Tuesday's Tip: Don't Just Do Something Stand There

Get up from your chair,
go to the front or back door,
open it the door
and just stand there looking into the yard.

All right, this was what usually happened on a snowy winter day in in Blackwell, Oklahoma when Grandma Mary opened the door to let Jay out. Jay was Grandma's neutered Siamese cat. On snowy and rainy days he loved to stand in the door and look outside. He would stand there a few minutes watching the precipitation until he decided that it was going to continue snowing, raining, or whatever it was doing. Then he would go to another door meow for it to be opened and do the same thing. Once he decided that it was too wet to go outside then he would go to his litter box and do whatever he had planned to do outside in the litter box.

Thinking back over this little game, I have decided he might have had a good idea. This is a way to get exercise and find out what is going on in your neighborhood. This afternoon there is not much going on in my neighborhood. Across the street a maintenance person is repairing a window in one of the apartment. There are two cars and a truck parked across the street. A young woman walks past going to wherever it is she is going. My tip for this Tuesday is get a little exercise, even if it is just to walk to the door and look out at your yard or neighborhood.

Thursday Thoughts: Sunset Thoughts

I look out my front door and watch the sky slowly fade from deep blue to dark black. As night approaches, I pause to whisper a prayer and then continue writing. I have not yet turned on any lights. My apartment slowly grows darker, so I will have to turn on the kitchen light in a few minutes. I will also have to do the supper dishes, but I do not want to do either of those right now.

I listen to the neighborhood children laughing and playing. As the days grow longer they are able to remain outside later. I smile remembering my childhood in Oklahoma. I remember my grandparents let us stay outside and play until the sun set below the western horizon. Unlike Las Vegas, Nevada, the town I grew up in had no mountains so sunset seemed to last longer. At least I remember it lasting longer, but that was a long time ago and memory seems to enhance and lengthen the joys of childhood.

Listening to children play makes me nostalgic for that carefree time. As a child, I did not have to worry about the rent payment, the power bill, or gas for the car. As a child, I could run and play in the sunset knowing that when I went into the house the lights would turn on because Grandpa had the money to pay the power bill. I did not think about the power bill or any other bill because they were all taken care of by either my mother or my grandfather. I miss those carefree times. I miss playing outside without worrying about anything.

A Quiet Friday Afternoon: A Poem

On a quiet Friday afternoon,
I remember Oklahoma
and contemplate
the beauty of autumn.

On a quiet Friday afternoon,
I remember the cottonwood tree
in my Grandparents' front yard
and smile wonder
if it has any descendents
with their leaves turning yellow.

On a quiet Friday afternoon,
I wonder if the leave are changing
in Oklahoma
and falling to the ground
waiting for someone to rake them
into piles so children
can jump into them
and scatter them again.

The first day of Autumn 2014

On the first day of fall,
cool temperatures caress
my sleep weary limbs
as I listen to a rooster crowing.

Autumn memoriesof fall
in Oklahoma
and the scent of mothballs
in the morning.

Has it really been so long
since I last helped
Grandma can summer's abundance
and store the jars of winter.

Autumn in Las Vegas,
but the trees have not begun
to change
summer green for
autumn orange.

I miss fall in Oklahoma
and Grandma's canning parties.

An Imperfect Fall Day

In Las Vegas, it is an imperfect fall day. The leaves on the oak trees are still green and on the trees. The weeds in my front yard look healthy and appear to have tiny white blooms. The morning air is chilly, but not cold. A sweat suit top or sweater is enough to keep me warm when I go outside. I have a ski jacket in the car, but I have used it only once this month and that was the day I had to stand outside in a line.

It is an imperfect fall morning without leaves dropping from trees.  There is a slight wind, but it barely moves the limbs on the olive tree across the street. When I look out my kitchen window one or two of the oleander bushes, or perhaps I should call them trees, are in bloom. It is cool enough for a neighbor's dog to be outside all day without getting too hot or too cold.

It is an imperfect autumn day in Las Vegas. The morning sun cast shadows through the leaves on the trees. The neighbors' cats can prowl the neighborhood without the stress of rain or the fear of getting their fur wet. I mess the perfect fall days of an Oklahoma autumn when the leaves on the trees change color in October. I miss trying on warm heavy coats in anticipation of snow on a cold winter's day.

It is an imperfect autumn morning in Las Vegas without leaves falling from the trees and a wind chill factor freezing the water coming from a neighbor's sprinklers. At 66, I should not complain about the nice weather or the lack of fall foliage, but I miss the changing leaves of a perfect autumn day in Oklahoma.

Sunset on the Fourth of July: A Poem

I listen to explosions,
booms celebrating America's birthday.

I watch the sun descend,
behind the western mountains
and I smile.

Memories
of my childhood
in Blackwell, Oklahoman,
as I listen to firecrackers and what
sounds like cherry bombs.

Is someone in my neighborhood,
igniting fireworks
that are not safe and sane;
I wonder,
I glance nervously
out my living room window,
but  all I hear are the booms
reverberating though the Las Vegas.

Watching videos online: Dust storm in Oklahoma

I have had my new computer connected for several weeks now, but today is the first time I have watched videos online. I watched videos of the dust storm in northern Oklahoma because I was born in Blackwell. Until today, I did not realize how nice it is to watch a video without waiting for the download to catch up with my computer's speed.

I sit mesmerized by the dust blowing across the highway. The visibility was less then 10 feet so there was a multicar pile-up. According to the news report several people were sent to area hospitals, but no one died. The highway patrol was diverting cars through Tonkawa and Blackwell. Watching news videos online is much better then watching them on television.

Sunday Comic Memories from my childhood

I remember sitting on my father’s lap while he read me the Sunday Comics. We sit at the kitchen table and he would read the comics aloud between sips of coffee. At the time, we lived on College Street in Blackwell, Oklahoma.

I remember watching Dad sip his coffee and wondering if the coffee tasted as good a it smelled. One Sunday morning, I decided I wanted to taste Dad’s coffee. I reached for the cup, but instead of picking it up I pulled it off the table and spilled it in Dad’s lap and mine.

The coffee was hot enough to burn. Mom and Dad rushed me to the hospital. I think at that time, the hospital in Blackwell was on College across from a grade school. At the hospital, the doctor took care of my burns and my parents took me home. This is all I remember about this incident, it did not stop me from wanting to drink coffee.

Thursday Thoughts for November 10, 2011

It is Thursday. The air feels damp and therefore slightly chilly. There are clouds hiding the sky and the sun. Since I have not made an entry in a couple of days, I thought I would sit down and write something about my morning.

This morning, Mom woke up at 4:00 AM. She thought she had to go to work today. In her younger days, my mother was a food server; however, she has not worked in a restaurant or coffee shop for several years. Here in Las Vegas, she worked at the Showboat Hotel-Casino. In Blackwell, Oklahoma, she worked at Bob’s Grill.

I am not sure where Mom thought she was going to work this morning. I asked her but she would not give me an answer. Mom has Alzheimer’s disease so she does not always know where she is. Sometimes, Mom thinks she is still in Oklahoma, while at other times Mom realizes she is living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I never know where she believes she is living. I have to be careful when I ask her those questions because she gets angry when she thinks I do not know where we live. Anyway, I finally got Mom calmed down enough to get out of bed and go into the living room.

I traded the farm for a house in the city

Today, my mother came home from the daycare center crying. She thought the driver took her to the wrong house; she had forgotten where she lived. When I opened the front door, she was surprised to see me because she thought we lived somewhere else.

I have known for some time that Mom did not think she was living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of her remarks caused me to realize she thought she was still live somewhere in Oklahoma. Instead of insisting that she was at home, this would have caused her to become even more upset. I told her the farm had become too much for me to handle and I traded it with the son of one of her cousins for a house in the city. I still do no know which city she thought I was talking about, but it calmed her down and made her happy.

My mother has Alzheimer’s disease. This means she has memory lose and gets angry or upset easily. I am never sure how much Mom remembers, so when she gets upset and cries, I have to figure out where she is at so that I can calm her. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes difficult.

Today, I said the first thing that popped into my mind. I knew Mom was born and raised on a farm in Oklahoma. Therefore, I worked on the premise that she thought we were living on a farm. I wish it was that easy to calm her down when she gets angry.

Writing about the weather requires research

I am writing a story about becoming stranded in a snowed in, so I have to do a little weather research. The stranded part of the story is not an issue because I have had some experience with that. This experience occurred before I moved to Las Vegas. I lived with my grandparent in Oklahoma for a while and one year it snowed enough to strand several travelers in Blackwell. Eventually, the snowplows cleared one lane of traffic, so that people could drive a short distance.

I am have to do some research to help me remember what it was like to drive in one lane of traffic with snow piled high on each side. Finding this information should not be difficult, considering that half of the country had problems with unusual amounts of snow this year. I am glade I live in Las Vegas now because we did not have problems with the snow.

Columbus Day Thoughts and Memories

It's Columbus Day
Celebrate discovery
1492

I remember celebrating Columbus Day in Blackwell, Oklahoma. As a child, you never question the history lessons. As a child, you hope you can remember enough of the dates to pass the next test. I don't think we had to go to school on Columbus Day.

I enjoyed days off because we could stay at Grandma's house all day. Mom worked, which meant we couldn't stay home alone; we had to stay with my Grandparents. Since Grandpa worked, we stayed with Grandma all day.

Writing about Memory lose and Alzheimer's disease

There was a time when I thought that short-term memory lose was the worst thing that could happen. I was wrong! Mom has Alzheimer's disease. Mom has short-term memory lose. Mom has also forgotten that her parents are dead. Mom does not remember attending their funerals. Mom does not remember sitting by her mother's hospital bed.

When Mom and I talk, I am careful not to mention my grandparent's deaths. I refrain from saying they are buried in Blackwell, Oklahoma. My brother sent Mom an anthology containing several of his poems. Mom wants me to read the poems to her. I cannot read one poem to her because it mentions my grandparent's deaths.

When Mom gets upset because her parents do not live with us, I tell her that they sold their house and moved to a retirement village. Mom believes this and it makes her happy.

A list poem about My Hometown

I started a list poem in Poet 999 - A Butterfly Emerges from her Cocoon the title of the poem is I Remember Blackwell, Oklahoma. I started the poem, but I have not finished it.

A list poem is simply a rhymed or unrhymed poem listing different items. I think I will write this poem in blank verse and repeat the phrase "I remember". I am going to divide the poem into two stanza. The first stanza will begin with the phrase "I remember" and the second with the phrase, "I don't remember". I need to do some research before I finish the poem.

Remembering my High school days

A few months ago, I joined Facebook and found a few of the people that graduated from Shawnee Oklahoma high school in 1966. Yesterday I joined the alumni and posted a short bio of myself. I have to get back and write a longer piece. However, last night my hyperacidity acted up and I was unable to set at the computer.

I know it was something I ate that caused the problem, probably the orange. I don't remember having hyperacidity in high school. I could eat anything without worrying about the way it affected me. I am also beginning to remember my high school days fondly, there was a time when I didn't think about high school or avoided thinking about that part of my life.

Now that I am 63 and dealing with some physical and health problems, I remember the days when I didn't have to think about these things. In high school, I could walk home, which was several miles from Shawnee High School, without any problems. Now I'm happy to be able to walk one block without encounter physical issues. I think that is why I remember my high school days so fondly and I would like to be able to walk several miles without knee pain again.

Windy Wednesday in Las Vegas

‘Idál (Justice), 13 ‘Ilm (Knowledge), 166 BE – Wednesday, October 28, 2009 about 2:18 PM Pacific Time

It's a windy Wednesday in Las Vegas. The sun is shining and the wind chill factor reminds me of winter in Oklahoma. Pedestrians are bundled in ski jackets walking into the wind with their head down. Or walking with the wind behind them pushing them faster down the street.

The heat came on for the first time last night. The house is cold, house is cold, not as cold as a snowy day in Oklahoma, but cool enough to layer sweaters and blouses. The problem with turning the heat up to a comfortable level is the power bill.

Las Vegas autumn
the wind chill shivers tourist
locals dress warmer.

I come from

Daily writing practice prompt for Thursday, October 22, 2009: “I come from…”

I come from Oklahoma,
I come from Blackwell,
I come from America's home town,
I come from snowy Winters,
I come from multicolored Autumns,
I come from sweet smelling Springs,
I come from hot, wet Summers,
I come from middle America,
I come from joy and sadness,
I come from happiness and tears,
I come from Sunday morning hymns,
I come from Monday afternoon weariness,
I come from Tuesday evening laughter,
I come from Wednesday morning reflections,
I come from Thursday evening gratitude's,
I come from Friday wishes,
I come from Saturday playfulness,
And I come from the planet Earth.

Writing about the Rain

It rained today in Las Vegas, a gentle cool summer rain, the type of rain that brings back memories of my childhood. The rain is needed in this desert because we are in a drought. It didn't rain long or a lot, but it rained.

Gentle raindrops fall
desert's liquid refreshment
Las Vegas gives thanks.

The rain brought back memories of Oklahoma rains. When I was a child, I enjoyed walking home from school in the rain. I would make sure I stepped in every water or mud puddle on the way home. When I got home, my mother or grandmother would run me a hot bath and make hot chocolate.

It was as if …

Daily writing practice prompt for Saturday, July 11, 2009: “It was as if ...”

It was as if a giant hand had swept all the houses off their foundations and scattered their contents across the city. I'm not sure how old I was when the tornado struck Blackwell, Oklahoma. I know I was in grade school. I remember huddling in our storm cellar as the tornado passed.

The tornado didn't touch down on my side of town. It touched down around Aunt Ida's house. Aunt Ida was my grandmother's sister. Grandpa took us to see the destruction and visit Aunt Ida. I remember the house next door was completely destroyed; the only thing left of that house was the foundation.

Aunt Ida and her husband rebuilt. The foundation of the house next door remained empty and weed covered. I don't know why the family never rebuilt, I don't think Aunt Ida ever said.

I need to write a birthday poem for my mother

My mother's birthday is March 19 and she will be 88 years old or young, depending on one's point of view. I want to write a birthday poem for her, but I'm not sure what to include. So far, Mom has had a long and interesting life.

Things I want to include in the poem

1. Born on March 19, 1921
2. Birthplace on a farm outside Lamont, Oklahoma
3. Very small at birth and did not get weight until parents took her into Lamont a month or so after she was born
4. Worked in Las Vegas, Nevada, at what is now University Medical Center near the end of World War II
5. Worked as a waitress until she was 83 or 84
6. Gave birth to four children - 2 girls and 2 boys
7. Has eight grandchildren
8. Has five great grandchildren
9. Started writing poetry when she was 81 or 82

I'm not sure of the form, but I think I will use a poetry form for this poem. I find poetry forms work well when I'm not sure about everything I want in a poem or even the title.