SoCS: Forest Gump, Bullies, and a Happy Animal Video

Today’s prompt from Linda Hill:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “run.” Use it as a noun, a verb, use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!”

“RUN Forest, RUN!” was the first thing I thought of. I’ve watch Forest Gump how many times? At least 20, but who’s counting? It’s on tonight, and I might watch it again. Okay, I don’t really watch the whole thing every time. I’m also on the computer, or doing laundry….. but I’ll pay attention to my favorite parts, like when Forest and Jenny meet in Washington and everybody cheers when Forest in his army uniform embraces the hippie chick in the cement pond. If you want to just watch the reunion embrace, go to 3 minutes into this video:

Forest Gump is a movie about many things and has great music. In the beginning, Jenny tells Forest to run from the bullies so he doesn’t get beat up. Later, she tells him to run to save his life when he’s about to go to Vietnam, where he does run but also becomes a hero saving his buddies who don’t all make it.

Sometimes it’s good to run or avoid bullies. I admit that avoiding conflict is my default fault. Though why not avoid unnecessary conflict? Still, there are times when we need to face conflict with courage. There are times when we need to stand up for ourselves or someone else whether it’s a helpless animal, a child, or someone being harassed.

I recently read an article my friend shared on FB about what a bystander can do when witnessing harassment. (I had to type that word three times before it came out right.) The following article contains options about what a bystander can do when someone else is being harassed. It has something called the five Ds. (As an aside, there are four Ds for quitting smoking or other addictions: Distract, Delay, Drink Water, Do something else. I know it’s not that simple.)

The five Ds of intervention if we are a bystander go something like this:

Direct Intervention (after assessing for safety)

Distract by engaging the targeted person supportively

Delegate by enlisting help from a third party

Delayed response (this could also be debriefing)

Document

Okay, that’s five Ds. As you might guess, I broke out of the stream of consciousness for a brief period to go the article, but only because this is important. I can imagine being supportive of the person who is targeted easier than I can directly addressing the harasser. But I hope if I’m ever in this situation, I can be courageous and safe at the same time.

Here’s the article: SPLC on Campus: A guide to bystander intervention | Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org)

I guess Jenny’s “Run Forest, Run!” is somewhere between direct intervention and distraction.
Now I wish I’d shared the video of Forest and Jenny here, because I like to end on a happy note. Well, you can always go back and watch the end of the video again. 🙂

Or you can watch this video of happy animals playing, running, and Jumping:

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For more streams of consciousness, rules and guidelines, run on over to Linda’s blog:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS March 27, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: A Year of Challenge and Hope for Healing

Our Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “day/week/month/year.” Linda also invites us to write about the past year of pandemic, “how we have coped or not, to share our common experiences as a way to connect, to feel a little less alone.”

As a citizen of the United States, these past 12 months have been heavy, not just due to the pandemic, but also with the political divide and the racial injustice of the murders of George Floyd, Breaonna Taylor and others. It has been strange and confusing to have stay at home orders, masks and social distancing recommendations along with protests and demonstrations.

My hope is that with the pandemic calming down and someone less inflammatory at the helm, we can move into healing. It’s going to take a lot of work. A lot of compassion, listening, compromise, and seeking common ground… or higher ground.

I find myself feeling tired as I write this. There are bursts of energy when things get done, but maybe it’s a tired that comes with age. Still, my personal life has not been bad. I’m the oldest one in my family – my parents and siblings are deceased. Even Aunt Ruth in Wisconsin crossed over last year after a full life into her 90s. I am thankful not to have to worry about my parents anymore and feel for those who do. I am thankful to have the luxury of time and the freedom to study my father’s letters from Vietnam, and to write and paint.

Staying at home doesn’t bother me, except that I have not seen my granddaughter, son and daughter in law since October. I miss the mountains. It was in October that I last visited the mountains and first brought mama cat home from the church. She has kept me company when David is at his woodshop, and she has become much less feral.

