What ZephyrBird thinks

Posted 7:30 AM by Bonnie

Blah, blah, blah! Well, as my husband pointed out it's been awhile since I've posted here. The truth is I've just been so discouraged over the computer issues that doing anything on the internet just doesn't interest me much these days. It's like one thing gets fixed and another thing goes wrong. My code is there for comments yet there are no comments showing. Things like that make me want to throw in the towel.

On top of that I got real sick for about 3 to 4 weeks and that didn't help my attitude any. Started with a cough that wouldn't quit and just got worse and worse. Ended up with bronchial pneumonia. Finally got that licked but it took a lot out of me and am still rebuilding my energy level.

Then our landlady dropped a bomb on us! When we first rented here she said cats were fine as long as we cleaned good when we left. She had no problems! The people before us had dogs and believe me you knew it when you walked in. There is carpeting in only one room (this one) and every time it got humid outside the carpet stunk of dog until I scrubbed it enough to get rid of that smell. But...she was talking with a man from her church who is now renting out a house of his and HE told her to raise the rent (she did by $50 a month) and that she shouldn't let pets because you can't rent a place out again once you rent to someone with pets. So, now she wants us to get rid of our cats. We placed one with a very nice family, but have had no luck finding suitable families for any others. I don't want to put them in the SPCA because they are a rip off. They charge you to place the pets and then charge the people who adopt them. What gets me is even if you take in a cat that has been spayed or neutered they still charge the adopting people for the spaying or neutering! Something is wrong with that system.

So, as you can see I am not in the best of humor these days. So for now my posts will be erratic and I admit to defeat to the challenge of posting at least once a week during the year. I am way behind on that one!

Oobla di oobla da life goes on.

Posted 7:32 PM by Bonnie

Open Mic Night! What an amazing night! We had a low turnout but the combination of poets and spectators made for an inspiring night! Colette Jones was able to join us for part of the night, much to the delight of the rest of the group. She has always been an open mic favorite and we've truly missed her the past couple of months. Always remarkable and fun, Aaron Johnson, brought a mix of humor and thought provoking poetry to share. The surprise of the night was a young man from Bates Highschool. As the night wore on I kept forgetting this young man was only 17! Jamar White is one of those people you can give a word, a line, a topic, and he can adlib and impromtu poem on the spot. And each challenge was met brilliance! His ability to do this is impressive to say the least, and to come up with a great poem each time is amazing! Jamar, get that tape recorder and start recording these poems so they are not lost! One thing he did last night was after I read my poem, Final Breath, with my last sentence he picked up the poems and continued it into a poem of his own final breath. As I said this young man is amazing.

Last night was what I had envisioned when I started these open mics a year ago, this coming June. It was not only poets sharing their poems, but an exchange of thoughts about the poems, discussions of how people felt about the poems. One thing I have always believe in is each poet has a right to his or her feelings and the right to express those feelings (as long as they aren't hateful and hurtful), so whether I agree or disagree with the content is not an issue with me. I listen for the quality of the writing and expression of delivery. And last night did not disappoint in any way!

Now onto the sad news! You all know I've been having all sorts of issues with my computer! Well, now the A drive won't read my floppies so I can't even post the pictures. This computer is driving me nuts with all the problems it's been having lately! I've been too sick to even think about carting it back to the computer repair shop, but I think next Monday I will be on their doorstep again. Right now I have more of a hate relationship with computers than a love one! Hopefully I will have things fixed by next week and I can add some pics. Grrrrr!!!!

Posted 5:42 PM by Bonnie

Computer issues and illness make for a miserable time! Still can't figure out why my comments aren't showing but am going to post anyway. Have been having so many computer issues I won't even get into it and on top of all that I've caught a nasty cold! So please forgive my absense and when I am feeling well enough I will come back to post again. I will be back!

Posted 10:14 AM by Bonnie

Well, I'm finally back online and apologize for the delay in posting. Last open mic was so much fun it was disappointing to not be able to post immediately! I will list names and put up more pictures later, but wanted to at least get the group picture up. I had everyone gather around two of the three tables so everyone would be in one shot. We had some new faces and welcome everyone! I want to thank you all for making the night such a good time! I've had a lot of feedback on the new setup and so far very positive. Everyone seems to enjoy the more intimate setting, the closeness to each other and the ability to talk to other poets about their work. Right now my hands are cramping, so again, will post more later, but wanted to get up at least one post and a big thank you! I've been offline for a week now with computer issues, but all seems to have been resolved! So, keep watching for more updates and more pictures!

Posted 9:51 AM by Bonnie

Too cute for words:

Posted 3:52 PM by Bonnie

Fair weather cat: Well, we have to give credit to the little female stray cat that hangs around here. Last night when it got cold we heard a scratching at the front window. When I looked there she was with her little face pressed up against the window scratching to get our attention. After making sure all the indoor cats were safely shut upstairs, I opened the door and she zoomed in. After making sure there was food, water and litter box she snuggled in for the night. That is one smart cat, who has well trained!

Posted 11:15 AM by Bonnie

Time moves to fast! I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or if things really are moving faster. Seems to me Easter is a bit early this year. I am not prepared! It was just Christmas a few weeks ago and here it is Easter already. The signs of spring are here, even though it will be dropping to the freezing point for us this weekend, and the calendar says it's April...so where did the time go?

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time has gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say" (Pink Floyd - Time).

So, how many songs can we name with the word TIME in them? Any takers?

Posted 1:57 PM by Bonnie

Spring has sprung!

Posted 2:10 PM by Bonnie

Weekly Post: I realized today marked a week since my last post, and to keep my new years promise to post once a week I must post today. This was not a great week as it was the week we noted two deaths last year. On the 24th we lost our beloved cat, Mr. Fuzz and on the 27th my best friend of 43 years passed away. So, it was one of those let's just get through the week without any tragedies and then get to the end of the month. It's strange how much I still miss Rick. Even, Keith, who never met him but spent hours on the phone with him, misses talking with him. Every so often I find myself wanting to tell him something only to realize I can't just pick up the phone and call anymore. So, wherever you are, Rick, we miss you! Hidey, Mr. Fuzz's concubine starting coming out of her shell again about 6 months after his death, but she went through a bad depression time for quite awhile. And people think cats don't have feelings! But, life goes on and things have gotten back to normal - well, as normal as anything ever will be for me.

And now for my annual I can't stand the heat notation. It's only the end of March and already hitting the 80's here! It was in the 70's at 9 a.m.! I'm a northerner who loves the cold weather and even though it can get hot up north it's not for 8 months out of the year! August is pretty hot in PA but you can take anything for a month. Sigh! I know if you can't stand the heat get out of the south. But, since I don't want to leave my husband I'll just stay and complain about the heat.

The picture is one I took of the tree out front a few weeks ago. Now it is covered with blossoms! Spring has sprung, the grass iz riz, i wonder where da boidies iz! Happy Spring!

Posted 12:28 PM by Bonnie

When we had the eclipse of the moon, a few weeks ago, Keith and I went outside to try and see it. Of course, it was too cloudy and we didn't see anything, but I did get a couple pics of Mr. Scarface T. Snagglebutt, the other stray who comes around here begging, well, demanding to be fed.

Now wasn't that exciting?

Posted 12:45 PM by Bonnie

The new open mic: Well, things didn't start off with a bang, but that is my fault. Having been so sick last week I wasn't even sure I would do the open mic this month. Then I felt better on Monday and started sending out emails that yes, I would be doing the open mic Tuesday. Some got the emails tuesday and of course, there are people out there, hard to believe, who unlike me do not check their emails every day so probably won't even know until sometime in the distant future, that hey! yes, there was an open mic. Sorry folks! I'll do better for April.

Even though there were only three of us there, which is not unusual for open mics, but for me it is since I do have my regulars. Unfortunately two were out of town, one had to take care of her child, another got stuck at work on a conference call (called me in the middle to let me know) etc etc etc. But! what a very interesting night and out of the night came some new ideas.

Aaron Johnson, whom I tease that he is mine and Keith's adopted son, and Dr. Harris joined me for the night. So, we did a very relaxed reading. What we found was that Aaron and I write a lot a like and about the same subjects! We were amazed to find out how many of our poems were about the exact same idea and written so similarly! What we did differently was instead of just reading the poems we talked about them. Why did you write that one? What were you feeling? Thinking? What inspired it? And this made me think what a great idea to use with the regular open mic. Instead of just having people get up there and read three poems and sit down, let the other people ask questions about the poems and in this way we learn more about each other.

Also, we were discussing various ways of presenting poems and Aaron has agreed to attempt a poem for two or three or more poets. One where each person would feed off the others lines or an arugmentative poem where it would be a debate or whatever he decides, but we thought what fun that would be to try to work out and present as an vignette at one open mic.

Dr. Harris even did a dance from CATS (her art form is dance) and while we were discussing other poets she went through some of the books I carry around and found one by a CT poet, Chad Richards she liked and she read it for us.

Now considering the events of last week, with Keith and I both having that stomach virus Aaron read a poem, he had written, feeling it fit the occassion. I present it for you now....

Diarrhea by Aaron Johnson

I hate having the runs
Sometimes it reminds me of a rainbow:
The yellow, green, red and lime,
Yuck! I just hate it!
The smell of it and especially the sound,
Does it make your butt burn?
Don't you hate when it's time to wipe?
You end up getting crap all over your hand,
And what do you do?
Well, let's just say the smell of it wasn't that great.
Oh, yeah, you got some on your nose!
You go sit down and watch t.v.
And what do you know? It's that time again,
You go running to the toilet, but a little too late,
Did you not wipe good the first time?
Or did you sit in some chocolate pudding?

Well, that's all folks...pics to follow. Hope more of you can make it next month and join in the fun.

