Dreaming of Cheetahs

Several years ago I saw the photography art exhibit  Ashes and Snow  by Gregory Colbert.  It haunted me.  I especially loved his photographs of Cheetahs and humans, like these two:

Cheetahs have always been my favorite big cats. Something about their faces...

I've dreamed of Cheetahs, and here's a poem that came from one of those dreams:

Dreaming of Cheetahs

 

 

I stand in the bedroom of my childhood.

I open up my pencil case

and find

a living Cheetah and a wolverine

freeze-dried and condensed there.

I take them out and watch

as they grow into their real size.

They begin to fight each other

with much snarling and lunging.

I wonder which one will win.

I think it will be the Cheetah.

 

I stand on the porch of a house

I do not recognize.

I see a Cheetah running out of the woods,

running swiftly

directly at me.

I stay where I am. The Cheetah

curls up beside me and

puts her head in my lap.

I pet her. She begins to purr.

 

I am a cheater.

I wear cheaters,

glasses currently broken

at the stem,

glasses that can’t wipe off

the grey slipper in my left eye.

I play with and on words, as Cheetah becomes Cheater in my poem, and eyeglasses sometimes are called  "cheaters."

Wish I could go on a safari and have this experience!

 

 

 

Relay for Life

 

The students call us "Sister Anne Marie Squared."  I'm on the left, and Sister Anne Marie Lamoureux joined me for the Relay. We walked in the Survivors' Lap and went to the Survivors' Reception, and spent about another hour in the Field House, walking the track and visiting with all the participants who were in it for the overnight.

Relay for Life , an event which began in 1986,is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Groups hold these Relays all over the country all through the year.

Here is the description from the American Cancer Society web page:

"At Relay For Life events, communities across the globe come together to honor cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that has already taken too much. The funds you raise truly make a difference in the fight against cancer just ask one of the nearly 14 million cancer survivors who will celebrate another birthday this year!
Relay For Life teams camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around a track or path at a local high school, park, or fairground. Events are up to 24 hours long, and because cancer never sleeps, each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times."

Fifteen teams did this Relay at my university on Friday night.  I was on a team with some of my colleagues and staff members - all women! However, plenty of young men participated on many of the other teams.  Altogether, the teams raised over 16,000 for the work of the ACS.

These photos are blurry, but they still give a snapshot of this event: