{"id":2068,"date":"2023-11-21T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T08:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katrinasdream.org\/dreamscape\/?p=2068"},"modified":"2025-09-14T04:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T12:01:34","slug":"in-a-blink-of-an-eye-its-thanksgiving-2023-a-love-note-from-helene-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katrinasdream.org\/dreamscape\/in-a-blink-of-an-eye-its-thanksgiving-2023-a-love-note-from-helene-2\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Blink of an Eye it\u2019s Thanksgiving 2023 \u2013 A Love Note from Helene"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sent via email<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

21st\u00a0of November, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Dearest Family and Friends,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"The

The Swansons, Left to Right William, George, Katrina, and Helene\u00a0 (2003) \u2013 St. Saviour\u2019s Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor, Maine<\/p><\/div>\n

As it is each and every Thanksgiving I reflect on much.\u00a0 For me, <\/span>Thanksgiving<\/a>\u00a0is all the Holidays rolled into one. The Thanksgiving that transformed\u00a0my life was the day my mother took me to a Salvation Army program in the Battery area of New York City to eat a meal alongside the homeless.\u00a0 She explained that many did not have families having lost them in wars, many were merchant marines, others she explained had more\u00a0than their fair share of difficulties.\u00a0 We stood in line with them, mostly men, and received a meal.\u00a0 She encouraged me to go and say hello and talk to them. That it would brighten their faces.\u00a0 I did.\u00a0It did. And it was so much fun hearing of their adventures! Afterwards, we went to the kitchen and washed pots and pans, and then went on our way.\u00a0 We had a similar tradition every Saturday at the benches on the meridian at 89th and Broadway that separates\u00a0the traffic lanes. I had the pleasure of hanging out with the\u00a0<\/span>tattooed ones<\/em>.\u00a0 It had been explained that they had lost their families,\u00a0having\u00a0been persecuted for their faith \u2013 \u2013 for their\u00a0race.\u00a0 I did not understand these concepts,\u00a0persecution and genocide were concepts lost to me, at\u00a0that stage of my\u00a0life. I just\u00a0thought the\u00a0tattoos were cool as\u00a0I was learning to count. And I would trace my fingers over the fuzzy fading dark greyish fading numbers.\u00a0 And the kindness of their wrinkly\u00a0faces would well up in their eyes.\u00a0 They would play with\u00a0me and tell\u00a0me stories too.\u00a0 My mother was tireless in efforts to ensure that I was exposed to the plight of others and that life was not hopeless.\u00a0 Life was full of promise.\u00a0 We made\u00a0a\u00a0nursery rhyme\u00a0about the family way to ensure that others had what I had. I would sing, \u201cWe shall not rest till every child is well\u00a0fed, well read, with\u00a0a roof over their head.\u201d\u00a0 I am blessed to have had an ahh-mazing mother.\u00a0 I made my\u00a0<\/span>second pilgrimage<\/a> leaving from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, zigzagging a path across the then\u00a015 unratified states to Washington, D.C. That pilgrimage, as the Nevada Legislative reflects<\/span>,<\/span> was one of the many sparks that resulted in Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia subsequently ratifying, thus meeting the 3\/4th requirement to amend the US Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The\u00a0first pilgrimage<\/a> was a practice run so to speak, and has come home, as an Amazon warehouse associate in Melville, New York, I work alongside immigrants, the impoverished, single mothers and fathers, and those on the rise giving it their all and beating the odds, that make-up the blue collar workforce. I must admit some days I dread going into work.\u00a0 Most days I have fun and have a good time with my co-workers who provide me with daily inspiration to give my all for all. My grandfather who lost his finger at 7 years old in a factory in England was insistent that you know a good company by how they treat their workers. Having founded the first commercial air–<\/span>mail company his premise was, \u201c\u2018Treat them like gold and you have a loyal employee.\u2019\u00a0 And not to forget that it averages out that each worker is feeding at least four humans.\u201d\u00a0 The working conditions, inadequate wages, and numerous safety concerns have led me to a new vocation,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A More Perfect Union<\/a>, inspired by the folks at the Amazon Labor Union who have paved the path forwarding the movement to protect warehouse workers working smart in our modern-day high-tech society.