VIDEO Anne’s lecture, Who Are We Becoming
February 5, 2012
I’m excited to have video, thanks to Bob Price of Austin’s IONS and INACS. This way you’ll be able to see the powerpoints as well as hear the lecture.
Here’s the link to the video on this site!
Jan/Feb 2012 Newsletter
February 2, 2012
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AUDIO EXTRAVAGANZA!!
(Thanks to Cheryl McMickle for the perfect graphic!)
Anne with Katherine Torres
I’ve finally recorded and uploaded a series of Mantras to my web site. If you are interested in astrological remedies, you can find planetary mantras at my website under “Astro-Remedies” and then selecting the planet whose mantra you’re seeking. A full page of long mantra links can 
Vedic View of 2012
January 31, 2012
This is a short audio section (26 minutes) of my part of a panel presentation for the January 2012 meeting of Austin’s astrological society. It starts with a view of 2012 strictly from the vedic perspective, and ends with my commentary on how to prepare for the energy changes, based on tropical astrology (the Great Saturn/Neptune Divorce).
Lecture: Who Are We Becoming
January 12, 2012
Here’s the audio to the lecture I gave on Jan 10 for the Austin IONS group. Soon I’ll be able to add a link to a video of the session, which includes being able to see the powerpoint. But if you’ve got an mp3 player and want to listen as you go about your life, here’s the spot.
Subject: Who Are We Becoming… A Symphony of Symbols.
We are nested within cycles of time. In addition to the larger patterns, we are also subject to the energy fields of shorter-term cycles, and these all interact to create the conditions of our times. How will it affect you? How will you affect our times? Listen here!
Review of Anne’s Lecture, Jan 10
January 10, 2012
Audio AND Video of this lecture/powerpoint presentation will be coming soon. In the meantime, Jeannie Goldwire wrote to an astrologer’s group on Facebook:
“I went to Anne’s lecture for the IONS group. It was So packed, I had trouble finding parking! And I sat on the floor for part of it (gladly so). Anne is one of our best diplomats — spreading the word — making astrology appealing and palatable to the more general public (although I must say IONS people are definitely more open-minded that the regular general public). Every time I hear Anne talk, I feel validated in my experiences … like I am not crazy, there really is a reason why certain things have been going on. If you read her newsletter, you will find the same will be true for you. Example: my To Do Lists nowadays are empty threats and I often don’t follow through on them (= Saturn’s ways don’t work as well anymore); my “bug antennae” are my best guide for what is to be my next step (Neptune ingress to Pisces).”
WOW! Thank you, Jeannie!
By Definition: The Stars INFLUENCE Us
July 26, 2011
I had to get out my Oxford English Dictionary for this one. My dear friend and fellow astrologer, Deborah Parker, called me this week and read me her newest blog (and you should read it too– here it is. Her commentary is sublime!) I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and like Deborah, ran for my dictionary. The question? What is the definition of INFLUENCE??
Here’s what the OED says. There are 2 entries for “influence”. Here’s from the first entry and the first two definitions:
Word background: “13th century, emanation from the stars. 4th Century, Firmicus and Pico di Mirandola: The astrological sense: ‘astral influence.’”
Definition 1. “the action or fact of flowing in, said of the action of water and other fluids, and of immaterial things conceived of as flowing in.”
Definition 2. “a. the supposed flowing or streaming from the stars or heavens of an ethereal fluid acting upon the character and destiny of man, and affecting sublunary things generally. In later times gradually viewed less literally or as an exercise of power or ‘virtue’, or of an occult force, and in late use chiefly a poetical or humorous reflex of earlier notions.
“b. The exercise of personal power by human beings, figured as something of the same nature as astral influence.”
One might argue that these notions (a ‘fluid’ emanating from the stars) are hopeless scientifically outmoded–but actually, new physics are restoring the concept of the ‘ethers’, now positing the vacuum to be a rich medium of energy and energy transference, and some subatomic particles (the neutrino, the tachyon are examples) far exceed the speed of light, and in particle/wave form (fluids?) move through matter emanating from all objects in the universe to pervade all others.
So the next time someone asks you if you REALLY believe the stars “influence” people and things on earth, you can tell them “Actually, that’s the literal definition of ‘influence’. So yes, by defnition, the stars influence us.” Wow!
In Labor
April 16, 2011
Someone asked me today “when will things get back to normal”. (It was an astrological question.) I said “not in our lifetimes.” We’re in a vast period of change right now. And each punctuation point, each shock and each upheaval, is a step toward a new way of being on earth.
