Invisible Mother
May 9, 2008
Last weekend I had friends over at the house for the Annual Shrimp Festival. During one of the front porch evening conversations, Louise confided that she often feels misplaced in this world. She cannot put a value to her life. Well, Louise is the mother of one of the best guitar players I have ever seen in my life, and believe me as an old rocker I’ve seen most of the famous and less famous ones. Louise’s confusion reminded me of a story I once read about mothers and cathedral builders in old times. I found it in my archives and would like to share it with you on the occasion of mother’s day this Sunday. Enjoy.
Invisible Mother…… .
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’
Obviously not.
No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car-to-order, ‘Right around 5:30, thank you very much.’
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of our friend Janice from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription:
‘To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’
In the days ahead I read - no, devoured - the book.
And I would discover what would become for me, 4 life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of the Creator saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’ I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard my Creator whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book even went so far as to claim that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime, because there are so few people willing to commit to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.’
That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home.
And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘you’re gonna love it there.’
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Happy Mother’s Day.
Boardwalk Mas set for May 17, 2008
May 7, 2008
The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau will be presenting the fourth annual Boardwalk Carnival (Mas) on Saturday May 17 from 5:00pm to 10:00pm at the Great Bay Beach Promenade.
The past 3 Boardwalk Mas have been huge successes drawing 10,000 + people to the boardwalk and Fronstreet to see performances of marching bands, carnival refellers, masqueraders, comedians, jugglers and much more.
Parading on the boardwalk will be the Soualiga Jump-up Brass Band, Les Explorateurs, Time Bomb, Soualiga Capoeira, Ebony Steel band, St. Joseph Scouts, Columbier Cultural Group, Moko Jumbies, Randolph Scot, the 2008 Carinival Queens, Sr. Borgia Elementary School, SKID marching band, Nature Valley Foundation, Papa Umpo, USM Parade Group and many more.
To get a sneak preview of Soualiga Capoeira in action, here’s something ZebraBOT taped on this rapidly growing phenomenon on St. Maarten.
Get out of the Way It’s a busy day.
May 2, 2008
It’s Friday which means a quick hodge podge of stories and things from live Amelia Island, spiced with some travel stuff and funny stuff. Starting off with a fun story from my full-blooded Indian friend Marc who has a construction company in regular times and is a comedian in recessionary times. Here is his explanation why white men are guilty for the mess we’re in.
Indian Chief ‘Two Eagles’ was asked by a white government official, ‘You have observed the white man for 90 years. You’ve seen his wars and his technological advances. You’ve seen his progress, and the damage he’s done.’
The Chief nodded in apparent agreement.
The official continued, ‘Considering all this, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong? ‘
The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.
‘When white man found this land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water.
Women did all the work, Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex.’
Then the chief leaned back and smiled ‘Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that.’
The title of today’s blog says it all. It was borrowed from a Pink floyd song many years ago, and it has only grown worse over the years. But within all the running there are some times that are memorable and accomplished. This week was such a week.
We introduced a very environmentally friendly, very low cost and gasoline saving product to the market, that anyone can built and hook up to their car engine for less than $25. You want to know about it go to www.paragoexports.com With the outrageous gas prices around, we are kind of proud to have developed this homemade concoction.
Also good this week was seeing my favorite band Blistur opening the Summer Season on our string of reef islands last Sunday. It was packed and powerful. Tonight I’m sitting first row in the Florida Theatre in Jaxville to meet up with old friend Joe Bonamassa, who is really breaking big worldwide. Check out his article in Guitar Magazine.
And…..then there is our own Fernadina Beach Annual Shrimpfestival this weekend. Went to film the Opening Parade last night. Record breaking crowds and 2 hour long parade. Tonight is the Pirate’s Invasion and Fireworks, tomorrow there are 450 booths with music, art and artisans. And I’m making a video documentary with a man named Nick Deonas whose family is credited for starting the modern shrimping industry right here in Amelia Island in 1912. Now that’s as close as you can get to the source.
Tomorrow I’m going on a traditional shrimp boat to film and do some stuff with the Pirates as well. So get out of my way, it’s a busy day. I’l tell you all about it next week. aaaargh
I have a riddle for you!
April 29, 2008
There are 4 people on a boat. Two of them decide to jump overboard.
How many people are there on the boat?
Carnival 2008, start of a 17 day festival
April 18, 2008
A Fairly large and enthusiastic Carnival Revelers crowd opened the season last night with the traditional jump-up from the Jose Lake Sr. Ball Park arriving at an awaiting Lt. Governor Richards who handed the Key to the new Festival Village to Fabiana Arnell, President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF).
The amount of attendees and their merry demonstrated the “Preparedness” for a long 17 day carnival that culminates in the Grand Parade on April 30th.
Carnival 2008 starts tonight!
April 17, 2008
Carnival 2008 kicks off tonight with the annual jump-up and opening of the Festival Village. Read more
SCDF: Buy new tickets to re-enter Carnival shows
April 15, 2008
Patrons of night-time events at the St. Maarten Festival Village during this year’s carnival will have to buy new tickets to re-enter the village once they leave, organizers have announced.
This new rule is the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation’s way of reducing congestion outside the re-designed Festival Village caused by loitering and increased traffic by patrons leaving and re-entering, President Fabiana Arnell announced.
All visitors to the village, which is the annual epicenter for all Carnival activities, will be searched by gender-appropriate security guards stationed at the entrance. Also handbags and purses may be subject to the search.
Police has also increased its visibility at the Festival Village by installing a police substation allowing for “crack-down” this year in an effort to keep order amidst the “Chaos” of Carnival.
The announcement that patrons will be re-charged for entering the same show after leaving is sparking heavy and justified criticism since the “rule of thumb” is that once you paid for any entrance at nightclubs and/or concerts you receive either a stamp or a wristband so that re-entering is easily controlled. Even the legality of this announcement is being questioned and the Foundation is actually setting itself up for “on the spot trouble” with people that refuse to re-pay to rightfully enter the village for a show they paid already for. Protests and “riots” can be expected from this announcement.
St. Maarten Carnival 2008 on track
April 11, 2008
St. Maarten Carnival 2008 season looks like its on track according to organizers who are awaiting the opening on April 17.
