Pat Taub
The Real Low Down on Friday the 13th
Here’s a little known fact, which I learned during my studies of Women’s Spirituality: the number 13 was originally a lucky number. Thirteen was considered the most essentially female number — the average number of menstrual cycles in a year is 13. Thirteen is also the approximate number of annual cycles of the moon. When patriarchy came along it went about discrediting the women’s religions by turning their sacred symbols into negatives. Hence the number 13 became pejorative. Maybe this could be your lucky day after all!
The Testaments
Continuing on the theme of subjugated women, I’ve been reading Margaret Atwood’s new hot-off-the-press sequel to “A Handmaid’s Tale.” Her new novel is “The Testaments.” I’ve been glued to it for the past two days. What a rollicking read! Rather than give away the plot, I’ll say no more than, “Grab a copy if you can. You won’t be disappointed!”
Hospice Training
Last weekend and this one I’ll be continuing my training to be a Hospice volunteer. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and have only now gotten around to it. I’ve wanted to give back to Hospice ever since my very positive experience with them when my mother died. The training has been compassionate and enlightening with a strong emphasis on communication skills, which should benefit my relationships in general.
News-Induced Depression
I continue to be dismayed over the escalating hate-filled policies of the Orange Monster. The latest one, forcing a ferryboat of Bahamian refugees to turn around is just too much. There are many wonderful activists taking up the refugee cause, like Mary Dunn who wrote a moving guest post for WOW this week: http://wowblog.me/when-standing-up-and-speaking-out-gives-you-hope/
Bahamian refugees distraught at losing their homes and belongings.
Apple Pie
Thanksgiving is months away but I have to practice pie-making in advance since my 14-year-old grandson has requested we bake an apple pie together. I stopped baking 10 years ago after going on a wheat-free diet Nor could I get excited about the gluten-free flours. But times have changed and I have a beloved grandson, so the apple pie groove beckons.