Posted 12:13 PM by Bonnie

A crappious vomitous week at the Johnsons: Without getting into a lot of gory details let's just say it has not been a pleasant week here. There's been a nasty stomach virus going around and Keith came down with it first. Monday night he had diahrea and it continued through Tuesday and he started getting better on Wednesday. He was really sick between 2 a.m. and about 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. After reading up on it we found it had a 24 to 48 hour incubation period which meant if I was going to get it I would have it within the next couple days. I really thought I was not going to get it! After all, he generally picks up every virus that comes around I, for some reason, don't get sick. But this was not to be this time. I felt great Wednesday night. Even joked that Thursday would be my D-Day if I was to get it and perhaps should get laundry done then. We laughed knowing I WOULD NEVER GET IT! Viruses didn't dare attack me. Well, this one was a bit meaner than the others and Thursday morning...yep 2 a.m.! I woke up and said oh! sh*t! I spent the next four hours becoming intimately acquainted with my bathroom. After that it was just an hourly trip...but the nausea! I have never experienced such an awful feeling. I called the doctors office at 8 a.m. because when I called about Keith and the nurse spoke with him she offered to call in some anti-nausea med's for him. He didn't need them. He didn't get as sick as I did. But, for some reason she wasn't as willing to do that for me. Told me I would have to wait until the doctor got in. A couple hours later Keith called and she still hadn't talked with the doctor so he asked her to see if he would prescibe something for me. Then he called a couple hours later and talked with another nurse who had no trouble calling in the script for me. Finally! I can't even describe the agony I was in. My temperature had reached 101 by then. Keith even left work after his last class so he could get the meds earlier for me and they hadn't called them in yet! But by 3 PM I finally had what I needed and started to feel somewhat better. I still don't want food but eat a little once in awhile. Still have slight nausea and queasiness, but everything else has stopped. I can tell you that I lost 10 pounds in two days, but this is not the way I wanted to do it! I hope no one else gets this and has to go through that. Yes, at one point I was saying just let me die and put me out of my misery! My hopes are that no one else gets this! It is mean! It is nasty! It is relentless!

Posted 6:53 PM by Bonnie

Southernese: I've been here in Sumter, SC since 2001 and you would have thought by now I would have acclimated to the language barrier. Yes, we do speak a different language in PA than is spoken here, but the other day the language barrier popped up again. I had stopped at the dollar general, by Food Lion, to pick up some price stickers and poster board for my yard sale. At the register there were some individual lemon and apple pies. Since we hadn't had any treats for quite awhile I thought why not and picked up one of each. As I was checking out the cashier rang up my order and asked, "dontcha need a coleslaw to go with those pies?" I said, "excuse me?" and she repeated, "dontcha need a coleslaw to go with those pies?" Knowing that couldn't be what she was really saying, but not wanting to ask her say it again, I smiled and said "not today." So, I leave the store and am halfway across the parking lot to my car when I crack up laughing, making the others in the parking lot think I was totally nuts, because it was then I realized she hadn't asked if I wanted coleslaw to go with the pies, but had been asking did I want a cold soda to go with the pies!

Posted 4:55 PM by Bonnie

Belated Valentine Post: I wasn't going to post this because I was afraid people might take it the wrong way. For one, I don't believe in Valentines Day. You either love someone or you don't and if you do you show it every day in a lot of little ways. To set aside one day to show you love someone seems a bit of a copout to me. Also, let's face it. It's pure commercialism to get people to buy expensive gifts and there are actually those who put a value of love on the cost of the gift. Anyway, if Valentine's Day is your thing remember this is my blog and my humble opinion. With people getting jewels, and candies, and flowers I know they think I'm strange as I shake my head, smile, and say how nice. Because it is nice, just not my thing. So, I thought I'd share a poem I wrote for my husband about what not to get me for Valentine's day!

Don’t give me diamonds or rubies,
Jewelry is not my thing,
To show me how much you love me,
I don’t need the bling.

Don’t give me chocolates I beg!
For if they should cross my lips,
The moment of sensual pleasure,
Will live forever on my hips.

Don’t give me flowers or roses,
In a vase of crystal or glass,
I love the ones growing wild,
That decorate our yards grass.

The songs about your Zephyr,
That in the shower you sing,
Show me more how much you love me,
Than flowers or candy or bling.

Posted 9:46 PM by Bonnie

News from the cattery: When we got Sir Percival T. Fuzzycat a few years back, we didn't know his background, but knew he had to have been abused. He is a beautiful Persian mix, but whoever had him before us had the poor thing declawed. He walked around with his head down and tail dragging. At first he was very much afraid of being touched, so we figured someone had done some bad things to him. Finally we were able to pet him and he would purr and purr and eventually his head and tail came up. But, I was never able to groom him. As soon as he saw the brush and comb he would become very skittish again. Anyone who has a Persian knows they need a lot of grooming. His hair would mat and I would have to finally hold him down and cut the mats off. But! last night he came to me to be petted and while petting him I picked up the brush and took a couple strokes over his fur. He left immediately, sat in the hallway thinking about it, turned around and came back and let me groom him for a good twenty minutes! I don't know what made him finally trust me but I am so glad he did!

Posted 8:30 AM by Bonnie

Winter in Erie, PA - my home town:

And these are from a friend in Bristol, VT where I lived for 10 years!

Posted 8:51 AM by Bonnie

It's been awhile since I let my insanity reign supreme so it's time for an insantity break!

Sunday, February 18
Monday Music Mambo

Hello all! I'm back with another Mambo for your enjoyment. Today is Temporary Insanity Day.

1. What song drives you mad when you hear it?

There are a lot but two that really make me want to scream stop!! are The Girl From Impanema and These Boots are Made for Walking.

