THE PAINTED POSSUM

Steve McQueen

2011-12-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

By the '70s, he was the highest paid actor in the world.

Here, he was just somebody's best friend.

Over the River and Through the Woods, to Aunt Suzie's House

2011-11-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011 in Alabama was lots of fun! My sister, Susan, invited us to her house for a feast, and it was a great one. Yummy food, family, games and relaxation made the day a memorable delight.

Pictured above are the young set, who gave thanks and reveled enthusiastically, and who especially enjoyed the chocolate brownies. From left to right: Kendall, Kiley and Reed, pictured with Bentley the Bear.

I Made This

2011-09-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

A while back I decided to make some changes in my kitchen/dining room decorating scheme. I had the world's heaviest kitchen table, which has been in my house for maybe 26 or 27 years, but no dining room table. So, I decided to paint my big country kitchen table, collect some assorted chairs to paint white, and use those in my dining room. The results are just what I was hoping for!

So, then I had no kitchen table! I did, however, have some white spindle-type table-leg-looking things that I had salvaged from my cousin's refuse pile by the side of the road. He had recently replaced his porch railing, and these were the throw aways.

So! It seemed plausible to me that having things that looked like kitchen table legs could easily be translated into having a table.

After much puzzling over planks and boards, after much measuring and marking and sawing and drilling, hammering, screwing and glueing, then painting... voila!

It's a table!

I would like to add that my daughter was especially pleased with my choice of placemats! But that was just for the picture.

Freeing the West Memphis Three

2011-09-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

On August 28, 2011, in Newsweek Magazine, reporter Mara Leveritt wrote about the long fought for release of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly and Jason Baldwin. Below is a link to that article.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/28/the-west-memphis-three-their-first-taste-of-freedom.html

I'm wishing "best of luck" to these three young men, who were children themselves in 1993 when they were wrongfully convicted of murdering three 8 year-old children in West Memphis, Arkansas. There was no evidence against the three convicted teen-agers, other than the fact that Damien Echols read William Blake and Steven King.

A defense lawyer for the West Memphis Three said they were convicted because "at the time they were easy targets."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/defense-lawyer-west-memphis-easy-targets/story?id=14340244

"West Memphis Three" May Be Released

2011-08-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Six innocent lives were destroyed in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Three 8 year-old children were brutally murdered, and three teen agers were convicted without any evidence against them.

Today, the young men who were unjustly convicted may finally be set free!

If Innocence Matters, these young men should never have been suspects, much less convicted felons.

http://rameychannell.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-07-19T07%3A34%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm

2011-06-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

...after they've been to Second Samuel, GA!

Here we are! The citizenry of 2nd Samuel, along with a few interesting four-legged characters from Jimbo's farm. And the temperature out there was only about 99, maybe 100. But we were an intrepid and undaunted bunch, determined to get one good picture for our beloved director, Nell Richardson. And, did I mention the biting goat?

And here are the ladies from the Change Your Life Hair and Beauty Emporium, listening as that sweet little gentleman, B Flat, pitches a fit.

This is the local watering hole of Second Samuel, GA, known as The Bait and Brew.

Second Samuel, a play by Pamela Parker, is set in a small town in Georgia, just after the end of World War II. The story begins as the town mourns the death of one of their most beloved citizens, Miss Gertrude. She's that tall lady who taught piano lessons. But after her death, certain secrets are revealed and turmoil ensues!

It was my pleasure and privilege to be among the cast of this excellent story that ended with the advice: Just love one another. And, as U.S. so wisely stated, "It's not our place to judge, now is it?"

Just love one another.

Starring Ramey Channell as "Ruby"

2011-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Second Samuel, a southern comedy by Pamela Parker, will be presented at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, located on Montevallo Road in Leeds, Alabama, the first two week-ends of June. Performances will be Fridays and Saturdays, June 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 7:30 PM. Matinee performances will be Sundays, June 5 and 12, at 2:30 PM.

This very popular Pulitzer-nominated play, set in a small Georgia town in the late 1940s, is brimful of laughter, with a smattering of tears and a few surprises as well. As the play opens, it is summertime and the town folk are preparing for the funeral of Miss Gertrude, one of their most beloved citizens. But the serenity in this sleepy rural town is suddenly shattered when dark secrets are revealed, causing discord, debate and astonishment in Second Samuel, GA.

And, you get to see me in my acting debut, more or less, portraying Ruby, an employee of The Change Your Life, Hair and Beauty Emporium, along with an impressive cast of accomplished performers who know what they're doing.

Tickets are $15 and include hors d'oeuvres and beverage during intermission. Reservations are highly recommended: 205-699-2404

Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Mother's Day Song

It's Mother's Day in Alabama and the sun is shinin',
Flowers are bloomin', pines are pinin',
Skeeters are hummin' and birds are a-peckin'.
That's 'cause it's Mother's Day, I reckon.

Chorus: Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

Mothers are indispensable, you just gotta have 'em.
How you could get along without one, I just can't fathom.
You got your tall mothers, short mothers, your skinny and your fat.
It's Mother's Day, and I'm for that.

Chorus: Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

Way back a long time ago I was born.
It was a crispy, beautiful July morn'.
I kicked and I screamed and I cried and I fussed;
My mama smiled and said, "Well, it's another one of us!"

Chorus: Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

If my mama hadn't had me, I wouldn't be nothin'.
I'd just be floatin' around somewhere in the cosmos, huffin' and puffin'.
I couldn't go to court and learn Latin words like "quid pro quo,"
I couldn't go to the movies and see Leonardo DiCaprio.

Chorus: Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

Now, Mother's Day comes but once a year,
But don't be sad and don't shed a tear.
We're gonna have enough fun to last a long, long time.
We're gonna eat a little cake and drink a little wine.

Chorus: Oh, Happy Mother's Day!

Ramey Channell 2001

Alabama State Poetry Society's Spring Fling

2011-05-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

.
Hello everyone! I've been trying to get a new post up here for days! Everytime I address the issue, something happens and I have to put it off again. But, here's the news.

Alabama State Poetry Society held the Spring Meeing at the beautiful Newton-Davis House in Odenville, Alabama. That's where I ran into my first blog problem. I wanted to post a picture of the meeting place, and I'm sure I have done so before, but now every picture I try to display is the size of a postage stamp. And what's the use of a postage stamp sized image?

But the good news is, I won two First Place poetry prizes, and you can see a great write-up in The Leeds Herald at http://heraldnewsmedia.com/content/?p=2432

One of my prizes was 1st Place in the Christmas in July Contest, even though it isn't actually July! It was really Christmas in April! The requirement for this unusual contest was to do a parody of any Christmas carol, with an added "occupational twist." Here's my winner!

Oh, Fa!

Deck the walls with book and journal
Fa-la-la-la-la the library
Foolish fiction springs eternal
Fa-la-la-la-la the library
Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel,
J.D. Robb, Peter Straub, Stephen King,
Books divine and books infernal
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library!

Some are fragrant, some are pyooey!
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library.
All must have the decimal Dewey
Fa-la-la-la-la, the library.
Penned by authors, scribes and hacks,
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, fol-de-rol.
Meanwhile I'm lost in the stacks.
Fa-la-la-la-la, THE LIBRARY.

Some folks find their life's ambition
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Following some holy mission
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Doctors, lawyers, thieves, musicians,
Fa-la-la, bless them all, la-la-la
Me, I'd rather just go fishin'
Winter, spring and fall, THE LIBRARY!

.

Egg-quilibrium

2011-03-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

The First Day of Spring occurred right on schedule, Sunday March 20th, along with the strange and mystifying influences of the Vernal Equinox. At my house, Hawk's Hill, and here at The Painted Possum, this event is ALWAYS celebrated with the joyous act of balancing eggs in the kitchen. The glee with which I address this task is always the same, no matter how many times it is repeated. Shouts of "WOW!" and "There she is!" and "LOOK, another one!" reverberate throughout the house ... and my kids look at me weird. Their usual response is "Yep."

Then I start yelling for someone to bring me the camera.

This was the first little egg to go up. The information I received said the exact time of the equinox would be 7:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, and usually the eggs are easier to balance the closer it gets to the appointed time. But these were balancing with no effort at all at about 11:00 AM.

According to Wikipedia, equilibrium is the condition of a system in which competing influences are balanced. So, apparently, the competing influences of the shape of the egg, the weight of the egg's contents, and the force of gravity, along with some unknown factor, are balanced on this specific day of the year. There are abundant theories about the balancing act of hen's eggs on the first day of Spring, and it is a rare and unequaled delight!

Do we know how to have fun in Alabama?

Valentine's Day - Birthday

2011-02-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Guess who was born on February 14th, Valentine's Day?

Of course, it's our own inimitable Willie T., the darling of Moonlight Ridge!

www.sweetmusiconmoonlightridge.blogspot.com

When we were kids, he kept my sister and me entertained, amused, and mystified!

Some things, (and some people) never change.

Here's a Valenitine possum for Willie T., aka Donnie Nock.

So, Summer's Not Here

2011-02-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Looks like it wasn't summer after all! After a big snow overnight, the temp is now 30 degrees. It seems to be stuck at 30 degrees.

So much for rubber sandals and straw hats, James.

But just look at these pictures from the magic camera of my daughter, Buffy.

This is such a phenomenal photograph! I'm amazed and mesmerized by this image.
Awe inspiring!

And, here's the love of my life: my grandson Reed having a time in the Alabama snow.

Summer's Here and I'm for That!

2011-02-06T10:17:00.001-08:00

Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat!

Thanks to James Taylor for those lyrics.

It may be a little early to start welcoming summer, but at least the sun is shining and the temperature is above freezing. This is progress!

And, today is my friend Steve Clarkson's birthday! Happy birthday, Steve! I tried to post Steve's illustrious picture, but I couldn't get the image to transfer. Maybe he's non-transferable. I'll have to try some slight-of hand manipulation.

Hey, Steve, if you're reading this, send me a non-copyrighted photo!

Steve is an excellent musician, gardener, photographer and wall-builder. Not to mention lover of possums and all things marsupial.

Movie Day!

2011-01-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's movie day here at The Painted Possum! It's been a long time since the last movie day; as a matter of fact, it's been a while since my last blog post here. But, chalk it up to The Winter Doldrums. Also, life in general is like sliding down a very fast sliding board.

Hoping to find an illustration for you, I Googled "Possum on a sliding board." Oddly enough, I didn't find a possum on a sliding board.

However, here's something interesting I did find, at Handy Tricks From Quatemala, by Tim Anderson:

How to Catch a Possum

Don Filberto explains how his father used to catch small animals. He'd prop a box or basin up on an avacado pit or another smal round object. He'd put a weight, such a a board (or in this case, a machete) on top of the box. The animal would go inside to get some bait, the box would fall down, and 'voila', you got yourself a captive possum. I don't know what 'voila' is in Spanish. But Don Filberto added that his father would move the pan or box around until the animal's tail was poking out, then grab it by the tail.

So, I can identfy with this. While life is INDEED like sliding down a very fast sliding board, there are interludes when life is more like being a possum trapped under a pan with an avacado seed ...

Back to Movie Day!

Today's movie is The Road to El Dorado, one of my favorite movies, an animated comedy film by DreamWorks Pictures. The two main characters, Miguel and Tulio, are voiced by Kenneth Branaugh and Kevin Kline, and the soundtrack features music by Elton John and Tim Rice.

The movie begins in 16th century Spain where two con-artists, Miguel and Tulio, using loaded dice, win a map that shows the location of El Dorado, the city of gold in the New World. They stow away on one of Hernan Cortes' ships, escape with Cortes' war horse, and end up in El Dorado, where they are mistaken for gods. And why not?

According to Wikipedia, the story is inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would be King and Voltaire's Candide.

Also, there is a cute little animal that I like to think of as a possum, although it may be an armadillo.

Snow On the Mountain, Run Boys, Run

2011-01-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Did someone say SNOW? And COLD! In honor of our horrific weather, I'm repeating this informative and eye-opening account from an older post, giving a brief description of the birth of a snowflake. Many snowflakes, to be perfectly honest.

Snowflake formation begins when water vapor condenses on microscopic dust grains. Each snowflake's unique structure is caused by chemical reactions and everchanging temperatures.

Snow actually rises before it falls. As a droplet of water vapor rises higher, it freezes into a six-sided crystal. Because ice forms fastest around the edges, cavities form. Faster growth on corners causes branches to sprout, and cavities create interior lines. As the flake rises, temperatures get colder. At 10.4 degrees Farenheit, branches are wide. At 8.6 degrees, new growth is narrower. When the snowflake grows heavy enough to overcome the force of rising air, it falls. As the snowflake falls, warmer temperatures cause more side branches to sprout with longer and narrower tips. Hence, snow.

Some of us waited until many, many of the weighty formations plummeted to earth, then out we went for a rare frozen frolic.

At least one Mr. Possum found the lure of the soft white stuff irresistable, and trotted out for a brief stroll.

Possum in the Snow

Possum has a snowflake stuck to his nose.

His fur keeps him warm when the cold wind blows.

He's on his way home for tea and puddin'.

I asked him to come to my house, but he wouldn'.

Moonlight on Black Friday

2010-11-24T10:49:00.001-08:00

You're Invited to A Booksigning!

Come and join me at Book Warehouse at the beautiful new

Shops at Grand River!

I'll be signing copies of

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge

Friday, November 26, 2010
from 12:30 P.M. until ...

See you there!

