Pinwheel Garden

I first discovered it on sunny Thursday afternoon - the blue, shining pinwheels all a-spin in the afternoon breeze. Like a child, I opened my mouth wide - "Oh!" - and stepped forward in delight.

"My blue kite flies. My purple pinwheel spins."

The words go through my brain, remembrance of a child's book that was the very first one I learned to read. My mother said they weren't sure if I could actually read, or if I had simply memorized the entire book.

They would point to the pictures; I would speak the words.

"My purple pinwheel spins."

These pinwheels are not purple; they're blue. And they're being exhibited for a good cause: prevention of child abuse. The display, which appears on campus in front of Sparks Building, is sponsored by the College of the Liberal Arts, home of my undergraduate degree.

(As I took this photo, I had my back to Burrowes Building, home of that degree: the English department. What did I write my English honors thesis on?, you may ask. Why, Thoreau, of course!)

But then I decided to post the pair of snuggling ducklings for Thursday's blip, so I returned Friday morning to re-blip this one.

(Does anybody else do that? Re-blip the picture that somehow didn't make it into the finals the day before? I've had photos I've taken about six days in a row before finally posting them as a blip here. Yes, call me obsessed.)

On Friday morning, I drove to central campus just before heading to work. I parked by the Lion Shrine and walked down to Sparks. The morning sun had just crested Burrowes Building and hit the pinwheels, but there was not as much of a breeze as the day before. It was breathtaking, all a-sparkle. Others were stopping, taking pictures. With Penn State's Blue-White Weekend coming up, I imagined many more pictures would be taken in the coming few days.

Let us all take this opportunity to reflect upon the importance of personal vigilance in protecting and standing up for the well-being of those we know and love; and of those we do not know; of all of those who are innocent. Amen.







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Special Note: This pinwheel garden is on display in honor of a very good cause: Pinwheels for Prevention, an initiative of Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania.