CoodeIndigo

“Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children, the angering of the orderlies in the front parlor of the charnel house. We could not, so help us God, do otherwise.” -- Rev. Daniel Berrigan May 17, 2018 is the 50th anniversary of the Catonsville 9 , a nonviolent protest of the Vietnam War by Catholic priests and lay people. (I have spent almost two hours figuring out how to post a photo while using an iPad. Sigh.) [and now I have an external keyboard ... Praise God, it seems to work.]

“You start dying slowly if you do not travel, if you do not read, If you do not listen to the sounds of life, If you do not appreciate yourself. You start dying slowly When you kill your self-esteem; When you do not let others help you. You start dying slowly If you become a slave of your habits, Walking everyday on the same paths… If you do not change your routine, If you do not wear different colours Or you do not speak to those you don’t know. You start dying slowly If you avoid to feel passion And their turbulent emotions; Those which make your eyes glisten And your heart beat fast. You start dying slowly If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love, If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain, If you do not go after a dream, If you do not allow yourself, At least once in your lifetime, To run away from sensible advice.” ― Martha Medeiros ( not Pablo Neruda to whom it is often mistakenly attributed ...

In four weeks, on June 3, 2018, my niece Gina and I will start walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. My niece Ellie will join us on June 15 in León. I am a little behind on my practice walks. This is a gross understatement. But I have bought some stuff! So that's progress. Thanks to Danielle G for her packing list -- it helped quite a lot. I'm waiting for a couple of things to be delivered, and I still need to buy a rain cover for the backpack. At our family gathering on Christmas Eve 2017, Gina said the thing she is most looking forward to is meeting all the other folks with whom we'll be walking. Funny coincidence -- that is the thing I am most happily anticipating too. We must share some extrovertism in our Coode DNA.