…Rachel Carson

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited to Molly Stark School to meet with Mrs. Wells’ 2^nd grade class, to tell Dragon tales and talk about my scaly friends. Now, this was an ominous undertaking! I was representing Dragons—striving to help them put their best feet forward! Add to that not having worked with kids in donkey’s ears, and I was absolutely terrified of letting both Dragons and kids down. Of course, while my grown-up angst ran amok, I inconveniently forgot one very important truth:

The subject was Dragons! (Thank you, Frank Gilroy.)

Everybody loves Dragons!

Well, ok, some people don’t. Poor dears.

I don’t think it was always so. I firmly believe that all of us, in our youthful once-upon-a-times, have been enchanted by Dragons. It may have been a brief encounter, fleeting as a glimpse of Champ on a foggy day, but somewhere, somewhen, we’ve all brushed against their majesty. Unfortunately people can become so deep-rutted in the banality of adulthood that Dragons—even pocket-sized house dragons—no longer have a room in their world. True, some may know a sort of lingering regret, glimpsing Dragons in the nostalgia of wistful dreams. But most who have shut Dragons from their lives do so with a vengeance that can only be described as downright hostile. The less said about them the better.

But I digress.

A week ago I sat down with Payton, Hunter, Sophia, Bryan, Nathan, Taylor, Miranda, Dylan, Meghan, Trent, Jackson, Dale, Isaiah, and Veronica. (Oh, I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!)

Sharing "Tell Me A Dragon"....Thanks to Jackie Kelly for the pic.

As I read Dragon tales, showed pictures and flags, fielded marvelous questions, even pulled out the globe for a draconic geography lesson, curiosity rolled off their young faces like thunder on a summer’s day! Here were Dragon Keepers in the making and their enthusiasm did this old Dracophile’s heart good.

Dragons from budding dracophiles.

The long and short of it is, all my fears proved foolish specters thanks to the extraordinary sense of wonder the kids had.
I had a blast! You even sparked a couple of ideas in my head for new Dragon stories. Inspirational, all the way! (And for everyone of you who wants a house dragon of their very own, may your wish come true. It’s coming on spring, the perfect time to find HD eggs. Keep your eyes and hearts open! And be sure to ask your parents to keep plenty of milk and eggs on hand; HDs love their morning omelettes.)

May you always keep your sense of wonder, your enchantment with Enchantments.

And any time you want to talk Dragons again, just ask Mrs. Wells to drop me a line. I’ll be there on Dragon wings.

Filed under: Art, Asian Dragons, Classrooms, Dragon Keeper's Handbook, Dragon Keepers, Dragon Tales, Dragons, Kids, Wonder, Year of the Dragon Tagged: Animals, Budding Dragon Keepers, Classroom Dragons, Dragon Keeper's Handbook, Dragons, Inspiration, lore, Myth and Legends, Rachel Carson, sense of wonder, story time, Writing, Year of the Dragon ]]> http://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/a-sense-of-wonder-dragon-keepers-in-the-making/feed/ 2 mackenziesdragonsnest class Mrs Wells class D2_036 http://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/unexamined-pain/ http://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/unexamined-pain/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:29:40 +0000 Shawn MacKENZIE http://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/?p=598 Continue reading »

Sadness………

I shy away from opining on the world of celebrity or pop culture, especially on those in the lime light who have burned bright and flamed out far too early. They are, tragically, far too many and frequent and have legions of followers far more adept in commentary than I. So why am I compelled to say something about Whitney Houston?

When I first heard Whitney, she struck a joyous chord, a call to the angels (however you describe them). There was hope and wonder, not only in her gift, but in her music. That she lost that in her life makes me sad in my heart.

Naturally, I wonder where her family and friends were when she was in trouble with living in this world, with her marriage and the outrageous pressures of fame. But more than that, I wonder what terrible hurt and sadness drove her down when there were so many reasons to look up.

I have no answers. Goddess knows, I have enough of my own demons and fears to last a dozen lifetimes. And I have my modest talents, too. We all have our gifts and our insecurities. They battle back and forth and give us cold-sweat nightmares and rocky Everest highs. But for a woman with such gifts, who was touched with so much and touched so many, that Whitney’s  family, friends—someone!—could’t reach out years ago and see her sadness, help her, simply buggers the imagination. There are the impresarios, the agents and producers, but where are the people who grab hold of the elbow and say, “Stop!” Who ask where the pain lies and if they can do anything to salve it.

