Smelly Rocks

The other night at bedtime my son wanted us to read a book he's had on his shelf for a long time but has not been chosen until recently. "Everybody Needs a Rock" by Byrd Baylor. It is a beautifully illustrated book that includes ten rules for finding a rock.

My son got very excited that one of the rules says to sniff a rock and that some kids can tell by sniffing whether a rock came from the middle of the earth or from an ocean or from a mountain... and adults can not do this. Sort of like the sleigh bell in the Polar Express.

He ran around the house finding our collections of rocks and smelled them. He came back to me still lying on his bed and very purposefully explained to me (because of course I could not know this being a grown-up) that:

• the chunk of amethyst (that I had collected from northern MN) had been deep in the ground a long time and that's why it turned to crystal,
• the brown, smooth tiger's eye rock had come from a river and had been knocked around and smoothed by the water,
• and the black rock smelled old.

For anyone interested and do not have access to this wonderful book, here is a shortened version of the 10 rules for finding a rock, because, of course, everybody needs a rock.

1. Go to a mountain, but anyplace will do.
2. Don't let other people bother you.
3. Look the rock right in the eye.
4. Don't get a rock that is too big.
5. Don't choose a rock that is too small.
6. Touch the rock; the size must be perfect.
7. Look for the perfect color.
8. The shape is up to you.
9. Always sniff the rock.
10. Don't ask anybody to help you choose. You have to make up your own mind. You'll know.

Happy rock hunting!

Learning to Love Little League

My 7-yr old son has been playing Little League baseball this Spring. I have to admit that I was not so much of a fan - I definitely rate more as a soccer mom. However, I am warming to this sport.

One characteristic of baseball that I am beginning to appreciate is that any body type can play the game well. There is one child on my son's team that is short and stocky and wears nerdy thick black glasses. He definitely would not be a soccer player. But yesterday he hit the ball so high and long and ran his little legs as fast as he could around the bases, he made the only home run I've seen so far this season.

I also love that the Hispanic girl (with long black braid down her back) on the team takes her turn playing catcher - she is my hero.

Buddhists in Merced

This morning I went with my friend to a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of town to do a meditation with a monk. Who knew there was such a temple here in the middle of nowhere?

From what I can gather, the monks (2 of them) are from Thailand and may be Hmong. The "temple" is a new house with an alter and platform in the living room. The alter holds about six large golden statues of the Buddha with a ton of flowers (both fake and real) in vases surrounding the buddhas. The platform in along the west wall and is a rectangular type of table(?) that has thin, red square cushions where the monks sit. The monks and buddha statues face east. The monks wear their orange robes and sometimes a bright orange sweatshirt - the kind that deer hunters would wear hunting.

There is a falling down skeleton of a house on this property as well. They are trying to raise money to demolish it and build a real temple, so that they can worship over there instead of in their house. We found out today that they are part of a sect that has a temple in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. I really do not understand why they are in Merced, but our monk (who came from Hawaii) says he loves it here. His mother and brother want to buy property here.

We've been going to this temple once a week for a couple months now for 30-45 minutes of silent meditation with the one monk that speaks a little English. We sit on the floor - there are a couple of area rugs sitting on top of the wall-to-wall carpeting - facing our monk teacher. I love that although the monk teaches us which leg should be in front of the other when sitting cross-legged, and which hand should be resting in the other, the rules don't have to be followed exactly. He says its okay if I slouch forward and even fall asleep, because even in sleep my mind will be meditating.

I love this silent time. It is always just what I need on a Tuesday morning.

Wake Up Call

6:30 a.m. this morning I hear "Fuck You!" from my neighbors and some more words I couldn't make out. My bedroom window is way too close to theirs. It was a woman doing the yelling, but I couldn't tell if it was the wife/mother or the teenage daughter.

In the past I have heard the husband beat the wife and have called the police, but when the police ask me for their last name (they are a Hispanic family) I don't think they ever bother to show up. In the past I have also heard the wife/mother scream at her teenage kids or her brother (not sure how many adult-sized bodies live in a house less than 1,000 square feet, I think 5), and then I hear the kids yell at the dogs. Poor animals are at the bottom of the food chain.

This is not the way I want to wake up.

I send them light - I try to picture the house surrounded by loving light and then I get back to setting my positive intentions for the day. May all those people living in destructive and unhealthy relationships be blessed this day.

Amy & Amelia

I just finished watching "Julie and Julia" for the first time... had to wait for it to be available on Netflix. My computer is my tv screen. I eat in front of the computer. But at least I have choices in which room I can eat in (my mother forbid eating in the living room in front of the tv).

Anyway... the movie inspired me to get online and start writing. Let's see if I can generate said inspiration on a daily basis.