Mama Cat has a plate of food.
She wants attention while I’m trying to write.

Having a cat has been a big change after being a dog person for so long. The pandemic and people not being at church much was one of two factors that led me to bringing her home. The other factor was the abduction of her daughter, Gray, in June. I still go to the church once per week to see if Gray has shone up, but I don’t think this is likely. I talk to Saint Francis and pray my hopes and thanksgivings.

St. Francis with last year’s hydrangeas

Not going to church and choir practice is probably the biggest change in my personal life. We do zoom church and I’ve sung and played a little guitar for that, because music is my favorite part of church. My voice is way out of shape when it comes to singing anything challenging. My friend Anne, who is in her 80s and teaches singing, is helping me with that. I’m thankful to have had both vaccines, in spite of the side effects, I’m glad to have a little more confidence if I do want to go out. I’ll still wear a mask and avoid crowds.

Hopefully we won’t have as much to protest or demonstrate for or against for a while. Maybe things will calm down and justice will grow. Maybe we humans will wake up, bridge the divides, and focus on healing Mother Earth as we celebrate diversity in all it’s beauty and strength.

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Thank you to our host, Linda Hill for the consistency of SoCS through the year.

For SoCS rules and more streams, visit:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS March 13, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Buttercups!

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is “butter.”

We are not going to write about, wait, who’s we? Me and the cat? She’s not interested in writing. She just wants to cuddle since she hid most of the day yesterday in the bedroom where maybe she was trapped. I don’t know. But I don’t want to write about the first thing that popped into my head, the butter in the refrigerator and object of my cheating in my endeavors to be vegan for lent. I’d rather write about the second thing that popped into my head:

Buttercup!

Photo of buttercups my daughter, Ayla, took in the mountains

Then, I thought of Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride and found this commentary about how she is not just a typical, helpless, fairy tale princess. She is not in love with the prince. She loves to ride her horse. It made me like her more. I didn’t realize until recently that the same woman who played Princess Buttercup, played Jenny in Forest Gump. Back to the commentary.

Horses and freedom. My horse phase was more than a phase. I actually had my own horse in my twenties. I miss horses. And the beach. But there’s no reason I know of that we can’t go back to the things we love in some way or other – if it’s meant to be, we will find a way. Trust the Timing.

Spring is coming. With buttercups!

That was way more fun that writing about my awful side effects from Moderna 1 and 2. But that is over and done with, and I’m very glad. I survived, and I’m thankful for my strong immune reaction.

Buttercups! Daisies! Roses! Orchids!

Check out the orchids and other flowers blooming in time lapse from Nat Geo! They even have fairy tale like music to go with the images of Princess Bride riding her horse. That’s my stream of consciousness for this Saturday.

But wait!

I forgot all about sharing that commercial where they sing the buttercup song. Can I have three videos in one post? Let’s see! I’m not promoting the product. I just love TV commercials that use old songs like this. I’d totally be singing with her if I was in the store. It doesn’t matter that the lyrics are sorta sad. It’s got a good beat and it’s easy to sing to.

For more on Stream of Consciousness Saturday, like rules and stuff, visit our host, Linda Hill at the link below!

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS March 6, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Way Down Below the Ocean

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is:  “above/below.” Use one, use both, use ’em however they inspire you. Bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy!

The first thing I thought of was being under water. I love swimming under water in a pool with a mask so I can see the wavy lines of light. Swimming gave me great comfort in rough times. Last summer, remember when it was warm, I tried to teach my grand daughter to swim. She got really good at swimming UNDER the water, but has yet to trust the water to hold her up to swim above the water for more than a couple of strokes. She’ll get it though.

