I Am Not A Poet

This isn't the post I planned to write tonight. But since I had hand surgery and can't really type, I'm cheating. So here's another poem (copy and paste is great)!

Don’t tell me your tale of woe about that ‘ho that let you go.

That’s more than I need to know but I won’t say, “I told you so.”

There is not a sadder sight than one who cannot see the light.

Trust me, hold me nice and tight.  Kiss me: let our souls take flight.

 

From your soul there comes a sound, saying that it won’t be bound.

No strings ‘round your heart are wound.  With me, freedom can be found.

Banishing your endless night will take my strength and all my might.

You shouldn’t even try to fight; I’ll make everything all right.

 

Our souls have known each other well.  We’ve been through our own brand of hell.

It was almost a death knell but we survived, as you can tell.

Your power I don’t want to take.  A puppet of you I won’t make.

My feelings for you are not fake.  In you, emotions I’ll awake.

 

The thought of this makes your heart quake.  To love again makes your knees shake.

Please be brave for your own sake: deep emotions are at stake.

On your terms I will agree to have you unconditionally.

What you have to do is see that it’s not I or you: but we.

 

In our hearts our love does shine.  A new relationship’s designed.

Here’s my hand: put yours in mine.  Finally, our course is fine.

Don’t tell me who you used to be.  Just show me what I need to see.

Please don’t be afraid of me: for my love shall set you free.

 
~*~

 

Marie's Birthday

My mother's birthday was Friday, November 16th. I was pretty tired and just wanted to go home after work, but knew I needed to pick up a card for her. Brie was on a time constraint, so after we picked out the cards I dropped her off at our house, got the gifts, and went to Marie's house to make the delivery.  I was missing one of her gifts but figured she wouldn't know anyway because she didn't know what or how much I had gotten for her.

I got to her house and her brother was visiting. I just love Uncle Tom because he's so funny and entertaining! Anyhoo, I went in bearing gifts: candy, her favorite word-search books, her cards. She was so happy! I stayed to visit for a few minutes, and then went home feeling good.  That was day 1.

On Saturday, I went over to her house to pick up Robin for our hair appointment. I went in for a minute to give Marie her big gift: a brand new watch with a gold band and diamonds around the face. "Oh daughter, this is too much." "No it isn't, I know how much you love gold and figured this way you wouldn't keep taking my watches."  "Well I must say: I love this watch and this is the best birthday I've ever had." Then her eyes got big. "You don't suppose this is my last one, do you?" I had to laugh. "No Marie, it isn't your last one. Enjoy your day and I'll see you later." That was day 2.

Today, she didn't go to church because she was a bit under the weather. Plus it was the annual Holiday Parade. So after church I had to stop at Hannaford, go home to change and then try to beat it back to her house (right along the parade route!) before they closed the streets.  I was sitting in the chair next to her and she happened to glance at my wrist. "Oh, what's that you're wearing?" "Um, it's my watch." "Oh it's so pretty. Can I try it on?" "Okay Marie." I took it off (it was a simple bangle) and handed it to her. "Oh daughter, that's so fancy. I don't know if I can operate it." Sighing, I just slipped in on her wrist. "I just love this! I really like the one you gave me yesterday, but I might want this one instead."  Sighing, I said, "But you love gold. Don't you like the one I gave you yesterday?" "Yes, but I haven't tried it on yet."

So she took hers out of the box and had me buckle it on her wrist. "Oh I really do like this one. Maybe I'll just keep it. Look at the diamonds! I'll just have to practice putting it on.  You can keep your silver one. Thank you daughter." "You're welcome Marie."

That was today, day 3, and I managed to keep my OWN new watch. Happy Birthday Marie: you still drive me crazy, but I'm glad you're here to do so!

Things That Go "Bump" In The Morning

I used to consider myself a relatively fearless person.  I liked scary movies, or at least what passed for scary when I was a kid. Looking back at those movies now makes me laugh at how really bad and obvious the special effects were.

But for the past few years, I just haven’t had the nerves of steel of my youth. I remember one morning I was alone and lazily flipping through the channels looking for something to watch. I landed on a channel that showed a pleasant-looking lady talking to a clergyman. Ah, I thought, this seems like it could be a nice movie. After a couple of minutes the scene shifted, and it was Linda Blair’s crazy face from the exorcist!  Ahhhhh!!!! I screamed and couldn’t get away from the channel fast enough! I had to sleep with the lights on that night!

