— Photos by Renee Roederer
Neato Curiosities: Learn about Honeyguide Birds
A Good Word: How Seeds Grow
My Little Narwhals Swam Across the Zoom Screen
I was in the midst of a community conversation on Zoom, and we were reflective, sharing deep needs together. From that sharing, a kindness arose: “I want to give you a teddy bear,” someone said.
Then there was a pivot.
Technically, someone started it, but in a rather spontaneous contagion, people seemed to leave their computer screens at once and come back with a bunch of stuffies. There were a variety of animals. We had bears and elephants. My two narwhals, Boris and Bella, swam across the Zoom screen. All of us, full grown adults, and most of us, adults in our senior years, decided that grown-ups need lovies too.
And in a moment of playfulness, we loved each other.
—Renee Roederer
Hidden Rules
I wonder what other hidden rules we miss?
From the Wings
It’s fascinating how an encounter with music can transport us to another time. I was driving in my car yesterday, listening to my music on shuffle, when the keyboard intro to “Morning Glow” began, a number from the musical Pippin. I smiled instantly, and as the song progressed, I sang along with gusto. Feel free to have a listen.
I attended a high school that is nationally and internationally recognized for theatre, and I had tremendous adventures taking part in that. I was also able to do this alongside an incredible set of friends. At an age where we were developmentally known to shrug things off, we were aware that we were experiencing something very special when it came to our theatre experiences; I have a number of vivid memories where I remember thinking intentionally that I needed to savor this.
“Morning Glow” is one of those memories. We performed Pippin when I was in my junior year. This was my favorite show of my high school years, and as the Leading Player, it was my favorite role too. Because I had that part, I didn’t stand on the stage when Pippin, the main character, and most of the chorus sang “Morning Glow.” But I was in the wings, specifically in a little area just to the side of the front part of the stage near these textured, stone walls that were a part of our auditorium.
Every single performance, I sang there from the wings. I added my voice to my classmates on stage, and I loved that we got to create this. I felt this awareness of being young, very alive, and grateful. And I sang my 17 year old heart out:
Morning glow, by your light.
We can make the new day bright.
And the phantoms of the night.
Will fade into the past.
Morning glow is here at last.
It feels cheesy when I type it out in print. But it was a special moment every performance. And I felt that yesterday, too, multiple decades later while singing again from my car. I remember my from-the-wings self, grateful to create with others, present, in the moment, savoring.
—Renee Roederer
Mental Health Monday: Thoughts, Emotions, Actions
In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), people examine how their thoughts, emotions, and actions are connected. I like what my colleague says about this. Andrea Thomas, LLP, MA, Psychologist at the Henry Ford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, shares,
“Our thoughts, feelings, and actions are all connected. If one isn’t feeling right or working in the way that we’d like it to, we can change one of them, and the others will shift too.”
This is true, but we rarely think about it.
Which of these do we want to shift?
Which of these do we need to shift?
How might that affect the whole?
–Renee Roederer
This Week in Nature
Neato Curiosities: German Rhymes Are Fun
This is about a woman named Barbara who makes an absurdly great rhubarb cake. Then, when the popularity of this rhubarb cake takes off, she opens a bar to sell her cake. Unfortunately some Barbarians come, and they need some barbering to cut their beards. But hey, they can still eat that glorious rhubarb cake! Enjoy.
Under Ideal Conditions by Al Zolynas
say in the flattest part of North Dakota
on a starless moonless night
no breath of wind
a man could light a candle
then walk away
every now and then
he could turn and see
the candle burning
seventeen miles later
provided conditions remained ideal
he could still see the flame
somewhere between the seventeenth and eighteenth mile
he would lose the light
if he were walking backwards
he would know the exact moment
when he lost the flame
he could step forward and find it again
back and forth
dark to light light to dark
what’s the place where the light disappears?
where the light reappears?
don’t tell me about photons
and eyeballs
reflection and refraction
don’t tell me about one hundred and eighty-six thousand
miles per second and the theory of relativity
all I know is that place
where the light appears and disappears
that’s the place where we live
— Al Zolynas
Are there particular words, phrases, or images that stand out most to you?
Smuggling Grace 