Once upon a time, I had a dream that I could swim under water and breathe under water, too. It was as natural as breathing above the water. Did you ever see the movie, The Shape of Water ? It’s one of my favorites. It’s a love story, AND it has a happy ending. It’s a strange movie. Intriguing. Some hard parts where I had to remind myself, “Its just a MOVIE.” But the ending is fascinating. Here’s the trailer:

The water creature is played by the same guy who plays the alien Saru in Star Trek Discovery, Doug Jones who is an actor, contortionist, and mime. Also staring in The Shape of Water, is Olivia Spencer who is in a lot of my favorite movies, like Hidden Figures, The Help, and she played God in The Shack. Sally Hawkins plays the main character who is mute. She did a good job.

Earlier in the stream, I thought of an old song by Donovan called “Atlantis,” because there’s the part that goes, “Way down below the ocean, where I wanna be, she may be….” or something like that.

I miss the beach and swimming. I was going to join the YMCA for the pool, but instead, joined a small, cozy gym and have been going to a personal trainer for the first time in my life. There’s a restorative yoga class there Saturday at 10 am which is why I’m going to maybe publish this post early. I am not a morning person. Maybe with the personal trainer and yoga and other classes which are part of “Silver Sneakers,” I’ll be ready to swim well by the time it gets warm enough to go in the ocean.

I took a scuba diving course in my twenties but didn’t follow up with it. Swimming under water with Scuba gear was the most wonderful feeling – like being on another planet. We ever saw a school of barracuda. I had to be in the water a lot because I get seasick on a rocking boat…. Maybe some day, I’ll go scuba diving again.

Before you watch this video of “Atlantis,” the song, imagine it’s warm.

Enjoy the mermaids!

Happy Valentines Day!

For more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday and takes on the prompt, visit Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 13, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

A Hippie Pacifist who Respects the Flag

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is “flag,” to be used any way we want. I like the freedom of that any way we want part.

It still hurts to remember that on January 6, rioters tore down the American flag and threw it on the ground to replace it with one of their TRUMP flags. It hurts that rioters carrying American flags beat other people in their attempted coup of the US government. I don’t often write about such things, preferring to share good news in an attempt to bring balance to the force, as small as this attempt might be, like throwing a pebble in the ocean…. But some things we need to remember, even if they are painful. We need to not forget that this happened. We need to work for peace and also protect our democracy.

My father, being a Marine for 20 years, instilled in me a respect for the American flag. Even as a hippie and a pacifist, I maintained this respect. Never let a flag touch the ground. Fold it properly. If you have to retire it, the flag is to be burned in a ceremony. There are few man-made things that I have this kind of respect for.

When I was a child and we were driving on base when the flag was being lowered as signaled by a loud bugle, my dad would pull over, or everyone stopped in the road, and we all sat at attention. Even as an adult, just a couple of years ago, when David and I were walking along the riverfront and the Coast Guard ship sounded a bugle to lower the flag, it was not unusual for us to stop and stand silently as the flag was lowered. David used to have a flag selling business, plus his dad was in the military too, so he gets that stuff. It’s imbedded in us.

Reading my dad’s letters from Vietnam has gotten me fascinated by studying the Vietnam war. I can honor and appreciate our soldiers even if I disagree with war.

This just goes to show that a hippie pacifist can be patriotic. One of my former co-workers was surprised to learn that I was a democrat. She said, “but you’re so patriotic!” I was surprised to learn she was not a democrat, because she’s such a nature lover. Just goes to show we don’t all fit into neat little boxes. In fact, we have a lot more in common, and more diversity within our groups, than the news media or social media might have us think.

This reminds me of something I have in my drafts….. I didn’t plan this, but it fits here.

“For all of you who aren’t sure, it is possible to be gay and Christian.
It’s also possible to believe in God and science.
It is possible to be pro-choice and anti-abortion.
It is equally possible to be a feminist and love and respect men.
It’s possible to have privilege and be discriminated against, to be poor and have a rich life, to not have a job and still have money.
It is possible to believe in sensible gun control legislation and still believe in one’s right to defend one’s self, family, and property.
It’s possible to be anti-war and pro-military.
It is possible to love thy neighbor and despise his actions.
It is possible to advocate Black Lives Matter and still be pro police.
It is possible to not have an education and be brilliant.
It is possible to be Muslim and also suffer at the hands of terrorists.
It is possible to be a non-American fighting for the American dream.
It is possible to be different and the same.
It is possible to be spiritual and not follow a religion.
We are all walking contradictions of what “normal” looks like.
Let humanity and love win.”

