The road ends, but the journey continues...

Tag: everyday Americans (Page 1 of 7)

Making Angels Cry – Poem


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.

A ‘White Album’: Pete Townshend – Who Came First

Here’s a little something that’s totally unrelated to the holidays or all the stuff currently going on in my daily life – a draft post conveniently available for pubbing!


Note: my longstanding and growing personal list of ‘White Albums’ are albums inspired by the literal color-aspect of the Beatles’ White Album. Here’s one for you to enjoy.


October 1972

Okay, it’s December, 2024 – not October 1972. But the earworms I allowed into my brain following the last post are unrelenting. Nicely so. 😊

As I wrote my last post, I uncovered an entire musical soundscape I forgot was birthed in real time. Part of that setlist includes Pete Townshend’s first solo album, Who Came First.

Turns out, Who Came First was released in October of 1972.  

I was introduced to the actual album by my boyfriend at the time. A college Senior to my Freshman innocence, he was more attuned to the happenings of the world. 😊

I had heard a few of the singles on the at-the-time underground FM station KLZ but didn’t know there was a full album forthcoming.

One day while on the hill in Boulder, browsing the music album bins at Albums on the Hill my boyfriend pulled out a white album and exclaimed, “It’s here!”

Yes, even then it struck me as a ‘White Album’ with Pete suspended upon a field of eggs.

Clever.

Not knowing I was living in a world of historic importance – musically and otherwise – this and other albums released that year and beyond were my companions as I walked those first years of young adulthood.

Two of my favorite tracks were and still are Pure and Easy and Let’s See Action.


Pure and Easy

These days I hear the echo of the phrase from the lyrics, ‘there once was a note‘, as literal as well as altruistic.

The path my music has taken is reflective of the literal aspect of inference. I have taken control of my life path in that I am not subject to the public’s perception of success. Instead, I have made my dent and continue to do so in the niches upon which I chose to focus. Touching (he)arts and getting to do what I love most…play, teach, collaborate, create, compose, record, perform – in ensemble as well as solo…

“I listened and I heard music in a word
And words when you played your guitar
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering
And a child flew past me riding in a star…

…We all know success when we all find our own dream
And our love is enough to knock down any wall
And the future’s been seen as men try to realize
The simple secret of the note in us all
In us all”

excerpts, Pure and Easy, Pete Townshend

Let’s See Action

As a basic call to action for change within and without – with a carefree attitude – the attraction of the message lies in how it plays out in life.

I’ve been on both sides of this.

  • The not knowing of where I’m going or where it leads.
  • The confidence in knowing ‘I’ll get to where I’m gonna end up’.

Relevant reminders then and now!

“Let’s see action
Let’s see people
Let’s see freedom
Let’s see who cares…

…I don’t know where I’m going
I don’t know what I need
But I’ll get to where I’m gonna end up
And that’s alright by me”


October 18, 1972

Note: Today, Friday, October 18, 2024 is an ‘especially significant day’ as my oldest (by 5 years) girl cousin says. I confess I’m a bit cranky this year as it’s the year I tilt over from the nines into a new decade of numbers…But I’ll get over that, I always do! HA!
In the spirit of celebrating birthdays, I thought I’d recount my ‘especially significant (birth)day’ of Wednesday, October 18, 1972.


The 26th Amendment, Pat Schroeder, Shirley Chisholm, George McGovern, Richard Nixon and me.

On March 23, 1971 the 26th Amendment was proposed – due in large part to the efforts and voices of us, the ‘younger’ generation. Bringing to the forefront the fact that those drafted during the Vietnam War – young men between the ages of 18 & 21 – were required to fight and possibly die for their nation in wartime at the age of 18. Yet, these same citizens had no legal say in the government’s decision to wage war until the age of 21.

McGovern '72 campaign button

Youthful chants of “Old enough to fight, Old enough to vote” were echoed by people of all ages – hawks and doves.

By July 1, 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified and noted as being the quickest adoption of any amendment to date.

October 18, 1972, I turned 18. As a freshman at the University of Colorado, the energy surrounding that year’s Presidential election increased my sense of ‘making a difference’ by exercising the most basic right in a Democracy – simply by casting my vote.

