I soar, I roar

Photos, face painting by Alia Leadabrand, my niece.

Not a disguise but a true face.  The wonder of passing through the world as one's unmistakable self.  Ordinary life's greedy fingers want to winkle all traces of faerie dust from our pockets.  Without our magic we are tired whoopee cushions, faded, flat and unfunny.   Yet there is hope, for other more benevolent forces are spray painting evidence of dazzle back onto the ceilings and walls, flamboyant enough so that we will not so easily be sedated into dull amnesia.  We will not through intention or accident forget who we are.

Thank you, Alia and these beautiful children, for being today's messengers.  I stopped this morning and picked my fortune from among the envelopes in the face painter's basket.  It said, "Sleep with your dreams under your pillow.  Be grateful in advance for all wishes bestowed.  Stardust is the greatest force in the universe."