songs about bridges

Tommy often asks me why I didn't go with the name he came up with for my blog: "Dollop of Ruthie". He is making fun of me you see, because Tbone completely understands how that horrible "D" word conjures up images of mayonnaise pie and sour cream and all the lovely things that make me wanna vom.

Once upon a time when I use to write poems and hide them, I came home from work overwhelmed by my new vernacular. Ugly words like "termination" and "separation" were now my daily language. While they are very technical and professional words-- they aren't that veiled. "Termination" is a pretty loaded word.

I have a friend who moved to Hong Kong with her family in high school. When I asked her the specifics of her father's job and why it was sending them to Hong Kong, she said very matter of factly, "He is a bridge-builder. Every few years my family moves to follow the bridge building circuit." I never told her this because we aren't that close, but I think that is the most romantic thing I have ever heard.

So back to that poem. I am obsessed with the idea of human (and landmass) separation. I want to build bridges. And besides, I hate mayonaisse.

While I know that words don't make the most sustainable bridges, they are a good start. And I gotta hand it to this guy for the way he uses words:

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort — a sustained effort — to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

-Barack Obama

from his address in Cairo yesterday