Take Me Back to the Country

                               Take Me Back to the Country

Happy Childhood in the Country

“Joyful moments of childhood are most precious, ephemeral yet eternal. The child in each one of us lives on to the golden years of life.” avr

Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Happy Childhood in the Country, acrylic on canvas (58” x 33”)

AVRotor 2019

Take me back to the country far away from the city,
where sound is music, nature's canvas the landscape,
where the mountains, meadows and rivers are green;
where there are no walls, roofs, and bars to escape.

Take me back to the country far away from the crowd,
where I'm not just a part, where I am myself again;
where there is no high rise, where the cottage reigns,
where home is nature as I open the window pane.

Take me back to the country far away from forgetting,
the cheerful child in me many, many years back;
flying kites at harvest time, fishing in the summer,
where school is far, yet learning is not what I lack.

Take me back to the country far away from the town,
where cars can't follow, where affluence has no place;
where commerce is simple, where wealth is not gold,
where living is not a show, where every meal a grace.

Take me back to the country far away from the race,
where I can compete best with myself, not with others;
where I can learn more the ways of nature, not of men;
where civilization begins once more at its borders. ~

Early Sunset at Paraiso ni Juan (Article in Progress)

Early Sunset at Paraiso ni Juan 

Dr Abe V Rotor

 "I found a new meaning of life to share,

as a guardian children will never forget." - avr

Early Sunset at Paraiso ni Juan, on-the-spot painting in acrylic by the author, 1992

That was 35 years ago by the sea,

I was then 50 - half a century old,

retired and spent, forlorn and lonely,

the sunset of life in its firm hold.

With paint and brush I faced the world,

with a canvas, white and empty;

with the sun peeping, spying on me;

of what to paint of my life's story.

Blue - but the sky was turning gray,

and the sea was losing its peace,

silvery clouds had tinge of bronze,

the wind no longer a gentle breeze.

I sought for comfort like in a trough,

amidst nature's magnificent view,

with a sense of peace and surrender,

but is life worthy with this duo?

Life begins at 40 or 50, they say,

compliments of action anew;

half-way finished, half-way to go,

I took a leap to enshrine the view. 

 

          

Painting was exhibited with other works of the author at the National Library MM,

 from May 28 to June 6, 1992. Detail of painting shows early sunset on West Philippine Sea, April 26, 1992. 

Reflection gets deeper and farther with age,

looking back, and looking into the future,

if I have more years to live, page by page,

I'd write an epilogue for more adventure.

At the crossroad of life, where prudence reigns,

only then I saw the golden glow of sunset,

and found a new meaning of life to share,

as a guardian children will never forget.

  

 

V-shape perspective of human life, vis-a-vis levels of happiness by age. 

Graph from 50 Truths about Life at 50, Christi Andrus Coach. 

Acknowledgement with gratitude.

  Not fate at all this proverbial valley of life,
as we continue with our lifetime journey;
 a singular gift indeed our Creator bestows
on us - happiness through life's beauty. ~

Author's Note:  Practice and present in school or community gathering as poetry reading with musical background of Beyond the Sunset (instrumental version).  Vary the presentation to enhance the theme and significance according to your needs and setting. Record (video and audio) for review, and for other occasions.   

Let's Revive the Wishbone Game

 Let's Revive the Wishbone Game

For centuries, people regarded the wishbone 

as a symbol of luck, hope, and good fortune.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Next time you dress a chicken or any fowl (duck, turkey) or bird like quail or pigeon,  save the wishbone whole and clean it well. In a restaurant or fast food counter, have your fried chicken served whole, instead of having it chopped. Play the wishbone game right on the table with friends. Or have fun with your family at home. Let us revive an ancient game lost in our time.     

Author holds a chicken wishbone or furcula. 

When was the last time you played the wishbone game?

That must have been a long, long time ago, if at all.

An old game for two among friends, more so in the family,

Play it fair and Lady Luck will guide you to your goal.

Enlarged image of a chicken wishbone, and how the game is played.  

Chicken anatomy showing the location of the wishbone or furcula.

