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#"“Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink;Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

10/23/2015

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 "Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth... these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women's empowerment. Solutions to o
ne problem must be solutions for all."
 Ban Ki-moon 


Today I woke up to water everywhere!
Rain was bucketing down, the streets flooding, small waterfalls streaming off the roof, and the sprinklers going off in the yard...( time to buy a rain sensor...)!  We have not had rain for several months, and the ground has been parched and hard, the grass yellow or nonexistent in places. Here, in Dallas, we are grateful for the rain, and it reminds me that in many parts of the world, they are not so fortunate. California is into it's umpteenth year of drought, and water restrictions are widespread. There are parts of the world where the land is so parched that nothing will grow, the land is eroding, and where clean water is a luxury. Whole communities are at risk because of insufficient safe potable water. People are dying because there is a lack of water to drink, to wash, for toilets, for crops, for cooking, for medical use.

The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society, as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015.
  • According to http://water.org, water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases, kill nearly 1 million people each year.
  • 663 million people - 1 in 10 - lack access to safe water.
  • 2.4 billion people - 1 in 3 - lack access to a toilet.
  • More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.
  • Globally, 1/3 of all schools and health care facilities lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
  • Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.

In many countries, women are responsible for finding and fetching water for their families. They walk for miles; it is back breaking work, and often they pay dearly for sources of clean water. Often the sources are contaminated, and they face a terrible choice, drinking contaminated water, or certain death if they do not drink at all.
In Africa and Asia, women and children walk an average of 3.7 miles a day just to collect water. In fact, statistics prove that Women and children bear the primary responsibility for collecting water, and spend an average of 6 hours a day, (125 million hours each day globally), collecting water for their families.

Insufficient water supplies can be blamed for malnutrition, stunting growth, and disease, and the arduous collection process interferes with time that should otherwise be spent in education, working, and learning new skills.
The impact is huge.
Women and girls in particular suffer from the effects of poor sanitation. Often they are not allowed to relieve themselves during the work or school day, or they have no where to go to the toilet, and so the impact on their urinary systems and bowel habits is detrimental, not to mention the indignity.
Eventually many girls drop out of school because of the lack of sanitation and privacy. These two main aspects of the water crisis - lack of water, and sanitation, keep women locked into a viscous circle of poverty.
They cannot earn an income if they are not educated.
Water.org works to improve the water supply and sanitation in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, by partnering with local organizations, an sustainably improving the lives of more than three million men, women and children. 
The website  http://water.org
 will give you more information and tell you how you can help if you are interested. 

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 We waste water in so many ways without even thinking. 
I should have read the forecast, and turned off the sprinkler.
We leave faucets dripping, and don't fix toilets when they should be fixed. 
Even the local water authorities "bleed" the pipes when there has been a lot of rain, and the water goes to waste.

 There are many ways in which you can personally save water, but rather than preach at you with ways in list form, I am going to attempt to summarize in poetry format for fun.
So here goes......

Water water everywhere,
but not a drop to drink
when washing up your dishes,
use a stopper in the sink

Don't leave the faucet running
to brush your teeth or shave
turn off the tap and do your share
to cut the waste and save

Use organic matter
to increase soil retention,
and rain barrels can be hooked up 
to an irrigation system

Don't leave the sprinkler running
when it's raining, or it's hot
you'll just be wasting water
and evaporate the lot

If toilets keep on flushing
then swap out your leaky throne,
or install a new ker-flaption
(I've done it on my own...)

 Take shorter showers and time them
and just for a savvy laugh
limit teenagers in your bathroom 
and you'll cut your bills by half!


​by Womensvoice1 

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So to end this blog, I would like to include two poems about water for your enjoyment.

Recycled

The glass of water you re about to drink 
Deserves a second thought, I think.
For Avogadro, oceans and those you follow
Are all involved in every swallow.
The molecules of water in a single glass
In number, at least five times, outclass
The glasses of water in stream and sea,
Or wherever else that water can be.
The water in you is between and betwixt,
And having traversed is thoroughly mixed,
So someone quenching a future thirst
Could easily drink what you drank first!
The water you are about to taste
No doubt represents a bit of waste
From prehistoric beast and bird 
A notion you may find absurd.
The fountain spraying in the park
Could well spout bits of Joan of Arc,
Or Adam, Eve, and all their kin;
You d be surprised where your drink has been!
Just think! The water you cannot retain
Will some day hence return as rain,
Or be held as the purest dew.
Though long ago it passed through you!

