View Adieu

View Adieu
22 December 2012

By a series of jerks and tugs,
The old man awkwardly lugs
His familiar rocking chair
From it's usual spot to where
The best view appears.
Then he takes down the sheers
For an unobstructed sight
Of the winter solstice sunset.
He sits to catch the daylight,
Then he half-stands to reset
The rocker with a final salvo
So the sun is centered in his window.
He didn't always get to enjoy sunsets.
Much of life was earning a livelihood,
One of his best retirement assets
Is having time to enjoy as he should.
Only by glances can he watch the grand show.
On this eve of the longest darkness,
This late in the day, the sun's glow
Hurts his eyes to look at its starkness.
When the sun goes behind a tree.
The light decreases slightly.
Moving at its own stately pace,
The sun slowly slides with grace
Paralleling a palm tree trunk.
When the sun's two-thirds shrunk,
He stands to watch the radiance
Gradually diminish in brilliance.
Finally, the last sunbeams peek
Thru a tree branch's leak.
When the show's over, he tows
His chair back to where it goes.

Actually, he's not like he's made out to be
Because he's really just little ol' me.

Walnuts

In an earlier post, I commented that each day has its own flavor. Today's flavor is walnut. To clear space in the freezer I took out some walnuts that had been in there for a couple of years. The walnuts came from a tree in my twin's backyard. When he first moved into that house, we could leapfrog over a broken branch in the grass. Now it's a tree twice as tall as the house and drops walnuts each autumn. Anyway, a couple of years ago I harvested some walnuts. The walnuts with hulls I just put in the garage. The walnuts without hulls I put in the freezer. Yes, Virginia, walnuts have hulls and shells. They're doubly protected. When I got around to them, the nuts in the garage had withered and were worthless. The nuts in the freezer were still good when I shelled them today. Today's imponderable: "If the walnuts have never been cracked open, how does the mold get inside?"
Today I also posted a video on YouTube talking about walnuts and brain function: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_huqszlUlzs

Humbug Plug

Humbug Plug

18 December 2010

By herd mentality and acting like a fool,

I decided to write a poem about Yule.

Somehow I got up the gumption

For an Ode to Conspicuous Consumption.

Starting even before Halloween

Christmas ornaments were seen.

Decorations were on display

Available in a wide array

Of themes, sizes and prices,

Obtainable with minimal sacrifices.

Unfortunately, my budget meant stopping

All unplanned impulse shopping.

Any bargain hunter or unwary buyer

Squares off with a marketing empire.

It’s enough to make me act like Scrooge

And head home for safety and refuge.

Nevertheless, for the first time in twenty

Plus years, I put up a holiday tree.

I got it cheap last year the-day-after

And have kept it stored above the rafter.

Putting up the tree gave me the pleasure

Of digging thru long buried treasure.

I got a chance to unpack

Ornaments from way back.

I must make a confession

To nostalgia possession.

I got a chance to recall

The occasion when each ball

Or decoration came into my life

All the way back to my ex-wife.

It’s been said that Christmas is for children,

But sometimes adults think way back when,

Adding to the anticipation

Of a memorable celebration.