tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64928073049401086952024-03-05T12:38:48.613-05:00Judith MercadoJudith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-32836429536527174732020-05-14T14:17:00.000-04:002020-05-14T14:21:57.354-04:00The Long Haul Begins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjt0ASLZwspK0E3dwWj_RrIYlaG3Z5oEnoTy5_ycdsx1LMc46rtWsX4L6Jd02Ogx9MlWJb71vBXz1JuBNsNcqE1EXvX3Lz-X7SdvVNGlrljac6N7L-IPkcVjCTG2HKw901JyOpVjf1OKX/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="568" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjt0ASLZwspK0E3dwWj_RrIYlaG3Z5oEnoTy5_ycdsx1LMc46rtWsX4L6Jd02Ogx9MlWJb71vBXz1JuBNsNcqE1EXvX3Lz-X7SdvVNGlrljac6N7L-IPkcVjCTG2HKw901JyOpVjf1OKX/s320/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pandemic effects</span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">lingering intractably</span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">reframe normalcy</span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Once
contagion stays,</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">resilience
frays at last.</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The long
haul begins.</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Self-doubt
will persist,</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">fostered by
this epic plague’s</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">ominous
death toll.</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">What
strength can be mined?</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Will one’s
foundational truths</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">aid forward
movement?</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">As firm
counterweight,</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">honest
doubt hovers throughout</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">existential
angst.</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">How best to
resist?</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Premature
surrender tempts</span><o:p></o:p><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">even the
strong-willed.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-33827087092073892292020-05-07T13:13:00.000-04:002020-05-14T14:22:51.853-04:00At a Crossroads?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3LidMsVptIzl2m1wv7r6uhrZXiWuqoenivYc4pGyNMP-cH27NmBiI65j7xxi6pl1kpGoVDpLu4JLr0sUQScG9vg9GIRQodeNY9_dpY6ETOxrO6N9MJEnxmKZmforCGv5l2CvE5BpiGS/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="568" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3LidMsVptIzl2m1wv7r6uhrZXiWuqoenivYc4pGyNMP-cH27NmBiI65j7xxi6pl1kpGoVDpLu4JLr0sUQScG9vg9GIRQodeNY9_dpY6ETOxrO6N9MJEnxmKZmforCGv5l2CvE5BpiGS/s320/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Job
and structure loss,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">worsened
by vast disruptions</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">frays
stability.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stripped
of jobs and means,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">workers
crave restoration</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">of
earning power.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
survive and grow.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">firms
strive for financial strength,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">light-touch
oversight.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Product
shortages</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">disrupt
supplies and pricing,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">needing
correction.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Essential
worker</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">income
inequality </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">tests
priorities.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Poverty's
role in</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">survival
disparities</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">challenges
fairness.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still
stunned consumers</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">staggering
from brutal loss,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">refrain
from spending.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Healthcare
providers</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">seared
by unrelenting stress</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">step
back to restore.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
economy,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">missing
strong participants,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">fails
to reopen.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Civic
leaders caught</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">by
a partisan divide</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">strain
at consensus.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stressed
social contract</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">invites
appraisal to gain</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">a
broad renewal.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfolding
events</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">mired
in deep uncertainty,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="ydpe16bcdaemsonormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">straddle
fear and hope.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-12111468117357074262020-04-18T09:40:00.000-04:002020-05-14T14:36:13.573-04:00 Competing Expectations of Stay-in-Place<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMB6P1oQPPgAjJaY-VnVRNi_1A5a2OQkSbEF11UydlZNco3HIRrR1MU2nm3I3QNFQKA4WOucjmngMurEChaNfJyEEeeYMZzPPBktXnxnvLGhz7meZMvt1fIhYX_66mM6e9aqLsdvkHJ_Q1/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="568" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMB6P1oQPPgAjJaY-VnVRNi_1A5a2OQkSbEF11UydlZNco3HIRrR1MU2nm3I3QNFQKA4WOucjmngMurEChaNfJyEEeeYMZzPPBktXnxnvLGhz7meZMvt1fIhYX_66mM6e9aqLsdvkHJ_Q1/s320/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have all this time</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">crying to be productive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or we could just chill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In recovery<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from a traumatic event,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">downtime may be key.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Covid’s lockdown could<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">qualify as a trauma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to normal living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Disrupted routines,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">death tolls, lost jobs, displaced
kids<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">call for adjustment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feeling unsettled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">can overwhelm simple tasks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">into inaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Public service plus<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">family obligations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">may take precedence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Otherwise let us<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tone down grand expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We need time to mend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-12270230328772047922020-04-13T10:57:00.000-04:002020-04-15T14:26:13.225-04:00Together in This Live Experiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UwC01M2x5dBdiYEaRWpqmlBna8YCIqhYcqpd9fzWN6LH0J8kfJuX68Pb5_x2dXYwhlvEvO9KrPCN8bwDmpO5MZofbsu6UoISPenrTNv6fxbGlso0_TDzDtZHiWh9ZKSFSoc3Xxk6idHA/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="568" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UwC01M2x5dBdiYEaRWpqmlBna8YCIqhYcqpd9fzWN6LH0J8kfJuX68Pb5_x2dXYwhlvEvO9KrPCN8bwDmpO5MZofbsu6UoISPenrTNv6fxbGlso0_TDzDtZHiWh9ZKSFSoc3Xxk6idHA/s320/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Unprecedented</b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>magnitude
of disruption <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>hides
cloaked in unknowns. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Uncertainty
rules.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Dense
fog conceals the guideposts<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>aiding
direction.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Trapped
unwillingly<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>in
this live experiment,<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>we
adapt to live.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Survival
coded<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>into
humanity’s drive<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>favors
the fittest.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A
growing number<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>strained
by struggles to endure<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>likely
still need help.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Wisdom
may elude <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>leaders
caught in these shock waves<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>of
deep upheaval.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>We
the people though<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>can
embrace the best within<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>and rise up in strength.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>For
the greater good,<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>kindness,
mercy, and giving<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>could rise to the fore.</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-57778921271352342702020-04-09T14:15:00.000-04:002020-04-12T09:14:47.286-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-PAattdL1kC3bPF-VJOhkpScU9Jqpx9UuaN_D8dAqQ5snNanoqf-9VcVAxiG_LxHWwTbdWIDJpQaQFClvAGJjXj5W1ozqASMm1HvtwinNLip6Ch-qb39nmXDkmxW3d630kWWhWQQhKsz/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="568" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-PAattdL1kC3bPF-VJOhkpScU9Jqpx9UuaN_D8dAqQ5snNanoqf-9VcVAxiG_LxHWwTbdWIDJpQaQFClvAGJjXj5W1ozqASMm1HvtwinNLip6Ch-qb39nmXDkmxW3d630kWWhWQQhKsz/s320/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Facing My Fears</b></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">As I contemplate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">this fierce global pandemic, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">questions need answers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Will I get Covid?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Or could it slay a loved one?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Vulnerable state.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Though lacking symptoms,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">have I been struck already</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">but do not yet know?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Without full testing,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">with whom can I meet safely?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Am I locked in fear?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Will this ordeal end?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When and at what cost to all</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">life as we knew it?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">History suggests</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">we will move on from this scourge,</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">but at a steep cost.</span></div>
<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-86852853626885144082020-03-31T14:53:00.000-04:002020-04-07T09:26:37.114-04:00Musings While in Isolation<div style="text-align: center;">
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<img border="0" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qDCJs-FiJx_S-EKwo48PrXOy0vTIkqXc-ONt7FoZgIRQHKlRj8IoT1kDnZ4DInEax4TPfAbIYaqAnKdulwY3IexoUac5RylZtQPpyc8Amd2CAwFgc7TlB84V_aRxNjyE30TdI4F0uqZt/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" width="320" /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So how am I
spending my time while in coronavirus isolation? I write haiku-influenced poetry. I will keep adding more as new thoughts arise. Stay safe, all.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.....</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>World in Lockdown</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Abruptly becalmed,</b></span></span></div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;">routine
rushing and striving.</span></span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The eerie silence.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Cohabitation<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>thrust upon the unwilling.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>An uneasy fix.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Financial levers<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>clanking in a spin cycle.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Threatened livelihoods.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Stark trajectory<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>alarming even the brave.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Menacing unknowns.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Praising the helpers:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">food, health, mail, money, civic.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ydp2dc19e41msonormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Together we rise.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.....</span><br />
<h4 style="margin: 0in;">
<div style="font-weight: 400; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>The Unfathomable?</b></span></div>
</h4>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><b> </b></o:p></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This
I fear deeply:</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>an
unchecked unraveling of<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>the
social order.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Could
the worst happen?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Breakdowns
of support systems<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>portend
more hardship.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In
uncertain times,<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>despots
and demagogues ply<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>their
flawed solutions.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Group
collective strength<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>may
prevail for good or for bad<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Which
do we choose now?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>May
current choices <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>aid
what’s good for the many<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>and
not just a few.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.....</span><br />
<h4 style="margin: 0in;">
<div style="font-weight: 400; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Front Line Heroes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</h4>
<h4 style="margin: 0in;">
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many
come forward,</b></h4>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>risking
themselves to sustain<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>strangers
and loved ones.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Their
list now includes<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>doctors,
nurses, ship captains, <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>paramedics too.</b></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Present also are<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>store clerks and m</b><b>ail carriers.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Truckers contribute.</b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Civic,
finance, tech,</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>media,
spiritual</b></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>join with researchers.</b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Such heroes declare</b></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>selfless giving still exists.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Goodness can prevail.</b></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: 700;">.....</span></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-40248506677010729642015-02-03T00:01:00.000-05:002020-03-31T17:24:46.777-04:00Making My Heart Sing - Is Writing for the Sake of Writing Enough?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqulFhe1_IMbLPoVH2JT4lasKu614CxNep6P2YdjaVrV8yVAFotL2eJxGNFOwfSZLqTMNKhGhCymxKsz_vtv1hbIr9pt0mXrNy_OkHfYCotlr65N8h6WWXrehHRYFGsMrCujz3ZwEDcz4g/s1600/Angelica's+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qDCJs-FiJx_S-EKwo48PrXOy0vTIkqXc-ONt7FoZgIRQHKlRj8IoT1kDnZ4DInEax4TPfAbIYaqAnKdulwY3IexoUac5RylZtQPpyc8Amd2CAwFgc7TlB84V_aRxNjyE30TdI4F0uqZt/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qDCJs-FiJx_S-EKwo48PrXOy0vTIkqXc-ONt7FoZgIRQHKlRj8IoT1kDnZ4DInEax4TPfAbIYaqAnKdulwY3IexoUac5RylZtQPpyc8Amd2CAwFgc7TlB84V_aRxNjyE30TdI4F0uqZt/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is honest talk.</span><br />
<div style="background: white;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I feel pressure to promote my written work.
Absent intense and focused promotion, unless I catch a lucky break, my work
will likely exist mostly as files saved on a computer.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">But, you want to know the truth? My heart is
not in the marketing of my work.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I know I am not the only writer who feels this
way. Yet, many still go to valiant lengths to ensure that, at the very least,
somebody "out there" notices their work. This is arguably easier to
do now with the advent of the internet. Further, with the ease of self
publication, creating a "finished" work for someone to notice is less
challenging.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Still, good marketing is a somewhat different
skill than that of creating</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">a well-written novel. Good marketing can<span style="background: white;"> also be as intense and time consuming as
was developing the product now seeking sales and recognition. It may intrude on
the ability to embark on new writing projects. If one does not have unlimited
time, one inevitably will have to choose how to allocate efforts.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Here is what I have finally allowed myself to
admit. I write to give expression to the quiet voice I hear within. Hustling my
work does not make my heart sing. If the work sells, great, but, if it does
not, it is not the end of the world. Of course, I say this having the luxury of
knowing that my next meal does not depend on receiving a royalty check. If it
did, I would just have to suck it up and do as good a marketing job as I
could. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Absent that necessity, though, is it okay to
choose to keep my quiet inner voice sheltered from the buffeting winds of the
commercial world? Would I gain sufficient satisfaction from only challenging
myself to create the best work I can? And then doing it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Unavoidably, I must ask how, without exposing
my work to the world, I can possibly know it is truly good. The allure of
getting published and doing so successfully is, after all, not just about the
money. It is also about getting validation from readers, from the literary community,
and from my own circle of family and friends. Not only do these individuals
provide standards of excellence for me to meet, but all of them might see
publication and receiving awards as affirmation of the value of my work. But,
do I need their validation for me to feel worthy?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I also recognize that options exist for me to
assign the marketing of my work to others. I don't have agents or publishers
lined up waiting to take me on, but I could allocate some of their traditional
roles to others. Editors and cover artists, for example, are available for
hire. Of course, beyond how I might feel about undertaking such a multi-pronged
effort, it costs money to hire these individuals. And, while I am not starving,
I am also not wealthy. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Aside from the money issue, then, is my
arriving at this point in my literary life simply an acknowledgement, indeed
admission, of my failure to win the coveted brass ring of publishing success?
Or is it that I am not hungry enough for what literary success might provide
me? Because, s<span style="background: white;">urely, it is not hard work I
shirk. You don't complete five novels and publish numerous short
stories as well as a poetry collection if you are incapable of hard
work.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Still, how do I distinguish between walking
away because I did not succeed versus a deliberate choice to walk away because
my strengths are ill served?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 10.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">The answer must lie in whether I feel peace of
mind about my decision. In the end, it is a matter of how I choose to spend my
life. If I'm going to work hard, I want it to be doing something which honors
my authentic self. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Yet, why do I bother
writing stories if no one might ever read them? I do it because writing introduces me
to wonderful characters whose joys and sorrows I feel deeply and who become
life-long friends. Writing helps me answer the questions I ask of those
characters at the start of each story. In resolving those questions, I too grow
as a person. In the process, I also enjoy the craft of figuring out the best way to
depict how characters grapple with conflict and seek resolution. I rarely know
how things are going to turn out when I first start writing. So each new page I
write is like turning the page of a good book I just discovered.
