 I first met my beautiful friend down in Key West, Florida in 1973. Despite all the rumours and all the stories, some of which are TRUE and some of which are PURE FABRICATION , I would prefer to remember RANDALL LAMAR HOWARD being GENUINELY HAPPY as he was the afternoon I took these pics. THE PICTURES ARE LEFT UNPAINTED AND THE MUSIC UNSUNG AND THE PROBLEMS UNSOLVED SO THAT HUMANS MIGHT UNDERSTAND THAT JOYS AND GLORIES ARE GOD's CREATION. Rest in Peace, my double dear Friend.  THE GADSDEN FLAG The GADSDEN Flag
is NOT, nor EVER has it been a symbol of racism ! NO - NOT EVER ! The GADSDEN FLAG was created in 1775 as a symbol against the tyranny of Britain against our great nation. It was the FIRST flag of our Country. It continues to symbolize A FREE NATION, THE RIGHT TO BARE ARMS, AUTONOMY, THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE , EMPHASIZING POLITICAL FREEDOM. LIVE FREE OR DIE If you'd care to know more about THE GADSDEN FLAG CLICK HERE RANDY HOWARD LOVED this Flag, was PROUD of his heritage and DID know what it all stood for. It's TRUE, he didn't ever want to offend the Public. PLEASE be educated and NOT offended !
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 © Catskill Mountaintop Apple Tree in Spring ~ Undine DeFilippo 2015
I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at GOD all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only GOD can make a tree. "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer ~ 1919  © Beaverkill River at Sunset ~ Undine DeFilippo 2015 Last night's sunset was another amazing masterpiece by The Creator. Though I had tears in my eyes, I was happy to see it.  © Icicles ~ Undine DeFilippo 2015 You see ... I had just left a Nursing Home after visiting an elderly friend suddenly afflicted with heart problems and dementia. I had been surprised to recognize a particular man amongst the patients gathered for dinner. His nurse methodically wiped his chin as he mindlessly chewed the bites she fed him. He stared without seeing. This was the self same man who arrogantly boasted of his great wealth ... not that very long ago. This was the self same man who grossly overcharged me for an item I once had to purchase.  © Dripping Icicle ~ Undine DeFilippo 2015 This was the self same man who sat in the front pew at church and condescendingly nodded at the others who politely addressed him as though he were King. I had long since forgiven this man and also forgotten him; and, suddenly, without warning, there he was again and I couldn't ignore it. A great pity overcame me. I said a silent prayer on his behalf and added all the others to it. The great wealth for which he was admired was of little consequence now. There were no loved ones at his side; just a nurse he was lucky to have. "The rich and poor meet together; The Lord is the maker of them all." Proverbs 22:2  ©In Honour of the Lost Lives of Charlie Hebdo~ Undine DeFilippo 2015 In support of ALL adversely affected and in HONOUR of the DOZEN LIVES that were foolishly massacred in Paris yesterday, I display my cartoon in solidarity with the decision to keep our pencils sharpened, ever ready to exercise our FREEDOM of expression through the creativity of our choice, which remains our GOD GIVEN RIGHT and DUTY and urge ALL to have the HEART to do the same.  © Charlie Hebdo Tragedy ~ Undine DeFilippo 2015  © Perennial Tulip ~ Undine DeFilippo 2014 Today is
HOLOCAUST REMEMBERANCE DAY It's fitting that the only blooming spring flower in my garden this year is this six petalled golden perennial tulip with bright red stripes. To me, this particular tulip represents the STAR of DAVID The red stripes represent the blood that was spilled and the bloodline that carries on, despite atrocities and hardships. It reminds me of my own heritage and THE LORD JESUS CHRIST; how He spilled out His very last drop on Good Friday. When He resurrected and showed Himself to the remaining frightened and hiding Disciples, He instructed them to pray for NINE DAYS with the promise to send THE HOLY GHOST who would enlighten them with SEVEN GIFTS. That prayer is a powerful plea for the LIGHT and STRENGTH and LOVE needed by every person. If you'd like to know what that prayer is and what the SEVEN GIFTS are please visit this website next week. Your comments are always welcome.  © The Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, New Mexico  The Organ Mountains and Fort Filmore circa late 1800's I recently roamed the desert at the base of The Organ Mountains lifting and pocketing the occasional time polished Red Jasper, Obsidian and Petrified Wood, contemplating... making sense of my own recent Rough Ride that safely brought me full circle from events that began in Key West, many ~ many years ago.  Old Mesilla Plaza By Leon Trousset circa late 1800's I certainly wasn't thinking about Teddy Roosevelt carefully handpicking 1,060 Southwestern men as his ROUGH RIDERS. These fearless Cavalry Men were HUNTERS ~ NATIVE AMERICANS ~ COWBOYS ~ RANCHERS GOLD and MINING PROSPECTORS ~ GAMBLERS POLICE OFFICERS ~ MILITARY VETERANS ~ COLLEGE ATHLETES  Town of Mesilla circa late 1800's I wasn't daydreaming about how Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders trained on horseback and lived in the self same area I was strolling through ... UNTIL ...  © Rough Rider Button Back I noticed the shank of a button sitting in the sand a few inches from my boot. Engrossed in my thoughts, I was ALMOST too lazy to bend and pick it up ... but curiosity got the better of me and that simple action twirled me into a time travel ~  © Rough Rider Button Front back to the days when ONE of the ROUGH RIDERS, maybe even Teddy his self, lost a button off his uniform which waited 115 YEARS in the sand for ME to find ! The nickel sized button felt like
recognition from the GREAT BEYOND for recent personal fearlessness in the face of questionable circumstances. After all, it is said that New Mexico is THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT. CLICK HERE TO VIEW RARE FOOTAGE IN A SIX MINUTE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE ROUGH RIDERS ! I'm certain that Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders well understood that "GOD did NOT give us the Spirit of Fear; but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND." II Timothy 1:7 FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW WITHOUT CONCERN THAT YOUR PERSONAL INFO WILL BE SHARED BY ANYONE AT ANYTIME ! YOU NEED NOT SUPPLY YOUR E-MAIL NOR YOUR FULL NAME ! THANK YOU !  Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and The Rough Riders ~ 1898 I didn't learn about Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders while impatiently tapping my toes under a cold metal desk in a pea soup painted NYC Junior High classroom. Nope... I was busy practicing IMAGINATION , driven to distraction by the droning tempo of an eternally nasal infected History Teacher whose only passion was to DRILL RUSTY SPIKES of DATA into HARD WOOD HEADS.  Battleship Maine plot in Key West, Florida ~ Photo By Marc Averette 2008 The Spanish American War of 1898 was therefore a memorized ~ meaningless tidbit of tortured knowledge until I lived in an old Conch House across the street from the sepulchers of souls that perished when The Battleship Maine suddenly and mysteriously ! ! ! EXPLODED ! ! ! She QUICKLY SANK ... on a February nite ... taking with her the lives of 266 Naval Soldiers ... WITHOUT WARNING ! In the quiet of the tropical nights, when the palms slowly swayed in the breeze and the air held a sweet odor of frangipani, jasmine and ions, I would sit on my porch steps watching the dry lightening; feeling the solemnity of this resting place as if it had only recently happened. IF YOU'D LIKE TO VIEW AN AUTHENTIC TWO MINUTE VIDEO of the BURIAL PROCESSION of 1898, PLEASE CLICK HERE !  Battleship USS Maine destroyed in Havana Harbor ~ 1898 The Maine had been peacefully sitting in Cuba's Havana Harbor as a symbol of American intervention in The Cuban War of Independence from Spain. Despite investigations into the catastrophe, it remained unclear exactly why or how this tragedy occurred. The Ship was an armored cruiser powered by an archaic steam engine, considered outdated many years prior to going into service. She very well could have succumbed due to a fire in one of her coal bunkers. Nevertheless, Newspaper Magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer continuously published YELLOW PRESS with inflammatory articles that blatantly pointed the finger at SPAIN, capitalizing on the public's anger and pain, with full understanding that the public wanted to blame SOMEONE. Because of these articles, REMEMBER THE MAINE ! TO HELL WITH SPAIN ! became an unfortunate and common cry amongst the people. So began a series of events that led to SPAIN declaring WAR on April 23 rd., 1898.  Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in Full Rough Rider Uniform ~ 1898 President
William McKinley called for volunteers which led to the creation of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. "RECRUITS MUST BE A GOOD SHOT... ABLE TO RIDE ANYTHING IN THE LINE OF HORSEFLESH... A ROUGH AND READY FIGHTER, AND ABOVE ALL MUST HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD FEAR." Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR PART TWO Please know that your comments are welcome !!! You need NOT supply your e-mail address NOR your full name when doing so !  © Undine DeFilippo 2013 TCM's video entitled REMEMBERING 2013 CLICK ON THE HIGHLIGHTED TITLE TO VIEW THE VIDEO features a most appropriate song By SLEEPING AT LAST. Hope you enjoy the insightful lyrics below: "In The Embers" WE LIVE AND WE DIE LIKE FIREWORKS. OUR LEGACIES HIDE IN THE EMBERS. MAY OUR STORIES CATCH FIRE AND BURN BRIGHT ENOUGH TO CATCH GOD's EYE. WE LIVE AND WE DIE. LIKE FIREWORKS WE PULL APART THE DARK; COMPETE AGAINST THE STARS WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS, TIL OUR TEMPORARY BRILLIANCE TURNS TO ASH. WE PULL APART THE DARKNESS WHILE WE CAN. MAY WE LIVE AND DIE A VALOROUS LIFE. MAY WE WRITE IT ALL DOWN IN CURSIVE LIGHT. SO WE PRAY WE WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF A FIGURE EIGHT. MAY WE LIVE AND DIE LIKE FIREWORKS WE PULL APART THE DARK; COMPETE AGAINST THE STARS WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS, TIL OUR TEMPORARY BRILLIANCE TURNS TO ASH. WE PULL APART THE DARKNESS WHILE WE CAN. **** * * * **** WISHING YOU ALL A MOST BRILLIANT 2014  When I was a child, growing up in New York City, we kept European traditions on Christmas Eve. After an early seafood supper, we dressed in our finest outfits, got on a bus and walked our way to an evening Church service. Those evenings were always cold and crisp, but my favorites were making the trip as fresh snow fell. I sang First Soprano in the Children’s Choir and LOVED wearing the long white robe and large red collar that overlaid it. Each one of us was fussed over and given a candle with last minute reminders. Once the Church bells stopped pealing, the Music Instructor gave a whispered cue to thirty three of us waiting outside the door. Candles lit and held chest high, we followed a lucky boy carrying a GIANT GOLD CROSS, the luckiest boy with a giant candle stick almost as tall as himself and the clergy. Single file, double spaced, we sang JOY TO THE WORLD and neatly placed ourselves stage left to the Altar.  Undine DeFilippo singing OH TANTE BAUM After the service we hurried home for coffee and cake, sweets and gift giving. There was always laughter... once the adults settled in with their Christmas toasts. Each child, was expected to perform a recitation, song or tune BEFORE getting any gifts. It seemed this part of Christmas was something the adults waited for all year ! I had come to understand at a very early age that Saint Nick,{ the Christmas Man aka Santa Claus }, was a very real person who lived a LONG LONG LONG time ago.  Illustration By Hedda Obermaier-Wenz Born in 280 AD, in what is now Turkey, he was known as The Gift Giver of Myra. So that his identity would remain secret, he gave his gifts in the dead of night. St Nicholas was eventually named the Patron Saint of children, sailors, Russia and Greece. He was a very rich person and became a Christian Bishop with an earned reputation of being wise and kind. The tradition of hanging stockings at the fireplace followed one of his middle of the nite gift giving bonanzas. St. Nick dropped BAGS OF GOLD into the stockings of three sisters on their wedding day because their father had nothing to give them.  Illustration By Hedda Obermaier-Wenz In the year 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian commanded ALL to worship him as a god. St. Nicholas refusal landed him in a nasty tiny cell, where he suffered from cold, hunger and thirst for better than five years. When Constantine became Emperor in 313, he was released and continued to carry out his gift giving, until his death at age 63 on December 6 th. 343. Because of his exceptional kind heart and generosity, he was Sainted and thereby BLESSED to continue having the ability to accomplish kind deeds during the Christmas season for the deserving, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN and ANIMALS. I believe I did see him thru a key hole that year, as I practiced "OH TANTE BAUM" but the angle only afforded me his black boots. I thought I was singing praises to someone’s age old Aunt dressed in something frilly and green which brought knee slapping peales of laughter from the adults. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT !!!  Our family recently gathered
to send my beloved husband's ashen remains into the heavens, as he had requested. DOMINIC J. DeFILIPPO was a multi Award Winning Special Effects Man, Pyrotechnist, Director, Set Designer, Inventor and loving respecter of Our Heavenly Father. It seems Sarah inadvertently captured an image of a SERAPHIM in one of the blasts. !!! YOU CAN VIEW HIS SEND OFF VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE !!! There are TEN ranks of Angels in heaven all singing the praises of GOD. The FIFTH order of these choirs is the SERAPHIM known as THE BURNING ONES . They stand closest to GOD as the caretakers and protectors of GOD's throne. They are harbingers of PENTECOST, bringing a Baptism of FLAME to burn off the chaff within us, to purify us and burn off our shackles, thereby freeing us and endowing us with the seven gifts of The Holy Ghost. Many who have claimed to see SERAPHIM describe them as taking fantastic forms thirty plus feet tall with bright luminous reddish wings and making a wooshing sound. Their name comes from the ancient HEBREW word " SERAPH " meaning FIRE. The name is variously translated as FIRE MAKERS and CARRIERS OF ARDOR. It is said that the love that burns in a SERAPHIM is SO BRIGHT that not even powerful angels like the CHERUBIM can look at it directly. SERAPHIM's flame lights the entire world displaying the divine love GOD has for His creation. Let us enjoy the warmth. I invite and welcome your comments. |
 Undine DeFilippo
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