Six Years Ago Today—To Matilda Motoko Holmes on Her Birth

  

Matilda, you were brand new. 

Note—Granddaughter Matilda was born on Sunday, May 31, 2020—traditional Memorial Day that year—at 10:40 am.  That was just in time for me to make the exciting announcement in the virtual coffee hour following Tree of Life UU Congregation Coronavirus Zoom services.  How could I forget. 

To Matilda Motoko Holmes on Your Birth

May 31, 2020

I understand you can’t read this.  You have been very busy getting born, learning how to breathe and such.  Hopefully your mother will keep a copy of this to share with you on some appropriate birthday a few years from now.

On the day you were born the sky was crystal blue and everything was lush green bursting with young life to greet you like the young ducklings on the pond and bunnies in their burrows.  The Web of All Existence greeted you.

 

Your Mom and Dad were there, of course.  

It couldn’t have happened without them.  And frankly you were a lot of work to get born.  It was even a little scary but your new life prevailed.  You were welcomed in the arms of love.

A whole tribe waits anxiously to greet you—two grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and an odd old Papa.  And there is your second Cousin Sienna who is just one year older than you and will be your playmate and guide for years of coming adventures.  And did I mention the dogs Piper and Ginger who will protect you from marauding pirates and Piper at least will curl up to sleep with you.

                         Some of your clan--Papa, your Mom, Aunt Heather, Grandma, and Aunt Carolynne.  There are lots more.

You will come home in a couple of days or so with your Mom to Grandma Kathy and Papa’s little house.  It will be your first home.  You will have others, but that first one is very special.  Grandma will spoil and play with you.  Papa will take you on his walks—the stroller is ready to be your carriage into the world—and looks forward to singing strange lullabies to you and reading books with you when you are a little older.

The day you were born used to be Memorial Day before that holiday got moved.  And in a way that connects you to two great grandfathers, Papa Art Brady and Papa Willard Murfin who were soldiers in World War II which will be 100 years past when you are a young woman.  In fact, you are connected to ancestors on both sides of your family whose interesting lives made yours possible.  You are part of a great river of humanity.

Beyond your kin and home there are many friends waiting to greet you and support you on your life journey—your folks’ friends, your whole neighborhood, the Sisters Grandma Kathy works with, and the good people at Papa’s church.  It takes a village to raise a child and you have many villagers to guide you.

The day you were born everyone wore masks.

But I am sorry, not everything was pixie dust and unicorns on the day you were born.  The wide world was a freighting mess.  You were born in the middle of the great Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 which is why no one but your Mom and Dad could be with you in the hospital.  Even after you get home many of your clan will have to wait to see you and play pass the baby until it is safe.  People will wear masks on their faces.  They are scared for themselves—and for you.

Climate change—I am sure you will have heard of it when you can finally read this—is making over the world.  Where you live it will be hotter and wetter, snowier in the winter, apt to big, dangerous storms.  Everything will change from the way things once were.  Your parents and grandparents will have to do everything they can to keep that change from being catastrophic.

The country you live in is riven by bitter division.  Ominous forces are at work.  The free democracy of your parents and ancestors is threatened.  Fascism—I am sorry you will have to learn what that is—looms and some long for a civil war.  Many good people, however, are doing everything they can to prevent that and to leave you a free and safe country.  But it will be a struggle.  

The day you were born Papa was here to help make the world better for you. 

Even sadder, on the day you were born cities across America were torn by demonstrations, protests, riots, looting, and violence.  All because Black people in this country are not safe from violent assault by police and because a long sad history of white oppression has been unmasked again.  Your world will not be safe until Black children are safe.

That is why Papa on the day you were born went to Woodstock to hold a sign that said Black Lives Matter and march around the Square with hundreds of others.  He pledges to spend the rest of his life fighting to give you a better world than the one in which you were born.

                                Matilda opts for bold fashion choices these days.

The ancient Chinese had a curse—“May you live in interesting times.”  You were born on a day in the middle of interesting times.  Bless you as you make your way through them.

With all the love in the world,

Papa

Five Years Ago Today—To Matilda Mokoto Holmes on Her Birth

 

Matilda, you were brand new. 

