JPPENS

                                                              Something to think about... Becomin g enlightened is but one gift that humanity owns  because we have educated brains and the willingness to allow ourselves to become open to new pathways is yet another gift because we are human... It can happen in structured ways via schooling or via self discovery. It can be sneaky, subtle like stepping into your once favorite jeans only to find you can't button them or it can be as quick and dramatic as a tornado warning. No matter how it greets us we are presented with the choice of acknowledging the Ah Ha moment, you know, that spark when the lights come on or choosing to just let it all go by not giving it another thought... I have had lots of slow passing time, day and night, through my recent shoulder replacement process of hea...

  Me & Velcro... My life teaching motor skills ( hop, jump, throw, catch, run, skip, swing,pass and on and on) as  Physical Education Teacher and coach brought me the great gifts of student engagement, it also brought me worn out body parts... ruptured ACL, knee replacement, ankle fusion, arch lowering and now a total reverse right shoulder replacement with a bicep transplant done last week with the left to be done in the near future... So thankful my bionic parts are possible and all my PT experience enhances every recovery. Mobility is, I believe, the key to healthy aging. Movement of any kind, to any degree is better than none.  I am motivated to continue my fitness walking but mostly to play the game I love...it will be winter golf! Wineingwithjackie.blogspot.com. Will be back writing in a few weeks...

                                                              SPEAK UP PEOPLE... We who are marginalized know that when we speak,write, post we will get the good, bad and ugly. We do it because we will never disappear, be silent or invisible. We deserve to be treated with dignity, love whoever we choose and live and work with equal rights of white men with money, shelter and food. We need to have people that support us be vocal and present because nobody ever survived long alone. Welcome to being prideful....wineingwithjackie.blogspot.dotcom. and THANK YOU

  PRIDE  MONTH is the time for me to once again answer so many folks who have asked, why is it so important for gay people to come out of "their closets", to parade and shout...  because it is a designated time for a community of people who have been throughout history told and treated as though we were less than, not equal to... past time to broaden your lens people.

                                                                               In late Spring the forest trees of the Western North Carolina Mountains are serving up a buffet of impeccable green flavors... The darkened leaves of kale and asparagus, shadowed by the light leafy lettuces dressed with hues of cucumber and kiwi overflow onto our platters. Lime, mint and basil dusted with thyme are the completion of this sensual presentation.  All are invited and welcomed to partake of our seasonal menu.

  Loud Secrets... We all have our stories, our Loud Secrets of traversing the road of personal acceptance and then managing life the best we can...when I wrote and published my story (Loud Secrets A Memoir) I did it for my wellness, never expecting the outpouring of folks who contacted me sharing their journeys. That my experiences helped anyone was beyond my expectations. I post this to encourage other LBTGQ+ to share, to speak their truth when ready and grow in the joy and peace that was once never imagined. I am not able to hold and fight for  pride  in this country at this alarming and horrifying time. I will now and always fight for  pride  in who I am and who loves me. That fight cannot take place as a closeted LGBTQ+ person, or for someone who's native language is not English or are not Caucasian, or are physically or mentally challenged... staying hidden and quiet only continues our ongoing battles for self-esteem. People MUST ALL BE SEEN in this world, ...

                                                                          So, trying to be a respectful individual... I know how busy doctors offices are... I know if you don't show up or call to reschedule you can be charged a fee...I know how precious time is...I know how very valuable it is...I know all this... I call my doctors office...I go through a directory of statements that finely tell me to then "push # 0" for the operator...I listen to a voice telling me that "someone will be with you shortly"...I listen to every service they offer, who their newest physician is, all of their office locations all over the city and then hear that "someone will be with you shortly"...I hear a voice saying "We are still practicing our COVID rules of masking and distancing" and so this craziness continues. I don't...

  Absolutely for sure...I have never been a staunch Democrat or staunch Republican. I have been a supporter of social justice for all and know right from wrong and good from evil. I have always used that platform in my voting decisions. Our present government is not about a particular party, it has become a government of moral debauchery with the narrow focus of Us (with the power and money) and the them ( society left with the dredges of their bankrupt decisions) that in the end will only fill their personal bank accounts with absolutely no regard for WE THE PEOPLE...

                                                                         Sitting at our library table early this Easter morning, doing my usual laptop work when I look up to see the back of a grey haired  person sized bunny, erect ears, swinging a woven basket and urgently tugging on their bottom to keep from exposing its butt... it turns left upon exciting our driveway and I can see this is probably a geriatric bunny, its wearing eye glasses as it steps gingerly down the street...my smile is falling all the way to my heart as I whisper "the Easter Bunny really came". I open the front door to see a large orange plastic egg waiting to be discovered.  The joy and fun we experienced this morning all because a caring someone took the time to step outside of themselves ...it's just plain kindness in ...

                                                       As I stood by my bedroom window at 2 this morning and gazed at our brightly illuminated night sky that held an almost perfectly shaped moon the pause of awe I experienced...my breathless fear was palpable. The courage, curiosity, intelligence of the science involved, all based on facts and truth held by the crew of Artemis ll gives me continued hope that the WILL of humanity will continue to adapt, care for and protect the speck that is our earth world, all because of diverse scientific men AND women...how grateful we are to have humans like this...

                                                          A Challenge...watch the Netflix documentary "Stamped From The Beginning" and then ask yourself honestly " am I really non racist" against ANYONE different from myself... This is why our world, particularly people of color and all women are still fighting against male white dominance... Truth is painful but silence is deadly...

