by: Tess Farnham MetroEast NEWS
A long bus ride to a dental school destination across the river…a stop in the most dangerous community in like the entire world, but also the most wise and loving people living there and gentle…so there is lots of time to talk with fascinating and inspiring strangers (I always imagine them all to be angels…but if not, then it must be someone earthbound who’s made a bargain with the divine saying it’s OK to use their skin for awhile)
And anyway there’s this man talking about what he would do if he won the lottery, how he’d spend his winnings …and another one saying it would be just as hard to be a billionaire as to be poor as dirt. . .and I jumped in, more or less agreeing…but also thinking of that Dylan-inspired Kristofferson line that says, “Freedom’s just a another word for nothing left to lose.”
And then strangely, as he didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d be into such things, he starts talking horoscopes and signs. So I tell him I”m a Libra…
and he says, “Ahh. ..well, you know, Libra is an air sign so that means you spend a lot of time taking it all in from this very high place…like a bird on a skyscraper…or you know…the flying nun.
You aren’t satisfied like all those folks who walk close to the ground and do what they are told…you can’t make a move before you feel like you have got a sense of the bigger picture, an activity which, taken to extremes, can be at times unbearably awful…you think and think so much it makes your brain hurt. And you need a rest sometimes, a lot of rest because going that high can take its toll on a body.
I mean nothing Honey, if it aint free.
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Tess Farnham - Daniel McCree Foundation Board Member
Tess Farnham has served on our board of directors since 2009. She was a close freind and mentor of Daniel during his time as a student at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. Tess is an Adjunct Professor of English Composition at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) in Belleville.
Tess has a passion for the arts and a special understanding to those that struggle with the ups and downs of mental health. She has also served for two years as contributing writer for MetroEast NEWS .
Ms. Farnham is also an accomplished Artist and avid supporter of the arts in the Cherokee Street Arts District in St. Louis. Her original works are for purchase online. (TESSILU STUDIOS)
Tess has a passion for the arts and a special understanding to those that struggle with the ups and downs of mental health. She has also served for two years as contributing writer for MetroEast NEWS .
Ms. Farnham is also an accomplished Artist and avid supporter of the arts in the Cherokee Street Arts District in St. Louis. Her original works are for purchase online. (TESSILU STUDIOS)
