i see you. you see me

st louis, senegal. near fishermen's beach.

funny smiles

more toubab dialao children excited by the toubab. how i wish i had more to offer them.

senegalese tea, beach in cassamance, senegal

road - oussouye, cassamance, senegal, w. africa

A Texas Grand Dame Lost

the ranks of remarkable Texas women are smaller now. Lady Bird Johnson was one of the last of a generation that has suffered some terrible losses in the past several years - Ann Richards and Molly Ivans being among the greatest. and like those women she had a way with words (like only a texas woman does). A nursemaid described her as “purty as a lady bird”, giving birth to her nickname. Of that nickname she said “I was a baby and in no position to protest.”

But she also contributed to LBJ’s work. Of her role as first and second lady she said “My role was to be an extra pair of eyes and ears for Lyndon.” She made many trips to explain her husband’s programs like Head Start, the Job Corps and the War on Poverty.

not to mention her trailblazing as a conservationist. her contribution there was all her own and all home-grown. the lady bird wildflower conservation center is lovely if you are ever in the hill country around austin, TX.

we don’t get enough of this sensibility today. certainly not out of our current first lady.

filters OFF!

san antonio, tx - circa 1974. how i love this pic. always have. this is, from left to right, julie (my older sister), david (my cousin and nemesis from day one), sharon (cousin and younger sister of david), ME - peggy. now, i'm not sure why julie is poking david so severely, but i love her dearly for it. look how peaceful and comfortable she is! he clearly deserved it. david and i would have battled to the death had we been allowed...from the moment we entered the playpen together. how can i deny inherent repulsion? and then why not inherent attraction?

oh yeah, and at the time this was my favorite dress. of course the cowboy boots were mandatory. man i loved ruffles but that didn't mean i couldn't wear my boots.

LOOK!

view across big sur at sunset

(Fire)Crack-Ho

happy july 4th americans! this is my first july 4th in my perch over lake merritt. wow! this city really cracks on july 4th. i never quite had this vantage point and i can see berkeley and marin's fireworks as well. all but the biggest of SF's are hidden by downtown oaktown. so after several years of spending july 4th with "those who do not like fireworks", trying to not seek them out, i must finally surrender to the fact that i like fireworks. it's not only the colorful blooms in the sky; it's the near simultaneous eruption of celebration that happens across my community. this is readily evident in the explotions of light and sound across the landscape. when else do you have a "visual map" of people all across an entire region celebrating a holiday? i see south SF, and all the eastbay/northbay "crackers". hours after the first of them started i can still hear them echoing from end-tp-end of oakland. it's moving :).

but then i see a local news-cast interviewing people at a local parade. talk is of the iraq war and supporting our troops. no disrespect to our troops but july 4th is not about iraq. it's about why and how the united states of america became an independent nation. it's about the values we thought were important enough to fight for (throughout time). and we won our independence!!!! so today i think we should consider what the US has fought for thoughout our country's history. and what we can do to see that these standards are being upheld. fight-on!!!

cheers!