CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY

Today we celebrate Ruth Wakefield...and where does her story begin?

In the state of Massachusetts where she bought the Toll House Inn.

One day Ruth was baking cookies...(they usually got rave reviews.)

When she realized she was out of chocolate...(the kind that bakers use.)

She knew without some chocolate, the demand for her cookies decreases

But she found a Nestles semi-sweet chocolate bar and cut it into pieces.

She thought, once the cookies were baked, the chocolate would melt into the dough

Resulting in a batch of chocolate cookies and her customers would never know.

She was not ready for the finished product...(although she was no kitchen rookie)

For on that day Ruth Wakefield...invented the chocolate chip cookie.

These cookies became so popular...Toll House Crunch Cookies were their name

That it brought both Ruth and the Nestle company a bit of fortune and some fame.

Nestle and Ruth came to an agreement...kind of like that of a husband and wife

Nestle printed the recipe on their packages and Ruth got free chocolate for life.

Eventually Nestle started packaging chips because breaking up bars was such a drag

And today you’ll still find Ruth’s original recipe on the back of every bag.

Sure Nestle made some money and their chocolate chips are number 1

But come on...Ruth got free chocolate for life...there’s no comparison!

There are many discoveries that changed the world but only one of these is key

You might think it’s Alexander Graham Bell’s phone or Ben Franklin’s electricity.

You might say it was Philo Farnsworth’s television or Robert Goddard’s rocket ship

But for me...I can’t imagine a world without Ruth Wakefield’s chocolate chips.

3 MARTINIS

I’ve been composing these poems for a while and posting them for all to see

But the other day while checking out Facebook something occurred to me.

Believe it or not to write these verses takes a little effort...a little time

As I search for the best subjects, the best words, and try to make them rhyme.

I enjoy the writing process...composing one poem every day.

And occasionally people will comment or say they like what I have to say.

It’s a good feeling when people read a poem and understand what I mean

I think the most likes I’ve had for any poem hovers around 16.

The other day Deborah, Bryan and I decided to take a jaunt

And enjoy a dinner with 3 martinis at a local restaurant.

I took a picture of the 3 martinis and posted them on the net

I wasn’t prepared for the number of likes those 3 martinis would get.

Five people liked those 3 martinis immediately after the post

Five more liked them before we had a chance to raise them up in toast.

From that point on notifications came so fast it seemed a bit surreal

I didn’t know that 3 martinis could have such broad appeal.

They passed 16 likes well before any part of our evening meal was through

I was getting likes from people I didn’t even know I knew!

I turned the sound on my phone down as the notifications started to spiral

After writing over 200 poems it was my 3 martinis that went viral!

Who would have thought that people would react less about what I think

And more about the number and flavors of the martinis that I drink?

Just as I was thinking this poetry writing thing is for the birds

I remembered how a picture can be worth a thousand words.

Sure I could write about world peace, about poverty or that Italian composer Puccini

But nothing I do will ever compare to my one picture of 3 martinis.

And I don’t mind, I understand that’s the way of the world after all

Poems are but a blending of words while martinis...that’s alcohol.

BROKEN WING

Ava fell at school the other day and fractured her left elbow

Which brought back a memory in me from a long, long time ago.

When I was young I was walking home...it was in the early spring.

When I saw on the ground before me a baby bird with a broken wing.

I looked around but saw no nest...and with no time to wonder why

I picked her up, took her home then nursed her till she could fly.

There seems to be an innate quality in most of us...the impulse to be humane

By providing assistance to the weak...as we try to relieve their pain.

But this is not uniquely human...in the animal kingdom it is a running theme.

Proving our world is not as unrelenting or as ruthless as it seems.

It’s amazing where survival of the fittest is the rallying cry we sing

There are still some animals who take the time to help those with broken wings.

Perhaps they are trying to show the rest of us (I don’t think this is too bizarre) 

That all life in this world is precious no matter who or what you are.

That we must remember through the grace of God we are naturally selected

That no matter how you choose to slice it...we are somehow all connected.

That by treating every living thing with dignity and grace

Even those with broken wings...we make the world a better place.

That when helping even the smallest creature to recover...to survive

These are the moments we are at our best...when we are genuinely alive.

“Pop Pop look at me.” Ava smiled as she was showing off her sling...

But for a moment I did not see Ava...just a bird with a broken wing.

LIMERICK DAY

There once was a writer named Lear

With the first name of Edward...I fear

He was English...I say

He wrote Limericks every day

And we celebrate his birthday each year.

The Limericks he wrote or he sent

Had an obscene or humorous intent

Please keep them clean

But if you must be obscene

Best to secure your parent’s consent.

If you need help keeping one chaste

Here’s an example...not profanity laced

With no obscenity

It has a rating of ‘G’

So you can bet that it’s done in good taste:

I have a friend, Barb, with whom I once taught

In all our years together...we never fought.

But I think she’ll be mad

Perhaps call me a cad

When I remind her I’m retired...and she’s not.

And here’s a point I know will amaze

It sure makes Barb’s eyebrows raise

You see each year her birthday

Falls on Limerick Day

So she’ll be getting Limericks for the rest of her days

True it may not resemble Shakespeare

But we still say thanks Edward Lear

Because it has a certain schtick

That old Limerick.

