Political Uncorrectness Alert--Cultural Stereotypes Ahead

Every semester we read Jack London's "Love of Life" or rather, this being quite a low-level ESL class, an ESL adaptation of it.

In this story, a gold prospector in the Klondike becomes injured, separated from his sidekick, and lost. He comes very near death--in his exhaustion and confusion, losing all his possessions, his gold, and his tools. He and an old, sick wolf stalk each other for days, each hoping the other will die first. Finally, summoning his last strength, he kills the wolf with his bare hands and sucks the blood to stay alive. Eventually he is rescued by a scientific expedition and cared for on their ship, where he is a bit of a nut case, hoards food and cannot believe he is safe.

For a writing assignment, I always ask the students to imagine this man a year later--where will he be, what will happen to him ("what will have happened to him" being too advanced a verb structure for this class.)

Well, most of the Asian immigrants like to see him safe at home with his family, his health regained and his trauma left behind. But the Mexicans and Central Americans, the male students anyway, say he goes right back to the Klondike to find his lost gold, or to prospect for more.

Maybe gives you a clue what the U.S. Border Patrol is up against ...

Fire Tide

At Candlemas the Fire Tide flows, and this season until the Spring Equinox is called the Time of Change. In this time the God born at Yule grows to manhood, and that mystery of change informs all others. It is a time of great creative power, when all projects of art and making, will and change, are carried forth on their most auspicious tide.

The Essay Contest

Fred Nakamura was a California nisei who did time in a detention center during World War II as a teenager, and from there signed on to fight in Europe as soon as he was old enough.

Many years later, he earmarked a pot of money to sponsor an annual ESL essay contest at my college. Every spring I have worked there, we have held the contest; we decide on a topic, generally something to do with the immigrant experience or education or the American way of life in general, and give out beginning, intermediate and advanced prizes. The winning essays are often moving and original. We have a beautiful awards ceremony in the college theatre, the college newspaper takes pictures, and I often tear up.

This year, there was talk of not holding the contest. Everybody is stressed out, over-extended and exhausted, Fred Nakamura is no longer living, and nobody can think of an uplifting topic.

I volunteered to coordinate it, without the elaborate ceremony that really is what takes most of the work. I do think that if Fred could slog through Manzinar and World War II, we should be able to slog through funding cuts and a recession.

But we're still having trouble with a topic. Probably about the economic mess, since nobody around here can think about anything else. (They just laid off most of the support staff in disabled students' services, for example, which I actually think must be against the law.) But how to continue the tradition of positive thinking that attaches to the event?

The Ebbing Earth Tide

The Earth Tide that flows at Samhain hardens to a standstill, bringing the time of Death when nothing moves. It is time of resignation, when we understand and learn to live with what we cannot change. At that time, a Witch feels the limits of her power. At the Winter Solstice, the Earth Tide ebbs and softens, and the powers of magic return. At this season, it is possible to move and change the hard things--rocks and bones, pain, anger, time. Like cold clay, you can hold the thing in your hand and let your body heat seep into it, working it, working it, continually, even without thinking as your mind moves to other things. Slowly and inevitably it will soften, and begin to yield to your will.

Awakening

The God is an infant just starting to grow, and we must start growing as well, within ourselves.

The Goddess would still seem to be a sleeping Crone who has left us only Her wisdom. What must we do now? Let us use that wisdom.

We must prepare, not only in our minds but in our skills and tools to be used when the time comes.

We must put into our minds what will have to be done in the future and how to do it ...

This is our part: what is to be must first be foreseen, so that when the Goddess and God are ready, we are ready ...

Dyffd ap Tower

Not so happy New Year

Honey the lab went after my piece of kibble. Not like I wanted it at the moment, I'd just got done playing with it, but maybe I might want it later, and anyway it was mine. So I went after her, then everything went black and I was screaming and Mrs. D. was screaming, and we went to two vets and the second one said I was a very lucky little dog. Lucky means that I have to stay in my crate a lot and get medicine rammed down my throat, one kind that tastes of chicken, which is OK, and another kind that tastes of bubble gum, not so much. And my shoulder hurts, hurts, hurts. Mrs. D. asked what's the long-term prognosis and the second vet said usually pretty good, just keep him quiet. Like there's anything much I want to do right now. Mrs. D. seems to be happy about the whole thing for some reason. A couple of people have said maybe I will learn something from the experience, but I don't know what's to learn. It is still my kibble.

Winter Solstice

Greet the Light that is born in Darkness,
Greet the sun that is risen in the sky,
Greet the Lord returned to Earth,
Greet the king who is born to die.

Praise the living, praise the dead,
Praise the grain that makes our bread.

Hail the child newborn this morning,
Hail the turning of the Tide.