I am living
In a country
That I no longer recognize,
Where bullies
In
Their
Masks
Terrorize those
With dark skin
And accents.
Oh, and murder
A White woman
At the wrong place,
Wrong time.
I am living
In a country
Where cruelty
Reigns
I am
Sick with
Fear
For people
I don’t
Even know,
And my
Tears
Won’t
stop.
I am
Raging.
God help us!
“God helps those who help themselves,”
Said Ben.
And, you know,
He signed
The Declaration
“God helps those
Who help
Themselves…we hold these
Truths…”
Hope-
Swept up in
This storm,
I’m clinging
To the branch that
HCR AOC Jasmine
JimmyStephenJon
Robert Bernie
And others
Hold out—
I am grasping
Author: Jennie Lee Castrogiovanni
At the end of the rainbow
The other day, I discovered what is at the end of the rainbow:
It’s an unexpected jolt of joy.
Breathe love in, breathe love out
I just posted the following words to my Facebook page, and I decided to include them here on my Dandelion Parachutes Blog, as well. I know some of my Facebook friends will now see this in two places, but I want to put this out there for others, for what it’s worth. I don’t have a huge following for my Blog. Wah, wah, wah! No, not really. I am comfortable with the readers that read my words. It’s ok. Really! From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all 31 of my subscribers! I love you all! But sometimes to my surprise, I see that someone from Sweden or Ireland or China has read my Blog. I have to say, I get a thrill every time I see that some stranger from far away has read my words, and I hope that they have come away with a positive vibe. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the current events here in the USA:
“What’s on your mind, Jennie?” my Facebook post page just asked. So, Facebook, here is what is on my mind:
You may find this hard to believe, but I didn’t know anything about Charlie Kirk before he died. I was completely oblivious because I stay away from Christian Nationalist pundits. I consider myself a Christian, though more and more, I imagine that our Creator is not a masculine being. No offense to any men who might be reading this, but really? I think God must be gender neutral. (I know, I know. I’ve read the Bible, the entire Bible-but I’ve formed my own opinions. You can judge me if you want, but Jesus probably wouldn’t.)
I feel terribly sad for anyone who is shot down/killed by someone else. I also pray for the shooter. I can’t imagine how you come to a place in your life that that is your best option. I pray for both families. Just consider for a moment the strength it took for this young man’s father to come forward and condemn his son. He is living his hardest moments right now, I imagine.
I started off blaming President Trump for all the division in this country, but I’m editing my post.
There has been too much hatred and division- much of it driven by social media – which is leading to more and more loneliness, violence, and desperation. I have my beliefs, but for today I feel a need to step away from it all and to breathe love in and breathe love out, as Adriene, my on-line Yoga instructor, tells me to do. That sounds simplistic, doesn’t it? Maybe it is that simple. Anyway, I know that there is too much hatred in this world, and I don’t have a better solution than that right now.
Yoga with Adriene -this video helped me regain some equilibrium today.
Wishing you peace in your heart today.
The Thing About Travel
Sept 5, 2025
The thing about travel,
I think,
Is this:
You get to
Take your
Mind for
A ride
As well
As your
Body.
Breathe
The air,
Eat the
Figs
Fresh
From the tree,
Hear the waves
On Lake Michigan
Or is it Huron?
Where does one stop
And the other
Begin?
Go to the island
Where they
Only ride horses
And bikes.
Why not?
See that gorgeous
Graveyard
Sanctuary
Dripping with moss
And azaleas;
Watch
The sea lions
And dolphins.
Hike the hills!
Hold your purse
close
As you gaze at
The Sistine
Chapel--
There are
Pickpockets
there,
Don’t you know?
Count the windows
In the old red
Covered bridge
Just across
The county border;
Up in the wilds
You will discover
A slight
Discomfort
As you lose
Your GPS--
That’s ok,
Civilization
Isn’t that far away,
And depending
On your definition,
Maybe the deer
Are the most
Civil of us all.
The thing is
You don’t have
To travel far
To see new worlds,
Meet good people,
And
Find yourself
A little different,
a little better
For the
Journey.
Wherever you are, thank you for pausing here.
Two Goldfish
Two giant
goldfish
glimmer
through the pond
on this
stellar
summer
day.
Peace,
I whisper,
as they
glide
away.
