Somewhere in the Wings of Time ...

When I was 17 years old, I wrote a letter to my favorite writer at the time : Laurens van der Post. My mom received the letter at home, and brought it to me at the book store where I was working after school. I looked at the envelope with the British stamp on it, and couldn't figure out who it might be from, but I knew it was important. My heart was racing as I opened it ...

"VdP! It's a letter from VdP!" That was my shorthand for his name. I was so excited to see that he had actually written back to little ol' me in northern Wisconsin! I have kept this letter framed ever since.

Here's what I wrote him (taken from a draft that I kept) :

Dear Mr. van der Post :
I am happy you still live and that I have this opportunity to express my sentiments to such a wonderful writer.

I shall begin by explaining how I came to know your work. Initially, I was a fan of David Bowie, curious to see his talent as an actor. I saw the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. It was among his best acting, but in it, too, I found a great story of honor, guilt, and values I find missing in this world. I did finally acquire the book, less violent than the film and full of such beautiful prose! Do you remember this line? "The wet earth at our feet was like an antique mirror and we stood with our feet among the stars." Lovely! I've since read In a Province, First Catch Your Eland, and Face Beside the Fire.

I am not so old--just 17. The lessons we learn in History class trouble me. Your books are hopeful. The mystical sense in your writing holds me. I am grateful for that and so I thank you. Africa fascinates me and your doorway to the landscapes, foods, people, and stories keeps me dreaming that one day I might see it with my own eyes.

Would you one day be so kind as to autograph a copy of Yet Being Someone Other for me? I would so appreciate it. I wish you many helthful years to come.

With Only Respect,

Michele Matucheski
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Even after all these years, this letter still means a lot to me. He had a way with words!

Who stands in your own "wings of time?"

Bridges and Walls

Katie Doherty's beautiful song, Bridges.

I think of my role in this world as being a bridge or a channel--a connector.

I figured this out at a Work-that-is-Real Retreat a few years ago (Thanks, Dottie--I'm still reflecting on that weekend!)

In the song, Katie sings about a woman building bridges and a man who builds walls. Her home has open doors, but her bridges "can't conquer the human wall."

I just realized I built a stone wall 20 years ago. All this time, I thought it was the other person shutting me out, but it was me. I was young and hurt when I built it, for my own protection. I'm in the process of dismantling it now after so many years.

Forgiveness - Compassion - Love - Personal Responsibility. It feels good to bring it down. I can see the beautiful landscape now! It's been a gradual dismantling in the past few weeks. New insights every day. ;-)

I also know in my heart-of-hearts that the person involved will be greatly relieved too. I look forward to re-connecting with this person soon. I just have to wait for the dust to settle ...

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole enjoying grape jelly in my garden. ;-)
My friend, Vicki Moen made the trellis.

Zuill Bailey : Extraordinary Resonance on NPR

Listen to Zuill Bailey playing his magnificent cello on NPR's Morning Edition yesterday. NPR offers a "Desktop Concert."

Treat yourself and be enriched!

Grandlac : Fortified Farm House, 1500s France

Near LaCanourge, we visited a fortified farm house built in the 1500s.
Looks pretty cool, doesn't it?




This the the back side where the door is. The Poyets knew the owners and had permission to show us inside. This round tower is the circular staircase.

When we got inside, I didn't even take pictures -- I was so startled. It was cold, dark (not many windows). The ground floor would have been like living in a cave, or a garage. The Poyets said that people lived here up until the 1970s. It made me think twice about wanting to live in a castle--and how hard it would have been to keep it warm in winter. The 3rd floor was the most livable now, with a kitchen ... Still rugged living.

You have to love solitude to live there.


This is the barn, built like a boat, and low to the ground.


The slate (?) roof.


Inside the barn, built like an upside-down boat. It was perfect for sheep back in the day.


Another building on the property. Looks like a crofter's cottage in Scotland.

The family who owns this property has been slowly restoring it, and making it liveable. They have a modern farm with 500 sheep over the hill. We didn't see the working farm, though.
I also kept looking for a big lake, but didn't see one ...

Montsegur : The Last Cathar Stronghold

See that little bump on the top of this rock? That's Montsegur, in Southern France as we approach on the winding roads through the mountains.


The view from the parking lot. This is as close as you can get by car. The ticket booth is 1/2-way up so you can get a good idea if you'll be able to handle the rest of the climb. CL and I climbed up to the very top (Oliver stayed in the car and read D&D, so we didn't have to listen to him complain).


