where it's at

emily dickenson + phythagorus = future heros

charles

what did you do this weekend

it's hot again the sun is out

And the pavement is hot

At least it has been pouring rain

For the last two days so we aren't being

Scorched at least for now

 

I wrote a story about coming of age

In the Okanogan and of course I thought

It was so great and perfect and then

I read it back later and it seemed hideous

And was in serious need of editing

 

Then I look at it this morning and decided

It was perfect.  It was exactly what I was

Thinking about at that moment.

 

I told Melanie about my day dream the other

Day about recording "I want to be Bobbi's Girl"

And have it performed by a gay punk band and

It would make us a lot of money fast and

Melanie looked at me and said that I had too

Much time on my hands.

 

I have just started to read a book about ancient civilaztions

And their stone monuments and how they dealt with

Death.  The Azstecs seemed to have taken a very

Odd turn in the history of man on earth.

More of that to come some time later.

 

On Saturday I took three baths and stretched all day

Long.  I did Pilates sat in the sun and listened to Saturday

Afternoon on the CBC Radio broadcsting from Toronto.

 

Where do I live?  God I know Kentucky is around here somewhere.

Went to the gym and worked out and swam.  The gym was nearly

Empty except for me and a few Greek businessmen.

 

I came home called my sweetheart Melanie on my new cell phone

Number  charge to the work place phone that I got today in

Ann Arbor and then I found the next great gift to myself a book called the

Music of Phythagoras and as soon as I get smarter again I'm

Going to read it.

 

What Did you do this weekend?

 

who wrote this piece about milna

very good
who wrote this
an expatriate with
nothing to lose
or a poet walking
in the dark searching
for the shinto temple
so he that he could become
the shinto priest gaurding
the shinto gate

charles

Dateline Milna: Saturday, July 24, 2010

'I alone hold the key to
this savage sideshow,'
crowed Art Rimbaud,
little Banty rooster.

I don't know if that was true,
but I do know that
I haven't got a clue.

Smoking a Thompson Co.
Red Label 'everyday smoke'
I descend to the Riva on a warm night,
height of the season,

past the
kukuruz-on-the-cob stand,
and the
a capella Klapa singers harmonizing outside one cafe,
and the
big charter boat of
drunken English
going noisily beserk.

Outside Fjaka,
maybe 8 or 10 Rasta-like
young
sprawl on the asphalt,
pivo, steel drums, and smokes.

Down towards Cafe Vox
a three piece band covers
old Rolling Stones with
an accent.

Motorcycles complete with
thin, thin Croatian girls
streak past
flashing into the night like
that early scene in Rocky Horror,
just before Brad and Janet
arrive at the party-cum- temporal warp.

All the marina slips and sidewalk tables on the Riva are full
and
people flood over into the street.

I find Djani, renting a house in town this season
'cuz his 15 year old daughter, Marina,
gets bored in his quiet place out on Makarac Bay.

We drink a half a liter of pivo or so and discuss
which place would be best to visit in the States
if his wife Jana gets her way and drags him there.

Maybe Las Vegas, we think,
or New York City.

Walking home,
I see a crowd gathered around two thin, thin
Croatian girls
dressed all in black,
who are whirling flames
in the darkness

and somehow this reminds me of
asking
a local
about the changes in the village . . .

O no, he said, no changes. Milna is just the same.

I persist
'what about all the tourists
and the foreigners buying up
all the property and
the old people dying?'

Sure, he replies,

easily
dismissing the thought
as if all this was only
a rattle and flash

before the reality of the
fishermen's
old stone houses,
grouped in silent witness
around the
harbour.

hey,
I'm just a warm season tourist.

what do i know?

