Keeping the Fire Burning

Posted by Melissa Baumgart
Fresh from the campus of my new school, Bastyr University, I am feeling inspired and really pumped up about women's rights, reproductive rights, and basically, human rights.  I admit, I feel hesitant, and I hush my own excitement for fear of being just one more person that feels the spark only to let it burn out.  One more person that walks away, taking with them that slow, steady breath it takes to blow on the embers of a budding revolution and keep them smoldering, for as long as it takes until the fire fully ignites.

I have seen that quality in myself before: Occupy Seattle, Running a Mile a Day, Painting a Mural.  I can swell with inspiration and vision, only to watch myself deflate in the face of everyday life.  I vow for this one to be different.  I am setting it up differently already.  I am in a program for the next three years that facilitates involvement and community around these very issues.  I have surrounded myself with a cohort of women that share my ideals and vision...we can grow this movement exponentially.

The Midwifery department at my school participated in a viewing of a new documentary, Freedom for Birth.  The film explores the story of a Hungarian midwife, Ágnes Geréb, that was imprisoned for attending home births and is currently still on house arrest.  From her story, you learn about a landmark case brought to the European Court of Human Rights.  One of Ágnes Geréb's clients, Anna Ternovszky, won a decision against the country in Hungary which stated that she "has a human right to choose the circumstances in which she gives birth."

This is huge.  Why have we not heard of this since it happened in 2010?  Why were there only 7 people in an auditorium watching this film today?  Why doesn't some pregnant woman here in the US take this up with her state?  With our Supreme Court?  Yes, I have a lot of questions.

Just to be clear, this means a woman has the human right to birth at home, in a birth center, or in the hospital.  We can all unite upon this front...there needs not be a divide amongst the birth community.  Can't we all agree, and work together to educate everyone, that women are the people in charge of birth?  The woman birthing is the one making the choices.

Let's get fired up.  Let's keep it burning.

Maybe we could get a mural up in Seattle symbolizing this movement.  I was just informed of an upcoming mural project, Stunning Seattle.  I could fulfill (and mitigate my guilt) my commitment to Mural Month, and we could get some beautiful, moving, inspiring art up in Seattle.  Who's in?  The meeting for ideas is next week!

Let's join the Circus!

Photo by Amy Baranski

posted by Melissa Baumgart
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be in the circus?  Have you wondred if, since the days of your youth when you went to the Barnum & Bailey Circus, if there even was a true circus out there anymore?  I know, there's Cirque de Soleil, but I am talking more real, nitty-gritty circus folk.

I discovered, through the sweet little video rental place up the street, that such a thing does exist.  We started watching a documentary about the circus, aptly titled, "Circus"!  It is made by PBS and it is quite good.  I highly recommend watching it.

So far we have watched 2 and a half of the six disc season.  You get to see the high profile performers, the ones that don't make the cut and get fired, the behind the scenes families and the ones that go to jail for a alleged bomb threat.  This show has it all, if you are into that reality TV kind of thing.  Or, I have to say, if you are into human nature and sometimes dream of running away to the circus.

I could be wrong, you know, Amy and I are kinda known for our "all or nothing" penchant for living.  But I am thinking we could totally do this.  If we keep up with yoga, go to this booty camp work out thing that we signed up for next week, and do some more aerial this month and beyond....we could be the aerialist,  We could be the circus.

Or it could be just another thing that we get all excited about, make up $70.00 worth of flyers for (can anybody say OCCUPY?), and then decide that it isn't our scene after all.  And that's OK.  Because I think it is perfectly fine to try many new possibilities for your life, and discover that it isn't your thing.  Rather than to not try anything new at all, just for the fear that maybe you might end up looking like you gave up on this new thing that seemed sooooo cool.

Doesn't almost everything that takes tons of practice and dedication seem amazing from the outside?  Pianists, gymnasts, Olympians, actors, aerialists, yoga instructors, accomplished artists of all kinds.  It is all within our reach if we also choose to dedicate ourselves.  Did you know that Julia Child was nearly 50 years old when she published her first French Cooking book?  Or that Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't publish her first book until the age of 65!

The world is still your oyster, no matter what your age, health status, weight, height, state of mind.  Grab it, make it what you want.  Or at least try something new...it just might inspire you to become the next Grandma Moses!  (She was Anna Mary Robertson Moses.  In her 70s she began painting scenes of her rural life in upstate New York, and become one of the most revered American folk artists of the 20th century.)

