Laura Bruno Lilly

The road ends, but the journey continues...

Category: Giving Voice (Page 1 of 5)

an ongoing series

A Roundabout Post for Black History Month

February 17, 2025 / / 30 Comments

Note: It would not be prudent for me to share how the past 29 days of our lives have been personally & directly changed within our family and friends since 1/20/2025. Or specific instances of how those changes reach farther than just us. Instead, what follows is an attempt at showing in a less threatening context – how
silenced voices can yet speak.

Just a few days ago, as I was “doing what I do” across multiple areas of interest – taking deep dives into satisfying curiosities, researching on-line and hardcopy, expanding my knowledge-base to further enrich my (he)artistic creations, personal enrichment, and ‘growing in knowing’ – I came across yet another disturbing announcement.  

So much so that I copied and pasted the relevant portions of the National Endowment of the Arts website info to a Word doc in the event original articles would be scrubbed and disappear entirely. What a thing to feel compelled to do. Yet, this was based upon recent blackouts of other websites such as DEI, NIH, USAID, CDC…

The National Endowment for the Arts cancelled its grant program Challenge America for fiscal year 2026. In operation since 2001, the program primarily supports small organizations & individuals that reach “historically underserved communities that have limited access to the arts relative to geography, ethnicity, economics, and/or disability.” *

The National Endowment for the Arts itself is a conduit of support for a myriad of disciplines ranging from scientific research, the arts, and community development through its extensive grant programs.

The artist I was interested in tracking down, Susan Hudson, is a 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellow. She was honored (along with 9 others) just this past September at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ** and the Library of Congress. 

This is how one voice can yet speak

Native American Heritage Month is in November.

November 2024, it was celebrated all out, in full view – integrating past, present and future aspects of this vibrant cultural community and its members.

Black History Month is in February.

Now. This month. This year. February 2025.

It is currently in low gear due to unspecified ‘new guidelines’ yet demanding adherence. In addition, Black History Month, as an “Identity Month” has been declared dead by the DoD.

That said, join me now as I envision a celebration parade headed by my Black History Month honoree of personal choice: Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Need help with that?

Pretend you’re one of the audience here in this vintage footage of Sister Rosetta performing in the rain at the then abandoned (and now non-existent) Chorlton railway station on Wilbraham Road, Manchester, England.

This is how silenced voices can yet speak

As part of the 1964 Blues & Gospel Train Tour through Europe, this all out performance in the rain exemplifies what it means to be a true performing (he)artist.

“The station was dressed up to look like one from the American South, but typically for Manchester, the weather did not echo that area’s dustbowl conditions. Shortly after the train which carried the audience the few miles south from Manchester’s city centre pulled in, a storm lashed the station.

‘Sister Rosetta came to me and asked if she could change her opening number to Didn’t It Rain? … when she strapped on her guitar, it was astounding.’

Mr. Hamp says the downpour would have been his worst memory of the show had it not led to his best.”

a memory from TV producer Johnnie Hamp

I will not elaborate on the impact these current times are making upon everyday Americans – scientists, musicians, academics, researchers, educators, students, health workers, families, farmers, etc – At least not directly.

For now, this is how one voice, my voice, can yet speak.

*from the original website category list description as per my cut and paste Word doc
**Since then, much has changed within the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making this past event hold even more significance.  

Crying Angel by Cheyenne McCoy
Crying Angel by Cheyenne McCoy

Making Angels Cry – Poem

January 24, 2025 / / 36 Comments

Making Angels Cry

Laura Bruno Lilly ©2024

Crying Angel by Cheyenne McCoy

Making Angels Cry
Laura Bruno Lilly ©2024

The world
It goes hither and yon.
Yet 21st century aromas linger
Strangely unsettling these past years. 
Strongly scented with testosterone
 – aggression –
A generation that knows no other way.
In the name of progress, our input has become narrow.
Fully incomplete, unfeeling, unreal.
How to thrive in such an unfertile soil
Laden with toxic nutrients?
Yet 21st century aromas linger
Strangely offering hope for a better future.
Strongly scented with testosterone, estrogen
 – partners –
Shaping a more sustainable relational environment.
Angels cry
Angels hope
Angels have no say.
It’s up to us.
The Sky Unwashed cover

2024 Books Read – a Partial List (with notes) – Fiction

December 27, 2024 /

While my partial list of Books Read in 2024 doesn’t hold a candle to blogger LA’s 119 read with 3 almost finished, herein lie selections – in no particular order – from my list of +/- 50 read with notes for casual perusal. I appreciate those who blog about their current reads so am returning the favor with my modest contribution. Perhaps you will find something of interest to read in the coming year…

