Poetry: My view (true story)
your wrinkles are deeper
crepe skin on your arms
you stretch and ache
no pills ever work
your eyes of pain
or is that wisdom
a mixture of both
are you content
friendly while out
looking so happy
tucked in at home
you’re sullen and blue
that’s a glass on the wall
that’s my view in the mirror
Taken 6:15 on 9-10-16 throught the mirror
Poetry: Dad (true story)
he was much taller
towering over me
closely behind him
in his foot steps
taught me to work hard
taught me to eat good
taught me to play right
closely behind him
in his foot steps
learned how to drive
at a young age
learned how to drink
like a funnel
closely behind him
in his foot steps
he walked in the garden
slue footed was he
stepping in his foot prints
slue footed would be me
died of liver cancer
drank himself to death
closely behind him
in his foot steps
he never stopped drinking
till it caught up to him
dad died drunk at 58
brother died drunk at 30
my sons started drinking
closely behind me
in my foot steps
stop the bleeding
quit drinking at 35
my own foot steps at 62
Jamie, Bandit and Billy in 2005
Past, present & plans 9-9-16
Past
When we moved to Hughesville in ’65, we didn’t have running water. We had what I called walking water. My brother, George, and I carried gallon jugs of water from our neighbor. Two at a time through the weeds, from about three acres away. It seems to me I remember plastic gallon jugs. According to one website, “plastic gallon jugs were introduced in ’64.”
To take a bath we had to carry them up stairs in our old farm house. Mom would heat water on the stove and we would carry that up stairs also. I can’t remember the order, but each of us took a bath in the same water.
Present
Matt registered the other day at the Clark Senior Center and today, his wife, Teresa, did too. We ate three lunches at the center and they were well worth a three dollar donation a piece.
After lunch Teresa went home, while Matt and I went to a Creative Writing class down the hall. There were eleven chairs filled with warm bodies, which I thought was pretty good. The teacher answered a question of mine that has plagued me for weeks.
The class is free to registered seniors and you can’t beat that.
Plans
A friend told me that Omega 3 fish oil has helped him with his general aches and pains. He said, “It took three weeks before it took affect.”
I bought a three month bottle. When I see the bottom of the bottle, I’ll tell you if my aches and pains are gone.
Your three words, my little story
Lori’s words: tiger, diploma & houseplant
Lori was so proud of her DIPLOMA. She put a lot of time and effort into graduating at the top of her class. Getting her degree early worked well in her plans. Now she could open the first Veterinary shop ever in the sleepy little town of Sloan.
She had all kinds of plants at home, indoor and outdoor. At the moment there was only one HOUSEPLANT in the office. Hanging her diploma over the plant was great. It added a little of her decorator back ground to her new digs.
It was two days before she got her first phone call. She answered saying, “Lori’s Veterinary Services, what’s your critter?” She was so tickled, she couldn’t hardly contain herself. Her first customer was on the phone.
He said, “ My name is J. J. Johnson and I have a feline problem.”
“What kind of cat is it?”
“A TIGER. It’s a small one though.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m messin’ with ya. I have a two year old calico and there might be something wrong with his man parts.”
She immediately saw dollar signs, because the vet bill on a male calico can get high. Especially if it suffers from Klinefelter’s Syndrome. “When do you want to bring him in?”
“Is tomorrow at nine am alright?”
“Let me check the calendar.” She knew she had no appointments yet. “Just so happens tomorrow at nine is open Mister Johnson. Let me get your phone number and the Calico’s name.”
How ya like my hat? Tall hat
I was heading into a meeting with a bunch of my friends, when one of them pulled me off to the side. He told me, “I’ll give you a dollar, if you wear this hat during the whole meeting and lunch afterward.”
I said, “No, but I’ll do it for six dollars.”
“Why six?”
“That way I’ll have money for lunch.”
He said, “Okay.”, thinking he got me to do something, that I normally wouldn’t do.
After lunch my friend Wally asked me, “Where did you get money for lunch?” I told him the deal I made and he said, “That’s a pretty good deal for you.”
“Yeah it is.” Wally knows I would have bought the hat for my, ‘How ya like my hat?’ gig. This way I got the picture, story and lunch for free.
Picture was probably taken in 2014.
Just messin, paid a dollar for it at a yard sale.
The Houseboat Poet 