BIRDS EYE VIEW

The other day as I watched the flight of a morning dove in the early morning hue

I wondered what the world looked like from the uniqueness of her view.

Have you ever envied the birds and wished that you could fly...

To be able to soar and see the world from their perspective in the sky? 

From up above the Earth...if only birds could tell...

They sees the matchless beauty of the world in which we dwell.

From their position in the sky they know not our race, our sex...our name

In their eyes everyone is equal...we all look the same.

As they glide above the fruited plain they know not religious or political philosophy

From their perch high in the heavens these are things they cannot see.

From their vantage point high in the clouds as they soars up to the sun

They don’t see countries or boundaries...they sees the world as one.

This is why I envy the birds and how I wish everyone could fly

So we could view the world from their perspective in the sky.

METHINKS THOU DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH

I’ve been a little worried lately about Trestin Meacham and wondering what it was like

When in protesting gay marriage in Utah, he went on a hunger strike.

He chose as his cause a judges ruling that struck down a gay marriage ban

He opted to stop eating as his protest, it was his way to take a stand.

Why would he choose this cause, this judges ruling...this day?

After all Mr. Meacham is the first to admit he has plenty of friends who are gay...

Why yes he’s against same-sex marriages, but his beef is with the constitution today

I’m sure they will be understanding...you know...those friends of his who are gay.

Until the judges ruling is struck down he chose not to eat...no more dinners, no entrees.

When the Supreme Court put a hold on the ruling he quit fast...after 15 days.

When asked if he will continue his hunger strike...to show his commitment, this is what he said.

“I will, but I promised my wife no more fasting...I’ll be giving up football instead.”

I wonder with all the causes in the world, all the injustices we see every day

Why Mr. Meacham in his infinite wisdom turned his protest on his friends, the gays.

Perhaps we could use the food he’s not eating in protest of the gays

To feed the 12 percent of the children in Utah who live in poverty every day.

Or if he wanted to protest a worthier cause than a marriage that is gay

He could protest the 16 people in Utah who die a violent death every day.

It seems to me Mr. Meacham has forgotten a valuable lesson taught from heaven above

You know the one where religion should be based on tolerance, acceptance and love.

The winds of change are blowing Mr. Meacham and I look forward to the day

When we talk about people as people and it doesn’t matter if they are gay.

I almost wish you’d go back to fasting Mr. Meacham, for I also look forward to the day

When you and your outdated attitude...will quietly fade away.

I’m tired of people who use religion and faith as a kind of bigotry crutch...

As I say I’m worried Mr. Meacham because...methinks thou doth protest too much!

SILENCE

As Deborah and I sat together the other evening in a silence that endears

I was reminded of the many faces of silence I’ve seen throughout the years.

There is an undiscovered beauty in silence...in her perplexity.

As we search to find the mystery in her tranquility. 

Have you ever stood mesmerized in the midst of a silent snow?

Or watched clouds silently change shape as they drift slowly to and fro?

Have you ever stretched out silently under the joy of a meteor shower

And not contemplated the existence, the possibility, of a higher power?

Who has never felt the awkward silence that accompanies a first date?

Or tiptoed through the silence when you arrived home a little late?

And in the aftermath of a death, the ultimate silent tragedy,

Who hasn’t felt the silence you once loved become your enemy?

Sadness arrives in an empty stillness, for there is a silent moment when...

You realize you will never see or hear or touch that person again.

And even though they may be gone...perhaps for many years

Isn’t it in the silence of your loneliness where you cry your deepest tears?

But it is also in the silent darkness when you feel yourself ascend

And you realize as if by magic silence is again your friend.

You feel her presence all around and you smile because you know 

It’s in the silence of the evening when the trees begin to grow?

It’s in the silence of the day that the flowers create their blooms

And where does the miracle of life begin if not in the silence of a mother’s womb?

So my thoughts have come full circle...sitting in silence together can console

For where else does love blossom...if not in the silence of our soul.

DID THEY EVER TEST DA VINCI?

It’s testing time in school and teachers know...there’s nothing more important than that!

Florida has it’s own Comprehensive Assessment Test...known as the dreaded F-CAT.

Someone should admonish the test creators in Florida, (though I’ve no doubt their ears would be deaf.)

For administering a test to our children that already starts with an ‘F’!

Testers and test takers when you feel stressed today, please before this day is done.

Remember it’s also Leonardo Da Vinci’s birthday so whatever you do...have some fun.

Because you’ll never do more than he did...into the Renaissance he helped us propel.

He not only did so many things all at once...he did all of them so very well. 

First of all he was an artist extraordinaire...this is one fact, I’m sure, we all knew.

One gaze on The Last Supper or Mona Lisa will reveal this to be true.

But he was also a sculptor and a mathematician, he understood our biosphere

He was writer, an architect, an inventor, a scholar and an engineer.

When he wasn’t busy painting or sculpting, do you know what he did in between?

He studied anatomy, wrote forwards and backwards and devised a flying machine.

He designed buildings and bridges and parachutes...his mind was one truly blessed

He did all these things and much more I’m quite sure...without benefit of an assessment test!