A huge thank you to all the many many people who have reached out, read my book and follow my blog. I did not do this for payback. I wrote my memoir and now my blog for wellness and now I see it was not just for my own wellness but for all the folks who continue to share their stories and get the little boost they need to find their voices . I remain thankful and humbled by the entire experience.

  LOUDER PLEASE...again and again... Speak your truth Stand, if you are able and fight for our American Constitution...with your voice, your words, your actions March for our democracy and never remain SILENT

                                                      I can't believe what I hear or what I see. I know what being a good human is...empathy and care for others who have less and are forced to fight for themselves and their families to be free from violence...this is why the majority of people are crossing  borders. No matter what you hear, this is a fact...they are not coming to steal a job, but hope to work to provide for themselves. They are not coming to take over your town or this country. They are coming for the same reasons all of our ancestors did... to have a better life. Fact people! To have someone tell me that a person deserves to die because they kicked the tire of a car, or stood with a sign yelling, or that a child was used as a ploy only to make a video moment more effective or that people have been paid to get on busses to go picket...

“We the people…” When spitballs and pea shooters in schools are replaced with automatic weapons, where are “We the people…”? When untruths and fear are used as tools to sway and incite the blind unquestioning believers, where are “We the people…”? When $$$$ and power are THE REASON, above all else, where are “We the people…”? When a Country’s moral compass becomes magnetized so far away from true north, where are “We the people…”? When the answer to mass killings is to give more guns to the masses, where are “We the people…”? When the climate changed from what it was to real weather no one expected, where are “We the people…”? When closed doors and redacted words are left covered to hide the sins,  where are “We the people…”? When social injustice because of race, color, gender, orientation or land of birth suffer for the good of one race, one color, one gender, one orientation or one land of birth, where are “We the people…”? When our elections are raped and voters discounted, whe...

  NOW Not everyone can resist in the streets. But there are many things you *can* do, that *need* to be done, to support those who can: MONEY: Bail costs money. Hospital bills from protest injuries cost money. (In the kafkaesque American health care system, boy howdy does getting treated for injury cost money).  Lawyers to defend your arrested neighbors - to make sure your arrested neighbors get food and water in custody: that costs money.  Sustaining resistance costs money - costs a *lot* of money.  Little contributions, given to your friends and neighbors, add up.  Little contributions to national organizations rallying defense - like the ACLU - add up.  Money matters. Especially among us financially privileged, it's a key role we can play. VOICE: You have a voice - right here on Facebook. On BlueSky. On Twitter. At the workplace lunch room. Everywhere else.  I've written this over and over again - every place people gather, online or in person, is a...

My solitary fitness walks have become not only a necessary part of my life for wellness but the past decade it has allowed me the peace and calm I find from seeing "my tree".  It majestically owns a mountain ridge, beaming its rounded crested image through every season and welcomes me with my silent prayers of peace, hope, and tears of fear. Those who know me also know of my tree as it lays witness to all who drive into our community. Some have asked since they know I talk to my tree, does it talk to you? My response is always the same..."no, it does not talk to me but it whispers to my heart"... As the most trying times of my life in America continue to show themselves to me every single day I find I have to actually talk myself out of frustration, out of anger, out of anxiousness and into remembering who I am, how I struggled to be here and what I value; and, still I want to rage! Rage against what I see happening in this country and to its people.   The citizens ...

The view of my desk calendar reminds me that another year is about to evaporate...twelve months, 52 weeks and 365 days just gone, disappeared as quickly as the steam rising over my morning coffee...  where did the time go...what did I do and how did I spend it? A calendar flip for decades has meant for some hope and change for new beginnings: to lose weight, to change jobs, to get engaged or maybe divorced, to be a bit other minded, to travel, to read more, to get a pet, to stop drinking, to get healthy, to do more, spend less, get a hobby...these may not be resolutions but these glances back can be prompts to encourage us to do some reflection of not only where we were but how we did what we did with the time... We humans are a unique breed of being...I have heard it said that "all people are broken" and I tend to believe that. There is no escaping the cracks and fractures we develop as we walk these dirt and paved roads. Nature, nurture, circumstances, decisions and choice...

  This time of year is different from the other ten months whether we want to believe it or not and for so many reasons, great for some and not so much so for others... I recently heard someone express why Thanksgiving was their favorite holiday and simply put she said something like "because there are no expectations and it's just people gathering to talk, listen and eat, no presents, no tinsel or trees".  I began to think about who I would want to sit at my Thanksgiving table but more importantly why I would invite them... Our world is filled with APPS, all we have to do is touch a button on our smart phones and we can read just about anything on the planet or click on YouTube to learn how to fix whatever. So, I decided maybe I and maybe you could use a written individual GRATITUDE TABLE APP just to remind us of the who and the why. Our lives are not about what surrounds us, but about who surrounds us. Here we go...   Type in your search window  WINEINGWITHJACKIE....

Back in the 50's and 60's I was a kid who slept with my glove, had my Carl Yastrzemski bat by my bed and played sandlot baseball until the snow got too deep and my dreams were filled with being a professional baseball player... Back then girls were not allowed to play on organized teams at all but some of us continued to find ways to play the game we loved with the guys.  By the time I was in high school I settled on playing softball. I was as devoted to it as I had been to baseball and was fortunate to be involved as a player, a coach or an umpire for almost three decades. My understanding of the game of baseball was used in my softball life but I never lost my love affair with baseball. The Boston Red Sox were and still are my team.   Strolling down Yawkey Way when the Sox were hosting the Yankees was a lifetime memory. Sitting in the bleachers about as far away from home plate as possible looking over to the green monster always left me in awe.  I kept an eye on t...