Day 147 Special Performance

May 5, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

Silence wraps itself around my neighborhood in the late hour and I step outside to look up at a clear sky. The season’s newly colored trees turn to silhouettes against the deep blue sky perforated by white pinholes. The moon has taken residence just west of the scene I am watching. 

I breathe in this spring stage, feeling the moment. Nearby, a serenade begins—a solo by a Carolina wren as far as my untrained ear can discern. It is actually a concert of many songs—this singer has a repertoire of as many as 40 songs and I think he is practicing them all tonight. In the stillness of the night, I may be his sole audience. His favorite song seems to be one that sounds like “Cherry, cherry, cherry, cherry.” Another section has variations on the theme with a few staccatos thrown in. As he continues the songs, I imagine the lyrics change from “cherry” to “Bonnie” 

I cannot see this bird but it is enough to hear the music against a blue speckled backdrop and to imagine his peers perching in the wings of his celestial concert hall. As I listen, my body becomes a sitar with sympathetic strings vibrating to each note of the performance. Maybe this experience is a personification of peace—I don’t know. But what I do know is that as long as one voice stabs the night with a song, there is resonance in the soul.

My gift today is a serenade.

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> Day 148   Ping!

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 146 Smalltimore

May 4, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

Mural artist known as Nether creates a new wall at Mount and Presbury Streets in Baltimore. The art is in response to Freddie Gray's death and recent protests in the city. See completed mural below photographed 5/16/15.

Today David and I drove to Baltimore, something we do just about every other day. First stop was at New Beginnings, a black barbershop where I have put together an exhibit from my Creative Exposure Baltimore meetup group. The May 2 opening date had to be postponed because of threats to the area, so I talked with owner Troy about alternate dates and we decided on May 16. I was pleasantly surprised to find that three photographs have already sold. Then we went to Gallery 788 where I picked up an unsold piece from the Venus Envy exhibit and left two to donate to a fundraiser for the nonprofit Youth Empowered Society that was set on fire Monday night during the unrest. We chatted with owner Eduardo about how a Texan landed in this city. Since his move about six years ago, he has become a Baltimore fixture. 

Afterward, we drove around and wound up at the intersection of Mount and Presbury Streets, the troubled neighborhood of Freddie Gray who recently died in police custody and whose death was the catalyst for the recent protests and unrest. We noticed new artwork in creation. An artist known as Nether was painting a large mural of Freddie Gray’s face, with scenes of marchers on either side. Television crews were working on stories and a Korean TV reporter interviewed David. I talked with a black homeless man and another woman about what we have experienced in our city and our ideas about what needs to be done. And then I heard, “Hi, Ms. Bonnie,” and I saw Tyrus, a young black man I have photographed and who is home from college for the summer. We hugged, talked about his success completing his first year in college, and then drove him and his friend to the University of Maryland Hospital to meet with a friend. 

Many people have disowned and distanced themselves from Baltimore, especially after the past week. Their thought pattern aligns with “them” and “us” which creates a divisive wall. Too bad. Today David and I experienced joy in connecting with others, fellow human beings. Because we are open, our lives are enriched every day. Today the only wall we experienced was one holding art-- something that embraces our common experiences and pulls people together. I realized today that although my address is not within the city, my community is. 

My gift today is community.

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> Day 147:  Special Performance

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 145 Bright Silence

May 3, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

The magic lantern in the sky, the one that inspires romance, is 238,900 miles away. Tonight I looked up at a bright full moon, so far away, yet bright enough to light the way on a late night walk in the neighborhood. This moon shines on more than seven billion people on the earth. As of this very moment, the moon is shining on 376,000 new babies and its light has been extinguished for 155,000 humans. 

It shines on the Afghani woman in a burqa and on Paris Hilton swimming naked in her pool. It shines on the elephant in Botswana’s Chobe National Park and on the puggle at the end of the leash in San Francisco.  It shines on the shell-shocked Palestinian child living in the rubble of the family’s Gaza home and on the child living in an elegant New York condo. It shines on a 16-year-old teenager living in west Baltimore and another teen living in Potomac, Maryland. 