Note—Granddaughter Matilda was born on Sunday, May 31, 2020—traditional Memorial Day that year—at 10:40 am.  That was just in time for me to make the exciting announcement in the virtual coffee hour following Tree of Life UU Congregation Coronavirus Zoom services.  How could I forget. 

To Matilda Mokoto Holmes on Your Birth

May 31, 2020

I understand you can’t read this.  You have been very busy getting born, learning how to breathe and such.  Hopefully your mother will keep a copy of this to share with you on some appropriate birthday a few years from now.

On the day you were born the sky was crystal blue and everything was lush green bursting with young life to greet you like the young ducklings on the pond and bunnies in their burrows.  The Web of All Existence greeted you.

 

Your Mom and Dad were there, of course.  

It couldn’t have happened without them.  And frankly you were a lot of work to get born.  It was even a little scary but your new life prevailed.  You were welcomed in the arms of love.

A whole tribe waits anxiously to greet you—two grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and an odd old Papa.  And there is your second Cousin Sienna who is just one year older than you and will be your playmate and guide for years of coming adventures.  And did I mention the dogs Piper and Ginger who will protect you from marauding pirates and Piper at least will curl up to sleep with you.

                         Some of your clan--Papa, your Mom, Aunt Heather, Grandma, and Aunt Carolynne.  There are lots more.

You will come home in a couple of days or so with your Mom to Grandma Kathy and Papa’s little house.  It will be your first home.  You will have others, but that first one is very special.  Grandma will spoil and play with you.  Papa will take you on his walks—the stroller is ready to be your carriage into the world—and looks forward to singing strange lullabies to you and reading books with you when you are a little older.

The day you were born used to be Memorial Day before that holiday got moved.  And in a way that connects you to two great grandfathers, Papa Art Brady and Papa Willard Murfin who were soldiers in World War II which will be 100 years past when you are a young woman.  In fact, you are connected to ancestors on both sides of your family whose interesting lives made yours possible.  You are part of a great river of humanity.

Beyond your kin and home there are many friends waiting to greet you and support you on your life journey—your folks’ friends, your whole neighborhood, the Sisters Grandma Kathy works with, and the good people at Papa’s church.  It takes a village to raise a child and you have many villagers to guide you.

The day you were born everyone wore masks.

But I am sorry, not everything was pixie dust and unicorns on the day you were born.  The wide world was a freighting mess.  You were born in the middle of the great Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 which is why no one but your Mom and Dad could be with you in the hospital.  Even after you get home many of your clan will have to wait to see you and play pass the baby until it is safe.  People will wear masks on their faces.  They are scared for themselves—and for you.

Climate change—I am sure you will have heard of it when you can finally read this—is making over the world.  Where you live it will be hotter and wetter, snowier in the winter, apt to big, dangerous storms.  Everything will change from the way things once were.  Your parents and grandparents will have to do everything they can to keep that change from being catastrophic.

The country you live in is riven by bitter division.  Ominous forces are at work.  The free democracy of your parents and ancestors is threatened.  Fascism—I am sorry you will have to learn what that is—looms and some long for a civil war.  Many good people, however, are doing everything they can to prevent that and to leave you a free and safe country.  But it will be a struggle.  

The day you were born Papa was here to help make the world better for you. 

Even sadder, on the day you were born cities across America were torn by demonstrations, protests, riots, looting, and violence.  All because Black people in this country are not safe from violent assault by police and because a long sad history of white oppression has been unmasked again.  Your world will not be safe until Black children are safe.

That is why Papa on the day you were born went to Woodstock to hold a sign that said Black Lives Matter and march around the Square with hundreds of others.  He pledges to spend the rest of his life fighting to give you a better world than the one in which you were born.

                                                Matilda--Purple Moose graduate.  The world is her oyster.

The ancient Chinese had a curse—“May you live in interesting times.”  You were born on a day in the middle of interesting times.  Bless you as you make your way through them.

With all the love in the world,

 

Papa

Vintage Murfin Verse For International Women’s Day Murfin Verse

 

The largest regional Women's March event will be in Chicago.

