Ivey's Journal

To those of you, who recognize my picture and feel anger or pain, please forgive me. To those that have been hurt by the cruelty of my youth, the callousness of my arrogance or by my thoughtlessness, I am sorry. Many times, I have reflected on the past and wished for ways to “take it all back”. Life is too precious to be inflicting unnecessary pain, especially when it’s not my life to spoil! If you know me and I have offended you, give me a chance to do the right thing. Please, leave a message in “comments” and give me a chance to try to make things right.

Before my eyes a suicide, A lingering liquid fate. His drinking rips me up inside, That duel of love and hate. Why do I buy so many lies? How can I ask for more? So many times have he and I Been down that road before! Rejection in the bedroom, My cooking pushed aside, He’s sick or stressed; the money’s gone, And bills are piling high. A promise to give up the booze, The tearful hollow vows, Another trip to detox, It’s more than God allows. Why can’t he make it easy? Just tell me, “Go to Hell”! He begs for my forgiveness. How do I say,“farewell”? Copyright ©2002 Vivian G. Harriman

Lacey wings dance from blossom to blossom, So exquisite, yet elusive. Should my hand reach out or my face be seen, They disappear. In slumber, their tiny feet Tickle my nose and lips; But like dreams, they only tarry while I sleep And flee with the opening of eyes. Copyright ©2004 Vivian G. Harriman

Why does the unbeliever baffle so many of the religious? Is it so difficult to accept and appreciate life simply for what it is – with no specific explanation? How much more mysterious and majestic this universe is without an exegesis! What an incredible lottery we have won! It’s awesome to be part of such unprecedented fortune and to be more than just a pawn in some deity‘s scheme. Heaven is not a distant place we only experience with our demise. Paradise is here on earth. It is the smell of brewing coffee, newly cut hay or sweet potato pies in the oven. It is the feel of a mimosa flower brushed across the nose, the soothing hum of a purring kitten or in the rush of sledding downhill. Bliss is in the glitter of campfires, in uncontrollable laughter and in the serene land of early morning fog. Death is merely a natural process in which our bodies nourish that which continues to live. There is no "weeping and gnashing of teeth," no "fire and brimstone," no e...

Alas, here I am in my younger years (30's). 

My heart is heavy. Shame is all I feel for our country. The day after September 11, 2001, I read a posting by a young Muslim woman, which pissed me off! She expressed elation that Americans finally had to experience death and destruction on their own soil. How could this lady endorse violence and grief against a people that meant her no harm? It was her opinion that the people of the United States were so far removed from the afflictions of war in the rest of the world that they lacked empathy and were indifferent to the suffering of others, notably those of another ethnicity. She believed most Americans to be spoiled, taking for granted or not caring that much of what they consumed was at the expense of foreign exploitation, poverty and human anguish. She hated that most U.S. citizens knew little to nothing of their government’s political, financial and military involvement in the international arena, particularly in the Middle East. To her, Americans obviously didn’t give a ...