2. Who do you think is the craziest musician out there?

Right now probably Brittany Spears - she's been in and out of rehab how many times in just one week? Okay, that's if you can call her a musician. I guess she's more of a vocalist - I won't even label her a singer - but she does make vocal sounds.

3. What is your favorite song with the word "crazy" in the title?

Still Crazy by Paul Simon (sort of the story of me - still crazy after all these years!)

4. If you went temporarily insane, what song or album would be your soundtrack?

They're coming to take me away, Hahaa!!!

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've Mamboed. Be sure your Mambo is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can dance too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination and dance like crazy!

Posted 8:35 AM by Bonnie

People: Even at the ripe old age of 59 I find people can still disappoint me. Oh, if it's someone I wasn't real close to that's one thing. I can let it go and get past it because it doesn't really matter. But, when it's someone I trusted. Someone I thought of very highly. Someone I respected. When someone like that does something totally unexplainable but totally wrong it takes me back and makes me rethink my belief in this person. I can handle just about anything except when a person lies and when that lie is blatant and obvious then I have to wonder why. Revelation time for me I guess.

Posted 12:34 PM by Bonnie

Archives temporary fix: No matter what I did I couldn't get the archives to work in the previous fashion. Clicking on archives to access the old blog missives. So, I had to go into the template and rewrite the code to set up the side bar archives. I know it's a bit bulky but I wanted them to be accessible and until I can figure out how to get the old archive method to work this will have to do.

Posted 3:15 PM by Bonnie

Swan Lake Quilt Guild Show: Okay, I'm not a quilter. Sewing and I are not friends. Sewing on a button is a waste of time to me when a pin will do just fine. But, I have a friend who quilts so I went. I was amazed at the intricacy of the work! It was amazing! I was so impressed I came home, got my camera and went back for pictures! Even considering joining the guild to see if even I could learn how to make some of these. Beth does some really involved work that are wonderful! Some made you stand back open jawed in amazement, some made you ooh and ahh and some even made you laugh. All in all it was worth the time to go see. So, I am sharing some pics I took here. Enjoy!

Posted 1:33 PM by Bonnie

Archives: Okay...Before I could post about the open mic I had to switch to the new blogger. Which worked pretty well until I tried to access my archive pages! The are there for the poetry blog but not for the main blog. I am trying to get some assitance from blogger regarding this issue and can only hope. In the meantime, enjoy the posts below and I'll let you know if and when this archive issue gets resolved.

Posted 8:14 AM by Bonnie

Open Mic for February 15, 2007: Can you say fun? Can you say energized? Can you say exciting? I’m not going to go into individual performances this time because everyone was dynamic! I will post pictures, of course. The first half of the night was open mic and for awhile I thought we were going to be short on poets, but they trickled in and in the end we had a great turnout. Develon Douglas returned to regale and entertain us with his exciting and enlightening poetry. I’m not one for PDA but when I turned around and saw him my first reaction was to give him a big hug! LOL! When I get him and Colette Jones there on the same night I know it’s going to be dynamic! And yes, Colette was there.

It’s also great to find out we are inspiring others to try their hand at original poetry. Linda Rowe, who will generally share a song or poem she found on the internet, shared an original work she had written about King Arthur and Guinnevere. She said she was just sitting at the computer one night and the poem just sort of wrote itself. I think we have a new poet in the horizon. Her husband, Tom, unfortunately had to work, so we didn’t get to hear part three of his epic poem. And I think this brings the poem to it’s conclusion.

Beth Langley brought her guitar and sang the song she spoke last month. Also, joining us was Hyacinth Kinley and Marie (Lyric) Grady. I’m happy to say we also had two new poets join us – LaKeyshuh Carolina and Aaron Johnson. Aaron is one of my husbands students, at Morris College. He brought his adorable two year old son with him and for a few minutes we all forgot about the poetry while oohing and aahing over this precious child.

And then on to the Slam! I was excited! Happy! Amazed! Seven people were brave enough to enter the slam. Okay, so it was unofficial, but still they were being judged and there were some prizes involved.

Dr. Michelle Reese came to watch and since my Slam participants were a bit nervous she volunteered to go up and do one, not as a participant, but to get the first one out of the way so the judges could practice scoring and the other particpants could have someone to follow and not have to be the first. What a big heart and it really did help.

Our Slam Participants were:
Michelle, LaKeyshuh, Develon, Marie, Beth, Aaron, Montresia Loyd, and Colette.
Our finalists for first, second, and third place were. Drum roll!

Develon Douglas – First Place
Montresia Loyd – Second Place
Colette Jones – Third place

There was only one point difference between each place winner and in the end we actually had a three way tie for third place – Colette, Aaron and Marie. Even adding back in the high and low it was still a tie so I let the audience decide with their applause.

To say it was fun is an understatement. I may try a slam again for another special occasion, but for next month things will be back to normal. Thanks to all of you wonderful poets who make this night so exciting and such a success.

And I leave you with one final picture. A shocker! Get ready.....

Yes, I am actually wearing a skirt!

