Gratitudes May Bus and other things edition

RantWoman lately has more than once at Midweek Meeting for Worship been just overwhelmed with gratitude, gratitude for worship, gratitude for a space well seasoned by worship, gratitude for long bright spring evenings. Gratitude is GOOD.

And this is Planet RantWoman so we must not overdo  it. Or we must pepper our gratefulness with other piquant meditations.

RantWoman from time to time has been called to form thought bubbles such as "Your kid is in a war zone. It does not matter what I think of the war. I can certainly hold you and them in the Light."

Recently The Orange One, the current White House Occupant came up in conversation and RantWoman mentioned that he is perpetually on her Hold in the Light List.  A Friend suggested that is very Quakerly. RantWoman allowed as how it also helps to stay out of barfing range

RantWoman is feeling very grateful for a sense of care. Uncontrolled toddlers sometimes just Drive RantWoman UP THE WALL. RantWoman is a little embarrassed by the problem. RantWoman finds it depressingly easy to feel darned grouchy. BUT, RantWoman has finally come to feel well held after a series of emails and conversations and announcements and problems actually getting worked out by group email.

WARNING: the bottom of this post contains an account of a flip RantWoman out badly incident on the bus. Readers who do not wish to interact are invited to stop reading after the soda machine paragraph. Holding in the Light is never terrible as well.

RantWoman went to Shoreline for a meeting. RantWoman really digs Shoreline because even on Highway 99, Aurora, there are awesome smooth sidewalks AND about 8 feet of green space between the sidewalks and the street.  More gratitude.

After RantWoman's meeting she decided to head south and walk to the next  bus stop. RantWoman was HUNGRY. RantWoman found a lovely middle eastern place with a cashier RantWoman was having trouble understanding. RantWoman finally just ordered what turned out to be a great falafel sandwich. The soda machine had no ice, though. Sigh.

Well caloried, it was time to head south on Metro's famous E line, the current iteration of the Aurora Bus Anthropology project. RantWoman got on the first bus that came by. The "courtesy area" or as RantWoman in Telling Too Much of The Truth mode sometimes calls it, the "Crip Fight Zone"  was already full and it was early in the run. RantWoman found a seat on one side. A woman with a walker was on the other side.

At a stop further along, RantWoman moved to the other side of the bus when she heard the wheelchair ramp deploy. Silly RantWoman, A largish guy in a wheelchair got on. He complained about not having room to turn around. He wanted to secure where the woman with the walker was sitting. His approach started with something like "Move bitch. You are not really disabled. Don't you know this is how I secure?" RantWoman is specifically NOT transcribing a linguistic flow that went downhill from there on both sides.

Wheelchair guy also threatened at least twice to put his fist into the face of the woman with the walker. He in general had trouble with women who talk and he kept asking the driver to make the woman with the walker shut up. .  At this point RantWoman was sitting on the same side of the bus as him. The threats to put his fist in the woman's face went on. The foul language went on. RantWoman at least twice asked him to watch his language. Finally, RantWoman suggested that since she and the woman with the walker were on first, if wheelchair guy had trouble riding the bus with women who talk, maybe he should get off and wait for the next bus. About this time the driver also pulled over, wheelchair guy settled somewhat and then resumed the run.

THANK HEAVEN wheelchair guy got off at the next stop.

RantWoman had been tweeting part of the saga to Metro including the part about the threats and the detail about wheelchair guy wanting to secure backwards which is why he wanted the woman with the walker to move.

But today, RantWoman has spent a spell thinking to herself "Holy cow RantWoman, the guy kept threatening and you kept asking him to watch his language.

Uh huh. And despite all the foul words spewing out of his mouth, wheelchair guy never as far as RantWoman could tell actually lifted his fist.

But RantWoman found herself still breathing hard as she tweeted further details to Metro while awaiting her bus transfer and trying to re-center. There is something in this story RantWoman absolutely wants her readers to GET, besides the fact that RantWoman may or may not actually want to TALK about and revisit the events here.

How are you?

Greetings via Planet RantWoman

RantWoman, how are you?

Cranky Irascible and Blessed. Which would you like more of?

Irascible? What's that?

Most people go for blessed and definitely pass on cranky. Once in awhile Cranky offers acknowledgment and space for honesty, news of things that need to be held in prayer, or just a laugh.

Today from an old friend, the kind of old friend who says "You are just as much of a bitch as you were decades ago and that is why I like you."