Sometimes I think there’s safety in numbers, and if I watch a scary movie with someone else, I’ll be safe. Now that might work in theory, but not necessarily in practice.  I had wanted to see the movie “Scary Movie” but missed it in the theatre. It was on TV one night and I really wanted to watch it.  However, Brie was sleeping on the couch. As long as she was in the room it counted, right? So I turned it on and settled in my recliner to watch it with my cat Sam on my lap for added reassurance. I prided myself on how well I was doing. Then suddenly Sam jumped on the back of the chair and alertly looked toward the kitchen, which was ensconced in darkness. “What is it Sam?” With his ears pricked forward, Sam peered around the doorway and then jumped down and went into the kitchen. Nervously I went back to watching the movie, because at least I still had Brie. I saw the killer in the movie lurking around the corner with his knife, waiting for his next victim. As the killer raised his knife as the hapless victim was rounding the corner, all of a sudden something landed with a thud on the top of my chair. Screaming, the remote went flying and I jumped out of the chair before the killer could get me…um, it was just Sam back from the kitchen…But my nerves were shot and my poor daughter was awakened from her sleep. Needless to say, I turned the TV off.

There was another movie I wanted to watch on TV: Devil’s Advocate with Keanu Reeves, who I loved at that time. But again: any movie with the word devil in it is bound to be scary. However: I liked the cast and figured if I watched it during broad daylight with the curtains open and sunshine streaming in the windows, I’d be safe. I asked Brie to watch it with me but she said she wanted to nap. So again: she was on the couch asleep while I was in my recliner watching this movie.  I was doing okay but whenever I thought a scary part was coming up, I’d reach over and wake her up. This got old real quick for her, so after the 5^th dirty look, I decided to be a big girl and just watch it. That worked until the dressing room scene where it looked like demons were moving under the skin of one of the women. That was it: the TV went off and I was done!

It isn’t just movies, and it isn’t just me. Sometimes it’s real life occurrences that turn out to be scary, when they shouldn’t be.  When we were thankfully moving from 441 to our lovely new abode, we were packing and trying to clean up so we could leave as quickly as possible. Kitty was in her room and Brie was in the living room “helping me”.  I was sweeping the floor and Brie was by the wall when suddenly something black and wiggly skittered across the floor. Before I could say, “What’s that?” Brie had pushed me through the front screen door to get outside, effectively ensuring that I fell as she practically climbed over me to reach safety.  Realizing that we had to go back inside, at least to save Kitty, I cautiously approached the screen door to peek through to see what monstrous critter had chased us out. It turned out to be one of Kitty’s fuzzy Slideyz toys that had moved from the breeze elicited by the broom! We laughed and laughed as I rubbed my bruised ribs and cracked elbow.

I’m going to close with something that happened just a couple of weeks ago. I listen to the religious station at night, and they were doing a series on the Book of Revelation, or end-time prophecies. I’ve read and known about this all of my life, but I still like to listen because sometimes you hear something you might have missed. So that night they were talking about the anti-christ and the beast. The next morning when I was waking up for work it was another dark, dreary early morning. Brie came into my room to chat for a minute and sat on the bed by Pumpkin. Suddenly, the door to my closet creaked and slowly opened a little. All conversation stopped. “What’s that?” Brie asked. “Um, maybe a breeze from my window.”  But my window was only opened a crack and there was no wind. The closet door creaked a little more, which is strange because my door doesn’t creak!  “Uh, where are the cats?” I asked.  “They were both lying on the bathroom floor when I was in there,” Brie whispered, moving closer to me. I looked at Pumpkin, our guard Chihuahua. “Pumpkin, go see what it is,” I said, putting her on the floor. Pumpkin happily wagged her tail and scampered toward the closet door, and then stopped: her tail stiff as she just stared at the door.  By this time Brie was ducking behind me. “Mom, do something!” “What am I supposed to do??” Then the door creaked again and Pumpkin raced back to me. I screamed when I saw something big and black gliding across the floor and lifted my feet to the bed. Brie screamed too and then I realized…it was Victoria, our big Maine Coon cat!  She had somehow slid in the door unseen when Brie came into the room. We laughed in shaky relief as I picked Pumpkin back up.  “You were going to sacrifice the dog??” Brie said. “Actually,” I replied, “I was going to sacrifice you to give me time to get out!”  Thank goodness that bump wasn’t a precursor to the end!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! J

School's In!

Today was the first day of school where I live, and this got me thinking about some things I remember very vividly from when I was going to school.

