Time for an Intermission Break #1
Rhana Bazzini unwinds with words
The arts have always been a great distraction when we need to unwind, decompress or escape.
Dear Bubbie encourages any of our readers to submit their artwork - in any form - to this blog. There’s one rule:
Submit fearlessly.
This isn’t about what others think about your work. Your art - whether through words or image - reflect what you’re feeling at the time. Provide a storyline to go along with a picture, if you’d like. Or, if you want the reader to interpret on their own, that’s perfectly fine.
Any medium is welcome. Taking a mental break is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves. Sharing might possibly help someone else. They may feel less alone or understand a person’s innermost workings better.
Art is subjective. Dear Bubbie wants raw and authentic. A stick figure works. A jigsaw puzzle. Anything that you perceive as art that has given you peace of mind.
Kicking Off Intermission Break #1
This intermission features Rhana Bazzini. I think one can learn as much about her during a stand-up comedy act at Les McCurdy’s as we do by her activism. We’ll save the bio for another day, and let her words define her heart.
In a parody of “When I Grow Old, I’ll wear Purple”, circa 1997, Rhana found this poem she wrote in Nov. 2023.
“I keep thinking of the relevance of that phrase ‘things fall apart’,” she explained.
When I'm Old I'll Wear Black
I am an old woman and I shall wear black
with a black veil that goes with me
And I'll spend my IRA on clothes for the homeless
and food for hungry children
I'll sit down on the pavement by choice to comfort those who sit there and have no choice
I shall ponder what happened to the vision of making the world a better place
Though a child at the end of the war, you know, the good one WW2, I can still remember the sense of pride at our victory over the dark forces.
Am I imagining a period of progress? Rebuilding countries devastated by war.
Enacting civil rights for minorities and women.
A period of optimism........brief as it was.
My head's still spinning at the swift unravellng....Watergate, riots, Vietnam, 9/11, more wars, climate change.
The world's on fire while our heads are buried in the beaches’ sands.
From local to state to federal agencies their dysfunction is obvious.
Has our expiration date passed? Are we part of the dust heap of history?
Yes, I am an old woman and I am wearing black.
Darkness surrounds me.
I mourn for our children.
Is there no light?
In an unpublished Letter to the Editor, Rhana writes:
At 92 I've witnessed many things in my lifetime. I hope I've gained some wisdom and perspective. Worrying about the generations following me I've engaged in some magical thinking.
Or perhaps a rational response to what is a major threat. In the words of Carl Sagan, “......our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever know.”
An analogy. Imagine Earth as a large house. We all inhabit this house. Outside a flood, fire or hurricane approaches. Inside everyone is arguing about what color to paint the walls. Isn't this similar to what's going on with our planet?
Wouldn't it make sense to tap each other's strengths and cooperate instead of looking at each other as adversaries?
Guns are no protection against rising seas, floods and climate change. I still think this is our major challenge but looking at a closer danger what Donald Trump has done in his first 100 days looms as a great immediate danger. The survival of our democracy. He must be impeached.
Send your intermission break to Dear Bubbie at jslferguson@gmail.com