March 20, 2025

Happy Birthday, Clara!

Clara and I had dinner together and went to the Open Stage at LAVA.  She sang.  Food was good, the music was fun, the company was the best.  So glad we've become friends. 

We had a great staff meeting today.  I have a lot to say about it and I think some important issues were talked about and it lit me up in a way I haven't been lit in a while.  But I'm not ready to articulate it.   Officer Zoe Smith from the Greenfield police came to talk to us about working with difficult people in the Center.  She is our local street cop.  She's coming at law enforcement from a background in theater and in public health.  She's trans, white, energetic and really smart.  She talked about what it was like to span the police community and the trans community.  Talking about a perfect Ven diagram.   I'm hoping we do some programming with her.  Her understanding of her own mission was inspiring and fits in with ours coming from a completely different highway.  It's exciting.

After our meeting I went up to the rookery.  It was 57 degrees and cloudy, cloudy.  There were Canada Geese and one Common Merganser pair.  First day of Spring brought a merganser pair. These are the things that birders get excited about.  I was already lit and then I saw them.







In my being I am one of six children, or maybe seven, but at least six.  I must admit I am having a difficult time believing there are only four of us still on this planet.  The four of us are spread out, too.  Looking at photos yesterday injected a element of concrete evidence that I'm finding disconcerting.  Six Whiton kids, now four Whiton elderly.  LOL. And even Jason, who is a 7th kid will be 60 this year.  Time; the Chamber Brothers were right, it just keeps ticking.  



Thank you to everyone who performed tonight.  A few people took risks and showed courage and will practice and get better.  These two women were good and another guy did some Spanish guitar.  It's great to watch people get up and give it a try, and it's great that they feel comfortable enough to do it.  I'm really proud of LAVA for that alone.
I haven't been to the pool since Monday.  I gotta go tomorrow.  It doesn't take long to fall out of the routine, but I need to be there, I can't undermine the importance of the movement.   I will get up and go in the morning.   


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