Ultimately, <span style="background: white;">I write the book I want to
read.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">It is possible, even likely, that I may revisit more than once the issue of
where to focus my literary efforts. I may even ask myself whether all of the
above is just a fancily explained excuse for throwing in the towel.<br />
<br />
Perhaps. But, now, with a profound sense of relief, I turn without guilt to focus
primarily on what I love to do most, which is writing. I do that prepared to
experience the consequences of my choice. I will write, though, without the
monkey on my back to make a "success" of my writing. I will write to
make my heart sing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><b>***</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Post Script:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">A very wise friend read this post and challenged me to make sure I was being honest with myself about my motivation for taking a leave from promotion. His challenge was: if he gave me an interest-free loan to be repaid out of future royalties and, absent royalties, my re-payment obligation would cease, would I still embark on a promotion-free leave? His loan would be targeted specifically to enable me to hire the professionals who might shepherd my work to commercial status. Would I still, given his offer, elect to take a leave and focus primarily on the creative side of my writing, what I had called "making my heart sing"?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I thought long and hard about his generous offer. As my friend intended, it made my decision a pure play about whether it was the creative impulse or the financial factor which was driving my choice.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">I decided I still wanted to take a leave to focus on my writing. That doesn't mean that, someday, I won't reconsider. In the meantime, though, I will be responding to a strong hunger to write for the sake of writing, free from commercial considerations. I want to embrace again the energy which allows me to develop to its fullest potential my unique perspective as revealed through my writing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">How this will play out, I don't know precisely. But, it is reassuring to have confirmed for myself that this is a thoroughly deliberate decision on my part. It is also reassuring that, if I change my mind about engaging in the commercialization of my work, it is a decision not hemmed in by financial limitations. Like a new story about to be written, I have the opening circumstances and players, the conflict, and the elements involved in the resolution of that conflict. The denouement, right now unknown to me, will reveal itself in time. In effect, I am reading my own life's book.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-53695825729049289272014-11-04T00:01:00.000-05:002015-01-07T20:39:24.821-05:00Dona Nobis Pacem<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwNuJiH5h1xFL6XVpsGW8J84ItduLYj3T_xVjgqfPBW8VTRc3nLD0ch3Dm-BjJwRSLS4nwSUP-zunHjarAXy97nZ1Ms3b78bXex9wE9BpLOd4jUaQzckIeJjhAl4wZSk2Q1FBb8v3jzgG/s1600/peacebloggerlogo5mimilenoxblog4peace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwNuJiH5h1xFL6XVpsGW8J84ItduLYj3T_xVjgqfPBW8VTRc3nLD0ch3Dm-BjJwRSLS4nwSUP-zunHjarAXy97nZ1Ms3b78bXex9wE9BpLOd4jUaQzckIeJjhAl4wZSk2Q1FBb8v3jzgG/s1600/peacebloggerlogo5mimilenoxblog4peace.jpg" height="144" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
On this day in which <a href="http://peaceglobegallery.blogspot.com/p/what-we-do.html">bloggers</a> world-wide blog for peace, I ask…
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Who can rest easy<br />
accepting war's lasting costs?<br />
The lives it destroys?<br />
<br />
What does peace mean for<br />
the prisoner in her cell?<br />
The war refugee?<br />
<br />
When can peace lighten<br />
a work-weary parent's toil<br />
to feed his loved ones?<br />
<br />
Where can the ruler<br />
meet the outstretched hands yearning<br />
for true equity?<br />
<br />
How do we create<br />
a language common to the<br />
criminal and saint?<br />
<br />
Why do we allow<br />
artificial barriers<br />
to mar connection?<br />
<br />
May peace be with us<br />
across national borders<br />
and private strivings.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
The international Blog4Peace movement was inspired by <a href="http://peaceglobegallery.blogspot.com/p/what-we-do.html">Mimi</a> who requested that we title our posts Donna Nobis Pacem, Latin for Grant Us Peace.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-79072718843921409102014-04-09T00:01:00.000-04:002014-04-09T12:46:07.684-04:00A Voice for the Voiceless <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four years ago, I wrote a post which, to my surprise, became one of this blog's most enduringly popular posts. That post had discussed Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of Kafka's classic novella <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka/Metamorphosis">The Metamorphosis</a>.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>In my post, I called Samsa the Voice of Disability. <o:p></o:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because the post kept appearing
daily<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in my Feedjit feed, I
finally decided to re-read it. I found the post to be timeless in its
demonstration of how literature can be a voice for the voiceless. Kafka's
Gregor Samsa had suddenly found himself without a voice. Yet Kafka gave Samsa a
voice so clear, the novella <i>The Metamorphosis</i> became a classic in literature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am reposting my original
entry, which was part of my <i>A Hero's Journey</i> series. Here it is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A Hero's Journey: Kafka's Gregor Samsa as the Voice of Disability</b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Franz
Kafka, <em>The Metamorphosis</em><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again, I use a fictional
character to help depict heroism. But a man turned insect, you say? Where is
the heroism in that? Before I am accused of trivializing disability, let me
share that three generations of disabling illness in my family have sensitized
me to the very real challenges faced with severe disability. </span><em style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Metamorphosis</em><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, once
past the fantastical element, is one of the best depictions I have ever read
about the challenges, consequences, and ultimately the heroism associated with
disability, both for the individual sufferer and for his caregiving family.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I read the story, I kept
wondering how Kafka was able to capture so poignantly the dilemma of a disabled
person and his family. Indeed, no analysis I have come across has honed in on
Gregor Samsa as a symbol of disability. Then I found out that Kafka had
suffered from tuberculosis, requiring frequent stays in sanitariums, extended
support and caretaking by his family, until he died from complications of the
illness. I realized then that Kafka had lived the limitations and ostracism associated
with disability, an experience he transmuted into that of a man imprisoned in
an insect body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A brief recap of </span><em style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Metamorphosis</em><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: The
secure if unexciting life of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, is completely
overturned when he awakes transformed into a gigantic insect. His parents and
sister, who have depended on him economically, are also thrown into a turmoil
over how to integrate this new reality. Though everyone sees him as a
terrifying insect, Gregor inside still feels and thinks like a normal person
and is heartbroken when others can’t see that. Eventually, after being shunned
and attacked by his family, strangers, and a work colleague, Gregor succumbs to
a fatal wound and dies, whereupon his family thrives financially and socially.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trajectory of Gregor and his
family is reprised daily all over the world in families living with disability.
Many a disabled former head of household exhibits a similar selfless concern
for his family. Gregor internalizes his emotional and physical pain while
attempting outwardly to guide his family in their new reality. Many a family
starts out with the best intentions only to be overwhelmed by the demands
imposed on them. Gregor's family, undergoing its own grief and also burdened
with caregiving, initially attempts to act honorably, only to be overcome with
impatience and disdain.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately, though, the tragedy
is uniquely Gregor’s. He is the one suffering the limited mobility and
inability to speak, the rejection, his diminished status, and his having become
a burden to those who loved him. Like so many struck with disability, he
carries on with the quiet courage that is his most heroic quality. His
trajectory begins with a plaintive “What has happened to me?” and progresses
through the classic stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and
acceptance. It ends sadly with the realization that “The decision that he must
disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister.” He dies
not long after.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gregor Samsa’s story, of course,
has wider applicability than the compelling one of disability. Vladimir Nabokov
has said about this story, “Kafka’s private nightmare was that the central
human character belongs to the same private fantastic world as the inhuman
characters around him but pathetically and tragically he attempts to struggle
out of that world into the world of humans and dies in despair.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I focus on Gregor Samsa’s life
here, though, to highlight the quiet courage and heroism of people whose
ordinary lives are made extraordinary by the tragedy of disability. Often, as
in Gregor’s case, that tragedy is transmuted into heroism. Sometimes, as in the
case of the Samsa family, it manifests as craven rejection and selfishness.
