OTHERWORLDLY HAPPENINGS

THIS HOUSE USED TO HAVE ALL KINDS OF GHOSTLY NOISES.

FOOTSTEPS COMING UP THE STAIRS, DOORS OPENING AND  

CLOSING. LOUD SOUNDS. RANDOM AS THEY WERE, IT COULD 

BE UNNERVING.

LOLA, OUR MAINE COON CAT, FIT RIGHT IN INTO OUR MYSTICAL

SURROUNDINGS. SHE WAS ALWAYS CHIRPING ANDD TRILLING.

WE HAVE BEEN AMAZED BY HEARING, WHAT SOUNDED LIKE

A "HUMAN" VOICE, SAY "I'M GREAT", SEVERAL TIMES IN A ROW.

THE NEXT NIGHT, "I'M GOOD", THEN, "GO", ALSO A FEW TIMES.

"HELLO", WAS NEXT, TWICE. 

NOT SURE WHAT TO THINK, AS THE "VOICE" WAS SO DISTINCT

BUT SHE SPOKE RANDOMLY. BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, SHE HAD

BEEN MAKING EERIE, OTHERWORLDLY SOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE

OF THE NIGHT.

IF YOU WERE OPEN TO METAPHYSICAL IDEAS, YOU MIGHT THINK

SHE WAS CHANNELING A SPIRIT OF SOME SORT. THIS SPECIAL 

FELINE IS NOW IN AN URN NEARBY...SHE LIVED A LONG LIFE

OF 19 YEARS.

 

                                                                WAS IT YOU?

WAS IT YOU WHEN THE RED LIGHT CAME ON, ON THE STOVE THAT HAD

BEEN UNPLUGGED FOR YEARS? WAS IT YOU WHO MADE THE SMOKE

DETECTORS GO OFF A NUMBER OF TIMES (NEVER BEFORE)? WAS IT YOU

WHO LEFT THE WHITE FEATHER ON THE CHAIR ON THE DECK THAT I

COULDN'T HELP BUT NOTICE, IN THE MIDDLE OF A SEAT ON A BLUE 

CHAIR? WAS IT YOU WHO TURNED THE TV ON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE

NIGHT? WAS IT YOU WHO RANG ONCE ON THE LANDLINE AT 1:30 AM?

WAS IT YOU WHO BROUGHT THE ORANGE ORBS TO ME AT 3AM? THEY

WERE HUGE, LIKE ON A TV SCREEN, THEN ZIGZAGED OUT OF SIGHT,

INTO A DARKNESS THAT OVERWHELMED ME.

I WANT YOU BACK...ALL THE OCCURRENCES THAT I MENTIONED 

WILL HAVE TO COMFORT ME IN THIS UNBEARABLE FEELING OF

LOSS. 

POWER STRUGGLE WITHIN THE CANCER TEAM

WHILE PAINTING TODAY, MY THOUGHTS WENT

BACK TO MY HUSBAND'S CANCER BATTLE. HIS

RADIATION TREATMENTS WERE STOPPED ABRUPTLY, 

AFTER HAVING THEM FOR A LITTLE OVER 5 WEEKS,

TO TREAT HIS LUNG CANCER. THERE WAS NO 

EXPLANATION BY THE RADIALOGIST.

BEFORE THIS, R HAD TOLD HER HE WAS SET UP TO HAVE AN

ABLATION TREATMENT TO FURTHER DESTROY HIS DISEASE,

THAT THE RADIATION TREATMENTS COULDN'T ENCOMPASS.

THIS WAS TO BE DONE BY A PIONEER IN THE FIELD...WE

HAD BEEN VERY IMPRESSED BY HIS CONFIDENCE AND ANAZING 

BACKGROUND, FILLED WITH HONORS AND ACLAIM FOR HIS

WORK.

M, THE RADIOLOGIST, WHO HAD BEEN ADVERSARIAL WITH R SINCE

MEETING HIM, SAID, RE. THE PROCEDURE..."WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT".

SHE PUT HIM IN A SITUATION THAT LEFT HIM IN LIMBO...SHE TOLD

THE ABLATION GROUP THAT "HE IS CURED". SHE, THEN, UPPED

THE DOSAGE OF THE RADIATION AND FAILED TO TELL HER 

PATIENT ANYTHING, WITH NO TESTS TO BACK HER OPINION UP.

