Running notes, desperate cadences, and determined chords
Major
Minor
You have played me and I have played you.
Now I am transparent and clear,
Graciously allowing music to vibrate through my temple.
A loyal heart maintaining steady beat and dependable rhythm.
I am the backdrop to your adventurous freedom.
Sometimes your frivolous fingers take me to the dark edges of piano.
But always, I balance with freedom and light through higher octaves.
Together, we sway and dance to the melody and harmony of life.

I am not even a football fan. I know very little about the game. I am not even from New Orleans. In fact, you may think this is sad but I never even stepped foot into a football arena until last year, when I saw my first game at The Super Dome in New Orleans. It was the Saints vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of course, the Saints won. And, after that I felt that vague sense of gratification that Americans like to talk about. Don't get me wrong. I am American as they come. But I am more like American Masala. . . not American Meat & Potatoes.

Tonight, I put all that cultural mumbo jumbo aside and stand tall and proud for the City of New Orleans. (Yes I should be cheering for the Jets but that's a separate issue) Tonight the Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings by a nerve-racking margin. We can at least be happy for the persistent underdog, the team that has never seen the lights of the Super Bowl. And what a time to rep this city, five years post-Hurricane Katrina! It's about time something so positive happens for New Orleans. I am just happy that a wonderfully unique place like this gets to have a place in the spotlight. We can all certainly see what a morale booster it is for New Orleans' people, and a fair shake at boosting their local economy.

Who Dat!

How funny is it,
That we both observe the potential in everything?
Latent possibilities within and without,
Life is on steady standby.
Love steadily takes its course,
While those who wait outside watch with anticipation.
Yearning, hoping, lurking, groping.
Desperate desires to belong to each other.
Dire need to be a part of something.
We watch, we wait with patience.
We shed, we die with urgency.
Enormous energy builds in the waiting.
Hidden reserves of love in the midst.
What lies ahead in the sweet days to come?
The only knowing is the uncertainty that exists.

Sea Shells, by Shreya Mandal

Puzzled, you stood there and watched me.
As I traveled to distant shores, I brought home memories.
Washed away by the ebb and flow of life, pieces of earth returned.
36 sea shells for each time we bathed in the ocean of unknowing.
Swimming as mermaids do, I was in awe of your range.
You dove deep into the ocean bed.
You emerged with pelican wings.
Soaring in the Caribbean sky, you ascended to the powerful sun.
Puzzled, I stood there and watched you.
As you traveled to distant shores, you brought home memories.
Washed away by the ebb and flow of life, pieces of earth returned.
36 sea shells for each time we bathed in the ocean of unknowing

NEW YORK CITY ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAW RESENTENCINGS URGENT CALL FOR VOLUNTEER MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG TREATMENT PROFESSIONALS
September 15, 2009

* Volunteer Contact: Shreya Mandal, JD, LMSW, Mitigation Specialist, The Legal Aid Society *Phone: (212) 577-3664* E-mail: SJMandal@legal-aid.org

Approximately 700 people are expected to be re-sentenced under the most recent Rockefeller Drug Law Reform, allowing them to return to New York City. But first, much work must be done to ensure that former prisoners qualify for early release and comprehensive reentry planning. Public Defenders and private lawyers are responsible for filing timely re-sentencing petitions to the courts. We anticipate this process to start in early October.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The Need for Mitigation Assessment
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