Posted 1:00 PM by Bonnie

New Blogger: Well, wish me luck. When I logged on to post today I received a notice to upgrade to the new blogger account. It promises nothing will change, but from the horror stories I have heard from friends who have made the change that aint necessarily so. I had one chance and only one more chance to post the old blogger way, so this is it. My warning that the next post may screw me up royally, since I will have to make the leap and have faith in the new blogger system and change. Change can be good. I keep telling myself this as I cringe inwardly at the thought of losing my entire old blog or any part of it. And then the google account! what the heck is a google account? Guess I'll find out. So, again...wish me luck with the blogging for books and in a week or so when I come on to post again hopefully I will make it through the transformation and become not just a blogger...but a new blogger! And seeing that notice totally knocked out of my head what I had come here to post! Arrgghh!!!

Posted 4:40 PM by Bonnie

Blogging for Books for Feb. 07 is 'live! This months topic is dreams. I have written a few things on dreams I have had but this is about one of my most haunting and powerful dreams.

The Power of Love by Bonnie Johnson

He told me, if he died first, he would come back for me. I would laugh and tell him I’d believe it when it happened. I have learned now to never doubt the power of love.

On March 24th one of my cats passed away and on March 27th I had a dream that my cat was crying and I had to find him. When I found the cage where the cat was crying the cat turned into my best friend, Rick, and he was lying there crying. He said he was sorry and then I woke up. That morning I received a call from his wife that he had passed away in the night.

He told me he would come back for me and I laughed. Never doubt the power of love. That night Rick came to me in my dreams and told me he was taking me with him. After a forty-two year relationship where we would vacillate between lovers and friends, he couldn’t go on into the after life with out me. He put me on a bike and had me riding down a mountain pass. He watched on as a truck plowed down the mountain, out of control, and headed right towards me. At the last second I was able to jump off the bike and out of the path of the truck.

But he wouldn’t give up. He wasn’t ready to let me out of his life even if it was the after-life. I found myself back on the mountain pass, but this time with a group of people protesting. I was never quite sure what we were protesting, but there he sat, in his wheelchair watching and waiting. A fire broke out in the trees around us and quickly worked its way to the mountain pass. I ran and ran! My legs moved faster than I ever thought they could. I literally ran for my life.

Then I was off the mountain and in a building. He told me to follow him and we could be together forever. Taking me to a window I looked out and realized we were very high above a city. I could barely make out the traffic below. “Follow me,” he said. “It’s safe. You can do it.” Then he rolled over to the window and was gone. I backed away quickly and woke up drenched in sweat.

But it was over for the night. I felt he had been given three tries to get me to go and then he had to leave without me. He was sad I hadn’t chosen to go with him, but I told him I would join him when my time came. Until then he could visit in my dreams whenever he chose, but only if he agreed to never try to take me before my time again. He has chosen to visit and mostly we play guitars and sing old songs. We remember the happier times of our youth.

He told me if he died first he would come back for me. I have learned to never doubt the power of love.

Posted 1:48 PM by Bonnie

Super SuperBowl! Wow! I can't believe it! The Colts actually won! And in a torrential downpour which is amazing for a team used to playing inside a dome where the weather has no affect on the game. I really thought the Bears would take it, but kept cheering for the Colts anyway. Now, I don't agree with Grungy Dungy that the team won because of god and the team playing god's way. I can't imagine any god or goddess first, having any interest in who won a football game (unless they had a bet on it (grin)) and two, ever actually playing so how would you play god's way? There were some personal fouls called against both teams so neither played a really "clean" game and there was a bit of a fracas at one point where a Colts player and a Bears player were going after each other but were pulled apart very quickly. But, I guess when you reach that point in the game emotions are running high. Still, in spite of an auspicious start by the Bears, the Colts were not intimidated and just kept fighting and made a great comeback! Way to go Colts!

Posted 4:59 PM by Bonnie

Da Colts! One of my friends, with whom I play online scrabble, and I are betting on the superbowl. I'm backing my Colts, even if Grungy Dungy made some inane remarks about god winning the game for them...and she is backing the Bears. Now, I'm not saying she's overly confident, but she already sent me her address to send her the $1 we bet on the game. Oh yeah, we're big betters!

Posted 4:30 PM by Bonnie

Rainy days and.... Thursday we had icy rain and for the first part of the morning everything stopped. Businesses and schools delayed opening until later in the morning when it would warm up a bit and the roads wouldn't be so icy. But what struck me was that every day care closed for the day! Now, that meant that at least one parent had to call in and take a day off to stay home with the kids, if they didn't have a friend or relative willing to give up a day to take the kids. It was as if each of them took advantage of the rain to take a day off, not considering the impact it had on the parents who pay them and depend on them. Not a big issue unless you are one of those working parents. When I lived in VT I often ended up with friends kids when the daycares closed for a day, but they still had to go into work. I'm just wondering what is so different about day care workers that they can't get to work when other people can? I could understand the two hour delay, but after that it was doable!

On a cute note...the stray female cat we feed decided she would also spend the day inside and when I opened the door in the morning had a few words for me. She immediately moved in and made herself comfortable for the day. Every once in awhile she would venture out and then turn around and come back in. Prior to her pregnancy and us bringing her in, when she brought us the babies at 2 weeks old and keeping her while she healed from the spaying, she spent every day and night outside! Weather be damned! But now she has gotten a bit spoiled and pampered.

