There was an earlier post on this blog where I used this photo. I also referenced these same lyrics by Leonard Cohen, but I placed the text below the photo. Then I decided to do this version for my husband.

Since I just started How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny last night, those words are on my mind again. (They also live on the chalkboard in the studio.) In her introduction, Penny, who often quotes poetry in her books, tells us about approaching Cohen to ask permission to use those lyrics. Fully expecting to pay a sizable fee for them, as is almost always the case with copyrighted text, she was amazed when Cohen told her she could use them for free. What makes that gesture even more amazing is the fact that he’d recently had all of his savings stolen by someone he had trusted. Such a generous spirit!

How the Light Gets In was released this year and that means, my friends, that I’m at the end of the series. At least, the end so far. Hurry, hurry Louise Penny! Write another Inspector Gamache Novel! And they are literary novels, in addition to being mysteries. She is simply a superb writer.

Hot chocolate.

Need I say more? Yesterday, after a brisk walk late in the day, some hot chocolate seemed to be in order. I’m limiting my intake, though. I only allow this treat every 3 days or so as it has a sneaky way of adding on the pounds.

A mini rant: I don’t know if you’ve been following the situation with the Miami Dolphins. I’m not a football fan, but this has been all over the news. A player abruptly left the team after having been subjected to bullying by a fellow team member. The more I read about the atmosphere in the locker room and about the player accused of the bullying, the more disgusted I get. These are adults who should know better. And what really steams me are all the interviews with fellow players who blame the guy being bullied for not ‘standing up for himself’ instead of the guy who did the bullying.

What the? Why do these guys blame the victim instead of the perpetrator? I don’t care whether we’re talking about a small child or a big, burly football player  – the victim is blameless.

Then, last night, I saw an excerpt from an interview with Tucker Carlson where he actually said that bullying is a ‘fad’ and implied we’re making too big a deal of it. Really? What planet is this guy living on? Tell that to the parents of a child who committed suicide because of bullying. Tell that to the victims who find their lives forever changed because they were bullied.

This sort of  ‘suck it up and stand up for yourself’ mentality is simplistic and dangerous. It implies that victims of a crime choose to be victims. It’s just a step away from the ‘she asked for it’ response to a charge of rape.

No. Those who bully are the wrong-doers. They have to be brought to account. There is no excuse for it; whether online, in a school or on a professional football team.

Happy Saturday.