One Stop Poetry

2010-11-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

I've just joined a new writing group, One Stop Poetry, and today is One Shot Wednesday! So, I'm posting one poem for Wednesday to share with everyone who visits my blog. This is a poem about awakening, growing, and recognizing one's position and orientation in the universe.

On Becoming One With Earth

My feet are planted in this lusty soil called life,
this pungent dirt which covered, nourished, then released me,
still forming, still growing, still becoming,
new and bitter and sweet.

Secrets have revealed themselves to me,
bit by bit, piece by piece, season by season,
as truth reveals itself in dreams and scattered visions.
Thus I am a knower of secrets, a product of dreams.

Eternity has made me.
I am a design wrought by intricacies of time.
I go from unknown to unknown
in a ceaseless gathering of knowledge.

Wisdom learns of me, finds me, leads me, ordains me, loves me.
My heart opens like a ripe seed,
splitting deep and red and wet,
spilling forth torrents of glistening fruit.

Returning again and again
to the rich and fertile ground,
I give, I bend, I grow.
Branches bend from me; forests grow from me.

My arms thrust upward from this luscious earth,
open handed, glad with life,
and my fingers touch God's gentle breath
upon the ancient ageless winds of dawn.

copyright Ramey Channell 2010

Poetry Day

2010-11-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

My sis, Joanne, and I attended the Alabama State Poetry Society's fall get-together on Saturday. The meeting was held at the lovely Newton-Davis House in Odenville, Alabama. This was my first visit to the Newton-Davis House, and it's a truly beautiful old house, totally restored and impressive. My nephew, James Cage, went to the meeting with us, and we had a good meeting, a delicious meal, and a wonderful, fun day.

Joanne won several Honorable Mention Awards, a Second Place Award, and a First Place for her poem An Ode to Grief, which she was able to read to the group even though it is a very personal poem of hers about dealing with loss and grief.

I won one First Place Award for What Is That Thing With Feathers, a parody of an Emily Dickinson poem. I read it with a straight face, not unlike Emily herself. Well, maybe not that straight.

What Is That Thing With Feathers?
by Ramey Channell

What is that thing with feathers
That perches on the wall
Chirping a tune both night and noon,
And never stops at all?

And wicked is its little brain,
And sore must be its throat.
Its squawk is driving me insane;
I can't stand another note!

I've listened till it makes me sick;
Each yapping trill I've heard!
So now I'm going to take this stick
And abash that noisy bird!

My congratulations to Joanne, and no comment to Emily Dickinson.

New Book Blog

2010-09-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the new Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge blog under construction! Soon we'll have a book trailer video, news of upcoming booksignings, and a picture of Lily Claire's own Drunkard's Path quilt, also under construction.

My sister, Joanne, and I have greased our quilting needles, and are sewing as fast as we can, to get the quilt done in time to display at the next booksigning!

www.sweetmusiconmoonlightridge.blogspot.com

Calling All Quilters !

2010-08-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

I need a Drunkard's Path quilt.

In my novel, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, the little girl named Lily Claire has a red calico Drunkard's Path quilt, made by her grandmother, Granny Rilla. While writing the book, I always had the intention of making a Drunkard's Path quilt, thinking I would use it as an illustration, maybe on the title page or back of the book.

Well, events went into fast forward mode, my book was published by Chalet Publishers, with the most beautiful cover any book has ever had, and I still want the quilt.

I have wondered if any quilters would be interested in donating one red calico Drunkard's Path block; then I could assemble all the blocks and, at last, have my wonderful representation of Lily Claire's quilt! If, as Mick Jagger says, Time is on my Side, I can do the quilting and binding, or coerce some willing friend or relative to pitch in for an old-fashioned quilting bee.

The quilt would be displayed at booksignings and programs, and might one day be featured in the film version of Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge!

Contact me if you would like to make one Drunkard's Path block, and I'll supply fabric and pattern if needed.

Jimmy Carter Wins Release of American Held in North Korea

2010-08-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is headed home from North Korea after securing the release of Aijalon Gomes. Former President Carter successfully negotiated a pardon for Gomes, an American teacher jailed in North Korea since January. Carter and Aijalon Gomes boarded a plane in Pyongyang and are expected to arrive in Boston later today, where Gomes will be reunited with his family.

Carter landed in North Korea on Wednesday on a private mission to negotiate Gomes' release. The 31 year old teacher was sentenced to eight years' hard labor after he was accused of crossing the border of North Korea illegally.

In Washington, officials welcomed the news of the teacher's release, and praised former President Jimmy Carter for embarking on the mission of mercy.

President Carter's humanitarian efforts in this case are another example of his continued dedication to promoting human rights and alleviating suffering.

Book Club reads Sweet Music

2010-08-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon our book discussion group, The Bookmarkers Book Club, met at the library to discuss this month's selection, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. Everyone enjoyed the lively discussion, not least of all, myself.

I'm so glad all the attendees had remarks pertaining to various parts of the book; it seemed that each bookclub member had a certain subject or passage of the book that grabbed their attention. We all had a lot to say about supernatural occurences, Southern childhood, magic, race relations, and character analysis. I was surprised to hear a few statements that exceeded my own interpretations, especially concerning Clyde Tucker, the Police Chief in the story, and possible criticisms and justifications for his behavior.

One thing for certain, everybody loved Studebaker Freeman!

If you haven't read the book, you need to! Technically a novella, or a short novel, it's a great read for summer.

Moonlight Ridge: it's a delightful place of constant revelation and discovery, with not infrequent mysteries and contradictions.

President Obama Praised & Criticized for Backing Mosque

2010-08-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

The planned mosque and community center two blocks away from the site of the 9/11 attacks has drawn intense criticism from politicians including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. The Obama administration had previously said that the planned Islamic community center was a local matter.

On Friday, the president tackled the issue head on.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama said, according to the AP.

"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he said. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

The president compared opposition to times in American history when there had been hostility towards the building of Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues.

"Time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values and emerge stronger for it. So it must be and will be today," Obama said.

The developer on the project, Sharif el-Gamal, told The New York Times, "We are deeply moved and tremendously grateful for our president's words."

But Republicans were quick to attack the comments, saying that the President of the United States was focusing on religious freedom and civil rights rather than the feelings of victims' families and public opinion.

Not all the reaction was hostile. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, has been a strong supporter of the community center. He called Obama's speech a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion."

Speaking on Aug. 3, Bloomberg said that the city government had no authority to stop the planned project, and that to do so would amount to discrimination.

"The simple fact is this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship," Bloomberg said. "The government has no right whatsoever to deny that right."

I Need to Update My Blog

2010-08-10T10:05:00.001-07:00

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge

2010-07-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Moonlight Ridge booksigning!

Saturday, July 31, 2010 – 12:00 til 2:00
Ramey Channell signed copies of her book
Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge
at
Little Professor Book Center
2717 18th Street South – Homewood, AL
205-870-7461

How could you possumably have missed this!

Watch for announcements of upcoming signings.

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge at Leeds Arts Council

2010-07-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 11th was a fun and exciting day at the Leeds Arts Council. Here I am, studiously signing a copy of Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. So many people attended, listened to me read from my book, and we all had a great time.

I was so glad to see so many good friends and fellow writers! Sweet Music is attracting plenty of attention and getting splendid reviews!

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful day!

If Innocence Matters

2010-07-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Damien Echols has been on deathrow since 1994 for a murder he did not commit.

Please go to the website below to read about Damien Echols' latest attempt to get a fair trial in Arkansas.

http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/innocence-matters-damien-echols-should-not-be-executed/

In her book, The Devil's Knot, a nonfiction investigative account, Mara Leveritt gives a meticulous account of the gruesome murder of three children, the botched investigation, and the wildly unsubstantiated charges against Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin.
Below is a review of Leveritt's book from Publishers Weekly.

Arkansas investigative journalist (Mara)Leveritt presents an affecting account of a controversial trial in the wake of three child murders in Arkansas. In May 1993, three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated and murdered in West Memphis, a small and tattered Arkansas town. The crime scene and forensic evidence were mishandled, but a probation officer directed the police toward Damien Echols, a youth with a troubled home life, antiauthoritarian attitudes and admiration for the "Goth" and Wiccan subcultures. Amid rumors of satanic cult activity, investigators browbeat Jesse Misskelley, a mentally challenged 16-year-old acquaintance of Echols, into providing a wildly inconsistent confession that he'd helped Echols and a third teen, Jason Baldwin, assault the boys. Leveritt meticulously reconstructs the clamorous investigation and two jury trials that followed. All three boys were convicted on the basis of Misskelley's dubious statements and such "evidence" as Echols's fondness for William Blake and Stephen King. Leveritt, who makes a strong argument that the convictions were a miscarriage of justice, also suggests an alternative suspect: one victim's stepfather, who had a history of domestic violence, yet was seemingly shielded by authorities because he was a drug informant for local investigators.

If innocence matters, Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin should have never been suspects, much less convicted felons.
Please tell Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe that innocence matters.

More About Maro

2010-07-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of the family, Bonnie Patmon O'Neil, found some old pictures among her mother's photographs, and I was delighted to see two beautiful pictures of my mother, Mary Elizabeth Satterfield Ramey. My daddy called her Maro.

I think this picture is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life! I've never seen this photo before, and I'm totally amazed by this lovely person.

My daddy said he married her because she was the prettiest little thing he'd ever seen. Looking at this picture, I can believe that was true. What she said was that she knew he liked her because when she walked by his house, he threw rocks at her!

A long time ago, I had a copy of this picture with the hat. But it has been lost for many years, and I was so delighted that Bonnie brought us this replacement.

See http://rameychannell.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-birthday-to-me-mum.html for a
sweet baby picture.

YOU'RE INVITED TO A BOOKSIGNING

2010-06-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

You’re invited to a book signing!

Sunday July 11, 2010 · 2:30 - 4:00

Ramey will read from her book and sign copies.
Leeds Arts Council · Parkway Drive · Leeds, AL

Admission is free! Please bring one food item for Leeds Welfare!

MOONLIGHT!

2010-06-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Celebration time has arrived!

Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge is now available on Amazon!

and Barnes & Noble!

Watch for announcements of upcoming booksignings and throw-down parties!

Happy Birthday to Me Mum

2010-05-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Mary Elizabeth Satterfield Ramey, born May 27, 1914.

She was a nut.

Thank goodness none of it rubbed off on me, or anyone else in my family!

Sweet Music is On It's Way

2010-05-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

All my friends, all my fans, all my family, I'm so happy to tell everyone, here is the culmination of several years of arduous writing, rewriting, thinking and rethinking, and just having a good old time writing about a special place filled with special people.

This little book will soon be available in paperback, on Kindle and ebooks, thanks to the good folks at Chalet Publishers LLC. It's the story of two adventurous, funny and indomitable children who embark on an adventure of their imagination that leads them to the solution of a real mystery. Coming from a family of eccentric, self-determined individuals, Lily Claire and her cousin Willie T. have a rollicking, magical and musical good time, and steadfastly face a few scary situations, out on Moonlight Ridge, just outside of a little town named Eden, Alabama.

For information about booksignings and appearances,
please contact me at ramey2001@aol.com.

Great Balls of Fire

2010-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter Buffy journeyed to Memphis, Tennessee, braving tornadoes, torrential rain and hazardous flooding, to attend the Beale Street Music Festival.

And who do you think she saw? The Killer, himself, Jerry Lee Lewis. Since I didn't accompany her on this adventure, I must experience the thrills vicariously

Here's Jerry Lee in a remarkable performance of Great Balls of Fire in about 1957. I love his hair!

One of my favorite TV memories is a Jery Lee performance I was lucky enough to see as a child, and I've never forgotten my astonished glee. It was the Steve Allen Show, and The Killer was singing Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, and there was a WHOLE LOT of shakin' goin on! The host of the show, Steve Allen, apparently got so enthused over the song, after Jerry Lee kicked the piano stool across the stage, Allen began throwing chairs and other objects back toward the performer.

While searching for a recording of this event, I discovered two different occasions, both on The Steve Allen Show, in which flying objects are seen zooming across the stage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cgKIGu1QqY&feature=related

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIoHwQTUYS0

Now, that's entertainment!

How to Have Fun in Alabama

2010-04-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are, halfway through April, the weather is beautiful and I'm able to relax and enjoy living in Alabama again! For a while there, it felt too much like the scene of a novel I read: The Terror by Dan Simmons, about a hapless bunch of fellows who sailed their ship into the frozen arctic and met with difficulty. And froze.

I prefer to bask in the sun. My whole self is able to relax when the temperature hovers in the 70 to 90 degree range. That's 20 degrees of Heaven, as far as I'm concerned.

And, speaking of Heaven, that's a pretty good description of the setting of my soon-to-be-released book, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. We're working on the cover and the fine details of page design. Naturally, I have to have my picture on the back cover of the book, so what did I do yesterday?

I had my picture made with a delightful possum, of course! The possum was so charming, and the pictures all turned out so divine, it's hard choosing which one is the one for the book cover.

I've never had so much fun in my life! My friend, Bino, once had some sage advice, which I will not repeat here, about what to do when you're down in the dumps and life just ain't worth living! May not be politically correct, but those of you who know Bino, you may ask him what to do and who to go see if you need your spirits lifted.

But, it appears to me that having one's picture made with a marsupial clinging to various parts of your anatomy is the best pick-me-up ever! Bino, and all you down-in-the-dumpsters, you need to try it!

At one point he was rummaging around on my head with his tail stuck in my ear, and we were both having a delightful time of it.

Here's what I call The Pastoral Possum picture.

Thanks to my daughter, Buffy, for a great photo shoot. And thanks to Winston the Possum for being such a trooper. He was a sweety!