Written by Verne N. Rockcastle


PART II from the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1834


The Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.

And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariner's hollo!

And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.

Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!
Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:

Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt do
wn,
'
Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.


The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.

And some in dreams assurèd were
Of the Spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.

And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.
​

Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.


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"Water is the driving force of all nature.'"
Leonardo da Vinci 
​
 Have a wonderful weekend. 


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"Some of the best people in history did not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name " #Pope Francis

10/11/2015

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“Tragically, corruption in the Roman Curia — whether actual corruption or the more banal kind, like bureaucratic ineptitude and Balkanization — is as old as the Curia itself. Benedict tried mightily to reform the Curia, only to be stymied by bureaucratic trench warfare. If Francis could even marginally improve things, it would be a great legacy. “

Pascal –Emmanuel Gobry


This blog entry  is not about religion, but about change.

Pope Francis has now been in office for over two years. He has set sail in a new direction of Curia house cleaning, and pastoral restoration.   I want to talk about the changes, the before and after of Pope Francis, and his achievements since he came to the Papacy.


In my poem, The Pope and the Cardinal, ( copyright, 2014), I talk of the historical corruption in the Catholic church, using a tongue in cheek approach, and writing in the style of the Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear.

 I talk of embezzlement and the hypocrisy within the Curia, and end the poem, (quoted later in this blog,) by saying that Pope Francis has “Set sail in a different direction, to be clear and transparent and form a connection with regular folk… ” and indeed he has.

As a non-Catholic, I have watched with curiosity, and surprising approval with the way he has conducted himself and his Papal duties. I have started a sequel to the original poem, which will encompass his achievements and complete the "Vatileaks" story.

Immediately after being elected, Pope Francis has set about changing the image of the Papacy, tarnished by years of scandal.

So, I will precis the list of achievements that he has made, and then illustrate the “BF.”, (before Francis era), as opposed to the “AF.” era, with my Poem.

One of the first things that Pope Francis did was to insist on frugality in the church. He set an example to all by opting to live in a spare apartment next to St Peter’s Basilica, as opposed to the traditional Apostolic Palace. He wears simpler Vestments, and has tended to not wear the enormous and decorative hats and jeweled robes. He created a Secretariat for the Economy, to address waste and fraud, and threatened to shut down the Vatican Bank unless they showed more transparency. He cut the bonuses usually paid to the Vatican employees upon the election of a new Pope, and sacked the German Bishop who reportedly spent over $40,000,000 on a new residency.  In 2014, he used his Christmas speech to decry excess, vanity and greed.

Francis has made significant changes to address the sex abuse that has been rampant in the Catholic Church for millennia. He set up an eight member committee to advise him, has defrocked several bishops, and has met with the victims of sex crimes.
 He has denounced human trafficking, calling it a “disgrace and a crime against humanity. “
 “Human Trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity “
Pope Francis
 
Pope Francis has reversed the traditional Papal course of thinking about a number of controversial issues, including Homosexuality, abortion and divorce.
 In an interview where he was asked his stance on Homosexuality, he responded with the question, “If someone is gay, and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge? “  
While he remains anti-abortion, he has surprised Catholics, by allowing priests to grant forgiveness to women, (which is certainly a step in the right direction from than the previously practiced excommunication.)
By challenging the Synod of Bishops, he has revised the rules on marriage annulment, and made it easier for Catholics to divorce and remarry.

 He has tentatively addressed climate change, and made it clear that it is a threat to both the Catholic Church and the Earth, by issuing a 184 page report on how environmental issues put the poor of the world at risk.

He has addressed the migrant crisis in Europe, and taken in several families to the Vatican. He sent a message to the world, encouraging parishes to take in at least one migrant family, and asked for compassion towards those in need of shelter.

