Hi,
Why did I choose patriotic colors and stripes of the American flag for this blog's background design? The blog color is different from all shades of spiritual purples on my other 60 sites.
As I baby boomer, I recall in the sixties when I did not feel patriotic toward America. We Americans were involved in the Vietnam War. Our boys were getting killed. The Vietnamese were being killed. Some of us baby boomers were activists and against the War.
I recall when my Queens College (QC) professor of sociology, Dr. Michael Brown, guaranteed each of us an "A" if we went to all the NY marches and marched against the War. I got the A. I discovered parts of downtown Manhattan and the Lower East Side that I hadn't known. Ratner's Deli was one prime location where we gathered with our placards, ready to march. We wanted to do something to make a statement and to change the world. I needed to make a difference and fix what I believed was wrong. (I'm so glad, so grateful, that I see that idealism in young adults today, including my own children. We also need to be honest, just, merciful, courageous and loving.)
I counseled other college students how to be draft dodgers, and watched them leave for Canada. I was in Guerilla Theatre-- against the War. I participated in the "sit-ins" and we took over the QC president's office, sitting on the floor. We were idealists and wanted "Peace, Not War". "Make Love Not War". "War is not good for children or other living things", was another wonderful important phrase. Years ago, locally in LA, I met the daughter of the woman that had created that phrase. The daughter was wearing a gold pendant with those words, so I asked her about them and discovered the relationship. Her mom was then in the Jewish Home for the Aged. I felt proud to have used that phrase decades earlier. It is still sadly appropriate today.
On July 4ths, Memorial Days and Labor Days, realtors plant a small cloth or plastic flag in my soil and in all other neighborhood gardens. I enjoy them, and share them with others. On this month's July 4th, I shared one with a cute patriotic toddler, Tahlia. This month I also happily assisted my 88 years young friend and neighbor, Edith, raise her large flag. I had never done that. For decades I have admired her flag hanging in it's stand, swaying in the breeze on her front lawn. When my dad, z'l, died, I watched as the VFW team at the funeral, ritually folded the coffin draped flag and in ceremony, and presented it to family.
So, you can see why I have chosen, the good 'ol Red, White and Blue as my design background for this blog on Baby Boomers. I'm no longer in college, but still as a baby boomer, working with
tzedek / justice. I now enjoy our American flag and for first time have photographed it. I wish we had peace, and did not have wars and its consequences in all realms of spirit, mind, heart and body, but I am proud to be an American. I am truly grateful for our Freedoms in many realms.
I don't yet know the goal of this new site, but this is the beginning. This morning the phrase, "Blooming Baby Boomers" came to me, so I thought I'd do something expressive with it, and immediately created this site. I think it is good that we baby boomers know we can keep blooming with new beginnings, and speak up for what is the right thing to do, even though no longer a marching teen, looking for "A"'s in school. There is so much potential in blooming...
Ah, two months ago at the end of a semester, I represented America/USA at the LAUSD International Festival. Wearing a cowgirl hat on the stage, I read my poetry, and had a large American flag sticker covering my poetry journal. There are about 60 different languages spoken at this school, and I felt happy that I was the one person who could be the American. I chose a poem about Japanese Cherry Trees that the other cultures could comprehend, and they did, I'm told.
BlesSings for new beginnings filled with joy, peace and love,
Joy
flag photos by Joy Krauthammer © 2011
~ ~ ~
Special for
BLOOMING BABY BOOMERS
Please see link to
Simchat Chochmah ~ Joy of Wisdom,
an Elder's Journey, the Secret to Sixty
Wisdom Keepers & Mentors
Journeying from Mid-life to Elder & Sage
www.simchatchochmah.blogspot.com
I'm glad that I'll be again guiding baby boomers in my upcoming workshop at American Jewish University (Dec. 4, 2011, to be all that we can be, and filled with JOY and peace and love.
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