Dorothy Parker.

I could probably just finish up the post right there, eh? And for a family that laughed at sarcasm, she practically became a pin-up in my young hip days in New York. I ran with a snappy crowd. She was the Queen of Funny. Her snark still makes me giggle.

But those were the days of discos and dance clubs. While I hope I wasn’t deliberately unkind, I was pretty unconcerned. Who among us was most surprised when I chose seminary in the middle of my degree on Organizational Development? (ok, probably my mother, she loved telling that story, she dined out on it for months.)

And I admit that I was very well loved as a kid which allowed me to laugh at sarcasm’s sting when it was directed at me. It didn’t dawn on me not everyone was given that childhood blanket.

Dorothy and sarcasm got sanded off in CA, sigh. Moving from New York and it’s pithy one-ups-manship to a world of earnest and nice. I got it. But oh I treasured my visits home. Thank goodness I have a couple friends back here where I can sharpen my tongue occasionally… I’ll miss Deb for many reasons, but zingers and insane cackling are certainly part of it. Deb was snorting with laughter on her deathbed. Someone made a comment in the livingroom, which Deb caught. No energy for a comeback but the snort was definitely there. Her nurse was astounded. I don’t think she’d ever seen sarcasm reach past coma before! That’s my sisty. I’m so proud. (and lonely!)

OK, that was off-track.

But when a friend posted a meme with DP’s “What fresh hell?” I giggled. So many snappy comebacks cascaded over the dam in my mind behind which they were corralled and made me laugh, one after the other as they spilled out.

However, when I was writing, it seemed clear to me, that I’m not looking for fresh hells. The resigned, intentional ennui, while it still amuses me, doesn’t aid in the pursuit of Peace. But Fresh Peace? hmmm. what a sweet notion. Sorry, Dorothy, you’d probably be horrified. But I’m looking to turn the corner and be surprised by life’s beauty and possibilities.

Even while I’m looking at living la vida local, you had to know I’d not be dumping Peace. We spent our year becoming Peacemakers. Now we’re going to be gathering up signs and portents of Peace right here where we live.

If you’re curious about the format… fourteen lines, not a sonnet, are dictated by the desire for an easily viewable pic, readability and the need for the rest of the “stuff.” So it’s an artificial length determined by format. Right now walking out the door interests me as a starting point, but will that always be the case this year? Who knows! Will Fresh Peace make a frequent appearance? Who knows. The last two years I’ve had a tag at the end. I’m letting go of this this year. But for now, walk out your door and follow the trail of Fresh Peace. (in a couple hours, the trail’s going to be easy to find around here, when we’re blanket in blizzard. Yep, you’ll be getting the weather along with Fresh Peace. All part of LLVL.