When I was in elementary school, there was this boy in my class named Philip. We were best friends until the day he turned his eyelids inside out, right in the lunch line. Horrified, that put an end to our friendship! To this day, I still think that turning your eyelids inside out is disgusting. So naturally Kitty can do it!  Thankfully she only does that to scare her sister J  I also remember the hot school lunches, which in reality weren’t so hot.  I think my dislike of pizza comes from what they classified as pizza in elementary school: a hard ½ English muffin with a little square of American Cheese and a dollop of ketchup. Yum! Not!!  Or their odd little hamburger, which I know was comprised of neither ham nor burger…yet surprisingly we still ate it.  Hey: little kids aren’t known for their discriminating palates!

When I entered Junior High (“middle school” hadn’t been invented yet!) I knew it was going to be awesome, because there were 4 different elementary schools in our area, and 7^th grade was where they all came together. We got to meet kids from the other different schools, you could reinvent yourself and you finally got to go to different classes throughout the day. Sure it was a little hairy at first with making sure your locker would open, memorizing your friends’ locker combinations and timing yourself so you’d have time to get from locker to classroom. But all in all it was definitely to my liking. Especially seeing all the cute boys from the other schools J As for the hot lunch: better than elementary, but still had flaws. Like the day a girl found a bug in her spinach because the vegetables came in big industrial-sized cans.   That’s why I didn’t eat the vegetables!  And also why sometimes my friends and I would sneak out and walk to Carroll’s, the precursor to McDonald’s, for lunch.

Junior High also introduced me to the school dances. I don’t like to brag, but I’ve been a great dancer ever since I was a toddler. I had been hearing about the dances from my older brothers. And now I was going to be able to take part in them! Or so I thought…my parents had no intention of letting their sheltered daughter go to any school dances where she might be in contact with boys in a darkened auditorium from 7 to 9 pm.  Good thing I perfected the art of making up a different story to tell them, so I could occasionally sneak to the dances. Sorry Marie!  I still remember one particular Friday night dance, where the guy I liked slow-danced to “Superstar” by the Carpenters with another girl. I was heartbroken! To this day, that song still gives me a pang of bitter-sweetness when I hear it on the radio. 

On the first day of my freshman year, I remember how excited I was because for the first time I got to pick out whatever I wanted to wear. In 8^th grade, on the first day I remember Marie made me wear this sleeveless dress that had a brown plaid faux scarf around the neck, the dress’s torso was solid brown, and the skirt was pleated brown plaid that matched the scarf. This was what my friends were used to seeing me wear. But the first day of 9^th grade: I was wearing the groovy outfit I picked out myself. It was a 2-piece set: the top had a purple paisley collar, the short sleeves were the same print, the rest of the ribbed top was black, and the skirt was the same purple, white and black polyester print. Whoo hoo! You couldn’t tell me anything in this short-skirted outfit, complete with white knee socks and black shoes. My friends were so amazed when they saw my transformation, and I was very pleased by their reactions. And it’s a good thing I picked out my own outfit because we got some new students who transferred from the Catholic school. St. Michael’s only went up to 8^th grade, so as freshmen some of the kids came to Junior High instead of going across the bridge to St. Mary’s. And St. Mary’s loss was our gain because those boys were c-u-t-e! I loved my freshman year!

The best part about high school? The Glen Lake Casino! I was 16 when I was a senior, I didn’t have a fake ID, but I never got proofed and my friends and I were there pretty much every weekend. Hey Marie: that’s what you get for not letting me go to junior high dances; and the club was sooo much better (plus the guys were older and cuter).

Oh, how I miss those days sometimes! But at least I’ve got plenty of good memories.  And parents: if you don’t want your kids to attend school dances, just volunteer to be a chaperone. That’s guaranteed to take all the fun out of it for them! And if you don't believe me: ask Brie! I chaperoned all of her dances and Teen Towns to make sure any fun was kept to a minimum!

Why I Will Always Live With Kitty

There are many reasons why I will always live with Kitty, such as she’s my daughter, I love her, and she’s very entertaining, helps with bills and loves to vacuum.  However, there’s an even bigger reason why she will always be my roommate…

It had been a very rough week, and on this particular Friday night I just wanted to kick back and relax after dinner.  After all: I deserved it!  Kitty was in her room, and I decided to watch reruns of “Reba” and enjoy some Cheetos and a juice box.  The cats were keeping me company, so it was going to be a good night!