(I found this on Facebook showing  it is possible to find something good on Facebook.)

All or nothing thinking divides us. The world is much more complex than black or white, or even gray. There are many more colors and color combinations. Even more than red, white, and blue. When we recognize, respect, and honor our diversity, the world will become more balanced and more beautiful.

Here’s my Unity Bird in alcohol ink on tile

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to us by our host, Linda G. Hill. For more streams, rules, etc, visit: The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 6, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: The End Can Also Be the Beginning

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “the beginning, the end.” Write about the beginning of something and the end of  something. Bonus points if your first sentence contains “the end” and your last sentence contains “the beginning.” <– Read that again. Have fun!

The end can also be the beginning.

The end of COVID could be the beginning of gratitude and appreciation… that’s redundant. And it was going so well at first.

You can start your day (or Stream of Consciousness post) over at any time.

The end of COVID could be the beginning of gratitude for hugs and freedom to travel. Gratitude for the earth and arts we’ve embraced more fully. Gratitude for teachers, health care, and science.

The end of my first marriage was the beginning of a long grief process which had to come before loving myself again, which had to come before any healthy relationship involving romance.

The end of tenth grade was when my first boyfriend left town to move back to Connecticut. That was the beginning of the summer and there was a second boyfriend by the end of the summer.

The end of my daughter’s high school graduation triggered the Universe (directed by God) to direct my first boyfriend from tenth grade to message me, just out of curiosity.

The end of my first boyfriend’s career in 2011 was the beginning of his move to North Carolina with his three crazy dogs.

The end of my career in 2017 was the beginning of finding myself again, my authentic self, coming back home to art and creative pursuits of the heart.

The end of the Trump administration could mean healing the great political divide if we would just listen to each other and stop watching the news. Except for Good News Tuesday here on this blog. Well, maybe we need to watch a little other news. If we could just have FACTS, like, Joe Biden is president of the US, and when COVID vaccines are really available, and where. But I digress.

The end of the news programs, mainstream ones, usually include a bit of good news, which should also be in the middle and in the beginning. Good news, bad news, Good news, bad news, Good news. Like that. Good news in the beginning.

Did you ever have an ending that turned into the beginning?

Stream of Consciousness Saturday and Just Jot January are hosted by Linda Hill. For more information, visit:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 30th | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: On Being a Night Owl, Listening Skills, Dogs in Heaven, and Making Christmas Last

Here’s the prompt:

“Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first thing.” Start your post with the words, “first thing” and go from there. Bonus points if you end your post with the last thing. Have fun!“

First thing in the morning…. it would be nice if I said I pray before I get out of bed. But I don’t usually. It would be a nice habit. To be honest, the first thing I do in the morning before I get out of bed is hit the snooze. I am not a morning person. I am a night owl. The husband is a morning person. Good for him. Lately, I have started listening to music on Youtube to help me wake up – James Taylor is my favorite, but yesterday, I listened to a Ted Talk. I have to find a good Ted Talk, and one might wonder that if I’m going to go to all that trouble to scroll and find a Ted Talk, I might as well get up. But I’m a night owl. Listening to a Ted Talk helps even if I drift off a little.

First thing we need to learn is how to listen to each other to understand. I’m thinking about the political divide problem. But some people are good at listening and need to be more assertive which means being honest with RESPECT. If someone talks a lot, goes on and on, like one of my old boyfriends used to do, I cannot hold that many ideas in my head to be able to process. It can be overwhelming.