Watch here at The Painted Possum for updates concerning the release date for Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, from Chalet Publishers LLC, coming early in May, 2010.

Library Stories

2010-04-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

I’m a librarian at Leeds Jane Culbreth Library in Alabama. We’re just a few miles outside Birmingham, and we’re part of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative. Right now we’re working hard to raise money for a new library building.

The building we are in now is on the main street of our small town, and it was a department store when I was a child. We called it “the ten-cent store.” Now it’s the Leeds Library. The roof leaks and every time it rains, we have to place plastic buckets, trays and garbage cans around to catch the water! So, we really need a new building.

The Leeds Public Library began about 1923 in two rooms above a building on Ninth Street. As public interest and financial support grew, the city leased the building at the present location in 1971.
The official name was changed to The Leeds Jane Culbreth Library on April 19, 1998, to honor Jane Culbreth, a champion of city improvement. Her memoir, Hitching My Wagon to a Star, is available at the library.

I was born right across the street from where our library is now, in a building that was a medical clinic, and is now a dental office. While working at the circulation desk, I can look out and see the place where I was born! When I was a small child, there was a blacksmith’s shop right in back, across the alley from the library’s back door.

One of my earliest library memories is the Book Mobile that came to visit our elementary school when I was in the first grade. That was always an exciting day. When it was our turn to go in to visit the book mobile and pick out a book, it was thrilling to step up into the white library-on-wheels and look at all the books inside. The first book I checked out was a picture book called “Pooty”, about a little black and white kitten. I thought that was the funniest name for a cat, but I loved the book!

Now, I’m writing children’s stories, and hope to some day have one of my own picture books in the library for children to check out.

Did Somebody Grease My Calendar?

2010-04-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Look, now I've missed April Fool's Day. What fool would miss April Fool's Day? Is time really going faster and faster, or is it just me?

So, the time has come to make an announcement! My book, my long-awaited book, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, is due to come out around the first of May (of this year!) published by Chalet Publishers. It will be available in paperback, Kindle and ebook format! What a perfect time of year for this story!

It's about POSSUMS:

and OWLS:

and the wild shenanigans of a couple of intrepid children in the woods of Dunnavant, Alabama!

So, stay tuned for further information about upcoming booksignings and appearances, and how to find the book on your Kindle, download it as an ebook, or purchase a paperback copy, signed by the author.

Check out Chalet Publishers at http://members.cox.net/chaletpublishers/index.html

National Pig Day?

2010-03-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered that I've missed National Pig Day. How did that happen?

It was March 1st. It's hard to believe I have let such an event slip by with neither rejoicing nor celebrating! Nor oinking.

When I was very little, I had a pet pig. My daddy owned a mama pig who had lots of babies, and I picked one of them out of the litter to be my own pet piggy. He was tiny, about the size of a package of Jimmy Dean's sausage! Nah, he was a little bigger, but honestly quite small. I was just about four years old at the time, and he was small enough that I could easily pick him up and carry him out of the pig pen and into the living room.

To my chagrin, my mother was not glad to have a sweet baby pig in her living room! She gave me a spanking and made me take him back to the pig pen every time she found him in the house. Ah, but he was so precious! I couldn't refrain from sneaking back to the pen and bringing him back into the house over and over again every day. He was so much fun to play with, and was an excellent friend.

My piggy was named Red, and that's what color he was: a brownish red. I can't find a picture of a pig the color of my Red, but just look at this face!

How sweet is this! As my friend Chris Whitfield would say, "As happy as a pig in mud!"

So, while searching for a picture of a red pig, I came across something called a Red River pig! Look at these! I was hooked the moment I laid eyes on these little darlings.

I've got to have one of these! I've never seen anything so lovely!

If I had one of these, I would name him Possum!

Irene Latham Visits Leeds Library

2010-02-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning, February 20th, Alabama author Irene Latham came to our Library for a presentation and booksigning. She read passages from her delightful YA book, Leaving Gee's Bend set in 1932 Gee's Bend, Alabama. This author has done extensive research on the history of the area, and of course the trademark quilts crafted by the women of Gee's Bend.
.
We all enjoyed hearing Irene speak about her personal love of quilts, her childhood and early desire to become a writer, and the process of writing Leaving Gee's Bend, editing, revising, and getting published. She also brought a beautiful quilt to show us. This quilt was made by her grandmother-in-law, for whom Ludelphia, the main character in Irene's book, is named.

Here's Irene holding a copy of her book with the beautiful photograph on the front. This is such a completely charming book, inside and out. Quilts are displayed behind us, including several of my prized family treasures and Irene's Ludelphia quilt at the far right.

And here we are, holding a quilt made by library volunteer Mary Undeutsch,, called our Opportunity Quilt, which is helping us raise funds for the new library building we hope will one day be a reality.

This was a most enjoyable program, featuring a fine story for all ages, as well as interesting conversation about Alabama history, the art of quilting and the art of writing, from a charming and talented author.

The Dalai Lama Visits Washington

2010-02-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama personally welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House Thursday and lauded his goals for the Tibetan people, but he kept their get-together off-camera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China. China has objected to the meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama, who has been in exile from his homeland since 1959. China invaded Tibet in 1950 and has occupied it since. Thousands of Buddhist monasteries and shrines were destroyed in the 1950s and 1960s. Tibetan exiles say thousands of monks and nuns were killed.

The Dalai Lama, however, encouraged the US to seek friendly relations with China. "It is wrong when some say, contain China. It is wrong," the Dalai Lama said, adding that China must be encouraged to open up further to the world, to become a nation "which brings happiness, satisfaction, calm."

So how exactly did the Dalai Lama we know today become the 14th Dalai Lama?
After the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933, the Tibetan government began searching for his reincarnation. Because the head of the 13th Dalai Lama's embalmed body had rotated while it lay in state, turning from the south to the northeast, it was suspected that the future ruler would be found in the northeast region of Tibet.

Soon afterward, the Regent Reting Rinpoche had a vision of the sacred lake, Lhamo Lhatso, reflecting the Tibetan letters Ah, Ka and Ma. He interpreted "Ah" as a sign for Amdo, a northeastern province of Tibet. The Regent also experienced a vision of a three-story monastery with a roof of turquoise and gold. Near the monastery was a tiny house with unusually elaborate gutters.

A search party departed for Amdo, and decided that the letter "Ka" likely referred to the monastery at Kumbum -- a turquoise and gold-roofed structure. When they came across a house with gutters made from juniper, they suspected they were close to their future ruler. They disguised themselves as travelers and stayed the night with the family to observe their 3-year-old son, Lhamo Thondup

Lhamo had been born July. 6, 1935, to poor farmers in a struggling town, and upon Lhamo's birth, his father made a sudden recovery from a severe illness. His infancy was normal, but he did exhibit some unusual behavior. As a toddler, Lhamo demanded that he take his father's seat at the head of the table and would allow only his mother to handle his bowl. And the young Lhamo seemed obsessed with Lhasa, Tibet's traditional and spiritual capital. He would pack bags, pretend to travel on horseback and exclaim, "I'm going to Lhasa" For the most part, Lhamo's family took no notice of the child's eccentricities; an older son had already been recognized as the manifestation of a high lama.

But when the disguised search party arrived at the house, its leader, Kewtsang Rinpoche, was confident that this was the right child. The child immediately recognized Kewtsang Rinpoche as a monk and knew from which monastery he came. When the members of the search party returned for a formal visit some days later, they brought several of the 13th Dalai Lama's possessions along with a set of decoy items. Lhamo correctly identified every item belonging to his predecessor with the proprietary statement "It's mine."

The toddler was sent to the Kumbum monastery and eventually to Lhasa, where he was reunited with his parents.

In 1940, Lhamo became Tibet's spiritual leader and took the vows of a novice monk. Lhamo Thondup was now Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is recognized worldwide for his message of compassion and tolerance, his promotion of human rights and inter-religious understanding, his focus on peace through non-violent conflict resolution and his advocacy for the environment. He is also winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.

Shelter Box - Innovative Help for Haiti

2010-02-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Just this morning I heard an encouraging interview on NPR radio with the founder of Shelter Box, an organization providing aid to people in the midst of crisis and devastation, now delivering shipments to Haiti.

ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, a Rotarian and former Royal Navy search and rescue diver.

It was wonderful hearing founder, Tom Henderson, describe the contents of the boxes his group ships to disaster areas. Some of the contents include a 10-person tent, blankets, toolbox, hammers, nails, saws, small stove, pencils and color books for children.

Follow the link below to learn more about this organization and how your donation can help victims of Haiti's tragedy.

http://www.shelterbox.org/index.php

Mr. Henderson said his group was rallying support for Haitians within 12 minutes after hearing of the disaster, and continue sending their boxes as rapidly as possible.

Also, I have just learned that there is a form available from IRS explaining how contributions to aid Haitians may be deductible on your taxes this year.

Shelter Box gets my vote of support for their most efficient and compassionate work.

Leaving Gee's Bend

2010-02-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 20th, Alabama author Irene Latham will be at Leeds Jane Culbreth Library to present her new book, Leaving Gee's Bend, with a talk and booksigning.

We're all familiar with the beautiful quilts produced by the artisans of Gee's Bend, but I know little about the history of that area of our state. I look forward to reading Irene's novel, the story of a young girl who sets out to save her sick mother and records her adventures in quilt pieces. This will be a great program for everyone who loves good books and the art of quilting.

Irene's quote, below, comes from an interview on Elizabeth Dulemba's website dulemba.com/2010/01/leaving-gees-bend-by-iren...

I have made quite a few trips to Gee's Bend and Camden, where the Wilcox County Library is located and the town closest to Gee's Bend, thanks to the ferry. (Otherwise, it's forty miles to anyplace.) It's like stepping back in time --quiet, rural, with many red-dirt roads. And the people are so friendly and welcoming.

Of all the incredible things that happened in Gee's Bend, there were two that really captured my attention. The first was the 1932 raid on Gee's Bend. At the time, Gee's Bend was populated by sharecroppers, and the price of cotton was lower than it had ever been. So the landowner was stockpiling the cotton -- waiting to sell until price came up. Which left the sharecroppers in debt to the landowner. When the landowner died that year, the widow decided she would go to Gee's Bend and collect on all the debts. She brought men and wagons into Gee's Bend, and took everything: food, tools, animals -- basically leaving the people to starve. First hand accounts report that the residents survived on berries that winter. And yet, the women made quilts! It's just such a vivid example of how the human spirit can triumph over adversity. Then, in early 1933, the Red Cross came in with a rescue drop -- things like sugar, flour, seed, shoes, socks.

In Leaving Gee's Bend, Latham tells the story of Ludelphia Bennett, ten year old daughter in a family of share-croppers, who is blind in one eye, but is no stranger to hardships, hard work, and determination. Though her small town of Gee's Bend is geographically isolated by the Alabama River, she sets off on her own to Camden, 40 miles away, to find a doctor for her sick mother. Throughout her difficult journey, she physically and mentally chronicles her experiences as she pieces a quilt together. This is the way Ludelphia tells her story, of seeing white people for the first time, of encountering kindness and hate. Rural Alabama of 1932 is brought to life, complete with prejudices and superstitions that are eventually overcome thanks to Ludelphia's indomitable strength.

Review
“Ludelphia Bennett reaffirms the human spirit and defines survival in this beautifully stitched quilt of a novel.”—Richard Peck, author of A Season of Gifts

Hope all my reading and quilting friends can come to the library and enjoy what promises to be an excellent program.

J.D. Salinger Jan. 1, 1919 - Jan. 27, 2010

2010-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

I've just learned of J.D. Salinger's death, yesterday in the small New England village where he has spent the last fifty years of his reclusive life. He was 91 years old.

It's pretty hard to discuss the passing of someone who was so renowned for avoiding public scrutiny; and, you can't really analyze someone you've never met. I guess the truth is, all I know about J.D. Salinger is that news of his passing made me cry, and that the characters in his stories were among my closest companions throughout my teenage years.

The Catcher in the Rye was written in 1951; I read it in 1962 when my boyfriend/literary genius/guy who hung the moon discovered it with such an abundance of astonished glee, it seemed he might have found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow in his front yard. And, that was pretty much the case.

We read, devoured, digested and internalized J.D. Salinger and his iconic characters : Holden Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield, older brother D.B.,Franny and Zooey Glass, Seymour Glass. We naturally were closest to Holden, his eloquence, tenderness, sarcasm, humor and honest analysis of the world and the people around him.

Great Actor - Great Guy - Big Lebowski

2010-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

I've been away from the Land of the Painted Possum for a while, due to LIFE. But it's time to talk about one of my favorite guys.

Most of you have probably heard about Jeff Bridges' loving and gracious tribute to his wife, Sue, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. When he was asked about his family life, he asked his wife to come to the podium with him to answer the question.

I've been a Jeff Bridges fan since I saw him in Rancho Deluxe in 1975. Have you ever loved a movie just because of one single line of funny dialogue?

And of course everybody remembers The Last Picture Show. That was before Rancho Deluxe. Then there was Starman in 1984, a Sci-Fi love story and truly one of the best movies ever filmed. Tucker, the Man and His Dream in 1988 was fabulous; The Fabulous Baker Boys was fabulous; See You in the Morning was sweet, Texasville, 1990, wonderful. The list is too long to include every stellar Jeff Bridges movie.

But, what about The Big Lebowski, 1998! This is the funniest movie in the world! Am I exagerating? Everybody who has ever seen The Big Lebowski says the same thing!