Why now? As I’ve said before, the astrological pattern: Three slow and powerful planets standing on 3 corners of the “cardinal cross” are literally changing our understanding of time. These planets are all crossing, back and forth, over the points in the sky where we have soltices and equinoxes. Solstices and equinoxes literally mark the changes of seasons: They are how we keep time on earth. They Mayans may say this period will be “the end of time as we know it”, and the planets now are telling us seasons are changing, the way we think of time is changing. We can’t go back to “how it was.” We can only discover the beauties of a new normalcy that hasn’t yet been born.
We’re in labor now. Think of the course of a pregnancy: usually the beginning is a lot of fun. The pregnancy itself is literally an expansion period. Mom eats more, her body signals her to rest, there is anticipation of great change and the discomfort of growth. But Mom can’t just keep getting bigger and bigger. There will come a day when the pregnancy ends, and usually that means some level of discomfort. Labor, especially natural labor, is a difficult and painful process. It comes in waves, and often women fear they are about to die. Some do. But life can’t continue without this process.
In a fractal sense, the earth, the solar system, the universe, all go through similar processes. The earth may buck and heave, people may shout and fight, the old, overgrown, too-large systems begin to break down. And what is the result? Something new–the new child, the new vision, a new social arrangement–that requires work and dedication, but which all agree is worth it. The new life we are preparing to nurture will be worth the travail of birthing it, and worth the work to bring it to maturity.
Should we rail against the excesses of the dying age? No. No more than we should rail against the excesses of pregnancy. That too, was part of the process. And for the dear soul who worried that the pain of birth is woman’s punishment for Eve’s transgression… I think not. If giving birth were as pleasant as an orgasm, this earth would have been overrun with humans to die off in horrible plagues many more times than we’ve experienced so far: my guess is that total plaguedom would have hit us about every 80 years, which is more trauma than most of us want to inherit.
We are the midwives of the process. Our job is to watch the waves of change break over us and recede, keep adapting to the changes of the last series of pains, prepare ourselves for the next shocks, until we see the beginning of the new. We will never “get back to normal” because “normal” is in the process of change. Our children and grandchildren will have enough time in the new arrangement to get a sense of “normal”, but our job is to keep riding the waves.
Scenes from the Birthing Room…
March 16, 2011
THIS is what I meant when I said, in the previous post, we are giving birth to the child of the new era:
On Mar 13, 2011, at 9:59 AM, SUSAN BLACK wrote:
From my cousin Anne Thomas in Sendai, Japan where she has lived for the past Decade teaching English. Very moving!!
Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,
First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very
touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.
Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend’s home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.
During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, “Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another.”
Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.
There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.
Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains around Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.
And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.
They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend’s husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.
Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an Enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don’t. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that is much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.
Thank you again for your care and Love of me,
With Love in return, to you all,
Anne
Astro-weather… an analysis
March 16, 2011
Astrologers have been waiting and holding our breath for Uranus to finally re-enter Aries for its run til 2019. Well, it finally happened on March 11th, long hours after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and shortly before the cascade of nuclear accidents.
Wow. Let’s analyze this.
First, we are dealing with the soltice/equinox points: Aries is the first of these points–the degree of the spring equinox. Solstice points are the Axis Mundi– the axis upon which the world turns–the four corners of the world.. Appropriate to this symbolism, the 9.1 Japanese quakes actually moved the earth several more inches off its typical axis.
But the quake actually struck when Uranus was at 29 degrees and 59 minutes of Pisces. Why was this such a big deal? Let us count the ways:
1. It’s as close to the Axis Mundi as it could possibly be, so that’s plenty.
2. 29 degrees is an “unstable degree” and Uranus is the least “stable” of all planets.
3. Uranus was in Pisces, a water sign ruled by Neptune AND Neptune was in Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus
4. AND Neptune was at 29 degrees of Aquarius. So with both of these at 29 degrees of each others’ home signs, one of the planets long associated with instability in a water sign, and the other long associated with the ocean in a sign associated with ‘shaking things up’… we had a perfect storm.
5. And one more thing–the Moon, the most visible object in the night sky, was very close to it’s first quarter position, long considered the position of ACTION. It was also approaching one of the Biggest Full Moons of 20 years (because the Moon will be unusually close to the earth this time).
So can we rest now? I’m sorry, but we can’t. On March 19, the Full Moon will be at perigee (closest to earth) at 29 Scorpio, the sign of the underground, the underworld, the hidden. And this powerful Full Moon will exactly conflict with Neptune (exact square), still at 29 Aquarius. Uranus will still be on the Axis Mundi. Unstable degrees, a powerful Moon, and a powerful Uranus, sharing MARS rulership (conflict, fire, explosions) with the Moon (both Scorpio and Aries are ruled by Mars, which is in watery Pisces).