That’s why, when I was working on bringing my soulmate to me, I made up a song to the tune of Janis Joplin’s song about “Oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV.” I changed the words to, “Oh Lord, won’t you find me, a man who can listen.” David is a good listener when I need to talk about something important. When it’s a more mundane thing about household chores, well that’s another thing. But nobody’s perfect.

First thing I want to see when I get to heaven is my dogs, especially the dog I wrote about yesterday. I’m sorry Jesus. Maybe the dogs should come after Jesus. Yeah, unless Jesus is busy and wants to let me get settled in at the cabin in the woods with the dogs.

First thing to do when we have a list of things to do might be the most important thing unless it’s something really hard and you have to break it down into small steps and maybe it would be okay to do something easy on your list so you can check something off.

My Christmas tree is still up. Don’t laugh, sometimes I’ve left it up into February because I love Christmas lights. I took down the lights outside except the ones on the fence, because they are pretty, and things look so bare when the Christmas stuff is down. I took the decorations off the tree and put them in a box. It still has the colored lights, because they are attached. I took down the Christmas cards. This is actually good for me to have this stuff done before MLK day. Taking down the Christmas tree and getting it up in the attic this weekend will be the last thing. But there’s usually something that I have forgotten to put in the attic in which case, that will be the last thing.

Oh, yeah, let’s have cats in heaven, too.

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For more streams of consciousness and Just Jot Januarys, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 16th | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: With all the Infinite Possibilities, Choose Wisely

Our prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “sky’s the limit.” Write about something that has or seems to have no end. Enjoy!

Doesn’t everything have an end? Or maybe nothing has an end, it’s just transformed. There’s a law in physics that goes like, matter/energy can not be created or destroyed. That has stuck with me ever since I heard it in high school. This law suggests something about life after death. Our spirits have no end, in my belief, they may transform in the type of energy that goes on while our bodies decompose. Isn’t that cheerful?

Possibilities never end. Choices never end. There will always be choices for somebody, some being, even if the choices are made by amoebas or angels. Some organism or entity will exist in some form. But this is a bit esoteric. No, that’s not the word. But I do like how it sounds. Abstract maybe. Let’s move on.

“Infinite possibilities” is something that caught my attention in the following video offered by North Carolina representative Graig Meyer in responding to the attack on the capitol. I watched it Friday morning and was impressed by his sense of hope in how to respond to the craziness. I suppose if I watched it again to comment further, that would cross the line on minimum planning. If you’re interested in the question of how to respond and healing, you could visit my post from yesterday as well.

One of the main things I’m feeling right now is frustration at people who reinforce the divide. I have to look at myself though and notice if I ever do this. The goal is to bridge the divide. Don’t pour fuel on the fire. Put water on the fire. Water seems to have no end when you’re standing at the edge of the ocean, but you know what? Water is finite. Use it wisely. We need to use our words wisely. With all the infinite possibilities of word combinations, we need words of hope, peace, and cooperation.

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PS. Okay, I went back and watched the video again after I finished writing this post, and I recognize he’s addressing North Carolina democrats directly. If you’re not a NC Dem, I hope you can overlook that part and glean something good from his message. I don’t think we need to get everybody to agree, we need to learn to disagree with respect, compromise, and find common ground.

For more streams of consciousness, rules and possibilities, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 9th | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Saving Boxes, Watching the Sky, and Feeling the Thrill of Hope

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is, “box.” Short and simple with all kinds of possibilities. Even though I’m more of a circle person and like to think outside the box, I do like boxes that are sturdy or pretty. Maybe you could say I collect boxes, though I do break some down and put them in the recycle bin. Cereal boxes get recycled, ordinary cardboard boxes get broken down and recycled, but if a box is sturdy or pretty, it’s a keeper. Because I might be able to use it for something. I take pride in putting boxes inside boxes to store them in the attic.

My favorite boxes are Christmas card boxes that are both pretty and sturdy. Like this year’s edition bought last year:

And this box from a few years ago:

They contain Christmas cards leftover that I hope to send one year.

Box. There used to be a question years ago, routinely asked in guessing games like 21 questions.

