Month: August 2020

Slipping through fingers

Fluctuating
anxiety ebbs through the body, and an overall calmness of sorts descends to
give a peculiar perspective.

I leave behind tumultuous memories of invasive
cold machines, sometimes with gel on the probe, in air-conditioned confines of
curtained room equipped with contraptions. Crisply dressedtechnician,
occasionally indifferent professional,sometimes smiling friendlies greet
with familiarity. Elevator music plays in the background while I lay on the
Leather chaise covered with disposable sheet. Machines whirr, images are
captured while I hold deep or shallow breath, or breathe normal which is more
abnormal. Inserting of gel slathered probe causes burning
sensation,discomfort and a sense of inadequacyas I try to be
helpfully compliant. Having consumed 24 Oz water to hold a full bladder for
different,clear view is no picnic. To be able to attend to nature’s call
after it is over is oh so truly blissful!

A
few days later- I am told…

Life of a Devotee-Swamy Lalitananda

Swamy Lalitananda was born into a Vedic family,Her childhood was steeped in chanting, scriptures and spirituality. After her samsara days of worldly duties, she returned to her roots to the life of a Sannyasin. She devotes her time, energies and attention to education for orphans,

running of orphanages and old age homes for abandoned elderly. She offers her prayers, hand, voice, word, chanting, yoga-asana expertise, pranayama to seekers in India and America. Her compassion for the deserving led her to raise awareness and funds for them. Her devotees share their insights and journey with mataji in her quest to uplift the most helpless- children and aged.

Kenya
based Swami Padmapadananda shared his recollections with warmth-

I met her when she was
a student at the Sivananda Yoga Centre in NY in 90’s when I was a staff
there. She used to come with her late…

Jun 15^th onwards, last 8-9
weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions, tears, talks with closest people.
This was start of multiple doctor visits, labs, tests, scans, etc. It began with the Chiropractor visit one week
after my painful back debilitated me andlasted 5plus weeks. X-rays
suggested calculi- i.e. Kidney and Gall stones. Ultrasound reports confirmed
Gall stones and Kidney cyst16 X 11 X 15mm with septation(wall) . Pelvic
ultrasound and Gynae visits confirmed growing nabothian cyst , cervical nodule,
and ovarian mass with thickening walls and septate cyst, when they should be
shrinking.

It was like one organ after another
were vying for attention- saying #Metoo, did you give me the TLC I needed, your
stress juices corroded our wellbeing!

Gynae referred me to laparoscopic
surgeon who advised hysterectomy plus removal of gall bladder to avoid possible
gall stone risks. He ordered CT scan which popped up…

Hialeah Race Track postcard. Flamingos were imported from Cuba in 1934

The movies and newsreels of WWII provided information and diversion for many at the home
front, but none could provide the escape and release of stress for the civilian as much as sports.

South Florida maintained a carnival atmosphere with the Hialeah Race Track and West Flagler Kennel Club, which took in $100,000 nightly – just to prove my point. And, somehow, travel restrictions did not deter the action at Miami’s Tropical Park. Horse racing went on, despite the war, in every country. All in all, racing boomed as the 68th running of the Kentucky Derby went off with 100,000 in the crowd. Unfortunately, this was the same day that 68 men had been taken by the Japanese at Bataan; they were all members of D Company, 192d Tank Battalion, out of Kentucky.

Sam Snead & Ted Williams

The…

Hialeah Race Track postcard. Flamingos were imported from Cuba in 1934

The movies and newsreels of WWII provided information and diversion for many at the home
front, but none could provide the escape and release of stress for the civilian as much as sports.

South Florida maintained a carnival atmosphere with the Hialeah Race Track and West Flagler Kennel Club, which took in $100,000 nightly – just to prove my point. And, somehow, travel restrictions did not deter the action at Miami’s Tropical Park. Horse racing went on, despite the war, in every country. All in all, racing boomed as the 68th running of the Kentucky Derby went off with 100,000 in the crowd. Unfortunately, this was the same day that 68 men had been taken by the Japanese at Bataan; they were all members of D Company, 192d Tank Battalion, out of Kentucky.

