Wordless Wednesday
Author: kellyfbarr
Tea and Poetry
Today’s Tea Tidbit:
If you live in Canada, you might be savoring Red Rose tea. This brand was created in 1899 out of a blend of Indian and Sri Lankan teas rather than the more common Chinese and Japanese teas. The result was a big success in Canada and Britain.
Today’s poetry selection is an untitled poem by Aphra Behn:
Not to sigh and to be tender,
Not to talk and prattle Love,
Is a Life no good can render,
And insipidly does move:
Unconcern do’s Life destroy,
Which, without Love, can know no Joy.
Life, without adoring Beauty,
Will be useless all the day;
Love’s a part of Human Duty.
And ’tis Pleasure to obey.
In vain the Gods did Life bestow,
Where kinder Love has nought to do.
What is Life, but soft desires,
And that Soul, that is not made
To entertain what Love inspires,
Oh thou dull immortal Shade?
Thou’dst better part with Flesh and Blood,
Than be, where Life’s not understood.
Wordless Wednesday
Modern Day Heroes
On Saturday, October 29, 2018 I had the privilege of attending a banquet with the theme “The Courage to Stand”. There were four speakers, three of which were deemed “Modern Day Heroes” by a young friend of mine because they are embroiled in court battles because they are standing up for what they believe in.
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The girl in the gray dress is my young friend, (I attended the banquet with her parents and her), who, after hearing about these court cases and being impressed with the courage of these three people, deemed them “Modern Day Heroes”. The girl in the middle is a young woman who has gone through quite a few struggles in her life, and then one day in high school, after it was determined “that boys who identify as girls can use the girls’ bathroom and locker room”, entered the girls’ bathroom in her Pennsylvania high school and saw the reflection of a young man in the mirror. She quickly left the restroom and went to speak to the principal, who showed no care or compassion for this young lady’s safety and privacy. So, her case is waiting to go before the Supreme Court, and the incident happened about three years ago.
This gentleman was fired from his job as a football coach at Bremerton High School because he prayed on the fifty yard line after every game. At first he did so alone. He didn’t ask anyone to join him, but when some of the players noticed, they chose to join him. Eventually that grew until the entire team joined him and then they started inviting the opposing team that often joined them as well. Coach Joe Kennedy was then asked to stop praying on the field after games. Then one day he prayed on the 50 yard line alone, no players or anyone else on the field and he was fired from his job. His case is also waiting to be heard by the Supreme Court.
After we took this photo, Joe and I found that we have something in common. Do you see his belt buckle — it’s a Batman insignia and I have a Batman cellphone ring holder on the back of my phone. Yes, it turned out we both love “Batman”. 🙂
This gentleman is a good example of strength and courage as he is the Masterpiece Cakeshop proprietor who was sued by a gay couple for refusing to make their wedding cake, and after five years had finally won the case in the Supreme Court only to be targeted the very next day by the same organization involved in the suit against him the first time. This time he refused to bake a cake for a transgender who wanted a cake made for his celebration of his seventh year as a female.
Seriously, there are lots of bakers out there. These people could have easily gone to another baker. Jack Phillips has had boundaries in place since he started his business. He doesn’t only not make cakes for gay or transgender people. He doesn’t make cakes for other things that go against his beliefs either and has never been sued for those.
I have to agree that my young friend labeled these people very appropriately when she referred to them as Modern Day Heroes, and I will be praying for these people.
Tea and Poetry
Today’s Tea Tidbit:
“For if I could please myself I would always live as I lived there. I would choose always to breakfast at exactly eight and to be at my desk by nine, there to read or write till one. If a cup of good tea or coffee could be brought to me about eleven, so much the better. Tea should be taken in solitude.”
C. S. Lewis, “Surprised by Joy”
Today’s poem is by William Wordsworth
O Nightingale!
Thou Surely Art
by William Wordsworth
O NIGHTINGALE! thou surely art
A creature of a ‘fiery heart’:-
Tumultuous harmony and fierce!
Thou sing’st as if the God of wine
Had helped thee to a Valentine;
A song in mockery and despite
Of shades, and dews, and silent night;
And steady bliss, and all the loves
Now sleeping in these peaceful groves.
I heard a Stock-dove sing or say
His homely tale, this very day;
His voice was buried among trees,
Yet to be come-at by the breeze:
He did not cease; but cooed – and cooed:
And somewhat pensively he wooed:
He sang of love, with quiet blending,
Slow to begin, and never ending;
Of serious faith, and inward glee;
That was the song — the song for me!
Wordless Wednesday
Locked In by M J Lau
I must confess, it took me quite a while to finish reading this book — not because it didn’t have a good story line, but because I don’t play video games and am not a part of that world. However, MJ Lau did a very good job of capturing my attention with the life of his main character, Everett, and the interesting plot line.
The title, Locked In, alludes to being locked into a video game, and that’s exactly what happens to this group of teens. They play the game with a virtual reality game system and get locked in — they can’t log out. But Everett has an escape (you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is), and he believes he is the only one who can save his friends. Things get really interesting when Everett finds out what has caused everyone to be locked in.
MJ Lau created interesting characters, and Everett’s life outside of the game has its own complications. MJ also writes in a way that I could picture scenes in my mind and even though I am not a “gamer”, I understood the scenes and plot of the video game.
If you have a teenage gamer in your life, or if you are a gamer, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Locked In by MJ Lau.
