THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR ACTIONS AND SURVIVING NATURE’S WRATH

 

A series of essays….

SUNSET AS SEEN FROM THE BEACH ON CAPTIVA ISLAND

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Once again, you forgot to put the dog on a short leash to take her outside for her morning constitutional. Once again, you paid big time for it. When will you learn? I know, you’ll be asking yourself that same question over and over again and answering it in the very same way the next time she pulls you outside the front door, slamming your left hand against the glass at what seemed like one-hundred miles per hour…

Consequences. Yes, we bear the consequences and must accept the responsibility for our actions as the result of them. Even when we’re forgetful enough to erase the memory of the pain these activities precipitated; the swollen, black and blue left hand, the result of meeting the glass head on, rendering you helpless, forcing you to slink down the front stoop in absolute pain after transferring the handle of the leash to the right hand. 

The sound of flesh and bone hitting the glass with such ferocity that you immediately looked around the neighborhood thinking that someone else must have heard it. Someone will surely step out of their door to see what caused such a loud commotion as you double over in unimaginable ‘hurt’ with the dog pulling your right arm straight out and your already purple left hand clutched to your chest before you work up the nerve to splay it out and gingerly check for broken bones. Someone must have, at least, heard your shocked scream with its tearful results as you trailed the dog into the backyard—oblivious to the consequences of her own actions.

MY NASTY, NASTY BRUISE!

Underestimating the strength of your puppy creates negative consequences just as underestimating the power and sheer force that pushes a major hurricane along towards the destruction of property and life down its path. Hurricane Ian sits right off the Gulf shoreline with its eye making landfall near our beloved Sanibel Island. Ian is playing ‘ugly’ with sustained winds of 155 MPH and wind gusts reaching 190 MPH equaling a category 4 hurricane. These are numbers too high to even imagine. The imminent destruction to property and lives (if you have not evacuated by now) is the consequence of your non action and will be catastrophic in proportion. 

Having lived in Orlando from early 1997 through August of 2018 and personally experiencing quite a few hurricanes in that span of time, let me say that they are certainly no picnic to live through. The 2004 hurricane season hit Orlando like a nonstop freight train barreling down the tracks, spawning tornadoes in their aftermath. Charley relocated a large live oak tree in our neighbor’s backyard by unceremoniously tossing it into ours.

Charley, Ivan, Frances, and Jeanne, names I’ll never forget, took aim at Central Florida in rapid succession and spread their ugliness across the state between August 13 and September 26, 2004. The windowless main bedroom closet, equipped with a battery operated radio, became a retreat and sanctuary. Our Cocker Spaniel, Brûlée, was so used to this space that he would find his way into the closet during normal thunder storms for many months afterwards. 

The physical act of covering all windows with plywood and having to live in candlelight and flashlight glow day and night, filling the bathtub with water, packing the car in the garage with our most precious possessions, and backing our truck snuggly against the outside of the garage door in the hopes of preventing the door from blowing inwards— all reflect the preparation of hunkering down before a hurricane passes through. With any luck, all of this hard work will pay off or, at least, the worst of it will pass by you and the sun will come out again the following morning. Did I mention that all of these hurricanes happened long after the sun set and on into the very early hours of the morning? The secrets in the dark haunt us forever.

Ian, a very slow moving disaster, is going to crawl across Florida for the next several days while flooding this low-lying state via initial storm surge and potential rainfall. Charley, Ivan, Frances, and Jeanne moved swiftly by us with minimal flooding. This one will be different. Every morning, following each storm, large parking facilities of lineman from all over the country were waiting outside the main storm areas to do their job by restoring our power. Ian, I’m afraid, is going to keep the lineman busy for quite some time.

My heart aches regarding the potential destruction of my beautiful Sanibel Island and Captiva Island while landfall is making its way even as I type. We purchased a timeshare unit on Sanibel while visiting there on our tenth wedding anniversary years ago and enjoyed wonderful family vacations at Sanibel Cottages until moving permanently to Florida when we, eventually, sold our unit. This area is among the most picturesque in the state and draws people there from all over the world. We were exulted at having been able to purchase a small piece of paradise and create amazing family memories for many years.

