Inside the Mind of Isadora

August 2, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 11 Comments

CCC – His Time Ran Out

We docked 8:30 a.m.

I was tired from dancing the night before we arrived at Aruba.

After a quick shower, we went for breakfast and the nectar of the gods; coffee.

The ship would dock for 6 hours. We didn’t know how long it would take to get around the island. We needed to find the National History Museum of Aruba.

It was a small island but very busy. Cars darted by as we walked the four city streets to the museum.

It was hot and windy. The balmy breezes cooled the heat tremendously. Willie had talked about the trade wind currents of the island.

At last, we arrived. It was a small museum dedicated to the people’s history and the slaves who were imprisoned on the island.

Willie arrived in Aruba when he was commissioned to do a mural for the summer home of one of his art collectors. In the six months it took him to complete the outdoor patio wall, he grew to love the island. He purchased a home, and so began his Aruban lifestyle.

Being from New York, he wasn’t sure if he’d feel a part of the island. Slowly he began to feel comfortable with the islanders and island life. He felt part of his community.

A gallery owner had an exhibition for him within a few months of residing on the island.

Restaurant owners noticed his artwork at the exhibit. A few asked if he would barter for meals. Banks, libraries, and town buildings donned his artwork on their walls. He received a commission to do the illustrations for the Aruban History book. Life was good.

After a few years, when his health began to falter, he flew to the states to get checked at the veteran’s hospital. He had been an illustrator during the Vietnam war. He drew battle images while in the fields. He told stories of the frightening danger around him and how his lungs burned from the chemicals of agent orange spraying.

He never returned to his beloved Aruba. He died barely six months after returning to the states. His time had run out.

2022©Isadora De La Vega

Historis Di Aruba
Artist Dedication
Book Illustration
Aruban Museum
Colorful Buses
Original Artwork
Shackled Slave
Aruba

Genre: Memoir

Word Count: 357

Photo Prompt: Crispina Kemp

Crimson Creative Challenge – #194

to join in click here

*****William De La Vega was my husbands 1st cousin. His entire childhood was spent drawing, painting and sketching a variety of artwork. He traveled the United States and Europe, painting his way through life. He never married or had children. He never settled down until he arrived in Aruba. Art was his life … sadly, he ran out of time at age 38 in 1977.

July 31, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 7 Comments

Sunday Song – Hot Summertime

Beach sand in your toes,

working on a suntan,

sleepless hot nights,

a time for pillow fights,

cold sweet ice tea

refreshes while relaxing,

with the hazy, lazy days

of the HOT SUMMERTIME …

~~~~~~~~~

AAAaaaahhhhh ….. the season of summer is upon us.
May the sun shine upon your life ….
And may the summer breezes gently sing a song of “LOVE”

2022©Isadora DeLaVega

A smooth jazz rendition of Summertime by Ray Barretto

A good one to grab you honey, and cha cha

across your living room dance floor.

Now, that your legs are warmed up,

time to have a sip of your Pina Colada

and groove on the sandy beach.

A summer beach song celebrating summer with a fun sound.

Now, it’s cool down time, sit back,

soak up the sun and listen to a bluesy

jazz song from the play Porgy & Bess called Summertime.

Happy Summer …

Isadora 😎

*****

If you have a favorite Summer song, feel free to add it in the comments so we can all enjoy …..

*****

July 28, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 36 Comments

Friday Fictioneers – Grandma’s Greenhouse

My Grandma Emma Rose loved gardening and growing roses. She sold them at the local Farmer’s Market.

Playfully, she’d say, “Roses are as pretty as me. My momma said so.”

One day, a fella came by with some mint plants. He told her it could fetch her more money than roses. They grew tall and sturdy. She said it made a real nice sweet tea.

Abandoned and neglected after she passed, I decided to clean up her greenhouse. The mint had taken over everywhere. Ironically, it wasn’t mint but Cannabis.

Looks like Grandma Emma Rose was ahead of her time.

2022©Isadora DeLaVega

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Bob Marley – Three Little Birds

*********

Genre: Flash Fiction

Word Count: 100 words

Photo Prompt:©Bill Reynolds

To join Rochelle in her photo writing challenges

and her fellow Friday Fictioneers – click here

July 26, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 18 Comments

WDYS – A Mother’s Love

And when the way became rough for her,

they lifted her and gave her their strength,

just as she had given them hers.

One day, their mother led them to a hill. Beyond the mountain, they could see a shining road edged with trees and golden gates flung wide open.

And mother said, “I have reached the end of my journey.

Now, I know the end is better than the beginning. My children can walk with dignity and pride, and with their heads held high, so can their children after them.

And the children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.”

And they watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her.

And they said: “We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence.”

2022©Isadora Delavega

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For Sadje’s ‘What Do You See’ Challenge

to join in click here

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Word Count: 155

Genre: Flash Fiction

Photo Credit:Casey Horner@Unsplash

July 15, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 12 Comments

I Will Not Tell

‘I Will Not Tell’

I will not tell

You are my lover.

I will not tell

You are my friend.

I will not tell

My deep sorrow and pain

I will not tell

Without you, I’d go insane.

When will I be free?

Of these, demons inside of me.

When will I know?

No one will hurt me.

When will I feel?

Peace and tranquility

When will I be unbound?

To be happy.

I will not tell

The way you soothe me

I will not tell

My scars have begun to heal.

I will not tell

You saved me.

I will not tell

Without you, I would be a lament.

2022😎Isadora De La Vega

~~~~~~~~~

Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Unbounded

to join in click Unbounded

July 13, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 17 Comments

CCC – Luscious Verdant Flower

***Lushious Verdant*** ***Flower*** 2022©*Isadora DeLaVega*

Memories of our childhood
are like images on a canvas,
they merge until they lose their shape,
often remaining only as feelings.
2022©*Isadora Delavega*

Crimson Creative Challenge – #192

to join in click here

July 9, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 3 Comments

Sunday Song – Malaguena Salerosa

Love is like the wonders of a unique rose in the garden of peace.

Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the heart. Khalil Gibran

Placido Domingo sings this romantic song about the beauty of a woman he desires,

but feels unworthy of her. The words are in Spanish and English.

Enjoy … Isadora 😎

July 8, 2022
by Inside the Mind of Isadora 8 Comments

CCC – Her Sunflower Smile

Talia was stunned when she saw how well the sunflowers had grown.
It had been a few weeks since she visited the house her grandmother had left her when she died.

Trying to fix the house and move in was too painful right now. She kept telling her mother, “One day, Mom, one day.”

As a little child, she watched her grandmother, Mariana, cook traditional Italian meals while recounting tales of her journey to this new land she would be calling home.

She told Talia, “We traveled by boat for weeks on a crowded ship.
Many hungry immigrants had few belongings. The small number of sunflower seeds she brought to eat was almost gone by the time they arrived.

Mariana was bewildered by the new language, new customs, and their style of clothing.

She planted the leftover sunflower seeds from her journey to remember the home she had left behind.

They grew tall and massive compared to the ones in Italy.

Talia never forgot her grandmother’s love of sunflowers.

She remembered her smile was as big as a sunflower.

Talia planted sunflowers at her grave.