Tag: life

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We know people, who know people, who are being terrorized & assaulted by ICE here in our beautiful town, and surrounding localities. ICE is acting like a lawless force, snatching folks off the streets: Mothers, Fathers, hard working folks, carried away to god knows what gulag-hell-hole, leaving young children Motherless & Fatherless, crying and alone. Totally ripping families apart. This is madness. It’s happening out on streets blocks away from our home. It’s happening in beautiful Chicago Neighborhoods like Little Village, Pilsen, Lakeview, and yes, our sleepy little Town, Evanston. Such cruelty, pointless, heartless, nihilistic cruelty, with no purpose. Really, just raw power imposed on the defenseless Humans. Very, very sick. 

ICE is an obscene abomination. Of course, it should be abolished. It is being used as a tool for this Facsist/Authoritarian regime. It is ugly, counter to everything we hold dear here in America.

We spent time at a little art-space, Compound Yellow a truly extraordinary art-space last night. A shaggy, welcoming, friendly room, well-lit, and comfortable, filled with creative, engaged, intelligent Human Beings. The Crimes Against Humanity out on the streets loomed over us all. We are the kind of people who see an attack on one of us as an attack on all of us. We see ourselves as part of a beloved community, a collection of beings that includes folks of all colors, creeds, & persuasions. We are diverse & inclusive. We open our arms and hearts to all. We talked of the pain, the sadness, the disgusting displays of power being inflicted upon our Brothers & Sisters, and how we are all deeply wounded, but at the same time absolutely firm in our opposition.  

Folks are rallying to help the children. Folks are out on the streets witnessing & filming the atrocities, and voicing their deep contempt of the actions & crimes of the ICE thugs. Last night we played music, we gathered together as a community of souls. We think of this creative pursuit as the good work, soul-work, enriching & life affirming, we think it is the antidote to the tragedies unfolding across our country. We are filled with sadness and righteous anger. We oppose this super-charged cruelty with all of our hearts and heads. A disciplined non-violence. and a dedicated, deep in the bone, opposition to this terrible shite. – Jammer

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I woke up Friday morning and hit the alarm. It rings at 6 am on the days of my “straight” job. Me: “We can sleep in tomorrow.” Jammer: “Today’s not tomorrow.” Jammer makes his pot of coffee. I make the bed. I move the sheets around in the darkened room, my head starts playing the song “Jesse” a Carly Simon hit from the album “Come Upstairs.”

“Jessie, I won’t cut fresh flowers for you,
no Jesse, and I won’t make the wine cold for you,
no Jesse, I won’t change the sheets for you,
I won’t put on cologne, I won’t sit by the phone for you”

The song was a hit on the  WLS charts in 1980. I was working as a Nurse’s Aide on the cardiac floor of Elmhurst Hospital. 2 North. Images of that time come rushing in. It could have just been a moment of nostalgia, I have no other explanation, but as I go through the morning motions, the flood-gates open, and for some reason, I am overwhelmed with sadness. I walk to the kitchen. Put the kettle on. Jammer sees me crying. He comes to my side. He hugs me. He says, “I want to cry too.” Now Jammer always says he hates nostalgia, I’m not sure why, I guess because we can not go back. I have been open to all kinds of music, I love the way rhythms and sounds can unite us, and help us remember the stories of our life’s experiences. Sadness is an old friend of mine, when I cry, I know I am connected to my feelings. When I remember a dream, I know that I have been sleeping. When I laugh, I know that I am happy. Our senses are little pieces of “the whole.” Our senses help us make this beautiful mosaic we call life. – Carla