Small Voices

This morning I slept in--until almost 7 AM! I am on Spring Break, after all, and I did have a late night driving home from DC after the opening of the film OKA! Amerikee and a reception afterwards.

The film was a whimsical portrayal of Louis Sarna's memoir about life with a village of Bayaka people--whimsical, but still making clear the many challenges that threaten the lifestyle of these hunter-gatherers in central Africa. I was very impressed with how the director, Lavinia Currier, managed to convey both the joys and the threats.

I also enjoyed this exhibit at the National Gallery. Much food for thought about how we create ourselves; about how men imagine women and themselves; about how artists grow through their work. Nothing small about his voice; larger than life. It's there through June 5.

So today I stayed home and set to work organizing our finances and tackling Turbo Tax 2010. So many papers, folders, calculations. By 3 PM my mind was fried.

I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air and heard spring peepers peeping down in the pond. Realizing that I had no earrings on my lobes, I ran up the spiral staircase to snag a pair of frogs, and headed down the path to the pond.

I've owned this pair of frog fishing-lure earrings for a long time. I recall gazing at them in wonder, and announcing to my companion, "Oh, look! I have to buy those!"

They look happy there!     

One of them lost a leg quite a few years ago when I pulled a sweatshirt over it. You will hear no mutant frog jokes from me. Not this week. Not with fears of radioactivity as Japan struggles with its nuclear nightmare.

I find joy in the knowledge that the peepers are peeping here.