BLOOD DONOR DAY

There are many special days in the year but this one’s different from the others

Today is World Blood Donor Day and its theme: ‘Safe blood for saving mothers.’

Unless it effects us personally we have a tendency to ignore

The things that occur out there in the world beyond our own front door.

We go about our business, we work, we sleep, we play

Without realizing 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every day.

Without ever giving a second thought to this kind of mortality

Or how bleeding during childbirth can lead to disease or disability.

So this years goal for Blood Donor Day, since they realize most people do care

Is not to preach or proselytize but to make them more aware.

More aware of how blood is essential for all the world to thrive

And how safe blood and blood products help new mothers to survive.

So if you want to do something special today, give some blood so they can store it

Because somewhere out there in the world a Mom will thank you for it.

IT'S JUST A STICK

If you walk around in our house I must say candidly

You probably wouldn’t give a second thought to some of the things you see.

You might miss that piece of wood in the corner if you walk by a little too quick

And even if you noticed it, you might think...“It’s just a stick.”

In the kitchen, in the corner...that piece of furniture...over there

Chances are you’d pass it by, or think....”It’s just a chair.”

It’s possible you might not see the that pen and ink drawing on the wall

If you did, chances are you’d say...“It’s just some picture after all.”

And of that weathered old strap in the laundry room...you might not be aware

Or you might say...“It’s just an old dog leash I see hanging over there.”

And you’d be right in your assumptions for we see things as we find them

But the meaning is not in what we see but in the story that’s behind them.

That old leash was our dog Whitman’s and he would match me stride for stride

As he and I walked every morning...until the day he died.

My father drew that self-portrait, he was a young man around 22

It’s a nice remembrance of the man, now that his life is through.

Deborah’s father made that little chair and it rests in the corner because

It serves as a constant reminder of the type of man he was.

That is Deborah’s mother’s walking stick in the corner for all to see 

Deborah’s dad carved it for her from the branch of an old orange tree.

But that stick is more than decoration...it’s not just there for idle talk

It reminds Deborah of her mom each day when we take our morning walk.

It’s funny isn’t it...the things we might not notice when we walk through someones door?

We might be seeing just a stick...when it’s really so much more.

HAPPY LOVING DAY

Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving fell in love and thought it would be great

To marry one another...but this was 1958.

It was against the law to marry in Virginia (yes it was not their right!)

Since Mildred happened to be black and Richard...he was white.

So they married in Washington, D.C. (it was legal over there)

But when they returned to Virginia they were arrested for their affair.

They pleaded their case to the judge...alas to no avail

He found them guilty and sentenced them to spend the next 3 years in jail.

But the judge gave them a choice...which was not as just as it appears.

They could serve their time in jail or leave Virginia for 25 years.

Between imprisonment and banishment it wasn’t hard to see

Why Mildred and Richard decided to stay married and move to Washington, D. C.

Although they were now legally husband and wife

They missed their families, faced discrimination and wanted a better life.

So Mildred wrote a letter explaining their particular point of view

Which found its way to Bobby Kennedy (the Attorney General) and then to the ACLU

The ACLU took up their cause and decided to lend the Loving’s their voice

They believed all Americans are entitled to be married and live in the state of their choice.

After a 9 year struggle, Mildred and Richard finally had a victory to savor,

When in 1967 the Supreme Court Justices voted unanimously in their favor.

June 12,1967 to be exact and I think it’s appropriate to say

It’s because of Mildred and Richard Loving that we celebrate Loving Day.

Loving Day...it has a nice ring doesn’t it...I’ll say it again...Loving Day

The day The Supreme Court decided all Americans can be married...unless, of course, you’re gay.

ROSETO

Roseto is an Italian-American borough in Pennsylvania, no, let’s call it a community

Because it is that word that helps explain Roseto’s history.

Back in the 1950’s and 60’s Roseto set itself apart

You might say this little town was a community with great heart.

Most of the men in this village smoked and even more drank wine

They worked hard in underground quarries...200 feet below sunshine.

They couldn’t afford to cook in olive oil as life and times were hard

So their traditional Italian food was cooked in fat and lard.

Despite these unhealthy habits near as scientists could gauge

Most people in Roseto, when they died, died of old age.

Their hearts were strong and healthy their blood was vigorously pumped

A fact that at the time had many doctors stumped.

So back in 1963 researchers decided to unite

To determine what was wrong with Roseto...or more likely what was right.

It was obvious it didn’t matter how Rosetans filled their dinner bowls

What was more important to their long life was how they fed their souls.

These people were a real community and if you need some proof

Three generations of every family shared one home...one roof.

If someone needed help then a helping hand they’d lend

It was not uncommon on a walk around town to be joined by neighbors and friends.

Researchers found respect for one another as well as conformity

Contributed to the better health of the entire community.

Of course as newer generations came along this conformity decreased

And the rate of heart attacks in Roseto predictably increased.

But we could learn something from the Rosetans and apply it to our daily lives

About what will keep us healthy...about the best way to survive.

