I always wanted to be a drummer

Last weekend I got the chance to go to a drum circle in Fallbrook CA. It happened at the end of a VERY rainy week where we got six inches of rain in five days....really a whole year's worth of rain in a normal year. It was such a blessing to gather with a circle of people and play, chant, shake, rattle and roll.

I wanted to be a drummer since fifth grade, where I ended up playing french horn instead. I drummed a bit in women's spiritual rituals in the early 1980's...satisfying, but then life moved on (and a child stuck a stick through my drum that I was letting him play with.)

For the past 4 years I have had the previlege of playing in a drum and storytelling circle at Radys Children's Hospital as part of the Healing Arts Department. We play with the children and families of kids in the hospital. It is always a blessing, and sometimes AMAZING.

God bless the drum, the drumming and the drummers of the world.

Getting back to writing

Last week I was going through one of the mountains of boxes in our garage...New Years is a great time for sorting out, clearing out. I found, among LOTS of things that can be recycled, files of old stories, essays and poems that I have written over the years...including the first "real" poem that I remember writing as a 16 year old. Some of the stuff is really bad, trashy even, but some is pretty darned good (if I do say so myself).

So it may be time to drag it back out and share some of them with the world. Here is one of my favorites:

Chopsticks

18 three- and four-year olds

practiced with chopsticks today.

Poking, prodding, puzzling

over the mysterious sticks

used by a billion people

yet new to these little ones.

Can we build a bridge across the gulfs

that divide us

with picture books and chopsticks and

snacks with strange names, but taste good?

I cannot negotiate for peace among nations

or put a stop to war

but I can offer children

the chance to know

there are oh so many ways to live

and speak and love

and eat.

Chopsticks for peace.

Patti Christensen

Happy New Years from Patti and James

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Early morning ponderings

As I sit writing in the early morning hours at my computer

I look out the window and see my neighbor, coffee cup in hand,

Walking around in his white gym socks, no shoes.

Surveying his acreage, or looking for the cat?

Thinking about the day, the lawn, the state of the world?

After a time, he walks by his American flag and closes his front gate.

Gone.

What will the day bring?

We both wonder to ourselves.

Hey it's good to be back home again!

Thank you John Denver.....just got back a week ago from a five week driving trip with my husband driving form San Diego to Alaska and back. We put over 9,000 miles on the car, and saw a lot of wonderful countyside. If you'd like to read about the WHOLE experience, look at our blog at www.pattidicksgrandadventures.blogspot.com

It was clear that there are stories, stories, and storytellers where ever you go. During the next months, I will be digesting the tales and seeing how they will come into my storytelling bag of tricks.

In the meantime, inspired by Julie and Julia, I am ready to embark on a new blog. Welcome to Pattistory.blogspot.com Glad to have you onboard.