Kafka’s genius is that he was able to communicate all this through a story
about a man-turned-insect.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The complete </span><em style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Hero's Journey</em><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> series </span><a href="http://judithmercadoauthor.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20Hero%27s%20Journey" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">here</span></strong></a></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-85076611678005788762014-03-12T00:01:00.000-04:002014-03-13T23:42:51.417-04:00We Speak Bilingual - Hablamos Bilingüe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In
English</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Recently, my cousin posted a Facebook link to
the 1940 U.S. Census report, featuring our grandparents and parents then living
in Puerto Rico. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The response from the
generation which followed them was remarkable because of the language in which each
person chose to comment. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />The thread started in Spanish. That cousin grew up in the Dominican
Republic. I responded in Spanish. In my childhood, that was the only language
we spoke at home, though we lived near Chicago. </span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
Then, another of my cousins responded in English, noting that she could read
and understand everything written in Spanish, but she felt most comfortable
writing in English.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
The thread became only English for a while. Then the original commenter said
her situation was exactly the reverse. She could understand everything written
in English, but felt most comfortable writing in Spanish.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
From that point forward, the thread went back and forth between Spanish and
English. I wrote in both languages, depending on which seemed best for
expressing what I wanted to say.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
In so doing, I represent another variant, someone with a large facility in both
languages. I did not speak English until I attended primary school. From that
moment on, I lived parallel lives in which, at home and in church, I only
spoke Spanish; at school, only English. All of my formal education was
conducted in English.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
At home, however, I was receiving another education, which despite being
less formal was equally intensive. I was involved in classes dedicated to
biblical study. I also participated in daily religious services. In addition, my
father, who was a poet and a minister, maintained a library containing Hispanic
literature, works that my classes in English </span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">largely ignored</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background: white;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Despite this rich orientation in both languages, however, I
have to admit that, due to my residence in the United States, English is the
language in which I feel more capable and comfortable. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
In our Facebook discussion, not all of my cousins shared my ease with both
languages. Nevertheless, regardless of the language used, we all understood
each other. The connection felt real.</span><br />
<br />
Is this flexible language capability representative only of a transitional
generation among Latinos living in the US? Will the next generation use and understand only one
language? What will that mean culturally for Latinos? How will our literature,
our politics, <span style="background: white;">our view of the world be
affected?</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
</span></span><span lang="ES" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">No sé, and I don’t know.</span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">En Español</span></b><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
Recientemente, mi prima publicó un link en Facebook, un enlace con el censo del
1940, en el cual figuraban nuestros abuelos y tíos. <span lang="ES" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Las respuestas de la
generación siguiente fueron notables por el idioma en el que cada persona
decidió comentar</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">El hilo de la conversación comenzó en
español. Esa prima se crió en la República Dominicana. Yo respondí en
español. En mi niñez, era el único idioma que hablábamos en casa, a pesar de
que vivíamos cerca de Chicago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Luego, otra de mis primas respondió en
inglés, explicando que podía leer y comprender todo lo escrito
en español, pero que se sentía más cómoda escribiendo en inglés.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Seguimos en inglés por un rato. Entonces, la
comentarista original dijo que su situación era exactamente la contraria.
Podía entender todo lo escrito en inglés, pero se sentía más cómoda escribiendo
en español.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">De ahí en adelante, le dimos ida y vuelta entre
el español y el inglés. Yo escribí en ambos idiomas, dependiendo de cuál me
parecía mejor para expresar lo que quería decir. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Al hacerlo, yo represento a otra variante,
alguien con una amplia facilidad en los dos idiomas. No </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="ES-PR" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">hablé </span>inglés </span><span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">hasta que asistí a la escuela primaria. A partir de
ese momento, viví vidas paralelas en las que, en casa, sólo hablaba español; en la
escuela, sólo </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">inglés</span><span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">En casa, sin embargo, estaba recibiendo
otra educación, que a pesar de ser menos formal era igualmente intensa. Estaba
involucrada en clases dedicadas al estudio bíblico. También, participaba en
servicios religiosos diarios. Además, mi padre, que era poeta y ministro,
mantenía una biblioteca que contenía literatura hispánica, obras que mis clases
en </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">inglés en gran parte ignoraban</span><span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">No obstante esa rica orientación en ambos
idiomas, tengo que admitir que, debido a mi estadía en los Estados Unidos,
el </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">inglés </span><span lang="ES-PR" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">es el idioma en el que me siento más capaz y </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.6pt;">cómoda. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">En nuestra discusión de Facebook, no todos
mis primos </span><span lang="ES" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">compartieron </span><span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">mi facilidad con <span lang="ES" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">ambos idiomas</span>. Sin embargo, todos
nos entendíamos, independientemente del idioma utilizado. La conexión fue
real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span lang="ES" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">¿Será </span>esta flexibilidad con el lenguaje
únicamente representante de una generación de transición para aquellos latinos que viven en los Estados Unidos? ¿Se encontrará limitada la próxima
generación al uso y a la comprensión de un solo idioma? ¿Qué significará
esto culturalmente para los Latinos? ¿Cómo se verá afectada nuestra literatura,
nuestra política, nuestra visión del mundo?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I don’t
know y no sé. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-34133068820978054442014-02-19T07:32:00.000-05:002014-03-07T07:28:13.505-05:00My Writer's JourneyThough I first posted the following poem on my health blog, <a href="http://lapazconvos.blogspot.com/">Peace Be with You</a>, I now post it here as well. The poem seems appropriate for also describing my writing journey.
<br />
<br />
I have had many positive experiences on my writing journey. Those include, along with great personal growth, that I recently published a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">book </a>of poetry. Numerous short stories have also appeared in literary reviews. My novels, however, remain unpublished.
<br />
<br />
Of course,the choice to publish is now entirely my own. New self publishing options make it possible to bypass the industry’s traditional gatekeepers who have not known what to do with my fiction. The gatekeepers are now solely the reading audience which will embrace, or not, what one has written. My current hope is to be able to reach that audience effectively and that it will welcome me.<br />
<br />
On my writing journey, there will again be highs, as well as disappointments. But, whether I publish again or not, I will never stop writing, which I love to do. Through it all, it will remain a journey of healing and self discovery.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anthony_painting_3.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anthony_painting_3.jpg" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEils9aVo1uF24yqVb18-l2PP42oIArSWxY0NW0Qvkx8JWge0qa0wpLo5fjL11-028gfF1jMwEYNnAXGANOU2jzdBNyg7XGEsYt9_aX6qJ5euIyiG7qOVHVjQyzBpB8FdjPY84Y5Esv-ydi4/s1600/Anthony_painting_3.jpg" height="167" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Healing Journey of a Broken Vessel
<br />
<br />
Whence does my hope come?<br />
Why does faith in renewal<br />
remain undaunted?<br />
<br />
A broken vessel<br />
containing my life stories<br />
lies shattered and strewn.<br />
<br />
New life may emerge<br />
from the shards of brokenness.<br />
Will I be patient?<br />
<br /></div>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-10872927337620444222014-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:002014-02-08T10:13:45.004-05:00From Creation to Transformation<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing my book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">Peace on the Journey</a> </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">was a joy</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. I also felt pride because of its potential for helping those about whom <a href="http://judithmercadoauthor.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-heros-journey-dr-joan-barice-advocate.html">Dr. Joan Barice</a> has said, “</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">For those struggling with chronic illness, loss
of a loved one, or any major life challenge, these <i>Peace on the Journey </i>poems
affirm that one can still choose to smile and resolutely renew life. Facing
hardship honestly but tempering it with hope, these healing poems light a path
out of despair.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">While my joy and pride came in part from seeing my name on a
published book, they also came from knowing that this book is a fundraiser as
well. Ten percent of its net proceeds are designated for the <a href="http://myelinrepair.org/">Myelin Repair Foundation</a>, a deserving research organization which might transform the lives
of millions suffering from MS. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yet, I have dreaded the promotional
stage of this book’s journey. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Then I realized, how will anyone know about the book if I don’t tell them about it? How will potential readers benefit if no one feels
motivated to purchase the book? I must enjoy promoting this book as much as I did writing it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Still, promoting a book of poetry has felt strange.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
thing is, I </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">never expected to
produce a book of poetry. I was, I thought, a published short story author
seeking to be recognized for her novels some day. Then, in 2009, in addition to
this blog focused on literary and cultural themes, I started another one called <a href="http://lapazconvos.blogspot.com/">Peace Be with You</a>.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The reason was I
wanted</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> to write anonymously
about my own journey with MS. Somehow, that MS blog segued from prose into
poetry. Don’t ask me why. It just happened, and I went along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">After posting the blog’s
poems, though, I was stunned by some of the reactions I started getting, and not just from those affected by MS. I received comments like: “With your words I see hope and understanding … At times, your words say
what I’m feeling that I couldn’t find the words for.” Another reader said, “You
always manage to speak the words that are in my heart and mind.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then, people began asking if the poems were available in a book. I kept saying, no, no, no. First, I
didn’t know if I was physically up to producing a book. Second, I still
resisted identifying myself as a poet. Then, one day, I realized that I might not
be a poet with a capital P, but my writing was resonating with readers.
