Mabon and the Harvest Moon
Wednesday gratefuls: MVP. Susan. Tara. Joanne. Kaethe. Jamie. Rich. Ron. The Night. Darkness. Shadow, who let me sleep in. Aspen, torches of the fall. Artemis, protector and co-creator. Kate, always Kate. Marrow bones. Nerve ablation today. Joy. Ruth and her love of chemistry. Gabe. Derek, who took down the leaning Lodgepole.
Sparks of Joy and Awe: Shadow’s eager hugs
Life Kavannah: Wu Wei and my trainer, Shadow
Week Kavannah: Simcha. Joy. Shadow of the morning.
Tarot: Paused
One brief shining: The automatic light failed, leaving the path between the garage and the house in 9:30 pm darkness; my eyes not adjusted from the lights in the garage, I felt my way, one foot, another, where’s the deck, where’s the damned deck, oh, there. No.
And. I fell. Onto my right shoulder. Grinding down into the rocks, backpack away to my right, the French string basket of mandarin Oranges and that new foam collar landing on the deck. I was close. Not close enough. Ouch.
Embarrassed. The only time I’ve fallen in the last two years plus happened shortly after I got home from the 15 hour flight back from Korea, jetlagged. Not with it. September, 2023.
Tried to get up. Stumbled. Laid back down thinking maybe I’d just stay there for awhile. Meanwhile car lights flashed past on Black Mountain Drive. Nope. I need to get inside. Up we go.
Made it inside without further incident. My shoulder hurt, not awful. Nothing broken. Have to get Vince over to take care of that light.
Oh, here’s something else. I had come home from the synagogue, MVP, my one night out a month. I go because I love these people. The topic for the evening? Joy.
Unbidden, while I contemplated staying on the stable ground awhile longer, came that word: joy. I smiled, thought, well of course. Joy. I’m alive. Nothing’s broken. This is home. Shadow and Artemis are here. So is my bed. Yes, I’m joyful even in this absurd position and an ouchy shoulder. Odd, but true.
Just a moment: Remember the voting rights act? Remember the idea of one person, one vote? Not one literate person. Not one white person. Not one male person. One person. Remember equal representation? Remember a time before weaponized gerrymandering. If you do, watch the Supremes as they take a shot at the last vestiges of the 1965 Act. Oral arguments today on Louisiana v. Callais.
Shelby v Holder stripped away the critical section of the Voting Rights Act that required preliminary approval at the Federal level of certain states when they wanted to enact changes to voting procedures. Southern states, now released from Federal oversight, have begun to pass restrictive voting laws again. Grrr.
Louisiana v Callais challenges racially based redrawing of Federal election maps. “The case challenges the constitutionality of creating majority-minority districts to remedy racial discrimination, and a ruling against the VRA could significantly weaken protections against discriminatory redistricting nationwide.” Gemini search
This would weaken the last major element of the Voting Rights Act. A few provisions would remain, but nothing of the sweeping range of the Act when it was passed.