Newspaper *

This afternoon while writing about the atrophy of the newspaper market, I remembered helping a friend with his paper route for a few months back when we were both in junior high school. His name was Rodney Hammonds. His family had moved into the large two story house just east of the junk yard in Charlottesville. Rodney and I became fast friends when he intervened in a possible scuffle with a few older boys about some stupid thing I can’t even recall that was no doubt caused by a difference in opinion.

I helped Rodney on Sundays with the monstrous Sunday morning editions of the Indianapolis Star. We fashioned wagons to our bicycles to pick up the substantial delivery load. I imagined each family with their paper; chubby little children pouring over the color comics, mother’s looking through ads and clipping coupons, and father’s with pipe and slippers combing over all the important world news and flipping to the sports page to find out what great victory, or blunder had occurred.

Today I read that many papers barely have enough weight, or content, to make the toss all the way to porches and front doors across our bible belted America. It’s just not profitable to advertize in a rapidly decreasing market; and if a newspaper can’t make money, it can’t very well be expected to keep those presses running.

I wonder if one day I’ll be telling my grandchildren about the smell of fresh ink on newsprint paper, and trying to describe the snap, rumple, crimp, and crease of a morning paper with coffee???

Reaper

I pulled the powder blue blanket from my bed

To line the box on the kitchen floor

We used to jump and laugh and play

Our back yard like a jungle

My sister tried to dress him once

like a doll

And stroll down the side walk

He was so weak and helpless

No longer able to chew a shoe

Not like his former self

I prayed to GOD

Tiny belly

Skin soft and hot

The color of peanuts

Hanging from his bones

Big brown eyes seemed shallow

I would not sleep

I cried

How could I sleep

He knew all my secrets

But could hardly lift his head

Sounds from Viet Nam on the TV

Walter Cronkite drifting in from the living room

No! I can’t come out and play

I’m saying goodbye to my best friend

National Past Time

I used to think the great national pastime was the pursuit of pleasant sexual encounters, or perhaps participating in a sport of some kind,
but now I believe the national past time is
BITCHING, COMPLAINING, and BELLY ACHING!
It seems as if there are more justifications in bitching about
things than there are things to bitch about.
What a waste of time and energy.
If you can see something to do to change
a situation then do it, if you cannot, do something else...
These three behavioral aspects will ensure a growing dissatisfaction
with life while robbing you from your joy: thinking and worrying about the past, while complaining of the present, and fearing future.


Hey ! Don't just do something, sit there... CRY BABY !

esoteric surprise

While cruising by an awesome looking cigar store in Bloomington,
my attention was drawn to a sign adjacent to the handicap logo/ sticker
on the window that read " Enter from Within"...
I'll admit it seemed a little spiritual for an access sign.
turns out some wise ass had scratched off the other part of the sign
that indicated how to get into the larger building housing that shop.
After we looked at it for a minute - We decided we liked it just the way it is.
Thank You Scratchy : )

Do's and Don'ts When Interacting With People With Physical Disabilities

DO

Respect the person's personal property (canes, wheelchairs, crutches, communication
boards, etc.). Unless given specific permission, do not move, play with, or use their
assistive devices.

Rearrange furniture if there is something blocking the way of their wheelchair.

Try to get on eye level with the person when talking to them, if possible.

Be considerate of the extra time it might take for a person with a disability to get things
done or said. Let the person set the pace in walking and talking.

Consider accessibility when choosing areas to hold gatherings, meetings, parties, etc.

Speak to the person who has the disability and not just someone with them. Be patient and
ask questions if you can't understand them.

Ask the person questions about their disability. Most people are very willing to share.

Let your child talk to people with disabilities. Understanding is the key to acceptance.

Ask the person if they need some help. The worst they can do is say "No, thank you."

Use proper terms when describing various disabilities.

Treat the person just like you would treat a non-disabled person.

Carry on normal conversations with people with disabilities. They are most likely
interested in the same things that you are.

Emphasize the uniqueness and worth of all persons rather than the differences between
people. Concentrate on the person's achievements, abilities, and individual qualities.

Promote acceptance and understanding among all people.

Relax and just be yourself.


DON'T

Talk down to the person or like they are a child.

Pat someone with a disability on the head. They are not pets or toys. They are people.

Lean on the person's wheelchair when you are near them. The chair is part of their personal
space.

Assume that the person can shake hands with you. Not everyone can shake hands. Try a nod or a smile instead.

Stare at the person. They are not a picture to be examined.

Be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted common expressions such as "Must Dash" "See you later"
or "Got to be running along" that seem to relate to the person's disability.

Use terms such as crippled, victim, deformed, retarded, etc. when describing the person.

Talk about the person like they are not in the room.

Focus on the disability. ALWAYS concentrate on the individual.

Make decisions for the person. They know what they like, what they don't like, and what they can and cannot do.

Exclude people with disabilities from participating in anything because you think it may be too difficult for them to participate.