 Oh, but would I actually get to vote?

You bettcha! My birthday was within a few short weeks of the birth-date cutoff and voter registration deadline. As a newly turned 18 year old, I registered the day after my birthday as an Independent.

Back then it simply meant “not Democratic, not Republican”. These days, it’s come to mean something much more complicated.

However. I still stand by my decision as a registered Independent voter as being 100% unaffiliated with any political party. Every single Presidential Election except the 2012 one, due to circumstances beyond my control, I cast my vote – for or against or instead of (third party options) – someone – for President.

But that’s not what this post is about…Instead, let’s review the election selection during that first inaugural year of voting for 18 year olds.

1972’s ballot was rich with change and choice as is wont in a Democracy. Besides the highly charged George McGovern and Richard M. Nixon campaigns, two unknowns were gaining national recognition while running for their own chosen political offices.

Two dynamic & highly qualified women peppered the campaign trail. Shirley Chisholm in the Presidential race and Pat Schroeder in the US Congressional race from the 1st congressional district which spanned the Denver Metro area.

Being a resident of Boulder County, anything to do with Denver wasn’t really on my radar. As a newbie voter at the time, I didn’t fully understand how local and national candidates represented all or parts of my state of Colorado. As it happens, Pat Schroeder would be a presence to reckon with time and again on the local and national political scene.

I now realize what a landmark impact she made on the political landscape even if we youngster-voters would joke about “Pat and her uterus”. 🙂

A fine encapsulation of Schroeder’s career – including her famous “I have a brain, I have a uterus. They both work…”

As for Shirley Chisholm – what a powerhouse!

Yes, if she had been on the ballot, I would have cast my first ever vote for her. 🙂

In addition to offering historical info, this video captures the feel of the times when Chisholm ran for office.


Extra notes on Schroeder & Chisholm

Schroeder, at her husband’s encouragement, entered the 1972 race for the predominantly Democratic but conservative congressional district encompassing most of Colorado’s capital city of Denver. Running without the support of the state Democratic Party or the Democratic National Committee, Schroeder campaigned as an anti–Vietnam War candidate. When asked to explain the motivation behind her unlikely congressional bid, Schroeder replied, “Among other things the need for honesty in government.” She added, “It’s an issue that women can speak best to—and more should be given the chance.”4 Schroeder ran a grass–roots campaign that seemed as overmatched as those of her political idol, Adlai Stevenson; she believed she would “talk sense to the American people and lose.”5 Voters, however, embraced her antiwar, women’s rights message. She beat out her Democratic primary opponent Clarence Decker by 4,000 votes and, in the general election, defeated first–term incumbent Republican Mike McKevitt with 52 percent of the vote. Schroeder was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, a state that had granted women the vote in 1893.6 In her subsequent 11 elections, she rarely faced serious opposition, typically garnering more than 60 percent of the vote.7
(Click here for entire article)

5John Brinkley, “A Brave Woman Leaves Her Mark; Pat Schroeder Exits Congress,” 31 December 1996, Cleveland Plain–Dealer: 1E.
6Marcy Kaptur, Women in Congress: A Twentieth–Century Odyssey (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1996): 174; see also, Current Biography, 1978: 368.
7“Election Statistics, 1920 to Present,” http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/election.aspx; Politics in America, 1996 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1995): 221.

In announcing her bid for the Democratic nomination in 1972, Chisholm said, “I am not the candidate of Black America, although I am Black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and I am equally proud of that. I am the candidate of the people, and my presence before you now symbolizes a new era in American political history.”

Although she ran a spirited campaign, Chisholm was unable to consolidate the support of influential Black leaders, giving way for South Dakota Senator George McGovern to claim the Democratic nomination.
(Click here for entire article)

Chisholm arrived at the Democratic convention with 152 delegates. This was more than those of senator Hubert Humphrey and Edward Muskie, who’d been two of the main challengers on the campaign trail (Humphrey was the Democratic candidate in 1968). Yet she was still in fourth place behind Senator George McGovern, Senator Henry Jackson, and the injured Wallace. McGovern was the clear winner with 1,729 delegates, and his lead gave him no incentive to negotiate with Chisholm for her 152.
(Click here for entire article)


Weekend Notes 9/14-15/2024

‘Start with Now’ is a good umbrella catchall phrase which describes my on & off approach to feeding the blog with sporadic & unscheduled posts…That said, let’s jump right in!


  • I sorted through my ‘Goals for 2024’ to where I’m on-track with some, delinquent in others. I am basically pleased with achieving a tenuous balance incorporating prioritized focused attention on specific ‘goals’ with living life in its everydayness adding spicey bits of fun, delight and love as opportunities arise.
  • I set up a way to accrue points on time spent doing various aspects of specific items related to my primary music project goals and translated them into ‘reward time’. I call it the Ankara Reward because I’ve been itching to play around with the Ankara fabrics I’ve teamed up with Moda Grunge fabrics designated for a specific quilting project. Using this as a controlled ‘reward time’ helps when I’m in a slump and need motivation to keep going with my music, but mostly it prevents me from going down a rabbit hole of avoidance pulling me away from my primary focus.
  • I learned a valuable lesson while using the Ankara Reward as a motivator/break from my primary music project goals: delayed gratification of a reward earned results in diminished joy in reaching that ‘reward’ and makes it feel less significant as a motivator as I continue with the focused tasks.
    • Instead of planning a time to redeem my ‘reward’, I decided to forge ahead reasoning that I was on a roll and would be happy to indulge my reward at a later date. The problem with that? I had no idea this would lessen the positive aspects of achieving the ‘reward’ plus deplete my drive to continue with tasks related to the goals they were attached to!
  • I renewed my driver’s license and bought my ‘Real ID’ star. What’s amazing is that my license photo came out uber well!
  • I found a recent photo of myself to crop and use in a professional application. What’s amazing is that it came out uber well!
  • My birthday month is fast approaching. I love my birthday month. But this year I’ll be tipping over the 9’s into my next decade of life…and if I’m honest…The tipping point is kinda hard for me this time around.

Beauty Inherent in Humanity

The news broadcasts cover the dark side of humanity, the nasty, ugly, tough, brutal behaviors of some and I need to know that this is going on. But I also seek antidotes to this dark side, I look for the beauty inherent in nature. As I look at my photographs of this sculpture*, I am reminded of the beauty of most of the people I know, but also know that this beauty is delicate. I (we) need to nurture this beauty in others so it can flourish.”

*Utopia by Jaume Plensa (installed at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI)

Pat, blogger & photographer

“We need to nurture this beauty in others so it can flourish.”

Weekend Notes 3/2-3/2024

“Mounted over canvas”

As per recent quilt-blogger discussions about how to mount certain fiber art pieces: Mary over at Zippy Quilts posted a callout for suggestions on how best to display a ‘map’ quilt she recently completed. The overriding consensus suggested mounting it over canvas.

About two years ago, I experimented with this technique.

During the Pandemic, while noodling around with the idea of floating a design utilizing negative space as part of the composition, my Homage à Ma’s Uncle Tran Mawicke came into being. Pleased with the result, I wanted an equally unique way of displaying it.

Ma’s Uncle Tran* was a prolific commercial & fine artist, illustrating numerous magazine articles, sci-fi books, fashion magazines & catalogues, calendars, advertisements, creating art by commission, for both private/personal and public purposes, etc.

My Homage features a common color palette used in many of his works, but does not reflect his style of art.

As a true ‘working artist’, I’ve no doubt he experimented with different modern techniques and emerging schools of art-thought during his lifelong career. I’d like to think he might have explored a sort of “abstract expressionism meets graphic art” approach to his own work. In that way, my Homage title makes sense.

That’s the cerebral narrative. Truth be told, at some point during my immersion in Homage, something about it ‘felt’ like the Great Uncle I never knew – connecting me to both him and my (he)artist Ma.

*Mini bio: Tran Mawicke was born in Chicago on September 20, 1911 and died November 28, 1988. He’s best known for his commercial illustration, landscapes, and portraits. A graduate of the American Academy of Fine Arts and Art Institute of Chicago, his work spanned from 1935-1988. A prolific storybook illustrator, he also has credits such as film posters, covers of magazines such as Collier’s, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, and BusinessWeek. Tran served as president of the Society of Illustrators from 1959-1961. He traveled extensively and  called Bronxville, NY home-base for most of his life.