This is what the path was like ... very rocky and rugged, with stones people have been walking for 1000s of years. You just had to take it one-step-at-a-time. It was a 3-4 hour trek up and down. Think about getting supplies up there--it had to be what you could carry.


This is the view from the top ... I thought I could see Heidi tending the goats, or hear Maria singing "The Hills are alive with the sound of music ....' Sorry, wrong movie ; wrong country.


Snow-covered Pyrenes in the distance.


Inside the fortress. During the Crusades, the the Pope (at the time) launched a Holy War against all "infidels." [Sound familiar to anything happening today?] The Cathars were considered infidels because they kept to themselves, advocated a simple life (poverty, chastity ...) They were Christians, so I'm not sure where "infidel" comes in, other than they worshipped in their own way and were not interested in sending money to Rome.

In the 1200s, the Crusaders seiged Montsegur during a hard winter. The Cathars couldn't move, or get supplies. At the end of it, more than 200 Cathars were burned at the stake here in their own castle, their last stronghold. It's a grim ending, and one that makes me appreciate all the more the Freedom-of-Religion tenant in our US Constitution.

Yes, maybe the Cathars seemed a little strange, but they weren't hurting anyone. They kept to themselves and they built some magnificent castles which I can appreciate today. This kind of history really troubles me , even 800 years later.






The rocky way up to the castle.


Closer to the sky.

Vending Machine for Raw Milk (in France)

For those of you in WI (US) disappointed with the state legislature making it illegal to purchase unpasturized milk from local dairy farmers ... (We drank fresh milk all the time when I was a kid and we (or someone in the family) kept cows. I also understand the public health issues ... but it seems to me there could be a compromise with adequate testing, or something ...

This is a vending machine in the town square of Roanne, France, where you can purchase fresh unpasturized milk 24/7. They take taste seriously!


You can even get to know the farmer and his cows on one side of the stand.


They'll fill the bottles when you make a purchase. Only in France!

Favorite Moments from the Vancouver Winter Olympics

Even 4 months later, there are still moments from the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics that float through my mind ... Here are some of may favorite moments :


Whales on the Floor
This was just plain amazing!


The whales swimming in the ocean changed to Salmon swimming upstream. All in motion!


A performer runs through a flowing wheat field.
Picture from REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (CANADA)





Fiddlers (and Dancers) from the East See the NBC Video
God--I love that Cape Breton Sound! They were on fire that night! HOT!


And kd lang singing Hallelujia. Photo by REUTERS/Jerry Lampen (CANADA)
What a perfect voice she has!

Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes

Been kind of a tough week for me. The one thing that is sure to make me feel better is hearing this song. This live version makes me want to get up and dance and sing along--so I did. ;-)

Enjoy!

J's Techno Whales

My long-time friend (from way-back in junior high), Janna got a job this spring flying a small plane for a right whale survey off of Cape Cod. This is such a cool job for her, because she's been wanting to fly as long as I've known her, and now she gets paid to do it! I'm excited about the subject matter, too ...

See some of the pictures that wound up on BBC Earth News.

Here is an email she sent a few days ago (posted with her permission) :

From: janna greenhalgh
Subject: Techno whales
To: "Michele Matucheski"
Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 4:05 PM

We flew today offshore from Cape Cod. What a day! The whales are moving out of the area, we have 11 more days and about 15 more hours left in the season. We didn't expect to see much and had a great survey. The north end had about 50 humpback whales spread out between 20 miles! As we approached the southern end about 20 miles off shore it started out "I see a blow..oh, and another, oh, and.. Oh my God..."

There were maybe 30 fin and probably Sei whales all feeding near the surface and about a dozen right whales scattered in them. Tough to keep track of for circling as they came up and down!

The fin whales look like giant tad poles when their pleats fill out in feeding. Even more cool is that this was very near the NOAA boat Deleware II, which I spent some time on! They had a small boat out and were tagging whales. We got a great couple photos of them doing this. I'll probably never see them, but it was cool to know they would get them.

And to top the good day off we saw Wart. The same whale we spent over two hours circling as the small boat tried, yet again, to get the ropes off of her. Three years of chronic pain was showing in her activity. The ropes had been successfully removed a couple days ago minus one and we were told to keep an eye out for her to see what her condition was. No ropes at all and a VERY active whale! Yeah Wart!

We saw another nick-named White Cloud that was paler than other right whales and had a white edging on its fluke. Very neat!
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More info at Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.