Why not provide the book they were asking for?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I proceeded to winnow my
blog’s roughly 1100 poems into 366. This format would offer a year's worth of poems for anyone
dealing with loss of any kind. Over the next two years, during which there was
some teeth gnashing and, yes, a few choice curse words, I finalized the
manuscript for publication. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now, the paperback and Kindle editions are
available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">Amazon</a>. Not infrequently, I
gaze at the book with a sense of wonder. Did I really write this? Daily, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">for my own inspiration, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I read the book’s poems on my Kindle. Strangely,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">the poems read as if someone else has written them. They feel transformative, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">though I am already deeply familiar with their content</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Indeed, </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">Peace on the Journey</a></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> feels like the
universe’s gift to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-16511447543973068902014-01-22T00:01:00.000-05:002014-01-22T00:01:00.312-05:00Kindle Edition Available<br />
The Kindle version of my book is now available. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado-ebook/dp/B00HWDEVJO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1387289668"><i>Peace on the Journey</i></a> is enrolled in Amazon’s Matchbook program. This means that if you already purchased the print edition in the past (or purchase one now), the Kindle price is reduced by 50%.<br />
<br />
It has been a remarkable experience for me to read my own
book in this new edition. It feels as if I had published it for the first time. Also,
in my Kindle library (organized by Amazon), my book “sits” alongside Thomas Jefferson and John Keats. What a thrill!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado-ebook/dp/B00HWDEVJO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1387289668"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado-ebook/dp/B00HWDEVJO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1387289668" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVkT1IoP-O7ulsd2cvrVqTkJM1sUioVcYSxOt0REXTRftUP59VWNQDZH1eRE69z68NH8mdJ3hCl5lrNDqQyKIfnAyz2aEjJvlXXIpmzi4gCBSkcxlSGrZn348RryAPP5ydHVrmiEQdNtM/s200/Peace+on+the+Journey+-+High+Res+Cover.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-70022234582914001422014-01-15T00:02:00.000-05:002014-01-15T08:25:16.752-05:00Too Many Websites?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Over the years, I have kept active at least two separate
blogs. That made sense because each focused on completely different topics.
This particular blog has focused mostly on my literary life. The other blogs focused on personal <a href="http://lapazconvos.blogspot.com/"><b>health</b></a> and a <a href="http://judithmercadoshortstories.blogspot.com/"><b>miscellany</b></a> of topics.
Each of these blogs has had its own personality. For example, one was strictly
prose; another, poetry. Each also had its own discrete set of followers.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
With the publication of my book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado"><b>Peace
on the Journey: Poems</b></a></i>, I have also created another blog/website called <a href="http://peaceonthejourney.com/"><b>Peace on the Journey</b></a>, still under
construction. That website’s concept is that it will focus strictly on the book.
Besides, it gave me an opportunity to register the name of my book as a
website.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Increasingly, though, I find myself using the same post in
the various blogs. Now, that might be a sign of fatigue over managing too many
blogs. Or, it might be a sign that I am finally integrating the separate parts
of my life. I do own the rights to
JudithMercado.com, which is currently inactive. Perhaps, when I eventually activate
that website, I will have full integration by simply listing separate pages for each of my various blogs. We’ll see. This is a work in progress, as is my life.</div>
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In the meantime, I share with you today’s poem from my <b><a href="http://lapazconvos.blogspot.com/">Peace Be with You</a></b> blog</div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiltern_Hoarfrost_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1274946.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiltern_Hoarfrost_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1274946.jpg" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzo6hCl5XyXnj7osjmh4_701aB29wGoSU4foxIfFMBWVAZi9jxiQ49L2zMBaXHiDoVIj_G-JNuGoEpOhxEq0zAys57-Af8HUpvEYSP6H-90XckuyTnScqxIfdGKIb2XFINr3Wm7GAH-FmA/s200/Chiltern_Hoarfrost_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1274946.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Future Promise</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Morning hoarfrost forms<br />
fresh dew frozen on parched grass<br />
before sunlight comes.<br />
<br />
A slumbering world<br />
poised to shed its dormancy<br />
awaits light’s coming.<br />
<br />
What life may exist<br />
beneath apparent stillness<br />
holds future promise.<br />
<br /></div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-68273776151325715812013-12-31T08:50:00.000-05:002014-01-01T00:22:58.912-05:00 In This New Year<br />
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Misty_valley_-_swifts_creek04.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Misty_valley_-_swifts_creek04.jpg" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HEMhrNC0ztvWQ_bFvgTEyx0a5vGjGHt86JTnub51-qA7xgLish-1tNm0fYW5MbCIOQZgB1DEADMn4XuYxMUilpg2Eu8zLQrOXqajw8tDHuretKRAhO7-dHxg0RvLBYWu-az8FkT_71vL/s200/800px-Misty_valley_-_swifts_creek04.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>May You ... </b><br />
<br />
Have light shine away<br />
the darkness of your valley<br />
so you can reach home.<br />
<br />
Meet along the way<br />
strangers who treat you kindly<br />
and with a full smile.<br />
<br />
Feel deep in your heart<br />
the warmth of those beside you<br />
who also love you.
