WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2024 - MAY DAY

 WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2024

WARM-UP

It is May - the fifth month of 2024.  May has more holidays than April.

MAY DAY

We start (today) with May Day.  May Day has been celebrated in the British Isles since the medieval period to celebrate the vitality of spring. Traditions include singing, dancing, driving cattle, lighting bonfires, and decorating with yellow May flowers.  Today’s image is wrapping a Maypole (or dancing around a Maypole)

Early Maypoles were trees stripped of branches and decorated with flowers and leaves. In medieval times, villages would select a straight and tall tree, cut it down, and smooth it before erecting it in the village square. Today, poles are often used instead of trees because they are easier to raise and take down. The top of the maypole has a crown with ribbons attached for each dancer.

During the maypole dance, dancers weave ribbons into complex patterns around the pole.

MAY IS FOR CELEBRATING THE LABOR MOVEMENT

In the United States, May Day originated in 1886 as part of the fight for an eight-hour workday. In 1889, an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions designated May 1st as May Day to commemorate the Haymarket Affair, a violent confrontation in Chicago in 1886. May Day honors the struggles and achievements of labor movements fighting for workers' rights. In recent years, Americans have celebrated May Day by marching for labor rights.

OTHER MAY DATES

We have the informal May 4th—as Star Wars Day—a take-off on “May the Force be with you.” George Lucas, the creator of the creator Wars, viewed “the Force” as a deep spiritual connection—not unlike the Christian view of the Holy Spirit.

May 4th is also the day for the Kentucky Derby this year.  According to Ticket Smarter, ticket prices for the 2024 Kentucky Derby on May 4 range from $110 to upwards of $11,000.  (I’ll watch on television!!!) The early favorites are Dornoch, Sierra Leone, Mystic Dan, and Catching Freedom.  Hmmm - I think “Mystic Dan” will be my pick!!!

The  Kentucky Derby is the first race in the “Triple Crown.”The schedule requires a three-year-old horse to win the Kentucky Derby, then two weeks later win the Preakness Stakes, and then three weeks later win the Belmont Stakes. In all of racing history, only thirteen horses have achieved the Triple Crown.

May 5th is Cinco de Mayo - a Mexican event - that Americans have used to drink Margaritas - almost like St. Patrick’s Day but with a Mexican orientation..  

May 12th is Mother’s Day (the second Sunday of May) - to honor Mothers (Father’s Day is in June - June 16th this year). 

I remember Mother’s Day from my senior year in High School.  With all my school activities coming to an end, I was hired at the Hotel Roosevelt in the kitchen.  I was a busboy.  On Mother’s Day, the hotel opened the ballroom for a Mother’s Day brunch.  I worked long and hard that day.  (Maybe it scared me away from a culinary career? <grin>)

Some other aspects of May

• Birthstone: Emerald, which symbolizes love and success

• Zodiac signs: Taurus (April 20–May 20) and Gemini (May 21–June 20)

• Birth flowers: Lily of the Valley

• Named after: Maia, the Greek goddess of spring, warmth, and fertility

• Other holidays: ALS Awareness Month, Better Hearing & Speech Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, Nurse Appreciation Week, Armed Forces Day, Sally Ride Day, Memorial Day, and the Indianapolis 500 car race 

• Other significance: The month is devoted to the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church

• Other facts: May is similar to November in the Southern Hemisphere

• Other traditions: In many pagan cultures in Europe, May Day is a traditional summer holiday 

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS US

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!

Karen Anne White, ©, May 1, 2024

TUESDAY APRIL 30, 2024 - MORE ABOUT TEXAS

 TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024

FAREWELL TO APRIL

MORE ABOUT TEXAS

TEX-A-PLEX

We all know the State of Texas is huge. Most don’t know about the TEX-A-PLEX. Do you? It will blow your mind!!!! 

The triangular region framed in by the cities of Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio is experiencing a wave of growth of historic proportions more than anywhere in the world. 

In 2020, the population of the Texas Triangle reached nearly 21 million. (The entire state of Texas is about 30 million!!!_

The Texas Triangle contains five of the 20 largest cities in the U.S., and was home to more than 70% of all Texans: the City of Dallas, the City of Fort Worth, the City of Austin, the City of Houston, and the City of San Antonio.  [Austin is the 10th largest city in the United States!!!]

The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is bigger than all of Manhattan.
The University of Texas at Austin is the third largest land owner in the United States.
San Antonio is bigger than New York City and Detroit combined.
Houston has a bigger population than Colorado and 34 other states.
Four of the top ten metro statistical areas are in Texas.