Sure it’s a good idea to eat healthily but experts now agree

What’s most important for a long and happy life are friends and family.

POPPOP ON A TRAMPOLINE

I love grandchildren’s birthday parties because after the birthday song is sung

Whatever activities they have planned helps to keep this grandpa young.

Taylor turned 15 the other day and the family could all be seen

Celebrating his birthday together at a place with trampolines.

They line the floor, they go up the walls, there are trampolines left and right

For birthday party’s, or just for fun, you can bounce to your hearts delight.

This activity has its ups and downs...literally, if you know what I mean.

Now let me share some highlights of this PopPop on a trampoline.

Trampolines put a spring in your step and I am proud to be announcing

As I looked around at all the faces, I was the oldest person bouncing.

All I did was jump up and down, no tricks no pirouettes

Still before I knew it my knees were aching and my shirt was filled with sweat.

When you bounce with your smaller grandchildren you get this wonderful feeling

Since they’re so light, and you are not, you can bounce them off the ceiling.

“PopPop, can you do this?” They ask as you watch them do their flips.

“No thanks.” You say politely, “PopPop wants to keep his original hips.”

Mercifully we stopped for cake and I had just sat down...when

“Come on PopPop.” The grandchildren said, “It’s time to bounce again.”

So off we bounced but thinking back perhaps I should have protested

For now I was bouncing with a stomach full of cake that had yet to be digested.

It’s fun to bounce and laugh and bump, and occasionally to fall

And before I knew it I was part of a team playing trampoline dodge ball.

“I’ll show these kids whose boss, it’s a piece of cake.” I said.

One second before an orange dodge ball hit me in the head.

After 2 hours, I was crawling off..apparently I’m no longer in my prime

But the grandchildren pulled my arms and legs saying, “PopPop, one more time!”

So one more time we bounced with smiles on our faces and our hands up in the air

Even though every part of my body hurt including my eyelashes and my hair.

But I love being a part of their lives...even if it means rupturing my spleen

That’s why if you’re hunting for this PopPop at a birthday party..look to the trampolines.

MY PLACE AT THE END OF THE AISLE

I had the honor of officiating a wedding recently and I had to stop and smile

You see I have a unique perspective from my place at the end of the aisle.

Everyone else faces the front, all eyes on the bride and groom

Since I am turned the other way I see everyone in the room.

One has to wonder, as we view world events, if love isn’t on the decline

From my perspective at the end of the aisle I can report...love is doing fine.

Love is clearly visible at every wedding I attend. 

It’s radiates and warms the hearts of family and friends.

It’s in the tradition of matrimony and despite the changes it’s been through.

It’s still in something old, and new...in something borrowed, something blue

It’s in two simple words ‘I do’ spoken as the knot is tied

It’s in the gentle caress upon her daughter’s by the mother of the bride.

It’s in the squeeze of a hand between Mom and Dad as this new day’s about to dawn

It’s a smile they share as they wonder silently....where...has the time gone.

It’s in the way people look at one another, it’s in little whispers in the ears

It’s in the gentle touch of two lovers hands, it’s in the joyousness of their tears.

It’s in the elation of a mother watching her son on this momentous day

It’s in the pride of a father’s smile as he gives his baby away. 

It’s in the look on the face of a young couple standing without pretense or pretext

It’s in the wave of a touch spreading across the room from one generation to the next.

The wink of an eye, a pat on the shoulder, a hug, a kiss...the sounds

If you’re looking for proof of love in this world...go to a wedding...it’s all around.

I think that’s why I like officiating a wedding...it’s my way to gently compile

Proof that love still rules this world...from my place at the end of the aisle.

THE LITTLE THINGS

As I was thinking to myself the other day I had a chilling thought

I think I am a happy man but I write about sadness a lot.

It occurred to me the best way to fight a world where sadness reigns as king

Is by finding our true happiness in all the little things.

With that in mind this rhyme today is my attempt to bring

A smile to your face as I explore life’s little things.

Things like popcorn at the movies, falling leaves, kind words, 

Vanilla pudding, chocolate ice cream, the singing of the birds.

Puppies, breakfast for dinner, the chiming of church bells

Eating peanut butter from a jar, the way a baby smells.

Looking at old photographs, hiking on a trail

The laughter of a family, a dog wagging its tail.

Remembering as you make a call how phones were once all dialed

Laughter, love letters, sharing silence, reading a story to a child

Flying a kite, a good book, doing something totally unplanned

Sitting in front of a raging fire, the beach, the ocean the sand.

Clouds, stars, rainbows, the clouds up in the sky

Hot chocolate on a cold winter’s evening and summer fireflies.

Cookies hot out of the oven, a bride and groom walking down the aisle

Children, grand children, root beer floats, a hug, a kiss, a smile

My list, thank goodness, goes on and on...but these are mine alone

So I’ve left you time to consider some little things of your own.

Here is the portion of this poem in which you can now partake

Because it seems abundantly clear to me...we have a choice to make

Do we look for sadness in the world and wallow in all it brings

Or shall we find our happiness in all the little things?