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Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-61521282093676743152013-12-23T12:34:00.000-05:002013-12-23T14:00:31.250-05:00International Distribution of Peace on the Journey: Poems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4s5ACR0cSMid3RU2GRXxAWW7M6h8adxCfKMf67e7ZrDR182_Il0O6Y1jfoYG9dxype7mR_Iu78VJd2iOXsvxSPUauruHkBVHYfnao0xvW2B5j2w9lFfJZ4dL7uhv2a55enb-1tWgk6rK6/s320/High+Res+Cover.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
<br />
Some international readers have asked why they cannot find my book in their country. To address that, I spent a few hours in the “Academy of International Amazon Book Distribution” and have learned a few things. I have discovered that, though Amazon is working on expanding its distribution, there are still some countries where my book is not available. Among these are Brazil, China, India, Japan, Mexico, and, surprisingly, Canada and Australia. Since a Canadian friend ordered the book, I assume she bought it from the US site. Perhaps this will change when the book is converted into Kindle format in January, but I am not sure. In the meantime, I’m sorry for any time some of you have spent searching for my book.<br />
<br />
The links for the following countries are provided:<br />
<br />
France: <a href="http://www.amazon.fr/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=english-books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387815585&sr=1-1&keywords=peace+on+the+journey%3A+poems">Peace on the Journey: Poems</a><br />
<br />
Germany: <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387813398&sr=8-3&keywords=peace+on+the+journey">Peace on The Journey: Poems</a><br />
<br />
Italy: <a href="http://www.amazon.it/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387813650&sr=8-3&keywords=peace+on+the+journey">Peace on The Journey: Poems</a><br />
<br />
Spain: <a href="http://www.amazon.es/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_cc_3?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1387814014&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=peace+on+the+journey">Peace on The Journey: Poems</a><br />
<br />
UK: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387814144&sr=1-14&keywords=peace+on+the+journey">Peace on The Journey: Poems</a><br />
<br />
US: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">Peace on The Journey: Poems</a>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-81721124535472820062013-12-17T10:11:00.000-05:002014-01-20T17:46:58.740-05:00Peace on the Journey Has Arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBd1hpDZTViBAzf1H3zcXVmFdMpzJw072O8SUALWHh9srPobX72ClZIe3Pmi2oHyRJ_lAVGV6QoiRspW7YMMDN0PT8Qt4rb1QbIlQZ7AVt6Bt0q_KEREne5v335lRMumdHgfuZDrgEGsk/s320/High+Res+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book's available on Amazon! Here
is the </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387289668&sr=1-1&keywords=judith+mercado">link</a> </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for
both the softcover and the Kindle editions. The book has been enrolled in
Amazon's Matchbook program, whereby if you buy a new print edition of the book
(or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99
(saving 50%).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the book description appearing on the Amazon page. “The <i>Peace on the Journey</i> poems explore the
theme of renewal in the face of adversity. Life challenges are confronted
honestly while hope and joy are also embraced. In these poems, sometimes a
smile lifts one past overwhelming struggle. At other times, sadness and
discouragement trump easy laughter and resolve. Always, the intent is to handle
life with grace, to bear low moments with dignity, and to blunt despair by
remaining unbowed.<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"> Influenced by the haiku form, the collection
offers a poem a day for a year, though one can easily start on any page and
progress in any order. While fifty-nine of the selections honor the traditional
haiku focus on nature, the remainder simply adhere to the haiku syllabic
structure of 5-7-5. All are presented in groups of three linked verses. 10% of
net proceeds benefit the Myelin Repair Foundation. May these poems illumine
your journey.</span>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you purchase the book, I would appreciate your leaving an
Amazon Customer Review. Thanks in advance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you also for sharing my publication journey. Your
encouraging words have been invaluable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-13522856722305929442013-12-06T00:08:00.000-05:002013-12-06T17:55:34.579-05:00Nelson Mandela<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6sv2Rm6Nd45hsFf0pKAN-ORRkPXKKVRprvyOhltQ3T4-MkKTDDajs2c5EqNhPZdokTrLH32LwDc-fG-O3MdH6ofhOX1CKVLhG7S5dNDph5EIF5UwciLRNcjdmJFUvw9Q4ACSu07Qq5B0/s1600/95px-Nelson_Mandela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6sv2Rm6Nd45hsFf0pKAN-ORRkPXKKVRprvyOhltQ3T4-MkKTDDajs2c5EqNhPZdokTrLH32LwDc-fG-O3MdH6ofhOX1CKVLhG7S5dNDph5EIF5UwciLRNcjdmJFUvw9Q4ACSu07Qq5B0/s200/95px-Nelson_Mandela.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
"... during all my years in prison, hope never left me ... I did not doubt that I would someday be a free man."<br />
<br />
"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear."
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<br /></div>
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-36266905352815148012012-11-03T01:30:00.000-04:002014-01-14T17:25:28.817-05:00A Hero’s Journey – Dr. Joan Barice – Advocate for “Love Never Fails”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZrVmVzE1oUvhsVWAAt2MAaUUvRv2lnTPWu_XVHgrxCjGPJHlVQaiv-_yHu-e1jGbipPt5OMRkmmVGU20zqJpF91NMy8wPdttr_eIz9k5lMMfKbqEESA3uoYeWZcSK-QHt3Q03aYTyWHo/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="22" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZrVmVzE1oUvhsVWAAt2MAaUUvRv2lnTPWu_XVHgrxCjGPJHlVQaiv-_yHu-e1jGbipPt5OMRkmmVGU20zqJpF91NMy8wPdttr_eIz9k5lMMfKbqEESA3uoYeWZcSK-QHt3Q03aYTyWHo/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Imagine being desperately ill but so poor you have to wait for hours, penned up with others like cattle, while you await medical attention. When it is finally your turn, you are treated by a harried physician whose first choice likely would not be employment in such a clinic. It is hard to hold on to hope and dignity under such circumstances. Alas, the poor and the victimized often find themselves in such a predicament.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://drjoanbarice.com/">Dr. Joan Barice</a> found this situation intolerable, though not because she was a patient or one of those harried doctors. She simply felt strongly that treating patients with dignity and respect is conducive to health. She took seriously her motto of “Love Never Fails” and decided to transform one such clinic into one in which patients had specific appointments and also enjoyed treatment by the area's best doctors. This achievement would be remarkable all on its own, but it is only one of many such accomplishments from one of the most amazing women I have ever met. <br />
<br />
Service to others through healing and love has been the unifying principle of Dr. Barice's life. As a graduate of Stanford Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, she could have chosen a life of ease. Instead, she has dedicated herself to caring for the poor, the elderly, and those afflicted by addiction and HIV.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQIDcnf7yFvBE49OAhHLzqq4HcttLdN42y7mULwOhtVxc8lOhN7E0CUFU70nkCIyTJw5ai2UtNj9ec0j6Zsl8RKzx32gnsS4iYSQyGiEllg2BDl6Uv6MFdy11vsL_U5LWmhYVbnCO_WC1/s1600/Dr+Barice+Dec+2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQIDcnf7yFvBE49OAhHLzqq4HcttLdN42y7mULwOhtVxc8lOhN7E0CUFU70nkCIyTJw5ai2UtNj9ec0j6Zsl8RKzx32gnsS4iYSQyGiEllg2BDl6Uv6MFdy11vsL_U5LWmhYVbnCO_WC1/s200/Dr+Barice+Dec+2007.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
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Faced with her enthusiastic demeanor, one would not guess that she suffers from chronic, sometimes disabling, pain. Graced by her gentle spirit, one would not know that this intrepid woman has made 250 skydives and survived a plane crash in the arctic wilderness. Always motivated to keep learning, she lived in China for a year, studying qigong and acupuncture. <br />
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Just as she has tested the boundaries of her personal life, she has also been on the forefront of advancing the integration of safe and effective alternative healing therapies with those of conventional medicine. She has done this in clinical settings, in the academic and research arenas, as well as with her professional associations. For her accomplishments, she received the Certificate of Merit, the highest honor given by the Florida Medical Association for contributions to the health of the community and physicians.
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<br />
The list of Dr. Barice’s achievements is indeed extensive. In this post, I highlight only a few. At the clinic mentioned above, Dr. Barice was instrumental not only in recruiting the highest quality doctors but also in offering education for conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes management et al. <br />
<br />
Another instance where she made a difference in people’s lives, this time across the economic spectrum, was through her role in getting addiction recognized as a disease to be treated in parity with other illnesses. Her successful activism at the state level eventually led to a similar shift at the national level. This has meant, among other things, that people seeking treatment for addiction could be covered by health insurance. <br />
<br />
Dr. Barice's own experience with disabling pain and the helplessness it engendered brought home for her the connection between the mind and the body. In Dr. Barice’s words, “A lot of things we don’t know about, but the importance of the mind/body connection is profound. Thinking can make you sick, and thinking can make you well.”