“Is it bigger than a bread box?”

Do people still use bread boxes? We had one when I was a kid. It was yellow and seemed to have some metal on it with a pull down door. Seems like it was big enough to fit about two or three loaves if you stacked them. Now, I put my bread in the refrigerator. Cause ants. Many years ago when I lived in an old house downtown, we had mice that climbed on top of the refrigerator and burrowed a hole into the bread that was on top of the refrigerator. Though we don’t live downtown anymore, I still put my bread INSIDE the refrigerator.

But what I really want to talk about, or write about to be accurate, is seeing the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Dec. 21st was the big day to see it, but sunset came so fast and we missed it. Instead we went downtown on Dec. 22 to the riverwalk at sunset as directed and looked to the west/southwest. We didn’t see it right away, and I worried that we had missed it, but David saw it as the sky moved into twilight. Seeing the conjunction excited me and feels like the highlight of my year, even though the year is not over. It is a sign of hope. The timing with the winter solstice, Christmas, and the holy days, tells us that… I don’t know what it tells us. What I know is that I felt the thrill of hope.

You can learn more about the conjunction of 2020 and see the rings of Saturn here among other places. What I saw was Jupiter with a second light of Saturn right next to it as the sky got darker. I don’t know if you can see that in my photos, but here they are.

You can barely see it in the upper right.

And here, just right of center.

Here, the conjunction is reflected by the river.

Have you ever felt the thrill of hope? Remember that feeling!

The Nativity Story is my favorite film about Jesus’ birth.

May the holy days carry us through

to a new and better year.

For more streams of Consciousness, rules and suggestions, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill, at

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 26/2020 | (lindaghill.com)

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SoCS: Magnets, Manifesting, and the Star

Today’s prompt is the word, “magnet.” We get to use it any way we want and of course, enjoy!

Magnet reminds me of, magi, as in the three magi who saw the star over Bethlehem. One reason this came to mind is that I’m excited and hopeful about the great conjunction happening over the next few days. Saturn and Jupiter are going to be aligned in such a way that they look like a very bright star. This hasn’t happened in a long time like (okay I had to peek) not since the year 1226. It’s kinda the same thing that happened at the time of the star of Bethlehem. I’ve written about this before and refer to the documentary The Star. I wonder if that will pop up as a related post. We’ll see….

The upcoming conjunction is going to be visible from all over the world. I think that’s what the article said. You can read more about it, here. In the northern hemisphere, Dec. 21st is the easiest day to see it (in a clear sky) in the west near the horizon at twilight.

December 21 is the anniversary of my deceased parents. I’ve been writing about them in my family history maybe a novel some day, Betty and Jim. Takes me back to my childhood. Remember those games where you put hair or a mustache on the bald guy using a magnet? What was that called?

Wooly Willy! Really? I don’t remember the name, just giving him hair with the magnet.

Magnets. The possibilities are endless. They seem like magic. The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter might seem like there’s something pulling them together, but it’s really a matter of timing and position. Timing. Trust it. Focusing on what we want, good thoughts, are like magnets, drawing things to us. If those things are meant to be ours. So, we need to catch ourselves when we are thinking negative thoughts. Sometimes I catch myself worrying or imagining something I DON’T want and say, “Stop it!” Then I have to go back and imagine what I DO want. It’s surprising how often this happens.

Imagining a compatible partner drew him to me like a magnet. But not until the time was right and we were ready.

Imagine what you want for the year ahead. Health. Peace. Traveling safely. Having fun painting and writing. Joyful relationships….. Draw these to you like a magnet.

I also thought about this song when I saw the prompt: “Magnet and Steel”

I wish there was a Christmas song about a magnet. I bet someone somewhere got a Wooly Willy for Christmas once upon a time.

Here’s one of my favorite Christmas song about a star by the lively and impressive Angel City Chorale:

For more streams of consciousness, rules, and fun, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 19/2020 | (lindaghill.com)