There’s Only One Me
I was researching information for a blog post, and got sidetracked by something that I read on Twitter.
There’s only one of me. How many of you are there?
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A Parrot on My Shoulder
We’ve all seen the guys wandering the beach or the street with numerous birds hanging off of them. A parrot on the shoulder, another one on the arm, and still another one hanging off some piece of equipment. They’ll pose with you for a small fee.
Unless you’re really drunk, or really need a photo to commemorate your vacation, just say “no thanks” and keep on walking.
This past week, while attending the opening night Pow-Wow party, they had parrots galore to pose with us – and for no charge. So I seized the moment.
Occasionally, everyone needs a parrot on their shoulder.
Blogging with Socrates
This is Socrates. I also call him Socks. He was born on December 31st, 2008, and came to live with me in late February.
The decision to get him wasn’t an easy one. I had lost a dear pet who had called my home “his” for about 16 years. You can never replace a pet, but after some grieving time, you realized that your heart can expand a little bit more to include someone new. Besides, Misha (the other 4-legged household resident) was starting to get a little cranky without a playmate.
So Socks arrived. And he crept into my life, my heart, and even my bed.
I don’t usually blog about my pets, but I just sort of felt the urge. I came home after a trip, and this little guy curled up in my lap and spent the afternoon purring. If I got up, he’s wait patiently for my return and then pick his spot once again.
Life is good, and my world a better place, because of the adorable little 4-footed friend. It’s also hard to get writer’s block when you’ve got someone purring you on to creativity.
Anyone else blog with their pets?
Photo: personal collection
The Reader & Shame
I read the book The Reader LONG before a movie was in the making.
CAUTION: Spoiler Alert. If you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, you may not want to know the details I’m going to talk about. Just click away!
I remember being shocked when I found out, at the same time Michael did, that Hanna was illiterate. She had done unspeakable things in the Nazi camps, but the shame of her illiteracy was far greater than the shame for her participation in the killing of Jews.
Shame is a theme that permeates the entire movie, and it shapes the choices the characters make.
Hanna has shame that she cannot read, and goes to great length to conceal it. She winds up works for the SS because she quits a job rather than take a promotion and be ashamed when illiteracy is discovered. She “admits” to planning a strategy to exterminate Jews in the concentration camps,rather than providing a writing sample and being subjected to the shame of illiteracy. And finally, it is true shame, for her behavior in the camps, that leads her to suicide.
Michael also has his share of shame, beginning with his affair with Hanna at the age of 15. He then experiences shame that he knows a Nazi war criminal, shame at the things she did in the camp, and finally shame that she seems to feel little remorse for her actions. His shame (that he did not intervene and provide information that would have helped her at trial) is assuaged by his reading and send her tapes of books. He feels less like he has abandoned her this way. After Hanna’s suicide, his shame is greater as he realizes how much more he could have done for her.
Any therapist worth their salt would tell clients that shame is a negative and unhealthy emotion to operate with. It is insidious in its destruction, and little good can ever come of it. If you had any doubt of that principle, this movie drives it home.
I think most people have had bouts with shame, to some degree or another. Far better to come to terms with our actions and process them, than to live with a shame death sentence hanging over us.
Let’s all leave shame behind us.
Photo credit: Amazon