Mary Beth Writes

Grownups Noticing Their Lives

5/17/2023 

The local TV weather folks talked about ‘a pneumonia front’ for two days. I’d never heard the term before but we all know temps can change fast, right? It’s more generally called life on planet earth. Keep a jacket handy if you can.

Yesterday I went for a walk with a hoodie tied around my waist, JIC. I was one block from Discount Liquors (yes, walking for wine is part of my exercise routine) when the wind shifted. Suddenly the weather turned over and I was inside a lovely sensation of cool pillowcases swirling around hot and sweaty me.

I bought some wine, put on my jacket, and started back home.

I was not thinking about much as I cut through the lawn around the library. There are two Indian mounds there which remind me that Wisconsin was once the home of Pottawatomie and their predecessors.

“More mounds were built by ancient Native Americans in Wisconsin than in any other region of North America—between 15,000 and 20,000, at least 4,000 of which remain today. Most impressive are the effigy mounds, huge earthworks sculpted in the shapes of thunderbirds, water panthers, and other forms, not found anywhere else in the world in such concentrations.” https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5559.htm

I saw a homeless woman right up against the biggest mound. She was sound asleep with a pillow under her head and coats and maybe a blanket tucked around her. She looked peaceful.

I don’t have words for how beautiful and sad that moment was. This woman was tucked in against the pneumonia front. She had chosen for safety to sleep between a library and ancient ones.

The human spirit endures so much.

I kept on walking and came home and had a glass of wine and talked with Len. That’s what I noticed yesterday.

 

 

 

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love this, not that the woman is homeless, but that she found some peace in her world
Mary Beth's picture

Yeah. I think that's what moved me, too. That she found her way to the place between a library and the resting place of a people who were not greedy.

Walking for wine. I bet you could start a “group”. I will remember that homeless lady in my prayers.

You struck a nerve with me with the description of the Indian mound and the homeless woman near the library. We had a homeless couple who spent a lot of time near the town library. Like you said, perhaps there is some semblance of safety there. There was warmth and facilities during library open hours. The kind library staff offered them help in the form of taking them to shelters but she would have had to go to a women's shelter, him to a men's. Added to this was their little dog would have had to go to an animal shelter. The three didn't want to be separated. They refused. I haven't seen them lately but it was troubling to think of them in the cold New England night. Twice I gave them Care Packages from my church. Besides that and praying for them, there wasn't a lot to do. Hope they're in a more stable place. Perhaps they found housing. The Indian mounds are beautiful and interesting. I wonder if I've seen one or more anywhere. I'll be looking now.
Mary Beth's picture

I struggle to know how to even respond to what we see and witness and know about people in our communities who are so vulnerable. Keep our spirits humble and tender, I guess. Give money and time as we can. Offer our respect to our fellow humans.

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A-Z P is for Procrastination

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"You can lead a horse to water but you can't grant him the serenity to accept the things he cannot change.” (Tweet by Bob Golen) 

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...

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My morning's been packed. Before it was even 8:00 we played facetime dollhouse with our 6-year-old grandkid. She laughed extremely hard at the wedding of wee Kristoff (the Frozen story) to a new clothespin doll from Goodwill, because the groomsman kept standing on the cupcake table. No one could get the groomsman to straighten out so a collie had to run over and bite him.

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