The male cat, Scarface, toughed it out and when I saw him today he had yet another gash on one of his ears! He needs to stop getting into scraps with other cats. I want to catch him and get him neutered, but so far that has been out of the question.

Well, anyway, the rain has gone away and I will now end with a little song one of my relatives used to sing... it's a Spanish song about a lazy person...

The window she is broken
And the rain she's coming in,
If someone doesn't fix it soon,
I'll be soaked to my skin.
But maybe in a day or two,
The rain she'll go away,
And who will need a window,
On such a sunny day?
Manana, manana, manana
She is good enough for me!

Posted 3:58 PM by Bonnie

Like mother, like daughter! While I was chatting with my 84 year old mother, on the phone, this weekend we were talking about some 'not so bright things' we'd done. I told her about skating around Lake Worth when I lived in TX. One day my friend and I decided to try skating up the steep hill. Forgetting, of course, that what goes up, must come down. At mid point we reached and equally steep hill going down. My friend did it first, being the more experienced skater, and had no problems. I was doing fine, until I reached the bottom and realized, just a second too late, there were railroad tracks that must be jumped. I landed on my knees and looked like a little kid skating around with my knees all skinned up.

My mom laughed because a similar thing had happened to her, but she was 14, not 34 as I had been. Her mom had just bought her a brand new pair of shorts and she wanted to show them off and went roller skating with her friends. I don't remember where the hill was (I'll ask her again this weekend) but she and her friends decided to try it and she ended up sliding down on her butt! She said not only did her shorts get ripped but her underwear as well! If not for a friend who had a sweater with her she would have had to walk home with her fanny hanging out! Now I know not only where I get my off beat sense of humor, but also my lack of grace and coordination!

Posted 1:09 PM by Bonnie

Shopping Carts! Okay, I can understand maybe being in a hurry and not having a half a minute to return a shopping cart to the little "return carts here" place. I can even understand being too lazy to take the cart a few extra steps to one of the "return carts here" places. But, what I can't understand is what someone gets by sitting a cart in the middle of a handicapped parking spot! This to me is the epitomy of meanness. If you don't want to return it to the store or one of the conveniently placed "return cart here" spots, then at least put it out of the way! It's aggravating enough to try to enter a regular spot and find a cart in the way, but it's just really low to block off the handicapped spaces.

Okay, okay, so yes, I agree that most of the people who use those handicapped spaces aren't really handicapped, and are just taking advantage of having the card to hang on their rearview mirror. But, there really are people out there who need those spaces, so just because you parked next to one and don't want to have to walk a few more spaces to store the cart courteously, at least move it out of the handicapped space!

Thank you for listening. End of tirade! Oh, and for those who don't know what a handicapped parking spot looks like, it's anything with a wheelchair either painted on the spot, or it has a pole with a picture of a wheelchair on the pole. See examples:

Posted 10:11 PM by Bonnie

Open Mic Night at Drew's Blues Cafe: Wow!! That describes our open mic night! What quality poets we had grace us tonight. I wish the night could have gone on forever! There were familiar faces, new faces, and some faces we haven't seen in awhile!

Our featured poet, Hyacinth Kinley, was exceptional. I love her presentation and her poetry always tells a story. I knew I was going to get an entertainer, in Hyacinth! This woman not only writes great poetry but knows how to deliver it! And we ate it up!

Tom Rowe continued his epic poem, started last month. I am hoping when he completes the epic he will seriously consider getting it published. This is a magical journey through his imagination - or is it? Is it fantasy or reality? Is it our fantasy and his reality or the other way around? I love the journey he takes us on. As I said before it feels like we've followed Alice through the rabbit hole and you are on a continuing spiral down and up and down again until you're not sure which is up and which is down. You have to be there!

Tom's lovely wife, Linda, shared an translated poem she found on the internet. I forget from what language, but as usual it was beautiful and inspiring. Linda has a way of finding these gems and I am so glad she brings them to share with us.

I was so happy to see Karleigh Brunson return! I have missed this young woman and her insightful and honest poetry. Hopefully more of our younger poets will return now. Karleigh also helped me with a project that turned out really fun. Sometimes I pass around a paper and have the people write a poem with each person adding a line. Tonight we did it differently and it involved some work. I had everyone write a single line of poetry on a strip of paper, and in the end, someone had to put them together to form a poem. Thank goodness Karleigh wasn't afraid to try. I will put the poem we came up with at the end of this missive. Hopefully next month her dad will also perform. Either way it was great to see you two again!!

And dear sweet Marie (Lyric) Grady. This woman writes some of the most sensitive poetry I have ever heard. She can break your heart with her poems. Her delivery is so quiet and her words so strong. At times you feel she could break so easily and then you feel her strength in her words and know this woman has it together. It's always a treat when she shares her poetry with us.

And Colette Jones. Now you all know I adore this woman, and sometimes I guess I do go on and on about her a bit much. But you have to know her to understand the admiration I have for her. This woman not only serves our country, but is a single mother ( a long story there - as she said her ex is only alive today because of her poetry)... she is strong, she is out spoken, she is real! she is a friend who will care enough to be honest with you and her poetry reflects all these things - her strength, her hurt, at times her anger, her honesty, and her love.