Presently, as it was getting to a really good part of one of my favorite episodes, I heard a tiny little noise.  It wasn’t me crunching on the Cheetos, so it must have been the cats.  I looked to my left: Charlie was sleeping on a chair.  I looked to my right: Luna was sleeping on another chair.  Something told me to look up.  My eyes slowly traveled up the wall and there, perched on the wall like a painting, was a bat!

A couple of things went through my mind at this point:  like it was February and technically bats were supposed to be hibernating; how exactly was the bat clinging to the sheer face of the wall in the first place, and a pest control person had told me that to get rid of a bat you turned on lights in all the rooms except the one with the window or door so the bat would automatically fly out.  This seemed perfectly rational, but seeing the bat on my wall made rationality moot. 

Luckily, I had a broom pretty close to where I was sitting, since earlier I had planned to sweep the floor and that didn’t happen.  As I observed the bat, I realized that it was moving very slowly because it KNEW it was supposed to be hibernating and not hanging out on my living room wall like a wall safe.  I figured that I could knock it down with the broom and then sweep it out the door.  So I very slowly reached for the broom, got my hand around the handle, and prepared to lift it up. However, I had no foreshadowing of the events to come.  Such as the bat sensing my movement, and then spreading its 7-foot pterodactyl wings and taking flight!

When this happened I did what any other person would do under the circumstances:  I screamed like a little girl, dropped the broom and started running around the living room, waving my hands around my head to keep the bat from landing!  This woke up the cats who thought I was playing some kind of new game.  They saw me running, saw the bat flying, and then they started trying to chase the bat.  So now I not only had to keep the pre-historic Jurassic pterodactyl bat from setting up a condo in my hair, but I also had to keep from stepping on the cats.

At some point during this scene from a horror movie, I remembered that Kitty was in her room.  All I had to do was make it there, and she’d do something about the bat because she’s fearless!  She’s a warrior!  She’s the great and powerful Kitty!  So I headed in the direction of her room: but just like in the movie Poltergeist, all of a sudden the hall elongated and the door got further away!  Now I was hysterical, running down the hall until I finally managed to get to the door.  I turned the handle: it was locked!  So I pounded on the door, screaming her name. “Kitty!  Kitty!” 

I heard her voice on the other side. “Who is it?”

“It’s your mother!”  I yelled.  “Let me in!”

“What’s going on out there?”  SHE STILL HADN’T UNLOCKED THE DOOR!

“There’s a bat out here!!”

“What do you mean a bat?  It’s winter and they’re hibernating.”

“Open the freakin’ door!”

Finally she opened the door and I fell inside her room.  “Mom, are you sure it’s a bat?”

“Yes I’m sure.  Can you take care of it?”

“Of course I can.  You stay here and rest.”  She put on her leopard print slippers and a safari hat (don’t ask), grabbed her butterfly net and out the bedroom door she went as I huddled in a heap on the floor by her bed.  I kept a fearful eye on the little slit under her door in case the predator managed to subdue my daughter and came looking for me again!

I never heard any noise, but she came back a few minutes later.  “All set mom.  You’re safe now.”

“What did you do with it?”

She looked at me like I was simple.  “I took it outside and let it go.”

“You let it go???  So it can come back??”

“It’s not going to come back.”

“Yes it is and then what will I do?”

“Mom, it won’t come back.  Sheesh, what do you want to do: move?”

My eyes lit up and I literally grabbed her and shook her.  “Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do!  We’ll move!  We don’t even need to pack: let’s just get in the car and go!”

There was a decided look of alarm on her face.  “Calm down!  We are not moving!  I’ll make you a cup of tea so you’ll feel better.”

“Tea, yes, okay.  Thank you Kitty. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here.”

So she made me a cup of her special witch’s brew tea (again, don’t ask) and tucked me into my own bed like the good daughter she is.  However, for the next 2 weeks, I slept with all the lights on and with one eye open, just in case…

And that is why Kitty will always be my roommate!  But I wonder: how does she feel about it? :)

Worth The Wait?

After church today, I had to stop at Hannaford to pick up some food for the greedy and unemployed pets. (Seriously, I know they don't have opposable thumbs but surely they could so something). As I was getting out of the car Marie (yes, she was riding shotgun!) says, "If you see anything in there with my name on it you can go ahead and get it for me." Really Marie?? But I digress...