* The wishbone or furcula (Latin for "little fork"; pl. furculae) is a forked bone found in most birds. For centuries, people regarded the wishbone as a symbol of luck, hope, and good fortune. It takes two to play the game, slowly pulling the fork apart  until it breaks.  The one holding the unbroken stem wins. But win or lose, players believe in the magic of the wishbone bringing good health and cheer. ~ 

Give a Second Life to Spent Pens. Refill! (Article in progress)

Give a Second Life to Spent Pens.  Refill! 

  Clean up your desk and your home. Clean up Nature and save.  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Spent ball pens, marker pens and pencil stubs constitute a major waste in offices, homes and schools. Give them a second life, o to speak.  Refill.

 

Green pen - refillable with spare cartridge. These expensive ball pens need new cartridge after the original one has been spent. Substitute brands are cheaper. Ask your school and office suppliers.

Thousands of ball pens - millions actually, all over the globe, prematurely become useless. They die ahead of their time, so to speak, and we just don't give them decent burial. They are simply thrown away for nature to take over their demise. But they are non-biodegradable. They'll never decompose and become part of Nature's way of recycling them for the next generation.

Which lead us to a challenge.  For our part as users the most practical way is to refill. Ball pens are generally refillable. Many are built to outlive their writing element, in like manner guns are built for long use. There are of course, use-and-throw-away types. Avoid these if you can. Otherwise you fall into the tender trap of planned obsolescence, a ploy of many manufacturers.  

Expensive ball pens can be refilled for a lifetime. And there are substitute brands which are relatively cheaper than the original. One advantage to have a brand of your choice and use it regularly is that your penmanship remains the same. This is ergonomics which enhances natural feel in the use of the instrument. Your writing style becomes consistent. So with your signature. Look how beautiful your notes are.

 Start a campaign in your school or community. Have a supplier of ball pen fillers. And have a refilling session. This is a practical campaign to save money and to save nature. This will send a strong message to unscrupulous manufacturers.

Refillable marker pens

The art of gleaning extends far and wide, and now with pencils (and capless ballpens) thrown away before their time is up - why not give them another chance?

Simply wrap up, roll over each one a colorful, pliant paper from handouts and color magazines, and there you have made a beautiful piece of art!

Pencil stubs once more fit for writing - oh, how precious they are to you their savior; they have defied the category of waste for the duration of their second life; 

Like scabbards you sheath an unassuming dagger, saving someone from getting stabbed on the skin or in the eye, in a simple act of  "prevention by protection" principle.

Why didn't the manufacturer think of that? To provide safety caps to pencils before they reach the market, to warn of danger to school kids, and grownups too? 

There is meaning in small things, we do -  a bit of economy, a little ingenuity, a simple expression of beauty, a little act of goodness -  and a little prayer.~

"A thing of beauty is a boy forever."

"A thing of beauty is a boy forever."*

Wall Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

“Happy times come and go, but the best childhood memories stay forever.” — Anonymous

"How I wish the day longer, and summer

on the seashore and hills forevermore;

 and keep childhood in a land of fantasy,

 where life is carefree and truly happy." 

 - avr

 “Childhood memories are the sweetest memories of the past.” — Anonymous

 "My childhood friends - my brother and the sea,

a world complete, there'll never be like any;

 eternal it seems, though ephemeral as dawn,

  as I walk this way but once, but never alone."

- avr

“When we are old and failing, it is the memories of childhood which can be summoned most clearly.” — Dan Simmons

 "I catch the clouds in the wind blowing

  on my face and hair, cool and soothing.

  I wonder where have all the birds gone,

  from the blue sky before the day is done."

                        - avr

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to my childhood and capture all those happy memories.” — Anonymous

  

"In my sunset years, I have missed the sea,

    save the beautiful, sweet scenes of memory;

  every passing breeze carries an old melody,

    there by the sea - a happy boy that was me."

- avr

 "Every happy memory created in childhood is a treasure of time.” — Anonymous

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*A thing of beauty is a boy forever is a joyful modification of A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. by John Keats, English poet (1795-1821).

