Invisible, As Music ~~~ Positive, As Sound

There were five of us. Five creative women. We met three or four times a year to encourage and inspire one another in our pursuits. Creativity needs positive energy. Lots of it. Many times it's hard to find.

Now...there are only four. Yesterday morning, unexpectedly, prematurely, our friend Lynn collapsed and could not be resuscitated.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this outrageous reality. All I can picture is my sweet, smiling friend. She was the epitome of a Southern lady - easy-going, soft-spoken, composed. Yet underneath that calm and welcoming exterior burned a brilliant mind, a tireless work ethic, a wonderful wit, a wealth of creative spirit and vision, an obvious love of family and friends.

More often than not, it was Lynn who touched base with the rest of us. "We need to get together. It's been too long." I've searched and searched for a foundation on which to regain my balance, an unshifting footing where I can imagine this world without her.

 

I have an Emily. So does she. Another Emily, of the famous Dickinson variety, spoke to me today. I stretched to her words, arms wide, soul parched, thirsty for certainty and reassurance. Here's what she said:

This world is not conclusion,

A sequel stands beyond.

Invisible, as music,

But positive, as sound.

I will miss you, Dr. Lynn Jones Ennis. I will think of you often ~ uplifting, inspiring memories ~ full of beauty and positive energy!

 



Cake...Yum!



Don't give me a sad-sack, single-layer cake. I want lots of layers, padded with thick icing. Hey, if you're going to splurge, do it right!

I feel that way about books. If there's just one simple storyline with no juicy subplots and themes, I can't be bothered. Too many books, so little time.

Give me a novel like Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars.  Though the central plot, of Holling Hoodhood and his seventh-grade teacher Mrs. Baker interacting and discovering one another's personalities, is fully developed, satisfying, and oftentimes hysterical, the subplots -  1) of good ole Shakespeare shaping Holling's life and loves, 2) of his father's personality and domination crystalizing for the reader and Holling, 3) of the maturation of Holling's relationships with his sister and Meryl Lee, and 4) of the poignant turnaround of Mrs. Bigio's and Mai Thi's feelings for one another - give this novel a bittersweet flavor and subtle appeal on a subliminal level. Underneath everything, Schmidt paints the year 1968, weaving in details of home life and everyday citizens affected by the politics and realities swirling around the Vietnam War.

The same explosive atmosphere and blatant intolerance are pushed in our own faces today in various multi-media formats, making this novel extremely relevant to our own times.

Unfortunately.

Let's concentrate on the cake...