Watching the official correspondence out of Washington D.C., President Biden recently spoke to the people in danger of damages and loss due to Ian and verbalized the federal government’s intent to be there for them via FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. My fervent hope is that, politics aside, the governor of Florida and the president will work to evaporate their differences and secure the means required in order to assist the people of Florida after Ian moves on. President Biden warned that raising gas prices by major oil companies after the hurricane will not be tolerated and action may be taken if this happens. How important recovery will be after such a major hurricane sheds its devastating impacts on Florida and beyond.

Lessons are learned after every storm and every storm can be entirely different. I do understand that no matter who you are or where you live, disaster can strike at any time. Natural disasters can place us in survival mode and impact multiple people at once with great speed and precision. Cooperation with one another is the ticket to survival. That’s a major lesson learned while living in Florida all of those years. You learn to appreciate the beauty of the land, as well as respect all of the possibilities that come with it. 

BEAUTIFUL, COLORFUL
SANIBEL ISLAND

Every action has its very own consequences. These past few days have made me even more aware of this as I recall fond memories of Sanibel Island, as well as a painful slam into a glass door leaving a wicked bruise on the back of my left hand. (Bree fails to understand her own strength and how it can affect all of us.) As the eye of Hurricane Ian makes landfall, I shiver to think of its consequences on the people and landscape of Central Florida. 

I wish everyone the opportunity to ride this storm out safely and experience a positive outcome when all is said and done. Storms of this magnitude are not to be second guessed or trifled with. Stay safe people of Florida. Live to tell your grandchildren how you survived Hurricane Ian back in September of 2022!

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

ALMOST FIFTY YEARS AND HAPPILY COUNTING

 

A series of essays….

A SHARED AGREEMENT MARKING THE 
BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFETIME:
LOVING KINDNESS - COMPASSION
EQUANIMITY - JOY EQUAL TRUE LOVE!

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

I tend to write about stories on subjects that interest me even though my readers aren’t particularly keen on the subject. Case in point: marriage longevity. Since this topic tends to outline my world right now, I will proceed by blending my words gently into the soft folds and multi-angled layers of reality; a truth and consequences reality that shapes us into the human beings that we are and the human beings we hope to become.

Okay, we did it! Forty-nine married years later we have remained calm (well, for the most part) and carried on through thick and thin and everything in between. I’m quite proud of us, actually. There are others who, given the many trials and tribulations encountered in nearly five decades of married life, would have and did just walk away—never to look back again, with no regrets whatsoever and no accounting for the effort and time it takes to enter into marriage in the first place.

Granted, since I don’t live down in a dark hole, I understand that some marriages were never meant to be and the realization of this is to know when to walk away as calmly as possible (hopefully, before having children), create space, and go on with life within a kinder, healthier atmosphere. To all of you, I award hero status because continuing to live a lie is never a healthy scenario.

Going into marriage with the realization that nobody is perfect, especially yourself, and trying to create a good life together while retaining your own individualist qualities is a challenge we all face after (and before) saying these two words, ‘I do.’ No one is truly prepared for the commitment required to keep this union thriving until you commit to living with someone 24/7 for the rest of your life.

The rest of your life—this may sound like a death-knell for some. For others, it signifies comfort and stability. 

Whether we begin our marital journey blissfully, chaotically, or,

solely by contract—we have agreed to honor ourselves by honoring another within a lifelong pledge to love and be responsible for the well-being of one another. If we are committed to a strong foundation, this show of obligation will become a desired theme throughout the marriage and both parties will discover, one way or another, how to make this happen. Wedding vows were never meant to be taken lightly.

And this is exactly why it took me nearly four years to say, “Yes, I will marry you!” Stubborn, perhaps. Afraid, not in the least? Insecure, more likely. Tossed between desiring a solid, stable way of life including all of the obligations and outcomes of being a wife, a husband, we were both quite young. Did we really know what we were doing? Did we know what to expect? I believe we did. Hence my apprehensions. I had such lofty ambitions career wise and society was dictating that they would never transpire if I placed being married before a career. I wasn’t certain I could do both, especially after having children.