So now we have Crazy Heart, 2009, winning awards already, with Bridges playing an alcoholic former country-western star, Bad Blake, who's reduced to playing bowling alleys. I've heard that this one is definitely Academy Award material.

I haven't seen it yet, but I have no doubt that this will be a good one!

A Message from Our President

2010-01-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon,

The reports and images from Haiti of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching. As we learn more about the extent of the devastation, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti and Haitian Americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home.

I have directed my Administration to respond with a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States Government in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief -- the food, water and medicine -- that Haitians will need in the coming days.

This is also a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share, and Americans have always responded to these situations with generosity of spirit. If you would like to support the urgent humanitarian effort in Haiti, I encourage you to visit our website where you can learn more about how to contribute:

http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/HaitiEarthquake

Americans trying to locate family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at (888) 407-4747.
We will continue to stand with the people of Haiti and keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

The Ethics of Human-Dolphin Interaction

2010-01-08T11:37:00.001-08:00

Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non-human persons'

Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”. Studies show how dolphins have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self and can think about the future.

Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence.
The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year.

“Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,” said Lori Marino, a zoologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has used magnetic resonance imaging scans to map the brains of dolphin species. “The neuro-anatomy suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins, and has profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions,” she added.
Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, has written a series of academic studies suggesting dolphins should have rights. “The scientific research suggests that dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals,” he said.

Dolphins have long been recognized as among the most intelligent of animals. But many researchers had placed them below chimps, which some studies have found can reach the intelligence levels of three-year-old children. Recently, however, a series of behavioural studies has suggested that dolphins, especially species such as the bottlenose, could be the brighter of the two. The studies show how dolphins have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self and can think about the future.

It has also become clear that they are “cultural” animals, meaning that new types of behaviour can quickly be picked up by one dolphin from another.
Studies show that bottlenose dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror and use the mirror reflection to inspect various parts of their bodies, an ability that had been thought limited to humans and great apes. There are many similar examples, such as the way dolphins living off Western Australia learned to hold sponges over their snouts to protect themselves when searching for spiny fish on the ocean floor.

Other research has shown dolphins can solve difficult problems, while those living in the wild co-operate in ways that imply complex social structures and a high level of emotional sophistication.

It has been found that captive dolphins also have the ability to learn a rudimentary symbol-based language.

What Goes On Here?

2009-12-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

Strange things are afoot at the home of The Painted Possum. Christmas is almost here, Santa is scrutinizing the girth of our chimney, hoping for a successful ingress and egress, and everybody seems to be acting a bit wacky.

Let me introduce you to some local characters, who truly make a house a home.

I believe this is Inspector R.D. Agan and his handy sidekick, Inspector Clouseau.

They have no doubt been pursuing their favorite passtime, searching for clues.

Does this picture kinda make you think of Bobby Horton?

?

And LOOOOOK! A purple dog named Duque!

Alas, time is up. I'll add to the mug shot collection tomorrow!

Now it's tomorrow, and here's Duque, sans purple coloring and quite obscure, with his new best friend, Buttercup.

Buttercup is a foundling who appeared at the front door of the library, and came home to live with us, having suffered dire injuries in what appears to have been an encounter with a car engine. She's thriving, but has lost the injured ear complete. This picture is before the ear fell off; we'll soon post a portrait of her as she now appears with only one ear.

And here's the little baby cat after the ear totally fell off the noggin. She's otherwise healthy and very active and getting a big fat belly. And she also loves to sleep in the Christmas tree.

Here's Buttercup in her favorite spot, the Christmas tree!

And here's Duque, who loves Buttercup so much, he had both his ears fixed just like hers!

Remembering John

2009-12-08T15:17:00.001-08:00

We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.
John Lennon

The Story of a Manatee

2009-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

I just read a delightful book titled J. Rooker, Manatee, written by Jan Haley and illustrated with paintings by Paul Brent. This is a children's book, based on a true story about a Southwest Florida manatee who is injured, then rescued, rehabilitated, then returned to the wild. He is named J. Rooker because he was rescued near Rookery Bay National Reserve near Marco Island, Florida.

Manatees are marine mammals who can live in salt water or fresh water. They are docile plant-eating, air breathing animals, who communicate with each other with high-pitched squeals. They are socialble creatures who nuzzle each other and embrace with their paddle-shaped flippers.

Although a Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act was established in 1978, more and more of the manatees' natural habitat has been destroyed, and the slow moving mammals are often mangled by sharp boat propellers in waterways and lagoons. The death rate of manatees has outnumbered the birthrate for years.

The Save the Manatee Club was established in 1981. The Adopt-a-Manatee program is the major public awareness effort sponsored by SMC. Click on the link below for more information about the Adopt-a-Manatee program, a perfect idea for the holidays!

http://www.savethemanatee.org/adoptpag.htm

Johnny Mercer, Happy Birthday!

2009-11-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

Johnny Mercer was born November 18, 1909, in Savannah, Georgia. Today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, and I've been humming Skylark all day long, one of the most beautiful, melancholy songs I know.

SKYLARK

Skylark, have you anything to say to me?

Won`t you tell me where my love can be?

Is there a meadow in the mist

where someone`s waiting to be kissed?

Skylark, have you seen a valley green with spring

where my heart can go a journeying

over the shadows and the rain

to a blossom covered lane?

And in your lonely flight

haven`t you heard the music in the night,

wonderful music,

faint as a will o` the wisp, crazy as a loon,

sad as a gypsy serenading the moon.

Oh, skylark, I don`t know if you can find these things

but my heart is riding on your wings.

So if you see them anywhere

won`t you lead me there?

- Johnny Mercer

The movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, from John Berendt's book, was set in Savannah, and if you've seen the movie, you've heard a beautiful, haunting version of Skylark, performed by k.d. lang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oael-4SvwY

Mercer also wrote I'm an Old Cowhand From the Rio Grande! Now, that's an accomplishment worth noting!

And another haunting song, Moon River, which more or less served as the background music of my entire teenage and young-adult life, was composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961.

Back to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: I just discovered that on the sound track of this movie, That Old Black Magic was sung by Kevin Spacey, who is one of my favorite actors and who starred in the movie.

I think I'll have to watch this movie again! The only part I don't like is the weird fellow with bugs on strings tied to his head!

Wolf 527

2009-11-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

She was known as 527, but she was much more than a number. She was one of Yellowstone’s beloved wolves.

Wolf 527, pictured above, was beloved by wolf-watchers and wildlife biologists who chronicled her courageous life. Sadly, she was also one of the first wolves killed in October -- during Montana's first wolf hunt in modern times.

As a leader of the Cottonwood pack, 527 was known to be a master of survival strategies. For years, the movements of some of the members of this Yellowstone pack have been monitored by biologists and wolf-watchers equipped with radio tracking devices and powerful spotting scopes. As one of these wolf-watchers reported in the obituary, despite 527's "unbelievable survival strategies," this resilient wolf "was not able to outthink a rifle" and was killed on October 3 when Montana initiated its first public wolf hunt in modern times.

Since the public hunts began, 156 wolves in the Northern Rockies have been killed, and over the next year, more than 500 wolves could be shot to death by hunters and government agents ... reducing the region's wolf population by 40 percent.

If you want to speak out to save the hundreds of wolves in Greater Yellowstone, and beyond, that remain in mortal danger, go to this website and send a message to end the wolf slaughter.

https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1643&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr003=k5lhulzpn4.app303a

Otter & Robot

2009-11-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

©Ramey Channell 2009

Once upon a time there was an otter. This particular otter's name was Christopher, and he belonged to an otter tribe called The Others. Christopher had always wanted to do something no otter had ever done before in the history of otterdom. So, he decided to marry a robot.

Christopher's mother, Oma, said she thought this was an utterly excellent idea, though unprecedented. Her exact words were, "No Other otter has ever married a robot. So, this will be the beginning of a new epoch in Other otter history."

"Cool," said Christopher.

Christopher's father, Otto, said it sounded like his son was moving up in the world, technologically speaking.

So, with these encouraging words spinning in his little otterly cerebellum, Christopher approached the automaton of his dreams, and popped the question.

The robot's name was Krysalis Two, she called herself K2, but everyone knew her as Kristi. She said "YES!" She was programmed to say "There is a loose wire in the sprocket of my head space." But, she said "YES" anyway.

There was tumultous rejoicing in all sectors of the universe.

And they lived happily ever after.

1948 Signing of the Garrison Dam Agreement

2009-10-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

On June 11, 1953, the United States dedicated the Garrison Dam. For the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, the anniversary is not one to be celebrated.
In creating the dam, the federal government flooded 156,000 acres of tribal land, including the tribe's capital. More than 300 families and 1,700 residents -- 80 percent of the tribal membership at the time -- were forced to relocate, prompting the loss of an entire way of life, tribal members say.

The Mandan people -- who call themselves Nueta -- moved to an area called Twin Buttes. The language was slow to follow, its memory now nearly as flooded as the tribe's sacred sites. Tribal leaders opposed the project, suggesting alternatives to limit the impact. But it moved forward anyway, and George Gillette, the tribe's chairman at the time, reluctantly signed an agreement to give up one-quarter of the Fort Berthold Reservation.

"We will sign this contract with a heavy heart," he said in 1948. "With a few scratches of the pen, we will sell the best part of our reservation. Right now the future doesn't look too good to us."

Gillette can be seen crying in a photo taken at the event.

Along with the flooding of Elbowoods, the capital, the reservation's Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital there was destroyed. That brought Tex Hall, the tribe's chairman, and Fred Baker, chairman of the tribe's elders organization, to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on June 11, 2003, to ask the government to fulfill a 50-year-old promise to replace the hospital. Without a new facility, they said, lives are in danger.
"I blame diabetes on the dam," Hall said, quoting a tribal elder. "I blame cancer on the dam." Hall's grandfather was vice-chairman at the time of the 1948 signing and is also seen in the photo.

The sentiments were echoed by others at the hearing, held to consider a bill that would authorize $20 million for a new clinic. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), chairman of the committee and one of the sponsors, said the "confiscation" of the tribe's land was one of the most "disheartening episodes" in history.
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), another sponsor, called the dam a "bitter chapter of history that forever changed" the tribe. "That is something that is desperately needed," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) of the clinic. "It is something that is owed to the tribe."

Fred Baker, whose grandfather and uncle were at the 1948 signing, was born at the Elbowoods hospital. As one of the few remaining speakers of the Hidatsa language, he said it was a place where tribal members could go and feel welcome.

"With the advent of the Garrison Dam, our hospital at Elbowoods was closed, and we were forced to seek care at hospitals where we knew no one, everything was strange and different, and sometimes we were not treated very well," he said in his written testimony. "As a result, many of us, especially our elders refused to seek medical care and many died at home, rather than seek care at such a foreign place."

. . .

I believe the following information is current: In 2003, fifty years after the dam construction and flooding of the land, authorization was signed to provide a healthcare facility to replace the demolished Elbowoods hospital. The Minne-Tohe Health Center serves the members of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The two-physician center is four miles from New Town, ND. The center is an outpatient facility with specialty and dental clinics. Inpatient patient care is provided by contract with local hospitals including the Minot hospital. The tribes have a contract to operate two health stations, one in Mandaree and one in White Shield, which are staffed by a physician's assistant from Fort Berthold. The tribes also operate a Health Care Satellite Clinic in Twin Buttes which is staffed by a nurse practitioner.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

2009-10-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Drac' is back!
Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew has published a sequel to the hair-raising classic DRACULA, first published in 1897. That's about when I read it the first time also! My sister and I took turns reading aloud from the book, cover to cover, when I was a pre-teen and she was a young teen.

Dacre Stoker's new book is titled Dracula the Undead. (I don't know how you pronouce the name Dacre; maybe we'll find out later.) Apparently this sequel takes up 25 years after the end of the original story, and looks like Count Dracula wasn't as dead as we all thought. Well, he crumbled into green dust! That looked pretty final to me.

That's Dacre with the bats.

So now we have something new to read, just in time for Halloween!

Who Knows Why I Read This?

2009-10-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw, originally published in 1948. The insightful book, written from the viewpoint of three soldiers: Christian Diestl, a German soldier, Noah Ackerman, an American soldier who is a Jew, and Michael Whiteacre, American actor turned soldier, brings to life the harsh reality of war.

I had seen the movie about a hundred years ago, but remembered very little about it. I remembered Marlon Brando as the character Christian Diestl, a German soldier who, in the novel, starts out as a pretty unextraordinary guy and ends up a dreadful and heartless product of the Nazi regime.

While reading the book, I suddenly remembered Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman, a shy and gentle American Jewish boy from California who joins the army, leaving his just-married wife whom he cherishes. Having Montgomery Clift mooning around as the fine and sensitive discriminated-against Jewish guy, who just wants to do the right thing then get back to his family, is all you need for a truly heart-breaking movie.

The film also stars Dean Martin as the play-boy actor, Michael Whiteacre, who describes himself as "a likable coward," and befriends the intriguing Noah Ackerman.

Now that I've read the book, I think I'd like to see the movie again, since it has been many years and many lifetimes since I first saw it.

This is a very good book, and very long, and very bloody, being about World War II, with shocking details of war, slaughter, and concentration camps. As with many books that I read nowadays, I decided to read it when I happened across it on the library bookshelf. As with most realistic accounts of war, it's very eye-opening, leaving the reader to wonder how anyone survived the battle field.

Almost forgot to add, one of my favorite things about the book is a song that pops up from time to time, sometimes in a happy way and sometimes very poignant. The song is Are You Making Any Money? written by Herman Hupfield.

