Courtesy of the amazing Raging Grannies!
It’s down to spaghetti and sangria with the in-laws in the final hours before the wedding. There are the usual misunderstandings, arguments, lost keys and overly-affectionate drunks. The groom can’t be found and the bride has put on two pounds and can’t fit into her dress. Now the park is entirely surrounded by a mote (I’m not kidding) and I’m off to find a way to get 30 tents and 1000 people safely over the threshold. Can you say ‘drawbridge’?
Nice article in the PH Record yesterday. I was relieved to learn that I was the “co-founder” of Worth A Dam because its great to know that there will be someone else to help deal with all this late stage madness. I was starting to get worried.
Thanks for the generous eulogy-worthy comments yesterday. 7 truly kind things and only 5 offers to purchase cialis which I promptly deleted. It’s unexpectedly touching to feel like what I write gets read and appreciated. When I find the other co-founder I think I will send her/him down to meet with public works so we can do something about that mote – you know the city is just dying to put in alligators!
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{column2}The ancient Japanese legend says that any patient soul who folds a thousand cranes will be visited by a magical crane and granted a wish. The crane is revered in Japan, and is said to live for 1000 years. Traditionally 40 cranes strung on 25 strings mark either the enormous labor for a wish that is deeply needed, (like a cure for illness), or is the gift to a wedding couple as a show of love and support. Sedako Sesaki was just 2 years old at the bombing of Hiroshima. At 11 she was diagnosed with Leukemia and struggled to achieve senbazuru before she died. She finished just 644, and children still send the missing birds to her grave site. Just in case you’ve never made even one here’s a handy guide for your inspiration.{/column2}
I offer this tale, of course, because today is the THOUSANDTH POST on this website, certainly a labor of love which began in the pursuit of a wish. We got our wish. As we stand two days away from the third beaver festival I am reminded that we have reshaped our wish to include beavers in Fresno, Newberg OR, Sammamish WA, Tulsa OK, Bemidji MN, Chicago IL, Berriens GA, Nolton NJ, Thetfort VT, Medford MA, Oshawa Ontario, PEI, Scotland and Riga, Lithuania (To name a few). That’s a pretty big wish. Might need two magic cranes. Hmm…better keep folding.
Thanks everyone for your help and inspiration. In honor of the momentous occasion I am opening the comments on this post in case you have something to add. (Click at the bottom where it says ‘comments’ for a dialogue box). (Let the beaver wars, sexual puns and viagra prescriptions begin!) Writing daily on this process has been a surprisingly powerful way for me to keep track of all the new twists and turns and manage my own emotional response to what has been an enriching, frustrating, rewarding, challenging and life-changing journey. Thanks for coming along with me.
and your beaver, and your salmon, and your otter, and your key. Don’t you want one? Click on each charm to study up for Saturday’s “earn your charm bracelet” activity. This is one fashion accessory that will catch eyes and start conversations. Just imagining sitting next to the director of Fish & Game at a watershed luncheon and sparkling these treasures! What a delightful discussion that would be.
If you get confused on the day, just look for the girl scout “charm guides” who will walk you through the next steps and make sure you know where to look for answers. Beaver “prayer flags” from children’s drawings on Earth Day will mark the booths to show off your knowledge and collect your charms. You can bring them all at once to the linking station where our helpers can put them together, or take them one at a time to check your facts while you wait for your bracelet to be updated and read up on your next charm. Either way it should be six accomplishments you or your child will never forget! Remember bracelets are free for the first 100 children. 25 lucky adults can pay a 5 dollar materials fee, and after that they will be gone until next year, so come early!
Here’s kinda what it will look and sound like…