We Are Stardust

Here are some of yesterday's garden photos. Taking pictures of flowers around the yard soothes me, but now it is after midnight, and I'm hoping that getting these words down will get them out of my head.

I'm seething over things I can't control. Lawyers, politicians, insurance companies, mega corporations... as much as we try to simplify our lives, these tentacled creatures slither their way in.

The colorful front garden:


I signed my daughter up for Tap lessons today at a small, local dance studio. Here's a quote from the release I had to sign:
"Participant fully understands and acknowledges that all of the activities that Participant will undertake have inherent risks, dangers, and hazards and such exists in Participant's participation in these activities, and (a) Participant's participation in any AOP activity including but not limited to dance lessons, dancing related activities, use of any equipment, or any travel in automobiles or busses (THEY CAN'T EVEN SPELL BUSES) may result in injury or paralysis, death, or other ailments that could cause serious disability, and (b) these risks and dangers may be caused by accidents, breaches of contract, or other causes, and (c) in connection with Participant's participation in these activities and use of any equipment or travel, Participant hereby assumes all risks and dangers and all responsibility for any losses and/or damages whether caused in whole or in part by the NEGLIGENCE or other conduct of AOP, its employees, agents, independent contractors, volunteers, other participants" ..... AND ON AND ON.

Raspberries ripen every day:


Item 12 in the release:
"Participant acknowledges that Participant has had an opportunity to obtain independent counsel before signing this release and has obtained such counsel or has made a voluntary decision to forgo such counsel."

In essence, I should hire a lawyer to review a release that absolves this place from hurting my daughter even if they are negligent!

Little berries on my favorite bush in the yard. The leaves turn a beautiful pale yellow in the fall.


According to a little research I've been doing during this insomnia, even if a contract says that a company won't be held liable for negligence, this is usually not true. For example, if a company (like a boating company [I had to sign similar forms for my son to go on a kayaking trip]) hires inexperienced teenagers rather than experienced guides with safety training, they could still be held responsible in an accident.

These green and purple beans from the garden were part of our dinner last night.


Insurance companies and lawyers have enriched themselves by making so many of our interactions impersonal and full of distrust. Businesses must protect themselves from their customers. They are more responsible to their shareholders. Politicians are more responsive to their corporate supporters than the citizen/voter. It is the faceless customer who eats the beef contaminated with e-coli because the slaughterhouse line moves too fast to safely clean the meat in order to squeeze out higher profits. Toothless cigarette warnings absolve nefarious tobacco companies from liability for addicting teenagers that they target with their marketing. The BP CEO takes a sailing vacation in far away waters as the Gulf is destroyed by a rig explosion caused by shortcuts and sloppiness without regard for the consequences.

"I fear to be a cog in something turning."
"I dreamed I saw the bombers riding shotgun in the sky. They were turning into butterflies above our nation."
"We are stardust. We are golden, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden."
-Joni Mitchell

A beautiful spider with an egg sac found in the yard.


I want to retreat into the garden and let the anger that seethes in me melt away. It is very hard!