You make time, and you make love dandy

You make swell molasses candy

But, honey, are you making any money?

That's all I want to know.

Books I Have Read & Recommend

2009-10-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Oil! by Upton Sinclair

Anyone who enjoys reading a vivid, first-hand account of Southern California life in the 1920's will love this novel. This is historical fiction at its finest.

Written in 1927, the plot follows the idealogical clash between an oil developer and his son.

Typical of Sinclair, there are undertones here of socialism and sympathy for the common worker. The novel basically shows how a self-made California oil baron, James Arnold Ross, and his son Bunny Ross are up against insurmountable odds in the oil business, with corruption all around, in the era of the Warren G. Harding/ Teapot Dome scandal. Sinclair's solution was dramatic: for him socialism was the answer; capitalism was too corrupt.

A film very loosely based on the novel was released under the title There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day Lewis. I found the movie to be perplexing, mostly boring and thoroughly dreary, although beautifully filmed. There is a visual clarity that would have been wonderful if the screen play had just followed the book. There is very little similarity between the characters in the movie and those in the novel.

Here's Upton Sinclair, writer, politician, journalistic crusader.

Oil! is a truly enjoyable, interesting and worthwhile novel.

Everything I Ever Needed to Know ...

2009-09-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

... I Learned From Bobby Horton

Sunday afternoon I went to see Bobby Horton performing Songs from the Civil War at The Leeds Arts Council Theatre. Bobby played various instruments, including a 19th century Washburn guitar, a Martin guitar, and a fiddle, harmonica and banjo. He told funny stories and trajic tales about soldiers from the South and the North.

http://bobbyhorton.com/

It was a marvelous opportunity to see this multi-talented musician who graciously shares his wealth of talent, knowledge and humor with his audience. Bobby Horton is considered by many to be an expert in the field of historical music of the War Between the States. A gifted musician and brilliant individual, Bobby weaves a magic spell in his performances that transports the audience back to the years and the common folk of the 1800s.

What's a Bilby?

2009-09-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Bilby is actually a marsupial that is most closely related to the bandicoot. So this makes the Little Bilby a close cousin to the Precious Possum! Who knew?

There used to be two different types of Bilbies in Australia, but one of them has been extinct since the 1950s with the other surviving in limited numbers. The loss of the animals is due in large part to habitat loss, and the species is in competition for their place in the food chain with a lot of other animals. There is currently a protective plan in place that involves breeding Bilbies in captivity, closely monitoring wild populations, and helping to move the species back into areas where they once lived.

This species is generally only seen out and about during the night time hours. Generally the Bilby will not come out of its burrow until an hour after the sun has set and will go back down into their burrows at least an hour before the sun rises. Many conditions are known to keep the Bilby in all day and night and these include strong winds, heavy rains, and even a full moon.

Bilbies find their food, insect larvae, spiders, fruit, fungus, and bulbs, by digging in the soil, which the females do backward to avoid getting soil in their pouch. They use their long tongues to pull the food from the ground.

On the Save the Bilby website, you can learn more bilby facts, contribute to the bilby fund, and purchase chocolate bilbies, bilby toys and bilby t-shirts!

http://savethebilby.icemedia.com.au/

Learning to Count

2009-09-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

©Ramey Channell 2009

Learning to Count

Learning to count, one, two, three,

Counting my fingers is easy for me.

Learning to count, four, five, six,

Sometimes slow, and sometimes quick!

Counting each number, seven, eight, nine,

Just look at these fingers! They're all mine!

Learning to count, I finish with ten.

Then I start over and count them again!

In Memoriam - Vann Cleveland

2009-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Donald Vann Cleveland
December 7, 1945 - September 2, 2009

My sister Susan's dear husband, Vann, passed away Wednesday morning, September 2nd.

Here's Vann and daughter Amy.

Memorial Service Saturday, September 5, 11:00 a.m., at the Leeds First Methodist Church
Reception at the Church, following the Service

"Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us; our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life." ... Albert Einstein

Tluh dah chee

2009-09-04T10:18:00.001-07:00

The Cherokees call this beautiful animal tlv-da-tsi, pronounced tluh-dah-chee.

A deer hunter sitting in a tree shot and killed a panther in Troup County, Georgia, last year. Because there are no wild panthers in Georgia, authorities weren't too concerned. After all, they thought, a nonexistent wild animal can't be endangered or protected. They thought wrong. Take action for America's wild cats >> This month, DNA testing revealed that the animal was actually a federally protected Florida panther that had wandered hundreds of miles north of his namesake state. (Florida panthers once ranged throughout the southeastern U.S., but now survive in just 5 percent of their original territory.)

Save Critical Habitat for the Florida Panther
Target: Secretary of the Interior Ken SalazarSponsored by: Sierra Club

No protected habitat exists for the Florida panther, the only big cat east of the Mississippi. And fewer than 100 individual panthers remain, making the Florida Panther one of America's most endangered species.
Scientists conclude that the panther's existing habitat is the bare minimum needed for the remaining population to survive. Seven panthers have already been killed on south Florida highways this year, with an additional 24 panthers killed by vehicles in the preceding two years. This situation must not continue.
The Interior Department has the ability under the Endangered Species Act to protect the remaining habitat now. Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to designate critical habitat for the Florida panther today!

They Say It's Your Birthday!

2009-09-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

My BIRTHDAY was July 27th! Oh, well. that was a little over a month ago. But having been trapped in a time warp, I'm just now reporting on the bon vivance of the occasion. I'm not sure that bon vivance is a real word, but if not, I'm inventing it. Definition: the life experiences of one bon vivant.

Here I am with grandson Reed, blowing out the candles.

Looook! Here's my cake. Yum, yum! Made by the sweet folks at Whole Foods, and consumed with glee.

Birthday cake is one of my favorite foods. And, as it turns out, it's also one of Reed's favorite foods. So we get along like peas in a pod.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

2009-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, there was a moocow coming down along the road, and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named Baby Tuckoo...
His father told him that story.

So begins the story of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, written by James Joyce, first published as a serial in The Egoist in 1914 - 1915. This strongly autobiographical novel chronicles the life of young Stephen Dedalus, the oldest of ten children in an Irish Catholic family at the turn of the century. The book opens with a stream of consciousness narrative written from a child's perspective, with sensual imagery and words approximating baby talk.

Throughout the novel, the Dedalus family makes a series of moves into increasingly dilapidated homes as their finances dwindle. As a very young boy, Stephen enters boarding school at Clongowes, but soon is forced to withdraw because of his family's poverty. The family moves to Blackrock, where Stephen takes long walks with his Uncle Charles and goes on imaginary adventures with boys from around the neighbourhood. When Stephen is a bit older, the family moves to Dublin, once again because of financial difficulties. There he meets a girl named Emma Clere, who is to be the object of his adoration right up until the end of the book.

As Stephen matures, he struggles with feelings of isolation, sexual fantasies, association with prostitutes, spiritual confession, then religious fanaticism. As this period of religious obsession passes, he becomes increasingly frustrated with Catholicism. Influenced by works of Aquinas and Aristotle on the subject of beauty, the young man develops his own theory of aesthetics concerning beauty and art.

He has come to regard Ireland as a trap, and realizes that he must escape the constraints of nation, family, and religion. Stephen imagines his escape as something parallel to the flight of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who escaped from his prison with wings crafted by his own genius. The book ends with Stephen leaving Ireland to pursue the life of a writer.

I first read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as a sophomore in high school, and have returned to it many times, feeling the mixed emotions associated with a return to a childhood home.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Maniac

Here's me, not in Ireland but in euphoria!
I'm wearing a pale yellow dress with white collar and brown smocking, made by my mother. The expression on my face pretty much reflects my general state of baffled happiness, then and now! This is my first grade picture, and even then, as now, my motto was "Smoke 'em if you got'em."

This blog is dedicated to the memory of the artist and young man, James Thomas Owens, who introduced me to James Joyce.

What do Custer, The Flu Epidemic of 1918, and Dumb Asses have in common?

2009-07-31T09:45:00.001-07:00

I'm in the throes of extreme incredulity over a thoughtless statement in a non-fiction book I've started reading. It's titled "The Great Influenza", about the 1918 flu epidemic.

So here's my gripe.

John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza, published by Viking: 2004 Chapter One, page 11:

"The nation was then ... engaged in different wars simultaneously... In the Dakotas, George Armstrong Custer had just led the Seventh Cavalry to its destruction at the hands of primitive savages resisting encroachment of the white man."

My objection is the casual use of the term "primitive savages" used in the introductory pages of a lengthy book whose subject is the great influenza epidemic of 1918. Did the author and the editor and the publisher never wonder if this particular racial slur and misrepresentation of a culture have any business in this particular book? Did they assume that no Native American persons would EVER read this particular book; no medical doctors, no professors, no high school teachers, no students? I'm not personally suggesting that John M. Barry, his editor, nor his publisher (Viking) should be "politically correct." I'm stating emphatically that the use of this terminology is inaccurate and a blatant misrepresentation of the people who were struggling to protect their homes, culture and families against violent attack.

Let me interject a quote from another book I've just finished reading:

Joseph M. Marshall III, author of The Journey of Crazy Horse, published by Penguin-Viking (same publisher of both books) 2004 Afterword, page 28:

"...the "an Indian is an Indian is an Indian" view of indigenous cultures... They know nothing of the reasons Indians fought so hard to protect their lands and their lives."

The people who "fought so hard to protect their lands and their lives," and their culture, were definitely not primitive; the Lakota were one of many nations on this continent whose entire way of life was based on religion, philosophy and art, and who had, among other myriad attributes, an extensive history of the understanding and use of a pharmacopoeia of medicines and medical practices.

The irony that I happened to be reading these two books concurrently is worth noting. As the Lakota say, "Life moves in a circle." Everything is connected. And if you're planning on using an outdated racial slur, don't slip it into a book published in the 21st century.

Alabama Writers Conclave 2009

2009-07-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 19th, I attended the last day of Alabama Writers Conclave 2009. We met in Birmingham, which was just fine with me. I had no trouble locating the location!

Last year, the 2008 Conclave was held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and I, being the intrepid traveler not unlike Dangermouse himself, wisked away to Auburn, Alabama with Nina, an unsuspecting side-kick not unlike Dangermouse's right-hand-hamster Penfold, really. We arrived all agog, and casting our eyes all around Auburn, we soon perceived that there was no Alabama Writers Conclave meeting to be had in that fair city. Well, duh, it was in TUSCALOOSA!

But this year I successfully located the Conclave, which is something like a cross between a coven and an enclave, and accepted with grace, and something approaching dignity, the two awards they slapped on me. My free verse poem Calling Up Magic, and my children's story Uncle Earlie Batson and the Biscuit Angel, each won an Honorable Mention. As my daughter Buffy says, it's always good to be mentioned honorably.

As soon as time permits, I'll post Calling Up Magic here. And as soon as I get my illustrations done, Uncle Earlie Batson and the Biscuit Angel is bound to be published to rave reviews, and on sale at your local bookstore!

Calling Up Magic

I remember the mountain
where mountain trees are tall and wild
with glittering leaves like jewels in blinding sun.
Deep shadows abide beneath those towering trees;
somber shadows where secrets rest,
half-remembered, long-enchanted.
Scattered there are ancient odd-shaped stones,
covered over with moss and willful vines
like strong, possessive arms entwined.

The old dirt road curves along cool, shadowed places,
beneath wild cherry, sweetgum and hickory branches,
emerging into sunlight’s blazing blast;
red sand soft and warm underfoot.
Huge sandstone boulders, summer-hot,
perfume the mountain air with fragrance like no other,
and the smell makes my mouth water,
and the air moves around me, gently caressing
like mountain spirits whispering blessings.

A rough-barked tree shimmers, engulfed, heat laden,
its gnarled exterior shredded and tattered
by a bobcat whose sharpening claws,
over time, have left deep enduring scars.
Birds trill, noisy in the bushes, and
insects hum like a choir of tiny whirring machines.
They are calling up magic, singing incantations
of mysterious joy as dark clouds gather
out of the heavy, languid grip of Alabama summer.

2009-07-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

Sept choses que j'aime.

On her blog, Blackberry Creek, my sister Susan chose The Painted Possum to receive this nifty Kreative Blogger Award, which I receive with glee! Now I must list seven things I love. The dificulty lies in narrowing down my choices.

1. Possums... all and sundry. I never met a possum I didn't love.

2. Lightning bugs. The First Lightning Bug Night is one of my favorite celebrations each spring.

3. Fresh cut lumber. Love to smell it! I love waking up in the morning to the smell of fresh wood and the sound of hammering.

4. Rocks. I dig in my yard a lot just to see what kind of rocks may be unearthed. My house is full of rocks of every size and description. I have mysterious rocks, rocks I've stolen, rocks I've painted, rocks people have given me, rocks I've fought over, rocks I've lost.

5. Turtles. I find turtles to be enigmatic and amazing.

6. Marbles. Just as the rocks, my house is full of marbles of every size, age and description. I have mysterious marbles, marbles I've dug out of the ground, marbles I've stolen, marbles I've won, marbles people have given me, marbles I've fought over, marbles I've lost.

7. China dishes. Can't ever have too many sets of dishes. Once my daughter, Buffy, told my best friend, C.J., "Mama has dishes all over the house. She even keeps them under her bed." and C.J. replied "Well, of course she does!"

Now, if I could just locate some dishes with possums on them!

Who Do You Love ?