“Bonus Day”

Last Thursday was February 29th. A whole day inserted into 2024’s leap year to correct time discrepancies in our calendar related to Earth’s orbit around the sun. Think of it as an expanded version of the ‘extra’ hour received when we in most states of the US set clocks back in the Fall thus ending Daylight Saving Time.  

This added date – an extra day tacked onto February – felt like a Bonus Day to me, hence the name.  In fact, I planned for this Bonus Day in advance in order to take full advantage of my perceived ‘extra’ time!

Right before lunchtime, after a morning of unabashed glee pursuing indulgent (he)artistic endeavors, I got a text notice that my shingles shot was available & waiting for me at the CVS. Since this prescription had been ‘out of stock’ since December** I decided the unscheduled task took priority, so I got jabbed ASAP.

I am thinking you know what comes next…Yes, you’re correct in thinking my extra hours were then consumed by an overpowering fatigue – which for myself is a normal reaction to any vaccine.

And yes, you’d think I’d remember that – but no.

Overall I felt okay about that interruption, and I did indeed make up for that ‘lost extra’ time in the days that followed – gaining traction (and new insights) on a few music projects and progressing on a surprise gift I’m making for that new Papa cousin’s baby girl I mentioned in an earlier post. All of which I hope to reveal in the near future!

**What can I say? We live in an underserved area and that’s part of how life is for us. Case in point: a regular rhythmic cycle of empty shelves at stores has been a fact of life since moving here in 2012 – way before the Pandemic put that Reality front and center for many formerly unaccustomed to those sorts of issues. 


How did you spend your Bonus Day this Leap Year?


Weekend Notes 1/13-14/2024

While many are experiencing extreme weather across the country, our little corner of the world offered up a few perfect days.

My favorite type of day, in fact. Stiff breezes delivering crisp air and enhanced sharpness to the slanty-rays of daytime sunshine…

Laura Bruno Lilly on back porch
I’m a happy camper!

While many have detailed their goals in a manner worthy of the New Year, I have been floundering in my own Sea of Lists.

Until…

A poem found me.
Its truth offered a starting point.
Its truth offered freedom to just begin.

New Year Poem (excerpts)
May Sarton

Let us step outside for a moment
As the sun breaks through clouds
And shines on wet newfallen snow,
And breathe the new air.
So much has died that had to die this year.

We are dying away from things.
It is a necessity – we have to do it
Or we shall be buried under the magazines,
The too many clothes, the too much food.
We have dragged it all around
Like dung beetles…

…Let us step outside for a moment
Among oceans, clouds, a white field,
Islands floating in the distance.
They have always been there.
But we have not been there…

…Let us step outside for a moment.
It is all there
Only we have been slow to arrive
At a way of seeing it.
Unless the gentle inherit the earth
There will be no earth.



In between getting ready for this coming week of teaching, prepping for a trip back to the Mayo for my hubby’s 6 week post-surgical re-check*, working on a baby quilt for one of my younger cousin’s new arrival, figuring out various details of unexpected commitments – and normal outloud living – I leaned into the ‘perfect day’ call to bake.

Remember to occasionally indulge all your senses with the simple act of baking.

  • Cream the butter and sugar to its smoothest consistency
  • Inhale the aromas wafting throughout the home
  • Embrace the warmth of the oven as it fills the kitchen
  • Take note of the visual art of the newly baked good before consumption
  • Relish the act of savoring each bite

*he had a long overdue total knee replacement done at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL just 5-6 hours from where we live. It was hugely successful!

Come Monday. That’s Today.

I cannot get past the coincidence of today’s Labor Day Monday and the Come Monday Monday also being a Labor Day Monday. It pushed me over the edge of posting on this Monday, Monday. But then, that’s a different Monday entirely!

While I like me a fine Margarita, this song (and video) by the late Jimmy Buffett is more reflective of the mellower times I remember in the 70s. Since it became a hit in 1978, I can imagine & remember the early days of being a newlywed. And our time as a couple with a newborn living in the Bay Area shortly thereafter.

