I Blog Poetry and Prose

On June 19, 1865, federal troops enter Galveston, Texas, to make sure that all the slaves in America were freed. This was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation3 was signed. It was on Juneteenth (June 19, 1865) that U.S. General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”4 This day should be a national holiday, that is celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics, and education about the effects of slaver, which America is still dealing with today.

There are a couple of pieces of good news on this Thankful Thursday, June 18, 2020. The first piece of good newx concerns two Baha'i Temples in Africa: In Africa: As one temple rises, anticipation builds for another  . Second, Supreme Court blocks Trump’s bid to end DACA, a win for undocumented ‘Dreamers’   by Robert Barnes. Good news is always welcome because it reveals that the world is making progress, moving toward a new normal of unity, justice, and world peace.

Four days to Father's Day and counting down. Every where you look on the internet or in the stores (if you go out of the house to go shopping) you find ads for the perfect Father's Day gift. When I was growing up the perfect Father's Day gift was a tie or a fishing rod, depending on what Dad did for a living or liked to do on the weekends. I don't remember any of my school friends asking me what are you getting your grandfather for Father's Day. Most of my friends knew that my parents were divorced, that my mother was the breadwinner in the family, and that the only Father figure I had was Grandpa Frank.

The "Invalid Item"  discussion topic for the week of June 14, 2020 is "Let's start with something easy! How are you coping with 2020? Are you watching a lot of news? Distracting yourself with other things? Hiding under the blankets? How are you feeling about everything? Aside from everything going on in the world, how are YOU doing? What's going on in your personal bubble? How many years long has 2020 felt so far? "

It's Motivational Monday, June 15, the day a new blog group begins. The name of the group is "Space Blog Group" , the forum is located at "Space Blog" , and the first prompt is "Name ten things you would put on your bucket." It should be easy to write a bucket list because I wrote (or think I wrote) one before. I can't find the bucket list I wrote. The only thing I can find is a poem I wrote in 2013, "Bucket Lists: Two Related Poems" , a few months after my mother died in 2012. The name of the new blog is "Snow's Space Blog" , and the first entry is "Ten Things on My Bucket List" .

It's time for America
to reset its destiny to
E pluribus unum:
Out of Many, One!

Sometimes I have difficulty deciding on my favorite quote, because there are so many quotes from the Sacred Writings of The Bab, Baha'u'llah, and 'Abdu'l-Baha that I like. Today I didn't have any problems deciding on my favorite quotes for this month. When I logged into Facebook, the first quote was posted with a picture, containing the Spanish translation, and the English translation above the picture. After reading and meditating on the first quote, I thought of another quote. The second quote I had to look up on Baha'i Reference Library  . Both quotes can be found in Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah.

It's the little things that create happiness. One of the things that made me smile today was the Wizard of Id comic. The Wizard turned himself into a bat and flew into the King of Id's throne room the was the king a "Happy Transformation Tuesday!" Until I read that comic, I'd never heard of Transformation Tuesday. I looked it up and found out it's social networking thing. People post before and after photos of themselves. I'm not sure about posting before photos, but I might consider posting an after photo.

Intolerance, in my opinion, is one of the oldest sins practiced by human beings, and it is becoming more obvious every day that it is a sin. Its roots go deep into the soil of humanity, because it has been with the human race for millennia. It is a sin because it goes against the law of love revealed by every messenger of God. It is one of those sins that many people do not realize is a sin because it is encouraged by family, clerics, and politicians. It does not matter who encourages it or practices it, it is still a sin. It is a sin we all need to ask forgiveness for and root out of our daily life.

Don't remain silent
speak out or write about
the injustices that plague America
and the world.

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for June 4, 2020: "Half a century ago, the amazing courage of Rosa Parks, the visionary leadership of Martin Luther King, and the inspirational actions of the civil rights movement led politicians to write equality into the law and make real the promise of America for all her citizens. -David Cameron What happened to equality? How did we turn back the clock of time and commit the same horrible crimes that were a a social norm before Rosa and Martin's time? Your thoughts about what's happening across the United States."

The radiance of a new day
scatters the its effulgence rays
across the mirror of my soul,
and my spirit shouts:
"Welcome Light!"

Summer solstice doesn't occur until Saturday, June 20, at 3.44 P.M PDT. We're already experiencing triple digit temperatures here in Las Vegas. This means that it's going to be a hot and uncomfortable summer. A hot summer means sky high electric bills. Right now I don't have to worry about that because I have a $72.31 credit after this month's power bill was paid. I may have to worry about the power bill in July (if I go over the $72.31), and I know I'll have to deal with it in August, but that is a few weeks away,

Humanity has come to the awakening!
Humanity has reached
the tipping point
beyond which there is no return!