MY FAVORITE QUOTES
My Current WoW
Vision of an Angel
As a boy, I used to look up at the quiet ceiling of my room and wonder if, one day…
My Ever-Evolving Bucket List
For much of my journey on this spinning blue marble…
Ten-Year Plan
In the spring of 1980, confidence ran through my veins as I sat across from the manager who would later select me as Payroll Supervisor at Newport News Shipbuilding. His…
The Solitude of Starting Over
At eighteen, I was fresh out of high school, newly enlisted in the US Air Force, and married…
A Trip of Wonder
In June of 2023, my wife and I set off for Niagara Falls…
Guest Missives
My Close Call… by Jane Strebel
Snake in the Grass… by Jane Strebel
Guilty as Charged… by Jane Strebel
Sick Duck… by JoAnn
Setting The Alarm… by JoAnn
Something Odd… by JoAnn
Car Shopping… by JoAnn
The Bike… by JoAnn
Mama Boo… by Jane Strebel
High-Times on the 4th Floor… by Larry Fields
AS MY WORLD TURNS
CATS
Peace
I think a kitten’s sleep
is a form of prayer,
the soft pink nose
and pads of her feet,
the chin turned up to
reveal her white throat
the long tail wrapped
around her silver-gray body.
“Sleeping for storm,”
I’ve heard it called.
Outside may be war and famine
and unspeakable cruelties
But here and now
in this little body
is peace.
Foof, the Covid Kitten
I know he’s just
a fluff of dust in this vast universe,
but to me he’s so much more.
He came into my life
on a cold, dark day
when I was hollowed out by sorrow,
weary of the sad little rituals of my days,
sickened by the thought
of the thousands dying
for want of a little care.
My life was a dry, brittle shell
until my little cat leapt in
as if into a flowery meadow.
I love his velvety ears,
his amber eyes alight
with curiosity and mischief,
his black fur sleek as sealskin,
his prim white paws
that sneaked into my heart
until it was full to overflowing.
He can make a game of anything—
a random piece of ribbon,
an elusive dust bunny.
And oh his prodigious leaps
as he turns a half somersault in the air
in pursuit of his favorite toy!
And so he makes me laugh
in peals of sunlight.
Thus it is that joy can blossom
in the driest desert,
even the one in my heart.
Notes to Self
Please note:
This is your cat.
He’s lying on the white blanket
at the foot of your bed,
the morning sunlight shining
through his translucent ears
and glancing off the silver streak
on his side
in a way it never has before
and never will again.
Please note:
This is his pose.
His front paws are crossed,
left on top,
and his long tail curls slightly
around his back legs
in a way it never has before
and never will again.
Please note:
This is your life—
not tomorrow afternoon,
not even ten minutes ago:
NOW.
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