Hubby was the country/cross-over fan, introducing me to Jimmy, Waylon and Willie! ?

Of those three, I’d say Jimmy was the one who grew into a good lookin’ old guy – respectfully written I assure you.

RIP Jimmy – an everyday musician who didn’t let his unexpected fame (via that other hit song) spoil his joyful, gentle, persona.

On a side note: I hope this Labor Day ushers in cooler weather for everyone. Take care, all!

Weekend Notes 3.18/19.23

  • Hubby and I just got back from 2 weeks in Albuquerque (almost home!) caring for a dear longtime friend pre, during and post TAVR (heart valve replacement surgery). Originally on-call to help with the household, that same household* got struck down with RSV and then COVID so details of how we were to help changed drastically. She moved out of her home and into an Airbnb where we three (hubby, myself and herself) spent the duration.

Love is a powerful enabler

  • Meanwhile, her husband held down the fort, miraculously remaining unscathed by the actual virus, if not sleep deprivation. Love is a powerful enabler.
  • As can be seen from this 6-days-after-the-surgery photo, our precious sister-friend is stronger than ever.
Me and Joan along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque
Me & Joan along the Rio Grande in Albuquerque
  • And oh yeah, we drove there and back racking up the miles once again towards our return trip from the moon. Odometer now reads over 430K miles – only 20K left to go!

  • They officially hired me in January, and I’ve since been asked/invited to be a visiting artist/artist-in-residence during their Summer Arts Program for TAG students in the Kershaw County School System. I am turning my attention on preparing for this and am beyond the moon excited!
Source: NASA

*their household consists of her husband, a set of elderly parents, an accomplished adult child with cerebral palsy, and twice weekly babysitting of their spunky 2 year old special needs granddaughter – oh and she and her husband both work by remote from home, too.

Love is a powerful enabler

Life Is In The Doing

I’m just doing the doing. More some days than others. A steady doing of doing that is mostly mindful, often delightful, surprisingly productive and always so very daily.

Hubby and I took on several home improvement projects since buying our little rental home October 2021.

Doing needful maintenance the landlord avoided doing – even when we volunteered to do certain necessary items.

Doing homey stuff the landlord didn’t allow us to do – even if it enhanced aesthetics such as hanging plants on the front porch or planting flower gardens.

Now that we’re homeowners again, we’ve been busy.

TWL on roof Spring 2022
Terry on roof Spring 2022

From power washing the vinyl siding, to cleaning the gutters in the Spring & Fall, to planting/hanging porch plants and garden areas, to sanding, sealing, repainting said porches, stairs & railings, to replacing the crummy kitchen countertops, sink & oven fan/hood, repainting said kitchen, changing out all electrical outlets/switches & updating some electrical issues, to installing new, working ceiling fans/lights in the kitchen, Living Room, Master Bedroom and hubby’s office, to replacing the flimsy flusher pixie toilet in the hall bathroom…and more.

All without breaking the bank or dumping too much money into the place from an investment point of view.

Here are a few snaps of just one of the many projects begun & completed as mentioned above –
before & during prep of the kitchen (notice new hood in last photo):

Who knew we’d ever be able to afford granite in our modest home? When we ordered new counter tops, it was during a small window of time when supply of cheaper laminates were limited and granite actually was only a few hundred dollars more to buy & install!

BTW: this phone video is titled, “Glee over our Granite!”

If you listen closely to this vid, you’ll hear my signature laugh against hubby joking with the sales lady speaking in a typical South Carolina accent.

Kitchen 7
Lookin’ good even before we re-painted the walls (Sherwin Williams ‘Greek Villa’) and installed the new electrical plates/outlets/switches.
FYI: the kitchen is done, but I have no final photos to show here – I’ve been too busy baking & cooking up a storm and making foodie & coffee messes!

I guess we have been busy.

Our lives have certainly been enhanced by the doing.

Plus, we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and share it with our kiddos over Christmas Holiday this year. Our first time to host (for various reasons) in about 6 years.

Can’t wait!

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