L'aura del Campo

One dumb santa? Concert at the campanile

They had to rescue old Santa from a rooftop; Dufus is losing his marbles? Went to Bell Tower concert and climbed to see the carillon; Kansas lost. Kansas won!; Comments on NYC shooting, animal success stories; Images of Battenfeld Scholarship Hall; Poultry, of course; weather has been awesome.

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AUTUMN: 4 Qawl (26 November)

'é a lua,  é a lua,  na quintana dos mortos'
♣    Federico García Lorca    ♣

MY THOUGHTS

I visited the Campanile for the second-last Sunday concert of the year. It was in the 60s and partly cloudy, but good weather to be out and about on the Hill. I looked at the golden willow, the riplles lapping the last lily pads in Potter Lake while Professor Elizabeth Berghout played "Go Down Moses" (arranged by her husband Daniel Berghout) among other pieces.

I invited myself, along with 3 others, to walk up the spiral stairs to go see the bells. The last time (first time and only other time) had been March 23rd, 2003, but I remembered to just look at the concrete in front of me and not down. I have bad vertigo.

We stopped to look at the practice instrument that has a complete set of batons (hand and feet pedals) just like the real one a story above it. The only difference is that the pedals connect to tubes like a harpsicord; they ring them like a xylophone.

Above, we guests talked about the bells (I tend to ask questions) and each of us got to play a bit. I chose the beginning of Die Lorelei just like I did 3 years ago, but this time I was less timid. **Not bad** I thought and wished I had memorized the entire piece.

The bells themselves come from England and have overtones of a major third instead of minor, unlike a piano. The English bells are more 'mellow' than the Dutch bells (like the ones in Detroit). I commented that there was room for the higher smaller bells and the professor concurred (just gotta find someone to pay for them . I suggested the football program .)

She showed us how the clappers could be adjusted (due to weather), mentioned that they have found bells over 3,000 years old in China and that the bells she played in Europe were hundreds of years old. Twice a year someone comes in to oil the wires. There were replaced and the bells rearranged a few years ago.

The University of Kansas Campanile is a youngster, built in 1950. I've told Professor Berghout that I hope she can be there in 2050 (she'll only be 85 years young) for the centenary.

Link for the carillon: http://www.carillon.ku.edu/
Link for Professor Berghout: http://www.carillon.ku.edu/berghout.html

WATT'S GNUS

On the New York Police Shooting

It may be painful for some people to realize that the legacy of racism, of slavery, of segregation and Jim Crow still creates problems in U.S. society.

Just because the U.S. governmment started a war in Iraq, won't honor the Geneva Convention or sign the Kyoto Agreement, doesn't mean that domestic issues have gone away.

The recent shooting of a man in New York City the day before his wedding day brings up old wounds that have never been properly clean and dressed and therefore have never healed.

Because I have lived in the Inner City, have witnessed the aftermath of a man executed in front of my house (never solved, because ... well he was poor, young and black), and am part of a minority population, I am touchy about state or police executions.

I have nothing to add to what happened in New York. I wasn't there; but, I do wish everyone who reads this would pause for a moment and ask yourselves what your reaction would've been if this were your brother, cousin or friend. In the end, we are all family.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061126/ap_on_re_us/police_shooting

Animal Success Stories

Some animals are doing well; others are not. This article focuses on the succeses in the U.S., such as bald eagle, black-footed ferret, condor and bison (sorry Wren, no mountain goats!):

http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/top10_species_success.html


WEATHER

49º in Malmö, Sverige.
65º in Lawrence and warm.
33º in Missoula, Montana and snowy.
32º in Monroe, Washington and snowy.

The sun sets in Malmö at 3:45. Less than 8 hours of sunlight. Here we will have a couple more nice warm days then smack! 15º and snowy. Missoula may see zero this coming week. At least it was a sunny and pleasant Thanksgiving Day here. .

IMAGES

Battenfeld Scholarship Hall:

Cardinal; blue jay; pink verbena; pink geranium; gazania with their buds closed; petunia; blue jay; chickadee; two types of woodpecker; squirrels; ash with wilted yellow leaves and orange bark; white poplars with a few straggly leaves; robins in the vines.

