Semi-Colon Club

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This week I have had my eye balls buried in books about Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. In the mid-1800s HBS was a member of the Semi-Colon Club: a group of influential writers in Cincinnati, OH.

I have had a punctuation crush on the semicolon for a number of years. This discovery made my semicolon loving heart do a little jig; if you love the semicolon too, you can join right in.

The Spiritual Discipline of Riding the Bus

I don’t take the bus
everyday,
but last week I rode
and wondered
what I might be missing
staying alone
in my car
not cramming myself in the masses of
transit.

It can be a pain
people can be mean
and pushy,
but with graced-up eyes,
cleared out ears,
there are moments
to be alive in.

Moments of Kindness:
Many (unseen)
gestures of good
neighborliness.
One woman says to another,
“There is something dripping from your bag.”
Another leans over and asks,
“Is this your red elastic?”
So many people offer up piles of
“I’m sorry.”
They mean it.

Moments of Wonder:
On a new bus line
I saw the city
through neighborhoods
I had never
wandered around in
before.

Moments with Messages:
I quieted down
critiques in my mind,
slowed down the speed of
my impatience,
just sat
and listened.
The automated voice
announcing the next bus stop
became a gentle woman's voice
reminding me
of real life.
Live Out Grace Ave.
Rest in Beauty St.
Listen to the Story St.
Find a Silent Place . . . Pl.
Move Forward with Sensitivity St.
Don’t Be Afraid Ave.

There is so much,
She said.

The CBC (Still) Saves

I often joke that God speaks to me through CBC radio. Only, I'm not really joking.

This week I have been tuning into the Canada Reads discussion with Canada's BFF, Jian Ghomeshi. Earlier in the week I tuned into its evening airing. I found myself in my car, trying hard to ignore my full bladder, listening to the last ten minutes of Tuesday's discussion.

What is Canada Reads? A panel of Canadian "celebrities" chooses books, they are unveiled months before the discussion, and then the discussion is aired on Radio 1 as each panelist defends her or his choice for a book for all of Canada to read. A lesser fairing book is voted off each day for a week until one book is left victorious.

I adore this discussion. It swells with heated conversation about story, humanity, community, family, race, hardship, justice, history, and love. I love found phrases like "novelistic terms," "meet it with humour," "writes brilliant dialogue," "truly titanic task," "larger sense of compassion," and "tales of survival and struggle."

The discussion is now over; the champ is chosen. Pick it up with the Canada Reads podcast.

Colours of Canada Reads: greys and black.
Welcome home, Bobbi.