Charles Remembers: Young John Farley

It was a hot drowsy Saturday morning in the Okanogan. A small crowd of locals was gathering near the Tonasket outdoor pool because there was
going to be a swimming exhibition that day. It was a word of mouth
event and mostly it was the friends and family of young John
Farley. John could swim as fast as anyone but today's show was to see
how many laps John could swim underwater that morning at the pool.
The pool was actually quite long and the water was clear. It was
uncertain as to how many laps we could expect John to swim underwater
but he was smiling and laughing poolside with all of his friend and
seemed confident he would put on a show.
John's parents were there with his sister Susan. That's where I come
in. I was there with Susan and I loved being with her. She was a smart
aleck, pretty and I just loved spending as much time as I could with
her. Life was easier because any thing Susan did I wanted to do. So
there I was at a 15 year old's swimming exhibition. I was seventeen and
I was far more interested in getting as close as I could to Susan's body
than paying attention to the show.
Susie Q that's what I wanted to call her but she was too smart for
that. She was really intelligent and knew everyone. When I was with
her she was all I thought about. At times I could be distracted but I
was crazy about Susan. Susan made fun of everyone and had a lot of
comments on what made people tick.
There was a big elm tree by the pool and Susan and I stood under it arm
in arm leaning on each other and the tree and looking at the pool. We
had been going out for about a year and being there with Susan was a
thousand times better than showing up at the Tonasket pool unescorted.
John lumbered up on the low dive and went deep underwater like a
dolphin. He started to breaststroke underwater with such grace I leaned
forward to watch him. Both his arms spreading out before him and
pressing backwards to gain speed. First he did one lap and then two
with his arms propelling him faster and faster. After two laps John
pushed off swiftly and before you knew it he had gone three laps. The
people in the crowd were beginning to clap for John and he effortlessly
stretched out and touched the side of the pool for lap number four. I
began to let go of Susan and started to cheer for John as he made it 5
laps. John's mother got excited and she began to cheer. John made it
to a sixth lap and then he had to come up for air with a giant burst.
The crowd was buzzing and John was smiling and laughing and having a
lot of 15-year-old fun.
As everyone was patting John on the back and congratulating him I was
staring at Susan again. I loved to look at her and in that moment and
in that light I saw for the first time how beautiful she was. That was
the day I really fell in love with Susan and wanted to spend the rest of
my life in that 17 year old moment.

Fabulous Footwear in Folklore, Fashion, Fancy, Fad and Fact

So I'm sitting on the Riva, drinking a small beer (malo pivo), thinking
of catching Slavko and re-newing acquaintances, thinking of Chaz and the
strange twist fate brings, thinking about magic and myth and this
springs to mind:

Cinderella
The Red Shoes
The Man with One Brown? Black? Shoe
"kiss the boots of shiny, shiny leather. . ."
Puss 'n' Boots
Jason and the Argonauts and his one sandal
Seven League Boots
Hermes' winged sandals
Diamonds on the Soles of Her shoes
Blue Suede Shoes
Shoes of the Fisherman
Abby (NCIS oth) and her platform heeled tall black vinyl boots
Boots are made for Walking
Boots of Spanish Leather,
and
who could forget,

Das Boot

(ok, just kidding there)

and?????

Bits

Friday – 7/23

No internet except at internet cafe . . .

I went swimming at 5:30 a.m.  Beautiful!  The water was delicious and I was in sole possession of the beach. 

Snafu or politics?  Last night we had two competing musical events in the village within a hundred or so yards . . .ah, meters . . . of each other.  A couple of the local bars had their annual karaoke night, while up by the church a three-piece band from Postira, another village on the island, sang and played powerful rhythmic numbers from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m.  They were great: a six-string uke (just like I long for), a drum set, and a clarinet . . . started and ended with Lou Reed . . .

I see about 4 – 6 new businesses down toward the marina . . . all tourist oriented, of course . .

Ran into my neighbors as soon as I arrived . . . great grandparents, grandparents, parents, a four-year old girl and a 8 month old boy . . . they were immediately off to their secluded property on the other end of the island for a few days (the vineyard adjoining the naturist beach)  but managed to fill me a bottle of the red wine we made last year . . .Ivo was apologetic as to the quality, but I thought he was too sensitive on this . . .  it was wonderful, light and dry . . .

ATM ate my debit card . . . dang!

Julia Writes: Bosnian Lamb Roast

Julia says: "On Sunday Mejra’s dad (Ermis's grandfather)  is roasting a lamb for Cerima and Dzevad’s new baby (they are in the US) but it’s a celebration anyway, so I’ll go to that . . . "

Eason Says . . .

