Naptime ~ Then and Now

Afternoon, upstairs in the big bedroom facing Railway Avenue

a nap with mom

My eyes shut tight,

I tried desperately to go to sleep

or at least looked like it.

Warm summer sun peeked ‘neath fringed window shades pulled half way down.

Mom relaxed, breathing slowed - is she asleep yet?

I’ll move just a bit to see if she wakes....

Her murmured voice breathes ‘Stop wiggling and go to sleep.’

Should I try to get out of bed?

If I turn over on my tummy

slide my legs over the side of the bed

keep my head on the pillow 

then hold real still just for a minute

then I can get up and go see what’s out the window.

Maybe a train will go by and I can count the cars.

See how many go by before mom wakes up..........

Naptime today ~ I am supposed to be getting a lot of rest, so

I sink against thick pillows propping me up on the bed. 

Sun warm through the louvered shades of bedroom windows 

Quiet outside and in ~ I doze, my book fallen against my chest,

one hand holding it open to the page for my unfocussed eyes.

‘I guess I should lie down properly and go to sleep’ - My own murmured directions.

Putting my book down, 

rearranging my pillows

slipping down in the cozy warmth of my sick bed

I close my eyes tightly trying desperately to go to sleep.

It is said that our cells hold memories ~ does this hold true for naptime?

Cellular memory ~ 

an interesting and still questioned quality

reflections linking us to the past, 

carrying us forward to the present 

~ a cup of tea and lovely memories.

“O memory! thou midway world

‘Twixt earth and paradise,

Where things decayed and loved ones lost

In dreamy shadows rise.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

A Peaceful Resistance Movement

Opponents were unevenly matched in this game of wits against instinct.

An invading virus clung desperately inside an unwelcoming host as

gallons of water, tea, coffee and fruit juice washed through captured territory loosening the hold of virus on human.

Alas for the virus, the antioxidant power of dark chocolate was unleashed from an armory hidden in a cupboard drawer. 

http://www.allchocolate.com/health/nutrition/antioxidants.aspx

A brief spurt of exercise pulled in another set of armaments 

to attack the viral flank ~ too much would have weakened the host.   

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc

Non-violence was the order of the day ~ a peaceful resistance movement. 

Score

Virus still ahead by a nose

Host gaining ground on the inside.

“Sickness comes on horseback but departs on foot.”

~ Dutch Proverb

Ode to the Flu

To the flu 

I concede that work is taboo,

for the energy needed is out of my view

This virus invisible

with faint symptoms so clinical

make life very miserable.

So I turn a new light

on this dreadful plight

and virus or not, I won’t let it bite! 

(very hard anyway)

“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means that something 

is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”

~ Michael J. Fox

A Cat Tale - One Cat's Opinion

The human of the house was listening to her precious noise box today. Humans were voicing their opinions about the price of veterinarian drugs. One even said, quite disdainfully, ‘Get rid of the cat’ - referring of course to the expense that was being incurred by one kind young man. The uncharitable caller went on to say he could not see how any pet could be 'part of a family'. I was not certain that I could stomach his attitude - had I been on earth, I would have felt a fur-ball coming on. This unpleasant human was obviously not a cat, dog or any other kind of pet, person.

So astounding was this, that I felt I had to descend to you from Cat (and Dog) Heaven (we sometimes let humans in too) to share my opinions. The image you see of me here is when I was only maybe a year old in the backyard of my Texas home (I kept a human there.)

My name is Max. I had two housemates, one my litter mate, Gomez. The other, allowed to stay, was a dog, Bear. Gomez, a tabby like me, was not as colourful but at least with smart black and gray markings. Bear, a huge, white gynormous mutt, was a fairly good fellow that we played with on occasion.

From the great beyond, I really don’t have much say over the human that we housed there, but she did learn well. She doesn’t have pets right now because we let her in on several issues about correct pet care.

1. Economics - we do need the right food.

2. Housing - no leaving us outside over night, too dangerous, and if you’re a dog too noisy. (and her bed was much more comfortable.)

3. Health care - if we’re to stay as healthy as possible, sometimes vets know what’s best even if their prices are outlandish.

Pets are not just someone to be a companion at some human's beck and call. Not all humans are responsible enough to take care of themselves, let alone one of the finer species like cats (or dogs).

So, do I think that kind young man I mentioned previously should get rid of his cat? Definitely not - he’s responsible and caring enough to keep any of us as long as he is able. The other human? Don’t let him near any one of us. We wouldn’t be anything more than an old shoe to him.

“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!”

~ Theophile Gautier

Picking Between the Aisles

Comfort food ~ 

anything I could possibly buy.

Aisle after aisle.

Exhaustion from Friday, 

moving into Saturday, 

just the beginning.

Well that exhaustion turned into something relatively minor.

I’m assuming 'tis Friend Flu based on my symptoms.

Now, I’m definitely not asking 

anyone to feel sorry for me

because I’m grateful 

for everything and everyone

available to me

offering helping hands and hearts.

I’m grateful for 

my independent spirit

my ability to exercise that spirit

economically

emotionally

mentally and

spiritually.

Winter time - whether here in Victoria or

on the prairies with icy streets and snow - 

is no picnic when someone is sick - 

even a little bit.

If that someone is

homeless

jobless

dis-spirited

emotionally bankrupt

confronting mental illness

any or all of the above

they’d better be as resourceful as 

that crow picking in the cracks of a sidewalk.

“Generosity is giving more than you can, 

and pride is taking less than you need.”

~ Khalil Gibran

Naming Noodles

Noodles wild cousin and his buddy.

Naming Noodles

“Oh no, we’ve lost the gold fish!”  

Not that I was especially perturbed.  It wasn’t my gold fish. I only went with my girlfriend, Melissa, who was really responsible for the gold fish, to look good. How big a job would it be to get a gold fish!?

Melissa had been sent to the pet store to pick up a gold fish for her little brother, Patrick. It was the little guy’s birthday and he said that  was what he wanted. No action figures, no ball glove, not even free movie tickets! Just a gold fish. Mrs. Finamer, their mom, already had the gold fish bowl at home hidden in a top cupboard in the kitchen.  And I thought taking her for lunch while we were out would help me score points.  

Anyway, Melissa and I stopped at the pet store first. Of course, we had to look at the ‘cute puppies’ and ‘adorable kittens’ before Melissa bought and paid for the fish. The clerk, a guy I knew from school, put it in a plastic bag that went in a box with a handle. I was supposed return Melissa straight home so we could set up the gold fish bowl with a gold fish in it before the birthday party. But, because we were in a mall, on a Saturday, we decided to look in a few stores. Ya' know CD’s n’ stuff. Then we went to the food court so I could buy Melissa lunch. We both got Chinese noodles, with shrimp and green onions, chow mein and fried rice. Talking and laughing while we ate, we forgot all about the gold fish and her brother’s birthday party. We were just carrying our trays over to the trash bins in the food court when my girlfriend started to cry.

“What’s wrong now?? You were happy and laughing two minutes ago?”

“Omigod!  Where’s the gold fish? What did you do with it?”

“What did I do with it? You had it last?” 

“Stop!  Don’t empty your tray! It’s a noodle box! They all look the same!”  

Even I panicked then! I had just about thrown the gold fish away.  So, I set the tray, loaded with crumpled napkins, chopsticks and noodle boxes, down on a table. Sure enough, we had five noodle boxes ~ we only got enough for four boxes. I looked carefully into each noodle box, throwing away the empties, until I was left with just one. The gold fish was still swimming about in his plastic bag - but did look as though he needed a better swimming pool.

Mrs. Finamer was not very happy with us when we finally got back.  She likes me though, so I got her smiling, almost, when I told her our story. “We even got a name for the little guy. He’s so darn cute.” I really had a hard time saying that, but I felt scared that I’d get kicked out of Melissa’s house.

Mrs. Finamer's arms folded, foot tapping, trying not to smile said “What is it? It had better be good, and something that’s appropriate for Patrick to hear.”

“Of course it is Mrs. Finamer. ‘Noodles’. Here, let me put Noodles in that fresh water. Look at him. He loves his new home, he’s gonna love Patrick and he loves his name.”

Saved. Mrs. Finamer couldn’t be serious any more. She burst out laughing “You know you really should have come right back. I’ll forgive this one......and ah, Noodles is a good name.”

“If you want a happy ending, that depends , 

of course, on where you stop your story.”

~ Orson Welles

Politics vs Individuals

A slightly political muse ~

Just home from watching the movie, Lincoln, with Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Fields

All movie issues were well done, but I’m not a professional movie critic.

The lighting bothered me

until I thought about the day and time when electricity not as ubiquitous as it is now ~

tall ceilings, pooled light from kerosene lanterns for

daily living or 

conducting the nation’s business

Tall windows, drapes opened to light, certainly helped.

My mind wandered and compared 

today’s racial issues, 

couched in economic terms, 

in Canada’s political scene ~

so like those on the movie screen in the United States in 1863.

Racial divides

Political maneuvering

Economic jockeying

How will decisions made in Ottawa, or any of the capital cities

affect people, 

not just the economy.

Political decisions were issues then 

as they are now for individual people ~

living in homes

precious newborns

going to school

getting married

raising families

aging gracefully ~ or not

passing from this life and 

the myriad of events cycling through all our lives.

Racial divides

Political maneuvering

Economic jockeying

How will the game play out?

“Society exists only as a mental concept;

in the real world there are only individuals.”

~ Oscar Wilde