Dan always seemed to understand what he wanted from life. Just as college groomed his career, marrying me, he believed,  would align his world with the huge push forward towards peace, cooperation, family, and happiness. He never counted on the stubborn lass he chose to marry! Or, perhaps by now, he did. I was the writer, soon to be world traveler, the possible stewardess (flight attendant), committed francophile, and everything else that made me who I was and the person I always needed to be. I was the romantic who fell in love with the realist. 

My make believe world often collided with his stronghold on reality. What do they say about opposites attracting one another? Let me walk this back a little and say that a wee bit of fear may have crossed my mind the first three times he asked me to marry him. 

Just as the Trump (I did not just type that name!!!) legal staff was told by the special master, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too!,” I gave into true love after four years and four proposals and believed that everything else I’d longed for would, eventually, fall into place. 

We have traveled to places that my heart desired to see for many years. We climbed a mountain in Ireland, taken our two daughters on a four country, European journey while initiating the so-called ‘travel bug’ into their life itineraries, met lifelong friends in France and Ireland, and deliberately immersed ourselves into the cultural aspects of every place we visited. And, I have had ample opportunity to collect enough amazing memories for my writing to last—well, to last until the next journey we take if and when we can feel comfortable doing so. COVID-19 has rocked the travel world big time and now we must learn to adjust, believe, and move forward even if it’s with baby steps.

So, next year will mark a milestone anniversary for us. Fifty years isn’t too shabby considering we’ve been fortunate enough to be quite healthy along the way. I pray we stay so blessed. Marking time by age/anniversaries is truly just a number when things run smoothly and everything adds up to be in working order. Encouraged by a world coming to terms with a pandemic that has devastated so many families in its wake, we will continue to get our various boosters and hope that most of the world’s population does, as well.

Reintroducing myself to the wonderful poet, essayist, and author, David Whyte, on social media, I recently came across his words defining the word BEGINNING from CONSOLATIONS: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. I leave you with an excerpt from his brilliant interpretation of the word beginning as I recognize it after almost fifty years of riding the roller coaster of married life.  And, a solid foundation was built… 

“BEGINNING

well or beginning poorly, what is important is simply to begin, but the ability to make a good beginning is almost close to an art form: beginning well involves a clearing away of the confusing, the irrelevant and the complicated to find the beautiful, often hidden lineaments of the essential and the necessary.”

—David Whyte and Many Rivers Press 

Thank you, David.

Dan and I may just be working on something very special for the BIG 50 next September! We’re both pretty psyched about it! Specific details to follow in a later post.

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

SPECIFIC FACES NEED NOT APPLY: Shelby, Where Are You?

 

A series of essays….

SISTERHOOD FROM THE SERIES: THE COURAGEOUS 
BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

The world remains vast, marvelous, hopeful, and somber at times, especially at the death of one of the strongest and most forthright woman ever to be illuminated in the public spotlight for over seven decades. Queen Elizabeth II.

Due to this vastness of land and its peoples that comprise a world meant to be thoroughly discovered, those of us who enjoy becoming a temporary part of a place, domestic or international, are rejoicing! Doors are opening up for all of us, once again. Whether literally or within our own way of thinking, these doors may still be creaking a bit due to lost time and lack of usage but, their sound is growing louder as the opportunities keep emerging. We are lost souls following the light from a newly opened cellar door; joy to be had in the discovery of stored, fine wine to be served during better days and shared with family and friends. 

While reading and understanding more about the dedicated life of Queen Elizabeth II to her subjects on social media, I came across the artwork of the American contemporary artist, Shelby McQuilkin, and fell, instantly, in love with her work. And, eventually, with the artist herself. 

