Life does not promise you peace

January 24, 2026

This picture. Inspired this poem.

Life does not promise to bring you peace,

it is not what you expect, or prepare for,

You do not control your Destiny,

You only control your own reaction

to all that is hurled at you.

Even the planets were created

by bits and pieces of rock, in space,

bombarding into each other,

until the masses they created

pulled together by gravity,

pulled them toward the center

and created a sphere,

When life throws rocks at you,

you can react

with anger, fear, sadness,

or Love,

a love so powerful that nothing tears it down,

and you remain centered,

calm

secure

at peace.

“Where there is hatred, sow love,

where there is injury, pardon,

where despair, sow hope,

where there is sadness, joy,”1

“When they poison your lives,

sweeten their souls,

Become ye a center of attraction,

Think ye at all times of rendering some service

to every member of the human race,

Be ye sincerely

KIND.” 2

1 prayer of St. Francis of Assissi

2 quote from the Baha’i writings

Posted in love, peace, stories in the news, the times we live in | Leave a Comment »

a cockroach forever

January 8, 2026

“The U.S. will withdraw from 66 international groups. The U.S. will exit the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The list also includes agreements and groups on renewable energy, oceans, piracy, counterterrorism, and empowerment of women.”

Is this the plan, then?

Stop forward movement,

stop being part of the world,

stop cooperation, consultation,

while taking over other sovereign nations,

taking away freedoms people DIED to achieve?

This is the backwards wave

right before the new one comes in

and covers it over, moves us forward again.

Even if this lasts a generation or two,

you cannot stop it!

We already taste it,

we know who we are,

one world, under God,

with liberty and justice for all.

You are the sickening backlash,

the spit that comes up your throat

before you swallow it.

This is the cry of the bird

before being SET FREE.

You cannot stop the advancement of women to full equality!

You cannot stop the oneness of humanity!

We will arise again from ashes, if need be,

while you go to your grave,

absolutely penniless, without spirit,

unprepared, a cockroach forever

in the life beyond.
——————————–cfblack, 1-8-26

Posted in America, stories in the news, the times we live in, Unity | Leave a Comment »

Morning comes

January 6, 2026

Morning comes,

with its glint of light,

with its “begin again”, ever hopeful,

sense the powers within you,

behind you,

what brought you here,

what takes you forward,

Night is darkest before the dawn,

a buzzing tension in the air,

then light appears,

in all its glory.

Be a candle, be a light,

in total darkness, be a tiny flame.

It means everything.

cfblack, 1-6-26

Posted in hope, morning, the times we live in | Leave a Comment »

What do you wish for in 2026?

December 31, 2025

I wish for peace.

I wish for change.

For the world to care about cleaning our air,

getting rid of plastic, purifying our oceans,

saving endangered animals, including us,

for coral reefs to stop dying,

for us to take action,

to place a ban on rapid fire rifles,

to take steps toward peace, even baby ones,

to greet our neighbors when we walk,

to uplift conversation when we talk,

to have compassion for the oppressed,

for all children to feel safe when they go to bed.

(prayer for New Year 2026)

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Noyes Earl Reid

December 29, 2025

Researched my Grandma Mary’s brother, whose names was NOYES EARL REID.

They moved around some. He starts in Bedford & is buried in Bedford. Here is the timeline: Born Aug.25, 1895. (Our grandma Mary was b.Dec. 1899.)— In 1913, he is in Bloomington & was taken to a hospital for “ptaline poisoning from a ham sandwich” (news story). in 1916 he is at 411 W. 3rd St., Bloomington, and registeers for military, saying a reason he can’t serve is supporting his mother Marries in 1918 (lady named Madelin). In 1920, they are living in Indianapolis with HER parents at 1807 College Ave., Indy. In 1930 they are back in Bloomington living at 1303 S. Walnut St. where he works as a fireman and for the RR (railroad). By 1940 they have ret’d TO BEDFORD and live at an address that doesn’t exist anymore: 1021 “R” St. (near RR?) He is working as a “painter, contractor, for Steel Towers). In 1950, they are living at 2130 “P” St. (near 22nd St. it seems) & he AND his wife are working in paint sales at a paint store. (Some years missing here…) At his death in 1983 of leukemia, they were at 1912 19th St., Bedford. Looks to me like it’s maybe at a Boys & Girls Club address today with a parking lot.

