Antipodeans

Greetings,

On a fine sunny yesterday Sunday a team of 15 brilliant volunteer Australian teachers from Antipodeans Abroad traveled 50 km into the countryside to visit Kranlanh. This is Kunn's village and the site of My Grandfather's House, being transformed into a small school for local children since last September. 

The teachers' role for two weeks is teacher training with local Khmer teachers in Siem Reap. Thirteen volunteer nurses are busy conducting heath checks and providing medical assistance in local villages.

The teachers stopped in a nearby village and transferred to ox carts. They rolled through villages and into massive open dry and dusty Cambodian fields. Horizons extended forever. Everyone swallowed billowing delicious dust. They were in the center of a huge open plain. Under a blazing sun and turquoise canvas painted with small white clouds they rocked, they rolled, passing villagers harvesting straw for feed. Boys fished in small lotus lakes.

They forded streams as hooves labored, pulling huge mud slicked spoked wheels grinding out a hollow form. They reached the edge of the village and went to the school where they met 50 happy excited children. Teams were formed to collect trash and debris, plastic leftovers, easily discarded. Rubbish, trash and garbage is a real health issue. Everywhere. Rats, vermin and lice prosper. People get sick. 

Anna, a nurse, conducted simple first aid training for some mothers. How to treat open wounds with salt water and protect the wound with a bandage.

After lunch the teachers demonstrated and taught the children dental hygiene; they distributed brushes and paste for the kids to practice - OPEN, brush the top, sides, back, front, rinse and spit. Then they demonstrated and conducted hand washing steps so the kids would learn the importance of simple daily hygiene. They distributed soap, smiles and love.

They gifted kids cloth satchels, pencils and small koala bears. Farewell!

Metta.

New Front Page

Greetings,

So, as usual I'm experimenting with the site design and decided to make the "Living on the edge," blog the "Front Page," that opens when you visit.

'It's like this,' said the seer during discussions discussing this eclectic option. 'Why start with Myths and Innuendos when people can immediately access the blog slog?'

'Excellent point,' I said. 'Everyone already knows about myths because they are alive. Most subscribers, visitors and friends have already seen the Myth page, read the book blurb and assorted philosophical insights.

'They are probably bored to tears wondering, why don't those two genius types get their electronic act together and streamline this baby so we don't have to click through to explore new stuff?'

'Clearly,' said the seer. 'Take the ideas and forget the words.'

Enjoy your travels through the Ha Noi neighborhood of reality and dreams. Feel free to drop us a line.

Metta.

On the sidewalk is a feather and a q-tip. Existential awareness.

A broken building at a temple in Ha Noi. Loving lines.

A man hauls out his heavy trash. His destination is the cart. A distant speck, horizon.

Arcos Angel

english Arcos angel divorced her quiet half

after seven years of butterflies

in Africa

when he was renovating a home 

in a tight white myopic minded pueblo

full of poor greedy peasants

counting their pesetas

under low ceilings, behind Moorish doors with small openings for sabers stabbing 

opposing onslaught weak weakened warriors forces

unrolling their bankrolled visions on interior geometrically perfect tiled walls

white crochet nimble fingers

lentils, brown bread, yellow cheese

old black and white portraits 

of grandfathers from 1936 civil war years 

feasts or famine centuries cover walls 

eating grass soup 

grandmothers doing their white 

crochet handicrafts wearing fingernails 

down to the bone into the lentil soup it goes, 

under watchful framed wedding dress prop straits remembering how it was running the bull

beneath gladiolas spilling their blood

for tourist images

framed children kicking 

a ball off spic n’ span white 

walled fortifications of Christian church bells, 

round crypts, plastic bleeding flowers blooming 

rocky Roman roads, small tilled inhospitable fields, 

wild lemons, oranges, expatriates looking for a deal

stealing

narrow corridors

lost in Andalusian Sierra wilderness

angel flew away to regain herself

at new homeopathic remedy elevations

along with vultures, griffins

catching free thermals 

from dreary english weather patterns

in flip flops halter top leathered skin

manicured nails

necessities become luxuries