A Thought

Walk with me
And let us see
All things ordinary
That there may be
Made glorious and pretty
Because of thee

An Anniversary

Today holds memories for so many of us. In addition to what you’d expect however, I am very grateful for the day. Why? Because my friend, Lisa is now 9 years cancer free. And the world is a better place for her being in it.

Lisa is a survivor in the best sense of the word. Throughout her ordeal, her spirit never waivered. She decided right on day one, yes, I was there when she got the call from her doctor, that she would beat it and she did, gloriously. She was determined to remain positive and she accomplished that like no one else I know.

Her sense of humor remained in tact. So much so that she bolstered others as they learned of what she was going through. Most anyone else would have been annoyed by the endless questions I asked her every step of the way but not Lisa. Some, we laughed over as intended. Some, she answered herself and some, she took along to her next appointment because they were things she wanted to know about too and hadn’t asked yet.

Lisa’s got the biggest heart imaginable. She’s the kind of person who helps anyone who needs it if she can. Even though we don’t see each other as often as we used to I know I could still call her any time day or night and she’d come to my rescue.

So today and every day, be thankful for your friends. Let them know how grateful you are that they are a part of your life. Also, don’t mourn for those who were lost. Honor them by celebrating their lives instead. Isn’t that what you’d prefer people do for you?

Beware!

Last week I leaned on a wall. Barely. And put a hole in it. Apparently water has been leaking behind it forever and the whole insides were eroded. But I’m the one who bumped it so I was the one who had to confess to the powers that be. On the phone. In the middle of something else because it was very noticeable and I couldn’t let them walk back into the office and see it without prior knowledge. The proper thing to do, right? It was fine and now, a week later there’s a brand new 4’x8’ section all pretty and painted. Problem solved.

Well, that one is anyway. Today I washed my hands before lunch as I always do and the faucet wouldn’t turn off. No matter what I did there was a continual trickle of water. Which of course was when the PTB happened to walk by. And I had to confess again. Yeah.

Getting just a tad paranoid here but can you blame me? I’ll let you know what malfunctions in my wake next and no, I won’t be at all offended if you don’t invite me over.

Curious

“Your money or your life?” Kind of a dumb thing to ask someone, if you think about it, isn’t it? If you’re willing to kill someone to rob them wouldn’t you also be willing to riffle through their pockets after they’re dead? And who would ever choose to give you their life when faced with that question?

The other questionable phrase I caught was “On my bed in my bedroom”. Is it just me or is that a bit of overkill? I could see adding a location if it were somewhere other than expected. On my bed in the middle of the street, perhaps. But then, if your bed were there wouldn’t that technically make the street an ersatz open-air bedroom and therefore redundant as well? I’m just saying…

Yeah, I know. I gotta get back to sleeping instead of listening to the radio and letting my mind latch onto such things. At least I’m not posting the poetry I wrote last night. You’d really worry about me if I showed you that.

Plan B?

Last week the mayor announced a possible plan to help Reading out of its $15 million deficit. Are you ready for this?

Cutting 35 of 120 firemen, including one of three ambulance crews and 45 of 209 police officers plus 15 support personnel. That’s the proposal on the table but he has asked the unions involved for alternatives.

I don’t know about you but to me, this hardly seems like a good idea. Three ambulances are incapable of keeping up with the demand. The firemen and police are already overworked. It just doesn’t seem like the safety of the city is being considered here, does it?

Unless, perhaps this is the mayor’s way of pushing the unions to work with him to find a viable solution? I don’t know but I sure hope they come up with something better. Given a choice, I would rather be safe and protected and know help will come if ever I need it than have the bike path extended to connect the city with neighboring boroughs which is one of the local improvements that’s currently in process.

In other news, the story following that one on the radio was that a local politician who works damn hard has managed to secure a $1 million grant to finance the hiring and training of four new police officers. Now I can’t figure out if that’s before or after the proposed layoffs but maybe he could arrange for that money to go towards the deficit. Hey, every spare million helps, right?

It's Always Something

I’ve been pardoned from dryer purgatory. A man appeared at the door, peered at it, and then spent half an hour on the phone since of course it is too old to be listed on his computer. He put the parts in and it worked just fine. Only there was no heat because he wasn’t authorized to reattach the gas line. Don’t quite understand that one since someone else within his organization disconnected it. But okay. I have a very capable neighbor who took pity on me and did that part. While his wife yelled at me for going to the Laundromat instead of coming next door to use their dryer. Yeah, I know. Not good at asking for much of anything here. But I did ask for help with the gas line so I’m learning. So that’s fixed. Yay!

Life should be good. Ha! That’s what you think. While on my way to Lowe’s to get a new vent hose since mine was really ratty, a warning light came on in Howie. Figures, doesn’t it? I checked and it’s a fairly important warning though it may be nothing. It’s got something to do with the electric power control. As I understand it, it’s the gizmo that makes the throttle work. Hmm, need that to function properly so tomorrow I’ll call for an appointment. What do you want to bet that it’s not covered under the extended warranty? Boo!

So how was your weekend?

Boring (but fixable)

Yep, that's me today. Add some spice and maybe I'll be better. Can I recommend cinnamon? Yeah, that'd be good. I'll be yummy with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Argh!

I was driving up my street today after work and I heard beeping. Annoying as hell beeping. Like a smoke alarm battery going bad only every second beeping.

There’s been a car across the street that I suspected was either stolen or abandoned since it’s pretty beat up. It hasn’t moved in a month and it has an out of state plate. A bit of a nuisance but the tag expires at the end of this month so not all that bad.

Only now it’s beeping. Nonstop. I called the cops and it’s not stolen so they don’t care. I wonder how long it takes for a battery to go dead? I wonder if I’ll be able to convince the neighbor to disconnect it since the window’s open and it would be easy enough to pop the hood? I wonder if I’ve offended someone enough that the noise is counting down for a bomb? I wonder if the cops would be more interested if I alluded to that possibility? Kidding. I’m not that bad. Okay yeah so I do know someone who’s that mad at me today but I also know he didn’t have time to rig a bomb today so I’m not overly worried.

And you thought yesterday’s rhyme was bad. Just wait and see what I come up with after listening to this beeping all night.

There

If wishes were fishes
And dreams came in teams
Would locusts be the focus
Of actors holding silver protractors?

If boils twisted in coils
And goats swam the moats
Would nuns tote lime green ray guns
As they swilled drinks in roller derby rinks?

If you put someone’s toes in your nose
And stood on your head while Proust was read
Would gophers sit on sofas
While mimes sipped poisoned beer through their ears?

If cats had sonar like bats
And hours were counted backwards on clock towers
Would lambs ride in prams
Whenever one-eyed raccoons bray at new moons?

If laws required dorks to carry personalized sporks
And May was one long endless day
Would sitting on a fence help this make more sense?
Hmm, I think it might but only if you’re also flying a fuzzy Hello Kitty kite.

That sums up my day quite nicely I think. Any questions?

Wondering

When do crickets sleep? Last night I was able to sleep without the fan, yay, and I could once again hear the crickets. All night long.

Last weekend I lounged outside and read a book. While there, a cricket hopped onto my foot and hung out for a bit before another cricket came by to get it. I think I was their designated meeting spot. My point, yes, believe it or not, I do have one, is that crickets are also active during the day. All day long.

So if they’re busy such little crickets all the time, when do they sleep? Perhaps that’s the wrong question. Perhaps I should be asking do crickets sleep instead. This is something I’ve never given much thought before, the sleep patterns of insects. How about you?