-Melissa

Occupation

By Amy Baranski

A couple weeks ago, feeling inspired by the global unrest that's been fueled by economic disparity, I dove into Occupy Seattle. I wanted to see what this occupation business was all about. At the time, the Occupy Seattle participants were focused on Westlake Park. That means that a handful of activists, along with some homeless and street youth, set out to establish a camp along the lines of Occupy Wall Street. Or, at least they tried. I ventured downtown with my trusty blog partner, Melissa, for several days, and some evenings, and one almost-night, to observe and join the Occupy activities in Westlake Park.

Westlake park is my least favorite park in Seattle. It's weirdly angular and architecturally impotent. With no soft earth to feel under your feet, and a water feature that serves as a barrier to traffic rather than a central gathering point, Westlake is a failed plaza. It reads as an oversized sidewalk--the kind that begs for a "your mamma" joke.

The Seattle Parks web page pitches Westlake Park as "the perfect spot to take a break and admire the fountain, or watch shoppers as they visit the Westlake Mall and the surrounding retail stores." The architect of this limp open space that "lies in the heart of the downtown shopping district," is Robert Hanna. I know nothing of Robert Hanna except what's listed in his stoic New York Times obituary. The Seattle Parks site offers no history of the park's inception nor mention of Hanna. An Internet search reveals little in the top 20 links. Hanna was raised (but not born) in Seattle. He taught urban landscape architecture at U Penn. His middle name was Mitchell. He also designed Battery Park which sits at the southernmost tip of the Manhattan borough.

I enjoyed Battery Park as a tourist on my first trip to the city in the early Oughts. I even had lunch there with a friend before catching the Staten Island Ferry for my free drive-by viewing of the Statue of Liberty. I was on a budget. Battery Park is of course larger than Westlake, there are more trees, a view of the water, and more history and money behind it. The Battery Conservancy describes it as the front lawn of New York's downtown. Battery Park feels like a portal. Westlake--an unkempt kitchen corner.

I would never have a picnic at Westlake Park.

There is no romance there except for the sad attempts by a small grove of trees at the southern part of the park and some chintzy tables and chairs that are scattered about. The most iconic feature of the park is the Westlake Star Axis Waterfall. Observed out of context it's an intriguing structure, interactive even. From what I can find, the waterfall seems to be thoughtfully positioned to mark the spot where a creek that fed into Lake Union once started. Knowing this only dampens my spirits.

Westlake Park is also know locally as the protest park. At its northern end sits a stage that's hosted countless demonstrations. Occupy Seattle is one of them.

When the park swells with people, as it did on October 15, it's common to see a Zaccharaeus type figure sitting in one of the trees stretching to get a glimpse of the speaker. Except in this story, Zaccharaeus doesn't have any money, and isn't working for the Romans (the biblical one percenters).

Seattle's Parks Code prohibits camping in parks, as well as leaving personal items unattended. These two pieces of code tied the knot in the middle of Occupy Seattle's tug-of-war with the Mayor. The ever watchful eye of Seattle's Finest, working overtime, created a game of cat and mouse. A protester sets down a blanket and a police officer then confiscates it. On the night Melissa, Bob and I attempted to sleep at Westlake Park the protesters, in response to this tactic, chanted "picnic in the park is not a crime!" While being possibly one of my all-time favorite sentences, who were they kidding?

The protesters (including ourselves) were not there to picnic, to take in the sights and sounds of the park, to lay down on a comforting lawn, to watch children skip and play, to idle about eating finger food with legs outstretched. The protesters were there to resist these temptations of complacency. But how can you resist something that is intrinsically not afforded by the place you are in? Maybe Westlake Park is the crime.

Jumping head first

posted by Melissa Baumgart

Who wouldn't want to jump into the blue waters?

On again, Off again
Yesterday I did not run.  Amy and I spent the day making a flier and handout to support the Occupy Wall Street movement that is spreading in our country.  We printed out the document drafted by occupy Wall Street called the 99 Percent Declaration, in which they propose creating a National General Assembly.  The NGA will be comprised of 870 delegates, one woman and one man from each of our 435 congressional  districts across the country.  These delegates will compile a list of grievances from their constituents and present hem to the President, Congress and the Supreme Court before the 21012 election.

We also prepared ourselves for a night of sitting with those at Occupy Seattle, at Westlake park downtown.  Unfortunately, we did not spend the entire evening.  I completely support this movement, but I did not want to support the behaviors of those camping out last night at Westlake.  They were provoking and calling the cops names, and quite frankly I did not think they were upholding the proposals voted on during the 3 hour General Assembly just prior.

