Mr. Patterson spoke up. “Every ten years the United States government collects data to find out who is living in the US. The census takers ask questions about age, sex, and race, to see how the country is changing.”
“It’s friggin’ annoying. If you don’t send in your form fast enough, they start callin’ your house,” Sookie said. “No thanks. I’d rather stay off the grid.”
Dad smiled.
Vern ignored Sookie. “There is no census for white sharks. We have no idea how many young sharks, middle-aged sharks, and old sharks there are. A balance would tell us there is a healthy . . .”
Vern was searching for the word.
“Ecosystem?” Dad offered.
from: The Line Tender
by Kate Allen
Dutton Children’s Books, 2019
The Fourth of July parade, picnic, and roller-coaster emotions (anger, fear, sadness, and pride) and my wonderful, chaotic house full of kids and grandkids and cats (and a bunny rabbit) has had me distracted and a little disoriented. We have one grandchild left, and he’s going home tomorrow (Wednesday).
Yesterday, I woke in the comfortable and awesome clutches of the Grand Connection of All the Universe. Let me explain.
Most mornings, I read for a couple of hours while a cup of coffee gradually cools at my side. Last week my quote popped out of the book I was reading. My book did not having anything to do with flags or Betsy Ross. It was about balancing family problems with asking for help when you need it. But Betsy appeared in the pages of a book about a girl who loves history.
As of yesterday morning, I didn't have an idea for today's post. I had lots of mini-ideas, but no one thing stood out. I discovered today’s quote in the book I was reading. The same as last week.. The book only mentioned the Census in passing, in relation to a shark census. The main character’s mother was preparing to conduct scientific research into the relationship between a local seal population and an unusual migration of white sharks.
But the US Census is news. And the president is still trying to insert his question, even after the Supreme Court said no. It feels like when my kids were small and they asked for another helping of ice-cream for dessert. The conversation went kinda like this:
“I said ‘no.’”
“But I really want it.”
“No.”
“Let’s call it a carrot.”
“No.”
“I’m going to ask Daddy.”
Everyone got a little huffy, but order was restored, without ice-cream. Substitute the word “question” for “ice-cream” and you have my take on the US Census situation. More details will follow soon.
Where do ideas really come from, though? I wrote of this once before when I mentioned poet and song-writer Roseanne Cash’s suggestion that ideas are entities in the universe waiting patiently, or not, for someone to catch them. Elizabeth Gilbert says something similar in her book Big Magic. If an author does not follow through on an idea that has come to her, that idea will find someone else to bring it to the world.
We took my grandson to see the new movie, Yesterday. A young, struggling musician, at the brink of giving up his dream, discovered that almost no one in the whole world had ever heard of the Beatles or their music. The young musician sang the Beatles’ songs and became more famous than he could have imagined.
All the rest of the plot and characters aside, maybe it’s the music that actually needs to be in the world and found its own way to be heard. Maybe the music itself is the main character.
What if each one of us is the main character in our own story? What if each one of us does all the good work we can? Imagine all the people living life in peace!
-—stay curious! (and connected)
Weebly, the host for my blog, has changed the way it provides statistics to me. Up until this week, I could see how many people looked at my post and how many pages were seen, no matter how you found me. Now they only count the “looks” that come from ShariDellaPenna.com.
Instead of over 500 each week, Weebly is recording only the few that come directly from their platform. I’ll keep posting, but I now don’t have any idea how far my reach is. Hit the like button on Facebook, if you want, and if that’s where you find me. Or connect through Twitter. Or find me through my website. It will help me know you’re out there!
Thanks,
Shari
“It’s friggin’ annoying. If you don’t send in your form fast enough, they start callin’ your house,” Sookie said. “No thanks. I’d rather stay off the grid.”
Dad smiled.
Vern ignored Sookie. “There is no census for white sharks. We have no idea how many young sharks, middle-aged sharks, and old sharks there are. A balance would tell us there is a healthy . . .”
Vern was searching for the word.
“Ecosystem?” Dad offered.
from: The Line Tender
by Kate Allen
Dutton Children’s Books, 2019
The Fourth of July parade, picnic, and roller-coaster emotions (anger, fear, sadness, and pride) and my wonderful, chaotic house full of kids and grandkids and cats (and a bunny rabbit) has had me distracted and a little disoriented. We have one grandchild left, and he’s going home tomorrow (Wednesday).
Yesterday, I woke in the comfortable and awesome clutches of the Grand Connection of All the Universe. Let me explain.
Most mornings, I read for a couple of hours while a cup of coffee gradually cools at my side. Last week my quote popped out of the book I was reading. My book did not having anything to do with flags or Betsy Ross. It was about balancing family problems with asking for help when you need it. But Betsy appeared in the pages of a book about a girl who loves history.
As of yesterday morning, I didn't have an idea for today's post. I had lots of mini-ideas, but no one thing stood out. I discovered today’s quote in the book I was reading. The same as last week.. The book only mentioned the Census in passing, in relation to a shark census. The main character’s mother was preparing to conduct scientific research into the relationship between a local seal population and an unusual migration of white sharks.
But the US Census is news. And the president is still trying to insert his question, even after the Supreme Court said no. It feels like when my kids were small and they asked for another helping of ice-cream for dessert. The conversation went kinda like this:
“I said ‘no.’”
“But I really want it.”
“No.”
“Let’s call it a carrot.”
“No.”
“I’m going to ask Daddy.”
Everyone got a little huffy, but order was restored, without ice-cream. Substitute the word “question” for “ice-cream” and you have my take on the US Census situation. More details will follow soon.
Where do ideas really come from, though? I wrote of this once before when I mentioned poet and song-writer Roseanne Cash’s suggestion that ideas are entities in the universe waiting patiently, or not, for someone to catch them. Elizabeth Gilbert says something similar in her book Big Magic. If an author does not follow through on an idea that has come to her, that idea will find someone else to bring it to the world.
We took my grandson to see the new movie, Yesterday. A young, struggling musician, at the brink of giving up his dream, discovered that almost no one in the whole world had ever heard of the Beatles or their music. The young musician sang the Beatles’ songs and became more famous than he could have imagined.
All the rest of the plot and characters aside, maybe it’s the music that actually needs to be in the world and found its own way to be heard. Maybe the music itself is the main character.
What if each one of us is the main character in our own story? What if each one of us does all the good work we can? Imagine all the people living life in peace!
-—stay curious! (and connected)
Weebly, the host for my blog, has changed the way it provides statistics to me. Up until this week, I could see how many people looked at my post and how many pages were seen, no matter how you found me. Now they only count the “looks” that come from ShariDellaPenna.com.
Instead of over 500 each week, Weebly is recording only the few that come directly from their platform. I’ll keep posting, but I now don’t have any idea how far my reach is. Hit the like button on Facebook, if you want, and if that’s where you find me. Or connect through Twitter. Or find me through my website. It will help me know you’re out there!
Thanks,
Shari
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