There’s a lot more going on in these charts, but this plenty to paint a picture. Uranus will be at the Axis Mundi until March 28, but will return to this degree later this year, resting at that specific point between 11/11/11 and 1/8/2012. I particularly cringe at the 11/11/11 date, not because those numbers are astrologically significant, but they are VERY psychologically significant, and may prompt some unusual behavior even without Uranus’s help.
Gee. I hate to end this post on such a dire note. Right now the only thing I can think of are a couple of platitudes: True, but not new. But it’s still important to remember that these earth changes are course-corrections. We are in the process of long-needed change, and as stubborn as we humans are, we often neglect to make change until there is no longer choice. … or to mix our metaphors here, we are in the birth-pangs of a new age. Birth is sometimes long, difficult, and painful, but the results evoke the most profound love we know on earth: that of a mother for her new-born child. We are getting ready to welcome the child-form of a new era in human history.
IONS Lecture: EMFs and Subtle Energies
February 10, 2011
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The State of Aging in America
January 30, 2011
Last week three middle-aged people knocked on my door, and introduced themselves as children of my neighbor, two doors down. She moved into the neighborhood within weeks of my move-in, and had been a school librarian in Iowa before her retirement, so we had a lot in common–I’d worked for decades in K-12 education and was also a librarian (but was never a School Librarian). These lovely siblings were knocking on neighbors’ doors to tell us that Barbara had unexpectedly died the night before, and to invite us to a gathering to honor her, at her home, on Sunday.
This WAS a shock. Barbara was only 69. She was taking medication for high blood pressure, but there was no medical concern about imminent death. Her kids said her greatest fear was a long period of incapacitation.
At the gathering, I heard more. She called 911 herself, and after the ambulance came, she was intubated–a breathing tube was inserted down her throat. She clearly indicated that she wanted it OUT, and it was removed. She died before reaching the hospital.
Of course, I’m questioning the accuracy of the details, repeated secondhand. But the point was, Barbara feared incapacitation worse than death. And quite possibly consciously made a decision to die rather than start a series of medical interventions. And there’s good reason for that.
Thanks to the false use of the phrase “death panels” and the propoganda against “killing grannie”, old people have even more to fear than if the original health coverage plan had been allowed to pass. The personal cost of health care for the aging and infirm, and the difficulty these people have in simply getting through the day without help, makes dying a pretty attractive alternative. At what point does it all become Just Too Hard? Almost no one has a pension anymore. And social security is again being attacked. Most people are in the position of hoping they do NOT live long lives.
It shocks and saddens me to hear friends tell me they’d rather die than face the financial and personal catastrophe of too long a life. THIS is the country I no longer recognize.
Anne’s Art Tapestry: SHOW in March
January 30, 2011
My Sacred-Threads tapestries will be featured at a month-long show at the gallery of the Unitarian Church of Austin, at 49th and Grover. Nearly 40 tapestries will be on display.
There will be a special show opening party, and I’ll let you know the time and date of that celebration as soon as I know! Prices will be discounted during the show, and a portion of each sale will support the ongoing activities of the Unitarian Church.
Changing Astrology?????
January 30, 2011
I can’t begin to tell you how many questions I’ve received about the recent spate of “news” stories about the changing zodiac. I confess that my irritation (not with the questioners, but with the source) shows. This is SO stupid! In fact, every few years, some astronomer figures he can get his name in print and bash astrology (about which he knows nothing) with this very same story.
There were actually two stories in one. One was that the zodiac has been changing, slipping backwards, so that the sign you think you are is suddenly no longer your sign. Why this is suddenly news —well, we had some slow news days. This has actually been happening for over 2000 years.
If you want to be literal about constellations and zodiac signs, the sign of Aries would be about a week long and Pisces would be almost two months long. SIGNS are not the same as CONSTELLATIONS. Constellations don’t arrange themselves in the sky in equal-size 30-degree chunks. The zodiac is a circle of symbols. Circles have no beginning and no end, but in order to talk about them, we have to point somewhere and say “Start Here”. Western astrology starts by linking the beginning of Aries, the first sign, with the first day of spring: the spring equinox. India-n astrology usually starts by linking the beginning of Aries with a spot in the sky opposite the star Spica. The Indian system doesn’t drift because it’s linked with a star, rather than with the earth. Both measurements have a complex system of rules and procedures for interpretation that are internally consistent and are different from each other.
And what about the “NEW” sign, Ophuichus??? Well, if you run a chart for the year 0001 CE, you’ll see exactly the same thing you see today. And what is that?
