Laws

It is smarter to borrow from nature than to reinvent the wheel.


Philip Emeagwali
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Hello Val
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It's Autumn and the leaves will soon be changing color. I happened to remark about that to someone today who told me that the leaves around here are still fecund and green. I needed that information because where I live there are no trees. I have to walk several blocks in order to see a tree.

One afternoon years ago I was speaking with a young actor who was seeking my advice as one who he thought was wiser. That was a moot point, but I assayed to give him some of my observations.

I told him that all art is indissolubly tied to nature. I said that an artist of any discipline must be knowledgeable about the laws of nature and know how to obey them. Even an actor. Or most especially an actor. He replied that he didn't understand.

We were sitting at the edge of a tree lined field. It was October. The trees were ablaze with colors and the ground was covered with leaves. I picked up one particularly beautiful leaf, with streaks of red, yellow and amber and with a touch of green at the base. I showed it to him. I said "In order to be an artist you have to be able to create something as beautiful as this leaf, Nature does it by the gezillions every year and then just throws them away."

There are an infinite number of voices in nature for the artist to hear. The sights and sounds of the forests and meadows, the flight of a bird, the distant mountain peak, the energy of the waves as the tide comes in, the flutter of a moth, the path of the lightening bolt, the song of the cricket, the taste of an apple, the feel of the snow.

Those few examples are just the merest number of gifts nature has to fuel an artist's imagination whatever medium he works in. The older I get and the more I work the more I realize the riches of nature for me and everyone. Some of them have even prompted this journal entry..

Go ahead, reinvent the wheel if you want to. I will take the long walk to the tree.

D. Bate - Vagabond Journeys No. 1,893
Never Give Up
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The Gathering

The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit is to be joyless.




Dorothy Sayers

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Hello Linda

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Now it's Autumn. Most people cal it The Fall, I call it The Gathering. "Fall" is too much of a negative word, too close to Fail. Nothing should fall in Autumn except leaves, eventually, after they have blessed us with Nature's miraculous paint job.



But the Gathering is a more appropriate title for the last full season of the year. It's a time to reap and gather in the crops, all kinds of crops. The ideas that were formed last winter, were planted in The Spring and grew into realization are waiting to be gathered up and enjoyed.



Autumn is a time for joy and celebration, a time to look over the accomplishments of the year and rejoice. It's not a time to dread the approaching winter or to regret that more was not accomplished. No, the Autumn attitude should be a joyous one full of gratitude and thanksgiving.



The Gathering is a time for New England clam bakes on the beach, for shucking the ears of corn and boiling them up, a time for pumpkin pies and fresh cranberries.



Autumn is a time to go back to school. a time for concert, opera and ballet seasons to begin and baseball season to wind up and throw it's final World Series pitch.



Autumn is a time for families, for home and for preparation. Winter is my favorite season, but I love The Gathering.



DB - Vagabond Journeys

Never give up.

Beth and Ken and the Autumn Visit

My Day With The Riches, Part 1.

They arrived promptly at 1 p.m., just when they said they would, with beer, on a beautiful Autumn day. We sat and drank, and talked, and laughed.

They ascended the loftiness into my aerie, where they viewed my world inside and out. They stepped out on to my balcony and saw the river, they sat in my chairs and saw my paintings. She opened my book, my treasured volume, my Shakespeare.

We drove into town where they met my friend the tobacconist, lottery seller and vendor of all local news.

We went for a long walk in the park where they saw the river and the trees. She took photos of everything (even me). They checked out the Columbus monument, the Puerto Rican monument and the Harriet Tubman monument. We talked of Washington's Crossing and of the Underground Railroad and of many things.

We made our way to the best restaurant in town. It was still lunch time when we arrived so we ordered appetizers and drinks. There was more talk and more laughter.

Soon it was dinner time and I had the best meal I have had since way before I left New York City.

It was the dark of night when we left there They drove me home and made sure I made it across the street with my cane, bless them.

I spent a happy day with two happy people. I had so much fun I forgot to take their picture, which I may be able to rectify during My Day With The Riches, Part 2.

DB - The Vagabond
Never give up.

October Snow

The world is a strange affair.

Moliere
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Hello Diane
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Yesterday was October 29, a nice warm Autumn day with pretty leaves and cool gentle breezes, birds cheerily chirping around the bird bath. Right? Wrong. It dropped to below freezing here and it snowed. A classic Winter day. Folks here in the northeast were in a state of shock. The car isn't winterized yet, the snow tires are still in the garage and there's ice on the roads. The boots and parkas are in the back of the closet and you can't find the mittens. Where's the snow shovel? You had an appointment to have the furnace checked but the man couldn't get to you because he was snowed in.

Trees came down, power lines came down, you can't watch the football game or hear the weather forecast. What's for dinner? Cold cuts. What's the loud scraping sound? It's the snow plow going down your street.

Will there be a snow man on the village green? Will you get hit by a snow ball? Will you throw one? Will they run the New York City Marathon in snow shoes this year.

It is impossible to be prepared for every eventuality in life, particularly when it comes to the shenanigans that Mother Nature pulls, but it does make sense to refrain from undue shock. Anything is possible. We might as well get used to it.