Sam Snead & Ted Williams

The…

Stars and Stripes, which dates back to the Civil War, has published continuously since World War II. In 2010, the paper won a prestigious George Polk Award for revealing the Defense Department’s use of a public relations firm that profiled reporters and steered them toward favorable coverage of the war in Afghanistan. In 2015, the publication broke the news that NBC anchor Brian Williams had exaggerated a story about his reporting in Iraq. Much of the day-to-day coverage is news of direct concern to service members and their families: pay and benefits, life on base and in the field, the real people behind the global geopolitics.

Central Command Area of Responsibility (Apr. 4, 2003) — Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks, delivers copies of Stars and Stripes to U.S. Marines from Weapons Platoon, 3-2 India Company. The Marines are part of Task Force Tarawa, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom…

Stars and Stripes, which dates back to the Civil War, has published continuously since World War II. In 2010, the paper won a prestigious George Polk Award for revealing the Defense Department’s use of a public relations firm that profiled reporters and steered them toward favorable coverage of the war in Afghanistan. In 2015, the publication broke the news that NBC anchor Brian Williams had exaggerated a story about his reporting in Iraq. Much of the day-to-day coverage is news of direct concern to service members and their families: pay and benefits, life on base and in the field, the real people behind the global geopolitics.

Central Command Area of Responsibility (Apr. 4, 2003) — Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks, delivers copies of Stars and Stripes to U.S. Marines from Weapons Platoon, 3-2 India Company. The Marines are part of Task Force Tarawa, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom…

SMOKY

At the beginning of of 1944, Smoky, a Yorkshire terrier, was found by an American soldier with a stalled jeep in the New Guinea jungle where she had been abandoned in a foxhole.  She did not respond to either English or Japanese commands.  After taken to the soldier’s camp, in need of cash for a poker night, she was sold to Cpl. William A. Wynne for 2 Australian pounds.  Smoky weighed 4lbs. and stood 7 inches.

Bill Wynne & Smoky

For the next 2 years, Smoky accompanied Wynne on combat fights in the Pacific where temperature and living conditions were deplorable.  Smoky shared his C-rations, and fearful of her contracting scrub typhus, was bathed in his helmet daily.

Wynne had a knack for training dogs and taught Smoky tricks like climbing ladders, going down slides, and walking tightropes while blindfolded.  She entertained the troops in her spare time.  “Yank…

My journey on Raven Rock Appalachian trail was a tough one as it harbors steep hills with rocky terrain.  

The winding paths create such an obstacle, more so internally as I wondered when would I ever reach the end, the conclusion of my journey.

I was not surprised that I only ventured to the middle point of this trek. 

The path was surrounded by so many trees that I was in constant shade throughout the afternoon. The temperature was in the 90s, but it felt like low 80s with a cool breeze invading my hike.  I welcome such sensations as I hiked up the hill, nearly twisting my ankle on some occasions. 

I stumble past dried up creeks, two of them which left only a sheet of bedrocks as a gift.  As I step over and around the rocks, some were loose, and others were not…

Welcome to a Black History Month Friday Night Poetry Corner—-

Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936 in Depew, New York – February 13, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland) was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York.  From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Clifton was a finalist twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.  Lucille Clifton (born Thelma Lucille Sayles, in Depew, New York) grew up in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from Fosdick-Masten Park High School in 1953.  She attended Howard University with a scholarship from 1953 to 1955, leaving to study at the State University of New York at Fredonia (near Buffalo).

In 1958, Lucille Sayles married Fred James Clifton, a professor of philosophy at the University at Buffalo, and a sculptor whose carvings depicted African faces. Lucille and her husband had six children together, which included four daughters (Sidney, Fredrica, Gillian, and Alexia) and two sons (Channing and Graham). Lucille worked as a claims clerk in the New York…