HE, THEN, HAD TO WAIT 3 MONTHS, FOR A CAT SCAN. STAGE 2

WENT TO STAGE 4 DURING THAT TIME. INITALLY, THE OTHER

PROCEDURE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE A WEEK AFTER RADIATION

FINISHED. THERE WAS SUCH A BLATANT POWER PLAY AT WORK,

THAT RISKED R'S HOPES OF STOPPING THE NEVER ENDING

PAIN HE ENDURED, ONLY MAKING IT WORSE. 

I'VE NEVER KNOWN SUCH A HELPLESS FURY THAT COULD

CHANGE NOTHING TO HELP MY HUSBAND.

 

WILLIAM MERRITT CHASE...A FASCINATING AMERICAN ARTIST 

ONE OF MY FAVORITE AMERICAN ARTISTS IS WILLIAM MERRITT CHASE. HE HAS BEEN

DESCRIBED AS A NATURAL PERFORMER AND GREAT SHOWMAN, AS GREAT A SELF

PROMOTER, AS HE WAS AN ARTIST. HIS CHARISMATIC TRAITS ASSURED HIM A DEVOTED 

FOLLOWING OF STUDENTS, AMONG THEM GEORGIA O'KEEFFE, CHARLES HAWTHORNE, JOSEPH STELLA AND ROCKWELL KENT.

HERE'S ONE OF HIS QUOTES:

"...THE AIM OF EVERY GREAT ARTIST, AS FAR AS TECHNIQUE GOES, IS TO AS GREAT

     AN EXTENT AS POSSIBLE TO DO AWAY WITH THE INTERMISSION BETWEEN HIS

    HEAD AND HIS HAND...".

THIS ONE IS IS INTERESTING:

"THE PROFESSION OF THE ARTIST IS ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT THAT WE KNOW,

AND AS I TELL MY STUDENTS ABOUT TO ENTER IT, THE MOST DIGNIFIED".

ZEN QUOTE OF GRATITUDE

I LIKE THIS QUOTE OF GRATITUDE BY ZEN MASTER GOTO ROSHI...

"MAKE YOUR WHOLE LIFE UNCEASING GRATITUDE.

  WHAT IS ZEN? SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SO SIMPLE.

    INFINITE GRATITUDE TOWARD ALL THINGS PAST.

    INFINITE SERVICE TO ALL THINGS PRESENT,

    INFINITE RESPONSIBILITY TO ALL THINGS FUTURE." 

CHILDE HASSAM, AMERICAN IMPRESSIONIST 

I JUST HAVE TO LOOK AT CHILDE HASSAM'S PAINTINGS

OF THE SEA AND SEA GARDENS TO FEEL UPLIFTED. MANY

OF HIS MOST BEAUTIFUL WORKS WERE SCENES OF THE 

ISLES OF SHOALS, 10 MILES OFF THE COAST OF NEW

HAMPSHIRE. HASSAM'S LUSH, RICHLY COLORED GARDENS

HAVE A MAGICAL QUALITY.

IT WAS IN THIS SETTING THAT CELIA THAXTER, A POET AND

JOURNALIST, ESTABLISHED AN INFORMAL SALON. SHE ATTRACTED

ARTISTS, WRITERS, AND MUSICIANS TO HER HOME ON 

APPLEDORE ISLAND. HER GARDENS WERE CELEBRATED IN

HASSAM'S SENSUOUS WORKS, CAPTURING THEIR BRILLANT

COLORS AND WILD BEAUTY.

 

THOUGHTS ABOUT LOVE...

SOME FIND "TRUE" LOVE ELUSIVE, OTHERS FIND IT RIGHT

IN FRONT OF THEM...SOME FIND IT EARLY, SOME LATE, SOME

NEVER.

FOR THOSE THAT HAVE FOUND A PROFOUND LOVE, THIS

QUOTE, BY LAO TZU, WILL RESONATE:

                   "TO LOVE SOMEONE DEEPLY

                     GIVES YOU STRENGTH,

                     BEING LOVED BY SOMEONE

                     DEEPLY, GIVES YOU COURAGE".