Tonight we had a new face and a very welcome one. I met Beth Langley on the Sumter Thoughts Group and invited her to join us. Beth is a song writer, but as she said what is a song but a poem set to music. She shared two of her songs with us tonight, but the one that had the most impact on me was titled Trapped By Love. As she said while she reads it (or sings it) you form your own images and your own opinions based on your experiences. But she tells the story that inspired the song at the end, and it is about a young woman she knows who is raising an autistic child with little support from a work-a-holic husband. It was very moving and really held my attention. I do hope Beth will join us again and share more of her songs. Perhaps even bring her guitar and sing some (hint hint).

And, Victoria, you keep asking where the pictures are of me performing. So tonight Johnny Brunson, aka Karleigh's dad, took a pic for you. If anyone is interested in seeing my poems there is a link on this blog to my poetry page and the poems I did tonight will be added.

And here is the fun poem Karleigh put together from individual lines.

Late one night I was walking down a long dark alley,
When I came upon a girl named Sally.
I feel the deafening roar of her whisper,
I am what I am but so much more I am to be!
Why art thou so easily loved?
Because her eyes tell a tale of heartbreaks,
Let it snow, let it snow, in you I'll stay warm
Baby, this I know.
Done so little, lived so long,
Here reflecting my souls grandeur in local flesh,
Place pieces of my soul on display,
Breath your first breath, breath you last breath,
From life to death don't stop just let
Lyrics greedily absorb my psyche,
I must be damned.

I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did tonight! Next month is a special night because it's my birthday month. I'm looking forward to an interesting night!

Posted 6:36 PM by Bonnie

Vitamins: Okay, so One-A-Day has been advertising this vitamin with extra B and other things to give you more energy. I've been tired a lot lately and thinking I needed more B vitamins, so decided to try these. Yes, Walgreens had a sale and yes, I had a $3.00 off coupon, which got me the vitamins at half price otherwise I probably wouldn't have even tried them...but! they work!! I mean they really work! Yesterday I managed to clean the entire house and even do extra stuff! Today I did laundry and shopping at three...no make that four stores...forgot about finally getting myself a new pair of shoes. Now, if they could just invent something that would keep cats from getting under your feet when you're working I bet I could get a whole lot more done! Viva la vitamins!

Posted 3:18 PM by Bonnie

And you wonder where I get it from? Every Sunday I call my mom, and as she answers the phone she says, "It's only Bonnie" to let my dad know who's calling. I keep telling her my name isn't Only! Anyway, last week she asked then how should she answer the phone and I said try 'hello' or anything besides 'it's only Bonnie.' So today when I called she answered, "Good afternoon. Rivas residence. How may I direct your call?" Now you all know why I'm such a smart ass!!

Posted 7:51 AM by Bonnie

Are we all equal? The "new" school system is set up for failure in spite of the fact it was set up so no one failed. And that in itself is the reason it has failed. Let's face it. In spite of people wanting to live in a fantasy world where we are all equally brilliant and equally able to learn exactly the same subject matter at exactly the same rate, it just isn't real! When I was in school we didn't put the ones (like me) who learned at a slower rate into classes with those who could learn at an excellerated rate (my sister, Victoria). This was done for two reasons. One, I didn't have to feel really really stupid because I couldn't catch on as quickly and two, the subject matter wasn't dumbed down, for lack of a better term, so students who learned faster weren't held back in the process. Each class learned at it's own speed and the thing is we did learn! I came out of highschool with a knowledge of basic math - I can actually make change without the need of a cash register calculator doing it for me! My grasp of the english language is so that I have actually had a book of poetry published and am host of an open mic poetry night here in, Sumter, SC. When I did enter the workforce, as rating clerk in insurance, I continued to take classes and move myself up until I was in an underwriting assistanct position. My last job with insurance was secretary to a VP. I had learned to study and learned that if I kept learning new things I could better my position in life.

My point is we all have talents, we all have areas where we excel, but they are not all the SAME! We are different!

To say we are all equal mentally is to say we are all equal physically. The physical differences are easy to see, so we accept them. To say everyone can be a great mathematician, or scientist, or chess player, etc, is to say everyone could be a great football player and that every football player should also be a great ballerina and that every ballerina should also be a great racer. Is this getting clearer? We are not all equal mentally and to keep "dumbing down" the American education system so those of us who are slower learners are made to feel we can compete mentally with the brighter and faster students is doing no one any justice. We have college students who don't know basic math because they were given a passing grade so their self esteem wasn't hurt and they could feel good about themselves. How good are they going to feel about themselves in the "real" world when they lose job after job because they can't learn basic skills.

We need the labor force to keep America running and I think we do more to harm self-esteem by making people feel these jobs are for the "dummies" and therefor not acceptable even though they are earning an honest living and contributing to society. Instead we push them through school and they come out knowing nothing, end up on welfare because they haven't been trained for any type of work, but doggone it their self-esteem is intact. Yeah, right.

So, what ZephyrBird thinks is we need to get back to basics. We need to get the educational system back to where students learned at their own rate, where students respected their teachers or at least treated them with respect, and where students were there to learn not to harass and cause trouble. And learn we did! When we graduated highschool we knew the meaning of the word responsibility. We knew when we took a job, regardless of whether it was engineering or garbage collecting, we had an obligation to our employer to show up on time, do the best we could, and always give 100% while on the job. We did not expect them to make compensation for us because we were too tired from partying all night to come in to work, or to do our job once there. Unfortunately, from what I hear from employers around here and other areas, that is exactly what the younger workforce today expects. They have become so used to being catered to, in the school system, they never learned even the basics about how to act in the work force.

