Can't Sleep

It's about 12:45am. I've been awake since about midnight. Can't sleep. Too hot. Then things start popping into my head.

I did a photo shoot of the St. John's Bridge yesterday. I walked across it, and at times, it was quite scary and exhilirating. Doing these types of things help to keep me sane in this insane world. It was an excellent metaphor for civilization. The bridge, the most beautiful in Portland, if you will, seems like an anomoly and like it shouldn't be where it is placed. It connects St. John's, a less popular neighborhood that is in the beginning stages of gentrification, to the industrial side of Portland. It was an interesting journey and an odd mix of triumph and tragedy as the details are telling about civilization. It was fun, though.

The Akha people that Rhonda posted about are mostly on my mind. We watched a YouTube video where an Akha woman talked about how American missionaries are stealing their children and placing them in boarding schools. This is an act of Genocide, article 2e, forcible transferral of children from one group to another. Also, if the good old boarding schools continue in their same patterns, which no doubt, they are...then they are also systematically (with the knowledge of the state and all agencies involved) raping and prostituting children. This is a pattern they have enacted all over the world in dealing with the children of indigenous and the impoverished.

I also have our wedding in my mind and heart. We are doing a lot of work to get all finalized, and everything is falling into place.

I will also be teaching a class on blogging in a media exchange type of thing Saturday. I think that is kinda funny considering how easy it is. But it will be fun, and Felicia will be with me.

Rhonda is going down to the river this weekend and taking her daughter, Rachel, with her. I'm gonna miss her and I pray she has a great time and takes lotsa pictures.

The last thing I remember before waking up was seeing a business man or lawyer stepping out of a New York building. He had graying curly hair and a beard and mustache that were trimmed. He was wearing a long black coat, not buttoned up. He was carrying a briefcase and looking around in a circle at the city he could now observe without being confined in his office. He was thinking what a great city it was, but suddenly got this hint like he was missing something, being deceived or lied to about or by this city or possibly lying to himself. He just started getting that seed. This wasn't a dream, more like a thought form.

I sure Love Rhonda and am looking so forward to marrying that wonderful human being woman.

Life is good! It aint so good for the Akha.