One Immigrant's Perspective

[Annie]

Joel has been a Winds of Change, I believe since it began. He's leaving Canada for the US, this post was very moving to me, especially the poetry/music quotes, (same thing):

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/007337.php

August 13, 2005
Good News Saturdays: The Last Waltz
by Joe Katzman at August 13, 2005 11:59 PM

run, you river, run

Since the inception of this blog in March of 2002 Saturdays have, by tradition and policy, been devoted solely to good news. For one day each week, all else has been laid aside. No tears of rage, tears of grief. No words of fire, deeds of blood. Not here. Not from me. Not from anyone.

The ladies would put the baskets on the table
And the men would sit beneath a shady tree
The children would listen to a fable
While something else came through to me
The river got no end, just roll around the bend
Then pretty soon the women would all join in
On the river hymn...

The whole congregation was standing on the banks of the river
We are gathered here to give a little thanks, thanks
(The River Hymn)

It has been wonderful, but a change is gonna come. Is already upon us, actually.

This Saturday, as we stand in the shadow of Tisha B'Av, that policy is coming to an end.

Why? Because this policy needs a guardian. It's stuff you gotta watch. Taking up that role leaves one bound by love to discharge it - but bound nonetheless. As does the blog itself. The weight? It's real. Sacrifice? Sometimes, for all of us. And the day of reckoning has come.

You see, the rumour that I'm moving to the USA is true. Contingent upon the INS' approval over the next couple of months, I'll be moving across the great divide and joining my fiance near Santa Cruz, California. Somewhere down the crazy river, I'm going to become an American. That's my home.

Maybe it always has been.

The voice of the rapids will echo
And ricochet like an old water well
Who'd ever want to let go
Once you sit beneath its spell
It's dark and wide and deep, towards the sea it creeps
I'm so glad I brought along my mandolin
To play the river hymn...

This has been wonderful, truly. Winds of Change.NET has given me so much, not least of which has been the gift of true love. And it ain't over, not by a long shot. But it will change.

Toronto to Santa Cruz isn't a move to Japan, but it isn't trivial, either. All my odds and ends must be winnowed and then either prepared for sale, or packed to move with me. There are friends whom I haven't seen in too long, and may not see again for a while. Not to mention other affairs to settle. All around a daily blogging job with Defense Industry Daily, which is doing well and breaking 10,000 page views per day with some consistency now. It's going well, which is good because I'm going to have a responsibility to see to my longer-term economic future once I'm in America - a responsibility that isn't just about me any more.

This may seem as if it's something out of the blue. It isn't. I've actually been making the necessary preparations for a while now.

Winds has a fine team, become finer with new arrivals and affiliates. Its Marshals now encourage its better side with diplomacy and decency, and enforce order when necessary. There will be more changes, too, as Winds is opened up further. It will belong more to the team now, and achieving “group intelligence” (best stuff rises up, excellence prevails) as opposed to “groupthink” (nails that stick out are hammered down, mediocrity prevails) is a task that will now fall to the team and affiliates as a whole. They will be the guardians of its ideals, of its brand, and of each other.

And I shall be released.

"You can ride on it or drink it
Poison it or dam it
Fish in it and wash in it
Swim in it and you can die in it
Run, you river, run"

So, where do we go from here?

Our Saturdays have involved sharing wisdom from groups like the Islamic Sufis, Jewish Hasidim and eastern Zen Masters. We've highlighted the acts of good and decent people, laughed at humourous events, and pointed to amazing discoveries that could benefit humanity. Policy or no policy, there's still room for that on Winds.

Our watchwords remain what they have always been: Liberty. Discovery. Humanity. Victory.

Saturdays, or any day for that matter, will remain a chance to share your love, shine a light, and enter the spirit of the dance. If the team and readers wish to keep Good News Saturdays as a hard policy for all posts, and find it feasible under the new structure, then this post will be just a stop between trains. And if they'd rather be driftin' away from that approach, it makes no difference. The choice is theirs now, unencumbered by precedent or prior obligation.

I've been thinkin' out loud with the team now for a little while. I still have a few blogging debts left to pay, promises I've made to myself and others. They are being kept. There are also a few more changes and enhancements to be made re: the blog. They are being made. This is one. So I'm not going anywhere just yet.

No matter what happens, there will still be lots of good stuff to read - and if the team members or readers really need me, we can talk. You might even catch me back in the rockin' chair once a while, even after all my debts are done.

One last time: Shabbat Shalom.

The last waltz, the last waltz
The last waltz with you
Don't mean the last dance is over
The last waltz, the last waltz
The last waltz was through
But that don't really mean that the party's over.