THE COURAGEOUS BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

Her painting, The Courageous, was “dedicated to the courageous women who went before us and did what they said we couldn’t do, who went where we weren’t permitted, who spoke when we were told to be silent. This is for the women who suffered to make way for those of us who came behind them. It’s for the suffragettes who were beaten, arrested, and rejected by their families so that I would be given the right to vote. It is for those who had to work a hundred times harder than a man for that first medical degree, first pilot’s license, first director’s chair, and first senate seat. Thank you to the women who have shown courage under fire, who have persevered, taken the hits and made the path a little easier. We can take courage in your example.”  —-Shelby McQuilkin 

We can ALL take courage in their example!

I am intrigued by, not only her artwork, but by her direct and obvious words of praise for generation after generation of women who helped to shape and bring the power of womanhood out of the dark ages and into the light. I began reading her Blog entitled Wet Paint in order to learn more about her. I discovered that she began her Blog two months before I did in 2013 in order to promote her amazing talent and keep in touch with her fans. (My Blog, Moving On…2022, began in October of 2013, with the purpose of expressing the joy I gained from all of my travels.)

SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

While reading Wet Paint I discovered why so many of her fans wondered where she had been for several years after her abrupt disappearance in 2017. Curiously, her last posts, Returning to the Easel (August 10, 2018) and Growing Strong (August 11, 2018), remain the last on her blog site.

Shelby herself goes on to explain how, on July 1, 2017, she’d suffered a heart attack, possibly induced by the repetitive use of Advil. While experiencing extreme stress in her life, she said she’d temporarily given up painting in order to concentrate on becoming healthier through eating well and exercise. 

ITZCHAK TARKAY ~ INK AND WATERCOLOR 

STARVING ARTISTS GROUP ~ ACRYLIC PAINTS

I promised myself to make contact with Shelby McQuilkin, if at all possible, via email, her Blog, Website, and let her know that there are many of us who truly appreciate her abstract figurative, colorful, contemporary artwork that is so expressive and filled to the brim with the power of sisterhood.

What drew me to her piece, The Courageous, was her effective use of anonymity or impersonality created by her abstract figurative pieces. (When I discovered her series about Paris from 2014, I was hooked for life.) If you are familiar with the artist, Itzchak Tarkay, you will notice his subjects are female and have minimal and undefined facial features. Often, with their eyes closed, these ladies, for me, represent colorful neutrality allowing the observer to insert her/his own beloved faces onto the subjects in the paintings. While living in Orlando, Florida, we purchased several ‘Tarkay-like’ paintings of woman lounging together with unidentifiable faces, eyes closed, that had been for sale by the ‘starving artists’ group in the area. These paintings became a focal point on my family room walls offering bright colors, maternal comfort, and insight into the world around us.

THE PARISIANS BY SHELBY MCQUILKIN 

McQuilkin wrote extensively about her love of travel and The Parisians became a part of her series on France released in November of 2014. “I feel that travel is important, especially for an artist,” she explains. “We find new inspiration and fresh perspective with a change of landscape. Our world view expands; a view of the world that is different from our own. Travel challenges us. We are challenged  with a different language. Traveling educates us. History, art, geography, politics. You can learn so much about other places. Travel changes us. New motivation, new perspectives on life, and a renewed vision in our eyes.”

Writing about the above ideas regarding the positive aspects of travel is why I began my own Blog nearly a decade ago. As long as my love of travel exists, Moving On… will exist, and I am very proud of all of the effort that goes into keeping it alive week after week, year after year. I truly believe that travel can breathe new life into all of us.

I congratulate artists, including Itzchak Tarkay, Shelby McQuilkin, and all of my ‘starving artists’ who elevate the power and intelligence of woman by giving them a strong and colorful voice within their powerful artistic endeavors. They have given us a view of the world that is very important, stimulating, and in tune with reality: women are strong and always have been and will continue to make headways into a world that has been dominated by male voices and ideas for far too long.