Tonight I thought about how beautiful the silence of the moon is. The family of humankind shares the same lunar experience. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all share peace too? Perhaps if we became the silent moon and listened, we might be a little closer to understanding. 

See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence…we need silence to be able to touch souls. ~ Mother Teresa

My gift today is the full moon.

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> Day 146  Smalltimore

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 144 Lives

May 2, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

Today was supposed to be the opening of a group photography exhibit by Creative Exposure Baltimore at New Beginnings Barbershop. Troy, the owner, and I were looking forward to this event as a positive thing at the end of a troubled time in Baltimore. However, a credible threat in this area made it wise to postpone the opening party.

A brief timeline: April 12, Freddie Gray, an African American, was arrested for some unknown reason by Baltimore police. By the time the police van arrived at the Western District Police Station, he was unresponsive. He was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma where he died on April 19. Angry protests began in Baltimore with fires, looting and destruction on April 27. On May 1, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that homicide, manslaughter and misconduct charges had been filed against six police officers. David and I were at the protest/celebration/rally at City Hall on May 1. 

Since April 27, most events in Baltimore have been canceled or rescheduled. One exception was the City Lit Festival today at the Enoch Pratt Central Library on Cathedral Street. Although attendance was down from last year, it was a good event and David and I listened to readers at New Mercury Readings. As we walked back to our car in a free parking space that David found, we saw the Pennsylvania State Police crossing the street in front of us. It was eerie. They lined up and spaced themselves in front of boarded up, vacant properties along Howard Street. I remember this whole area as a classy shopping district in the 50’s when I was growing up. Things change. 

We stayed around and observed trees growing out of empty windows above the line of troops. Hunger took us to a restaurant, Alewife, which occupies what used to be Lucy’s. In an empty restaurant, we had choice of seats. However, because of problems with food deliveries during the past week of unrest in Baltimore, there were only four choices on the menu. We decided on fries and water. It turned out to be a good choice.

On the way back to our car on Paca Street, we saw a new graffiti message. Signs during the protests had displayed the message, “Black lives matter.” This new graffiti said, “God bless all lives.” If there is a god, I’m sure She doesn’t favor one race, one gender, one nationality or one class. Good message.

My gift today is graffiti.

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> Day 145 Bright Silence

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 143 Continuum

May 1, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

I tend to see many shades of gray between the black and white. Life is not binary. It is a continuum in all areas. Take gender, for example. When a baby is born, what are the first words that fall out of everyone’s mouth? Is it a boy or girl? Maybe the baby is 50% boy and 50% girl. It may have female genitalia but it will grow and develop into a much more complex human being than an either/or. When it comes to race, how many people can say they are all one or the other? How many Americans have Native American mixed in somewhere in their ancestry? How many African-Americans have some white blood mixed in? How many people are totally good or totally bad? 

Because I see a continuum, it is difficult for me to think them versus us. Things are not that simple. My parents taught me empathy when I was growing up. They always reminded me to consider how other people might be feeling. Teachers, doctors and sanitation workers are people underneath their titles. I am unable to see someone as just having a title. This happened today at the demonstration in front of City Hall. I was drawn to a young National Guard black man. He had all the paraphernalia of a tough guy—the uniform, the weapons. But I had to wonder about the look on his face. There goes the empathy again! How did he relate to the black protestors? What was going through his mind? Did he wish he could be spending quiet moments with his girlfriend instead of standing guard? 

Walking around Hollins Market area after we left the protest, David and I saw a Korean liquor store owner boarding up his business in anticipation of possible trouble. Some Korean business owners in the city have had their stores destroyed by looters. I feel so bad for them and at the same time, I feel the complexity of the protestors. Standing outside the boarded-up liquor store with my Nikon, I was approached by a black man who said, “A white woman with a camera!” It was not a threat. He asked where we are from and he said he was from New England but his father lives in Baltimore. He asked us to guess his age, we did and we were surprised when we guessed too low. I asked him to guess my age but he refused and said, “Oh no, I’m not playing that game.” Then he shook David’s hand, gave me a hug and wished us a good day. People are not binary. If you want to define with one word, let’s choose human.

My gift today was a hug from a stranger.

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Day 144   Lives

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html