Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
The Sounds
The Sounds
Once my life was filled with noise
A neighbor clanking dishes
While I tried to sleep
The shouts of children
Engrossed in play
When I tried to study or write.
Arguments between spouses
Loud or soft
Many languages stirred in
I heard it all
No insulation within our walls.
Now, I've moved
Quiet is what I sought
Now I have it
Day and night.
Yes, the birds do sing
Flowers and plants do grow
A car passes slowly by
Occasionally a phone will ring
I hear a plane pass by high in the sky
Or the traffic on the highway near by.
I never thought I'd miss
The clatters or the shouts
Of life going on around me
Until they are no longer come.
Now that I've moved on
To a quiet place where noise is lost
Where the closing of closet
Breaks the silence just a little.
Clara Clackum - 8/2013
Once my life was filled with noise
A neighbor clanking dishes
While I tried to sleep
The shouts of children
Engrossed in play
When I tried to study or write.
Arguments between spouses
Loud or soft
Many languages stirred in
I heard it all
No insulation within our walls.
Now, I've moved
Quiet is what I sought
Now I have it
Day and night.
Yes, the birds do sing
Flowers and plants do grow
A car passes slowly by
Occasionally a phone will ring
I hear a plane pass by high in the sky
Or the traffic on the highway near by.
I never thought I'd miss
The clatters or the shouts
Of life going on around me
Until they are no longer come.
Now that I've moved on
To a quiet place where noise is lost
Where the closing of closet
Breaks the silence just a little.
Clara Clackum - 8/2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Say What?
SAY WHAT?
You
begin life with only the ability to cry, gurgle, and perhaps make
some other indistinct sounds. As an infant you quickly learn that
body language can substitute for the absence of language skills. Next
you learn the power of the simple word NO. So many ways to use NO to
voice your concerns. At pre-school level, the spoken word becomes the
number one form to communicate; utilizing body language for emphasis.
Bi-lingual children have a distinct advantage with twice the
opportunity for making themselves understood. As education
progresses, the written word gains importance. Our world expands from
the community into a global situation.
I
grew up in a small town, with limited travel, and without any global
awareness. The levels of communication were quite simple.There was
talking, whispering, silence, yelling, bullhorns, sirens, written
words via letters, notes, magazines, books, sign language,
photographs, sky writing, and the telephone. Not to be forgotten, the
two tin cans and a string. Let's also not forget the unspoken
communication called “The Look”. That stare bestowed on a child
for some misdeed was a clear, clear communication. No words were ever
needed to know you were in some sort of trouble. My father was a
master of that look. Well into my twenties he still had the capacity
to stop me cold with that look. It was never explained. You were
suppose to know what it was all about. At times I got it totally
wrong and confessed to something far worse than he had originally
intended for that look to expose. I admit I learned that trait well
from my father and used it rearing my own children. It did not lose
any power over the years.
Nowadays,
there are so many other ways to communicate including Email, twitter,
SMART phones, texting, video conferencing, Skype, Blogs and YouTube.
Emails, Facebook, and cell phones are a wonderful way to keep in
touch with friends however, there is nothing sweeter than getting a
letter or note in the mail. I love seeing handwriting on the
envelope, knowing the message inside will be just for me. Call me
old-fashioned but I hope the art of handwritten messages never dies
out. It is so personal because it shows someone took the time to
gather the notepaper or card, write out words of caring, locate a
stamp, and get it into the postal system. This type communication
will always be my favorite.
“What
a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a
phone call.”
Liz
Carpenter – (1920- ) American Writer and Feminist
Friday, August 16, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Ginsberg was Here
Nowl
By Jim Clifford
I saw the best minds of my generation
sit in coffee shops
laptops propped up like rows of tombstones.
They stare down, as if visiting a cemetery.
I hear Eleanor Rigby’s "look at all
the lonely people."
Imagine a world free of Holy Mother Media
and its Ministry of Truth
It’s easy if you try.
What a Brave New World
where the first cell was a phone.
They walk the streets like zombies,
eyes dead, talking to themselves.
Readers from "Fahrenheit 451" ?
No. They are not memorizing books
which will be burned
for taking up space and trees.
By Jim Clifford
I saw the best minds of my generation
sit in coffee shops
laptops propped up like rows of tombstones.
They stare down, as if visiting a cemetery.
I hear Eleanor Rigby’s "look at all
the lonely people."
Imagine a world free of Holy Mother Media
and its Ministry of Truth
It’s easy if you try.
What a Brave New World
where the first cell was a phone.
They walk the streets like zombies,
eyes dead, talking to themselves.
Readers from "Fahrenheit 451" ?
No. They are not memorizing books
which will be burned
for taking up space and trees.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Christmas Eve 2010
By Robert M.
Parkhurst
Christmas Eve we were in
Atascadero. Jennifer, my daughter and
her husband Todd had come down for Christmas.
Son, Ken, and his wife, Jerissa, and the kids had come over to our place
and there was general confusion that morning.
Grandma Marge, Jerissa and Jennifer were buzzing about the kitchen in
preparation for a dinner that evening.
Marge suggested we all go to Firestone’s for lunch in San Luis
Obispo. Jerissa said the children
needed to take naps so she would stay at home with them. Todd drove over to Firestone’s and we had a
great lunch. Marge and I shared a
bar-b-qued tri-tip sandwich and we all ate in the sports bar. When we got back to our house, it was
decided that we didn’t have enough chairs for the table to which Ken had added
two new leaves.