GROWING STRONG

OUT OF THE ASHES

TWO PAINTINGS DEPICTING THE ARTIST AS 
GROWING STRONGER AND HEALTHIER

My hope is that with our new expansion of world views through art and travel, we will be enticed to come together with one voice, united and focused. We will be able to attach our own faces of woman we know and admire to the abstract figurative individuals depicted by these artists and honor every woman who has, is, and will contribute to a Sisterhood that everyone is proud of. Woman from all over the globe— unite with restored motivation, cooperative perspectives on life, and renewed vision in our eyes!

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

COMMITMENT

 

A series of essays….

I WILL COMMIT TO LEARN THE FLOATING, BIRD-LIKE 
FLUIDITY OF EACH TAI CHI POSTURE

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Tonight we begin a twelve-week Tai Chi program for beginners. I am excited, nervous, and a bit apprehensive all at the same time and for reasons I will elaborate on a bit later.

For now, we’re trying to find soft, loose, cotton clothing and our flattest soled shoes in order to make our debut in class. Since our move up here from Florida, many items of clothing remain boxed, packed into plastic tubs, or hung-up in our makeshift closet upstairs. It’s like playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek when trying to locate a particular item we remember possessing over four years ago but didn’t need again until now.

Some years ago, Dan and I decided to incorporate yoga into our lives and researched local Orlando instructors and found, Krista. Brilliant and young, Krista was a marvel of flexibility and genuine love. We visited her petite studio once a week, mats in hand, stretched and held positions with the best of them, and brought our newfound knowledge home with us to practice each night before the living room couch; our Cocker Spaniel, Brûlée, neatly snuggling into our elongated and outstretched arms and legs.

We were enjoying the commitment we’d made to ourselves in finding a meditative, physical activity that would, hopefully, replenish and strengthen our bodies and minds for the rest of our lives. (I’ve committed to my meditative process for many years and wouldn’t live without it if I tried.)

The pettiness of our decision to leave Krista and yoga instruction leaves me quite embarrassed. I always took pride in admitting that anything physical (exercise, working, walking, and yoga classes) remained possible in the heat of Central Florida only because we had the choice of being saturated by air conditioning throughout its application. Oh, yes! This was our way of coping with the heat and humidity, and it always seemed to work. 

Walking into Krista’s studio one Thursday evening around six weeks into the program, we realized the temperature inside was quizzically similar to the heat we had just escaped from on the outside. Placing our thin mats on the floor, we began our warm-up exercises and then smoothly transitioned into our programmed routine with perspiration encapsulating our bodies and a rosy shade of red spreading across my face. It was hot! Thus was our introduction to Hot Yoga with Krista setting the heat at around 85 degrees. (Doesn’t she love us anymore?)

Having a problem with an easily overheated core temperature which turns me into the shade of red reserved for a live lobster after being plunged into boiling water, it was difficult to continue; eliminating toxins be damned! We survived one more class after this with Krista insisting that the temperature of her little studio match that of a Florida summer day, no exceptions. I wimped out. Held the L-shaped finger logo up to my forehead and went home with my tail between my legs. 

Anyway, short of walking sandy beaches with the breeze bouncing off of our sun-drenched bodies, being too hot has never been my forte. Having a crystal clear, turquoise swimming pool to plunge into in our backyard had been my guilty pleasure for eleven years and I enjoyed doing just that almost everyday; swimming laps and exercising within the coolness of our pebble-tech pond. 

So, as we approach our initial Tai Chi class, clad in soft, loose clothing and flat-soled shoes and before the crispness of the autumn air or the chill of the first snowfall wraps its frosty arms around us, I will be grateful to see a few of our good friends in class with us tonight. Their support and kindness will be as welcome as a cool, spring breeze or a summertime of delicious Michigan landscapes. Together we will embrace our commitment to Beginners Tai Chi. I will learn the floating, bird-like fluidity of each organic Tai Chi posture and accept the love that surrounds me via family and friends. I will commit to the twelve weeks we signed-up for and do it with joy and happiness in my heart…

Has anyone even heard of ‘Hot Tai Chi?’ Please tell me you haven’t!

Words of Wisdom: I will never settle for a cabinet full of pills.

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved