Below is my favorite poem.
The Invitation
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon,
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it, or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own;
If you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes,
without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being human.
It does not interest me if the story you are telling is true.
I want to know that you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life from god's presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!".
It doesn't interest me to know where you live,
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't matter to me who you know,
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with your self,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Now on to the boring stuff!!!
If you don't already know, my name is Judy, My friends call me Jude (which I like) and my mother called me Judith when she was mad !!! Needless to say I don't like to be called Judith! :)
I was born on April Fools Day (that has always made for interesting birthdays !!!) in Brockport NY. I grew up there and love small town living. I have 2 younger sisters , Joyce and Sharon. We share some great memories as all kids growing up together do. We had our battles too ( Joyce, do you remember me kicking in the door?? :} ) but we are now the best of friends.
. I have been married twice and have 4 kids. Neither marrige worked out and I have been single and independent a long time now.
My kids are Angela ( Angie) Deanna (Dee) Leah and Jon. They are a terrific bunch and I love them dearly. I have 2 grands Ambrose (Boo) and Celia . Both are bright, personable and cute!!!
Kids by Jude
In the above photo from top left Leah, Dee, Jon, Angie, Jude, Celia, Ambrose
I have always been interested in art and use to draw and paint but lost that ability due to injuries to my hands. I have always had a camera and a few years ago took the opportunity to go back to school. I went to Rochester Institute of Technology to study photography. I got interested in computers (especially Mac!!!) while learning Adobe Photoshop. I now do most of my work digitally and print those that please me. I do not have a digital camera yet. Everything is scanned either from photos or negitives. I love the medium and soon found myself on the net. I started a page and learned the ropes along the way. My pages/sites can be seen at the links below. I hope you enjoy them.
This year (2001) I opened my own site. Building a site from scratch has been an awe inspiring experience and not as much work as it could have been thanks to a program written by my friends 14 year old son, Justin Christy. (Try Creative Page at www.pinehillproducts.com. ... it's a Mac only program.) I have hope that this site will generate some sales of my work and freelance jobs. Pass it along to your friends or to anyone that you feel might be interested. Thank you!
Best viewed with Netscape.
This is the first site I built with the help and generousity of Tripod.
I also have work displayed at:
Portfolios.Com-Photographer-Jude
Being a child at heart....most of us are... I love to play as you will see in this slide show.
Let me introduce you to Bug-eyed Earl.
He is from Max Cannon's RED MEAT.
He's my kinda guy!!!
If you like wierd humor then you HAVE to check him and his friends out.
I love all kinds of music but especially anything played on a guitar! My dad played as well as lots of my other relatives and I grew up with the wonderful sound. One of my favorite songs is REM's "Night Swimming" (one of my favorite things to do!!). Joe Satriani, Sonia Dada, Pink Floyd, Queen, Alman Brothers, Dave Mathews, Blues singers Joe Cocker, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and Stevie Ray Vaughn are a few of my favorite artists / groups. I also love to dance and do that as often as I can usually around the house after 3-4 cups of coffee!! :) Dance is a way to express myself whether I am happy or sad or just feeling sexy.
My son Jon
Drop me a note... I would love to hear from you.