There is a celebration of the eccentric/slightly mad in our artists and writers. And yet we thrive on their schadenfreude, filling tabloid coffers with our vicarious thrills. Empathy is lost in that sense of being able feel superior to those who “have it all.”

And in the process, we push talent down, drive fear up. And in the end, there is only terrible sadness.

Filed under: Fame, Loss, Whitney Tagged: celebrity, fame, loss, sadness, Whitney ]]>

Spike, the Demon Cat.

Last night, as the clock struck twelve and the Year of the Dragon became official in my frosty neck of the woods, I sat up in bed and thought, Hmmmmmmmm. This was quickly followed by a tussle with Spike, the Demon Cat, (which I lost) and a battered retreat under the covers and back to sleep.

In the light of day – and following several cups of coffee – that amorphously draconic hmmmmm began to take shape, along with the realization that I have become too much of a politics junky for my own good (but I’m working on that).

Here’s the thing: Emperors, presidents, tyrants, and generals, ambitious individuals with their sights on being leaders of men and making their mark on history, have long craved the Dragon dancing through their lucky stars. Rumor has it, imperial astrologers of yore were not above fudging a date here and there in the name of the draconic agrandizement of their liege lords.  And one has only to look at the public personae of Gingrich and Romney to know they not only wish they were Dragons but strut about pretending to be Dragons (which no doubt pisses off Dragons immensely!)

Pissed off Dragons.

But – and this takes me back to my hmmmmm moment – the fact is that too often people, especially those in the political arena, think of Dragon traits as power, authority, fierceness, courage, resoluteness, and confidence to the point of arrogance. This is only half of the picture.

Which brings me to a story…..

Long, long ago, the Jade Emperor (who had a rather contentious history with Dragons from day one) was having trouble with Time. The days and moons and years seemed to tumble past without any proper sense of order and, well, quite frankly, it was giving him a headache not even ginseng tea could alleviate. (The Jade Emperor was a bit of a prima donna, so this may well have been hyperbole on his part.)

To give order to the temporal chaos, he summoned all the animals for a great cross-country race. The first twelve creatures to cross the finish line at the Emperor’s palace would have a a house in the zodiac, a place in ordering the calendar. The very fact that the Dragon was invited to participate illicited rumblings of discontent from the mundane animals. After all, unlike them, he was supernatural, huge (i.e. long-legged), and could fly, and the Emperor made no secret of the fact that he expected the Dragon to come in first (even had a side wager on him).

Still, when the animals crested the hill in front of the Imperial Palace, there was Rat and Ox, Tiger and Rabbit, each claiming their space in time, but no Dragon. Suddenly the great creature descended from the heavens and landed beside the Emperor.

“What took you so long?” demanded the Emperor.

The Dragon stretched his wings (Chinese Dragons had wings back then) and pulled his tail close. “If you must know,” he purred – only a Dragon dared speak to the Emperor like that - “I was sailing along, making excellent time when I looked down on your land, acre after acre parched to the bone. The crops were brown and shrivled, the people starving, their paper voices raised in prayers for rain. Well, I could hardly ignore their cries, could I? What sort of Dragon would that make me, I ask you. Hmmm?

“So I wrapped my tail around the clouds, sparked lighting, roared thunder, and sent the rains to slake the dusty land. Your people needed help,” he chided, stroking his whiskers. “This race could wait.”

The Emperor glowered for a moment, embarrassed at being called to his duty by anyone, then smiled. “Dragon, your care for Our subjects is noble, indeed. You keep us mindful of the world beyond these walls. When I forget, I know you—well, you will not let me forget, I am sure.

“Dragon, the fifth house of the zodiac is yours.”

It was thus that the Dragon took his place in the arch of time, anchoring the world. And from that day to this, every Emperor tries to live up to the Dragon’s example.

For all you latter-day power-hungry wannabes out there who long for the character of the Dragon, remember: strength, luck, and charisma are all well and good, but they are in ways only the outer integument, the glittery scales that shimmer in the sun and rattle like sabres. The spirit of the Dragon is a much more complete, complicated, and tempered thing. Dragons may not have much use for politics, but they know that power without kindness is nothing short of tyranny.  They know that a Dragon lacking compassion and honesty, who ignores others’ needs for the sake of his own comfort and advancement—He is no Dragon at all. And never will be.

Happy Year of the Dragon.

January 23.2012.

The moon is dark, the air (at least in northern latitudes) is blue-ripe with a whiff of snow. And around the world, millions let loose a sigh long held in draconic anticipation. It’s the Year of the Dragon—at last!

There has been a lot of ominous chatter about 2012 – including many wrong-headed apocalyptic scenarios promulgated by those who insist on viewing the Maya long count of life as a two-dimensional progression, linear not spherical. Yet, as Marcus Aurelius reminds us in a decidedly Old Testament moment:

Each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle.

So it is with this dodecennial Year of the Dragon.[1]  A time of fierce opportunity and eternal change, especially for those born under this most auspicious sign.

More specifically, this is the Year of the Water Dragon, the Black Dragon[2], the Keeper of Rain, Master of Lightning.

"And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.".... Black Elk.

Of course some folk believe all Dragons, especially those from the East, are Water Dragons; and it is true that they have an intrinsic tie to the waters, salt and sweet. In China this can be traced back to the early moments of Universe and the creative sacrifice of the Cosmic giant, Pan Gu.

According to legend, he was aided in his efforts by the Divine Quartet – Lung Wang the Dragon, Qi-Lin the Unicorn, Gui Xian the Turtle, and Feng Huang the Phoenix

…Known as the Ssu-Ling, this original Gang of Four were guardians of the cardinal directions, the seasons, and the five elements. Like Pan Gu himself, each of these auspicious creatures held within them a union of yin and yang. Of the four, the Dragon was the most exalted. Embodiment of positive, active, yang energy, he was the guardian of the east where the day begins, of spring when life begins.

When Pan Gu died, his body discorporated: his eyes became the sun and moon, his beard the stars; the wind whistled from his final breath and his body became mountain and fertile plain. From his blood flowed rivers, from his sweat poured the rains. And the fleas on his fur became the fish and animals of the earth from tiniest mudskipper to largest pachyderm.

…And each blessed being staked out his/her protectorate on the planet….The Dragon, favorite of Pan Gu, dove into the waters – blood and sweat of the Creator, and claimed them as his province….[3]

In the millennia following Creation, Oriental Dragons continued to be associated, first and foremost, with water, most notably the Four Dragon Kings of China—Ao Chin, Ao Kuang, Ao Ping, and Ao Shun—who ruled the rains, seas, and depths below. Every village had its Dragon shrine where oblations and orisons were offered in hopes of fertile rains and bountiful seas. Dragons are likewise revered by the people of Japan and the Pacific Rim, people dependent on the waters for life and livelihood.

Japanese Dragon ~ Hokusai

Is it any wonder, then that the Dragon is the most influential of the Zodiac Twelve? How can a rat or a pig, charming though they may be, compare to the supernal grandeur of a Dragon?

Of course all human Dragons share certain traits. Those blessed to be born in the Year of the Dragon are driven nonconformists, passionate, fearless, prone to big ideas and mercurial tempers. The subtleties of the draconic personality are influenced by an individual’s guiding element, Water Dragons being the least selfish of the lot, the most inclined to go with the proverbial flow.

…They are flexible, able to give and take, to compromise—even accept defeat graciously—where other Dragons are apt to just dig in their heels and roar. They will even surrender power if it contributes to the greater good. Water Dragons are excellent negotiators, knowing just when to push, when to ease off. If they have a failing, it is excessive optimism which sometimes blinds them from recognizing a no-win situation, cutting their losses, and moving on. That said, the Water Dragon’s laid-back nature—at times verging on the shy—makes them easy to be around. They are draconic delights….[4]

But enough about us….

Though some humans choose to shut Western Dragons out of the coming festivities, I most certainly will not. Such divisiveness not only diminishes both species, but sucks the very life from the wonder to come. Remember: All life needs water, and few creatures are as full of life as Dragons.

Draco dances across the heavens, reminding us that Dragons are Dragons, on land, in the sea, under the vaulted firmament. It’s time to celebrate them in all their majestic diversity. To accept their wisdom and their blessings..

2012 is their Year.

What are your plans for the Year of the Dragon? How will you regale these supernal creatures?

There is this outrageous move afoot to limit/censor the kaleidoscopic wonder of the Internet. Oh, sure, it is couched in noble terms, all about anti-piracy, and protecting intellectual property, but censorship is censorship no matter if you dress it in doublet and X-gartered hose or an Armani tux. Controlling information leads to controlling thought (as FOX “News” has proved so frighteningly well) and that leads to tyranny.
Conversely, the best weapon against tyranny is education – knowing the truth and speaking that truth loud and long despite the forces trying to shut you down.
SOPA and PIPA are, to this blogger’s thinking, not only wrong but dangerous.
Let your senators and representatives know where you stand.

Happy Holidays!

Now, don’t get me wrong: I think both of those flicks are classics and for good reason.

But, being a bit of a cinephile, I thought I’d toss a few other chestnuts onto the hearth. So, for your consideration, I suggest:

1. The Lion in Winter – a brilliant domestic drama in royal trappings (and perfect reminder to be nice to each other around the Yule table!). Peter O’Toole & Katharine Hepburn are stellar.
2. A Christmas Carol (a k a Scrooge) [1951] - with Alistair Sims. The best of the best versions to this viewer’s eyes.
3. The Dead - an exquisite rendering of James Joyce’s short story. The last film John Huston made, with Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann. Set at a Yuletide feast, it is a luminous tale of love and loss in Dublin in the early 1900s.
4. The Mouse & His Child – a quirky animated film which starts at Christmas and follows our titular characters (two wind-up toys) through a year of hardship and joy in their existential quest to become “self-winding.” Not to everyone’s taste, but one I enjoy.
5. In Bruges - Colin Farrell is his usual complicated self in this tale of two hit men holed up in Bruges (Belgium) over the holidays after Colin botches a hit, killing a child in the process. It may seem odd fare for the season, but is, at heart about the nature of goodness and redemption, which hit the Christmas points in my book.
6. Joyeux Noel - a beautiful film about the spontaneous Christmas Truce on the front lines of WW I in 1914, and how it impacts the lives of 6 people, French, German, and Scottish. An indictment of war that’s almost painfully human. Also, one of Ian Richardson’s last films.
7. A Christmas Tale – A French film starring Catherine Deneuve and Anne Consigny, about a fractious family gathering at Christmas to deal with, among other things, Mom’s need for a transplant. Touching and funny by turns as only the French can do.
8. Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas – Jim Henson’s muppets, what more need be said.
9. Peter’s Friends – Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson (she’s hysterical!) and friends, gather in the country for a week at New Years. It has a Big Chill flavor  but punctuated by delicious British wit.
10. A Christmas Memory - based on a Truman Capote short story and originally made for TV in 1967. with Geraldine Page, narrated by Mr. Capote, himself. This is the  lyric story of a young boy and his eccentric aunt, Sook, as they go through their ritual adventure of making Christmas fruit cakes in rural South of the 1930s. A classic and very fitting for the times we’re living in.
11. Oldies but goodies in no particular order (if you haven’t seen these, you should, at least once in your life!):  The Bishop’s Wife; Holiday; An Affair to Remember; Come to the Stable; Shop Around the Corner; The Man Who Came to Dinner; Miracle on 34th Street; Christmas in Connecticut; Holiday Inn; Auntie Mame; The Apartment. (and more up to date: Go; Nightmare Before Christmas; Ice Storm; Shadowlands; Love Actually; Die Hard; Bad Santa; The Holiday; Perfect World; and Comfort & Joy.)
    

    Bishop's Wife

    

So, a few festive thoughts–a holiday share I hope you enjoy.

What are your odd and wonderful holiday favorites? Love to add to my list!

Happy Yule.

Contrary to what Doomsdayers were predicting, the world did not end yesterday, and tonight the Hogfather will make his ride and usher in Winter’s demise!

(Those of you unfamiliar with the Hogfather and the traditions of Hogswatch, I urge you to go to the library and check out Terry Pratchett’s wickedly delightful tale or, if you prefer your holiday fare visual, check it out on DVD.)

Cause for celebration across the Universe!

For those of you who only have time for small, savory mouthfuls of festive reading, a suitably brief shout-out today to Holiday Week over at Karen S. Elliott’s blog. A diverse group of stories and memoirs will be appearing from December 20th thru the 27th, with my own Solstice Carol appearing on Boxing Day (December 26). Hope you will check out these delightful literary gifts and enjoy.

Pleasant surprises have a way of cropping up without fanfare or warning. The other morning, as a chill, steady rain washed away the last of the weekend’s snow, I opened my e-mail and found that fellow blogger Tom Kepler. (Thank you, Tom.) had placed me on the receiving end of a Versatile Blogger Award. How delightful, I thought, not having the slightest clue of what a VBA was (a lack of knowledge remedied with the click of a mouse). More to the point, how unexpected. You see, I am a neophyte when it comes to blogging. It was barely three months ago when I heeded the urgings of publisher and friends and waded into the blogosphere’s swirling eddies. (I am sure there’s a mixed metaphor in there somewhere; c’est la vie.) That my ramblings about writing and Dragons and creatures wild and not (and, yes, my book) struck chords with others is both gratifying and, frankly, amazing. And while there are times I am clueless what to do next, there are others when I see a canvas just begging to be splashed with light and shadow, color and whimsy.

Which brings me back to the Versatile Blogger Award, a simple and fun way of making the vast world of blogging a little more personal, and, in the process, a little more manageable.

The rules are very simple:

If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award.

• Thank the person who gave you this award. Include a link to their blog — if you can figure out how to do it.

• Next, share 7 things about yourself.

• Finally, select 5 blogs/bloggers to nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award, and pass it along.

So first, thank you, Tom Kepler, for nominating me for the VBA. Tom is an author, teacher, blogger, and spinner if great tales. His novel, The Stone Dragon, is a layered story of magic and self-discovery and well worth the read. It’s available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble (for those of you who have Amazon issues.) His blog is positively versatile and always intriguing.

Now comes the hard part: 7 things about moi.

1. I believe much of what we don’t see in the world is a matter of our imaginations being out of focus, not our eyes. (Yes, Virginia, there really are Dragons!)
2. When I was 12 I thought I’d be a poet—thank goodness I outgrew that! When I was in college I thought I’d be a playwright—I outgrew that, too.
3. Nothing grounds me more than a walk in the woods, taking my shoes off, and digging my toes into the forest loam.
4. Nothing dismays me more than the proliferation of self-published dreck posing as literature. Just because the technology is there, doesn’t mean everyone should use it; just because you can text a tweet, doesn’t mean you can write a novel.
5. Animals and history fascinate me. If I was not a writer, I would want to be either a zoologist or an archeologist.
6. Every year I treat myself to watching Peter Brook’s Mahabharata, The Ruling Class, and The Lord of the Rings.
7. If I were to make a list of perfect things it would include: autumn in Vermont, cats, chinchillas, good books, and single malt Scotch.

And, finally, the five bloggers I am pleased to nominate for VBAs are:

1. John Goodrich: author of deliciously wicked horror.
2. Kana Tyler: writer, wild spirit, and “book dragon.”
3. Karen S. Elliott: writer, editor/proofreader, and all-around word shark.
4. Nellie Sabin: friend, wise woman, wit, and author.
5. Ollin Morales: a young scribe with a lot to say.

Thank you all for your blogging largesse and inspiration.

…The Stone Dragon

I am always delighted when a book turns out to be an artichoke, with leaf upon tasty leaf encasing a succulent heart. Tom Kepler’s novel, The Stone Dragon, is such a book.

A coming-of-age fantasy full of sorcery and swords (with the accent, pleasantly, on the former), this is the story of Glimmer, a young apprentice mage growing into his own as a master of dream magic – if mastery any can claim over so fluid and dangerous a sphere. He is surrounded by friends and enemies, teachers and followers, each limned with distinction and purpose. And then there are dragons – magnificent, elemental, wise, and witty beings at the core of young Glimmer’s journey. But, as savory as this all is, it’s but one (outer) layer of many.

Tom Kepler uses Glimmer’s story to examine the nature of magic, of power, of consciousness, of the grand adventure of becoming. This tale is more metaphysical than physical – choosing the path of inner self-discovery, of meditative reflection. With lyric elegance, he explores the subtle interconnectedness of all things; the magic within us all just waiting to be awakened. As Western as The Stone Dragon’s external trappings are, the philosophical voice is decidedly Eastern. Indeed, though the book’s dragons are European in aspect – winged, scaled, and fire-breathing – they are deeply familiar with the ways (and the Way) of the East (Lao Tzu would feel right at home in the company of the dragons and mages of The Stone Dragon).

All this said, do not think for a moment that The Stone Dragon is short on action. Quests, both personal and altruistic, inform the tale as Glimmer and his companions go from one end of their land to another, sometimes with alarming celerity. And in the process, like Cabbage-pants, the gnome, they work the fertile soil for more tales to come (which I, for one, will read with pleasure).

Joseph Campbell said of our lives, “The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty ‘Yes!’ to your adventure.” The Stone Dragon not only says “Yes!” but insists that the reader say “Yes!” too. It is a rare journey well worth the joining.