Look up to

I look up to my mother, because she is an example of courage, strength and solidarity.

Get out what you put in

you reap what you sow

15:30 - Eyes on the prize. Power! (1966-1968)

Eyes on the prize. O episódio chama-se Power! (1966-1968)



http://vimeo.com/45511413

The Wednesday Before Christmas

This happened the Wednesday before Christmas a couple of years ago. We had just finished choir rehearsal at the church. The decorations were already up - wreaths on the columns, which filled the church with a smell of pine. n the sanctuary, there was a big artificial Christmas tree. That was the drop-off spot for the Toys For Tots program, and there was a small pile of presents under it.

It was almost midnight, and I was standing in the parking lot with a friend. The other members of the choir had already gone home. We'd shut off the lights in the church and locked the front doors, but the side door by the chapel was always left unlocked.

As my friend and I were talking, a red Jeep 4x4 drove slowly into the parking lot. When the driver saw us, he turned around and left.  

This was strange, and it worried me. Churches get vandalized. The door is always open in God’s house, and occasionally some drunk will stumble into the chapel to sleep it off – or maybe to drink the wine and steal the gold altar service. But the odd, appraising drive-by of an expensive SUV-that gave me pause.

My friend and I said nothing about it. After we finished our conversation, we got into our cars, but I didn’t go home. I circled the block and returned to the church. When I came back, the Jeep was parked by the chapel door and the lights in the church were on. I sat in my car for a little while, feeling pretty nervous. Then I got up and went into the church.

Expecting to take a bullet in the head at any moment, I went through the lower church, flipping on light switches, making a whole lot of noise so they’d know I was coming. I didn’t want jumpy, startled intruders on my hands. Halfway up the stairs I found myself singing “King of the Road” at the decent volume (don’t ask me why).

I rounded the bend in the stairs and came out into the sacristy, and there, by the altar, I saw a man and a woman whom I knew by sight as members of our parish. From my spot in the choir, I see everybody. The woman always sat in the center aisle, seven pews back on the right.

She had a strong, pure soprano voice. I’d spoken to her once and asked her if she’d considered joining the choir, but she was too shy. She usually came to church alone, but I’d seen the man a few times and I knew he was her husband.

They were each holding huge white plastic shopping bags, and both of them were filled with new toys. There had to have been at least five hundred dollars’ worth of stuff in those bags. They were piling the toys under the artificial Christmas tree for the Toys For Tots Program.

The woman gave me an embarrassed half-smile and raised a finger to her lips. “Please,” she said, “not a word to anyone”.

This woman and her husband were in their late forties. I knew a little about them. They had no children. They’d never had children. Never could. Infertile.

There’s no punch line here: this is just something that happened. But when I got in my car and drove home, I was shaken by sobs that did not stop for a long time.

Jack Fear

Somewhere in Massachusetts

"True tales of American Life edited and introduced by PAUL AUSTER"

 

 

choir  (kwaɪə) - a group of people who sing together, especially in a church
rehearsal (rɪˈhɜː.səl//-ˈhɝː-/ n [C or U] ) - a time when all the people involved in a play, dance, etc. practise in order to prepare for a performance
wreaths (riːθ) an arrangement of flowers and leaves in a circular shape, which is used as a decoration or as a sign of respect and remembrance for a person who has died
whom (huːm) used instead of 'who' as the object of a verb or preposition

I met a man with whom I used to work.

aisle - corredor

pews - bancos

shy - tímida

huge - enorme

worth of stuff - cheio de coisas que valiam a pena 

punch line - piada

shaken - abalada

sobs - soluços

 

Two of Pentacles

I am flexible enough to adapt quickly and easily to all situations. My goal is contentment in all circumstances.

quem inventou o amor teve certamente inspirações musicais

ah o amor o amor, como não posso ver meu amor, beijar meu amor, abraçãr meu amor, porque simplesmente não tenho amor nenhum, quem eu penso que me ama me disseram que é pura ilusão, quem eu penso que eu amo me disseram que é pura ilusão, só sei que sinto saudades da voz, do cheiro, do beijo, do carinho, do lhar de tudo que era bom só sei também que quando andávamos juntos, mesmo que fosse em pura ilusão, só brigámos e não nos amávamos. Freud explica com certeza. Bom feriado para todas as pessoas do mundo.

sisters and brothers

sibling

Caso Encerrado

Paulinho da Viola

Quanto tempo não sei dizer
Tanta mágoa não sei contar
Só me lembro da solidão que passei
Quando vi meu castelo desmoronar
Muito embora eu esteja com saudades de um beijo
Minha vida é melhor assim
Esperando o momento de viver novamente
O amor que restou em mim
Você disse que não voltaria jamais
E pra não esperar seu perdão
Hoje tenho razões pra duvidar
Das promessas que você faz
Pra não ser enganado trago o peito fechado
Quero apenas viver em paz
Nosso amor é passado
Logo é caso encerrado
Que não dá pra voltar atrás

2 Ascensão Conservadora: Marilena

Candy Prada

só pra eu não esquecer. Candy / Prada gostei.