Fiction

The Sky Unwashed cover
Like Water for Chocolate cover
The Late Bloomers' Club cover
  • The Sky Unwashed by Irene Zabytko– fictionalized account of the days during and after the Chornobyl/Chernobyl* melt down, explosion on April 26, 1986. The extra zing to this plotline involves the eventual return ‘home’ by first one old woman, then others following – discovering each other once back in their neighborhoods & their daily survival living. Very creative in that the author took the factual subject & wrote the story – ‘giving voice’ to the event, society and lives touched in the art form she possesses as an author/novelist. Quality writing! *one example of usage of both Ukrainian & Russian transliterations of same word within novel
  • Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (trans: Carol & Thomas Christensen) – My Description Blurb: “Mexican Cookbook Soap Opera”. Always wanted to see the movie, but previews emphasized the R rating aspects instead of the totality of the book’s message. I felt like the movie adaptation would take away from the beauty of the read with an accelerated focus on the tawdy/mystical references instead of presenting them in context as part of the whole book itself. Sooooo – when I found a copy of the book on a used book table over the summer for $0.25 cents – I eagerly picked it up and delved into its depths. Yes, it does contain some tawdy/mystical material but weaves it beautifully as part of the very well-written – even literary – story. Insightful culturally on so many levels and had me guessing on ‘who’ would win out in the end (a side thread IMHO). The premise of organizing the novel recounted via recipes is a good one, too.
  • The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller – A comfort-read I needed at the time. Depicting relationships and a world I’d love to live in complete with Bakery/Baked Goods, Walking the Land, Community and even Goats! 😊
Goldberg Variations cover
A Painted House cover
Lessons in Chemistry cover
  • Goldberg Variations, a novel by Susan Isaacs – I didn’t expect to like this but did. Different slant on career woman/Jewish culture/family. Biggest drawback for me were the incorrect ‘facts’ of living in Santa Fe, NM. Some I remember include #1, Saguaro cactus are not native to this desert area!!!; #2, Some Santa Fe architectural elements are grossly incorrect; #3, the Eastern USA view that land is cheap in the West therefore anyone can afford to buy acres and build a huge mansion on it. Ahem: this is Santa Fe, not Las Cruces!!! Regardless, I might try other novels by this author.
  • A Painted House by John Grisham – a re-read and still a good read!
  • Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – main character a female chemist set within context of scientists of the 1950s-1960s – stereotypes etc. Uses cooking show format as way to ‘give voice’ by showcasing chemistry in cooking and feeding the intellect of her female audience. Great scene of her brewing coffee in beakers on bunson burner in her kitchen resulting in an extraordinary cup of coffee – using freshly ground beans of course! 😊
The Authenticity Project cover
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store cover
Nightbloom cover
Winter Solstice cover
  • The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley – great contemporary novel. Idea of connection with people via strangers writing in left-behind journal is good along with the actual writing style.
  • The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride AND Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie – both excellent and my latest finishes. Culled & copied long passages for reference in own journal. Myriad cultural insights woven into present day. If you’re reading this list – read these!
  • Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher – currently re-reading. Reaching for one of her Shell Seekers series books is an ever-present option!

Up next: Non-Fiction

XLV

June 17, 2023 /

1978-2023 (and counting!)

June 17th.
Our 45th wedding anniversary.

Over the course of a long love story, what was once a single ‘our song’ becomes a whole playlist of songs. Marking myriad events in the ups, downs; ebbs, flows; crushing sorrows, magnificent joys; everyday living out of our love & life in this world hand-in-hand and in His Hands.

Here then, is one such song released in August, 1983 and added at that same time to our playlist during a particularly defining event that occurred early on in our life path together.

The year was 1983.

We were renting the bottom unit in a quadplex in the heart of the Silicon Valley – San Jose, CA. Hubby pursuing the dream of working for the hottest tech company of the time, Hewlett Packard.

Me? Living life in the Bay area as a new stay-at-home-college-educated Mom of a one-year-old and precariously on track with our fourth pregnancy.

A seemingly viable one after a rocky reproductive history of 2 previous miscarriages: one around 15 weeks (twins) and later, an early ectopic pregnancy that spontaneously resolved itself. Nestled between those, our much wanted beloved daughter, Hava was born!

Over the course of this latest pregnancy at 5 months gestation, the increasingly troublesome eye blind-spot symptoms I was experiencing could no longer be ignored. At the end of my eye exam, the optometrist explained that he ‘could not be responsible for me’ and felt he couldn’t tell me his suspicions on the cause of my blind spots. (Yes, he was an odd duck) Instead, he promptly picked up the phone and scheduled an appointment for me with a neurologist colleague ASAP.

Thus began the whirlwind of expedient & lengthy testing.

Of course, the neurologist explained further concerns at the next day’s appointment. It appears my symptoms suggested two possible diagnoses:

1. Pituitary Gland Brain Tumor

or

2. Early stage MS

Neither a good choice or something to hope for. But we prayed for the best along with a miraculous intervention.

Apparently, Pituitary Gland Brain Tumors grow exponentially & rapidly if the patient is pregnant – hence the haste with which these medical professionals carried out their testing and treatment plans.

I underwent numerous tests that lasted hours over a two day period prior to an impending operation date within 10-14 days. It was assumed I had the tumor and several tests substantiated those assumptions.

Between sessions, I talked with my OB-GYN to make sure that the scheduled CAT scans (MRIs weren’t readily available at that time) wouldn’t hurt the new life growing inside me.

They wouldn’t.

Further, the doctor spent time patiently answering my flood of ‘what if’ and ‘what about’ questions – mostly focused on how to protect my unborn child from harm during possible brain surgery.

And you know what? My OB-GYN made a point of letting me know that prenatal care is as much for the care of the mother (me) as for the baby! He was there for me, too. Every step of the way.

A few days before the looming ‘possible’ brain surgery was to be performed, the latest CAT scans baffled the medical staff. The original tumor dot cluster seemingly disappeared!

But we knew it was our ‘miraculous intervention!’

Even the neurologist said it was unexplainable (often their way of acknowledging a miracle of sorts).

So they cancelled the immediate mandate to operate post haste.

That left us with diagnosis #2 … which at the time was only confirmed via a spinal tap. I asked if we could postpone that until after the baby was born and/or indefinitely and was told, “Yes”.

Relief. We’d deal with it later, if at all.

Now we could celebrate and enjoy getting ready for our new arrival.

Aside from periodic monitoring with a world renown Neuro-ophthalmologist* at Stanford, I ultimately ended up with a clean slate.

Sadly, I miscarried again**, this time at 6 months gestation.

But the Lord has been my (our) stronghold,
And my (our) God the rock of my (our) refuge.

Psalm 94:22 NASB

*there’s an hilarious story that goes with our visit with this doctor, but isn’t quite in line with the focus of this post – perhaps another time it will be told!

**for completion’s sake, we went through 4 more pregnancies, resulting in 2 more live births (middle daughter and youngest son) but losing 2 more babies at 12 weeks gestation each. In total, 9 babies, with 3 live births. All wanted. All beloved.

May 24th, 2022

June 4, 2022 /

…I have been silent here on my website blog…fielding the events of our society’s everyday harsh realities while trying to sort through the maze of staying current without sinking too deep into the pit of despair*...knowing that so many are suffering, hurting…again…

Just 2 days after my last post – Remembering the Children (of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing in the UK)– there was yet another mass shooting here in the USA focused on children. In school. Defenseless, easy targets here in the land of the free, home of the brave.

I thought about re-posting the photo-quote I’d made, but really – recycled sentiments? For such tender times?

Instead, here is my mini-commentary. While my feelings and thoughts run deep, they aren’t put out there for ‘show’ or ‘grandstanding’. I’m more of a one-on-one communicator when it comes to deeper complex issues. However, I realized I could not move forward without saying something here.

Following the ‘logic’ offered in defense of easy access to firearms/weapons of all sorts as ‘doing things literally as the founding fathers intended’ I posit: where in the world does it say in the second amendment that Assault Weapons/Weapons of War are the ‘arms’ meant for an American’s right to bear?

Possession of an AR-15 is a far cry from Daniel Boone’s hunting for squirrels or raccoons with his trusty shotgun.

Where has the intent to protect ourselves from threatening outsiders become a right to attack, traumatize and kill school children busy learning, socializing, working and playing within their classrooms?

What right does any American have to take away a child’s childhood and future?

Mass shooting attacks outside the context of war or third world regimes are considered uniquely American.

Part of our national character.

A far cry from the founding fathers’ intent, indeed.

* reference: from a scene in The Princess Bride, a lighthearted movie beloved across all generations.

Calendar Image

Peace Post: A Poem Shared

April 11, 2022 /

– A coincidental gift received during National Poetry Month –
As natural as breathing, sharing works of (he)art is part of my everyday.

A few days after my last post was pubbed, a longtime friend noticed the ‘tree painting’ on the shelf beside Gracie. This prompted her to share a reading by Amanda Palmer of the following poem by Mary Oliver. She’s been listening to every day.

I get it. Poetry is a life line.

  • Gracie Thanks
  • Calendar Image
    Life Force 2001, Helen Lurye
Gracie’s Photo included the day’s calendar artwork

WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES
by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

Devotions: The Selected Poetry of Mary Oliver

If preferred: click here for direct link to Amanda’s reading on Soundcloud

Giving Voice: The 8th Wonder of The World…

May 13, 2021 /

…Stevie Wonder.

On the many wonders of this world…

“There are more than 7 wonders of the world – he (Stevie Wonder) is #8.”

Angelo Roman

Innervisions – Stevie Wonder

One of my favorite albums during my college years (1972-1977). Here’s a studio clip on recording ‘Living for the City’ which is as fresh and (unfortunately) relevant to today’s issues as it was then… all (he)artistically mastered by a master. What follows is the whole song as recorded on Innervisions.

For a touch of relief in this world of many troubles and plenty of social injustices I end this with Stevie’s “Don’t You Worry About A Thing” on this same album, Innervisions.

Thank you, Stevie.

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