Who is Sylvia? What am I?
Why do bagpipes make me cry?
Embarrassed tears drawn forth to air,
As soon as wailing begins to blare.
Ancestors from Scotland chose Tennessee as home,
Hills rolling green, streams, and crunchy forest loam.
My Grandpa Burness eight generations removed in time
Was also grandpa to Robert Burns, renown man of rhyme.
Writing poetry is merely rhythm and rhyme:
Record a thought from your mind each time;
Every sentence follows with all accents the same,
Big words in the middle, rhyming end words is your aim.
Only a few basic words in our language jive,
Tack them on the end: For this you must strive,
Like music in mathematical phrases
Are poetry's words in measured mazes.
Write it out as you see fit,
Then walk away and let it sit.
Read it over a time or two,
Edit and cut 'til it pleases you.
For some reason, it's easier to remember
If things rhyme - like Christmas songs of December.
The human mind can be tricked through singing
A myriad of words from memory to be bringing.
Playing with words, writing poetry is fun,
Creating new meanings by the time you're done.
Anyone could say the same 'ole dull thing,
But rhyming stays with you with a brand new ring.
* * * * * * *
FINALLY! My biography is finished:
"Cherokee Lost & Found."
Because my life has been lived on a Spiritual Path,
I cannot sell what came to me in a spiritual way.
I am offering my Life Story as a free gift to anyone
who purchases all Four Sets of my Pet & Garden Postcards
(40 beautiful top-of-the-line UV-coated postcards -
40 different pictures from my camera over the last 20 years).
When you read my Life Story,
I think you will be intrigued and amazed at how
Creator is the Lord of our Destiny
and NOTHING is impossible!
Please, send check or money order for $23
(includes shipping)
to Sylvia at P.O. Box 7033, Knoxville, TN 37938
WAMINEGA
"Walks on the Snow"
(photo: age 42)
Calvin Chaska Denny's life is remarkable
as a Twentieth Century American Indian,
born and raised on the Winnebago Indian Reservation
in Nebraska.
As you read his life story,
you will get to know him through his own words.
Chaska is a gifted author -
untrained by the professionals,
but gifted by the Great Spirit as a Story-Teller.
And his own life is the most amazing story of all.
As a visionary, Chaska is able to "go into" the past
and write of what he sees and feels,
as if it were the present moment.
When he was but a child, Chaska's grandfather realized
that he was gifted by the Great Spirit.
Chaska was raised by his maternal grandparents
of the Ho-Chunk Winnebago Tribe.
He was mentored by traditional elders of his father, Calvin J. Denny's Dakota / Lakota Nation including Grandpa Frank Fools Crow,
Traditional Chief and Holy man.
In WAMINEGA, Chaska's Winnebago name
meaning "Grizzly Bear Walks on the Snow,"
you will be drawn into
Chaska's strong spiritual and earthly experiences.
In his first fifty years, Chaska has seen, felt
and known ALL of the trials and tribulations
which the American Indian has tasted since 1492.
Chaska's first book is an overview of his personal life
as he seeks to walk in The Spiritual understanding
of the Sacred ways of the Dakota / Lakota Nation
and his 40-year-search for understanding of his VISION,
seen in his first Fasting at age 13.
Chaska's book WAMINEGA (for enrolled Indian eyes only)
is self-published, spiral-bound,
in order to insure that his words are those
that you read, not edited words of a publishing company.
WAMINEGA is a spiral-bound, 240-page, in-depth,
fully-detailed book of his life and blessings
with seven full-color photo pages
and 57 colored illustrations.
Each book is numbered and signed by the author,
Calvin Chaska, with an e-mail address
for question-and-answer: waminega@yahoo.com.
Please, make check or money order for $40
(mailing by bookrate US Postal Service included)
to Chaska at P.O. Box 70733, Knoxville, Tennessee 37938.
Remember YOU must be a enrolled Indian.
January 30th, 2010:
Last night was a "rare" occurence - a Blue "Wolf" Moon,
and we finally got some "real" snow. I went out to shovel the long steep driveway, but when I found the snow was the "perfect" consistency to make a snowman, I couldn't resist.
I hadn't made a snowman since my son was 6,
and now he's 41, and my grandson is 11.
Where did my life go?
"One Heart" - "One Thought" - "One Desire" - All over the globe, The World waits for the Return of the Holy Liberator - Jesus in the Mideast, Queztalcoatl in the Southwest, Deganewidah in the Northeast. We desperately need His Deliverance from the mindset of the last generation as it sinks lower and lower, and farther and farther away from what Creator "called" us to be.
Now that we're into the New Year,
as I wait for the bloom of Spring
when my heart will be warmed to be back
in touch with Mother Earth,
I am keeping my Waiting Heart warm
with the hat and scarf combos that my friend Amy
and I are creating every day or so.
With this unusually cold Knoxville weather,
my hats have been selling like "hotcakes"
at Knoxville Soap and Candle Company.
For my brothers and sisters in the COLD North,
I would like to start an On-Going Business with you
to "rep" our Colorful Crochet Creations
in the Coldest States on the Continent.
The hat and scarf sets retail for $65 locally
but if you order from me from out-of-state
the price will include US Postal Service certified mail.
If you order five sets, you can purchase them wholesale.
Amy and I have fun creating the Total Look
as she creates the scarf first and I match it with a hat.
we're looking for a northern exposure market
with a longer winter season than we have here
in Knoxville - which is nearly the perfect climate
with breathtaking Springs and Falls,
Summers that stay green the whole time,
and Winters with snow that is beautiful as it falls
but rarely sticks past a few minutes.
If you live in COLD States - Idaho, North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire
or the ski areas of Colorado, and would like to purchase
our one-of-a-kind scarf and hat sets,
please give me a call at 865-567-7187.
(This set, created by my German skier friend, Ingrid,
sells for $35 plus $10 USPS mail certified)
Years ago when I used to ski in Colorado,
my ski cap was so tight, it gave me a headache,
so I created this hat - that has plenty of room in the crown,
yet is close enough around the face that it doesn't fall off
making sure it covers my ears to keep me warm,
yet leaves room for my earrings - "a must!"
Joey has waited a lifetime to experience
what he was created to be -
a creature of "Newfoundland" in the far north.
He doesn't mind the snow at all -
and wants to be outside all the time, now - day and night.
Lily likes to play in the snow,
but she doesn't want to stay out as long as Joey.
She would rather lie on the bed in the sunshine
with her toy friend "Luly."
February 25th, 2010:
Good news for Chief Levings and the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nations in North Dakota is that President Obama cut through the red-tape (49-page documents) so that they could receive the royalties from all the oil development that has been going on there. This answers their prayers and plea for help.
Chaska's gathering his "Regalia" piece-by-selective-piece:
If Chaska left his "post" at Black-Hawk-Down
"Command Central" before 0200 hours,
the world would probably "shut down."
He spends the day juggling between the internet and telephone
connecting with Indian People all over the country
"to make things happen" for relief and advancement.
But Lily knows "the-time-of-day"
and is at her "post" when Chaska leaves his,
to get her nightly scratching.
Then it's off to bed they go in their nightly routine.
