Ideas by Susan L.

  I tried starting another painting. It didn't go well so I started again. Nope. Not happy with what was happening. I'm not sure if its because it was on a canvas someone had given me or if I was simply rushing. My thinking is to go for a drive, sketchbook in hand. Painting a picture one of the old bank barns that litter the landscape is the thought. It would help to sketch some, to cement the image into my mind making it easier to paint one that is an amalgamation of several old barns.
  The back needs to be better first. Sitting for any length of time is not a good idea although it is improving. Mind you, the car has seat heaters. The warmth might be healing even if it's hot outside.
  Most of yesterday was spent laying around watching TV. I'd picked up a couple of movies to pass the time. They were a little darker and more violent than my usual preference of animated or superhero movies.
  "Crash" was one in a pack of Academy Award winners. It took place in Los Angeles and told the story of half a dozen people of different races. It was an excellent film that took on the harsh misconceptions of prejudice in a bold manner. Some scenes were disturbing. But that's a good thing because it made me stop and think about how I regard people of different skin colour.
  My ex and I were part of what the real estate people called the "White Tide". We fled the city because of the growing gang violence in the schools, the growing crime rate, and the fact we'd lived there for twenty some odd years and didn't know a soul anymore. We wanted to make a fresh start in the country. And, because we were the minority. We fled because we were afraid. For ourselves and our children.
  It's always the loudest, most negative story that gets broadcast on the news. The gang violence, the person experiencing a psychotic break who gets shot, the man killing his daughter for shaming him..."Crash" helped me realize that the majority of us, no matter our skin colour, only want what's best for our children, to be able to provide for our families, and to live in peace.
  May God make it so.
  "You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, and no one will gather those who wander off; But afterward I will bring back the captives of the people of Ammon," says the Lord." Jer 49:5-6