Not OK
Hard to face the fact these days that people in America are being sent to a hellhole in the Everglades just for being who they are.
Hard to smile knowing that the President and the Vice HATE me because of who I am – a Democrat.
Cruelty seems to be in fashion now. This is who we are now, and I am not ok with that.
A Thorn
I promise myself
That I will be
A thorn in their side,
No,
A thorn in their
Palm,
So that
Every time
They pick up their pen
Or raise their hand,
They will be reminded
That someone
Said
No–
Don’t do that
Cruel thing,
Don’t make
That
Mistake
That will
Hurt
So many.
I was never
Much of a rose…
But I can be a thorn.
Thank you for reading this. I’m wishing you peace in your heart today.
The Door to Somewhere
My Aunt Emme and our two good friends—one human, one canine– and I felt a strong need to get away from so-called civilization the other day. So, we went a ramblin’ in Sullivan County, which, if you don’t know, is in the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. The residents there have a saying that they live in the Gem of the Endless Mountains. They got that right.
Anyway, we were looking for some answers to a Quest. Some historically-minded citizens from Sullivan County have developed a History Quest, and you have to travel the highways and bi-ways (mostly bi-ways) of Sullivan County to find the answers to such questions as: “Find the cemetery in Bellasylva. There is a tombstone with two dogs on it. What are the dogs’ names?” So, in search of answers, we toured some cemeteries in Dushore and then made our way to Lopez and the ghost town of Ricketts and on to Jameson City, which would probably not fit anyone’s definition of a city, more like a sliver of a village, but in the old days, it was another story. Anyway, we took a break from our quest and hiked for a couple miles at Rickett’s Glen State Park and then ate lunch at a restaurant, which had this sign out front: Welcome to Rickett’s Glen Hotel, conveniently located in the middle of nowhere.
Eventually, in search of the almost mythical cemetery at Bellasylva, we made our way up to the wilds of Dutch Mountain, where the bear and the rattlesnakes roam. And that’s where we saw the really interesting sights. Trees and trees and more beautiful trees! (But unfortunately, no bears and no living snakes, but possibly a dead baby rattler?)
At one point we had a stare-down with this buck, and I am hoping that he makes it through the next few weeks.
Then we came to a house with a totem pole, of sorts, out front. The totem pole was made of many, many shoes tied together, and I’d really like to know the back-story, but it didn’t appear that anyone was home.
We came to a house with a sign out front that suggested that if we trespassed, we would be shot. We skedaddled out of there.
After a few wrong turns, we found the cemetery at Bellasylva. We found the tombstone with the dogs’ pictures. They were German Shepherds, and their names were (don’t look if you are doing the quest) Ouigie Goldie and Duke Prince. They must have been buried with their humans because there were two humans’ names on the tombstone, as well. I forget the humans’ names, but I liked it that they thought so much of their dogs that they were all buried together.
Then we came to this door.
It was fascinating, all by itself, this beautiful red door with only the forest behind it. We stared at it for a few moments, and I snapped a pic and sent it to my Snapchat buddies. I labeled it “the door to nowhere” because that is what I had heard it was called.
My brother-in-law soon responded to the picture, “Maybe, it’s the door to somewhere.”
Of course, I thought, it is the door to somewhere. That felt like a revelation to me. It was the door to somewhere beautiful, the forest, which is probably my favorite place to be. On that day, that was my reality. I was in a beautiful place making discoveries with some wonderful people and a special dog.
I think I needed that reality check on this wicked-hard week. I’ve been living too much in my own head this week. The “what ifs?” are dragging me down. Thoughts of the future are scaring me right now.
But then there is also this door in the woods—the door to somewhere. And somehow, that gives me hope.
Peace to all.
I wish for words today
November 7, 2024
I wish for words today
I wish for words today--
Words to make you
Brave
If you are
Feeling scared,
Words to make you
Happy
If you are
Feeling sad,
Words to give you peace
If you are angry
As a cornered wasp.
I wish to give
You comfort,
As we grieve
A might-have-been
Together.
Maybe that’s
The ticket,
That’s the word
Amongst the good ones--
Love, hope,
Strength--
But Together
Is the key,
I think,
The hug
That helps,
The knowing
That I am
Crying too,
That we
Are grieving
The might-have-been
Together
We will walk forward…
Dandelion Parachutes 