Apparently a wicked storm blew through Annapolis on Friday reaking havoc at my friends Ki and George’s place.  This stunning pergola (built by George) is relatively new to their lovely backyard filled with flowers, birdfeeders, birdhouses and a lawn of grass and clover. You know what’s coming…

From Ki’s email:

Our garage is a total loss and my car cannot be driven but is fixable. George’s car only had some dents. BMW is sending me a car to use while mine gets fixed but it has not arrived yet. 

We were without power for three days but people right across the street did not get power back until late Tuesday night. There are still homes here without power.  My wonderful brother came and picked me and my friend Linda and the dogs up on Saturday and took us to his A/C cool house in Oxford, MD! 

It took seven men an entire day with a crane,  giant chain saws and a monster wood chipper to get it removed…. It is still hard for me to look at the back yard since it took out some of my beautiful gardens and our pergola…My bird friends lost a lot of their nest’s!  

This time next week I will be riding in the cool hills of Wyoming with my dearest friend Marty! Then we will plan to rebulid a new garage!! and I can put more gardens in when that is finished…

Always a “silver lining”: It could have been so much worse – it could have been our house and no one was hurt.

What I find most interesting about this chain of events is the conversation Ki and I had when I visited recently.  It was all about what you put out there and your energy and the fact that you merely have to ask for whatever it is you need or want.  It can be a tough idea to digest but Ki is absolutely open to new and healing ideas.  We talked about the vegetable garden not getting enough light because the eco system had changed from a lost tree (I think) in the neighbors yard.  We talked about the garage being full of stuff and they needed to get on that, and what a wonderful potting shed it could be.  We talked about the pergola that was so beautiful but wouldn’t it be nice if it could come a bit further into the yard.

Ki loves her garden and her birds and their wonderful little yard that holds their amazingly simple and loving life together. She put it out there, she got the beginning of her wish.  Silver lining indeed….

Did you realize the significance of those poppies the VFW are always giving away in exchange for a few dollars each Memorial Day?

In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem: 

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Decoration day became Memorial Day in 1868 and was first observed on May 30th 1868.  Moina Michael conceived of the idea of wearing the red poppy on Memorial Day to honor the war dead of our nation. The VFW created the “Buddy Program” in 1922 and continued the practice of selling poppies made by disabled veterans who would be paid for their work to provide some financial assistance.  Moina Michael’s image graced a 3cent stamp in 1948 as tribute to her contibution.

So what has Memorial day become?  After making Memorial Day the third Monday in May, it has become the “unofficial start of summer”, a sale day, a three day holiday of barbeques and shore runs.  It is losing its meaning as a day to honor our war dead.  Not to honor those who served, that would be Veteran’s Day, not to honor all the dead, really?  It is the day we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and yes, for our freedom… to barbeque and shop and bake in the sun. 

In December 2000 the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

There is no more mournful sound then that of Taps, it will stop you in your tracks and bring tears to your eyes no matter how strong you are or how little you know of its origins.  It is a fitting tribute and the very least we can do in the sceme of what these heroes have done for us.

What do we ask of friendship except to be taken for what we pretend to be – and without having to pretend. ~Robert Brault

On the occasions I travel for business my usual dinner consists of soup, salad and a glass of white in my hotel room.  I’m usually catching up on email and completing anything I left hanging from the day.  This time some combination of good weather, good meetings and proximity to my friend Laura led me to send an email, subject: You Around?

Laura and I have close to nothing in common.  We are both women in the car business (enough said) and can both craft quite the snappy email on occasion.  We’ve been sending those emails back and forth for probably eight years?  I don’t even know how long.  On my visits to the dealership where she handles warranty administration there has never been time to sit down for a meal or even have a ten minute conversation.  I think the management of the dealership would switch into a paranoid frenzy if they thought for one minute we were talking about them, which oddly enough we don’t…and perhaps she might find herself in an uncomfortable position if they knew we were friends.

Up until now we’ve been friends through email.  But you know how you know that some people are just your kind of person.  They are genuine and funny and out of the ordinary and if you just had a minute to sit down and hear their story you would be instant old  friends.

So through whatever good fortune we were able to meet for dinner.  As the hours ticked by like minutes we shared our stories and boy we two have very interesting stories. There was not an uncomfortable moment in those hours.   I thoroughly enjoyed our visit and her stories of partner and kids and adventures and talents and how she came to be where she was and the person she’s become all more interesting and genuine than I could have imagined.

I couldn’t be more glad that we have little in common but the car business, we barely touched on cars, because there is so much more richness in the uncommonality  of us.  I think by the time we said goodbye we both realized our friendship was going to be a long and interesting one regardless of how often we see each other.  Love that…glad you were around and thanks for coming to Peabody!