So I wrote a friend who lived here a couple years ago a poem:

Birds of Battenfeld

         for Gastón Araoz

As long as white poplars hold onto leaves
I won't let go of dreams
that whisper among the wilted ash,
orange bark that woodpeckers grasp.
The redbird flits; the jay complains in blue.
And while the robins seek bugs and berries
among the purple vines, I think of you
in the chirp of chickadee blown in from the north,
the southern breeze that bears false warmth,
enough to grace geraniums in bloom.
Their pale pink petals belie late autumn's tune.
Above the barren rooms of Battenfeld
the squirrels fly from twig to twig,
oblivious that winter comes next week
and that they have no wings. [163.437]

POULTRY

Rescuing Santa

Santa was rescued from a rooftop,
blue lights twirling to the sound of sirens.
Streets blocked off until the fire trucks arrived
while young kids gawked at old foolish Claus
stuck on the top of Weaver's roof. They raised
their eyes as firemen raised their ladders.
Young girls pointed and young boys thought:
if his daddy allowed him to climb so high,
why can't I go all the way to the top? [163.438]

Cicada

My mother had a son she didn't want
and one she did.

I bore both her sins: her fire and water,
her sand and wind.

Steam burned; dust blew; my mother chose what I
was to believe.

She dared not see
what I became: a cicada, empty shelled

long before the buzz of childhood stopped.
I dropped to where

I now complete my metamorphosis,
my growing wings. [163.436]

David's bench

         for David Beust {1959-2005}

Today the scabiosa blooms butterfly blue
and one bee visits its soft pin-cushions
while here I sit on this hard bench
dedicated to you.

Black metal rails leave creases on my back,
the stripes of corduroy and angst. It's sunny,
warm and somehow late November.
The trees are leafless in the calm
before the storms that hail December,
the snows that cover dirt filled graves.

Your grave.

Along this path old bicycles pass
and children born the day you died
swing high and low or slide down yellow chutes,
caught by parents.

How many times did you bike alone
from Kansas to Arkansas? How many back?
And when you died alone, who caught you
on your one-way journey to the other side? [163.439]

READING

Ko Un, well known Korean poet. Much is lost in translation I think. But there are parts I need to reread at one of my favorite libraries (Borders ).

Moira suggests I read Barbara Kingsolver and Kent Haruf's "Plainsong".

I finished Haruki Murakami's "Norwegian Wood". Suicides are hard for me. Very strong characters though.

WRITING

I'm editing 'Ao Hanada', miserable entry by miserable entry. Got 4,650 words on-line. Probably have wriiten 9,700 but who cares? At this rate I can still reach 20k by January, 30k if I focus. That'll be about 150 entries where I'm keeping them hidden (for now ). I'm still writing by scene, but as the scenes add up, I'll need to organize them better.

I've decided to write 100 versions of "Roses are red, violets are black" as a writing exercise. Wish me luck!

MY LIFE

I have one? Oh ... is this why I get up in the morning? Not.

Retrieved 4 books I bought in 2004 from my car. They were to be a gift to a child. He wasn't even 2, now he's 4 . Time to send them.

Calm at the moment. The students are back and everything will be open again.

Gotta get that application filled for Chatham College.

BLOGVILLE

LilPaul is back, but I'd love to smack some sense into him. I've seen too many young people get hurt in situations similar to his. Triggers a lot of bad memories. Nothing I can do.

sharonbythesea is leaving WDC because she just doesn't have time. Too bad. I miss people. Story of my life ... I thanked her for all the gps she sent as a parting gift.

SPORTS

Football

Well, Montana gave McNeese State and Furman a cold welcome and sent them home with a loss. So, Montana and Montana State both advance in 1-AA football. My Jayhawks stumbled badly against Missouri. Ouch. A mediocre 6-6 year, but this was the only game where they got stomped.

Basketball

Jayhawks trashed Florida, 82-80. After being beat by Oral Roberts U (at home no less!), they defeated the #1 ranked team (sixth time in history). Let the waving of the wheat continue!

Note: I had to delete some super-long urls to make my blog readable again. One alternative mentioned: http://tinyurl.com to change them into short forms. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.

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 Kare Enga