Trick or treat.

DB - The Original Vagabond
Never Give Up
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 5 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
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Sing Along

If you are reluctant to change think of the beauty of autumn.

Unknown
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Hello Beth
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Yes, it's Autumn. Not the Fall. The Gathering. I know my name for it will never catch on, but that won't make me change my song. It's a gathering of crops, of experiences, of ideas. It's gathering up the experiences of Summer: the memories, the photographs, the new friendships. It's harvest time: the pumpkins, the squash, the corn, wood for the stove, hay for the barn. It's the gathering of ideas, of going back to school, of plans for the Winter, of investments of time and money. It's the gathering of friends and family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah and other celebrations. It's the gathering up of the leaves in your back yard and sidewalk. As Gino, the down to earth owner of the diner in Northampton, used to joke "Yup. Mother Nature is taking off her clothes."

While the politicians on the Republican side chew each other up and spit each other out Autumn gently and surely progresses into Winter. The only thing that falls in the Fall are leaves and respect for our candidates.

Autumn, like Spring, is also a time of change, significant, graphic change. The kind of change that makes fundamental effects in the lives of real people, not the blue suit buffoonery of Washington and Wall Street. The kind of change that takes a lump of honest thought and vigorous action. The lazy days of summer and the lazy mentality of the super comfortable are over. Cold air is breathing through the cobwebs and an energetic force is announcing itself in the bright night sky. It's the force of , strong, necessary and inevitable. Singing through the bare branches of the trees is a song of freedom, a new freedom, from poverty, disease, oppression and ignorance. Freedom from the tyranny of the unchanged and unchanging. A song that is gathering voices.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
What? Give up? Never.
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 5 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I await your answers.
DB
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The Gathering

Well it's Autumn is it? It's been a hell of a Summer. Too much bad weather worldwide. Too much bad politics worldwide. Too much bad religion worldwide. Too many kidnappings, too many deaths, too many killings, too many guns in the hands of too many crackpots.

Oh, come gentleness, compassion and peace. Come to us, a bruised and terrified world and teach us to be good to each other. Let the winds of Autumn bring gratitude and respect.

Why do our public figures verbally assassinate each other with smiles on their faces? Why are there more bullies in the playground than ever before? Why are there more poor people struggling against regressive measures than ever before? Why are some churches preaching exclusivity and why are there those who practice brutality and cruelty against the innocent? Why are some communities being destroyed by tornadoes, industry and gangs? Why are passionate men and women destroying themselves in order to destroy other people? Why is hatred just and love a joke? What has sown insanity into the hearts and minds of the people? Why is self-righteous ignorance the ethic of the times?

Oh, please come Autumn winds, with the spirit of gratitude, compassion, reason, joy and true moral strength.
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Autumn is the only season with two names. I don't know why it is called The Fall. I prefer to call it The Gathering. It is harvest time in the northern hemisphere, the bringing in of crops, the going back to school, the growing up, the preparing for Winter.

I have memories of New England farmers who all seem to harvest at the same time and inches before the big freeze comes. I have memories of people happily preparing for Chanukah celebrations in New York City. I have memories of Thanksgivings where people I haven't seen for a while and some strangers gather to celebrate that life is still going on in spite of everything. I have memories of the local Halloween where parents are not loath to bring their kids into the tobacco and lottery shop because Karen, the proprietor, dresses up in a costume and prepares bundles of good things for them. I have memories of hiking in the White Mountains among the glorious scenes while down below on the highway buses pass with seniors from some place else admiring the magnificent colors. I have memories of the evergreens stacked up against the wall of the hardware store hoping to be bought to become brightly decorated Christmas trees.

The gathering of crops, the gathering of families, the gathering of life lessons and the gathering of hope. Oh, come Autumn and bring no more tears except tears ofjoy.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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Grateful Gathering

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.

Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Autumn: The only season of the year that has two names. Why it is also known as Fall is a mystery to me. Spring forward Fall back? The Falling leaves? My dictionary gives many meanings to the word but only one that simply says "autumn." It seems a strange word for this time of year. What does it mean? Dropping down to a lower level? The loss of innocence? Toppling over and hitting the ground.? Pinning your opponent to the wrestling mat?

I think a much better nickname for the season is The Gathering. It's the season of harvest, of bringing into the storehouse what has been sown in the Spring and nourished through the Summer. Nature is pulling back into herself the sap of the trees to let them sleep and dream of Spring. It is the time to take stock of the results of last Spring's vigorous ambitions. It's the time of the coming together of families to celebrate. In the northern farm communities it's the time to amass the fuel for the Winter and enough feed for the livestock. It's the season of shopping for the holidays and bringing home the gifts you're going to give. It's the time to shake out the blankets and quilts and to make sure your children have the boots, coats, hats, scarves, mittens and all the gear they need for the cold weather to come. And, yes, it's time to go out and catch the precious leftover rays of sunshine.

Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. The Sleeping, The Waking, The Growing. The Gathering. The busy joyous evening of the year.

DB - The Vagabond