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TOURIST FOR THE DAY in PUERTO RICO

Saturday, January 17, 2009

An Inaugral Blessing

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever widening thought and action;

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore


And may I also add that I absolutely love reconciliations!




My daughter was attending a National Young Leaders Conference in Washington DC on the exact day of the 2008 elections. We were both adjusting to Hillary Clinton's primary loss but happy that an exceptional candidate was selected by the Democratic party. I was so please that my daughter could be in Washington for that historical election! It was a right of passage for her and for the United States. The weight shifted from a burdened past to a hopeful future. With a friendly conciliatory spirit in mind, let us take a light-hearted look at the WAR classic, "Why can't we be friends," this time as interpreted by the politically incorrect (?) Smash Mouth:










Photo of B & H by Win McNamee/Getty Images *** Local Caption *** Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton. From Google/April 23, 2008.



27 comments:

  1. How exciting for your daughter! I'm so excited about this Inauguration. Was reading about Obamas train ride this morning and now I can't get "Mystery Train" (Elvis' version) out of my head. Which is just fine with me!
    Happy Weekend to you Cynthia -
    Catherine

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  2. The ripples of that hope can be felt over here as well, Cynthia. It is almost an excitement, like the expectation of a first date.Many people in Australia were thrilled to see Obama in - and he's pure eye candy as well!

    What a cool thing for your daughter to have experienced. :)

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  3. Catherine, Yes she's turning 17 and a new world of hope greets her! It's great when the song stuck in your head is a friendly presence (ha) -much worse when you want it to stop!

    Natalie, It's so thrilling that the 'whole world is watching'...at least Australia and the US! Obama is handsome -and composed. Having my daughter enjoy that opportunity that was better than first hand experience. We were fortunate!

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  4. We all want to believe, to make a better world. Right now Obama has the charisma and intelligence to lead. But we must do our part. We are living in exciting times.

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  5. HDD, yes, I have to figure out how to watch it at work. I'm sure some others will also want to see it.!

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  6. I was so sorry to not have been in America when the election was occuring, but i did vote for Obama in Ireland. It was nice to see Hillary become a part of his administration, and I am hoping that things get better in the States.
    Micki

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  7. Micki,I'm sure you were having a little Irish respite. No harm in that!!

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  8. That's one of my favourite poems too..:)
    Have a great Inauguration!and Congratulations On getting a great President!
    The world will be watching and we'll be watching here too..:)

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  9. wonderful experience for your daughter. It will be an interesting event on Tuesday and an interesting 4 yrs.

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  10. Indyeah, welcome to Oasis Writing Link and thanks for your good wishes!

    Sukipoet, yes the next four years will be particularly interesting. A lot of pressure for the President.

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  11. hey, i have a bottle of champagne chillin' for Tuesday's Inauguration.

    five years from now we may be entirely disappointed with the new Prez.

    but today, i gotta say, these last eight years have made me depressed, paranoid, and suicidal which makes me lucky to live in NYC.

    i did, however, live in Puerto Rico for ten years up until the seventies. which makes us time-shifted neighbors of a sort.

    loved the video; a perfectly happy ending to a wonderful post.

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  12. Bare-eyed sun, I hope the next for years brings you and all of us in the world peace. Thanks for visiting OWL blog.

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  13. Cynthia, I live in the Washington, DC area and can tell you the inaugural excitement is amazing! I know it is around the world, too.

    Thank you fro visiting my blog today. I have left you a response to your question about moving around. I hope you will find your way back again.

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  14. Hi Cynthia!

    That music comes from a c.d. called Book Of Secrets by Loreena McKennitt.

    It is absolutely beautiful, soulful and mystical.

    Give it a whirl, I think you would love it. xx

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  15. Thank you, Natalie, for bringing over the information. Hauntingly beautiful music.

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  16. Funny that you mention Hillary. I had a hard time adjusting. Last spring one of my boys opened a packet of baseball cards and the card company had thrown in election cards of the candidates at random. He had a Hillary and he gave it to me and she sits prominantly on my dressing shelf. I wonder if she knows she's on a baseball card?

    Happy days!

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  17. JBA-Wow, Hillary on a baseball card! I have an Obama 4 Presi and a Hillary 4 Presi sitting together under the TV! (So they can -more easily -make the adjustment.) :-)

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  18. Such an exciting day for the WORLD!!!!
    wishing us all happiness and hope

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  19. Your daughter was very lucky. We all are to have such a good president.

    I’ve been really impressed by Obama’s appointments and his early acts. Obama’s just lifted the ban on abortion funds. Finally we have a president who wants to reduce abortion by supporting birth control. It’s not just change; it’s choice. Happy Days!

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  20. Dear Cynthia,
    We are all watching America in these exciting times! Obama comes across as a thoughtful, intelligent and honest person, a rare find in the political arena! His inaugural speech was inspirational and I hope America gets behind him and allows him to make the changes that are needed.
    Love Dianne x x

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  21. Sarah L, yes, I heard some debate on talk radio about Obama 'reversing' his decisions already regarding abortion choice. The radio host said that more abortions would happen because of Obama's decision but I've always believed it was a woman's difficult choice. I particularly was upset with Bush's attitude with the world funds. (He did not alllow workers/counselors to discuss the subject or else they would lose the support money.)He caused a lot of hardship when people needed support.

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  22. Dianne, so glad your back to blogging. I hope you have some help now on the home/health front. It's hard to paint/create when you are constantly needed to help a loved one. I've been away a bit too as the semester is starting. I really miss the interaction and the feeling of creativity and connection when I'm too busy to engage the blog world and my new friends here. <3 Glad your're back. :-)

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