We went and came back; meanwhile we lost Molly Ivins

So much has happened since I last wrote that it's hard to know where to start. My mom and Courtney and I took a whirlwind trip to California. We stopped off in Pacific Grove, saw some friends briefly (and others not at all). Then my mom stayed there while Courtney and I continued south to Morro Bay and Arroyo Grande to see his family.

It was a very interesting tug at our hearts to be in the old "hood" and it was especially hard for me to see Aaron so quickly and then be gone. I'm very grateful for the time we had there, and the loved ones we did get to see, but it brought up much sadness about being so far away from people we love.






One especially bright spot on our CA trip was getting together with Courtney's son Jer and his girlfriend Pamela (prominently featured on our fridge to the left of the Dalai Lama). They had just returned from a trip to Switzerland and Amsterdam so we had a photo fest--our pics of Ben and their travel ones.




Another highlight was spending time with Courtney's dad Clancy (an absolute inspiration at 93!) and his wife Kay. Their house on a hillside in Morro Bay overlooks the water; but, even more entertaining, their windows look out to a rich life of bird feeders, houses and baths. Between seeing a family of turkeys walking up the street, Clancy's beautifully flowering garden (yes, in the dead of winter), watching the pecking order at the birdfeeders, identifying exotic shells from the fabulous "Shell Shop", and warm conversation around the game table, we had a most satisfying trip to Morro Bay.




That being said, we were so happy to arrive back home safely to our little nest. Courtney's sister Nancy rode back up with us (which was really fun to have her along) and stayed just a couple of days--just long enough so see where we live and what we do. Both days she was here we were taking care of Ben (three against one is the ideal ratio for childcare!) and even with his napping schedule, etc, she managed a trip to my favorite nursery, Garlands, plus the riverwalk, a brief tour of downtown, the Co-op, Fred Meyers, dinner at Maya and Eder's, tea with me and Maya at our favorite Starbucks, and the Corvallis Open Forum at Sunnyside Up. Then off she went on the train, heading home. (As soon as Nancy left, we berated ourselves for not taking a single picture while she was here! So, luckily we have these new ones of Maya, Eder and Ben.)




Ohmygoodness, this boy can move sooooo fast. Courtney and I are going to have to speed up or perish. He crawls from one end of the house to the other in no time at all, even with slippery wood floors. He sits up quickly, spins his head around to see what's happening, and then heads that way. He pulls up on the legs of the chairs or the table, and then lets go. (Oh well...) He pulls himself up to peek over the side of his playpen and says uh, uh, uh to let us know he wants out. We're learning his language. And teaching him (and ourselves) baby sign language.





He's a new little life--just getting started. And meanwhile we've lost the wisdom and clarity and humor and bite of that wonderful political writer Molly Ivins. As we headed for California we heard she'd died--of breast cancer at age 62. Her last article, written shortly before she died, was titled "Stand Up Against The Surge" and in that she wrote:

"We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. ... We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!' "

Another quote from Molly: "So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, added this about Molly: "Her hallmark was to call it as she saw it, and on Iraq she was clear: 'It is not a matter of whether we will lose or we are losing. We have lost.' She took Sen. McCain to task for supporting the 'surge.' The coordinated acts of
civil disobedience at his Senate offices in Washington, D.C., and in Arizona on Feb. 5 were a fitting tribute to Molly. Meanwhile, houston.indymedia.org announced the formation of The Molly Ivins Brigade, to protest the war with pots and pans."

And meanwhile here in Corvallis, a committee of our Alternatives To War group is meeting weekly to plan the local marches and rallies around the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, with the possibility of war with Iran looming over our shoulders. I'll work on that committee, Courtney will help the local Greens look for progressives to run for open School Board positions, we'll continue to educate ourselves (me about the Middle East and Courtney about raising our own food), but it's not enough.

And on that note, I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Thanks for reading our blog,

Valori