Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Litany Against Fear

from Herbert's Dune


I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.



Occasionally, we all need to be reminded that we do have the power to overcome our fears.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Back to Work

I had a bee try to attack me. Yes, a bee. And yes, it tried to attack me.

I was minding my own business walking up to the door to get in to work. I was at least three to four feet away from said bee and moving away from it. It flew up in front of me, moving back and forth but getting closer and closer to me. I backed up thinking it would go back off to the side where it had come from. It kept coming at me like that -- back and forth, back and forth, closer and closer. I kept backing up until it had me back in the middle of the driveway. I turned around to see where I was going. When I turned back around the bee was gone. I grabbed my badge real quick and rushed up the stairs and into the building. Stupid bee! I think it might have been agitated by the warning sirens (monthly test). Bees apparently are very sensitive to noise and vibration. It might have upset the bee.





Anyhow, I am now safe and sound in the building with the air conditioning -- safe from bees and allergens.

Today I finally got out to lunch with a coworker. We've been trying to make these plans happen for over a month now. Who knew lunch could be so difficult? The upside is that we got to go whereever we wanted versus the limited options of eating with our picky boss. We chose Big Bowl. We chose wisely. It was good.

I startled the waitress a bit I think. They have a sweet ginger peppermint tea, but only hot. Well, 'tis the season for iced tea! I asked if they could do it iced for me. She looked confused and said, "No, I think we only offer it hot." I smiled and ordered the pot of hot sweet ginger peppermint tea and a large glass of ice. I made my own iced tea. And it was delicious. I'm thinking I might be able to duplicate it at home with candied ginger bits and peppermint easily enough. They had used crystalized ginger and I can probably find that too if I look around a bit.




On the way home, I mean, back to work, I was listening to MPR as I am wont to do. They are celebrating the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. They were reading a letter from Leonard Parker, who is now 85 and a prominent Twin Cities architect. He was one of the soldiers who first arrived at Dachau. It was a very interesting piece, brought tears to my eyes as he described what they found and the greeting they received from the prisoners. Going to try to embed the media here:


Or you can read the letter ...here.


War is hell, but at that time we knew who the enemy was, where to find them and how to eradicate them. If it were only that easy now.



Today, bin Laden has released another tape. Obama is speaking in Cairo. He's upset the Isrealis. He's trying to rein them in. Yes, you have had lots of wrong done to you. But you have done lots of wrong too. Peace will come to most of the Middle East with a two-state peace plan. Still have al Qeada and the Taliban to deal with but most Middle East governments will be okay. So far Obama's steps seem to have worried al Qaeda though. I think that is a good thing. Two press releases in two days before Obama speaks to the Muslim world. Yep, he's worried that he'll lose ground with this American President looking to make peace and demonstrates acceptance and acknowledgement of other religions.



In other news, it looks like the Saturn brand will live on. Thank goodness! I love my Saturn. Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid. I am also very relieved that the extended warranty and service plan that I bought will be fulfilled by somebody. Just wish I knew who!



Anyhow, I am running out of words and time