Anyhoo, I go in the store, grab a cart and slowly make my way through the store. When I had all of my purchases, I realized I hadn't gotten anything for Marie. Having limited funds, I tried to think of something economical I could get, and that led me to the cookie aisle. She loves the Anna's Ginger Thins, and after some real searching I found them on a lower shelf. Then I proceeded to meander my way down the cookie aisle, trying to decide what kind of cookie I would buy, if I was in the mood for cookies.  Eventually, I ended up at the Oreos, America's greatest cookie. And they're always on sale! But I had eaten some last week, so I wasn't even tempted.

Then I looked up, way up on the top shelf, and I saw them: Nabisco's Famous Wafers.  If you aren't familiar with this cookie, it comes in an oblong yellow box with a cellophane cover so you can actually see the famous wafers. They are what looks like a flat dark chocolate cookie thin. There's no description on the box, but there are a couple of recipes on the bottom. And the price: since it's on the top shelf, it's a whopping $4.69!

Now, I have been noticing these Famous Wafers since I was a child. But I've never had one. Why? I really can't say.  I always think about buying them. I think about what they might taste like. Yet maybe, since it's on the top shelf, like fine liquor, I think they're overpriced. Do I really want to take the chance of buying a pack of cookies, paying top dollar, and then finding out I don't like them? However, I do love dark chocolate. And I do love Nabisco cookies.  So maybe...

Okay, now that I'm obsessing about these cookies, I can do one of 2 things. I can wait until payday and plunk down the $4.69 to buy a package, or I can wait until my birthday and have someone else pay for them!  But will that count towards a real present, so I'm gypped on something else??  Looking at it from that angle, I think I'll buy them myself.  But after coveting them for 40 years: they'd better be worth the wait!

I'll let you know... :-)

Queen of My Soul

I've had music in my soul since I was a toddler. I couldn't imagine my life without music in it; and of course I believe I have exquisite, and eclectic, taste in music.  I am also good at loving songs that no one else seems to remember.  My sister always says I'm making them up because she doesn't remember any of them. I tell her it's because I have a memory like an elephant when it comes to music.  Plus, I worked at an oldies radio station which helped to refresh my musical memory.

I'll give you an example: everyone knows the song "Feelings" by Morris Albert, because everyone hates that sappy song.   But how many people remember the song that I think I want for my first dance with my husband: "Sweet Loving Man" by Morris Albert? NOBODY!!  That song is so romantic, and sexy, and so un-like "Feelings", yet I'm the only person who knows it.  Why is that? Guess you'll have to come to my wedding to hear it!

Here's another one: "Simone" by Henry Gross.  Now everyone remembers "Shannon", which I never liked.  Again, my sister said it was one of my "imaginary" songs. So not true!

Here's a list of 11 awesome songs that no one else seems to remember, but I have them on CD and cassette tape.  How many people can still brag about having cassettes made in the 60's, that still play?? Certron, you ROCKED!!

• "Right Relations" by Johnny Rivers. Never shows up on any of his "best of" compilations, but it's his best song ever.
• "Work To Do" and "A Love of Your Own" by AWB. Those white boys from Scotland had more soul than some black groups I know.  They were much more than just "Pick Up the Pieces".
• "Duncan" by Paul Simon.  Such a gut-wrenching song that gets me right in the heart.
• "That Girl" by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Maybe no one knows it because Young wasn't there?
• "Mississippi" by John Phillips. I think it may have been about a prostitute, but maybe that's just me. Not me as a prostitute, haha!
• "25th of Last December" by Roberta Flack.  Talk about a heartbreaker - and it's impossible to find.
• "At Last" by the Fatback Band.  Forget Etta James - this is the version I'm walking down the aisle to!  You know how I love a hot sax...
• "Jesus for Tonight" by Michel Polnareff. He was cute, he was French, I saw him once on American Bandstand but the song still resonates with me.
• "Beyond the Blue Horizon" by Lou Christie.  They play like...22 seconds of this song in the movie "Rain Man" while Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffmann are driving off across the plains...
• "Never Let Go" by Eastbound Expressway.  Maybe one of the reasons I couldn't find it was because I thought it was the Trans Europe Expressway.  Great dance tune from the late 70's; we used to tear up the dance floor at the Golden Grill in Saratoga back in the day.  Ahhh: memories!  Shout out to the crew of engineers we knew and danced with from RPI!!

Anyhoo, that's just a few of my "imaginary" tunes.  Trust me: there are many more, but I'll let you take the time to YouTube these to see if they're real!