The Texas economy is on fire. The state added 660,000 new jobs last year – more jobs than any other, and twice the number of new jobs compared to its historical average. With Dallas by far leading the growth. 50,000 jobs a month, I mean, that’s almost 2,000 jobs a day every day of the week for an entire year. No state income tax 

The Tex-a-plex is home to over 50 Fortune 500 companies. And has more Fortune 1000 companies than any other state.

At 2.4 TRILLION, Texas is ranked as the 9th largest economy among nations of the world by GDP, ahead of Canada, South Korea, Russia, and Australia. 

Texas is the largest exporter of goods in the United States 

Dallas is home to the fourth most BILLIONAIRES in the world.

Houston has more than 5,000 energy-related firms and is the energy capital of the world.

The Texas Medical Center is the largest in the world located in Houston.
25% of ALL retail space in the United States is in Texas.

Austin is the live music capital of the world. South By Southwest Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater (ACL Live)

There are 12 professional sports teams in the Tex-A-Plex. (Can you name all of them?)

You can further your education in the great state of Texas at any one of the 159 universities and colleges in order to prepare yourself for a successful and prosperous career. Including 6 medical schools.

Texas A&M University has an enrollment of 74,829 the largest student body in the United States

OKAY, TEXAS IS BIG

*****

Tomorrow is May 1st - we’ll start the fifth Month of 2024

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, © April 30, 2024

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2024 - TEXAS 1

 MONDAY APRIL 29, 2024 

TEXAS EDITION

WEIRD TEXAS FACTS:

HERE ARE SOME WEIRD FACTS ABOUT TEXAS:

• The word "Texas" comes from the Caddo word for "friends".

• The state capitol building in Austin is taller than the U.S. Capitol.

• Texas has its own power grid that doesn't cross state lines and can be managed independently.

• The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history occurred in Texas in 1900, when a Category 4 Hurricane hit Galveston, killing more than 8,000 people.

• The frozen margarita machine was invented in Dallas.

• A site near Amarillo, Texas, holds more than 40% of the helium used annually in the US.

• It is illegal to milk someone else's cow.

• Vietnamese is Texas's third most spoken language, after English and Spanish.

*****

SO, HOW BIG IS TEXAS?

From El Paso to Texarkana, Texas - 812  miles

From El Paso to Los Angeles - 802 miles

It is shorter to go to Los Angeles from El Paso (and pass through New Mexico and Arizona) than it is to go to a city in the same state (Texas)

The highest point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak - northeast of El Peso. (I’ve been there and done some hiking, but not to the top)

Big Bend National Park is over seven hours driving from Austin and is a huge National Park (I’ve been there - very isolated)

Texas is the largest producer of cotton in the United States, accounting for about 40% of the country's cotton production. In 2023, Texas produced over $969 million worth of cotton.

State bird: The northern mockingbird, adopted in 1927

State flower: The bluebonnet, adopted in 1901

State tree: The pecan tree, adopted in 1919

State dog breed: The Blue Lacy

State insect: The monarch butterfly

State fish: The Guadalupe bass

*****

Okay, so we have to sing:

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS:

The stars at night
Are big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas
The prairie sky Is wide and high
Deep in the heart of Texas

The sage in bloom
Is like perfume
Deep in the heart of Texas
Reminds me of The one I love
Deep in the heart of Texas

The coyotes wail
Along the trail
Deep in the heart of Texas
The rabbits rush Around the brush
Deep in the heart of Texas

(There are other verses)

*****

WRAP - UP

Tomorrow, we will finish off this Texas-sized salute (did you think we could do a Texas Salute in ONE DAY?)

Wednesday in the First of May - and it is May Day!!!  '

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

*****

Karen Anne White, (c), April 29, 2024

SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2024 - LOVE THE POOR

 SUNDAY APRIL 287, 2024, QUOTES 

See more at the bottom:

It is when we love the most intensely and most humanly that we can recognize how tepid is our love for others. The keenness and intensity of love brings with it suffering, of course, but joy too, because it is a foretaste of heaven.”

Karen adds: LOVE INTENSELY and HUMANLY.  Our love is tepid - lukewarm. Not worth much.  I view God’s love as complete - and unconditional.  Perfect.  Yes, Humans can’t quite reach that completeness - but we need to try.

*****

Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. If we love each other enough, we will bear with each other's faults and burdens. If we love enough, we are going to light a fire in the hearts of others. And it is love that will burn out the sins and hatreds that sadden us.

Karen adds: Hey - I’ve got enough problems of my own.  I can’t bear your faults and burdens.  

Karen then answers her own statement: Yes - you can bear each other’s faults and burdens.  It starts with an overwhelming sense that you HAVE to love.  Then listening.  Somebody said, “you have two ears and one mouth - so you should listen twice as much as you talk!!!

*****

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”

Karen adds I’ve imagined humans with antennas - like ants.  We need to put up our antennas and find the loneliness in others and to love them.  

People don’t wear signs that say “I’m lonely; I’m hurting “.

*****

“The greatest challenge of the day is how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us.”

Karen adds:  Romans 12:2 - “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Somehow, I was open to that transformation in 2016 that changed my entire life around. (And, no, I am not perfect, I’m not even a good example.  What is the revolution in your heart that must occur?)

***** 

“What we would like to do is change the world--make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute--the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words--we can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever-widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend.”

Karen adds: There are those who don’t have clothes or a proper shelter. 

” For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. “

‭

Some people live from paycheck to paycheck- and when a problem occurs (sickness, car breaks down, your childcare provider can’t watch your children).  How can we help?  

*****

The quotes were all from Dorothy Day - active in helping the poorest.  Dorothy is being considered for Sainthood by the Catholic Church.

Do we love enough?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, April 27, 2024

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024 - LOVE

 FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024 - LOVE

From 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men or angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I’m assuming that “Love” here is “agape” love—the unconditional love for and from God. It is complete, Perfect, Consoling, Compassionate, and Peaceful.

*****

If I am super bright (and can “fathom all mysteries and all knowledge”) but don’t have unconditional love - “I am nothing.”

Even if I were to be the epitome of generosity, giving away all my possessions to the needy, without the presence of love, these acts would hold no value, leaving me with nothing.  

If I can move mountains - but I don’t have supernatural love - I am still nothing.

Agape Love, in its essence, is perfect. It is a love that surpasses human capabilities and understanding. As imperfect beings, we are far from attaining such LOVE.

*****

I view perfect love as something that humans can’t obtain on our own.  It is a supernatural - beyond what we can do.  If I desire that perfect love, I must ask God for it.  I’ve  quoted Dorothy Day frequently:

“I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”

*****

Maybe we have somebody who is impossible to love—we pray, “God, give me that supernatural love so I can love that person.” 

If somebody calls us “a jerk,” “a worthless person,” or “a fool,” it can be hard to love them.  If somebody spits on us and yells at us - I (we?) have to LOVE them (agape) - unconditionally.  

I have a friend whose father greatly abused her as a young girl - and even killed her brother in an angry fit.  It would be hard for her to love her father unconditionally.  

Maybe your spouse cheated on you - (let’s assume a male) and had many girlfriends and had sex with a lot of women.  Can you “agape” love him?  (or her - it is a two-way street).  Can you unconditionally love them?  

What did Jesus say on the cross? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

*****

But I have to keep trying - “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS US

Karen Anne White, Friday, April 26, 2024

THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024

 THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024 - SPECIAL DAYS

Time for some fun today.

There are several National Days (on the https://nationaltoday.com/april-25-holidays/ ) Calendar.

HUG A PLUMBER DAY

Yes, plumbers are wonderful!! I remember Andy in Madison, SD. He was a man with a great heart and a vocabulary different from mine!!! (Some well-placed profanity).

Yes, I tried to fix a drippy faucet and broke the sink!!  (Yes, I am not handy).  So, there is water squirting around - and there was no cut-off for the sink, so I had to shut off the water to the house.  Andy to the rescue!!!  

NATIONAL TELEPHONE DAY

National Telephone Day!!  Can you imagine a world without telephones?  Time to start the smoke signals!!!  

Okay, I am not much of a phone-call person. I prefer to email or text rather than dial a number, and then I get a lot of spam calls in a day. But the telephone is important to everything that we do. (And I am “always” on my iPhone—texting, emailing, doing my Duolingo German lessons, and playing (way too many) games.

HAIR STYLIST DAY

In the past, I went about six weeks between haircuts—and then just standard trimming. But now, I can get my hair styled. I went to the stylist on Monday, and I think I really came out well (see photo).  

A transgender friend says she used to go to a barber and get her hair cut, but now she goes to a stylist. It is maybe 20 times more expensive and takes more time.  

I am still frugal. I go to the local beauty school and help students learn to style their hair.  

MANI-PEDI DAY

In a similar vein, I have gotten my nails (toes and fingers) done.  I have done it myself some, but I am not a pro like the mani-pedi stylists!!!

LIBRARY WORKERS DAY

I have been a library user since third grade.  I don’t physically go to the library as much as I get audiobooks electronically (through a library consortium).  THANK YOU LIBRARIANS!!!

NATIONAL LINGERIE DAY

Hmmm - how do I write about this?  (Carefully)

I do have lingerie.  And I appreciate my lingerie.  (No, I don’t have pictures!! <grin>)

*****

Every day is a special day.  Psalm 118: "This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it."

Every day, every moment of every day is special.  I am to love every moment, every day, every person.  “I can only love God as much as the person I love the least.”  

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen White - loves YOU!!!!