In the Middle of Winter

My daughter Sophia drew this tree last year in the middle of summer, at the office while waiting for me to finish my work. I instantly fell in love with it and wrote a poem for it soon after. Now, the middle of winter, seems the appropriate time to share it on my blog.  My sister said, "That's an Ohio winter tree, for sure!"

Solitary tree, stripped bare of adornment,

Winds revealed your bare bones, bent
Yet strong. In your stark elegance
You bow and sway in the elements --
a dancer in her crowning performance.
Do you hear the applause of the angels...
Or of anyone walking by?

U2 and Pittsburgh!

On July 26th, my kids and I went to the U2360 concert in Pittsburgh, PA.  We had looked forward to this concert for 1-1/2 years.  We were not disappointed!  We had tickets to go last year, but 2010 was the year for emergency back surgeries. (Bono's, and mine.... Pitiful how I try to find that common ground with a rock star, eh?)  

The last time I went to a U2 concert was on an autumn night in 1987 at the old Cleveland Stadium. Four Irish lads creating rock as only they can, including everything from Party Girl to Gloria, with Bono's soaring, soulful praise:

Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Exultate
Gloria
Gloria
Oh, Lord, loosen my lips.

Yep, I was hooked, big time, and long before most of America knew who they were. I've been a fan since 1985 when a college boyfriend gave me some of their early music on cassette. The band has often made me dream of going back to Ireland to maybe dance along its southern coast again (like in 1986), or meet with some friends for a Guinness, endless talk, and a few songs.  Maybe wander about the countryside taking photos, capturing stories.  Ireland is soulful, misty and mystical.   It has a rich history as a nation of scholars, and is one of the first (some say the first) to produce literature in the vernacular.  (See www.irishlanguage.net/irish/literature.asp.)   Some good-looking Irishmen, great beer, good music, and great reads?  I'm there already....at least in my mind.

Anyway, while healing from my own back surgery and looking forward to the show, I started reading more about the band, paying particular attention to the interplay between band members and their creative process.  It seems they are successful because they have faith in themselves, each other and their art; they check their individuals egos at the door; and they are committed to each other and to the process.  A process that includes, as Andrew Robinson relates, "spend[ing] days in the studio slogging through various soundscapes. Most days are long, tiring, and frustrating. It is common for the four band members to end the day with absolutely nothing to show for it. But if they remain committed to this arduous, mundane process long enough something brilliant begins to emerge." (Quote in larger context, here.  Robinson's quote is part of his larger discussion of the documentary film It Might Get Loud and the creative process in general. )  In other words, they're just like most of us - they have to work hard to get somewhere.  Still.  Writer's block?  Write through it. (I'm talking to myself, here.) 

I find the description above awfully close to one of my favorite quotes, Commit to the process; detach from the outcome.  In music, writing, painting, whatever it is you like to do, just do it, and tell your internal critic to shut up. It's not all going to be good.  But do it because you must.  Do it because it's in your DNA. Do it for the joy that comes from using and sharing God-given gifts. U2's art is often based on conversations with God.  And joy seems to ooze from their pores when they play.

The view of Pittsburgh from our Heinz Stadium seats.

Spaceship has landed!  Gorgeous.

NPR's State of the Re:Union Comes to Visit

Lake Erie at Mentor Headlands

A few weeks ago, my friend Diane Hoeptner sends me a link from Craigslist and says, "you ought to do this." "This" was an invitation from National Public Radio's State of the Re:Union show asking listeners from particular cities across the country to write a letter expressing their thoughts about their hometown or region. Sure, I'll give it a go, I said. 
 
Northeast Ohio has always been my home.  Nothing about living here is mediocre.  We roast in the summer and freeze in the winter.  In autumn, we revel in the bursting foliage, and in the spring?  Well, I count down the cold, cloud-covered days until I can get to the lake again, gaining hope as I see, finally, the leaf buds appear in the trees, the little wildflowers pop through the muddy grass.  When we're poor, we're poor (rated the poorest big city in the US in 2004), and yet we have treasures right here, among and within us, that truly can't be measured.

And so I sent in my Dear Cleveland letter to State of the Re:Union, and about a week later I received an email from its senior producer, Tina Antolini, saying that they'd be in Cleveland soon and they'd like me to read my letter for the program.  Below is that letter, recorded for them on July 25th.  It should be posted on their website (www.stateofthereunion.com) as an audio file in mid September, and may be incorporated into their broadcast, also to be aired around the same time.  I'll keep you informed!   

Dear Cleveland,

You're a beauty.  A beauty that, yes, has been abandoned by many in search of greener pastures and thicker wallets.  Nevertheless, you persevere -- you're a hard-working, gritty town, proud and tough.

Indeed, you're a tough city along a rough lake.  But you're not afraid to live with a moody Lake Erie, enduring her icy storms and Lake Effect howlings like a  husband endures a half-mad woman with PMS during a full moon.  You know she'll come around, in her time.  And she does, offering her cool tranquility during a summer's heat wave, providing a perfect place to watch the sun slip quietly below her waters, or slide down, raging, after lighting the clouds afire with pinks, oranges, and purples.

A while ago, you had enough of the Cleveland jokes.  True, you're among the poorest cities in the nation.  But, remember, you birthed rock-n-roll -- you've got soul.  And lately you have dug down deep to take pride in what other, more genteel people could already see.  Home to an thriving arts culture, your jewels include the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, University Circle, the Rock Hall of Fame, Playhouse Square, Karamu House, and a vibrant local art scene in neighborhoods like Tremont, Little Italy, Lakewood, and Waterloo.  

Art that moves the spirit is often born of pain and struggle.  Thank you, Cleveland, for offering so much that inspires my own artist’s heart.  Just as you do, I continue on. 

Sincerely,

Pat Washington

Portrait of my children by Diane Hoeptner

Created several years ago. See http://www.dianehoeptner.com/.