This Gets Me Through The Day.

So, I've been spending copious amounts of time not doing my homework and reading a new blog I found (thanks to my most marvelous cousin), Hyperbole and a Half I love her drawings. So. Much.

And stories.

And personalities.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that, given the opportunity, I would marry this woman.

Al Qaeda, The KKK, and America.

My dearest readers, however a small group you may be, it is time that I bring up the topic of politics, as unpleasant as it may seem.
On May 25th, the idea of building a Mosque near the sight of 9/11's ground zero was put to the vote of a community board. They voted largely in support of the plan, 29-1.
Suddenly, there is an uproar of protest, presently from 70% of the population (Examiner.com), against the building of a Mosque. Well, I'll be. I thought I lived in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Ladies and gentlemen, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I speak, of course, exclusively to those of you who generalize and deny these Muslims their right to worship in their own way.
I absolutely advocate the building of a Mosque and Muslim community center near the site of ground zero. Phew. There, I said it. So stone me.
With so many opinions and high-throttle emotions being thrown about, let's lay down some facts.
1. Yes, the attacks on 9/11 were (I'm trying to double check this, as there seems to be a lot of conspiracy theories around the origin of the attacks) coordinated and executed by Al Qaeda, an extreme, militant Islamic group.
2. The majority of Muslims condemn the actions and beliefs of Al Qaeda and other Muslim Extremist groups.
3. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants all citizens freedom of Expression, Religion, and Press. So, people can believe what they want to believe.
4. There's also the idea of the Harm Principle, by John Stuart Mill. You can do what you want, so long as it's not harming another person. I suppose that's more of an opinion.
5. The Mosque would be built a few blocks from the site of ground zero. I'm currently in search for the sect of Islam that the Mosque would be built under. I'm not really sure how that works in Islam.

I come from a conservative household, and the conservative talk-show station is playing on the radio a lot of the time. Yesterday, this "corruption of America" was the chosen topic of discussion on Sean Hannity's talk show. He voiced his concerns (rather loudly) and opinions (seemingly blind, but I shouldn't judge) about the plan to build this Mosque. One of his arguments included some evidence he came across that the sect of Islam that would worship at this Mosque would be the same sect that had allowed a man to get away with rape, under their laws. I think that's terrible. Really, I do. But we have to consider that in every religion, there are extremists, and people who manipulate the text of their beliefs in awful ways. I'm Catholic. I'm sure that out there somewhere, there's a person justifying murder, or rape, or polygamy by manipulating the Bible. That's not okay, but it doesn't mean that I go on killing sprees and then tell myself that it's for the good of the church and that I'm on a mission from God, just because I'm Catholic.
What we have here, dearest readers, is a classic case of an Uneducated Bullshit Misunderstanding, or Ignorant Arguing.

I truly believe that a Mosque and Islamic community center near the site of Ground Zero would be one of the best things to do to help the country and the area move on from a terrible time of fear and hatred in American history. If we can educate people to the ways of true Islam, and the peaceful practices of most Muslims- if we learn to recognize that although these people call their God "Allah", and worship differently, they are just like us, people trying to get by in a world of misunderstanding, and perhaps join them to defeat radical Islam- then, we can truly move on from a period of unrest. We need to not associate peaceful Muslims with Al Qaeda, because it would be like associating all white, Christian men with the KKK.

Lastly, I would like to offer out the note that I recognize the tragedy of 9/11. I understand the great pain and grave sadness of those who lost loved ones on 9/11. I just don't think it should get in the way of closure. That's my opinion as of now, and I'll probably keep posting on the topic.

I Go Where It Smells Interesting and On One Way Streets

Yesterday, I biked out for about an hour.Usually when I venture out, I bike around the same familiar streets, but I decided to change things up yesterday. I was curious about where Garland Street ended, so I biked there first, and then out Essex, which is a very long street which turns rural after awhile. An hour isn't very long to bike, I know, but I'm working on building my endurance for my first day-long bike trip in a few weeks.
Today, I went farther out onto Essex, and then onto a road I'd never seen, called Church Road.
It was very cute, and there was hardly any traffic, which was relaxing, since Essex street can sometimes be a scary ride. There was a small church on the end with a little graveyard attached, which I explored before heading back along Essex.

Pictures:
Where Garland Street Ends
It gets rural pretty fast
Little unattended veggie stands restore my faith in humanity.
The view from Church Road

The cemetery.

Adventures at Four AM

Summer's been flying by, and I'm not sure I'm okay with that.
Slow down, I was just getting to know you!

