Christmas Poems

Here are a couple of Christmas poems I did awhile ago. I hope you like them.

Thursday, December 24 2009

A Christmas Thought

the day arrives

long wait over

excitement

anticipation

giving

getting

downside though

felt by many

feeling blue

empty feeling

one day

does not

make a year

happiness squeezed

24 hours

gifts are nice

feelings shared

a kind word

best gift

of all

to be loved

to love someone

all year round

best gift of all

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Christmas Shopping

time of year

shopping time

olden days

weather would put

one in the mood

days grow shorter

nights grow longer

had ideas

what to buy

look in wallet

fiances meager

thoughts flittered about

thinking what said

likes and dislikes

many to buy for

what to get

plenty of time

will get to it

shopping at the mall

shuddering at the thought

not man's forte

hunter not gatherer

pressure builds

must get done

how many days

until Christmas

oh my

last day

time gone

time wasted

off to shop

shelves are bare

must buy now

on the run

store to store

one for this one

one for that one

sweating now

clock is ticking

music in background

all a blur

dragging bags

doors close soon

one left to buy for

as see on TV

that will do

done

that wasn't bad

shopping done

six hours or less

that was fun

wrap the gifts?

oh no!

You know you need to lose weight when.....

You are standing on a corner and a cop comes by and tells you
"You are going to have to break it up"

You step on a scale and all it can say is" ERROR."

You step on a scale and it says "Sorry, only one person at a time please."

sigh

Where is the paper? I used to do that!

 I have had many jobs in my lifetime, none of them glamourous. One of the most thankless is delivering newspapers. Once the ideal way of making money as a kid growing up, it has been the job of many an adult for along time.

It is a lonely job. You arrive very late at night in a cold and enter a dimly lit warehouse where other people are gathered waiting for the truck to arrive with the latest papers literally hot off the press. You stake out a work space, a plywood bench that has a nail on it. The nail is used to hold a package of plastic sleeves, As you roll the papers up, you grab the edge and shove it in. The plastic protects the paper from the elements, rain and sprinkler heads that can ruin the paper. If it is raining out, it is advised to double bag to keep things dry.

You must work quickly, too long inside means a longer delivery time on the road. The route you drive has been all mapped out, house location, special notes and so on. Everything looks different at night time.

The quietness of the road, the thunk thunk of the papers hitting the driveway, the headlights piercing the darkness, makes one wonder why do it at all.  Some have done it for years, some to save some money for something special. But the costs of driving are many. Tires, brakes, gas, it all adds up.

But you are tired, all the time. If it is a second job, many times you leave for your regular job soon after you are done.  The hours are strange, your sleep is always broken. The only way to make money is to deliver many papers, you are paid by the piece, slightly higher on Sunday. Tired, tired tired.

The weather can be your friend or your worst enemy. On a beautiful night it makes it bearable, on a cold or rainy night it is a brutal foe. I thought of that this morning as I went out for the paper. It brought back memories, not happy ones.

It is a job that is going away. But this is a quick post to shed a light on one of the jobs no one knows or thinks about in the early morning.

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

What is in my Strawberry Shake?

Awhile ago I told you what is in a McDonald's chicken nuggets, such as anti-foaming agents. So You Really Want To Eat That?

Now the following from the book "Fast Food Nation", a description of what is in a typical Burger King strawberry shake. You will be surprised at the list of ingredients that your are drinking. Oh so yummy!

A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients: 


amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.


I am sure that Burger King does not stand alone. Beware of any food package that has in the ingredients any mention of "natural flavors". It not much different then artificial flavors and colors. 


Do you want food dye with that order?


Mmmmmm, mouth watering isn't it?

City Of Angels

A well crafted song, nice video. I am betting you know the words too.

It's Graduation Day!

I don't like to highlight one of my kids accomplishments over another, but I will in this case. One of my daughters, Dana,  graduated this past Saturday from Florida State University with a degree in exercise science from the College of Human Sciences.