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rev. Katrina Swanson, my mother-in-law, opened my eyes to yet another world.\u00a0 Sharing her wisdom, she spent her last days in this plane of existence we call Life,\u00a0<\/em>so as to ensure that I was prepared, in order to give my very best in moving the\u00a0<\/span>United States, to pass the\u00a0Equal Rights Amendment into the\u00a0US\u00a0Constitution \u2014 I\u2019ll get to that in a bit. I fondly recall our first meeting where I was expecting bibles to come thumping down on my head, both she and my father-in-law George were priest. Instead, she welcomed me with open arms, hugging me generously, lavishing me with a peck, and ushered me upstairs in old Manset, Maine. Stating there was time to talk over tea the next day. With George standing by grinning ear to ear and giving me one of his famous \u201cbear hugs\u201d. I remember Katrina calling me at work at the Marin County Public Defend<\/span>er‘<\/span>s <\/span>Office to a<\/span>sking<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>would I take up the unfinished business of the Equal Rights Amendment.\u00a0 Saying I had to do due diligence and let us not forget Lucretia Mott. I also learnt from my years working with Melvin M. Belli, better known as the \u201cKing of Torts\u201d, that to be completely transparent was essential for the facts to be known, and truth and justice to prevail, that anything less would be just that less. I learnt from William R. MacKaye how to advocate fearlessly on The Hill and put one\u2019s ego to the side and be practical. He was a newsman after all. From Rev. Robert T. Coolidge how to be present for others grieving and sharing the music of Hildegard of Bingen.\u00a0 From Rev. George Swanson, how to say no first to give one\u2019s self time to reflect before committing to new endeavors with a simple response of \u201clet me think about that\u201d so as to have time to pray and reflect. Rev. Kathryn Piccard, a different way of \u201cliterally\u201d reading the bible and concepts on forgiveness.\u00a0 From my grandfather, I am blessed to have learnt splendid things on every day <\/span>philosophy on where others<\/span> perceive lemons stopping short, others make only lemonade, but how to dig deeper and restore that which you harnessed by including lemon peel and other scraps in your compost. Bottom line all is good \u2014 nothing goes to waste \u2013 walk not with fear, instead <\/span>journey\u00a0<\/span>with anticipation for all that is to come for it is good!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On my pilgrimages,\u00a0three<\/a> in all, I met many women from all walks of life.\u00a0 Ahh, so many, so many ahh-mazing women, each of their stories of struggle and triumph compelled me to continue on when ‘<\/span>oft I\u00a0found myself wanting to give up.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is the women of the world, mothers in\u00a0particular, whom I think of these days.. these nights\u2026 the women on the front lines of a war raging in the\u00a0Middle East<\/a>.\u00a0 A wretched war\u00a0where innocent women and children are accepted as necessary collateral damage. Women and children who are paying dearly the price with their lives,\u00a0both in Israel and Palestine, and let us not forget Syria and Yemen. A war where the rally cry\u00a0is not\u00a0\u201can eye for a price of an eye\u201d<\/em>, instead I dizzily watch, sick to my stomach,\u00a0\u201can eye for an eye making the world blind\u201d.<\/em>\u00a0 I spoke of this most recently with\u00a0Katrina\u2019s Dream board member, President Trevor Mwamba<\/a>\u00a0(UNIP of Zambia).\u00a0 He shared that he has some thoughts on these matters and when I queried about who would be best suited to restore stability, rebuild the region, and give peace. He explained that all this should be under the purview\u00a0of the United Nations, for that was the very purpose for which it was designed.\u00a0I paid close attention, breathing in his every word. Can you believe it?<\/span>\u00a0I didn\u2019t interject e<\/span>xcitedly.<\/span>\u00a0And\u00a0<\/span>drew the apparent\u00a0<\/span> conclusion that women, children, and men were paying the price with thei<\/span>r<\/span> lives. The world stuck in a broken modality, who negotiated to the best of their limited abilities, a blinded eye to this horror of horrors.\u00a0 This horror show unveils daily in nanoseconds on mobile phones, computers, televisions, and radios for a world\u2019s ear.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe who is without sin, throws the first stone\u201d.\u00a0 So going back to that transparency thing, I don\u2019t know about\u00a0you but I have been really bad, I don\u2019t regret, each moment has brought me to this day.\u00a0So, picking up stones ain\u2019t something I\u2019m about to do. I rather write a letter, place a call, send a text and dialogue towards resolutions producing positive results.