Oh boy! I smiled when I noticed them on a Midnight Ramble. The smile on my face was as bright as the noonday sun when I read the inscriptions on the stones today. The colors on the stones outdid the flowers nearby. And the messages? See for yourself.
This has to be the mail deliverer's favorite stop of the day. For everyday passersby, it's a shrine.
In times of flux, social change and uncertainty, words matter. They mattered when, in 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote these words inscribed on the base of The Statue of Liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore./Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,/I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” words inscribed on the base of The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
Today we are masked masses, eager for the day we can breathe free again, who can appreciate a momentary uplift by reading the messages painted on these petra-petunias arranged on the steps.
We're learning to see through our masks and connect through our eyes, our laughter, and our attitude.
YES we can!
Easier some days than others...that's why we need those messages on the other stones!
The best rock garden ever!
and you can see it all the way down the street.
FLASH...I just learned that these artistic rolling stones were painted and captioned by the homeowner. She recently painted messages honoring women's rights...stay tuned for a photo update.
Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
https://www.biography.com/writer/emma-lazarus
I Voted!
August 24, 2020
Creative dropbox located between the Watertown Free Public Library and Town Hall, Watertown, MA...return your books or return your ballot!
A sad, and scary, comment on the uncertainty that ballots sent through the USPS may not reach their destination on time. I'm taking no chances. My ballot was mailed to me August 13, 2020. My ballot was tabulated at Town Hall the day after I put it in the drop box. No worries about recently appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, businessman and Republican Party fundraiser, messing with my vote.
I never thought the day would come when I would question the safety and sanctity of my right to vote.
Photo by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
FLASH...UPDATE!
I tracked my ballot at www.TrackMyBallotMA.com
My ballot was scanned and accepted at Town Hall. The ballot was transported to my voting precinct location, scanned and counted.
I will receive a ballot for the November election soon. I will complete the ballot and return it to the same drop box and track my vote the same way. As in the primary election, my ballot will be transported to my voting precinct location, scanned, and counted.
I am horrified that the president is casting doubt on the election process.
Postmaster DeJoy's meddling with the systems of the country's drop boxes and the internal systems of sorting mail, including mailed ballots efficiently, is an assault on citizens' right to have their ballots received and tallied on time.
NB: Read and follow instructions, especially where to sign and date. Ask your town hall if you have questions. Melania Trump's vote was disqualified because she did not sign where required. Pay attention!
PLEASE VOTE and VOTE EARLY!
August 24, 2020 in Commentaries | Permalink | Comments (1)