2009-07-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Bo Didley said that! I must give credit where credit is due. Bo wrote and recorded Who Do You Love in 1956, and it is one of the great rock and roll songs in the soundtrack of my childhood and adolescence.

Do you want to see some 50s or 60s era preteens throwing themselves around in an ecstatic frenzy akin to a religious paroxysm? Just throw Who Do You Love on the turntable, and stand back!

In other news: On her blog, Sourwood Mountain, my sister Joanne posted this request: If you love somebody, or some pet, who most likely never existed, I invite you to post it on your blog, and to tell why you love him or her. Joanne's "somebody" was Lancelot.

I think quite possibly that Lancelot really did exist, in one form or another. And the first person who popped into my mind as someone I have loved who was almost fictitious, and definitely mythical, is Alexander the Great. No doubt about it.

I fell in love with Alexander the Great in about 1976 when I read the novels The Persian Boy and Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault. Renault seemed to capture the personality and spirit of her subject in a way that actually made him seem totally real and believable. I was captivated and intrigued by some of the amazing and romantic facts or legends or myths regarding Alexander.

1. His mother claimed that the king, Philip, was not Alexander's father, but that a god impregnated her. Sounds unlikely, but aspects of Alexander's character, life and death seem very much super-human.

2. After conquering an enemy force, Alexander gave full citizenship and freedom to all those who would swear allegiance to him.

3. After each battle, Alexander kissed each soldier in his army, and this honor was so treasured that anyone who didn't receive a kiss was thrown into inconsolable grief and despair.

4. Alexander's love for his best friend, Hephaistion, was so intense that when Hephaistion died, Alexander built an enormous and beautiful tower as the funeral pyre, placed the body on the summit of the elaborate structure, and burned the whole thing down.

One famous event after the battle of Issus (autumn 333) gives us an idea about Alexander's and Hephaistion's friendship, when Alexander had captured Darius's throne tent and all the royal contents, including Darius's mother, Sisygambis; his wife, Stateira; and his harem.
When Alexander and Hephaistion went to meet Sisygambis, she prostrated herself at the feet of the most kingly figure. She chose by mistake the taller Hephaistion! Alexander is said to have responded rather pleasantly: "Don't worry mother, he is Alexander too."

5. And, Alexander loved his wondrous horse, Bucephalus, so much, he had a giant statue of the horse sculpted, and made the horse a general in the army!

So, while in the throes of this amorous affliction, I wrote an amorphous poem about Alexander. The dictionary tells us that amorphous means without definite shape, and I think that describes my poem, which is more emotion than form.

Alexander of Macedonia

You have left us;

by night we hunger for your voice

still, at this great distance, we hunger

and thirst for the taste of you.

Memories and haunted dreams

like fires, like jewels,

burn across the dark until

your voice awakes the seamless night.

Then I see your face, that aching

long-remembered beauty, loved by others long ago

and now so close to me

I feel your breath against my skin.

You come and go, appear then fade.

Please stay, please stay longer here

in this time and place, so far, so far

from that world you knew before; those days

of gold and fire and battles fought

for kings and kingdoms and promises

never lost, and worlds invented in your eyes,

worlds invented, conquered, then redeemed

by you and your beautiful eyes.

You rode across the earth, called it your own,

then gave yourself, body and soul, to those you conquered,

those you possessed and who would possess you;

soldiers and slaves who cried for your kiss.

Lovers and warriors whose every waking thought

was of you, whose destiny was in your hands

and whose blood fueled your fires; those are the ones

who touched you and were changed forever by your touch.

Those are the ones I envy, the ones who knew you, the ones

you built towers for, towers of flame and honor

and desire and sound. The sound of sacred flame

echoes from your past, a holy noise around you.

Still, I hunger and thirst for you,

and I watch for you in vacant dreams.

Silence drifts like smoke across the starless night

waiting to be filled by the sound of your voice

and the touch of your breath.

At dawn, the fires still burn, and you will go again

to find that distant world you knew.

That other world awaits you still.

Alexander, Alexander,

take me with you.

Homage to a Sweet Friend

2009-06-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Looks like I'm all blogged out for the time being. Today my brain is a vast and empty COSMOS.

My beautiful Mr. Humphreys has passed on to Kitty Heaven. The rest of us mourn.

Here's his beautiful face.

Blues in Birmingham

2009-06-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, wow! I just found out Jonny Lang will be at City Stages in Birmingham on June 20th!

Here's Jonny doing Good Morning Little School Girl from his 1997 album "Lie to Me." Lang was 16 years old at the time of this video. (Sept. 9, 1997)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uETsOtparg

Lie to Me is an absolutely fabulous CD. I believe all songs on the CD are Jonny Lang originals except Good Morning Little School Girl, written by Sonny Boy Williamson around 1937, and Matchbox, written by Ike Turner.

There is also another Matchbox, written by Carl Perkins: "I'm sitting here wondering, will a matchbox hold my clothes." I think the Beatles recorded this, along with other earlier artists. I always thought the words were, "I'm sitting here worrying, with a matchbox hole in my clothes." I always wondered if a matchbox hole was a hole as big as a matchbox!

Of his recent album, Turn Around, Lang says "With this album I want to focus, more than ever before, on my purpose in life. I've been so incredibly blessed. My wife and I just had our fifth anniversary. I get to do what I love for a living. But it wasn't so long ago that I was spiraling downward in a lot of ways, until God touched my life and set me on the right track. I feel a huge debt to give glory back to Him for everything He has done for me. It's the least I can do."

"I understand that not everybody believes as I do," Lang says, "which is fine. I just want to sing about what's going on in my life and let people make up their own minds about that."

I haven't heard Turn Around yet, and can't wait to do so! One of my favorite musicians, Buddy Miller, accompanies Jonny on the song On That Great Day. Buddy and Julie Miller are indescribably talented artists. The first time I heard them perform was at City Stages a few years ago.

Guster will also be there, and if we're lucky, they'll perform All the Way Up to Heaven, the sweetest song you'd ever want to hear. This song brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it, and so far everyone I ask has had the same experience.

So, let's all go to City Stages this year!

Fifteen Books in Fifteen Minutes

2009-06-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

My sister tagged me to list 15 books that will always stick with me--but I'm supposed to do it in 15 minutes. I'll give it a try. I'll list them as they come to mind, not in any kind of best-to-worst order.

1. Firmin: the Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, by Sam Savage
2. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
3. A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean
4. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, by Peter Matthiessen
5. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah
6. Ghosts of Tsavo, by Philip Caputo
7. Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, by Richard Farina
8. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
9. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier
10. The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
11. The Peaceable Kingdom, by Jan de Hartog
12. The Book of the Hopi, by Frank Waters
13. Black Elk Speaks, by John G. Neihardt
14. Ishi, the Last of His Tribe, by Theodora Krober
15. Karla Faye Tucker Set Free: Life and Faith on Death Row, by Linda Strom

I didn't time it. I think this took me more than fifteen minutes. I recommend all of these.

A Wedding in Birmingham: A Good Story for Summer

2009-06-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Voltus Electricalus and Strata Illuminata

They were married. The wedding march ushered them briskly out of the candle-lit church into the ecstatic sunlight. Rice and birdseed were thrown. Brown sparrows and gray doves skittered along the warm sidewalk amid the feet of exuberant guests. A solitary squirrel ventured down the trunk of a massive oak tree to peer at the festive crowd, as Albert Slater led his bride to the car parked at the curb.
That was on Saturday. Now it was Wednesday. Marissa was still trying to get used to the fact that she was Mrs. Albert Slater. She thought she might never get used to the fact that she was Mrs. Albert Anybody. Albert was such a difficult name to get used to; so old fashioned and stiff. She would have preferred a Daniel, a Greg, or a Jason. Albert was a stuffy, dusty sounding name.
But here he was. Thank goodness he didn't look like an Albert. They stood together on the hotel balcony overlooking the endless view of mountains piled one over another into the blue distance. Sun struck his clean thin face, causing him to squint as he smiled at her. She could see scattered prisms of refracted sunlight in his hair. Suddenly the thought struck her that he seemed to actually emanate light. That's it, she thought. He looks electrical.
She continued to watch him, the sunlight firing off his face, his eyes, his red hair; then she had to explain why she laughed.
"It's because you look electrical, Albert, like a volt of electricity. Like a watt. Like a million watts. Like a bolt of lightning tearing across the sky, like the king of all lightning and electrical impulses."
Albert had no objection to being the King of Electrical Impulses, and since it amused her, he let her fashion a costume for him out of coat-hangers, plastic dry-cleaner bags, shoulder pads snipped from articles of clothing, a clear plastic belt strapped diagonally across his chest.
"Wild King of Electricity," she addressed him that night inside their institutionally impersonal honeymoon suite. "Your name henceforth shall be Miraculous Voltus Electricalus!" And she laughed and laughed.
And he laughed too, watching his new bride apply red lipstick lightning streaks to her fresh just-married face and along both arms from shoulder to wrist. He pranced about the room, uninhibited for the first time in his life, striking poses he deemed to be thoroughly electrical, as she continued drawing red zig-zags of lightning from her thighs to her ankles and from her breasts, downward across her stomach and abdomen.
She moussed her blonde hair into two huge spikes that actually looked quite like horns, and she sprayed them with hair spray until they radiated stiffly from her head. Then she fashioned a costume for herself, folding many sheets of white writing paper into fans which she tucked into her bra and under the straps and around the elastic of her bikini panties. Then she encircled herself with a long, heavy-duty extension cord which she ripped from the lamps on each side of the king-sized nuptial bed. From this, she dangled her curling iron, her hair dryer, his electric razor.
"My electrical darling!" he exclaimed, as if he had recognized her for the first time.
"Yes," she answered. "I am known as Strata Illuminata." And she danced for him, a frantic, twitching pavane with many starts and stops, like an electric light switch flipped on and off.
Thus, when they came back from their honeymoon, they possessed a private world, inhabited entirely by electrical lovers of wattage. No one else guessed that there was such a world, and that of course made it all the more amusing. When in the company of relatives and friends, often they looked shyly at each other when anyone mentioned power surges, or they winked furtively across the table when someone predicted an electrical storm.
They felt, even more than most young married couples, special, set apart, conspirators. Mythological.
They had a nice little home, a renovated 1940s bungalow on Southside. There were tall trees in the back and thick, luxurious green grass in the front. The young couple enjoyed lying on their backs on that verdant green carpet at night, watching the stars and talking of the distant electrical galaxy from which they came. Soon they began wrapping themselves in long strings of Christmas lights, augmenting their electrical costumes with thousands of tiny luminous bulbs. His were multicolored; hers were clear.
They purchased more and more extension cords, stringing them together end-to-end, so that the two glowing, frolicsome beings of enlightenment could run about across the lawn each night, sparkling and volatile, dancing dances of astonishing incandescence on the dark summer grass.
Strata Illuminata teased and tempted her mythological hero, Voltus Electricalus, as she romped across the dew covered lawn. The fescue glittered under her feet, reflecting the brilliant beams cast by thousands of tiny lights adorning her otherwise naked body. V.E. laughed lustily and gave chase.
"Come to me, my flashy seductress!" he called, pursuing his flickering loved one. "Illuminata! Illuminata!"
She squealed and threw herself into his arms, giving little thought to the crackling of tiny bulbs. They bought only the kind that would continue to burn if one burned out.
The thunder of the approaching storm was muffled by the shouts and laughter of the radiant lovers who were now entangled in their multiple extension cords as they thrashed about in fervent embrace. The immense bolt of lightning ripped out of the turbulent sky and made contact with their many-lighted bodies.
And that was the end of that marriage.

©Ramey Channell 2004

Leonard Peltier

2009-05-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Leonard Peltier has recently applied for a parole hearing. That hearing is scheduled for my birthday, July 27, 2009.

Leonard Peltier was an activist in the American Indian Movement who had gone to help the Oglala Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Reservation in June 1975 when a shootout occurred with FBI agents. Accused of the murder of two agents, Peltier fled to Canada, believing he would never receive a fair trial in the US. In February 1976, the FBI knowingly presented the Canadian court with fraudulent affidavits, and Peltier was returned to the U.S. for trial. In a controversial trial in which evidence was fabricated and witnesses threatened and coerced, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Facts and details of Leonard's case can be read at the following site:
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/facts.htm

While in prison Mr. Peltier has won awards for his work and support of humanitarian causes and twice has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Although limited by the prison environment, Mr. Peltier has emerged as a master of Indigenous Art. Leonard’s artwork reflects his beliefs and commitment to Native American culture. It is The People’s struggle to survive and his desire to portray their cultural beauty that inspires Peltier to paint. Art professionals marvel at the number and quality of the paintings Peltier produces.
By donating his paintings to the Leonard Peltier Charitable Foundation, he was able to supply computers and educational supplies such as books and encyclopedias to libraries and families on Pine Ridge Reservation.
This is one of Leonard Peltier's beautiful paintings.

Leonard Peltier has been widely recognized for his efforts and has won several human rights awards, including the North Star Frederick Douglas Award, Humanist of the Year Award, and the International Human Rights Prize.

If you would like to sign a petition for Leonard Peltier's release, you can do so at this website.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Peltier_Clemency2008/?e

Oh! Oh! Oh!

2009-05-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

So, did everybody watch American Idol? I'm just too excited! If there is anyone alive and breathing who didn't see American Idol let me tell you, the two finalists are two of the most talented and likeable fellows you could imagine. Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are fantastic!

