And then what happened?
August 10, 2007

Did I play at Mobile Loaves and Fishes gig last Friday? And wasn't St. Martin's Lutheran Church simply gorgeous? Yes, to both of those questions, but what about the Ovation? The guitar you've had all these years? Did you auction it off to a Baptist minister? And did the money go to Mobile Loaves and Fishes? What? Really? $1000? Were you surprised? Happy? Was it a good turnout? It was? I bet you were thrilled, weren't you?

Then, on Saturday, you went and saw your friend Jo Ann, with your dear friend, Jon? When did you start talking about yourself in third person? About 15 sentences ago? Why was that? Is it easier to write about yourself (myself) as if you (I) are (am) someone else? It is? Will everyone reading this be able to follow along? You think so? Is that because anyone reading this blog is fairly brilliant?

So, after visiting with Jo Ann, you drove Lily's friend, Zoe, out to Wimberly? And then had lunch with iolana and Lance at a BBQ place that was super tasty? And then came home and made an enormous bowl of chopped lettuce, matched with another enormous bowl of chopped tomatoes for the Navajo greeting/gathering/dinner at church? How was that? The kids are cute? You made new friends and ate good food? Then you went to Dick Reeves "I've been in Austin 40 years party!" with Lance? Wasn't the popcorn good? Did you have a beer? No? Just water? Was everyone else drinking? There was a keg? And you saw Craig Calvert singing with Michael Jackson? What? Not THE Michael Jackson? Oh, you mean the one that plays guitar and lives in Austin and wears glasses?

Then you went home and had a quiet evening with your husband? And you watched a dumb movie? What was it? "For Your Consideration" was not worth the two hours it took to watch it?

And then you got the flu? Your lungs hurt? Stuffed up? But you still went and played two gigs on that Sunday? One with a poor P.A. and children running around? But the other gig was fantastic? And Cat went with you to sell cds?
You had a good lunch together, though? The day was sunny? And hot?

Since then you've had more gigs, went into a recording studio, had lunch with Bradley Kopp, found out you are singing on the new Texas Tourist national ad campaign, had a rehearsal with Lorrie, answered email, took the girls to VBS and picked them up, helped Lily through an ear infection after a visit to the doctor, and started packing for Kansas while learning some new songs for Robin's new cd? Didja get any sleep in there? What? You signed up for a sleep study, and you will get PAID for the study? Are you finding humor in your situation by making money off of your insomnia (finally)?

Do you think you'll ever return to writing without questions? In first person?

When was the last time you sat down and had a good long talk with Roger, your brain? Do you think anyone remembers you named your brain in one of these blog entries?

posted by Sara Hickman at 05:40 pm
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Lucy
August 08, 2007

I was recently introduced to Lucy Mashua, a woman from Kenya, by my friend, J Kendel, when I went to perform at the Women's International Peace Conference in Dallas. I believe I posted her bio here on my blog around the same time...

To update you, here is some information about Lucy's current situation from my friend, J Kendel....

Dear Friends of Sara,

Lucy is a victim of female genital mutilation and other torture and is in the U.S. seeking permanent asylum.

Lucy needs immediate help paying her (August) rent and needs money to send to her daughter who is in Narobi awaiting the funds to pay for treatment for malaria and pneumonia. In total, she needs $925.

Please join me in donating what you can. You may make a tax-deductible donation to The Center for Life Enrichment via PayPal (using your debit/credit card, if you like) by going to http://www.PayPal.com and sending funds to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Or you can mail a check to:

Lucy Mashua Fund
The Center for Life Enrichment
P.O. Box 181176
Dallas, TX 75218

(The Center for Life Enrichment is a 501c3 non-profit inclusive spiritual educational organization.)

I would not ask you to donate funds to Lucy if I had not done my homework. Dr. Manuel Balbona, Rev. Sharmin DeMoss and client care coordinator Rena Taylor at The Center for Survivors of Torture here in Dallas – http://www.cstnet.org – have verified that Lucy has come to the U.S. seeking asylum and are well-familiar with her case. Lucy’s immigration attorney, Roy Petty, is reported to be one of the best in his field, and the fact that Lucy is from Kenya (rather than, say, Iraq) bodes well for her.

Unlike millions of undocumented workers in our country, foreigners who make formal application for asylum are not allowed to work for several months during their application process.

That seems ridiculous to me, and I have not been able to determine the reason behind this rule, but I have confirmed its existence from several reliable sources. Instead of avoiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, asylum seekers place themselves squarely in front of them and must deal bravely with ICE employees who can have them detained (i.e., incarcerated indefinitely) and/or deported at will.

Therefore, Lucy cannot just work for money “under the radar” of Immigration like so many others. She is being closely monitored and will be required to testify in hearings under oath several times, and, so, can’t afford to break any ICE rules that might jeopardize her ability to gain permanent asylum status.

Lucy has arrived at her current state of emergency as a result of being forced to survive in the U.S. by the generosity of others. I have pledged to help her find a more permanent solution to her ongoing need for funds for living expenses – through churches or other charitable organizations, etc. – but right now, she is in crisis and in danger of being evicted if she doesn’t have her rent money by Thursday, August 9.

I am including a bio Lucy has provided below. You can also read a Dallas Morning News article about her here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/southwest/stories/DN-gpfocus_31met.ART.South.Edition1.3df479e.html

By the way, Lucy is pretty fluent in English (thanks to Kenya having been a British colony) and is an impressive speaker. She is available to speak to organizations, who are then allowed to seek donations on her behalf from their members separately (as opposed to the organization paying a speaker’s fee directly to her), and that is one way groups may be able to help her survive long-term.

Please let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Sincere gratitude,

J Kendel Johnson
jkendel at jkendel.com

posted by Sara Hickman at 11:43 am
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Article in Religion Section of Austin American Statesman
August 05, 2007

In this morning’s newspaper, Eileen Flynn has the full article on Sara Hickman.

Here’s a link: http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/faith/08/04/0804flynn.html

Eileen had posted a portion of it in her blog earlier in the week.

Much Grace …

Jim

Jim McNabb
Creek Ridge Studio
McNabb Communications
Austin, Texas

posted by Sara Hickman at 05:13 am
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What Would Happen With A Question?
August 04, 2007

I was thinking this morning, "What if I did an entire blog of questions?" Could I do it, I wondered? What would I say? Could I think of enough questions?

What if I talked about Marvin Zindler? Would anyone know who I was talking about? Had anyone else ever grown up in Houston, watching Marvin in his white toupee and bright blue sunglasses on the news?
Talking about local, and statewide, problems? Would anyone remember when Marvin exposed one of the local pie restaurants for having rats in the kitchen? Has anyone ever been to the House of Guys (Pies) in Houston? Does anyone know that THAT was NOT the restaurant I was just referring to? But has anyone ever been to the House of Guys (Pies)? And had their coconut creme pie? Wasn't it delicious? Will you go, now that I have mentioned this restaurant? Don't you think you should? Or...are you confused by all these questions and references to pie?

And Marvin? What about him? Why did Sara mention him on her blog? Didn't he just die? What did he die from? Old age? Did anyone ever hear Marvin's famous catch phrase, "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarvin Zindler, EYEWITNESS news!"?

WIll Sara write more questions when she returns from her jaunt to the countryside today?

posted by Sara Hickman at 09:12 am
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