The Gift of An Hour

The shift from daylight time to standard time in these waning
days of Autumn, gives us the gift of an additional hour.

               And how might you use your gift ?

    You could take a nice long afternoon nap.

    You could bake a large batch of chocolate chip cookies
         and while still warm, share some with a neighbor.

    You could offer to rake the leaves from a
         neighbor's front lawn.

    You could connect with a friend and say
         how much the person means to you.

    You could greet people whom you don't know
         . . . with a smile.

    You could engage in acts of kindness and hold doors
         open for others or relinquish your place in line
         for someone.

    You could make a steaming hot cup of cocoa and
         sit by a window.

    You could take someone dear to you -
         out for lunch or dinner.

    You could begin reading that new book you
         haven't found time for.

                      You could even write a poem - or two !

S O S A D

Can't forget 19 days of
   totally grey, overcast sky.

Curiosity won over waiting
   but only at first.

How long can this go on?
   Is this what SAD* is
      all about?

Is the world
   broken?

It wasn't that there wasn't a
   total absence of blue.

Once in a while, a jay would
   wildly fleet through,
      stopping only to
         harass a few winter creatures
            that frequent our back garden.

All of a sudden, following the
   456 hours of grey-
       the sky parted
          just a bit to
             show blue.

Only to swiftly shrink away and
   close up.

Not until
   nearby neighbors
      rushed into the street - pointing
         away from the earth.

I joined them.

Together, we surmised whether or
   where blue would be
      seen again.

I wished it would return.

Wherever it went
   I will surely wish
      to follow.

Is it too much to have hope it
   would linger until
      the Killdeer
         call again?


                              *Seasonal Affective Disorder

Too Short

I still find each day too short for
all the thoughts I want to think,
all the walks I want to take, all
the books I want to read, and all
the friends I want to see. The
longer I live, the more my mind
dwells upon the beauty and the
wonder of the world.

                                  -John Burroughs

Before One Forgets What Is Important

The writing of this remembrance began with the death in 2002
of Paul Wellstone, his spouse Sheila, daughter Marcia, and 
the crew in the crash of his airplane in a woods near Eveleth, 
Minnesota.

                        I remember the 
                       day of his death.
                    Sunday, October 25
                     around 10:20 a.m.
                           So indelible.

For some reason, I had not attended church that morning.
That, in and of itself, somewhat unusual - being a member of
the choir.

                 I was where I need to be.

                          Upon hearing
                    the news, I rushed to
                the local garden store and
                   returned with a small
                        Red Maple tree.

                   I planted the tree just
            along side our front driveway.

                I planted it in their honor.

                            It's name is
                        Paul Wellstone.

          The tree was planted with care,
                                and I have cared for it 
                                                            ever since.

Where is the . . .

"This is the most beautiful
      place on earth. There are many
             such places."

                           -Edward Abbey

Did You Ever See A . . .

Did You Ever See A . . .

     -barn swallow

     -horse fly

     -flip flop

     -bumbershoot

     -hot dog

     -teeter totter

BONNIE AND CLYDE

On a trip south, we happened to sleep one night
in the same motel that Bonnie and Clyde slept in.
Not just the same motel near Rockport . . . but the
same bed. As I looked up at the nearby ceiling, I
thought of that couple. Did they rest well?
There were loads of mosquitos both outside and
inside the motel. The staff attendant cautioned us
by saying: "be sure to leave the light on in the
bathroom and keep the bathroom door open."

We did . . . and it worked!