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<br />
Her personal involvement with chronic pain has led her to test the limits and the possibilities both of mainstream medicine and of the so-called alternative healing therapies. She believes in accessing the best of both approaches to health care. For treatment of her pain, for example, she has undergone surgery but has also used alternative therapies such as acupuncture, essential oils, and nutritional supplements. Today, she lectures to medical students about the integration of mainstream and alternative therapies. <br />
<br />
A discussion of Dr. Barice would be incomplete without also touching on another factor she considers significant for health—the spiritual component. Her strong faith is critical in helping her navigate the challenge of chronic pain. In her treatment of others, Dr. Barice, a devout Catholic, takes very seriously Jesus’ assertion, “What you do for the least among you, you do for me.” Nor would the discussion be complete without her insistence on giving credit to the many who helped and mentored her along the way.
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<br />
I celebrate <a href="http://drjoanbarice.com/">Dr. Joan Barice</a> for her unflagging dedication to improving the wellbeing of so many in need. I honor her commitment to integrating the best of conventional and alternative therapies. I am pleased that someone of her caliber champions recognition of the role that mind and spirit play in health. For all this, as well as for her unstinting bravery and strength of character, she meets the definition of a hero. For her willingness to journey down paths less traveled in her search for greater truths, she is deserving of mention in a blog which celebrates pilgrim souls.
Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-39657934319685426472012-09-23T15:36:00.000-04:002012-09-23T16:05:05.709-04:00A Human Being Died that Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvvSCG8cvq-mRYFlqdvzCaaByHXT9_nlsfxwyqoZ7sEgusdVJ2Tut_QYcS8h0SCAtSrvh_zzX21Orgay-FGOwQR2_p50c_CBg7QYk_Xsd64hvdLkOraV5bTndpWWulhnO8cuv0aGcfER_/s1600/Angelica's+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvvSCG8cvq-mRYFlqdvzCaaByHXT9_nlsfxwyqoZ7sEgusdVJ2Tut_QYcS8h0SCAtSrvh_zzX21Orgay-FGOwQR2_p50c_CBg7QYk_Xsd64hvdLkOraV5bTndpWWulhnO8cuv0aGcfER_/s320/Angelica's+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Every now and then, someone writes with a heart so open, it is both painful and life affirming. Judy Croome, South African<span style="color: #33cc00;"> </span><a href="http://judycroome.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">author</span></strong></a>, has written a post so powerful it deserves wide-spread recognition. Writing poignantly about her post-apartheid nation, Croome bared her soul with candor, regret, and hope. Her post’s power and raw honesty left me speechless. We are honored by Croome’s willingness to open her heart to us. I don’t know if one can assert that South Africa’s particular cauldron of issues is more complex than most. After all, life is in its essence complex. Just its very mystery introduces complexity. Yet, South Africa seems to be a crucible, in the present era, for the challenges humanity faces in defining what is good and what is evil. Here is the link to her post. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://judycroome.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-human-being-died-that-night.html"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">A Human Being Died that Night</span> </strong></a><br />
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<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-44894079802800928672012-08-22T16:37:00.000-04:002012-08-23T05:42:17.002-04:00My Flirtation with Faulkner<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT_t5vBYuNzI7FsuZu847k2gJHrM7FE-2HAJ9DYaHb3w0oMGnjQ26cwg3YC0bYf7UMjTQ5kpf9HBPl_BvWXVPpmCc8F-gIVTva8UdFsmHt7W4SSGWgNYZJBS1nOE-5k-hGVRNdk8uJaT-/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779598847277696210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT_t5vBYuNzI7FsuZu847k2gJHrM7FE-2HAJ9DYaHb3w0oMGnjQ26cwg3YC0bYf7UMjTQ5kpf9HBPl_BvWXVPpmCc8F-gIVTva8UdFsmHt7W4SSGWgNYZJBS1nOE-5k-hGVRNdk8uJaT-/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" style="display: block; height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<br />
I sidled up to Absalom, Faulkner’s giant, brushed up against his shoulders, winked, and said, “Come hither.”<br />
<br />
He approached, though his slightly mocking look was anything but encouraging. “I am too deep for you,” his look seemed to imply.<br />
<br />
Me, not deep enough? Psh, I’m as deep as they come.<br />
<br />
Maybe I said it out loud because he threw up his arms and allowed me to stand before him.<br />
<br />
“I’ve heard great things about you,” I said.<br />
<br />
He allowed a weak smile, but said nothing.<br />
<br />
Then, without any seeming prompt, he started talking.<br />
<br />
And talking.<br />
<br />
I was beginning to think he would run out of breath. But, no, he kept talking.<br />
<br />
Good lord, I thought. This guy can string a sentence for pages.<br />
<br />
But, I shrugged it off. The getting to know you process is always fraught. Give him a chance.<br />
<br />
And, he kept talking.<br />
<br />
At this point, I was beginning to wonder if he thought I was deaf, dumb or mute, and that’s why he went on and on in spirals of time and place that had me gasping as I tried to keep up.<br />
<br />
And, he talked.<br />
<br />
I started edging away in fitful intervals; fitful, because I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. I mean, I had heard so much about this guy!<br />
<br />
My smile became pasted on.<br />
<br />
It was a tremulous smile, though, borne of doubt about what the right thing to do was. I really had heard great things about this guy.<br />
<br />
And, he talked.<br />
<br />
I could not decipher whom he was talking about or whether that person was still alive or whether he was reminiscing or … what!<br />
<br />
Maybe I was not deep, after all, because I put up my hand and said, “Sorry, I really have to go.”<br />
<br />
He smiled that slightly derisive smile of his, which seemed to confirm his first impression of me as someone not of sufficient intellect to appreciate him.<br />
<br />
Well, okay. But, life is too short.<br />
<br />
I walked away.<br />
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Thus ended my flirtation with Faulkner and Absalom; well, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absalom,_Absalom!"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Absalom, Absalom</span></strong></a>, if you want to get technical about it.<br />
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Phew. Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-43826671186235277042012-07-14T18:21:00.004-04:002012-07-14T20:03:06.460-04:00Hello<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOuMjnNcyJtUOWONz8_Uc9OQb11JevuQKC42wRC9zF_AD53gzKFfg8xpyshpWBx795LLyxo3v792AXwR0wMgJyE6zhdrb8SWTe5onRyHeOVE8M837P5lh2Tz5Y9b5JQUj0x7mV5XfeHHi/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5764783010243608738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOuMjnNcyJtUOWONz8_Uc9OQb11JevuQKC42wRC9zF_AD53gzKFfg8xpyshpWBx795LLyxo3v792AXwR0wMgJyE6zhdrb8SWTe5onRyHeOVE8M837P5lh2Tz5Y9b5JQUj0x7mV5XfeHHi/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" style="display: block; height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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I’ve been on blogging hiatus for a month, not foreseen. It just sort of happened. I continue to check, though not as frequently, the blogs I follow. Despite that, I feel as if I’m letting down the side. I notice, however, that, although some dedicated souls maintain a regular pace of posting, they seem to be the exception. So maybe my slower pace is not unusual. I keep meaning to give my blog the attention it used to receive, but alas one week follows another and – no new post! So this is simply a hello to my blogging friends. I hope life is good, personally and professionally.<br />
<br /></div>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-87115664894834705992012-06-16T13:30:00.004-04:002012-06-18T08:15:01.049-04:00Is There a Genre for This?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCstFyQr7uO822vNIivX8cJ4_49u_Fj8oRCwm4bpNOipS2yvdgoZKxoSkypnlvu6lnppkdFMFsFcJI_rGarRevOCjTg9ngHHgJWIwKM19STpRCC8h5YcjRn7OJgy6ED7doldiS0D7w583/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5754689020030632866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCstFyQr7uO822vNIivX8cJ4_49u_Fj8oRCwm4bpNOipS2yvdgoZKxoSkypnlvu6lnppkdFMFsFcJI_rGarRevOCjTg9ngHHgJWIwKM19STpRCC8h5YcjRn7OJgy6ED7doldiS0D7w583/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" style="display: block; height: 22px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