Look at this cool swing me and my dad made.

FWD:

Eason sez, what a life.

or

Wha'chou lookin at?

My Daisies Planted from the Farm this Spring

[Fwd: Mars Mira]

Hi family!

 

Here are some photos and impressions from the march. I’m in Zenica staying with Mejra and Erma and all is well and I trust all is well at home. (It’s hot, but thankfully was not too hot during the march!)

 

About the march:

Dzile (in photo) was an escapee – along with about 5000 others who made it from Srebrenica during the massacre to Tuzla, an area controlled by the Bosnian army. The photo is in front of the house he was born in, also where his father was shot in the head, and where he now lives with his wife and three children.  It was when he was a refugee in Switzerland that he and a Swiss man first had the idea for the march, with the first march being in 2005 (following four previous, small marches in Switzerland).  His mother lives in Tuzla and rarely returns because of the memories.

 

The ‘Mars Mira’ or ‘Peace March’ commemorates the massacre of approximately 8.000 Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995, which was supposedly a UN safe haven being protected by Dutch UN forces.  The entire walk was in the Republika Srbska (sp?), that is, the Serbian half of BiH. The other half of the country is the Federation which consists of mostly Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) and Bosnian Croats.  This is how the country was divided after the war with the Dayton Accord, actually awarding the aggressors, the Bosnian Serbs, with what they wanted and to this day continues to create an impossible situation regarding creating a unified society in the country.

 

The scenery was often breathtaking and always rural or in the forest, 110 kilometers total.  Parts of the march were difficult and on the first day I was not sure I could make it, but after that a rhythm developed and all was fine, although frequently challenging since it was mostly up or down.  Along the way there were several returnee houses offering kafa to marchers – as it turned out, the woman adjusting her sunglasses in the coffee photo was my traveling companion. She is the director of an intern/study abroad program for grad students from Colorado.  The photo of students includes her and Alison (with white scarf), who developed the Bosnian side of the program and arranged transport and accommodations for us. And so we did not stay in the overnight camps, but rather in homes along the way. Alison also helped Peter and I with the quilt project, having formerly worked for Bosfam.

 

There were few Americans on the walk. I met people from Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Switzerland, Holland, Austria, UK, Canada and France, but mostly it was men, many of them young, from Bosnia. 

 

776 ‘bodies’ were buried this year; their remains being identified through DNA (60% of the remains must be identified before they can be buried, and some parts come from more than one grave since the bodies were moved to hide the evidence).  Hatidzah, my friend in Seattle and Abdullah’s wife, the Imam of the Seattle Bosniak community, found her father, brother, and brother-in-law this way, after DNA samples were taken from her and her mother. These are the most remains buried to date, with all victims identified during the year being buried at this annual commemoration. It was also the 15^th anniversary of the massacre.

 

The Prime Minister of Turkey, who has been doing a lot to smooth relations between Serbia and Bosnia, spoke at the memorial ceremony, as was Boris Tadic, the prime minister of Serbia (the parliament of Serbia officially apologized for the genocide recently). But what is important for the Bosniaks is that Ratko Mladic, who was the Bosnian Serb general responsible for this crime, be arrested. It is widely believed that he lives in Serbia.  Radovan Karadzidic, also a Bosnian Serb and who is largely responsible for planning the massacre, is currently on trial in the Hague. Some dignitaries arrived by helicopter. The US ambassador spoke. The Serb Republic sent a small delegation, but they still deny or completely downplay the entire affair. The media reported 50,000 people attended the memorial and I heard varying estimates on how many participated in the march –  one rumor was that 2,500 were officially registered with another 2,500 or so participating but not registered. (You can barely see the column of marchers in the one photo labeled as such.)

 

The walk and ceremony must certainly help the surviving families and Bosniaks in general to have closure, but any reconciliation will take generations. I feel fortunate that I was able to participate in this event – and that it went so well.

 

That’s enough for now – gotta get back to work!!

 

Love and hugs,

Julia/mom

 

ps -  including one last photo taken on the way to the airport!

 

From Niece Brianna: Thank you for your support!

