Roy’s Sunday Letter for March 5, 2023

  • Texans like the corners of rooms and buildings to be 90 degrees, tight, and clean. Santa Fe and New Mexico taught me about rounded corners to rooms, doorways, and stucco walls. Earth tones of color match the softer, rounded look and feel of cornering. Today, we blend the beauty and cultures of Texas and New Mexico in our 2023 lives.

** News Movement is a new, developing online news service for young people. The average age of their reporters is 25. News sources include Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Traditional 5:30 pm network news ads have aged into dentures, and medications.

  • Turn Every Page” is a documentary, 5 years in the making, of the 50-year relationships of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb. Caro the author of “The Power Broker” and 4 published books on LBJ. Gottlieb has been the editor for Caro and hundreds of others. Humor at its best between these two elders as they go up and down office hallways and in the last segment of the documentary searching for a yellow, wooden pencil to edit Caro’s latest pages. Hopefully Netflix in 2023 or another book about LBJ soon.

** National and state news this week was more about who to exclude, turn away from, than who to include making our worlds wider and richer. My hope would be one of learning and appreciation cultures, race, and worship different. Those who operate from fear and distrust no doubt have sons/daughters, brother/sisters, and friends within one or more of the excluded churches, political, or life-style groups. My generation reached out, struggled with the same questions, but chose different answers, a healthier “together” path.

  • My TV service has three 24-hour weather channels. Reports this week have been about storms, high winds, snow/ice, and tornadoes damaging homes and businesses on west/east coasts, the southwest, and central and northern states. My grandfather, a dry land farmer, would look to the heavens, and his life-time experience, to guess if he should plow or if his crops would get needed rain.

** In central Texas trees and bushes are budding out. Green grass showing, and soon hummingbirds will arrive from wintering in Mexico. Spring in TX comes fast. For now, we weed, take out the old and add the new to beds and pots. This is a physically energizing time. We continue to plant “Bee Friendly” native plants and pray for all the insects that support our lives.

  • I had Meetup on WordPress on Saturday. The young ones helped me to reset to a larger font. You and I will not know until this SL is sent tomorrow, Sunday morning. The young ones were patient, kind, and skilled. Germany, San Diego, and 6 more, amazing, no?

Roy, feeling the energy of spring

10 Comments

  1. Nancy on March 5, 2023 at 7:45 am

    When I ask my daughters to help me navigate new additions to my phone, I remind them that I taught them to eat with a spoon.

    • Roy Bowen on March 5, 2023 at 8:43 am

      On the Meetup zoom I would guess I was 40 yrs older than other faces. The younger ones were gracious and helped me find the right buttons. The font is now larger and readable. My ego is up in that I managed to make the improvement under the stress of not even know what I was doing.
      You have done well with your daughters, granddaughters, your canvases, your imaging with brush in hand. Glad for your courage and your gifts.
      In brief, you are a good person!!

    • Mike on March 5, 2023 at 1:52 pm

      Thank you Nancy. You made me laugh this morning. I plan to steal your line and use it when appropriate.

      MIke.

      • Roy Bowen on March 5, 2023 at 2:18 pm

        you two are indeed 2 of my favorite contributors to who i am today….Roy

  2. Roger on March 5, 2023 at 10:49 am

    Congratulations on the larger font, this aging ready really appreciates it.

    Looking forward to Spring here, no buds, still some now and excellent skiing conditions!

    • Roy Bowen on March 5, 2023 at 11:10 am

      Looking at the faces on the screen i was the oldest by 40 yrs. But, I hung in as the young ones guides me through. They were kind, patient, pointing out “do you see the (whatever)???? I rarely did at first. But, we did together what I could not do alone (there is a sermon there somewhere). Beth pulling weeds; i am going to Folk Mass at Trinity Episcopal.(woody gutherie a higher value than weeds).
      Roger, you are missed in my world. You are indeed one of the true good one!!

  3. Marcia L Swain on March 5, 2023 at 5:30 pm

    RE the issue of inclusion (Roy, well noted). Watched a movie, Mission: Joy, a lovely and loving conversation between Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. On Netflix and youtube. Joy springs from a heart filled with compassion. ⅕

    • Roy Bowen on March 5, 2023 at 9:02 pm

      we have watched the Netflix offering and agree joy springs from the heart of compassion.
      Today, Sunday, I met someone who worked for back in the early 90’s. An amazing connection. She told ways she uses what she learned from me in our own leadership of an agency 2023. Humbling. Honoring.

  4. Robin Easton on March 6, 2023 at 7:35 am

    You endlessly amaze me, dear Roy, because you are so alive, aware, and fully living. I have missed being here, with so much going on in my own life. So, it is an envigorating uplift to read this newsletter and be able to respond. I rarely miss reading one, but don’t always have time to respond. I loved what you wrote about rounded corners. It is so beautifully written and matches the beauty of such corners and doorways. I too love them. The thought of real adobe is even more beautiful when I imagine the early people molding raw earth with their bare hands.

    I also LOVE that you meet with a WordPress group. What a brilliant idea. I am going to see if there is a Squarespace group that I can meet with to move through changes on my website. You are filled with breathtaking wisdom AND good ideas. Thank you for that one.

    I lit right up when I read that you Beth garden. I lovvvve to garden. We too are about to start tidying the yard, removing the old, planting new, weeding, and so on. I am deeply moved that you are planting Bee-friendly plants. That touches me so much. THANK YOU for choosing to be that aware and compassionate for our hardworking little friends. I send all my very best to you and Beth, and I am grateful you are in my life. Wish we lived closer and could sit with tea in the garden. The conversations would be long and deep and SO inspiring. As far as humans go….it doesn’t get any better.

    • Roy Bowen on March 6, 2023 at 12:48 pm

      There is a baseball phrase, “Touch all the bases.”
      At this stage of life the bases keep moving, harder touch
      We are connected and that is what matters in this world is disconnect.
      I continue to draft the SL
      Beth is all empowered Editor.
      One part of my being alive and somewhat well is drafting the SL
      Then, up the reader to open and click.

      Your note is warmly received. No note necessary. I know you are there

      Roy

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