Noyes and Madelin have 2 sons, Phillip Earl (1921-96) and Richard Joseph (1927-2002).

Phillip Earl marries Maralou Shakleford and they have a daughter, Martha Diane, and a son, John Curtis (b.1954). Martha Diane marries Steven Barry Geller. There is one son mentioned for them, Max M. Harris Geller. I wonder if he is a son from a previous marriage for Steven, just because of the middle name Harris. He is listed in a newspaper obit. The obit also confirms her brother John Reid.

Richard (1927-2002) marries Ramona Colleen Gipson and they later divorce. They seem to have one son named Joseph S. Reid. Richard marries Celia Lynn _____ and they seem to have 2 sons, Alexander 1988, and Andrew 1992.

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December 11, 2025

This is my Grandma Mary. Mary Frances Reid Agnew. Her parents were Charles Reid and Cora Belle Owens. She was born in southern Indiana and lived in Indiana her whole life. Her birthdate was Dec. 10, 1899. This means that she turned 1 year old on Dec.10, 1900, at the turn of the century, and 3 weeks later the world went into the year 1901. So she was 1 year old in 1901, and that went on her whole life. She was 65 in 1965, etc. Mary was quite the character, a fireball of a personality. She loved telling stories and loved little babies. She got married at age 16 to my grandpa John Wesley Agnew. They named their first born “John Thomas”, my father. They had one more child, a girl, my Aunt Margaret Ruth. The night before she passed, she was in her room at a nursing care facility laughing and talking. The nurses asked her, “Who are you talking to, Mary?” She said, “Oh I’m talking to my friends. I will see them tomorrow.”

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End of semester

November 24, 2025

This semester,

One student’s grandmother died,

another had an untimely family death,

one wants to be a counselor for LGBTQ+ teens

and was encouraged to find research

on her gender identity,

Another told me his father lost a Federal job

and could no longer pay his tuition,

This semester they wrote paragraphs with pen in hand,

in order to find their own voice,

and not use AI as an automatic knee jerk reflex,

and I taught double negatives, run-on sentences and fragments, because they are juniors and seniors and had not learned it,

and they are not stupid,

and I told them they had to be bilingual

and use the King’s English in a job interview,

one left school because her boyfriend beat her up,

she returned in 3 weeks and got a B.

This semester, no one failed,

everyone took their final exam,

4 earned an A,

3 earned a B,

2 earned a C,

no one plagiarized an assignment,

and I call that a success.

This morning I will turn in grades,

and I feel sad that life is so hard,

that we all experience loss and hardship

at the worst of times,

that some won’t graduate,

that some didn’t care enough to do their assignments

and come to class.

But I embrace all life as it is

and give thanks to God

for His unfailing love.

This morning I am thankful for those who finished,

for those who will graduate,

for those who persisted through it all

to do their best,

and I am thankful

that I found

my calling.

cfblack, 11-24-25

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Fly, my daughter

November 23, 2025

Fly, my spirit daughter,

fly to the heights of heaven,

Fly throughout God’s universe,

Converse with other souls of light,

Use your powers to help us here,

We are the feeble ones.

There are things we do not understand,

Worlds we cannot see,

You now fly with the ancestors,

Blessed be, blessed be.

cfblack, 11-23-25

Posted in Family, grief, love | Leave a Comment »

ancestor from Wales

November 14, 2025

An ancestor of mine born in Bala, Wales, Owen Owens 1746-1861, became an ordained Baptist minister in Washington County, Kentucky, but he & his wife left the church due to their refusal to participate in slavery. (Refusal of their church to not participate in slavery “after much discussion”)

His traits mentioned were being of good morals, an “uncommonly small man” with a noble soul. He is my 5th great-grandfather, ancestor to Cora Belle Owens, my great-grandmother who married Alexander Reid in southern Indiana.

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We are not the same

November 7, 2025

I write things down that I’ve done each day,
so that I know
I accomplished something.
Season 5, Only Murders in the Building,
Martin Short’s narcissism and
Steve Martin’s cooky-ness
make me laugh.
2-mile walk,
note houses for sale,
heat up tuna casserole,
very little reading,
avoided composing final reviews,
felt overwhelmed with life

laid down, twice today,
closing my eyes, I think of you,
and cry,
while my husband watches loud TV shows on his laptop
in the living room,
for the entire day.

cfblack 11-7-25

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