Hello Friends and Family,

I did it!  Thank you all so much for supporting me while I trained for the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon which I completed on June 26th.  Thanks to all of you, WE contributed almost $2000 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society which is helping to accelerate finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma and bring increased hope to the patients and families who are on the front lines of the battle against these blood cancers.  I was amazed by all the wonderful people I met while training.  I heard some incredible stories and hardships from patients and their families who have struggled with this disease.  Our Team in Training chapter raised over $638,000!!

As for race day, I could not have been more pleased to wake up to a typical grey, cool, Seattle sky as it happens to make for ideal running weather.  I started the race off at a slow pace with my incredible running partners, Jill and Celene.  By mile 6 I was feeling warmed up and looking forward to the run ahead of us until we heard someone yell from the side lines "only 20.2 miles to go ladies!".  Not exactly what you want to hear that early in the race.  We just smiled and kept our spirits up.  I felt very fortunate to have so much support along the course from both friends and family.  My parents, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Tony were at mile 11 just after we crossed the I-90 bridge.  My dad even jumped in and ran us into the half way point.  Kevin and his parents were at mile 18 and shortly after at mile 20 I saw my girls Kristin, Mahsa and Colleen.  It was so wonderful to see all their faces and have them cheering us on.  I was able to finish the marathon with a smile and just under my goal of 4:30 hrs. 

For the future, I plan to continue running often.  I've signed up for a half marathon in Bellingham this upcoming September and although I'm not ruling out running another full marathon, I am enjoying my time off from my training schedule.  I hope to run another full marathon in 2011.  Let me know if you want to join me!

Hope you enjoy my photos from race day:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Brianna.Knox/SeattleRockNRollMarathon#

Happy running,
Brianna

Julia Tie-In

Julia just called from Sarajevo.  It was 1 in the morning and she had just arrived by van from the memorial in Srebrenica. She walked 110 kilometers through the mountains of Bosnia: 10 hours a day for  three days!  It was challenging she said but the aches were gone by end of the second day, although her backpack ended up making the journey by truck instead of by back.   Now she can relax a bit, regroup and visit with friends.

Lynne Says: Srebrenica Links

Lynne has been researching the Srebrenica commemorative march that Julia has been on the last 4 days.  Here's a couple of informative links that she has found and shared:

http://www.bim.ba/en/226/10/29348/

http://www.bim.ba/en/226/10/29352/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/10589614.stm

The Claw

So I head down to the farm at 6:30 a.m. to avoid the heat and get the arena primed so Juan can paint it tomorrow and run into town for 10 gallons of red barn paint, drink some chilled tonic, and am feeling pretty good about myself and the morning when I get home at noon to find this in my front yard and the neighbor chewing away at his land - clear cutting the trees - like his life depended on it, as they say.

Well, the upside is that we'll get lots more sun and maybe dry out some of the mossy ground, and also hey!  I planted those three evergreens 20 years ago foreseeing this day come, and are they glorious now or what?

Lori Sez: 4th of July - Fir Island style

I was playing with the settings our camera and took some cool ones of fireworks! it was a bit colder than had hoped but that didn't affect blowing stuff up!!! At least it didn't rain................Everyone was busy watching Phoebe, our niece. She is the same age as Eason to the day. She LOVED the fireworks! The noise didnt faze her at all. She wanted to do it herself! She's gonna be a tough kid, I hope we can outrun her still next year! Hope all is well with everyone . . .

Julia: Bosnia

I arrived last night and got a good night's sleep! Almost all w/o incident - just one teeny baggage challenge that was resolved. Will go for a walk, do some shopping, phone calls, and work today, then off to Tuzla tomorrow. Erma got a scholarship - I'll tell you about it later. It's really great. Ermis and his girlfriend are planning to come to the film festival in Sarajevo...! Love, Julia

Julia at the gate, heading to Iceland, Germany, Croatia, and finally Sarajevo in Bosnia!

Her 70 mile march through the forests and mountains of Bosnia commemorating the victims of Srebrenica and their 1995 Death March begins this Thursday, July 8 and last through Sunday, July 11.

For info click here