“Writing is making sense of life” (Nadine Gordimer).
Last night I thought of this post from so so long ago, and thought, yes, time passes but something remains. Long time Nine Cent Girl readers, I hope you will indulge me with a reread. Those of you new to my blog, here is a glimpse into how it all started. We all have our stories. As always, I’d love to hear more of yours.
This week we’ve been privileged with words of power and faith and most remarkably joy coming straight from the DNC in Chicago. It’s not that I haven’t loved our endearing Biden these last four years taking us out of the grips of Trump’s chaos and a world-wide pandemic, but it’s been at times disheartening to see many of his efforts fall flat when Trump’s puppets in Congress or within the Supreme Court pulled us backwards at his command. Everything about the Republican ticket is about going back, trying to return to a life that didn’t work for many, unless you are male and white and surrounded by all the privilege of generational wealth. But during this triumphant week all the Queens came to speak about moving our United States of America forward with a blue surge sweeping the rest of the nation into the sunlight. Their brilliant words are worth repeating, not mine.
In the most auspicious of circumstances, we have found ourselves living in a paradise garden for the last five weeks. “Gardens of Paradise take their name from the old Persian pairi dez , meaning “surrounded by a wall”. Transliterated into the Greek as paradeisos and henceforth known to us as Gardens of Paradise , they are in essence self-contained refuges for flora and fauna, with humans as their keepers and end users” (AKDN). Walled in by bamboo we are indeed separated from the bustling complexity of this Los Angeles world yet are connected to earth, water, fire and air in this sacred place, filled with morning light, afternoon sunshine, and a whole changing sky above. Here, in this garden, one finds paradise.
Nine Cent Girl 