. He turned it over to his attorney brother, Robert Kennedy.  In his brother's name, Robert intervened and got Dr. King released.

Jackie seriously looked at his "friend" and choice for president. A lifelong Republican (it was the party of Lincoln, the Great Emancipator) he began to question his choices. By the time the 1968 election was held and Goldwater's people did all they could to belittle African-American delegates to their convention, going so far as to strip one long time delegate of his credentials and kicking him out - Jackie became a Democrat.

By then the Civil Rights movement had splintered into the historic group and a new, much more militant group which advocated violence. Malcolm X's assassination in February of 1965 had precipitated the more violent groups.

With the Vietnam War going on and many young men being drafted to fight, tensions grew ever higher. Riots broke out in many cities. Jackie Robinson, once seen as a major force for civil rights and equality, was relegated to the background, particularly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.

Jackie's oldest son, Jack Jr., had long been suffering from depression and behavioral issues.  He decided to enlist in the Army and ended up in combat in Vietnam.  He was part of a patrol which was attacked. Two of his friends died beside him. He was wounded trying to drag one of them to safety.

He came back with serious issues and turned to drugs, heavy ones like heroin. He was eventually arrested and was caught with heroin and other drugs at the time. He was imprisoned. During his time, he became involved with a support group which helped people get off the drugs. When he was released, he went to work for the program, helping others to kick their habits.

He and his father reconciled. The family was doing well. The other two Robinson kids were both in college. Rachel had gotten her Masters degree in nursing. Jackie was still involved in civil rights and wrote a column for a NY newspaper. He was also instrumental in helping to form the Freedom Bank which grew to be a successful bank, which opened branches in NYC and beyond.

His oldest son was driving home one night, lost control of his car and crashed into a tree.  He died on impact. Drugs were not involved. It was 1971.

Jackie, Sr. was devastated by the loss of his firstborn. The whole family was. The young man had cleaned up his life and had a bright future, only to lose it all in an instant. Jackie spent a lot of time, as people do, saying "what if I..." as if he could have prevented the accident.

His health, which had been deteriorating for several years due to complications from diabetes and heart disease got even worse. On October 24, 1972, early in the morning, he ran downstairs to the kitchen where Rachel was starting to prepare breakfast, took her in his arms, said "I love you," and collapsed. He was dead by the time help arrived. He was only 53 years old but looked much older.

He had an amazing baseball career, even to the end, he stole home in the last game he ever played. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. He led the way not only for African-Americans to play professional sports, but also Latinos and Asians.

Imagine how lackluster our professional team sports of Baseball, Basketball, and Football would be with only Caucasian players.

Jackie Robinson was much more than a sports hero, he was a good and honest man. He was a tireless worker for equality, even when he was kept in the background as the times changed. He instilled his work ethic in his children and influenced other children by his example.

You know there is a favorite poem of mine "To an Athlete Dying Young" which speaks of an athlete dying while he still had his abilities so he would be remembered at the top of his game with his youthful body which would never age.

Jackie Robinson's life made a mockery of the poem. He was a talented athlete and a good human being, complete with flaws, like we all have.

Thank you, Ken Burns, for bringing this remarkable man back to life.

My favorite bit in the movie? They showed clips of modern teams with all the players wearing number 42, Jackie's number, retired from active play but celebrated once a year when every major league team and every player wears number 42.

Thank you, Mr. Robinson.