I hesitate to post this.  Because, one, I don't really feel this blog is a political platform.  And, two, I don't want to bad mouth this Occupy movement.  I believe in it.  I am inspired by its potential.  I just do not see how the actions of those protesters at Westlake last night are going to propel this movement positively into the future for our country.

I read a post by Naomi Wolf this morning about her recent arrest in NYC, surrounding the Occupy Wall Street protests.  She is very well versed in US history as well as our rights to protest and have our voices be heard.  I would suggest and strongly urge anyone who is interested in affecting some positive change to educate yourself.

I am going to be reading Wolf's book, Give Me Liberty - A Handbook for American Revolutionaries.  In it she sites historical references and gives tactical plans for things like staging a protest, direct-action activism, and organizing a town hall meeting.  Things we should know, as Americans that want to actively engage with our country and government.

I know, I jump head first into everything.  I bet if you look at the pattern of this blog, you would see an interesting graph line distributing the time spent toward the blog clumping together in excited magnetic propulsion.  And then, of course, the lull of doubt and contemplation about life and where I am heading with it all.

So, yes...On again, off again.  With the blog (sometimes it's all I think about!), with the Occupy Seattle protest (now doubting, thinking I just don't support what appears to be a radical anarchist takeover of the Wall Street protest), and likely, with the Kardashians (hey, I miss them, and yes, sometimes I would rather be them, swimming in the clear blue waters near the Hilton in Bora Bora)...if I am to be completely honest.  Which I tend to be.

-Melissa

Educate Yourself

posted by Melissa Baumgart
After days of sloth and anger towards the system, I am stepping out, back into the world.

I ran today and yesterday.  I feel very, very good about that.  Especially since I did not want to do that at all.  Today's run was fun, and dare I say....effortless.  OK, not effortless, but moderately easy.

There are lots of things on my mind though, lots more than just running.

Getting an Education
I mentioned before that I was forced to quit school for this quarter.  I found out today that it was completely due to the fact that I was not informed about a Worker Retraining orientation that EVERYONE in the program is required to attend.  No one ever told me about it, and there happened to be essential information about how to fund my studies while on unemployment (because I was laid off at my job).  If I had attended this orientation, I would have had the tools to make funding available for myself this quarter.  Did I mention, I was 3 weeks into my classes when I finally found all this out?  And that I have been carrying a 3.98 GPA?  But, whatever.

There were a lot of other critical points of misinformation, due to too many people giving me the information,  in regards to the lack of funding for my schooling.  But I really don't need to get into all that.  I'll just leave it with this quote from my new advisor, "I am so sorry you have had to go through all of this.  It is not OK, at all.  And I will make sure this gets back on track and you get funding for winter and spring quarter."

"Thank you," I replied.  "It totally was not OK."

Before this meeting, I was in a place of not wanting to blame.  I was willing to accept total (well, kinda) responsibility for my lack of funding.  Today's meeting left me feeling better about myself and worse about the system, and it's lack of cohesiveness.

Getting an Education: Part II
Today I went to my first protest.  I joined the Occupy Seattle movement at Westlake.  I also attended the General Assembly (GA) this evening at 6:30pm.

It had a sense of cohesiveness for some time, and then it went off-topic.  We voted Yes on the proposal to not have any other proposals on the table for the rest of the meeting. We voted to spend the rest of the GA focused on an open-ended discussion as to where the people that were committed to sleeping in tents would sleep at night.  (There seems to be a lot of opinions about where to set up the permanent Occupy site of tents etc.)

After numerous announcements by the various working groups, some late-comers (the People of Color Caucus) chose to shift the GA to a conversation about racism and police presence.  It was difficult for me to take it all in, and to feel safe with my 6 year old in tow, as the comments grew more and more passionate.

Getting an Education: Part III
Tomorrow I will rejoin the Occupy Seattle movement.  During the day, my kids are in school, and I am not in school or working.  So, I can stay home and clean my house, or I can get out there and fight for something that affects myself and so many others I love.

I am in the process of learning more about the history behind what is happening in our country.  I admit, I am not one that has kept up with economics and government.  But I also know, inherently, that I feel something is not right.  I have felt it for a long time.  And maybe, just maybe, the powers that be had me dropped out of school to support this cause.  Not to sit on my couch and watch the Kardashians.

But, seriously, let me get real for a minute.  How is it that I can fall in love with Keeping up with the Kardashians in two episodes and still feel tied with my heartstrings to this Occupy movement?  The 1% is SO seductive!  They want us to love them; they survive off of us loving them and wanting to be them.  BE YOURSELF!  As much as I love you, Kardashians, I quit you.  Forever.

I am going to create my own fun family and enjoy my life.

Rant officially over,
Melissa