I couldn’t resist sharing this wonderful story.

I hope you enjoy it too!

…VoGE

Living under the water in a lily pond were a colony of water bugs. They were great friends and all lived happily together but, every so often, one of them would attach itself to a lily stalk and make its way up into the sunlight, never to be seen again.

One water bug in conversation with the others said he had noticed this and had often wondered why this happened and what was on the other side of the water and more importantly , why none of the others had returned to explain. All the bugs made a promise that if they were to go up a stalk they would come back and tell what they had seen.

Well, one day, the very bug who had made the suggestion found himself stuck on a stalk. He made his way up and through the water to the surface, breaking through he found himself on a huge lily pad. Things had changed dramatically - he was now breathing air and he’d gotten wings! Suddenly he took off in a flash , soaring through the air. It was glorious!

Just then he remembered his promise, “I must go back and tell the others” he thought. So with that in mind he flew down to the water’s surface, but much to his surprise he couldn’t get through to his friends below.

After several attempts he decided to abandon that idea hoping that all his friends would know he tried to keep his promise. He flew off into the sun knowing that they would all meet again, someday, when they were dragonflies too.

VoGE and Carla Thomas at the Overton Park Shell

Some things you can’t ignore

I don’t usually respond to hateful words, but I found a bigoted rant in my email that was so blunt and venomous that I decided to dissect the message in order to see what made the writer tick.

I found no surprises. The ravings of the author (printed in red, below) represent typical examples of the same type of prejudice that I grew up with in the south. That’s when I decided to respond to their message point by point, if only to settle the faint ghostly echoes from a southern past hiding away in my own subconscious.

I apologize in advance if I am too long winded in my responses, but truth needs a strong foundation if it is to have any lasting impact. That said, let us begin.

The rant starts off with the statement:
> I AM WHITE!

Well, I am not and, most likely, neither is the author. As Americans, most “whites” are a mixture of races that have been going to bed together for over 500 years, and that’s not counting all the European hanky-panky that went on before that.

> I have been wondering about why Whites are racists,
> and no other race is.

That’s not a true statement. Racial intolerance is at the root of many of the world’s biggest problems and its standard bearers come from many cultures and races. The key is that they are all TAUGHT to hate by their elders. Cultures, like children, learn by example.

> There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian
> Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are
> just Ameri- cans.

Actually, your parents and/or grandparents probably affiliated strongly with their country of origin, even if you don’t. They most likely lived in a part of town where others of their culture also resided, especially if they were immigrants.

The fact that you are rootless and a generation removed from any knowledge of your own traditions does not put you in a superior position. It just makes you ignorant.