Author Archives: Karen Molenaar Terrell

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About Karen Molenaar Terrell

Karen's stories have appeared in *Newsweek*, *The Christian Science Monitor*, and *Pack and Paddle Magazine* and she's the author of *Are You Taking Me Home Now?: Adventures with Dad*, *The Second Hundred Years: Further Adventures with Dad*, *The Brush of Angel Wings*, *The Madcap Christian Scientist* series, *A Poem Sits on my Windowsill*, *Finding the Rainbows: Lessons from Dad and Mom*, and co-author of *The Humoristian Chronicles: A Most Unusual Fellowship*. Her photos are featured in the spring 2014 edition of the *Bellingham Review*, and the "Photos from the Field" page of the April/May 2017, December/January 2018-2019, April/May 2019, and June/July 2020 issues of of *Mother Earth News*. Her photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60803140@N06/ Her books can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Molenaar-Terrell/e/B0044P90RQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1312060042&sr=8-

Insurrection Should Have Been a Deal-Breaker for Every Patriotic American

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No, I’m not voting for Harris because she’s a woman. If Trump was a woman, and Harris was a man, I’d still be voting for Harris.

No, I’m not freaked out by the flags that proclaim “WITCHES FOR KAMALA.” I am freaked out, though, by the Confederate and NAZI flags I’ve seen at Trump’s rallies.

And you can tap dance around it all you want, but the Trump-led insurrection of January 6th should have been a deal-breaker for every patriotic, stars-and-stripes-flying, law-abiding, Constitution-loving American.

Here’s what I witnessed live in front of my television on January 6: I witnessed Trump urging his followers to march on the capitol and “fight like hell” – I watched his followers climb over barricades, clash with capitol police, stab the police with flagpoles, crash through windows, and enter the capitol building with Confederate battle flags. I watched legislators being rushed out of the building by security because their lives were in danger. I saw a gallows for Pence set up. And we were wondering where the National Guard was – why hadn’t they been called in? Surely Trump could have called them directly – he was the commander-in-chief, he didn’t need to go through official channels.

I had a friend who actually went to the rally – she was a Trump supporter and still is, I think – but she left after Trump spoke and got on a bus and went home and I don’t think – even though she was there for the speech – she’s ever actually realized what happened after the speech. I feel like I had a better view than she did at that point. What my friend did was practice her First Amendment rights – she came to peacefully protest the lie she’d been led to believe – that this was a “stolen election.”

What happened after my friend left, though, was criminal. Our Constitution guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” For me, the key qualifier there in regards to January 6th is “peaceably.”

I was, frankly, traumatized by what I saw that day. How could this happen in the USA?!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Link to footage from January 6th.

FEMA Memes

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So there’s this meme popping up on some of my friends’ FB walls like those little animals in a Whac-a-Mole game. The meme goes something like this: “Why is our government spending all this money on illegal immigrants when it’s not doing anything for the hurricane victims?”

Which. What?!

If you do a little research, you’ll find that “As of Sunday, FEMA says it has provided more than $137 million in assistance to six states in the southeast, including 7,000 federal personnel, nearly 15 million meals, 14 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than half a million tarps. The agency also says more than 3,000 North Carolina residents have been rescued or supported by more than 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel, with recovery efforts aided by National Guard and active duty troops. North Carolina has also received $100 million in federal transportation funds to rebuild roads and bridges washed out by the storm.” (NPR)

In addressing Trump’s claim that the federal government is only offering $750 to “people whose homes have been washed away.” NPR explains: “The $750 Trump refers to is what’s called Serious Needs Assistance, an initial direct relief payment intended to help cover emergency supplies like food, water, baby formula and other basics. The serious needs assistance is one of many changes to FEMA’s individual assistance programs that took effect earlier this year, along with displacement assistance to cover immediate housing needs while residents sort out long-term options. FEMA assistance also covers storm-related damage to homes and personal property.” In other words, the $750 is simply the first immediate initial payment given to people to get the things they need right now to stay alive. It’s not the ONLY payment they’re going to get.

