What’s Going On
It’s Spring in RVA
I do not enjoy yardwork.
Every Spring I allow our grass to get exceptionally high, because I don’t want to cut down the wildflowers.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day. Temperature was in the 60s and the sun shone all day long.
Daffodils are waving their trumpets in the breeze and the blueberry bushes have blossoms. The rosemary plant has these delicate white blooms and there are tiny blue blooms hiding amidst the grass.
My favorites are the violets. In a week or so the buttercups will sprout.
There’s a county inspector who comes by annually and drops off note a once the grass has grown to 12 inches.
I then have month before he returns, at which point I get a citation. If I haven’t cut the grass within a month he’s supposed to send a crew out at my expense.
I have his card and we talk. He knows why I let the grass get high. He knows I cut it right before the deadline. That generally mid-May. During that time our front yard looks like a meadow.
Last year, I broke down and cut the grass earlier than I had to, because it had just gotten too high. But just looking at the blues, and yellows, whites, and purples against the green lifts the spirit.
I’ll share more pictures as our other volunteers break forth.
The Women’s Storytelling Festival
The Women’s Storytelling Festival, hosted by Better Said Than Done, will take place March 24 – 26, 2023, in-person at The Old Town Hall, 3999 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.
The festival will also be live-streamed online. Showcasing a wide range of storytelling styles, the 2023 festival features 15 storytellers performing in-person, 5 storytellers performing in a virtual-only showcase, and 7 storytellers competing in the People’s Choice Storytelling Contest, in-person and online.
All ticket holders, whether in-person or virtual, will be able to watch the festival videos for one month after the festival concludes.
For schedules, other details, and tickets, visit
https://www.bettersaidthandone.com/womens-festival/
The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. Steve Jobs
The Flying Wallendas
Those daring young men and women on the flying trapeze. Stars of The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Featured act under The Big Top. Daredevils working without a net risking their lives for the entertainment of the masses.
They started working without a net when it got lost in transit and as you know in Show Business the show must go on.
This story may be apocrypha. In February of 1978, Karl Wallenda walked an inclined wire to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The days leading up to the event all he talked about was the perfect Martini that would await him. The day came, he ascended the wire, without safety harness, of course, and when he stepped onto the platform at the top his wife handed what was reported to be a perfectly prepared and chilled Martini.
The next month he was in San Juan, Puerto Rico to walk a flat tightrope between the towers of the Condado Hotel. It was said that all he talked about during the days leading up to this event was not falling.
March 22, 1978, he fell to his death.
As I mentioned, these may be apocryphal. But the story does illuminate something my dad frequently told me.
“Keep your eyes on your goal. For if you focus on the shoals, you will surely find yourself among them.”
He would also remind me that fear is normal, it’s natural. Fear encourages us not to do stupid things. Risky things. Things that could get us hurt or killed. Fear is for our survival.
That said, courage is when you overcome your fears and do the things you have to do.
So, the next time you’re faced with a challenge that scares you, focus on what needs to be done, and wear a safety harness if it’s available.
Because being brave doesn’t mean you have to be reckless. Just that you have what it takes to get the job done.
I’d Love to Hear from You
When have you faced your fears to get the job done?
Til next time,
Gayle Turner
Executive Producer