Neo-Impressionism in Our Times: A School of Fish Meets Dawn

 Neo-Impressionism in Our Times

A School of Fish Meets Dawn 

Painting and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

"For an Impressionist to paint from nature is not to paint the subject, but to realize sensations."- Paul Cezanne

"It took some time before the public learned that to appreciate an Impressionist painting one has to step back a few yards, and enjoy the miracle of seeing these puzzling patches suddenly fall into one place and come to life before our eyes." - Ernst Gombrich

Evolution of art from Lascaux **

to avant-garde  of today,

across cultures and continents,

ages, epochs, if I may say. 

Charcoal, acrylic to electronics,

and through the lens seen;

ephemeral like seasons passings,

lost to AI and machine.

And I, in my sunset years yearn

 for the schools of old anew;

like my fish stirring to the dawn;

 for art is a passing review. 

Camouflaged in red

for offence and defence;

 survival of the fittest

tells the fate of the rest.

 

"Impressionism means taking inspiration directly from nature, trusting your senses rather than what you think you know."- Michael McClure

Dali, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso -

trailblazers in the art world;

opened a horizon wide and wild,

however distorted and crude.

 

Micro-plastic-smoke-fog - plasmog,

acid rain and pollution blur my vision;

I grope for a new art, and school,

reborn from some old impression.

 

Neo-impressionism in our times,

its roots from a brief experience

persist on our busy lane and time; 

with some respect and reverence. 

"It isn't an easy job to paint oneself - at any rate if it is to be different from a photograph. And you see - this, in my opinion, is the advantage that impressionism possesses over all the other things; it is not banal, and one seeks after a deeper resemblance than the photograph.
Vincent Van Gogh
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* Neo-Impressionism (approx. 1886–1906) was a French avant-garde art movement led by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac that rejected the spontaneous, empirical approach of Impressionism. It utilized scientific, systematic methods—specifically Divisionism (separated, contrasting colors) and Pointillism (tiny dots)—to achieve maximum luminosity and vibrant, structured, and often socially-engaged compositions. AI Overview

** Lascaux is a world-renowned Paleolithic cave complex in southwestern France (Dordogne) containing17,000–20,000-year-old, exceptionally preserved prehistoric paintings and engravings, known as the "Sistine Chapel of Prehistory,"

Goodbye Amihan, Goodbye. "Hanggang sa Muli, Amihan."

Goodbye Amihan*, Goodbye

"Hanggang sa Muli, Amihan."

Living with Nature Center 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Photographs by Dr Abe V Rotor

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” 

- Albert Camus, French philosopher and author.

Talisay or Lugo' (Ilk), also known as Umbrella Tree (Terminalia catappa) is fondly called "Autumn Tree in the Tropics."  True to its description, the tree has uniform spreading branches that form an umbrella crown.  Being deciduous, come amihan season or autumn, the leaves turn yellow, orange, red, and ultimately, brown, as they fall off and form a litter on the ground. 

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.”― Chad Sugg

“The heart of autumn must have broken here, and poured its treasure upon the leaves.” ― Charlotte Bates

Deep red leaf showing intricate venation as viewed against the sun, 

- a unique foliar characteristic of talisay or lugo'.  .   

Autumn Leaves*

The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall.

* Autumn Leaves is the English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song Les Feuilles mortes (The Dead Leaves) composed by Joseph Kosma, a Hungarian composer in 1945. Autumn Leaves is among the favorites songs in the oldies by Nat King Cole.

Lugo' trees get occasional pruning to induce formation of new crown, but more importantly, to reduce risk of typhoon damage to the surrounding area, and to the tree itself. Photo taken at the Center.

"Autumn… the year’s last, loveliest smile." 

— William Cullen Bryant

"Remnants of amihan cling to the tree,

now cinders dying, bidding goodbye;

 consoling in tears, Hanggang sa muli,

     under its new crown, pleads don't cry."

- AVR

   

Fallen leaves pile up after confetti for days,

blanket of the earth, abode of crawlers,

mulch, compost, against flood and drought;

mysterious indeed are our Creator's ways

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." — Emily Brontë

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*Amihan refers to the Northeast Monsoon in the Philippines, a season characterized by cool, dry air and winds blowing from the northeast.