RantWoman, how are you?

Fat, sassy, cranky, irascible, and blessed. Which would you like more of?

Irascible!!!!

GOOD CHOICE!

A flock of emotional support chickens and a service python

RantWoman offers for prayers the following moments of email which arose from the umpteenth suggestion that RantWoman try to tone things down further than she is already SOMETIMES managing.

RantWoman started from some actual email but then has been led to expand. Sigh. The bottom of the post is email RantWoman has not sent. Live conversation would probably be good by phone or in person. Warning though: RantWoman frequently finds live conversation in noisy spaces difficult, overwhelming, and sometimes more superficial than she would prefer. RantWoman has no freaking idea what to do with this problem.

From: (RantWoman)
Date: Wed, 23 May 2018 16:08:55 -0700
Subject: Thank you with Blindness Tourism on the Side

Hi Friends

First thank you all for helping me clear my head because I did in fact
need to write really clear request email for another project. I mean
it about thank you.

Specific Friend 1, Thank you for your feedback.

Serious point: trust goes both ways and the word "rebuild" assumes
trust necessarily existed in the first place. As your minute edit put
it, there is room for everyone to become better people!

As for how to work on Trust, I am interested and seeking Light about a book or reading group. The first part of any book group exercise for me though is finding enough of the intended content in forms accessible to me and / or attracting people who might respond to a call to strut their erudition a little. Options in my head:

--Something about Discernment because the single paragraph about discernment in the newsletter all but begs for expanded study.

--Something from Breme Brown or one of the articles she is always recommending. I am vexed right now because I need to find some time to look at a website and not just try to remember references when I am reading talking books and falling asleep at night. Brown specifically recommends a book on trust and also another article that sounds interesting.

If you need to stop here, bless you.

Warning: snarkiness alert. Awhile ago Friend 2 was lamenting that my
sense of humor has been pretty impaired for awhile. It's baaack?!?

WHAT IF, HYPOTHETICALLY, I say regretfully I am unable to accommodate
your request for conciseness but at least you will have to click on
blog links to get the full verbiage from a fire hose effect.

What if, hypothetically, I just say congratulations! You have just
been awarded a few precious moments of Blindness Tourism on exotic
Planet RantWoman. And oops sorry automated English to Quakerese
translator malfunctioned. Sorry. Better next time.

OR

What if I say I have this mysterious uncontrollable brain spasm that
sometimes hears even utterly well-intentioned advice as "shut up?" But
I know I am better able to control things if I bring either my flock
of emotional support chickens or my service python everywhere so
please as a reasonable accommodation welcome whichever I bring with
me!

Or how about if instead of that exact reasonable accommodations
request, I just send a couple recent blog posts and spend my time
responding to a topical request for comment from a federal department  arising from the performance artist and her service peacock awhile ago?

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/01/delta-wants-to-introduce-onerous-new.html

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/04/forgive-and-or.html

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/05/digital-inclusion-week-2018-lingering.html

and for blindness tourism from someone else.
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/05/jump-off-cliff-featuring-emma-vrabel.html

In Light and Faithfulness
RantWoman

The supplemental commentary premiering here:
Friends

One Friend wrote with great concern about whether the service python might eat the emotional support chickens.

The emotional support chickens only ever go out in public on the internet. There is actual case law somewhere about service chickens but the disability organization Executive Director who told me about them rudely went and died without me ever thinking to ask for a precise citation.  In any case, if I want emotional support from chickens, I know several people including Friends whose chickens I can ask to go visit.

The service python is invisible. I think he is about the size of the ball python which until today in a large Tupperware like container in my nephew's bedroom. No, of course there is no school certifying service pythons. That would be too simple. The service python cannot eat anything visible but it is acceptable to imagine it receiving an invisible rat every week or so.

Apologies if this is more than you thought you would ever want to know.

In light and faithfulness.

RantWoman

Work RantWoman is grateful not to have x 2

RantWoman sometimes finds herself with peculiar calls. This post is dedicated to two of them.

1. RantWoman and Michelle, the great cheerful young women featured in this story were once in the same computer skills training class.

Eric's heroes Michelle's brave journey will make you see in adifferetn light

RantWoman cannot even apologize that she categorically would NOT be able to remain as cheerful as Michelle is putting up with 4-6 hours PER DAY of commute, even ferry commute and 8 hours / day assembling canteens for the military. RantWoman considers it divine mercy for all those involved, including the reporters, that she has never been called to try this routine and humbly is very grateful it works for Michelle.

2. RantWoman recently had another spell of "Your kid is in a war zone. It does not mater what I think of the war. I can hold you in the Light."

Calvin Lecture Act 4: Acts. Pentecost

RantWoman thanks RantMom's church, Rainier Beach Presbyterian for the opportunity to participate in its series of worship enrichment programs funded through the Calvin fund. RantWoman appreciate both rich spiritual experiences and really good food. Tonight's  focus was poetry and spoken word. RantWoman feels like a dork for not noting the presenter's name but RantWOman is impressed and hopes to run into him again.

The tasks

--Read the Passage

--Identify some words important to the reader

--Write words or imagery evoked by the words above

--Weave those words into a poem.

--Feast generously

--Share readings in the sanctuary

The passage via BibleGateway so there are lots of choices or ways to wander in the text:
Acts 2:41-47 

RantMom's Church

The process as realized by RantWoman.

--Arrive LATE. URK (Cue humility SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW about judgmentalism with respect to other people, people who Drive Cars instead of ride the Metro limousine service. )

--Zip to the restroom to relieve bus bladder.

--Have RantMom tell RantWoman the citation.

--Note extreme gratitude that RantMom seems to have fallen in with a group that will get a poem out of the deal along with a lot of other nourishing chatter. Go back to RantWoman;'s solitary meditations.

--Chew around several different version including the Geneva Bible just because.

Keywords: Baptize, teaching, signs and wonders / miracles, fear, AWE, MEAT added to their numbers, eat, fire


What resulted, with RantWoman tweaking all the way until time to read, at tehvery end because group 8 was the last group and there were some awesome pieces ahead of RantWoman. The pieces would have been more awesome if a microphone had been involved, but RantMom did not want to move more closer to hear, sheepishly admitted good intentions about hearing aids, and will get highlights with microphone in Sunday worship.


As read:
(RantWoman, probably like much of the world has been watching a lot of #Kilauea volcano eruption videos. RantWoman is always grateful for natural phenomena reminder that God whatever part glows within RantWoman is also a lot bigger than RantWoman alone.)

Holy volcanism devouring vehicles

Seething disquiet in hot #lava pics

Eyes splashed with fiery Images

Ears splattered with volcanic roar

Feet soaked in geologic rumbling

Voices teaching love and values

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness drawn together by the thousands

gathering by bus and train, bicycle and plane, van, ATV,  feet and phone.

vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore feasting together

God going viral

========
Reflections after the three previous Calvin worships

For tonight with hashtags and because RantWomang ets to get really happy still to see the collages from this workshop in the sanctuary, and speaking of food and embodied religion
#RamadanMubarak
Allahu Akbar with the Presbyterians
#RamadanKareem


Chrstianity as an embodied religion, Lenten Reading, the Quaker practice of sitting in silence as presence.
Christianity as Embodied Religion

What Have We Done Senzenina
What Have We Done? Senzenina

Flowering

Tips for reading this rant:

RantWoman's head is about to explode--and it's not just astronomical pollen counts. RantWoman recognizes the possibility that this post may cause risk of explosions in other people's heads. Cope. Consider the problem held in the Light and Cope!

RantWoman has had multiple conversations she is not satisfied with. RantWoman has heard objections that she is overreacting. That suggestion just increase the Head about to Explode sensation. RantWoman has also heard suggestions RantWoman is supposed to deal with the head about to explode issues "privately." RantWoman is not sure what "privately" means here especially in light of the number of conversations that just feel to RantWoman like shouting. Plus RantWoman is feeling like the whole dang internet could be praying over the problem and RantWoman's head might still explode. Let us pray for a different path.

Beauty to make up
for the pollen everyone is dying from

Further tips
How many times do readers have to be told, if you do not understand something PLEASE feel invited to ask. RantWoman will do the VERY best she can to interact with equanimity and even courtesy. Okay, RantWoman promises to do the best she can but pretty much everything comes with a  Risk of sudden sarcasm warning.

How many other blog entries are people going to have to read to figure out all the reasons RantWoman's head might explode? Bear in mind: RantWoman also promises to TRY to highlight things that will cut down the Head about to Explode issues.

Further tip: a few years ago, RantWoman went to a concert featuring basically one musical theme Mozart used throughout his life. Pieces were performed in chronological order as they had been written. The theme was repeated with increasing complexity but still recognizable in each peace. Mozart died young so things did not get as complex as they might have had he lived longer.

Now we come to the head about to explode phrase "couples counseling."

A vignette from RantWoman's spell as a behavioral health bean counter. Key memes:

--"RantWoman, your department is 2 % of our costs." "Yes but 1. what we do supposedly drives 20% of these other costs and 2. Between our two departments 100% of the costing info is getting screwed up, so what can both sides do to sort things out?

--Things need to get coded correctly or people do not get paid. 

--Terminology matters and terminology that implies specific qualification and licenses needs to be treated especially carefully.

--Part of what is making RantWoman's head explode: people with TWO different topical credentials keep telling RantWoman she is supposed to be okay with what RantWoman considers incredibly sloppy and unprofessional use of terminology. When RantWoman manages to be  charitable, RantWoman is grateful for the word "retired."

--Honestly, "charitable" is not the point. On Planet RantWoman, "Couples counseling" should reserved for actual couples. Using it any other way is disrespectful of actual couples.   Even if the process of who gets to speak first is supposed to be the same, misapplication of the term "couples counseling" makes RantWoman so angry she can barely type without barfing. This problem is short-circuiting all kinds of things that absolutely do need further Light.

--For instance, while two people who, RantWoman wants to be able to hope know better, can only phrase the problem in terms of couples counseling, another Friend did a perfectly fine job of outlining a process without ever once mentioning the term couples counseling. That is, solving of problems is directly accessible to many without necessarily needing specific credentials. What process might help create some shared language to support flowering of such gifts????


In the realm of things that SLIGHTLY reduce the Head about to Explode" issues:

Pollen counts WILL subside.

Maybe RantWoman will get her reflection written about hot lava pics along sulphurous cracks between earth and sky and spring evening sunshine through the worship room clearstory windows.

RantWoman notes with HUMBLE appreciation, TWO in-person appearances IN DAYLIGHT by one Friend, Friend A, whose communication patterns have LONG been so exasperating that RantWoman is going, hopefully to be able to leave them prayed over and not enumerated. There is absolutely a "lead RantWoman not into temptation" prayer attached here though.

RantWoman also appreciates that Friend B, while perpetrating incrediblyh sloppyh use of terminology and publicly blaming RantWoman for delays caused by multiple other people, did read two key emails and figure out that both parties to the attempt at conflict resolution objected for different reasons to the venue initially proposed. RantWoman is clear about continuing need to be true to her Light but small steps matter.

Memorials withRainbow Bridge

RantWoman needs to have a weird temper tantrum.

Needs?

RantWoman is called to have a weird temper tantrum.

RantWoman's inbox brought news today of another Significant death for the WA Council of the blind, Marlaina Lieberg

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/05/rest-in-peace-marlaina.html

And this on top of the recent passing of Sue Ammeter

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/04/sue-ammeter-1948-2018.html

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/04/another-tribute-to-sue-ammeter.html

Sue Ammeter's passing has been well observed without mentioning the phrase "Crossed the rainbow bridge.." Not so Marlaina's.

"Crossed the Rainbow Bridge" is often used by Guide Dog users when their guides pass away. Marlaina was a Guide Dog User. Today the phrase got used about Marlaina and like seven previous guide dogs. RantWoman has never thought to ask people who have never had any vision how they understand this rainbow thingie. RantWoman has a sense that she definitely SHOULD ask. In the meantime, every time RantWoman hears the phrase, she feels like a wet dog needing to shake itself off after coming in from the rain. Bleccccch!

Usually RantWoman is happy to let people have whatever cutesy wootsy language they need about death, but RantWoman is not doing so well about either death in this case.

Sitting with, praying on the problem, RantWoman finds two threads.

Both deaths ended great physical suffering, in one case dying peacefully in sleep rather than lingering with a badly metastasized cancer recurrence in the second case ending the slow strangulation of pulmonary fibrosis. RantWoman is GLAD for souls set free even if that is not the language either of the decased would use.

The other thread: carrying forward all the things these two pillars of the WCB were involved in. RantWoman deeply blesses two powerful legacies, and...the fact that no one can possibly ever fill either hero's shoes is, um, speaking plainly, A GOOD THING.

There. RantWoman has said enough. Please hold in the Light.