Concentration

April 18

I am thankful for concentration, the ability to focus on a detail or details. It is what enables us to succeed and to be able to overcome great adversity when extreme thought and observation are required.

This photo is of the LSU Greek Amphitheater. Perhaps it is a stretch, but I connected the word concentration with this photo because the seats in the amphitheater (or theatron as it is called) is arranged in concentric semicircles around the central orchestra (stage). The word concentric has similar Middle English and Latin origins to the word concentration. Concentric means shapes that share a common origin, axis, or center. To concentrate means to focus down to a center, simillarly as focusing a lens brings a central point into extreme focus.

Greek amphitheaters were built on hillsides with tiers of stone seats arranged concentrically around the orchestra. It is interesting that plays performed at Greek amphitheaters were Greek tragedies and had a religious overtone, so amphitheaters were often built near to religious sanctuaries. LSU's Greek amphitheater was built in 1925.  Beyond the orchestra a reflecting pond was built along with a statue of the explorer Desoto, but in 1960 the pool was filled in and the statue destroyed. Today, the Greek Amphitheater overlooks a tree-shaded park-like area known as "The Enchanted Forest." This name was given during the 1960s Hippie movement and stuck. I remember in 1970 my undergraduate English class was held there one day to discuss Joseph Heller's Catch 22 novel. It is interesting the things you remember and it is one of my few memories of what actually took place in al high school or college class. I promise, I usually paid attention. Well most of the time. On football Saturdays, the Enchanted Forest is filled with tailgaters and kids enjoying the hillsides. Today, the amphitheater serves to hold live concerts and plays, as well as the aforementioned students relaxing or studying. It is a perfect place to concentrate!

concentric semicircles

rows of concentric semicircles

make up this old map

ever increasing radii

as i search for the perfect place

to take a good nap.

© rt tulley

concentration

there is a lapse

in my concentration

seems like these days

my brain needs acclimation

to focus upon

the ability to focus

of which things seem blurry

when i concentrate

on a particular locus.

© rt tulley

My Sister

April 17

I am thankful for my sister Mary Beth Tulley Martin. Today is Mary Beth's birthday. It was also my mother's birthday - Mom always said Mary Beth was the BEST birthday present she ever got. Mary Beth and Mom were very close and I was always very happy about that. Since Mom's passing in April, 2010, Mary Beth and I have been calling each other fairly regularly and she calls me at times she would have called Mom. She calls me her mother brother and I call her my mother sister. We like to go on photographic field trips together and have been to several of them in the past few years. I hope we can have many more.

Mary Beth is a very talented artist whose specialty is painting with pastels but she is a creative crafts person with any kind of craft you can imagine. She even makes and binds her own books. A year or so ago she carved and painted a golf ball into an authentic looking LSU football helmet with a player's head inside as a gift for me. It was one of my favorite posessions until the dog chewed it up, although I still have the fragments. Her art website is http://marybethmartin.com/marybethmartin.com. You should check it out. Her site shows many of the paintings that have won awards for her art. She was also a professional clown by the name of Dr. Pokum,  who appeared locally in Baton Rouge on the Buckskin Bill show for many years. She is a very devout Christian and a great friend. Happy birthday Mary Beth!

April 17c

LSU Golf Ball Football Helmet in Our Christmas Tree Minutes Before Being Devoured by the Dog

I took the top picture above in Georgetown, Texas, where she and her husband Mike lived before recently moving to Buda, a little bit to the south of Austin, Texas. The window is a storefront on the town square in Georgetown that she painted for their Red Poppy Festival.  The photo below is one that I took in 1971 of Mary Beth and Mom. Mary Beth was just 19 and Mom 48 at the time. My how time flies.

April 17b

mother sister

there are many things in this world

that leave us frazzled

there are multitudes of times

to be bedazzled

it’s nice to have a friend

of someone such as you

my mother sister extraordinaire

to step into mom’s shoe

not fill it but wear it, complement it

in a most singular way

so we go, marching onward

but together, you could say.

© rt tulley

Japanese Lanterns

April 16

I am thankful for Japanese lanterns. I know this may seem a little odd but I like Japanese gardens for their aesthetics and the lanterns are an integral part of them. I have two in my back yard and have a red Japanese style bridge over a stream that I built.

Japanese lanterns date back to the sixth century when they were brought to Japan from Asia and were used to line temples and pagodas as part of the Buddhism religion. Now they are used everywhere in Japan and for fesitvals and tea ceremonies. I am in no way Buddhist and the lanterns in my yard do not have a spiritual meaning, but the lanterns in themselves have a spiritual origin. I find it interesting that the five parts of a stone Japanese lantern going from the ground up represent earth (chi-the part that sits on the ground), water (sui), fire (ka-the part that lights up), air (fu), and spirit (ku-the very top).

April 16b

lantern

lantern light the way

on this journey of life

showing the path

to places far and rife.

© rt tulley