Reinventing Beauty, Chapter 2 / Day 5 -- Dancing With Ghosts

photographersarahmoon
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Peeps,

A sense of unease seems to be present tonight (Thursday).  The expected showers that were predicted for yesterday and today seem to have moved slightly north-east and north-west; if heavy clouds hang overhead they cannot be seen in the ink-black sky.  Earlier this evening I was compelled to run the hose to the base of a droopy viburnum which showed signs of duress after I had been negligent in my gardening duties.  Should we have lots of rain this weekend, I know that everything will beam again with renewed vigor.  It is sometimes easy to forget that many plants, shrubs, trees and fall bulbs still continue through their life cycle and watering must still be part of the gardening schedule.  It is so annoying to visit the garden center in mid September when one sees only huge stacks of pumpkins, bales of hay, over-fertilized mums, and sun-burnt flats of pansies; if history repeats itself, this meagre selection will be replaced in early November with Christmas trees that seem spent by Christmas Eve.


Amy Goodman and Democracy Now's coverage of Troy Davis' execution was balanced, comprehensive and exemplary.  Despite overwhelming evidence that cast doubt on the case, in the form of recantations of the part of numerous eyewitnesses, as well as troubling irregularities regarding the prosecution's procedure and the judge's sentence of the death penalty, the state of Georgia proceeded with the execution through lethal injection.  Amnesty International reports that millions of petitions worldwide were not enough to persuade the judicial system to grant a stay of execution.  The Innocence Project speculates that many other prisoners who are on death row or serving life sentences without parole are innocent, with very little chance of getting their individual cases reopened; of interest is that a large percentage of these are minorities who have had very little access to legal representation but instead live out their lives behind bars.  Outside the prison in Georgia, groups of protesters peacefully continued their vigil against the backdrop of numerous police cars with screaming sirens and packs of police-dogs meant to intimidate.  Noticeably absent were right-to-lifers who prefer to stalk clinics in search of easy prey.


I found it difficult to settle down last night while thinking of Troy Davis.  Unlike others, who aided by faith have no misgivings about the moral dilemma posed by capital punishment, the deaths of the innocent caused by war, and the nation's growing poor, I slept fretfully--dreams of falling, circus props, and dancing with ghosts.


Please enjoy today's visual treat courtesy of photographer Sarah Moon.


Sincerely,
Shane