 He has broken tradition in the ritual of foot washing on a Thursday, by including women, Muslims, and prisoners in this humble ministry, and has advocated for interfaith dialogue between Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders.
​

 So far, Pope Francis has shown that he intends to continue to set a new compass for the course of the Vatican ship, and that is a huge step in the right direction in my opinion. 
"Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good... Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place." Pope Francis 

"We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love.
Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded, and preach peace."
​Pope Francis



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The Pope and the Cardinal, by Susan Golden, Copyright 2013

From the author, "Reader's discretion advised"
This Ballad is based on true facts, tho' disguised
As, "Loosey and Goosey," from our feathered friends
A disclaimer is issued for how the tale ends
It mimics the style of Ed Lear and Carol
And exposes the Vatican over a Barrel
 
 
The Pope and the Cardinal went to sea
In a beautiful fish-shaped boat
They took some gold, and riches untold,
Wrapped up in a Lira note
 
The Pope at the helm began to bless and to pray
He flung incense and pomp o'er the bow
The fledglings got bored and started to play
While the Pope, blessed by God, took his vow
 
They sailed away into History and haze
To the land of the Dodo's precinct
They partied and drank, till the boat almost sank
And the masses were all hoodwinked, hoodwinked
And the Dodos became extinct
 
The ship was a fortress of uncommon might
With Cockerels and Roosters all ready to fight
Females excluded to keep the deck chaste
Yet Sparrows eluded to wide- spread debase
 
They hoarded their assets with cunning and stealth
They lived double lives and amassed lots of wealth
Absolute power became Papal norm
The supreme judge and legislator was born
 
Said the Finch to the Pope, "you Clerical folk
You're clever to sever all ties
You are now quite supreme, with your catachismic scheme
"Don't ask,don't tell",and your lies."
 
"I hear talk said the Hawk," as they sailed through corruption
Let’s double our standards without interruption!
"Cronyism is King", as he kissed the Pope's ring
And stooped with a glint in his eyes, his eyes
And bowed like a priest in disguise
 
The debauchery thrived, and sailed in full throws
There were Twitters concerning a murder of crows
with escorts unnamed, the factions untamed
And Hippocrates wearing priests clothes, priests clothes
And Hippocrates wearing priest's clothes
 
Then a well-meaning Warbler let Tweet from his tongue
"The Cuckoo was witnessed molesting it's young!"
The flock it fell silent, and surrounded the fowl,
who showed no remorse, with a sulk and a scowl,
They disguised him in feathers to look like a Pheasant,
And he skulked away, smelling clean and quite pleasant
 
All this deflected from crime and oppression
The meaning of God, and the time for confession
Instead they were tempted with selfish advancement
Without a concern for spiritual enhancement
 
Said the Duck to the Drake, "This Kirk's on the make"
"The boat's rife with corruption and scandal"
The Drake quacked and bowed, "No females allowed,"
It was more than the old Drake could handle
For all this corruption and Papal demise
The Emperor's clothes, too real for his eyes
 
The Butler he leaked and went for the Scoop
The old Pope he balked and flew out the coop
All this disillusion, confusion, his church,
He took a step towards heaven, and fell off his perch
The bank it froze assets for laundering washing
The boat was exposed for its' evidence squashing
 
So a crisis ensued and the boat went off course
An investigation was launched and a Papal Task-force
Eighteen birds testified, each from the inside
Some conflicted, evicted, and no one could hide
 
So after informants went to the Press
There was pressure from high up to clean up the mess
A new Pope was chosen to take to the Helm
The chimney belched white smoke to smudge out the Realm
 
Pope Francis set sail in a different direction
To be clear and transparent and form a connection
with regular folk who need love and affection
He's dredging the mud from the Holy Sea
To reclaim the Curia's honesty
 
He put down the keel to keep the boat steady
Some offending flock are defrocked already
And more heads will roll as he searches his soul
And he resets the compass for the Papal role
 
So here lies the end of this Vatileaks tale
The Cardinal's role has now passed to the quail
The scene ends with Pope Francis facing into the Gale.......
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 If you enjoyed this poem, and would like to read more of my work, you may download my  illustrated and narrated i Book "The Moon of Compassion" at the following link.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-moon-of-compassion/id892598396?mt=11
​
(A free sample is available, but the poems are not complete, and the audio is not available in the free sample. )
​Have a wonderful week. 
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    Susan Golden

    Born, raised and educated in Cornwall, England., Sue moved to America in 1981.
    After many years of life experience, her first bookof poetry for social change, is published. Available on iBooks.
     https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-moon-of-compassion/id892598396?mt=11

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