Pamela Leavey

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Category: Politics

Ruminating on Coronavirus…

April 27, 2020

I’ve been ruminating on these thoughts for a while now… Here we all are in another day of limbo, waiting for the Coronavirus to move on past us, so that we can all resume our lives. We know now that life won’t be the same as it was before this started. We’re all tasked right now with figuring out what the new normal will be. I think we’re also tasked, those who are called, to ask what can I do differently in my life, because my life, all of our lives are now forever altered by this global collective trauma, Coronavirus.

It’s hard to look away from the numbers as the weeks go on. It’s hard to turn away from the raving lunatic at the podium. It’s hard to not feel so many collective emotions that are flowing together and passing through us all, whether consciously or subconsciously. For me personally, I feel as though I must bear witness to this life altering time. Most days I find myself sitting in the still in deep contemplation. Eventually as I work through the things in my head, the bearing witness, I find my mind is still and clear.

I haven’t been able to bring myself to the page since this started. I try and let what I write drop away, by deleting it. Something I am always loathe to do. There might be words of value somewhere on that page that I just dumped. So today, I’m not dumping this page. I’m just letting my thoughts flow and letting my readers know where my head is at in the midst of Coronavirus – Stay at Home life.

Thankfully in the midst of all of this, we see new beginnings are happening all around us. Whatever the new normal will be, let’s all make the most of it. Peace…

Baby Bunny in Salisbury, MA

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Women’s March on Washington: Watch Us Stand Strong

January 21, 2017

I didn’t go to Washington, D.C. today to the Women’s March, but my heart has been there and everywhere around the globe, as women, men and children all gathered together to march against Trump.

The myriad of social issues that intersect with women’s issues effect us all. We have come too far to be knocked back down by Trump and his administration. It is time for us to stand strong and heal the world.  (more…)

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On Writing: Why Prewriting Matters

August 12, 2016

deskIn the past, my writing style typically leaves out the all important first stage of writing—pre-writing.  When I write, I tend to write and then rewrite but rarely ever do I engage in pre-writing.

Needless to say, when I started taking creative writing classes at UMass Amherst UWW, I learned that I was cutting out an integral part of the writing process. Jumping right into the writing phase works if you know what you are going to write about, but when you’re stuck pre-writing frees up space and opens up the creative channels.

Reading Chapter 1 of Connie Griffin’s text, To Tell The Truth in my Magazine Writing class gave me a keener understanding of how to use pre-writing as a strategy to break free from writer’s block. The creative process needs the freedom to be expressive, and pre-writing can be seen as a fun exercise in letting go, while also trusting one’s subconscious in a “nonjudgmental and forgiving” way. (p. 5)

The Getting Started (p. 6 – 7) section in Chapter 1, helped me to understand that pre-writing is comparable to a dancer warming up with exercise and practice, or a painter sketching in a rough outline on his canvas in preparation for creating his painting using the tools of his craft. When seen in that light, I suddenly found how pre-writing should and could fit into my process. (more…)

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Farm Fresh and Local In the Newburyport Area

July 10, 2015

berries2As a child growing up in the rural area of Massachusetts’ Northshore, my family grew our own vegetables as so many rural families did in the 1950’s and 1960’s. There were also many small farm stands around the area, and by the time I was in high school in the early 1970’s a few of the local farms were starting to go by the wayside.

The farm policy had changed drastically during the Nixon administration thanks to Earl Butz, who was Nixon’s Secretary of the USDA. Many small farmers found it difficult to stay afloat without the subsidies they were accustomed to receiving from the federal government. The documentary King Corn, is a very informative film about how Butz’s policies shaped factory farming and growing corn as a the number one staple in processed food.

Very few working family farms remain in the Newburyport area that were working farms when I was a child. Most of the smaller farms of my childhood days are gone with the land being sold off for housing and commercial development. A few small farms continue to grow their own and sell their produce and meats at their farm-stand businesses. However, two newer, more enterprising larger farms in the area also carry other local and non-local produce and products as well as their own locally grown vegetables and fruits.

On a late spring afternoon in mid-June, I decided to take a drive along the backroads of the Newburyport area to take stock of the local farm stands and what they have to offer. Newburyport also has a vibrant Farmer’s Market on Sunday mornings at the Tannery on Water Street, but locavores in the area also rely on local farm stands for fresh vegetables and fruits in season as well as grass fed meats and free-range poultry. (more…)

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Who Is Your Audience?

October 28, 2014

Writing copy for a website is like writing a paper for college, you always need to be cognizant of who your audience is. If you are marketing to a mixed demographic that might range in age from 18 to 80, it is important to remember that your tone and wording set the stage for how people view you online. Written communication is a powerful tool. If you set the wrong tone you fail to engage and will draw either criticism or disinterest.

Last night, I was comparing the issues statements and websites of two local politicians running for state office. I was struck by the word “my crystal ball leans” prefacing an important issue. Voters don’t want to know a candidate’s supposition, they want to know his platform on an issue and what that candidate will do to make changes. We can all make “crystal ball” predictions, but typically when voters go to the voting booth, they tend to vote for the candidate who has ideas, not predictions.

Communication is a powerful tool. If you set the wrong tone, you leave yourself open for a realm of misinterpretation. This applies in politics and business.

Just my two cents…

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A Little Night Music: Compared to What

July 21, 2014

Every Sunday morning, I listen to Lisa Garvey’s show A-Train on UMass Boston’s PBR station WUMB. Every now and then Lisa will play Les McCann and Eddie Harris’ Compared to What. It’s one of my all time favorite jazz and protest songs. From Les McCann and Eddie Harris’ seminal 1969 live performance album Swiss Movement, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival with trumpeter Benny Bailey:

“Compared to What“, was a huge Billboard pop chart topper crossing into pop from the soul/jazz genre. The lyrics criticised both President Nixon and the Vietnam War. Written by Atlantic composer/artist Eugene McDaniels, the song first recorded by soul vocalist Roberta Flack, on her debut release, First Take (1969).

Lyrics: Compared to What

I love the lie and lie the love
 A-Hangin‘ on, with push and shove
Possession is the motivation
 that is hangin‘ up the God-damn nation
Looks like we always end up in a rut (everybody now!)
 Tryin‘ to make it real — compared to what? C’mon baby!

Slaughterhouse is killin‘ hogs
 Twisted children killin‘ frogs
 Poor dumb rednecks rollin‘ logs
 Tired old lady kissin‘ dogs
I hate the human, love that stinking mutt (I can’t use it!)
 Try to make it real — compared to what? C’mon baby now!

The President, he’s got his war
Folks don’t know just what it’s for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt, they call it treason
We’re chicken-feathers, all without one nut. God damn it!
 Tryin‘ to make it real — compared to what? (Sock it to me)

Church on Sunday, sleep and nod
 Tryin‘ to duck the wrath of God
 Preacher’s fillin‘ us with fright
 They all tryin‘ to teach us what they think is right
They really got to be some kind of nut (I can’t use it!)
 Tryin‘ to make it real — compared to what?

Where’s that bee and where’s that honey?
Where’s my God and where’s my money?
Unreal values, crass distortion
Unwed mothers need abortion
Kind of brings to mind ol’ young King Tut (He did it now)
Tried to make it real — compared to what?!

(Music break)

Tryin‘ to make it real — compared to what?

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Musing and Rambling

Sometimes I muse and I ramble because I can... I muse about life and things that matter to me...

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