Here’s the link to the source for that information: https://www.npr.org/…/fema-funding-migrants-disaster…

Regarding illegal immigrants costing the United States a lot of money: Just what kind of money are we spending on illegal immigrants? I mean. I don’t see undocumented immigrants living lazy lives of luxury, you know? So I wondered just how illegal immigrants affected our economy and googled that. Here’s the AI answer that popped up:

“The economic impact of illegal immigration on the United States is complex and controversial, but economists generally agree that the effects are positive:
Economic growth
Illegal immigrants contribute to economic growth and increase the size of the U.S. economy.
Tax revenue
Illegal immigrants pay more in taxes than they collect. In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance
Consumer benefits
Illegal immigrants benefit consumers by reducing the prices of goods and services.
Employer benefits
Illegal immigration provides clear benefits for employers.
Labor market dislocationsIllegal immigration may cause some short-term dislocations in labor markets.
Low-skilled native workers
Illegal immigration may slightly depress wages for low-skilled native workers.
Economists estimate that legalizing the illegal immigrant population would increase U.S. gross domestic product. The New American Economy estimates that legalization would result in $68 billion in additional state and local tax revenue, $116 billion in additional federal tax revenues, and $1.4 trillion in estimated GDP growth.”

AI-generated

A bunch of links were provided:

https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/…/undocumented…/#

https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Economic_impact_of_illegal…#:

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/…/illegal-immigrations…#:

https://www.congress.gov/…/HHRG-118-JU01-20240111-SD013…#:

-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Autumn at Rainier

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Scotty and I went up to Paradise yesterday to walk around in the autumn colors. Last week the weather forecast had predicted sunshine up there, but… that changed. 😀 It was pretty wet up there, but it was still beautiful. I thought my camera was doing some sort of weird automatic “vignette” with my photos (fading my photos out at the corners), but then I realized my lens filter was actually all fogged-up on the rim. 😀

Highlights: On the drive up to Paradise from Longmire, I glanced over at a parking lot by the Nisqually Glacier (or where the glacier USED to be), and saw a familiar van – I was pretty sure this was the same van I’d seen at Mount Baker last week, and I was pretty sure it belonged to my new friends, Cecelia and Bob. Whoah. So I messaged them, and learned that they were at Rainier, too! That was kind of cosmic. (We passed them on the way back down, but I don’t think they saw us.)

We went into the Paradise gift shop at the Visitor Center and chatted with the pair of salesclerks behind the counter. I told them I’d worked in the old Visitor Center almost 50 years ago – back when the Visitor Center looked like an alien spacecraft. They laughed and said the old Visitor Center had flown back to the Mother Ship.

I found one of my Dad’s books in the giftshop – it’s always fun to come upon his books or maps in tourist hangouts. It helps me feel he’s still here with us.

At Myrtle Falls, we came upon a couple of National Park employees getting the trails ready for winter. I thanked them for their service and we chatted for a bit about climbing. Noah and Carter were pretty fun and graciously agreed to let me snap a photo.

Then, as we were coming back from the Falls, a little family of sooty grouse (I mistook them for ptarmigans at first) crossed our path (literally) and we snapped some quick pics.
***

We visited the Ashford Creek Pottery shop on the way up to Rainier yesterday to visit its proprietor, our old friend Rick Johnson, and to take pictures of the artwork of Dad’s that Rick has hanging on the walls. I also got Rick to pose with art by Todd Horton (who, coincidentally, lives in the same Skagit Valley communicty as us), and to pose with one of Dad’s books.

(I think the painting that most tickled me yesterday was one Dad had painted depicting mountains of Alaska – and in which he’d whimsically added the Matterhorn in the background. I was looking at the painting, and then thought, “Whoah. That’s the Matterhorn there. What’s THAT doing there?” 😀 It put a grin on my face. Dad. Hahhahhahahar!)
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

Last Page of Mother Earth News

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Look for my butterfly photo on the last page of the latest Mother Earth News. (Found a copy at the Mount Vernon Co-Op and, of course, had to let everyone within hearing distance know all about this. They were very patient with me.)

I Am Her Reflection

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It’s dark and still when I wake
I feel wrapped in soft velvet
No hurt feelings or rejection, no pain,
discouragement, disappointment, or dismay
Before I let the news or messenger or FB
Determine my day
I let myself bask in the love of Love
For a moment – feel the peace and joy
And all-encompassing beauty,
Of the one Mind, Life, Love.
I have no opinions of my own,
No personal beliefs or feelings –
No fear, indignation, or dejection-
All I can feel is what Love feels –
I am Her reflection.

– Karen Molenaar Terrell

Little Robin in My Hands

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I heard the telltale thump on the dining room window and ran around the house to see if I could help. The robin was lying on the ground, not moving, but I could see he was still breathing. I gently scooped him into my hands and began to talk to him: “God is your Life. You are the perfect, whole, complete expression of Love. You live in the realm of Good – you are never outside of God’s governance – never separated from Love.” And I softly sang one of my favorite hymns to him: “Everlasting arms of Love are beneath, around, above.”

The robin watched me and listened to me and seemed to be comfortable in my hands. He didn’t seem at all scared of me.

When I first picked him up his beak was open, and I wondered if his beak was injured in some way. I saw blood in my palm and realized he had a wound on his breast. I continued to affirm to myself and to the little robin that he was safe and whole and embraced in Love, and slowly his beak closed.

I brought him up to the deck and put him in a flower box on the railing. I kept stroking his back, and talking to him, and he stayed there, listening. Then I asked, “Are you ready to fly now?” And he lifted up his wings – just like that! – and flew over to the fencing around the blueberry patch.

I whooped to him from the deck: “Have a wonderful day, little one!”

I knew I was walking on holy ground.

This Is What I Trust

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In the stillness of the night
I commune with the Cosmos –
feel the presence, power, might
of Love enfolding me –
and this is what I trust –
my own experience with the Divine.
I don’t need to be told
what to believe, what to think,
what to feel,
when to stand
and when to kneel.
I know in my own heartt
what’s genuine, what’s real.

– Karen Molenaar Terrell

Blue Cosmos (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)

Imagine a World Unboxed

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And now a poem-

Imagine a world without labels
Imagine a world unboxed
Imagine a world where people
Don’t assume to know you
Before you’ve had a chance to talk
Karen Molenaar Terrell

One of the Best Days Ever

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When Xander was in kindergarten I went to teaching half-time for the last part of the school year so that I could be off on the days Xander was off from kindergarten. One of the best days I’ve ever had was the day when Xander and I went to Washington Park on one of our days off and hiked down to Green Point together. We stayed there for a while, just relaxing, and then he turned to me and asked, “Isn’t this nice, Mommy?” I asked him what was nice, and he said, “Just sitting here in the sunshine with you.” And that. Right there. That sweet memory has stayed with me for twenty-five years.

I went back to Washington Park today and walked down to Green Point again. I ran into a little family – father, mother, baby, grandma – and enjoyed watching them spend time together, enjoying each other, and thought of the day I spent there in the sunshine with Xander.

I had the opportunity to talk to the family for a bit. I learned that the little one, Fiona, was just a few months younger than my granddaughter. She was sitting on her daddy’s shoulders – flapping her arms up and down like my granddaughter does when she’s on my shoulders or Scott’s. Then Fiona turned and pointed to me – just as my granddaughter does – and I pointed back. Fiona started grinning, enjoying our game.

I learned this was the first time Fiona’s grandmother had been able to see her and spend time with her, and she was leaving to go back to her home in Pakistan on Wednesday. My grandma’s heart went out to her. I know this feeling.

I thought at first that there were colorful shreds from popped party balloons strewn on the grass at Green Point. Then I realized the colorful shreds were actually rose petals. Rose petals seemed fitting for the day.

Grandbaby Time

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she points at me
like a celebrity
on the red carpet
and grins her sweet grin
then toddles to me
and reaches her arms up for me
to lift her onto my hip
we go out to the deck
and sit in the sunshine
and I sing to her an old Beatles ballad:
“Who knows how long I’ve loved you…?”
and she bops her head to the beat
and then rests
her head on my chest
and I melt with the sweetness of it
-Karen Molenaar Terrell

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