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Miscellaneous Monday (and more Mindy to come)


It’s Monday.  And we’re launching another week’s worth of less-than-brilliant (but often, above-average) blogging here at Reinventing the Event Horizon. 

And, in honor of the week’s beginning, I bring you an “inspiring” (at least I’m trying) laundry list of updates:

1.  First, thanks to all of you for your kind and supportive comments in response to last week’s news that I wanted to begin moving my blog in the direction of memoir, not that I would discontinue writing about the event horizon that is Haiti, but that I would also address event horizons from my personal past:  namely my father’s organized crime connections and the black hole that is my battle with bipolar disorder.  (To read these posts click here and here.)

I believe the best writing is inevitably the most honest writing and my not addressing these issues was becoming a form of compositional dishonesty—a way of avoiding the shame associated with my father and the sigma connected to my illness.

One way to lessen stigma is to stop hiding, or, in my case, to boldly address my demons in the blogosphere’s bright light, to share my struggle, to tell my story, both the pain of the past and the hope that is recovery.

2.  Secondly, I’d like to announce an upcoming series of posts from my friend and fellow writer Mindy Shannon Phelps.  (I introduced Mindy last week.  To read her first post click here.)   As she finds time, Mindy will write pieces that address our sometimes serious, sometimes silly misadventures in being human. 

3.  Finally, an update on my dog Lucy’s adventures in Vietnam—her Maltese march, North to South, South to North. 

In last Monday’s post (click here to read) I forgot to include a few of the funniest photos—namely Lucy in Halong Bay . 

(Some of you may have heard of a recent accident in Halong Bay.  A tour boat sank.  12 were killed.  To read about this February 17th incident click here.)

In case you’re not up on the geography of Vietnam, Halong Bay is an UNESCO World Heritage site and hugely popular tourist attraction in northern Vietnam.  According to legend, the Vietnamese were being invaded by the Chinese when the gods sent a family of dragons to protect the bay.  The dragons were said to spit jewels into the water, to build a wall against the invaders, what is, in fact, a series of nearly 2,000 limestone islands that decorate the bay:

   http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ha_Long_Bay_with_boats.jpg

In fact, a highlight of Lucy’s adventure in Vietnam included a swim with me in Halong Bay:

And last but not least, a photo of Lucy dressing for her outing on the bay:

The bottom line is this, a lesson I learned from Lucy:

Sometimes the most over-whelming of crises can be ovecome with the most obvoius of answers.

Indeed, sometimes the biggest of problems can be conquered by the smallest of canines in the most amazing of hats.

Hats off to our struggles. 

Hats off to hope.

21 thoughts on “Miscellaneous Monday (and more Mindy to come)”

    • I think everyone will enjoy Mindy’s post this week. She’s always inspiring and uplifting.

      Glad you think I’m brave, Tori, because often I don’t feel it. I need to be like the Little Engine that Could, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” Someday arriving at a meaningful destination.

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  6. Compositional dishonesty is the perfect way to describe what I fear when writing, that I will “write trite!”
    Kathy, you inspire us on many levels, not the least of which is your honesty.
    Thank you for including me on your site.

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    • Gosh, Mindy, glad to hear you know what I mean by “compositional dishonesty”–didn’t know how else to describe it. And thanks for appreciating my honesty. I do try, and only sometimes feel like I truly succeed. Hope to actually see you soon!

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  8. Looking forward to more usually-above-average posts! 🙂 (Also, less-than-brilliant is a relative term: your brilliance and honesty shine like the sun in comparison to a whole universe of lesser blogs. That’s my humble opinion.)

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    • You’re sweet, Dana. What amazes me the more blogs I read, is just how many really good ones there are. I’m humbled by so much of what I read! But I’m glad mine speaks to you–I’m a massive fan of yours too!

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