Goodbye, Columbus....

 Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels

No, I won't say 'Happy Columbus Day' anymore. Here's why:

Columbus didn't 'discover' America, he stumbled across it. If you go to a strange town and walk into someone's back yard, did you discover it, or merely come across it? So no kudos to a man who stepped onto a foreign shore and claimed it when he had no right.

Columbus' visit has brought about the death of millions, from the Native Americans living here then, and through our country's history. Nothing to celebrate.

While the same accusation could be tagged to Spain, France, Britain, the Netherlands, and Portugal (among other nations) colonizing what is now known as the American Southwest and California, and holds true for Central and South America, Canada, Africa, and various islands, no invasion should be celebrated. 

While the Native Peoples frequently had their own wars, mass killings, and slavery, that's no reason to celebrate the European version. 

It may be unpopular, but I have no problem with taking down statues of Columbus or Confederate generals. And since no human is perfect, and all have a darker side, how about no statues to any individual? That would be the most equitable solution, in my humble opinion. Put the statues in a museum, although how many statues of Columbus, Robert L. Lee, etc. do we need? 

And that's my thought on this day....

Char

In the Writer's Garden

Anyone who knows me or has read my social media know that I have a meditation garden, love flowers, and feel bad for weeds (which are just misplaced plants). Over the winter, a heavy snowfall  broke a tree in half (we discovered later that the inside of the tree was rotted).

It landed on the wire fence, so both had to be removed. Two weeks ago, the tree was cut down and just this past weekend, I fixed the fence. (Yes, I did.) Without that tree, more sun shines on the garden. I had worked around the shade, planting sun-loving flowers in pots or on the outside edges. Now half the garden stood in the glare of the sun.

Changes had to be made.

It reminded me of my novels. You start to build one way, but things happen- critiques, editor/agent comments, lost plot threads, etc. It requires major changes. Some plants could stay where they were, some had to be moved, and some were crushed by the tree guys. I needed to add full sun plants, move around statues and objects of interest. In my novels I've had to change endings, kill off some characters and add others, and I've had to revise/add/delete language. What results is the same garden (book) but it's different.

Here are the results:

The long view

A new addition - red grass

My black-eyed Susans blooming. They are a lustful bunch- all over the place!

Calendra - I love the pink and green

A burgundy dracenia spike

A bird house crafted by YMCA camp kids thanking me for my donation

No garden is complete without a gazing ball

I have a statue for each son - this is Alec, my animal lover

This is Thomas, my Harry Potter/avid reader fan

This is Collin, my gardening buddy (when he was younger and wanted to help)

The fixed fence (I do nice work). See my pretty blue chair?

I turned the stump into a pedestal 

The first time my lily bloomed! 

My cats love the garden too!

So that's where I've spent some time. I hope my novel looks and turns out as good as my garden. With both, I don't follow traditional rules- I don't like stuffy, formal gardens, but I don't like chaos either. Same with my books; I hate angst and stereotypical characters but I love books that touch me emotionally. 

Now to fix that novel...

Char