Do the best that you can but don’t worry, sometimes in life you fall flat...

Look at all Leonardo accomplished...and he never once had to take an F-CAT.

So here’s my suggestion if you think you’re going to blow...if you’re feeling a little bit flinchy...

Take a deep breath, exhale, smile...and remember Leonardo Da Vinci.

He’d be the first to tell you not to worry about a silly named test like F-CAT

He’d remind you a test is just questions and answers...and you’re so much more important than that!

IS LIFE A SILLY SONG?

Behind us on a recent morning walk the sun and clouds provided a wonderful view

While the clouds that loomed ahead of us took on an ominous hue.

The weather man said there was no chance of rain so we kept on strolling along.

Halfway through our walk however we discovered...the weather man was wrong.

We were treated to a rainbow arching high across the darkened sky

And seconds later, weather man be damned, the clouds began to cry.

We took refuge in the covered entrance of a church and here we would remain

As I smiled at Deborah I thought to myself...I like being caught in the rain.

Suddenly I was overcome with emotion, something definitely felt wrong

Was it me...or had my life just been reduced to an inane and silly old song? 

(For those of you who are too young to remember or wince at every syrupy line

Look up ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song)’ released in 1979.)

“Oh my God!” I thought to myself, “I just admitted I like getting caught in the rain.

I also like Pina Coladas, I am not into yoga and God knows I have half a brain.

I might have liked making love at midnight in the dunes of the cape before...

But seriously how many people do you know who are awake at midnight anymore?

When I realized I also like the feel of the ocean and an occasional taste of champagne

My head dropped into my hands...reeling from the weight of the strain. 

“So that’s it!” I thought to myself as this awareness made my heart twinge

My life can be summarized by a single song that at one time made us all cringe!

“The rain has stopped,” Deborah said with a smile, “the clouds have all moved away.

She looked up as she descended the steps...”It’s going to be a beautiful day.”

I smiled as I stood up and followed her...In truth I had nothing to fret.

Although at times it may resemble a silly song...my life is a lovely duet.

HAPPY SCRABBLE DAY

Happy National Scrabble Day...the game that reminds us ingeniously

That letters are important...especially a triple letter Q or Z!

Thank you Alfred Mosher Butts who despite your unfortunate name

Created a game that has brought joy to many as well as world wide acclaim.

Scrabble teaches patience when with consonants or vowels we are stuck

It helps us understand life’s randomness...and how sometimes we just need some luck.

Scrabble teaches us to take risks and that in losing there should be no shame

It remind us it’s not always where we end up but how we have played the game.

As an extra added bonus Scrabble allows our vocabulary to grow

Because after a few games of Scrabble...look at the obscure words that we know!

XI is the 14th letter of the Greek alphabet, ZED stands for the letter Z

QAT is a shrub from Africa and QI a word for Chinese philosophy.

OE is a Scottish expression and OY can be used quite the same

XU is money used in Vietnam, AUK...a bird with a funny name, 

KI is a Sumerian God meaning Earth, a mountain carved by a glacier is CWM

If you see the letters M L P G H & E...put them together to spell the word PHLEGM.

If you start the game with Z K J I  S U M, don’t get your nose out of joint

Just spell MUZJIKS...a 7 letter double word...and smile...that’s 128 points! 

But knowing an arcane term for a Russian peasant when the Scrabble game is done

As impressive as that is...it’s still only part of the fun.

Because if you think about it, as we thank Mr. Butts for a game that truly transcends...

Without Scrabble, the little game he created long ago...today there’d be no Words With Friends.

TWO LESSONS

I learned two valuable lessons in a short time quite recently

They had to do with my smart phone and, of all things, it’s lithium battery.

Since the day we retired we’ve been recording a 1 second video every day

A 1 second reminder of daily remembrances we’ve made along the way.

We have 1 second snippets of the mountains and the changing of the leaves

Of birthdays, movies, restaurants, of our family on Christmas Eve.

We recorded different foods we’ve made, when we painted our front room

We have s’mores around the campfire and one new bride and groom.

We’ve recorded many of our daily walks, kids concerts, even birds in a beautiful ballet

All these daily memories ended up in our 1 second a day.

They were stored in an App on my phone where we could keep them safe and near

The final viewing would be September 29th...the end of our first retired year.

Well, the other day my phone was acting strange, the battery kept running out

“Can you fix it?” I asked the Verizon lady. She said, “Without a doubt.”

She did something called a factory reset, it was successful and it didn’t cost!

Now the battery is working great...but our 1 second a day App was lost.

“I forgot to mention that App,” I confessed to Deborah, “this tragedy is all on me.

I’m the reason for the loss of all those memories.”

“Jim,” Deborah said shaking her head, “not true, for it seems very clear to me

If we hadn’t made those memories...that would be the tragedy.”

Life is funny isn’t it, as we daily muddle through it?

Sometimes it’s not so much what we see but the way we choose to view it.

Lesson 1: It’s not all that important...the pictures and videos we are taking

What is important, every day, are the memories we’re making.

Lesson 2 Is even more subtle...once shared...this rhyme...I’ll pack it up

If you’re storing pictures on your phone...don’t forget to back it up!