Cool Hat

SUNDAY SURPRISE ... courtesy of RUTH (Florida), via an e-mail ... "Thought for the day: GOOD looks catch the eye, but GOOD personality catches the heart. You're blessed with both." (Bob's note: I just had to share this with S&G readers ... because it fits so many of you.)

-S&G-

Whoa is me!

That’s right ... WHOA! ... and ME!

It’s been that kind of week. I feel like I’ve been driving with my brakes on ... that’s MY brakes ... not The Little Red Car’s (I would never do a thing like that to Little Red).

It hasn’t been a BAD week, as things go. It’s just that everything I’ve attempted seems to be slathered with molasses ... and it’s been slow, but somewhat easy, going.

Don’t worry. I’m OK. I’m not setting you up for bad news.

Let’s just back up a bit.

The week started on Saturday. Now, my weeks don’t usually start on Saturday, but I feel like this one did because Phyllis and I went on a special outing ... with a busload ... er, motor coach-load ... of well-behaved seniors (older people, if you prefer).

We went all the way to Cincinnati, where we had a nice evening meal, then on to hear an outdoor concert by the Cincinnati Pops, featuring a slew of Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers.

It was a wonderful evening. Even when it was over and we were sitting in a sea of traffic (how glad I was that I wasn’t driving) ... we were treated to the sights and sounds of a nearby fireworks show.

But we got home late. Very late (for me).

It was after midnight when we were deposited where we had left our cars to board the motor coach. After midnight!

For me that’s really late!

Little Red got us home safely ... though I have almost no memory of having driven ... but I must’ve, because I was behind the wheel when we pulled into that long, majestic driveway at Brimm Manor ... and shortly I plopped into bed like a toppled tree.

Days later ... naw, I think it was later that same day ... I crawled out of bed, still numb.

And I’m still numb ... though I understand, from a usually reliable source, that it’s now Friday again ... not AGAIN! ... and will soon be Saturday, when another S&G is due for posting.

WHOA IS ME! Or have I said that already?

-S&G-

REMEMBER WHEN ... They threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed ... and they did keep them back! - courtesy of WALT (Ohio)

-S&G-

YOU KNOW you’re a Floridian if you can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites. - courtesy of HELEN (Florida)

-S&G-

LOOKING BACK ... all the way back to March 10, 2003, when S&G was a weekly e-mailed letter (remember that?) ... when I said the following:

"It occurred to me, while I was waiting in the parking lot of a nationally-known store, that sometimes writing poetry is like trying to roller skate on a gravel road: The scenery may be great, but the going can be rough. And sometimes, despite the expenditure of a considerable amount of effort, it seems that you’re not getting anywhere."

Still true, I think. Still true.

-S&G-

RECENT E-MAIL ... from LOREE (Kansas) ... after reading last week’s installment ... then having a few quiet moments in remembrance of her hens ... her mailbox ... and paper box.

"It’s been a busy week here," she says. "I sent out an SOS to my handyman that I needed him ASAP. Unknown to me, he was in Arkansas, and his wife, after reading my e-mail plea, called him and told him to come home immediately.

"Well, turns out that he was returning the next day anyway, so at least I don’t have the fact that I ruined his trip on my conscience!

"Anyway, between him, his helper, and myself, we have a new chicken pen erected, and the three old hens and one rooster that survived the assault, are enjoying their new home.

"It took them a couple of days to accept the fact that they no longer could roam the range that had been their territory ... two and a half acres inside a 4-foot high welded wire fance.

"Chickens must be slow learners, for they spent a solid day wearing a path back and forth along the inside of the new pen, before that soaked in!

"In the meantime, the 25 new baby pullets I ordered this spring are ready to graduate from their own little pen and move in with the survivors. Happy Day! That means I won’t have to be running in two different directions with feed and water!"

-S&G-

AND LOREE’S P.S.: "Why is it that every time I read something from Professor Squigglee I get a flash of a squirrel, with dark-rimmed, oversized glasses? Now don’t take offense (none taken, Loree) ... I’m not saying that either he or yourself are squirrel-y ... but that darned image just keeps popping up, and won’t go away!"

-S&G-

I CAN’T SPEAK for Professor Squigglee ... oh, I could, and he might get huffy ... but as for me ... you only have to go back a few years to find the perfect fit for me ... with those dark-rimmed oversized glasses. I thought they were the latest thing ... and I guess they were ... back then. But now? Hey, I’m modern again ... clinging with both hands on the trailing edge of progress, while wearing smaller glasses.

-S&G-

TODAY’S POEM ... Speaking of old things ... like horn-rimmed glasses ... I have a few old hats, too ... but they’re a lot like old shoes ... the older they are, the more comfortable they become, so it’s almost impossible to throw them away ... despite hints from someone quite close to you that maybe it’s time to let go of them. All of which brings to mind a windy day when Phyllis and I were walking along, minding our own business, when the wind suddenly grabbed my old hat and sent it tumbling down the street. As I turned to watch it go, I could’ve sworn that Phyllis let out a huge sigh of relief ... then, much to my surprise, a guy who, half a block away, apparently had seen me being "robbed" of that horrible hat ... grabbed it ... and came trotting up to hand it back to me. Then there was this other day ...

COOL HAT

It has been
wind-stripped,
limb-grabbed,
lost and found,
rumpled, crumpled,
laundered until
it cries for mercy,
and it sits like
a cabbage leaf
on my head.

But then she,
a young girl about
half my height,
flashes a smile,
says, "Cool hat!"
and for a moment,
just a heartbeat,
a quickened stride,
I feel like
tossing my hat
in the air
and dancing.
(originally published in Capper’s)

-S&G-

COMMENT? Feel free ... below, if you like.

Or if you prefer e-mail, that's fine, too ... especially for more detailed observations, to rbrimm@peoplepc.com... and it helps if you put "Squiggles" or "S&G" ... something like that ... in the subject line (just remember, no religion or politics ... please!)

-S&G-

UNTIL NEXT TIME ... take care ... see ya!

-S&G-
© 2009