Teddy is not my dog, but he WAS my dog at one time. I gave him to Al when we parted since I felt he would get better attention and treatment in a safer environment. The two of them are very happy together, and Teddy is way better off than he would have been had I taken him with me. That's how I sleep at night.
Maybe someday when I get out of my folks house I will be able to get another dog. Then I will have "something to show for all of my hard work"! Ha!
I wound up in Red Bank yesterday and decided to go into Jack's Music or Monmouth music to try out a few guitars. I've been wandering into music stores for years now, always sampling the acoustic electric guitars in a back room, plugging them into amps, dreaming of being able to walk out with one without having to go into debt over it. Dream on. Every time I find something which makes my heart sing, I check the tag. $1300. $1500. $1700. $2000. As Raymond Barone puts it "Not today". I already own a Charvel Acoustic Electric which I had picked up in Toms River back in the 90s. I paid around 550 for it with the case. The pick-up on it had broken a couple years back and I had given the little amp to my nephew. I was ready to pass my current guitar on to my other nephew Charlie (I've got a lot nephews and neices to pass things on to). Of course every guitar I really like always costs more than I want or can afford to spend and I don't want to go into debt over it. So yesterday I found this Washburn in the back of Jack's Music. Used but like brand spankin' new! $250 Electric-Acoustic, which sounded as deep and beautiful and clear as any Taylor or almost as any Takamine I have ever played. It was shocking. $250? Really? Obviously I am no connoisseur, but you know how you KNOW what you like? You just KNOW it when you see and it try it out? I liked it. The color, the finish, the detail, the size and fit and length of the neck. The cut away look I like. The sound, oh the sound, and the price. I LOVE a good deal! After I got home, I priced them online and sure enough these things are made in China. Oh those poor people working so hard for pittance. I wonder if that's the case here, and by the way it also came with a hard case. All at this affordable price. It's just crazy. Wow. It was like that song about the violin which was going at an auction and no one wanted to pay much for it until it fell into the hands of the master...Not that I am by any means a master. Good Lord, no. But I was just so surprised that this was the ONLY used acoustic-electric and it was so pretty and sounded so GOOD. I know the difference.
Gee, I have not felt that happy over 'a thing' for a long long time.Things don't do that for me. In fact I have little qualms about giving things away. Less is more I say. But this guitar is a gift. Yes, from God. As if my steps were directed right into the way back of Jack's Music to find it. I know it would not have lasted. And It's not so much the thingyness of it, but the calm I feel when playing it. Reminds me of my first Yamaha way back in the 70s. Makes me smile. :) Well the days getting away. I have to get outside and get on my bike, laundry, find something green to wear for tomorrow. etc. etc. Off today. Work for the rest of the week and all next week. :)
Concerning the morning, I'd sleep right on through and not ever see it or drink in the dew but for some awesome reason I cannot explain my eyes fluttered open without any strain and in the position I happened to lie I could look up and take in clearest blue sky the window was open, the sweet smell of spring floats on the breeze while the birds sweetly sing I could easily remain here and let myself drift but something inside calls for more of this gift I pull myself out of that place of soft warming and sit on the edge of clear consciousness forming Still in my flannels I pull on a sweater slip into my clogs and now feeling much better slide open the door and slip out to the deck these six-packs need planting, I say, what the heck dig into cool dirt, without much of a care and plant my petunias in the flower box there I let my mind rest as I breathe in fresh air the rising sun filters through forests back there I remember the 'red sky at dawn' weather warning and ponder the beauty concerning the morning.
I learned the truth at seventeen That love was meant for beauty queens And high school girls with clear skinned smiles Who married young and then retired The valentines I never knew The Friday night charades of youth Were spent on one more beautiful At seventeen I learned the truth...
And those of us with ravaged faces Lacking in the social graces Desperately remained at home Inventing lovers on the phone Who called to say "come dance with me" And murmured vague obscenities It isn't all it seems at seventeen...
A brown eyed girl in hand me downs Whose name I never could pronounce Said: "Pity please the ones who serve They only get what they deserve" The rich relationed hometown queen Marries into what she needs With a guarantee of company And haven for the elderly...
So remember those who win the game Lose the love they sought to gain In debitures of quality and dubious integrity Their small-town eyes will gape at you In dull surprise when payment due Exceeds accounts received at seventeen...
To those of us who knew the pain Of valentines that never came And those whose names were never called When choosing sides for basketball It was long ago and far away the world was younger than today when dreams were all they gave for free to ugly duckling girls like me...