Celebrated May 12th...every year.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

When I was young my mom, like most women, donned a hat when she went out.

They say this tradition originated in the Bible...and who am I to doubt?

My mom had a collection of hats she stored in boxes under her bed.

So many different kinds of bonnets to sit atop her head.

Moms of today are different they go out with their heads bare

But one thing they share with Moms of the past are the many hats they wear.

If we tried to count the hats they don...we couldn’t...they go on indefinitely

Perhaps one way to approach it...would be alphabetically.

Moms are Accountants, Babysitters, Chauffeurs...They do what Doctors, and Electricians do

They are Farmers, Governors, Housekeepers, and Ice cream makers too.

They are Janitors, Kitchen and Laundry workers, and Maids who clean the floor.

They are Nurses, Optometrists, Painters and Quality control inspectors at the store.

They are Receptionists, Seamstresses, and Teachers...they can Upholster that sofa or chair

They are Valets, Washroom Attendants and X-Ray technicians...they show up anytime and anywhere.

They are Yard engineers and any Mom I know is also a keeper of the Zoo

That’s 26 different hats they wear...26 different jobs that all Moms do.

Moms are the original and still the best multi-taskers the world has ever met.

In fact, I didn’t run out of hats for them...I ran out of alphabet.

I guess it’s a good thing each job doesn’t have a hat that sits atop Moms head

For there wouldn’t be enough room to store them in boxes under their beds.

They are visionaries, they are cheerleaders, so much of our existence they adorn

Yet they had no experience as a mother until their own children were born.

Because it was at that miraculous moment, not in any Epistle, Gospel or psalm

When they smiled at their baby and realized for the first time......’I’m a a Mom.’

For that is the hat that encompasses the rest...the hat we call motherhood

And I must admit, if I say so myself, you Moms make that hat look good.

So Moms, here’s to a wonderful Mother’s Day as this poem bids you all adieu

For all the many hats you wear...our hats are off to you.

MAN...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Just when you think you’ve heard it all and you wonder if the world is cursed.

You turn around and realize that things have gotten worse.

In Nigeria, a terrorist group of men (who think that they should rule)

Has abducted over 200 young girls just because they went to school.

The way the group leader interprets their religion, girls do not belong in school.

Which, of course, we know from experience, is the ranting of a fool!

But he is a man and he believes men know how this planet should be run

So let’s take a look at our man-made world and see what they have done...

Let’s look through history for a time without war (since man rules with an iron fist)

How far back do we have to go...to the time Man didn’t exist.

If Man’s ability to govern has been so ingenious, so sensible...so shrewd

Why are there people starving in this world...while others throw out food?

If Man has been as wise as he thinks and ruled so magnificently

Why is every 2nd child born on Earth...born into poverty?

If Man were genuinely compassionate...if he was truly honorable and fair

Would the world’s economy be in shambles? Would there be corruption everywhere?

If Man was a better manager (this next fact might make you seethe)

Would he be cutting down the very rain forest that allows us all to breathe?

Yes Man has polluted everything he touched...the ground, lakes, rivers, trees and sky

We can’t even see the people in China...and we’re left to wonder why.

I know why the terrorists are afraid...They know these young girls would be stunned.

When they see the world through educated eyes and ask...”Man, what have you done?”

For Man knows his reign of terror will be over and the Earth will no longer bleed

When educated girls realize...it’s time for them to lead.

I pray the girls safely find their way home and their diplomas they all earn

If they are to lead us out of this man-made mess...there are many lessons they must learn.

THE NUMBER 9

While waiting for Bryan at the airport I felt glad to be alive

As I watched two young girls wait expectantly for their grandma to arrive.

Their parents tried to calm them, but their attempts were all in vain

As the girls jumped and bounced and ran around...waiting for grandma to deplane.

I started counting the people as they exited (since they walked out in a line)

And Grandma, coincidently, came through the door at number 9.

9 has had a particular significance dating from the days of Egyptian sheiks

Stretching back to the times of the Aztecs, the Chinese and the Greeks. 

The Chinese have a word for everlasting but somehow in their grand design

That word is pronounced the same as their word for the number 9.

So to symbolize everlasting love they give 99 flowers on Valentine’s Day

The groom gives a note filled with 9’s to the bride’s family on their wedding day.

But perhaps the most significant aspect of the Chinese number nine

It’s used to remind them how the lives of their ancestors and theirs are intertwined.

9 reminds them of the those who came before...and made it possible for them to thrive

It reminds them of the miracle of life and how they’re lucky to be alive.

If one ancestor chose a different spouse, took a different path or made a different call

They know there is a good chance they would not be here at all.

Do Americans believe in the number 9...does it hold that same allure?

If you asked I imagine many of us would be hesitant or unsure.

We don’t believe in all that mystical mumbo jumbo...that Eastern philosophy.

Over here we believe in things we can feel and hear and touch and see...

Yet, I know the girls were feeling ‘on cloud 9’...their faces were agleam. 

There are 9 Supreme court justices...and 9 players on a baseball team...

As I was deep in this contemplation, a pregnant woman exited the line...

And how many months in a normal pregnancy...Oh yea!...that would be 9.