I have always maintained that my writing is hard to force-fit into a literary genre. Multicultural and literary come about as close as any labels can. My reading tastes are also wide-ranging. Here is what I have been reading in the last month.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Man-Ralph-Ellison/dp/0679732764/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339865919&sr=1-1&keywords=invisible+man+by+ralph+ellison"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Invisible Man</span></strong></a> </em>by Ralph Ellison, winner of the 1952 National Book Award and a classic ever since. You might find it interesting that President Obama in college read and reread this novel until it was dog-eared. See <em>The Washington Post</em> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-obama-became-black/2012/06/14/gJQA8CnKdV_story.html?hpid=z6"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>excerpt</strong></span> </a>from the upcoming David Marannis biography of the President.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cuentos-Amor-Locura-y-Muerte/dp/1619491788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339866098&sr=1-1&keywords=Cuentos+de+Locura+y+Muerte+by+Horacio+Quiroga"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cuentos de Amor de Locura y de Muerte</span></strong></a></em> [Stories of Love Madness and Death] a collection by the gifted Uruguayan writer Horacio Quiroga, who died in 1937.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spoon-River-Anthology-Edgar-Masters/dp/1450584357/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339866473&sr=1-3&keywords=Spoon+River+Anthology+by+Edgar+Lee+Masters"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Spoon River Anthology</span></strong></a></em> by Edgar Lee Masters, a book of poems about the individuals buried in fictional Spoon River.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Israel-Patricia-OSullivan/dp/1605945781/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339866717&sr=1-1&keywords=Hope+of+Israel"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Hope of Israel</span></strong></a>,</em> a fabulous historical novel by Patricia O’Sullivan, “based on the true experience of Jews in Lisbon, Amsterdam and London during the politically and spiritually tumultuous 17th century." [<em>Publishers Weekly</em>]<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inseminating-Elephant-Lannan-Literary-Selections/dp/1556592957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339866940&sr=1-1&keywords=Inseminating+the+Elephant"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Inseminating the Elephant</span></strong></a></em>, a Pulitzer Prize finalist poetry anthology by Lucia Perillo.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Autobiography-Benjamin-Franklin-ebook/dp/B000JMLMXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339867212&sr=1-1&keywords=he+Autobiography+of+Benjamin+Franklin"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin</span></strong></a>,</em> a surprising page turner of a book that also lets one peek into early U.S. history.<br />
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• <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Temple-Golden-Pavilion-ebook/dp/B006T3ITMS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339872681&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Temple+of+the+Golden+Pavilion"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><strong>The Temple of the Golden Pavilion</strong></span></a>,</em> a psychological novel by the award-winning Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima<br />
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• <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Underground-FYODOR-DOSTOYEVSKY-Annotated-ebook/dp/B0081GKE42/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339867715&sr=1-3&keywords=notes+from+the+underground+by+fyodor+dostoyevsky"><strong><span style="color: #33cc00;">Notes from the Underground</span></strong></a> by Fyodor Dostoevsky.<br />
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How would you label my reading tastes?
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<br />Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-63434678881573892412012-05-26T17:21:00.000-04:002012-05-26T17:21:54.356-04:00What I’m Up To<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SDnDnxbhF5aKEcGSWdf75QLhn9TW017e0rZk3sFOV-0-yyTe1V4TZ4JgB66hjmkjxqqEQBsqTqwbcLfvQF0egBFtpzrlAWOGWPfbXWQOzD1L0QjgFUp4q-vX6XSTXCIKNwKAfeO6SUS5/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 22px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5746844481917703954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8SDnDnxbhF5aKEcGSWdf75QLhn9TW017e0rZk3sFOV-0-yyTe1V4TZ4JgB66hjmkjxqqEQBsqTqwbcLfvQF0egBFtpzrlAWOGWPfbXWQOzD1L0QjgFUp4q-vX6XSTXCIKNwKAfeO6SUS5/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" /></a><br />• Playing with my new Kindle Fire. Loving it!<br /><br />• Preparing so that I can eventually view my own short stories, poetry, <em>et al</em>. published as Kindle Singles.<br /><br />• Rereading Ralph Ellison’s <em>Invisible Man</em> to prepare for leading a class discussion. This remarkable, award-winning novel, now 60 years old, still offers up beautiful prose, brilliant insight into human behavior, and mastery of writing craft.<br /><br />• Rereading Dostoevsky’s <em>Notes from the Underground</em>, also in preparation for the <em>Invisible Man </em>discussion. Ralph Ellison acknowledged the influence of this novella, among others, in writing his own National Book Award novel.<br /><br />• Enjoying Spring.<br /><br />• What’s up with you?<br /><br /><br /><div></div>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492807304940108695.post-5063159071115962482012-05-05T22:24:00.005-04:002012-05-05T22:46:21.815-04:00What’s in a Name?<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB9ooShAv8R8aLVCWhRSC2rRqz2HYjxQbx7u9s081v2J4wd8jn33CEsjK9_aJdF8ot9Sz9NDXmcxNqoQM1K2c629eMHV2gKls-7sYg1ce2U67s0t9SoV2RsnaSHOOvR4ImRWLD6RmyBdl/s1600/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 22px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5739241151439408722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNB9ooShAv8R8aLVCWhRSC2rRqz2HYjxQbx7u9s081v2J4wd8jn33CEsjK9_aJdF8ot9Sz9NDXmcxNqoQM1K2c629eMHV2gKls-7sYg1ce2U67s0t9SoV2RsnaSHOOvR4ImRWLD6RmyBdl/s200/Angelica%2527s+Magical+Waterfall+-+postings.jpg" /></a><br />Two authors from different cultures ask, “What is in a name?” The Irish poet Eavan Boland and the Puerto Rican playwright/poet Nancy Mercado conclude that the answer is of fundamental importance in defining one’s existence.<br /><br />In her essay, “<strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Object-Lessons-Life-Woman-Poet/dp/0393314375/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336241891&sr=8-1"><font color="#33cc00">Lava Cameo</font></a></strong>,” Eavan Boland asks, “Was there really no name for my life [as an ordinary woman] in poetry?” Her search for her late grandmother helps Boland validate her “femaleness” in an otherwise largely male Irish literary tradition.<br /><br />In her concluding essay to the collection <a href="http://www.amazon.com/phatitude-Literary-Magazine-Writing-Identity/dp/1468013130/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1334715338&sr=8-10"><em><strong><font color="#33cc00">What’s in a Nombre?</font></strong></em> </a>Nancy Mercado states, “Naming is the spiritual act of living beyond the moment, of signifying something beyond the instant ….”<br /><br />In both instances, each author reclaims the right to name herself and her work apart from the prevailing hegemony of gender and/or culture. In Nancy Mercado’s words, “The act of naming is rebellious; it is the expression of power over a thing or over someone ….” <br /><br />It is also an affirming act. As Eavan Boland says, “I had written poems. Now I would have to enter them.”<br /><br />In a perhaps less consequential way, I have renamed this blog. My literary name Judith Mercado now takes precedence over the previous title of <em>Pilgrim Soul</em>. This is a defining act signifying renewed focus on my literary life. I will always be a pilgrim soul, seeking and learning. This blog, however, will now focus primarily on Judith Mercado as a short story author, novelist, poet, and essayist.<br /><br />Stay tuned. </div>Judith Mercadohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.com9