Kris Allen is the winner of the competition, and a superb musician and singer. He's an accomplished pianist and guitarist with a strong, unique voice. And cute? Even ol' Simon Cowell said Kris was truly the most likeable contestant ever on the show. And he has that special ability of connecting with the audience that makes his performances heart-stopping and magical.

Adam Lambert, a dynamic singer with a remarkable stage presence came in second.

Can't wait to hear more from these two guys!

Looking for a Few Good Movies ...

2009-05-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here at The Painted Possum, from time to time I'll talk about some REALLY GOOD MOVIES. If anyone out there wants to make suggestions for future posts, or has comments about my selections, let me know.

Places in the Heart (1984)

Truly one of the best movies ever, a flawless classic. Set in 1935, Waxahachie, TX, Edna Spalding is alone and financially destitute, after the accidental shooting of her Sheriff husband. Living on a small farm in the middle of America's Great Depression, she is helped by a wandering cotton farmer, Moses, and a blind border, Mr. Will, who teach her how to appreciate life, despite tragedy and hardships.

Reasons why I love this movie?

Places in the Heart came out in 1984, and at that time my daughter, whose nickname had been Possum since her birth in 1979, was five years old, about the same age as the "Possum" in this movie.

Danny Glover ... need I say more? He always brings a touch of magic to any film he's in. He's one of the best.

Sally Field, of course, is always funny and believable. She makes the characters she plays seem real.

And John Malkovich ! This was the first time I had seen John Malkovich. His acting was so superb, I was stunned. And I thought, "How wonderful that a blind person can become a great actor!" That's how convincing he is in this role.

(Many scenes are too violent for children)

Crimes of the Heart (1986)

Crimes of the Heart is the story of three eccentric southern sisters, who have all reunited one hot summer at their family home after the youngest, Babe, has shot her husband, and the grandfather (Old Paw) of the three woman is succumbing to old age.

Sissy Spacek, Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton, and Sam Shepard unite to make this movie hilariously funny, touching, and most memorable. I love the humor. One unforgettable line is Jessica Lange complaining about Sam Shepard's "Yankee wife and his little half-Yankee children."
(Southern gothic drama)

A Family Thing (1996)

Starring Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones, this is one of my favorites. Two middle-aged men, one white, one black, suddenly discover that they are literally brothers.

Any other writers handed this premise would probably play it for cheap laughs, but Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson made an earnest drama out of it, one lightened by a few affectionate laughs and much heartfelt sentimentality.

The movie is about the ways Earl Pilcher (Robert Duvall) and Ray Murdock (James Earl Jones) slowly, grudgingly, come to terms with this news and open themselves up to each other.

Funny and sincere.

One Little Turtle

2009-05-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Look who's back! This quaint little fellow visits my yard in the Spring, and this year he appeared on Mother's Day week-end. What a delightful surprise!

Sir Turtle has the most beautiful designs on his back and face, and is so astute in his demeanor. He seemed to enjoy having his picture made.

Here's Aussie, taking a peek at our visitor.

After visiting with the kitties, who were intrigued by varying degrees, Sir Turtle sat appraising the green plastic yard rake for quite a while.

Mr. Humphreys says "What is it?"

Then turtle headed for cover,
and burrowed into the pinestraw

under our persimmon tree.

This turtle is very talented at disappearing.

When the cats and I searched for him later, he was nowhere to be found.

Aussie says

"Where'd he go?"

Wiley says
"Where'd who go?"

Guess we'll see him next spring!

The Folks

2009-05-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Chris Isbell, made copies of some old family photos that had been in my Great Aunt Annie's possession for many years. This was the first time I had seen these fantastic pictures of these truly remarkable people.

These sweet folks are my grandparents, Alvetta (Vettie) and Reed Roe Ramey, and their first child, my daddy, Gordy Ramey. Isn't this a beautiful child?

Here's a close-up of Gordy, Gordon Monroe Ramey.

His resemblance to my grandson, Reed Daniel, is remarkable!

Here's my little Reedy with his Easter basket, looking for eggs.

Derby Day Delight

2009-05-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

I hope EVERYONE watched the Kentucky Derby yesterday. I'm still dancing a jig over the winner with the funny name, Mine That Bird. What a beautiful horse, and what a stunning victory! With odds of 50 - 1, seems nobody saw it coming. But that horse made it look so easy, winning by 6 3/4-lengths.

And that jockey! Have you ever seen anyone so happy? And he seemed to bear an uncanny resemblance to Red Pollard, who rode the most famous equine ever, Seabiscuit.

You can go here to watch a replay of yesterday's amazing Mine That Bird victory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv8x9x5A49s&feature=topvideos

Other Derby info: My daughter, India, was born on Monday after Derby Week-end, so now her birthday is always on or near Derby Day. Tomorrow we'll be celebrating her delightful arrival on this planet. Here she is, as cute as she can be, and grinning like a possum, of course. India's paternal grandmother, known to all as Peanut, was a native Kentuckian and lived in Louisville, Kentucky. What a very beautiful, pleasant place!

We had a hard time picking a name when India was born, because (1) the doctor said we were having a boy, (2) a close relative had just given birth to a daughter and used all three girl names we liked, and (3) my best friend Phil Mitchell wanted me to name her Jump Sturdy, a name from a Dr. John song! So we elected to name our little sweetie India from the book Gone With the Wind. A good Southern name for a beautiful Southern belle.

I've tried to find Dr. John singing "Jump Sturdy" from his GRIS GRIS album, with no success. If anyone can find Jump Sturdy on YouTube, let me know. My best advice to everyone is, just buy the album. It's spectacular.

Why Did the Camel Cross the Desert?

2009-04-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

This is it! The last day of April. And do we think that all foolishness shall cease, now that April is passed? Naaa, probably not.

My daughter sent me one of the most informative, and conceivably helpful, articles ... you know those things people are always forwarding to you and 7000 others. Well, this one was received with great joy, and I might add, gratitude. It's How to Regain Control of a Spooked Camel. Of course, that's something I wanted to know.

Some of the most important points were (1) Stay calm, (2) Hang on, and (3) Consider a quick dismount. (4) Get off the camel once you have it under control sounded pretty good to me too.

So, all this camel business brought to mind, of course, Peter O'Toole, one of my favorite fellows in all the world, and the persona of Lawrence of Arabia.

Here's the man himself, I guess he's looking for his camel.

Many years ago, I saw Mr. O'Toole on The Tonight Show, giving the most hilarious account of his camel-riding experiences while filming the movie Lawrence of Arabia. After discussing the options, which were few, he and Omar Sharif decided to tie themselves to the camels. But Peter O'Toole said, "I really didn't feel enthusiastic about having myself adhered to a stampeding camel!" So he told Omar, "I think I'll just get really drunk." And Omar Sharif said, "Oh, I'm gonna do that too!"

So, the two of them got drunk and then had themselves adhered to the camels, then filmed the camels charging into battle. O'Toole admitted that he was so drunk he had no idea where he was or what he was doing for the entire scene

Here's Peter again, with a decidedly amusing expression on his face while poking his camel with a camel-poking stick.

In June 2008, Lawrence of Arabia was ranked #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the ten greatest films in the "epic" genre, and Peter O'Toole's performance as T.E. Lawrence is the #1 ranked performance of all time in Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.

Want to know more about How to Regain Control of a Spooked Camel? Here's the web address.

http://www.wikihow.com/Regain-Control-of-a-Spooked-Camel

I Think, Therefore I'm Beat!

2009-04-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

coffee

sometimes

coffee

is divine

sometimes

coffee

is hot and dark

sometimes

dust

accumulates

and if i leave my coffee cup

too long on the window sill

fungus grows
who told fungus

to grow there, man

who's in charge, man

divinity

infinity

it's a long note to blow

What is that clicking sound? It's the sound of snapping fingers, the appropriate response to a well received Beatnik poem! Yesterday, April 22nd, was the last in our series of National Poetry Month celebrations at the library, and we celebrated BEATNIK POETRY.

dark

can't see my hand

in front of my face

can't see your hand

in front of your face

can't see the rat

lurking in the corner

ah, edison

make the scene

man

Who is this guy?

What Do Poetry, Coffee, and Dan Fogelberg Have In Common?

2009-04-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

"There's a heaven on earth that so few ever find.

But the map's in your soul and the road's in your mind."

Dan Fogelberg

Today we continued to celebrate poetry at our public library. I read selections from my poetry chapbook, TOKENS, with a few extras thrown in, to a packed house! The house was packed with Ms. Boone's senior English class, and a few adult poetry enthusiasts. The poem that seemed to be the hit of the day was my Love, Alabama Style, a rather lengthy poem about an ill-tempered, jealous cat.

While the teen audience, as well as the adults, were attentive and adroit during the reading, an abundance of coffee was consumed after the program, and a festive rip ensued. Robert Frost would have been proud of us!

The teens returned again and again, until the coffee pot was empty, asking pertinent questions about poetry writing, and expressing their own individual creativity in exuberant fashion.

After the students left the building and relative calm descended, I listened to a few Dan Fogelberg songs, and remembered what a great song writer he was. Many of his songs dealt with his hopes that we would all find a way to rescue and preserve the beauty of our environment. He sang about the beauty and magic in natural surroundings and what we all have at our fingertips, and could easily lose if we aren't attentive.

And here's Dan, drinking coffee, and getting kissed by a black kitty. Or, is the cat trying to get the coffee?

Cats, coffee, poetry and beautiful music ... these are a few of my favorite things.

Poetic Pleasures and Horses, Horses, Horses

2009-04-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Continuing our National Poetry Month celebrations, another accomplished Alabama poet gave a delightful reading at the library today. Kathleen Thompson, native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, read from her published works and talked about her experiences as writer and poet. Kathleen's poems, essays and short stories have been widely published in literary magazines, most recently in Sou'wester and Amaryllis.

Kathleen's published books include Searching for Ambergris, The Shortest Distance, and The Nights and the Days. She's a wonderfully talented Alabamian, and her presentation was a treat.

Kathleen received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky where I attended Bellarmine College, though I don't think those two events were concurrent. It has been quite a few years since my last excursion to Kentucky, and how I wish I could drop everything and zip up there for a visit.

The Kentucky Derby is just about a month away, and the book I'm currently reading, Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, has sparked my interest in the odd horse.

The oddest horse I ever was acquainted with, was a little stinker who loved to catapult me through the air and into the thicket, briar patch, or any other available shrubbery. His temperament was sullen at worst, facetious at best. I can't remember the little bugger's name for sure ... but I think it was Pepper. My brother-in-law bought him from Blair Farms and left him at our house in the woods, and I think I'm the only living soul who ever tried to ride him. And feeding him was almost as dangerous as riding him. He loved to bite! Seabiscuit would never do that!

Pepper ended up back at the Blair Farms from whence he came, and even though he was an exasperating fellow, I missed him when he was gone. I don't think he missed me.

Fools & Poets

2009-04-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

April Fools Day was a delight! It's good to have a day when one can drop all pretenses and just be what you are! Because April is National Poetry Month , it was a chance to celebrate FOOLS & POETS all at the same time! Are those two words synonymous? Because I fit into both categories, I'll refrain from commenting.

My sister, Joanne Cage, an Alabama poet of some renown, read her poems at our local library today to kick off our month long National Poetry Month festivities.

Here's Joanne, looking quite adventurous and stunningly beautiful as a cowboy. Her creative inclinations kicked in at an early age, and she's been creative and witty ever since.

Here's another of my favorite poets, Robert Frost. Mr. Frost and Joanne share some similarities in writing style and subject matter, both writing about passions of the heart. To a large extent, those passions have to do with trees, leaves, home and seasons, and fragile melancholy memories.

I believe Robert F. was a bit more irascible than Joanne. One of the funniest stories I ever heard was in a biography of Robert Frost, concerning his misbehaviour on two separate occasions while fellow poet, Carl Sandberg, was attempting to read his poetry to an audience. In the first incident, Robert Frost seized a huge broom and chased a wayward bird around the auditorium, diverting all attention away from Sandberg. In the second incident, funniest of all and hardest to explain, while sitting in the audience during a Sandberg reading, Frost set a bunch of papers on fire, which subsequently ignited an empty chair, whilst Carl S. diligently attempted to press on with his reading. Robert, what were you thinking?

Other great poets worth checking out are Edwin Arlington Robinson, Ambrose Bierce, William Butler Yeats, Countee Cullen, James A. Emanuel, and Rupert Brooke.

Rupert's one of my favorites.

And then there's always Dobby Mauby. Samuel Dobbs Mauby ... he's a nut.

Twinkle, twinkle, little bug.

2009-03-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Wonder of wonders! The First Lightning Bug Night has arrived! Every year I am delightfully surprised when these little twinkling jewels of the night appear. I've made a note on my calendar each Spring to mark their arrival.

Lightning bugs and lightning bug larvae are extremely beneficial for the lawn and garden. They feed on other insect larvae, worms, snails and slugs. Most of all, they enchant us and make our summer nights magical and beautiful.

First Lightning Bug of the Year

Twinkle, twinkle, little bug.

I want to give you a great big hug.

But, you're too tiny, I suspect.

Twinkle, twinkle, small insect.

I Have a Good Day, Now and Then

2009-03-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

It looks like we are still talking about chickens.

As Aunt Pitty Pat would say, "Chickens on the internet! How did they ever get in?"

Plans are underway for the 5th annual Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19, 2009, at the Lions Club Fairgrounds in Moulton, Alabama.
Of course, it would have to be in Moulton, where all the chickens are moltin’! Do you think that town was chosen just for the name?