Note—There seems to be a lot of occasions in March that have inspired my poesy. I hope I have not worn out my welcome with them. Here is another and a bonus two-fer on the blog today. 

 

It has been among the honors of my life to be able to attend and support Women’s March events since the first giant protest for Trump’s first inauguration in Chicago and Woodstock as a male ally. 

 

With the Tree of Life UU Congregation contingent on a frosty January morn for the first Women's March in Chicago in 2017.

 

Today I will be able to join hopefully hundreds in Crystal Lake along Route 14 by Exchange Drive while others will march in Chicago and around the country. 

 

 

The second Women’s March in Chicago in January 2018 turned out to be the last big march I have been able to participate in. A-fib and a gimpy leg put me out of that kind of action. 

 

The Old Man's last big march--January 20, 2018 Women's March in Chicago.  With Tree of Life's Terry Kappel and Juday Stettner.

 

 After that event I dared write:

Today, I Am a Woman 

After the Chicago Women’s March January 20, 2018 

 

Today, I am a woman—

         a put-a-bag-on-her-head-woman, 

         a never hit on by Cosby, Weinstein, or Trump woman, 

         a lumbering lummox of a lady, 

         a barren womb non-breeder, 

         a hairy-legged horror,

         a gawky, graceless girl, 

         a disappointment all around. 

 

But Sisters, today, I am a woman— if you will have me. 

 

Tomorrow I will be just another prick. 

 

 —Patrick Murfin

 

International Women’s Day this Saturday March 8 will give women, their allies, and others targeted for harm by the out of control attack on civilized values and Constitutional norms by the current maladministration to make their voices unequivocally clear. This year the official Women’s March, which has organized national protests since the giant march in 2017 against Trump’s first inauguration and has inspired sister marches across the globe, concentrated on the broader People’s March this year on January 18. Local People’s March events were also held on March 1. 

 

This year the Women’s March and other organizations are promoting Women’s Day marches and rallies across the country. See here to find local events. Chicago hosts a major regional event this Saturday beginning at 11:30 am at Dailey Plaza with a march to Trump Tower setting off an hour later. Their call says: 

 

This International Women’s Day, we’re hitting the streets with Women’s March to show our collective power. Women’s March is built, funded, and led by everyday women—just like us. No matter the administration, we choose solidarity, safety, and each other. Now more than ever, we must take action for a feminist future where all women, femmes, and gender-expansive people are safe, valued, and free. Join Gemmes for Femmes as we march, rally, and raise our voices for justice, equity, and liberation. 

 

For us in the far Northwest boonies of Chicago, a rally along Rt. 14 in Crystal Lake centered at Exchange Drive from 11 am to 1 pm will be the first time since the inauguration we will have a chance for a large, local display of resistance. Sponsor McHenry County NOW invites all to join them in an intersessional display of defiance. 

United We Resist!

 

On International Women’s Day Saturday March 8th from 11am-1pm, it seems fitting that we’re taking to the streets with our friends & neighbors who care about the constant attacks on the Rights of Women, People of Color, the LGBTQIA+ community, Veterans, those with Disabilities, Low income families, Seniors, Farmers & our Migrant/Refugee families in this country.

Now is the time we stand up in the name of humanity and refuse to accept our rights and freedoms in this country being stripped away every day.

Now is the time to hold our elected officials who support fascism accountable, and to expect our elected officials who support democracy to show up and fight for it alongside us! When we look back at this timeline in history, let's look back confident that we resisted, we refused to be silent, and we refused to look the other day while our Democracy was being destroyed before our very eyes!

         Together, neighbor beside neighbor, we will fight fascism! 

         Sign up here.

 

Compassion for Campers Report—Perpetual Crisis but Hope on the Horizon

Compassion for Camper volunteers and stocked shelves at a Community Resource Day at Willow Crystal Lake.

Note—This is adapted and updated from a report of Compassion for Campers for the annual meeting of Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation earlier this month.  But it also can be a report to the whole wider community and the clients we serve, our volunteers, and donors.