We all play the game, and when we dare We cheat ourselves at solitaire Inventing lovers on the phone Repenting other lives unknown That call and say: "Come on, dance with me" And murmur vague obscenities At ugly girls like me, at seventeen...
You are here in the light in the darkest of the night and you surround me You surround me I was lost, but was found wandered off again but You came out and found me You surround me
speak softly tell me not to be afraid or to consider any other way, that which is bitter keep me from religious law and letter in You things work together for the better for You are Love, simply Love
not alone, never was but I struggle to be what they have expected and rejected~ once again, not enough while these words come off the cuff there's something waiting but hesitating
speak softly tell me not to be afraid or to consider any other way, that which is bitter keep me from religious law and letter in You things work together for the better for You are Love, simply Love
came away from that place filled with pride I needed grace and how I shivered yet you delivered took these rags, then this cart wrapped your arms around my heart and in your clothing no more self-loathing
speak softly tell me not to be afraid or to consider any other way, that which is bitter keep me from religious law and letter in You things work together for the better for You are Love, simply Love.
If you're coughing up some mucous and it's green to be sure, I say, your doctor should be seen do not delay if it is grey, or other colors of the day because these bugs are nasty, worse than mean!
Cozy up with Vicks rubbed on your chest, it seems to open up the passage best a little dab will also do, beneath the nares it is true helps you breath more easily when you rest.
Humidify the air beside the bed take good care to clean the thing, it's said keep a box of Kleenex near, the softest kind will feel most dear and place your favorite pillow 'neath your head.
It's good to keep some chicken soup on hand it's value has been known throughout the land keep the heat on, be a wench and and crack the window just a pinch and try to sleep as much as you can stand.
In time you will recover from this hell your symptoms will subside and you can tell but be sure to keep your guard up with the crowds and don't be hard up just insist they keep their distance- and stay well!
We have Wii for our members at the day care. I have never actually seen them play. Unlike the real pins and rubber bowling ball which cause quite a ruckus, the sound of the Wii bowling does not generate enough noise to warrant investigation. I bought the game for my dad and he has not used it yet. I almost gave it to my younger nephews who are into it, but Dad indicated that he had not yet tried it out. One day I will have to get my parents set up for a game.
Good grief. After suffering for a week or two, I was diagnosed with 'dry eye', a fitting name for the most uncomfortable condition I've had to deal with since entering those miserable peri-menopausal years. Here I was thrilled to be free from the PMS only to be hurled into...well, maybe it's NOT related to the hormones. Dry eye. It just sounds so lame. Rather unattractive. Dry--Eye. No matter now you say it, still feels pre-dead to me. If you've ever put a blow dryer to your face, turned it on and looked at the inner workings as the heat blows directly onto your cornea, you'll understand. It's like you find yourself squinting, and blinking and then, suddenly PARCHED. It's really awful. You know, sometimes, in the middle of the night, perhaps in the deepest REM stage of your dream, just when the eyeballs begin to roll around, there is this pain which jerks you back to wakefulness and then you try to open your eyes and it's like there are weights on your eyelids. Seriously. As if they've been sewn shut. You think you're going to panic and you can't help but reach up and yank them apart. I mean, It's not like they are crusty, like the crusty crab or anything but it's just so...unsettling, this 'dry eye' phenomena. What the heck...Is this like...the beginning of the end? Or just a change in the weather? Could it be that I sat in the sauna too long? Did I aim the blow dryer too close to my eyeballs? Was I sitting in the direct path of my car heater. Is it going to go away? The ophthalmologist could offer no reason for the dryness which makes it difficult to open my eyes in the middle of the night, and causes my eyes to feel as if my eyelids are lined with sandpaper. "Difficult to treat" were the words which stick in my head. Whether or not it will be a temporary thing, I pray often, try to relax and keep a tight hold on my eye drops, which bring great delight on contact. Actually, the anticipation of contact is almost as good as the splash down. It's getting to where I look forward to spilling the stuff into my eyes every few hours. Honest. I hate giving them to others, but for me, It's like going for a cool swim on a hot day. Like that Oasis in the desert and I very much look forward to them. For some wonderful reason, yesterday morning my eyes were dripping with tears. I was in heaven. Must have gone a little heavy on the drops. In any case, it's going to be alright. I can still muster up a good laugh-cry if I feel moved. Thank God. Thank you God.