According to the Alabama Department of Agriculture, agriculture is the number one industry in Alabama. It employs over 476,000 people, which is roughly 21% of the state’s work force. Furthermore, producing over 1 billion birds a year, Alabama is the #3 producer of chickens in the nation.The Lawrence County Arts Council, Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Cooperative Extension Services, Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel have joined forces to promote the Chicken and Egg Festival, hoping to educate the public on the economic impact and health values of poultry and eggs.

Here’s the Chicken and Egg Festival website.

http://www.alabamachickenandeggfestival.com/

Among other fun and unique activities, there will be a chicken clucking contest, an egg toss, a chicken-wing eating contest, Bluegrass music, Southern folklife artists, and more than 100 live Exotic Bantam Chickens.

And PAUL THORN!

Headlining the 2009 Chicken Stage is the Paul Thorn Band. One of the most accomplished and enjoyable musicians ever, Paul does blues, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll. His distinctive voice and poetic lyrics have carried him from Tupelo, Mississippi to stardom!

Here's Paul Thorn performing his song "I Have a Good Day Now and Then," which has been recorded by Paul McCartney. No joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk3WLyVQ9rM

You couldn't ask for much more than that.
.
Check out the festivities!

Mother Nature's Balancing Act

2009-03-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

While on the subject of eggs ... Today is the First Day of Spring! I hope everyone popped out of bed bright and early this morning and balanced an egg or two! Although I usually balance a whole bunch of eggs on the first day of Spring, this morning I had but one single egg in the fridge. So I placed it on the window sill over the kitchen sink, and there she sits, beautiful, proud and well-balanced.

It's my understanding that the tradition of balancing eggs on the morning of the Vernal Equinox began centuries ago. Farmers gathering eggs noticed on a particular day in Spring that the eggs in each hen's nest would be balanced on end. What joy! There are few things in life as joyful as a balanced egg! That's how, in days of old, the common folk knew that Spring had arrived.

This year, the Vernal Equinox occurred at 6:44 AM, and the closer to the exact time of the equinox, the easier it is to balance eggs. Later in the day, it becomes a much more tedious exercise, and if you have balanced eggs in place, they will eventually plop over onto their sides when the magic time has passed.

And ... yum, yum ... do scrambled, fried, or poached eggs taste better on the first day of Spring? My opinion is, yes they do! A perfectly astronomically balanced egg is bound to have an extraordinarily yummy taste. However, this is only a guess. I'm always too busy balancing eggs to cook any on the First Day of Spring.

A Chicken After My Own Heart

2009-03-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

On this beautiful St. Patrick's Day, the sun is shining and Spring is just around the corner, so it seems. I think about all the lovely sunny days ahead, and suddenly and without warning, I think about a chicken. That's right. Not just some random chicken, but a particular chicken with a singularly Irish personality; smart, handsome, and terribly testy.

My sister and I raised him from an orphaned egg.
The name we gave him was Chicken Little, and while he was yet very small, you couldn't have asked for a more agreeable little fellow. He was promptly baptised, showered with love, affection and attention, and treated like a member of the family. Chicken Little lived in a small cage on the living room coffee table, went with us on picnics, where he chased bugs and small snakes along the creekbank, and was just a marvelous companion. Even as an adolescent bird, he remained sweet and amenable to all playtime activities, like having doll clothes forced upon him and tiny bandanas tied around his pin-feathery head.

Chicken Little indeed! We should have named him George Meany. Upon reaching maturity, his personality took a foul turn! Man, that was one mean chicken! Of course, he had to be banned from the inside of our home, due to his lurking around corners and attacking like a chicken possessed. But putting him outside seemed to make matters worse. He hid just around the back of the house, and whenever one of us bare-legged humans ventured down the backporch steps, Chicken Little flew at us like a demon chicken, uttering the most terrifying pawks you can imagine, pecking and flogging without mercy.

Now, what would make a formerly benign chicken turn into a Jekyl & Hyde monster? Nobody knows.

So, my daddy traded him for two bunnies, a brown one and a gray one, dubbed Pierre and Twinkle Nose. They were promptly baptised, and NEVER attacked us.

I'll never forget Chicken Little. Both his personalities made lasting impressions, as did his "Top o' the mornin' to you!" greeting and his dagger-like beak.

Didn't It Snow, Children?

2009-03-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Quel surprise! On Sunday, March 1st, it actually did snow in Alabama. We all had a big time, and a few of us got to wondering about why snowflakes look the way they do.

Snowflake formation begins when water vapor condenses on microscopic dust grains. Each snowflake's unique structure is caused by chemical reactions and ever-changing temperatures.

Snow actually rises before it falls. As a droplet of water vapor rises higher, it freezes into a six-sided crystal. Because ice forms fastest around the edges, cavities form. Faster growth on corners causes branches to sprout, and cavities create interior lines. As the flake rises, temperatures get colder. At 10.4 degrees Farenheit, branches are wide. At 8.6 degrees, new growth is narrower. When the snowflake grows heavy enough to overcome the force of rising air, it falls. As the snowflake falls, warmer temperatures cause more side branches to sprout with longer and narrower tips. Hence, snow.

Some of us waited until many, many of the weighty formations plummeted to earth, then out we went for a rare frozen frolic.

At least one Mr. Possum found the lure of the soft white stuff irresistable, and trotted out for a brief stroll.

Possum In the Snow

Possum has a snowflake stuck to his nose.
His fur keeps him warm when the cold wind blows.
He's on his way home for tea and puddin'.
I asked him to come to my house, but he wouldn'.

Opossum or Not Opossum, That Is the Question

2009-02-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

"A possum by any other name would still be a possum."

William Shakespeare

Today is a glum, grey, very still and quiet day. We've had several inches of rain, with the possibility of snow tonight or tomorrow. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Everyone I know is ready for SPRING. So, where is it? Ah, Spring! I see thee not, and yet I crave thee still! Willie S. said that.

So, it looks like we're talking about the Bard of Avon.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. He then wrote mainly tragedies, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, until around 1609 when he penned his most renowned work, MacPossum, a dazzling work of brooding gothic drama which set the standard for all literature to come. That's why possums, all and sundry, can be heard to mutter, "Double, double, toil and trouble." as they fumble around the countryside, looking for some style of mischief to get into.

Here in Alabama, we are most fortunate to have in residence possums of the highest literary nature. Just a few nights ago, upon hearing a little marsupialesque voice quavering "Oh, do not swear by the MOON!" I looked out my back door to see who spake thus. Sure enough, my eyes were blessed with the sight of two little bardies, munching on cat food as they carried on such an urbane and sophisticated discourse! Who could not love a possum?

Back to the Bard; Shakespeare biographers have documented the indisputable fact that people were barely able to walk around the Globe Theatre without stepping on the tails of Shakespeare's many pet possums, who hung around the place, and were, at that time, believed to bring good luck to actors, writers, and artists.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

A Delightful Man With a Funny Name

2009-02-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

There's a book out there somewhere titled No, I Don't Want to Join a Bookclub. Though I haven't read it, I believe it's written by a middle-aged woman taking a stand against getting involved with all the fun stuff we get involved with as we mature.

Well, I am a member of a book club, I must admit. Called The Bookmarkers, we are twelve-or-so ladies who love to read good books, and we get together every so often to talk about the books we read. Now, doesn't that sound like fun? Everyone should join a bookclub; it's a brain-stretching activity.

The book we'll be reading next is Down the Garden Path by a fellow named Beverley Nichols.

Beverley Nichols was a multitalented British socialite who is apparently best remembered for his garden writings. Handsome, urbane, and possessed of a delightful sense of humor, Nichols has emerged as one of the most enduring garden writers of the previous century. He starred in movies in the 1920s, wrote music and songs for the theater, reported for newspapers, and wrote his own memoirs early on, plus numerous novels, mysteries, cat books, and biographies. Lucky for us, he loved plants, gardens, and the eccentric personalities associated with them.

Here's a wonderful Beverley Nichols website to click and view. Look at the Black Kitties!

http://www.timberpress.com/beverleynichols/index.cfm

The True Meaning of Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day
This is it! Valentine's Day Eve. Have you done all your shopping? Personally, I'm running a little behind schedule, but I do believe my heart's in the right place!

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to give big kisses to all the possums in your life. And remember, when you drive your car along those long and winding country roads, slow down and give the odd possum time to cross the road unmolested. He'd do the same for you.

Some Valentine's Day History:

In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse. Valentine's Day cards gained popularity in America during the Revolutionary War. Mass production of Valentine cards started in the early 1900s. And here in Alabama, the Valentine Possum visits every home, bringing candy, flowers and greeting cards for all those who have true and eternal affection for our magnificent marsupials.

So, I hope everyone has a truly joyous Valentine's Day 2009. The possumabilities are endless!

The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music

2009-02-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here's Roy Burkett on YouTube, performing Equal, from the Hidden Tracks album. He does not live in Colorado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEcU6f31Koc

Oh, Sweet Swingin' Sphere

2009-02-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

It's February Fool's Day! I hope everyone has had a truly blessed and memorable February Fool's Day. I celebrated by (1) having a car wreck in which no one was hurt except the front of my car, and (2) watching Third Rock From the Sun episodes, the entire first season. When that show ended its run on TV, it was like losing part of my family.

Look, here's the whole crew. Tommy, Dick, Sally and Harry. French Stewart (Harry) was my idol. I loved his furry jacket. Funny thing: in one of the episodes, Harry dreamed about Martha Stewart. So I wonder if they're kin? Could it run in the family?

Dig Infinity!

2009-01-30T09:12:00.000-08:00

Dig this cat! I know you dug him before, but re-dig him now! This is a cat so heavy, he'll snap your practiced credulity.

Lord Buckley was "a most immaculately hip aristocrat," a comic philosopher who addressed his audience as "hipsters, flipsters, and finger popping daddies," and , my favorite salutation, "My lords and ladies of the royal court." His Lordship was born Richard Myrle Buckley on April 5, 1906. I purchased two Lord Buckley albums from a little record shop in the West Village, NYC, in about 1968, and I promise you, my practiced credulity was totally snapped! His subjects range from historical figures to daydeams to religious deities. Lord Buckley advised his listeners to "Dig infinity!" And they dug it!

If you ever get a chance, you should give him a listen. Or, as Lord Buckley put it, "Hipsters, flipsters and finger-popping daddies, knock me your lobes."

This post is dedicated to the memory of my best friend in the world, Phil Mitchell.

High Time: Dig This

2009-01-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, I believe it is high time to do some explaining about the picture of me. What I'm holding is a shovel. This picture was taken on my birthday, and the shovel was a birthday present from my daughter, India. If you look closely, you can see the aforementioned Gretchen the Snorticuss waiting patiently behind me. She perceives that some digging may be afoot, so to speak. In her case, it's afoot. In my case, it's ashovel.

As long as we're on the subject of shovels and feet, we may as well talk about Ireland. It has come to my attention that if you go to a well known website where we all go to avail ourselves of random information, you can see the question; Explain the expression "Digs with the other foot." The big surprise is, nobody has answered that question. Well, let me tell you, it has to do with the difference in the shovels used by Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. Historically, the Irish Catholics used shovels with long, straight handles with no horizontal grip at the top. If you try to dig with one of these, which I have often done, you'll find that to get a better dig, one must push the shovel with one's foot. And if you're right handed, the foot that seems most logical will be the left foot. However, the Protestants typically used a shorter handled shovel, with the horizontal grip at the top. Just look, my thoughtful and non-sectarian daughter has given me the perfect example, which I proudly display in the picture. With this shovel in hand, one is more likely to push with the right foot. It just works better that way.

I learned all this from Desmond Regan, a fine Irish Catholic fellow, when I was a youngun. Desmond was not only a fine fellow, but a Catholic priest as well. My daddy, Gordy, who was not a Catholic, nonetheless built the little brick Catholic church that stands across the street from the elementary school I attended. But that's a story for another day

Happy Digging!

A Jack Russell Terrier By Any Other Name

2009-01-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

Looook, it's my dog! Don't you all wish you had a fearless Snorticuss like mine? Just where do Snorticusses come from? This one came out of the woods behind my house, and she said her name is Gretchen; but I know a fearless Snorticuss when I see one. So, you've never seen a green-eyed dog? Snorticusses always have green eyes. Don't they, Gretchen?

Well, I knew it was a Snorticuss, the first time that I saw it!

Another Day, Another Dollar

2009-01-02T09:53:00.001-08:00

So here we are, 2009! The best thing so far is, we have a new Pres!
What else? It feels like a new lease on life.

Meanwhile, Gretchen the dog, has a new leash on life. She's at the vet, getting a bath!

I'm contemplating transforming myself into Buddy Holly. We'll see how it goes. Actually, I won't really transform myself into B.H., I just plan to sing a Buddy Holly song in public, with accomplices. More about that later.

Things to Watch For Here at The Painted Possum !

Soon I'll be posting examples of portraits and other artwork I have recently completed, poems, short stories and highly entertaining illogical thoughts, and, oh yes, snapshots of me and my musical group The Crazy Little Mamas performing a Buddy Holly song ... in public!

Halloween Mice

2008-10-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween in Mouseyville,

the little mice are happy.

Mousey eyes are shining bright,

Their little toes are tappy.

Dressed up in kitty-cat costumes,

they gaze into the mirror.

They think the cats they see are real,

and so they won't come nearer.

It's time for trick-or-treating

and the mice get lots of candy.

Coming home with big fat bellies,

they feel so fine and dandy.

It's sleepy time in Mouseyville,

the Autumn stars are gleaming.

The big round moon keeps watch outside

while little mice are dreaming.