Compassion for Campers (C4C) is the ministry of Tree of Life UU Congregation (TOL),  5603 Bull Valley Road, McHenry, IL 60050, that provides essential gear and supplies to the unhoused population of McHenry County which spend all or part of a month camping out or sleeping in vehicles or vacant spaces.  It provides emergency equipment including tents, sleeping bags, tarps, cooking stoves and fuel, non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, first aid and safety material, and other items free of charge to those in need.

C4C distributes at the Community Resource Days on the first and third Friday of every month from 10 am to 2 pm and is one of over 25 agencies who meet at the Willow Friendship Center, 100 South Main Street, Crystal Lake to serve the unhoused and at-risk community.  

 

Since June 2023 we have served 1590 cases.  About 20% are the chronic long time homeless.  Many have substance abuse histories or problems, mental health issues, or have been impacted by the justice system and/or incarcerated.  Increasing numbers are new to housing insecurity due to medical crisis and costs, job loss, divorce and family crisis, or have been displaced by rising housing costs and evictions.  Increasing numbers—over half at the last distribution in May—are women, including those with children or multi-generational families.  First time homeless elderly are up alarmingly, many with health issues but so are teens and young adults.  African-American, Latinx, and immigrants are sharply up from pre-pandemic levels.  All are served without question and treated with respect and dignity.

It costs between $900 and $1000—sometimes more—to purchase supplies.  And those supplies, especially of major items like tents, sleeping bags, tarps, sleeping pads, fuel and stoves,  often run out as early as 11 am on some distribution Days. 

C4C is sustained by donations from Tree of Life members and friends and some donations from other churches.  Last year a major Faithify fund raiser—a UU GoFundMe—got us into June.  The Ride to Keep a Light On in Woodstock raised money, and a major benefit program in August kept us afloat into November.  We have been flirting with perpetual funding crisis since then.  Only purchases made on the private accounts of C4C volunteers have kept our shelves partially filled this spring.  More than $700 is owed for reimbursement and the volunteers are still  owed hundreds more. 

C4C recieved10% of the recent TOL Rummage Sale proceeds.

 

The next special opportunity to support C4C, the Jail Brakers ministry and other community beacons of hope will be another  Friday evening, June 14 on and around historic Woodstock Square.  The event raises funds for organizations serving the community including Compassion for Campers.  To support the event volunteer to ride and gather sponsors and buy color-coded string of lights—a different color for each charity—to decorate bikes or yourselves.  Strings are $9 each and all proceeds go to the corresponding community resource.

Gathering and sales of strings begin on the Square at 7 pm with an ice cream social and live music  with the ride beginning after full dark about 8:40.  As riders return to the Square music will continue until 10 pm.  Strings are available for $9 each from the beneficiary organization or $10 split between all of them or at Material Things Artisan Market, a craft and art consignment shop at 103 East Van Buren Street.

 

 

But our biggest push to keep us up and running is a new Faithify campaign that will be launched on Sunday, June 16 and will stay up for 30 days.  We will also receive a match grant for 20% of the total raised from MidAmerica Chalice Lighters if we make our goal of raising $300o to continue our critical work.  You don’t have to be a Unitarian Universalist to donate on the app.

This is an all-or-nothing challenge.  If we do not raise the entire target amount in the allotted time we will receive nothing.  Your pledge to the campaign will be noted but only drawn upon with the successful conclusion of the fund drive.  For a link to the Faithify campaign when it goes active visit the Tree of Life website.

If necessary we may need some kind of major fundraising event in late summer or early fall. 

The best news is that in October we will receive a grant of $12,000 which will relieve pressure and along with continued donor support even allow us to expand our service.

None of the grant money, however, can be allocated to repaying our debt, only to new and ongoing service.  So the need to sustain donations remains high.

Donations of new, like new, clean and serviceable items are always welcome including seasonal items like mosquito and tick repellant, sun screen, and rain ponchos.

 

We invite members and friends to visit the distributions to see for themselves what we do.  Volunteers are always welcome.  Contact C4C coordinator Patrick Murfin at 815 814-5645 or email at pmurfin@sbcglobal.net for more information.