It's a sorry state we have gotten ourselves into and I wonder if we can reverse it and dig ourselves out. Perhaps with the next generation of students we can go back, progress isn't always a good thing, maybe we can learn from this mistake that there is more to worry about than hurting a students feelings by giving the failing grade they earned. Maybe if they start getting what they actually earned they might start working harder, as we did, to improve that grade instead of breezing through and not caring because they know the teacher can't fail them no matter what they do.

Just my ever so humble opinion.

Posted 8:13 PM by Bonnie

To make a long story longer....or there's only one Automatica in football!: Wasn't feeling all that great today. Woke up with my asthma wheezing and coughing. Generally a cup of coffee and puff of albuteral does the trick, but today my body was saying sit down, take it easy... so I did. So, since I wheezed and coughed every time I moved around or tried to talk for too long I decided to watch my Colts and Tony Dungy in the play-offs.

When Tony Dungy was coaching the Tampa Bay Bucs I was a Bucs fan. But since the new coach, Jon Gruden, tore my old team apart I've been having to watch them in bits and pieces as they are scattered around. Tony Dungy now coaches the Indianaopolis Colts, which brings us to the title of this blog. When Martine Grammatica was the kicker for the Bucs he was so accurate and so good they named him Autmatica Grammatica. He is now the kicker for Dallas and even with a year of not playing he is still Automatica! The one and only Automatica! So, today you can imagine my shock and chagrin when Adam Vinatieri, the kicker for the colts was called... omg!! Yes, they had the audacity! the nerve! they called him Automatica!!!!! Was it a slip because Tony Dungy coached Grammatica to his Automatica stage? Or are they trying to compete with the real Automatica? This is an outrage! Will the real Automatica step up the ball!

Posted 10:03 AM by Bonnie

My Vice: We don't smoke. We don't go out drink. Keith has an occassional beer on the weekend. We don't buy fast food - okay maybe once every six months. I'm not a clothes horse so don't spend a lot of money on clothes. But, yes, I must admit to one weakness. I am hooked on Drew's Blues Cafe! So, while our budget isn't big, even if we don't both go, I will not miss my Friday Blues Jam and whatever wonderful dish DaMayor has concocted for the night. Last night it was Fettucini DaMayor... fettucini alfredo with steamed vegetables and garlic bread. It was wonderful! Keith wasn't up to going but as usual I couldn't finish my meal. I had promised myself I would save it for my lunch today, but when I got home I realized I couldn't deprive Keith of this taste sensation so handed him the container. He had to agree it was great. Yeah, this is one vice I am not willing to give up and I hope the never form a Drew's Blues Anonymous group because I doubt anyone else as hooked on the atmosphere, music, and great food there would join anyway.

Posted 12:37 PM by Bonnie

Don't ya just love it when someone who knows absolutely nothing about computers calls and asks you to do a favor for them using your computer. You say sure, no problem and then they show up and try to tell you you're doing it all wrong because they saw someone else do something different on theirs... and you tell them I know how my programs work so let me do this...and they start grabbing your mouse and tell you they're going to show you and you have to grab it back before they delete all your work...and!! they keep yapping and you finally have to tell them to shut up! and then they tell you YOU'RE being mean to them!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!! Yeah, ya gotta love 'em!

Posted 3:03 PM by Bonnie

Poor JoPa! For those who don't know who JoPa is he is Joe Paterno, the head coach of the Nittany Lions! Go Lions! Penn State University is where my husband attended and received his doctorate and my sister, Victoria, attended and received her BS. Husband number two and I also lived in Penn State for a year. Even then JoPa was a legend, so today I don't say poor JoPa because the Lions lost the Outback Bowl because THEY WON, but because at half time they interviewed the coach of the Tennessee Volunteers as he walked off the field. But these days JoPa isn't walking too far at all. In fact he isn't even on the field. A few months back he was sidelined on the sideline by one of his own players and the end result was a broken leg for our coach. At 80 you would think that would be the end, but the leg has healed and he is undergoing therapy. But, as a precaution he now spends game time up in the glassed in booth with the reporters.

(TAMPA, Fla. Joe Paterno isn't used to this view. Penn State's 80-year-old coach is watching today's Outback Bowl matchup against 17th-ranked Tennessee from the press box. It's the first time in his 41-year career he hasn't been on the sidelines for a Nittany Lions' postseason outing. That encompasses 33 bowl games. He's the coaching leader with 21 victories.

Paterno is recovering from a broken shinbone and two torn knee ligaments in his left leg. He was injured during Penn State's November fourth game at Wisconsin when two players barreled into him.)

What makes me say poor JoPa was after they interviewed the Tennessee coach, Philip Fulmer, the camera panned up to JoPa now sitting alone in the booth looking down at the empty field. There's a poem in there somewhere. Maybe I'll try to find it.

End result: Nittany Lions: 20 Tennessee Volunteers: 10