Laurie Klein, Scribe

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To Gather Paradise

by Laurie Klein 28 Chiming In

Paradise emerges around us in hints and glimpses.

For half my life,
with all my heart
and mind, I have cherished
being schooled, guided,
and loved, in return, by
an incomparable mentor.

Mentor and Pupil

In mid-March Associate Professor Emerita of Theatre, Pat Stien, and I celebrated St. Pat’s Day with buttery scones and Irish poems. In her ninth decade, her mastery as an oral interpreter of literature still shone.

A knock interrupted.

Two well-meaning young women, one dressed as a leprechaun, pushed through the door with a rolling cart bearing little sacks of candy. And . . . a very yellow, giant, inflatable, rubber duck.

Are you kidding? I wanted to shout. Do you have any idea who this is?

Pat, however, smiled. Listened carefully. No need to defend or assert her fine intelligence. No desire to establish her reputation or myriad credentials. She may have eyed The Duck but made no comment.

Mildly, she took the sweets they offered. “Thank you so much,” she said, with her trademark chuckle. “My favorites.”

The leprechaun and the keeper of the duck, noticeably calmed by Pat’s gratitude and luminous presence, left.

I remained. Gently instructed, yet again.

This week I read poems and scripture to Pat in Hospice House as she slept. I longed to connect one last time, to meet that clear gaze, to feel the answering squeeze of her narrow hand.

She slept on, peacefully, for which I give thanks. Sometimes we have to trust that the words we speak and the little songs we offer during a vigil register in our loved one’s spirit.

I’ve savored a long, vibrant relationship with Pat. But a role model’s influence on us may be fleeting in actual time — and inspiring, lifelong.

A mentor is a God-given largesse, often many-layered, always divinely timed. In my case, a second mother. Colleague. Friend. Director. Teacher. Sister in Christ.

“When the peaks of our sky come together
my house will have a roof.”

So wrote French poet, Paul Éluard, in Dignes de vivre (lit. “worthy of life”).

Am I a sheltering house of wisdom and encouragement for others? Are you, dear readers?

Pat Stien indelibly communicated God’s love. Every place and time we met, over almost four decades, brimmed with laughter, music, stories, prayers, and the communion of like-minded souls.

Here’s the last poem I read to her, one she loved, by Emily Dickinson. I hope it speaks to you as well.

“I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise – ”

A Touch of Paradise

Friends, have you flourished under the rich oversight of a teacher/mentor? The mention of their names and expertise in the comments below would allow us all to thank God with you for their influence in your life.

lauriekleinscribe logo

You might also enjoy my tribute to Pat’s husband, Howard Stien.

Photo by Suzanne Foust

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: encouragement, house, inflatable duck, largesse, leprechaun, mentor, paradise, poems, possibility, roof, wisdom July 28, 2022

Impressions: Good/Bad, First, Lasting

by Laurie Klein 2 Chiming In

Impressions: one word, multiple meanings

  • Comedians aping celebrities: Jimmy Fallon does Trump
  • Vague notions: Haven’t we met?
  • Dental molds for inlays, nightguards, dentures (clamp jaws, breathe through nose longer than seems possible)

Alternatively, aren’t lasting, good impressions what we hope to leave after completing the job interview?

We want others to see us in the best light as we shake hands with the leader, the banker or pastor, the mentor or blind date.

Then there’s our significant other’s parents, met that first time . . .

Impressions can be fleeting. Perceptive. Flat-out wrong.

Lasting impressions

Yesterday we visited Fossil Butte National Monument: true lasting impressions.

fossils: good impressions

Showcased under glass, at staggered depths, ancient plant fossils seem to float against dark wood. Smithsonian-worthy, the layout is masterful.

Painstaking work exposed each specimen from layers of rock. Equally rigorous science identified and classified them.

Scientific impressions

May I oversimplify?

Organisms + Habitat + Death  x  Time = Fossils

Organisms near a waterhole, inland sea, or lake sink into the mud.

good impressions ancient palm frond

Over time, weighty, accruing layers of sediment embed the organisms ever deeper. Water evaporates or moves on, the way water does.

Tissues disintegrate and minerals may penetrate the remains.

good impressions: ancient vegetation

Tools for fossil removal

  • Wooden frames, for marking stone perimeters
  • Rock saws
  • Hammers, chisels, brushes
  • Adhesives
  • Pneumatic air scribes, picks and needles

Bet you can guess why I like the “air scribe.”

Back in the lab, technicians manipulate the air scribe, a tiny jackhammer, to painstakingly remove the remaining matrix and expose the fossil’s intricate detail.

impressions, ancient leaf

Good impressions, humanly speaking

How do we make them? Leave them? Recover or rebuild them when things go amiss?

“Look for areas where you need to let go,” I read this morning.*  This implies surrender. Leaving something behind.

Every leaf on that fossil wall eventually yielded to forces beyond itself. I find myself reviewing my human interactions on our trip, thus far. Have I left a lasting impression of kindness? Courtesy? Warmth?

I once reviewed a novel for a literary journal. My review’s title? “We Were Here, and We Loved.”

impressions, a couple

I combed the book for key lines, layers of meaning, and vivid images to support insights I’d gained from reading the story—a painstaking process, not unlike chiseling out fossils.

We Were Here, and We Loved: Isn’t this what we hope our lives, our work, our words communicate?

“Work is love made visible,” poet Kahlil Gibran wrote. Poet Emily Dickinson adds, we all “…dwell in possibility—A fairer House than Prose—”

Maybe there’s an unseen Air Scribe detailing our surrenders and endeavors. And a Curator, who preserves our stories.

Maybe there’s a gallery on the far side of today, and it exhibits the varied depth of our interactions with nature and people: Call it Hi-def, video-in-stone that angels or any celestial passerby can view.

The thought makes me smile. And bite my lip.

Laurie Klein, Scribe

What kind of surrender is unfolding in you these days? Will you view your work as love poured out?

 

*Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, May 17.

 

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: air scribe, fossils, impressions, love, possibility, surrender May 25, 2016

Catch and Release, a New Angle

by Laurie Klein 12 Chiming In

catch and release

Giant Trout Mauls Author-to-be!

(Yours truly, at Wall Drug, S.D, hollering: “Catch and release!“)

Too many responsibilities ever sink double rows of teeth into your day?

Lately, my chores seem to spawn more work as I sleep. I rise feeling half as alert and twice as behind.

Walk, worship, exercise. Cook. Clean. Connect with others. Submit work, proof galleys, study technology, and research marketing strategies.

How do I hit “reset” today, rather than the panic button?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Immersions Tagged With: deep breathing, fishing, possibility, space September 28, 2015

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Where the Sky Opens, a Partial Cosmography

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