First, imagine a map of the orbit of the sun around the earth. It will look a lot like the equator, but it’s in the sky (and in a different place). This is the ECLIPTIC, the linear path of the sun, that stays the same each and every year. Spread out across the Ecliptic, you’ll see the 12 constellations that give their names to the Zodiac signs. These constellations are ALL laid out, SPLAT!, right across the Ecliptic. The line of the Ecliptic goes right through the MIDDLE of these signs.
And 2010 years ago, exactly like today, one TEENSY corner of another constellation slips over the line. ONE STAR of the large constellation Ophuichus crosses the Ecliptic.
When you have 12 constellations neatly bisected by the ecliptic and one more, with the toenail of its little toe crossing the Ecliptic, and when this pattern has NOT CHANGED for way over 2000 years, you tell me how this is suddenly news!
Congresswoman Giffords, and trends of 2011
January 8, 2011
Over the holidays I’ve been asked what we might expect for 2011. I answered that I haven’t done a serious analysis of the year yet, but the one thing I do see is the possibility of political assassinations.
Unfortunately, the assassination of a judge and attempted killing of Congresswoman Gifford of Arizona bring this closer to home. This follows the assassination of a Pakistani Governor by only a few days.
The reason for this involves planets that were active in the series of assassinations in the Mid-1960′s. This time the rebel planet Uranus, about to enter angry and impulsive Aries, is traveling with Jupiter, the planet that makes things bigger. These planets are squaring the phoenix planet Pluto, the planet of death-rebirth, or total transformation. The square is a challenging aspect that forces action. And Uranus is in an OPENING square to Pluto, which is a crisis of action.
These are long, slow aspects, and I expect to see more ‘revolutionary fervor’ (e.g. political violence) after Uranus enters Aries again in March. Most of this year will be a collective reaction to these planetary positions.
What’s the point in making predictions like this? Collective events are a result of individual consciousness. If we are to contribute to sanity here, each one of us must learn to recognize our own anger and reactivity. Not only must we act sanely, we must THINK sanely and FEEL sanely. If a room of angry and upset people contains a few who do NOT lose their cool, who can stay on the scene and stay calm, the nature of the group will change. Most of us choose to leave the reactive group and hang out with others who can stay cool, and while this is not bad, we only indirectly affect others this way. IF you are one who can stay calm and centered around others who have lost their cool, your greatest contribution is to mingle with others. Either way, our job now is to stay calm, cool, collected, and centered.
Tibetan Healing, cont.
November 18, 2010
After waking from the dream, I decided to practice the technique. In a minute I’ll try to describe more clearly the internal process, but I’m still trying to figure out if this is ‘real’. So first I tried, in the shower, with my vision (which isn’t great). It might have been my imagination, but it seemed like I could see more clearly. Then I tried thinking of a friend with some chronic health issues, including exhaustion and frequent depression. I practiced on her, and was simply filled with a sense of love and joy as I did the process. Then I remembered another friend whose husband had been in a serious motorcycle accident. I “rolled him around” in my brain a bit. And then I emailed them both.
That evening I got a phone call and an email. The friend with chronic health issues was bubbling over with energy. She said she was in a circumstance that afternoon that was usually unpleasant and challenging, but suddenly she realized she was incredibly happy. And her energy levels went up, and she kept apologizing for talking a hundred miles an hour, but she had so much energy… And the email, the husband had noticeably less pain that afternoon.
I don’t know if this does anything long-lasting. I don’t know if it’s supposed to. But I’m still playing with it.
More Description:
As I said before, trying to describe the process the teacher was showing me is SO difficult, because it took place entirely on a non-verbal and non-physical level. But I can’t describe it without referring to physical things–like a blast of water, or pushing it around with fingers.
It’s more like an energy blob of indeterminate shape is placed in a spherical chamber inside my awareness. As my attention is on the blob, energy pressures in the chamber knead the shape, changing it. In the process, the blob shape twists and rolls in the chamber, with parts of it seemingly pushed in, others bulging out. I have no idea what the shape is, or why there needs to be this twisting or rolling, but the Teacher would reach inside my mind and nudge it one way or another as a way to demonstrate what I was to do.
I think it’s OK to use familiar images, like blasts of water, or manipulating the blob with imaginary fingers, but I also get that the visuals connected to the world we know are a film that may interfere with the process.
I’ll let you know as I continue to play with this. If you want me to do this during a reading, I’ll be happy to.
Maintaining Balance in a Time of Change
October 27, 2010
This is a lecture I gave at the 2010 Esoteric Conference in San Diego County (Valley Center Essene Retreat Center) in October.
San Diego Constellation Workshops
September 22, 2010
I’ll be in San Diego from Oct 7-12, 2010 for several events. The weekend features the Essene Universalist Temple’s annual esoteric conference, where I will be speaking and conducting two constellations. This is a fabulous conference with a great speaker lineup, and you can find more info about it here.
On Monday, we’ll have an afternoon/evening constellation workshop, with 4 openings left. The end of this session will include a special constellation for the healing of all participants. For more information about this please drop me an email at anne (at) stariel.com.
I will also have limited time available for in-person astrological readings while I’m there, so if you’re near San Diego, it would be a good time to connect personally!
I look forward to seeing all my San Diego friends!
Family Constellation Workshop: Sept 19
September 8, 2010
Sunday, Sept. 19, 2 pm – evening
At long last, several requests later….. Now I’m making a Request for Participants!
One lovely individual has requested a Family Constellation, which is a healing process that is most powerful in a group setting. I am asking those of good heart and curiosity to come (FREE) to assist this person in her own healing. There is also space for two other focused (paid) constellations.
Constellation work (which is not about stars, but is about how energy is arranged–’constellated’–among people) is a phenomenal process that combines techniques from shamanism and psycho-spiritual healing.
- We engage the energies of love, responsible for all creation.
- Using love’s energies, we interact with the ancestors and sometimes with people we may never know, to create an opening for healing.
- The process “un-kinks the hose” so the creative and supportive power of love can flow freely, and can be available in one’s everyday life.
- This is a group event, in which everyone gains from the singular process which plays out around one individual.
During the workshop, we will also have one constellation focused on the healing of all individuals present. I invite all participants to attend FREE–in support of your own healing and that of others. There is also room for two more individuals to be healing focal points, at $250 each.
For more information about the constellation process, sample stories, etc., look under the heading “Family Constellations at www.stariel2.com
Please email me at anne@stariel.com if you would like to participate. I will need RSVPs –I need a reliable count of participants to make this work for the person who requested this.
Thanks so much to everyone.
“Worst Case Scenario” or “Best Case Scenario”?
July 12, 2010
One of the most insidious parts of this economic and ecological downturn is the way it has sapped the optimism and energy of entire groups of people. Americans appear to have lost their iconic sense of optimism and purpose. For a group to pull together cohesively, it needs a sense of purpose: whatever we may think of the morality of “Manifest Destiny” in the 19th century, it gave the nation a sense of mission and purpose that created optimism and possibility in the (white) citizenry. John F. Kennedy’s mission to the moon did the same thing for the entire country in the 1960′s. We need a sense of purpose.
But every one of us is being trained by the media to look for the “worst case scenario.” Oil in the gulf? Worst case scenario: end of the world. Financial crisis–worst case scenario? end of the world. New diseases–worst case scenario? end of the world. Spreading fear may “sell”, but it’s not news at all. The worst case scenario will always be the end of the world by various dreadful means. I can understand the thinking that this might motivate people to change things, but negativity is NOT really a motivator. It’s a demotivator.
My teacher (Hugh Martin) used to stress how much we waste productive energy by playing what he called “The Ain’t-It-Awful Game”. That’s the game where one person complains about his arthritis, the next, sympathizing, says the awful weather makes it even worse, the next person talks about the friend who got heat-stroke from the weather, the first remembers a friend who died of heat-stroke…. Or the one that starts with the oil in the Gulf, is added to by the terrible politics that enables rich corporations, the next adds stuff about the evil of greedy corporations, etc… These conversations are depressive, demotivating, add nothing useful to our understanding, and burn inner psychic energy that could be used to accomplish something.
Just imagine what it would be like if the news media were to ask interviewees “What’s the BEST possible outcome for this situation? How do we get there?” Just that small shift changes the motivation of listeners. Just that small shift offers the possibility of shared purpose, of creating a mission that joins people together instead of dividing them. What’s the best case scenario of creating shared purpose? What’s the best case scenario for community caring? If the best case scenario seems utterly unrealistic, why do we tend to believe the worst-case scenario is more realistic? What’s the best case scenario for sending out this blog asking people to think about the best case scenario?
Pictures
May 12, 2010
Ok. I said I’m open to romance, would like to meet a wonderful man, and got feedback that I needed more pictures of me on my site. So I put some up….here, and got this response from one correspondent:
- “Wow. This aging thing may be the most universal of stories, but it is nonetheless shocking to witness. Transformation before our very eyes, but without our seeing it most of the time.”
Reminds me of the time my much much younger brother, on seeing pics of Mom when I was a kid, saying to her…
“Mom! You used to be a Beautiful Lady!”
Well! I guess “facts is facts”. Oh dear.