Pat Taub
Key West Memories
Sharing some photos from my recent trip to Key West. The first is from a women’s art exhibit depicting Rachel Carson, a pioneer in the environmental movement, with the new leadership under Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist.
The following image is of a painting I bought by Michael Palmer, a Key West artist. I learned that he has been almost totally blind for some time so that he now paints from memory. I find this extraordinary; it adds another dimension to my prized picture.
The last image is very Key West. Someone painted the palm tree in front of their house. Whimsy is pervasive in Key West.
“The Cave”
I recently saw this very moving documentary about a city in war-torn city Syria that had to endure almost daily bombings from the Russians. The action centers on a hospital with an underground facility for when the bombings become especially intense. The hospital is run by a 30 year-old female doctor—an extraordinary feat in a sexist country. Everyone who works at the hospital is brave and deeply caring. It may sound odd, but I found this film hopeful in it’s celebration of kindness.
Dr Aman, the hospital director, covers her ears during nearby bombings, in Al Ghouta, Syria.
Joy in Dark Times
I’m madly rooting through my repertoire of coping mechanisms so I can stay afloat in the light of Trump’s acquittal. It brings the prospect of him being more emboldened and dangerous than ever.
I feel more hopeful after reading Barbara Ehrenreich interview in In These Times. She talks about joy as an integral part of social action:
We need to offer a vision of the joy of collective accomplishment, the joy of working together. The joy of working together across lines of race or other things that separate people. We have to be not just the side that’s about gloom, which is what I feel, but about possibility and good feelings.
Barbara Ehrenreich discussing the role of joy in social movements.