I decided to go to the oak
furniture store in Paso Robles to see if I could get a couple of matching
chairs that we were short. I was
surprised that they had about ten chairs that were an almost perfect match to
ours and they were on special sale, usually $100. but now only $79. for the
holidays. I thought I would be lucky to
get two chairs into my car that also contained two child car seats in the
back. I told the proprietor I would buy
all the chairs he could get into my car.
I was again surprised that he got one in the front seat next to the
driver’s set, one crammed in on top of the child seats in the back and even
third one on its side in the trunk.
This was perfect since another couple and their two children were also
going to join us for dinner after the special mass at the Catholic Church. The mass started at 4:30 p.m. and we got a
phone call from Ken telling us that the church parking lot was already
full.
We arrived and Todd dropped
us off and went to find a place to park.
We went inside and looked for Ken --- he is usually easy to spot at 6’3’’
he is just one head above the crowd. He
was over to the side with Kenichi.
Jerissa, Anderson and baby Josef were down in front center where we were
told we were to sit. Singing started and
there were lots of kids ages five to early teens dressed in costumes as
shepherds, wise-men and so on, sitting around on the floor near the altar just
barely out of sight. This was going to
be a re-creation of the manger scene and the birth of the Christ child. There was a life-size doll on the seat next
to Jerissa who was on the center isle.
As the lights dimmed and the stage lights gradually brightened, the
shepherds took their places on the polished concrete steps to the altar. Down the center isle came a twelve year old
girl dressed in a long white robe and bare feet playing the role of the Virgin
Mary. To my surprise, she didn’t take
the life-sized doll. Instead she was
handed my grandson baby Josef just two months old! As she walked up the polished concrete
steps, my heart jumped into my throat, my head was pounding - - - what if she tripped on that long white gown
and dropped baby Josef. I was scared
pale. I sat down as Jennifer tried to
comfort me. I looked at Grandma Marge
and she looked scared, too. People
behind us were gasping. I was too scared
to think clearly. If I jumped over the
pew and tried to grab the baby, the girl might get scared and drop him. I was frozen in fear. When it was over - - - it seemed like an eternity, the girl made it
down the polished concrete steps. Each
step she took I cringed. She handed
baby Josef back to Jerissa. I gave a
sigh of relief as I fell back into the pew.
A few moments later all the
children, whether they were in the play or not, were invited to the altar. There was a big rush and some parents took
their smaller children up the stairs to the altar. Jerissa took baby Josef up there as well - -
- yes, in a long purple gown that went all the way to the floor just like the
white one worn by the girl who played the Virgin Mary.
Then there needed to be
pictures taken of baby Josef in the arms of Mary and then in the arms of
several other children who played other parts in the play - - - some of them
looked about seven. People were pushing
to get the best camera shot. Who was
going to drop baby Josef down the polished concrete steps? The priest, Father George, was nowhere to be
seen!
We finally all left the
church. Baby Josef’s car seat was locked
in the church office in another building.
Someone got a key, but they were unable to open the door. I took the key and opened it. Who was watching Anderson and Kenichi in the
busy parking lot where parishioners were
all trying to see who could get their cars out of the lot first to go home to
Christmas Eve dinners?
We all made it home. I want to give great credit to Father George
for making me pray more at that service than I’ve ever prayed at any church
service before and showing me what a burden it is to be the grandfather of baby
Jesus!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Do You Just Belong? by Anita Mae Lollar
Are you an active member,
the kind that would be missed --
Or are you just content that
your name is on the list?
Do you attend meetings and
even mingle with the crowd?
Or do you stay at home and
crab both long and loud?
Do you take a creative part
to help the club along?
Do you ever go to visit a
sick member?
Or leave the work for just a
few and then talk about the clique?
There is quite a program
scheduled that means success if done and can be accomplished by the help of
everyone –
So attend the meetings
regularly and lend a helping hand and heart
Don’t be just a member.
Am I right or am I wrong?
Written
by
Anita
Mae Lollar
May
16,2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
How To Add An Image To Your Blog Posting
For reference this is a portion of what is called the toolbar (in "Edit post" window)
To enlarge any of the following images, click on it. When you are done looking at the image, use your browser's "Back" button to return to the posting.
1) Click on the little slide icon to the right of the blue "Link" button. That will open up the window
below.
2) If you want to upload a file from your computer, click the grey button that says "choose files". A
window like the one below will open for you to select your image. When you have highlighted
your image, click the button that says "open".
3) It will take a couple of seconds for the file to upload. When you see your image in the window,
click the blue button that says "add selected".
4) Voila, your blogging skills are getting better & better !
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Request For Postings
This blog is for all the members of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center Writing Class to post their work. I hope that each and every one of them will share some of their work here so that the public can enjoy it. All members have received invitations to this blog which allow them to set up their own accounts and post here. Members will be solely responsible for the content of their work: editorial aspects, posting it, altering it, or deleting it. You've been working hard on your writing and this is the venue to share it with family, friends, and the world at large.
Points Of Interest For Self Publishing:
Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know
Amazon Self Publishing
Lulu Self Publishing
Xlbiris Self Publishing
Lightning Source Self Publishing
Blurb Self Publishing
Let's make some of your great writing available to the public !
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