Windows to the Inside
A Strange Anniversary and a Return to Daily Life
Thank you all for following along on my Philippines travelogues this past month! Visiting my motherland has been a long time coming, and I wanted to share this adventure with as many friends as possible. It was the trip of a lifetime.
Now that I am back in my quiet home in rural Tennessee, I have found it challenging to settle back into a rhythm. There’s been a lot to catch up on, but at least I am back on a regular sleeping pattern. (Hurray! I really love sleeping.)
This weekend marks a strange anniversary for me. Two years ago, I was assaulted by angry white men on horses. I was by myself and bore the brunt of someone else’s careless actions. This event is not something I think about that often these days. I would rather not think about it, but it sits in the back of my mind along with other memories I try to forget.
I still have not been back to the place in my neighborhood where it happened. I have no desire to go there. Nor have I talked to the person who started the whole thing. Maybe that conversation will happen in its own time or not at all. I am okay either way.
Nonetheless, I will find a way to gently hold this strange anniversary this weekend. Maybe it will be a quiet moment by myself. I will acknowledge how thankful I am that I was not seriously injured and that no one else was endangered. Life is fragile, and there are dangerously angry people in the world. I have learned these truths, and I have learned them well.
Now that I have opened that window, it is time to open a few others.
Let’s enjoy some art, shall we? These pieces predate my trip to the motherland, but we will catch up on everything else I have made soon enough.
COLOR NOTEBOOK
I am both inspired by and enamored of all things whimsical. With their fluffy tales and rich coloring, foxes meet all the requirements. I have never fully seen one in real life, but one night, on my way through a country road in my neighborhood, I saw the silhouette of one scurrying across the way and into some hedges. Its tail and shape were unmistakable (though it seemed much smaller than I imagined).
Elephants, otherwise, have graced my line of sight on more than one occasion. The first time I saw one was when I was on an overseas school trip to New York City as a teenager. (This was quite a long journey from my island.) We attended a Barnum and Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden. There were several of them, in fact. What I found most amusing was that people were scurrying around catching their poop in nets extended on sticks. At the time, I wondered how they knew that poop was about to fall out? (Poop whisperers?) Then, I tried to figure out how they described their jobs on resumes. (Mergers and acquisitions?)
Needless to say, I have always loved elephants as the gentle (and smart) giants that they are. Baby elephants are particularly delightful.
ABSTRACT FLOWERS
Art is what you make of it. In my world, flowers are magical.
They flow and thrive for just a season, and their beauty evolves with every second. We should all be flowers.
TEXTILES
As it turns out, embroidery can take quite a long time to finish. I thought I could complete this piece while in the Philippines, but I am still not done with it. Fortunately, I am enjoying every little stitch. When it is done, I shall fly it back to my motherland, where I hope my brother and his family will enjoy it.
STILL LIFE
I have mentioned before that I work part-time for a queer nonprofit arts organization in my neighborhood called Chinkapin Craftstead. I handle media (the website, promotion, photography, some filming, and graphic design) and organize quite a bit of the programming. Last weekend, we mounted a play called Bar Dykes that was written by an elder playwright who lives nearby named Merril Mushroom.
The play unravels a sequence of events in one night at a lesbian bar in the 1950s. The entire sold-out run of five shows was joyous and fun. The very idea of queer theatre happening in rural Tennessee seems impossible, but nonetheless, it certainly does exist. Some stories deserve a right to be told.
Here is a photo of our wonderful cast (with Merril) that I took after one of the matinee shows.
Lastly, I want to share that I am well aware of the turmoil that is happening with our government here in the U.S. I live in what is arguably the most conservative (and anti-LGBT) state in the country.
My plan, at the moment, is to prioritize my self-care over the next four years in any way that I can and to use whatever privileges and strengths I have to support my loved ones and community.
We only have ourselves and each other, after all.
Strange anniversaries notwithstanding, I will rise with the sun each day and keep going.