A couple of my friends and I took a trip to Stockton Springs to see the sunrise a few weeks back.
This involved leaving around four a.m., which we handled surprisingly well.
The way down was extremely foggy. But it was very strange, because at some points it would be so foggy you could hardly see through the windsheild, and then in a few yards, the line of vision would be almost completely clear. It's a very nice drive, though. I forget how cute rural Maine can be.
We arrived just in time to see the sun rise through the heavy fog, which made a nice effect, and we went for a dawn swim.
All-in-all, a very good time.
We also headed over to Sears Island. Half of the island is cold water, like Sandy Point, but then the other half of the island, used often for clamming, is all warm water, because it's where the Penobscot River meets the ocean. There were a few old men out clamming when we got there, but we picked our way over farther on the beach and waded into the ankle deep waters. Much to our surprise, there's a large population of hermit crabs living there! They may have been two different varieties, but I can't be sure. Some of them were large, orange and fuzzy, and then others were smaller and brown. I think though, that the orange ones may have been the males, and the brown the females, because of the way the orange ones were dragging the others around. I'm curious if this is a part of the mating process.I had also never actually seen clamming flats before, or not for a very long time. I was surprised every time I saw a spurt of water. One of them even spurted right underneath my foot! Despite my persistent attempts, I wasn't able to dig any up.
At the end of our trip, we made a pitstop into a curious attraction. We kept seeing signs for the Book Barn Used Bookstore, so we decided to detour and check it out. It's literally a barn in the back of this guy's house. When we walked in, I almost fell over. The inside of the barn resembled a labyrinth. There were shelves of books up to the ceiling, and piles of books on the floor up to my waist. The entire barn was full of it. The owner sat at his desk and made small chat with customers- but I never actually saw anything except for the smoke from his pipe, because he was obscured by the many mountains of books surrounding the desk. I encourage everyone to go to this place if they ever get the chance. I could have stayed in there forever.

Prompt: Describe Your Brain, or, I Keep My Macaroni in a Giant Plastic Teddy Bear, and I Think I'll Miss It When I Move OutT

I keep my macaroni in a giant plastic teddy bear-
That's not weird, I swear-
he opens up his brain and pours out my dinner.

I wish my brain would pour itself out
to be cooked and turned over by boiling water
tumble tumble
soften
smush.
Sometimes I think my thoughts
are macaroni in the pan
floating around
bubbling,
getting softer and
softer until they're
overcooked.
mush. But mostly
burned to the bottom of the pan,
because my hands are tied
and I can't stir.
But in the end
my mind is more like
Chop suey,
frozen vanilla,
dentures, flubber,
a million degrees above Fahrenheit,
two below Celsius,
and entirely me.
I know so, because I don't remember who I am,
and I am very forgetful.

Rooftop Jam Jars, Tip Top Stars

The much waited for arrival of summer has indeed...arrived.
There's that sort of lazy, walk-to-the-cornerstore-because-you-can feeling that you get. Although, that could be situationally specific. Miller's drug has cheap vitamin water, by the way. :]


Sometimes,
I drink water out of a wine glass, just to feel classier.
It doesn't necessarily work,
but I like to think that it makes the water taste clearer and crisper and less like chlorine.

There are times when the stars
seem brighter and clearer and crisper, too.
But those times, when I'm drinking the stars,
I'm drinking from screw-rimmed clear Mason jam jars,
and the water touching my lips is lightning.

People Helping People Makes Me Happy, or, An Ode to Wonderful People 1

Today is an ode to the unrecognized Wonderful People, Capitalized like a title, because it is.
A lot of things go into making a store, a city, a church, a world go round. I spent the morning working with the wonderful people of Grace United Methodist Church.
Over a year ago, my church's youth group got involved with Grace United's Third Saturday luncheons. Every third Saturday of the month, a team from Grace United (or from our youth group) makes a meal to serve to anyone who needs it in the community. The room is always full, and twice as full in the winter, when the weather is cold and money is scarcer. The meal is given free of charge, and all of the workers come of their own accord. I can't even begin to explain how it feels to stand serving food to a person who lives day-to-day, not knowing if they'll be able to eat or not, living in a shelter, or with a family. That's what hurts the most to see, is the families that come in with armfuls of children. There's not very much space in the basement, where the luncheon occurs. But strangers and friends willingly rub elbows, share laughs, and get a good hearty bite to eat. The courage it takes to live lives like many of these people do is incredible. The stories that they have to tell are just as incredible, and I can't explain how much I look forward to serving them that one day a week.
But that's not the only time a month that Grace United comes to life. The church, whose congregation is comprised primarily of the older generation, runs a small thrift store out of part of the basement. They get all sorts of donations, but everything is marked very low. The store sees a lot of business from the same people who come to the luncheons, who are looking for essentials like clothing or just little things to make their abode look nice. I've recently started working here, and I've met so many incredible Wonderful People. I'd encourage anyone in the Bangor area to stop by! If I'm not mistaken, a good deal of the proceeds from the shop goes to the luncheons, so it's an unstoppable loop of goodness. Everyone who works in the store is a volunteer, and they work really really hard to make it nice, and also accessible to those with low income. Even moreso, the relationships that form around the store are great. It's a bit of a nice routine. I see lots of the same people when I work, and I've begun to learn names. Just the other day, a man came in saying that he had hit a spot of trouble, and that someone from the store had said that they had some clothing for him and also some sun tan lotion. It's these interpersonal relationships that bloom that make things like the Grace United Thrift Store so wonderful.
Wonderful People. They inspire me.

*P.S. Yesterday's picnic was a wonderful success, as was night disc, which was followed by the first fire and s'mores session. All in all, a very lovely day. Posting soon.