To say she was sorely tested over the last 4 plus years would be an understatement. Just as a quick example, she had told me she spent  24 hours straight in the school library to prepare for one of her last finals prior to the graduation ceremony. As anyone who has that very special paper nicely framed hanging up on the wall knows what it took to get there.

But she is not done yet. She has applied to three different schools to continue her education as she wants to get her masters in the same field of study. Her end goal is to open a wellness center of her own.

We had taken off the last four days to allow for travel to the school in Tallahassee, Florida, which is the state capital located in the northwest section of the state. Travel time is about 7 hours on average. We also helped her pack up her stuff to bring back home as she awaits word on what school she will attend and she will need to find related work to start paying off the tuition bills that wait in the wings.

The ceremony was held in the civic center which is used for the basket ball teams and various concerts.

She is down there, but it is more like a game of "Where is Waldo?" 

We did find her.

One of the many processions throughout the morning.

Finally

With one of her favorite teachers

where it all happened

showing us around

Yea I did it!!!!!

sharing the moment with friends

from left to right

Bobby Moore Jr., Dana, Lauren Price, Erin Moore

We treated them at Applebee's the night before.

Very tired parents sharing a moment with the new graduate

I am wearing a FSU shirt she gave me!

The second floor apartment she stayed at the final year

oh, so many steps

The rental van, packed to the top with all her stuff, it served us well

Be careful opening the doors!

Not a palm tree in sight in northern Florida

A chilly, rainy Sunday morning.

This adventure is over for now. But as any parent knows, over does not mean over.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our daughters big moment. Her diploma should arrive in early January.

The diploma frame is waiting!

Bye for now.

The Black Night

Sometimes this is how I feel, nothing seems to be going my way. But keep on fighting the good fight!



What took me so long to post something from Monty Python! It won't be the last I assure you.

No Static At All

Steely Dan from their album Aja "Fm ( No Static At All )

It gets the body swaying........

Feeling Fragile Myself

A couple of days ago, my all time sports hero Ron Santo died at the age of 70. Growing up in Chicago as a Cubs fan, I wanted to be like him. I always played 3rd base, wore the number 10, batted right handed but never even got close to being the player he was. That was ok.

I lived and died with how he played and how the Cubs did each game. More downs then ups over the years, but it is what it is.

That is it. The last of my childhood hero's are gone. I have no more.

70 seems old doesn't it? Not when one is 58. I have a sense of emptiness about me right about now. Life many times doesn't work out like one would hope.

Does It Matter

Calling out
to the sky
no answer
to be had
in return
Just the quiet
as an answer

was it enough
what was done
did it matter
does it
ever
matter

holding back
the oceans
of lost
opportunity
fix
patch
repair
to no avail

rip tides pull
one out to sea
fight the current
swept away
no one knows
a finger
in the water
leaves no mark

was it really
a wonderful life
mr stewart
no wings
no angels
no echo
in the night

fragile
vulnerable
unable
to shake
the doubts
of worth

doubts that
set in
tend to
linger

Keep The Drawing In The Lines.....

Sometimes inspiration comes to a stop. The words that were dancing in my head seemed to have slowed down since I did the "wedding vows" for the lady at work. It is a mystery and I am awaiting something to happen.

But there seems an awakening in another form of drawing. I will see where this goes, but so far it has been satisfying. Here are some recent attempts.

The first one is a drawing I made from an  exercise I used in my instruction art book.  It is a knight on a horse. The trick was to turn the picture upside down and then draw it. My drawing was done upside down, and I had no idea what it would look like until I was done.

First the book....

and then my attempt, remember I did this upside down.

I got restless afterwards looking for something else to draw. I had gotten a hand drawn thank you card from my neighbor which looks like this.

This is what I did.

The horse I drew upside down, the man right side up. Which makes me wonder, how does drawing up-side down help the mind draw?

Anyway, not all music, or thoughts, or poems, there might be more to me to be unearthed, a lump of coal to turn into a diamond! The book does say a self portrait is in order. Must get back to work...