another world is possible

"After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: If anyone in the vicinity..."

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:42:23 -0500

“

After learning my flight was detained 4 hours,
I heard the announcement:
If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
Please come to the gate immediately.

Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
Just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
Problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she
Did this.

I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick,
Sho bit se-wee?

The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—
She stopped crying.

She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the
Following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,

Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and
Would ride next to her—Southwest.

She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it.

Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and
Found out of course they had ten shared friends.

Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian
Poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours.

She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering
Questions.

She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—
And was offering them to all the women at the gate.

To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a
Sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California,
The lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same
Powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.

And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—
Non-alcoholic—and the two little girls for our flight, one African
American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice
And lemonade and they were covered with powdered sugar too.

And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—
Had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing,

With green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always
Carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.

And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought,
This is the world I want to live in. The shared world.

Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped
—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.

They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women too.
This can still happen anywhere.

Not everything is lost.

”

- Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.” I think this poem may be making the rounds, this week, but that’s as it should be. (via oliviacirce)

Instead of wondering when our next vacation is, maybe we should...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:58:18 -0500

Instead of wondering when our next vacation is, maybe we should set up a life we don’t need to escape from.

-Seth Godin

theyoungradical: the wire

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:00:14 -0500

theyoungradical:

the wire

Photo

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:11:23 -0500

Photo

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:44:36 -0500

threestackseliot: Milwaukee skyline

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:16:40 -0500

threestackseliot:

Milwaukee skyline

tactfulladycontrarian: iheartwisconsin: Wisconsin. Accurate. ...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:49:22 -0500

tactfulladycontrarian:

iheartwisconsin:

Wisconsin.

Accurate.

Photo

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:22:03 -0500

outofprintclothing: Last chance! Submit your Book Madness...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:21:43 -0500

outofprintclothing:

Last chance! Submit your Book Madness bracket by 11am ET. Voting starts soon after.

Photo

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:10:49 -0500

"What if I told you 10 years from now your life would be exactly the same. Doubt you’d be happy. So..."

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:27:37 -0500

“What if I told you 10 years from now your life would be exactly the same. Doubt you’d be happy. So why are you afraid of change?”

- Karen Salmansohn (via thatkindofwoman)

I <3 Milwaukee.

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:02:15 -0500

I <3 Milwaukee.

iambaffled: Swan & Edgar in Marylebone, London is one of my...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:54:51 -0500

iambaffled:

Swan & Edgar in Marylebone, London is one of my bucketlist. The interior of this pub is covered almost entirely with classic books - awesome!

Photo

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:05:50 -0500

fitvillains: Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:38:23 -0500

fitvillains:

Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

How I really feel about my boyfriend

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 17:31:56 -0500

whatshouldwecallme:

<3 books

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 17:11:23 -0500

<3 books

“What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless:...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:58:05 -0500

“What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising and fading out into an indifferent middle age.”

-Sylvia Plath

onevoiceradio: “If they kill me, I will rise in the Salvadoran...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:55:29 -0500

onevoiceradio:

“If they kill me, I will rise in the Salvadoran people.”

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:43:54 -0500

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.

-St. Augustine