Judge the person by their looks or by their equipment.

Purple Lady

Purple lady fair
long and lovely
raven hair
forever young
and laughs a lot
her kisses always
hit the spot
Happy Monday
xoxo

Ayúdame

obvious? you'd think

yea lets

what's the first thing you think of when you see this sign

Fat Rat Greenfield Summer *

My friend reported
that last evening when she returned home
her children had scrawled her cell phone number
on the side of their family dog, an extremely obese rat terrier, in blue eye shadow
and tied him up to some lawn furniture in the front yard
but the old boy was found in mid-stride several blocks
away from the house dragging a lawn chair down the middle of the street
and making a path for the A&W Root Beer stand...

A Racing Pot Belly ?

This morning I heard about
a middle school student who was raising a pot belly pig
to show in competition at this summer's 4 H county fair
this little girl had bottle fed the pig since he was a piglet
and had named him Wilbur
well, a couple weeks ago Wilbur got away
and nobody could catch him including
the middle school cross country runner*
I didn't think pot belly pigs were noted for their awesome speed
my reply was
maybe they should have named him lightening or FLASH

reports have been coming in from all over the county
from people who claim to have spotted Wilbur
in various places
some of these reports are phone calls accompanied
by a pause and several long hardy laughs at the end

daily wonders in phone calls

A friend called today from New Orleans
He said he was sitting in a laundry mat
when a large rat sauntered in
my friend mentioned the rat to the owner
a Vietnamese monk with four missing fingers
who said " Oh did she eat the candy"
my friend asked him if he was feeding that rat
and the monk replied "yes, I think it is my mother"

Meow*

A girl with her cat
the new bed coverings
a playground
the orange bag of food
is easier on her kidneys
butterscotch and white
with the face of an owl
don't set down your coffee cup
she'll bury it with air
stop letting her out so late
with her toes like that
she talking down the squirrels
wait until she learns to dial
what a lover of finicky feline fancy
tar x 2 star for short

Flower Monk

Photo by Carrie Torres

Beside you there is nothing:

you dance, appearing in all.

Sitting in silence,

dancing in gratitude,

dancing like the huge waves,
                                                 
moving like the white clouds,

you see you, you see the you

who sees you,

with gratitude you see,

with gratitude you are seen:

Persian to Person

“Once I had the strength but no wisdom, now I have the wisdom but no strength”

“One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it.”

“He who has been bitten by a snake fears a piece of string.”

“Use your enemy's hand to catch a snake” (and clean the bird cage)

“Good poets are like angels of Heaven”

“By a sweet tongue and kindness, you can drag an elephant with a hair”

“A stone thrown at the right time is better than gold given at the wrong time”

"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you"

Not afraid of attention

Some egos seek attention

through the expression of

"me and my story"

this is fine

as long as identifying the self

with the self

is not limited by form

June 1,2011

Home again home again jiggity jog

Not unlike the Valentine’s Day fiasco, there we were again sitting inside Einstein, my blue 1988 Ford Econoline van, just outside the entrance of Adaggios banquet hall where we, along with six other families, had an open house and party for our High school graduates. Carrie and I were about to get out of the van when (((click ’arrrrr tic cha tic))) the doors would not open, STUCK AGAIN inside the van within sight of our destination. These kinds of setbacks can be very discouraging when you’re working from a wheelchair. Carrie was able to tap the set pins out of the linkage with a hammer but mashed her thumb in the process- bless her heart. Without the pins the doors swung freely and the rest of the electronic functions for the lift worked just fine. For the ride home we locked ourselves inside the van and tied the doors closed with bungee cords. This make -shift solution worked well until we made our last turn into the driveway at home at which point the bungee’s sprang off, the doors flew open, and Carrie let out a loud wail like a banshee crossed with a screaming curse. She said later that she thought the doors were going to hit the fence post and take out the pine tree…

There Could Be Holy Fallout ~ Hafiz

We are often in battle.
So often defending every sideof the fort,
It may seem, all alone.

Sit down, my dear,
Take a few deep breaths,
Think about a loyal friend.
Where is your music,
Your pet, a brush?

Surely one who has lasted as long as you
Knows some avenue or place inside
That can give a sweet respite.


If you cannot slay your panic,
Then say within
As convincingly as you can,
"It is all God's will!"

Now pick up your life again.
Let whatever is out there
Come charging in,

Laugh and spit into the air,
There could be holy fallout.

Throw those ladders like tiny latch sticks
With "just" phantoms upon them
Who might be trying to scale your heart.

Your love has an eloquent tone.
The sky and I want to hear it!

If you still feell helpless
Give our battle cry again.

Hafiz
Has shouted it a myriad times,

"It is all,
It is all the Beloved's will!"

What is that luminous rain I see
All around you in the future

Sweeping in from the east plain?

It looks like, O it looks like
Holy fallout

Filling your mouth and palms
With Joy!

Rumi

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.