Read a beautiful message from Joe's
sister, Maryann, who lives in London. It appears that optimistic
activism is a Bird family tradition!
Greetings from London. I'm Joe's other sister, Maryann, and I just
wanted to say a huge "thank you" to you and all who've come up with
such a wonderful memorial idea. I'm sure that Joe would love the idea
of the butterfly waystations (and the Aztec notion that the monarchs
are the spirits of fallen warriors). Indeed, he'd be the first to
volunteer to help create such sites.
I don't know whether or not Joe ever
knew the Latin phrase "rus in urbe" -- essentially, countryside
in the town -- but he certainly embodied the concept.
He loved wide-open, wild spaces, but also cherished
urban parks, wetlands, gardens and individual trees and
plants. A memorial that blends fun, education, nature and
civic involvement is a very fitting tribute to Joe.
Although I'm about 3,000 miles
away from Trenton, I'm keen to help in any way I can -- and
look forward to seeing what you and the kids and the other volunteers
create!
With all good wishes,
Maryann Bird
p.s.) Just FYI, I work for two
London-based websites, http://www.openDemocracy.net
and http://www.chinadialogue.net, which address a wide range of political and
environmental subjects.
openDemocracy's logo is a butterfly (though not a monarch). It was
chosen because of the "butterfly effect" in chaos theory: the idea that tiny
atmospheric changes, like the movement
(or not) of a butterfly's
wings, can produce huge and dramatic results later in time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect.
For openDemocracy, that means political movement through free
thinking and open debate. Let's hope Joe's memorial
butterfly waystations will have their own positive dramatic effects on
all who work to create them and all who visit them (including the
butterflies)!
Maryann Bird is a London-based freelance journalist with a
special interest in environmental and human-rights issues. A writer and
editor, she was previously a staff member at Time
magazine (Europe), The Independent, the International
Herald Tribune and The New York Times
Read a hopeful article about the
future of cities by Maryann at the following address at
chinadialogue.net:
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/720-Preparing-for-an-urban-future
Preparing for an urban
future
Maryann Bird
January 26, 2007
Will humanity's historic move from
countryside to city mean opportunity or apocalypse? Maryann Bird
examines the Worldwatch Institute's latest State of the World
report, which opts for optimism.