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, no\u00a0shame, no blame. With that being said I am asking folks to take a few moments every day to consciously send positive energy in the direction of those who are suffering \u2013 to not choose a side \u2013 to just send peace and love energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does all this tie into Thanksgiving and breaking bread over discussions of things.\u00a0 At family dinners growing up we talked about everything from a to z. Therefore, Thanksgiving is my favorite.\u00a0 Good times,<\/span> gathering to break bread and it is at the very end of the Christian Calendar Year. Therefore, I like to treat it like New Year\u2019s Eve too. So, I consider things of concern and things my ministry is leading me to see or do and give Thanks. So, what better day, than right now as we enter into the Advent Season, than to demonstrate how thankful I am to all those who took the time to help me to see the error of my ways, Thankful for those who forgive me of\u00a0<\/span>my trespasses.\u00a0 Thankful for those who carried me when I was too broke to go on.\u00a0 And thankful I am for those who paved a path for me to follow.\u00a0 Thankful for mothers who risk their life to give life.\u00a0 Thankful to the men in their lives. \u00a0\u00a0Thankful for everyone, everywhere, everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what are words without deeds, It is time that\u00a0the U<\/span>S Congress, \u201cto put a dime on it\u201d, and remove the only impediment left on having the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) pass into the US Constitution. \u00a0It is time to remove the deadline on the ERA. And to reach out far and wide\u00a0<\/span>and open the gates to having the United Nations to move forward without delay and go to the General Assembly and step in and invoke\u00a0Resolution 377(v).<\/a>\u00a0without delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, my Thanksgiving message doubles as a call to action. \u00a0I am asking all of you, my dear family and friends, to engage thoughtfully with love and peace at the forefront of your words with cool eyes, open hearts, and a soft tongue, difficult conversations around your Thanksgiving\u00a0table.\u00a0 Talk to your loved ones.\u00a0 Talk to strangers.\u00a0 Build a <\/span>Power of 10<\/a> network.\u00a0And whether you’re operating in a solo, or a small group, organization\/network afterwards encourage your <\/span>Power of Ten<\/a> to pick up the phone and call upon US Congress to do their part in moving our\u00a0country forward for mothers and women and remove the deadline on the Equal Right Amendment and make it their priority now. I know it can initially be intimidating, this is where I remember Bill MacKaye over breakfast engaging me to advocate on The Hill intrepidly with his to dos, and I have faith in you too.\u00a0 You will be an old pro in no time flat.\u00a0 Take a gander at the script on our <\/span>Power of Ten<\/a> website page for a tad more, it\u2019s your best resource.\u00a0 And I encourage you to follow other organizations and groups working on this to increase your power base of knowledge. Bear in mind I have to update that page with the most current bill numbers. Mea culpa, mea culpa. And I\u2019ll put up a list of legislators there as well. And I\u2019ll send out updated emails accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

I expect I\u2019ll have more to share from Bishop Trevor on the Peace resolution progress on his foray of politics and governance through the eyes of man of the cloth, in the days to come as the world comes together to usher in this amazing Age of Information which advances World Peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks in advance on behalf of or all those very lives depend on the steps we take today.\u00a0 And thank you for being a part of my journey in this thing called Life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love and Light,<\/span><\/p>\n

Helene<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S. For your enjoyment another of my favs, David Bowie and Bing Crosby\u2019s\u00a0Peace on Earth\/Little Drummer Boy<\/a>\u00a0duet<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S.S.\u00a0 I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t include Katrina\u2019s Van Alstyne Family Turkey Stuffing Recipe.\u00a0 Umm, Yummy!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sent via email 21st\u00a0of November, 2023 Dearest Family and Friends, As it is each and every Thanksgiving I reflect on much.\u00a0 For me, Thanksgiving\u00a0is all the Holidays rolled into one. The Thanksgiving that transformed\u00a0my life was the day my mother took me to a Salvation Army program in the Battery area of New York City…
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