Summer Showdown

Here I go, sprinting again.


Don’t worry, I’m not bursting out of the starting blocks and dashing down the track. I gave that up - well, a long time ago.


My sprinting now consists of setting the timer for 15 minutes - out of deference to my back, which seems to be considerably older than the rest of me - and then I park myself in front of the keyboard, fasten my seatbelt, and type as fast as I can for those 15 minutes.


The result, as some of you many already know, is that my tUping sometiems goes astrayay. You probably know what that’s like, if you do any “sprinting” yousef. 


-S&G-


DON’T WURRY, though, after each sprint I take a brake to catch my breth, and then I go again. Sometimes I even come back to fixx the misteaks I’ve made. Sometimes knot. 


And so it goes.


-S&G-


PLEASE MAKE A NOTE: “Squiggles” may be late next week ... or it may even skip a week.


(I can see that Professor Squigglee is scratching his head at what appears to be an “excused absence” - well in advance of the absence).


Let me explain.


Some of you may recall that we’ve had some minor electrical problems at Brimm Manor ever since that loud lightning bolt suddenly got my attention ... while I just sitting in the study, minding my own business, such as it is ... 


Well ... TA-DA! ... the electricians are coming! That’s the GOOD news. 


The bad news is that they’re coming next Friday ... as you know, Friday, much like today (Oh, today, as this is written, IS Friday, isn’t it?), is when I shift into overdrive in an effort to get “Squiggles” ready for the multitudes who set their alarms for early Saturday morning ... so, naturally, they will get to read it all while it’s still fresh. 


That shouldn’t be a problem, you say?


I agree. But it appears that, as a result of their visit, we’re going to be without electricity ALL DAY, come next Friday.


-S&G-


HAD I JUST NOT given up my wood-burning word processor in favor of this electricity-driven model, there WOULD BE NO problem. I could simply transmit “Squiggles” in the form of smoke signals, and all would be well with the world.


But I’ll try to figure something out ... hopefully, short of going door-to-door to deliver the new installment.


-S&G-


JUST IN TIME ... this POSITIVE NOTE from HELEN, Florida: “Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.”


-S&G-


TODAY’S QUOTE (courtesy of WALT, Ohio): “It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life ... that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson


-S&G-


WORD FROM LOREE, Kansas, is that ... speaking of running for office (last week’s poem) ... she’s decided I’d be great being in charge of dog catchers all over Ohio. 


(Well, Loree, let me think about that; my first impression is that I have a previous commitment ... yeah, I'm pretty sure I do)


Speaking of dogs ... she thought hers were barking just to be barking on a recent evening ... but she soon discovered that a family of raccoons had taken to helping themselves from the pan of dog food in the shop.  


“Worse yet,” Loree reports, “there is a pan of water there, that at first I thought the cats were using for a bathroom.  But closer observation showed that what I was seeing in the water was really dog food that the raccoons had been washing before they ate it.  Unfortunately, the dog food softens in a hurry, and they couldn't get it out quick enough!”


-S&G- 


LOREE ASKS: Do all poets write about politicians? 


(I suspect they do, Loree)


“Back in about 2007,” Loree recalls, “town hall meetings were coming into their own as a place for politicians to reach out to the people, while listening to the same.  Town hall meetings have a reputation for wild political promises, that cannot possibly materialize into much of anything worthwhile.


“I wrote a poem back then that I'd like to share with you. It's just as appropriate today as it was when I wrote it ... if not more so.”


Here’s the link to Loree's poem:


http://www.poetrybyloree.com/341.html


-S&G- 


TODAY’S POEM: I was recently lulled into a sense of invincibility (OK, so I'm exaggerating just a bit) ... actually, I  enjoyed the somewhat cool weather we were having ... though I found it a bit awkward trying to paint watercolors while wearing my mittens.




I try to speak cautiously about the weather, though. I know it will change suddenly, at the slightest provocation. This is Ohio, after all.




Story of my life.




The coolness ends suddenly, and the heat is back. Then as I sit at the sizzling keyboard at mid-morning, the temperature still rising, I can almost hear eggs frying on the sidewalks around town.




Summertime! It hasn't even started, and I'm already hoping for cool ... not COLD, mind you ... but cool, pleasantly cool weather ... ple-e-e-e-ase.




Meanwhile, today's poem:


SUMMER SHOWDOWN


Summer sun’s so boiling hot
I can almost hear the soft
clinking of spurs, stealthy
creaking of the boardwalk,
a sudden, smothering silence
in which the buzz of a fly
sounds sinister, foretelling
a showdown on the sun-baked,
hoof-pocked, clatter-plaited
street, where a tumbleweed
pauses in the sanctum of shade
cast by a tumble-down saloon,
where I stand, suddenly struck
by a lightning flash of thirst.


(originally published in St. Anthony Messenger; now part of a manuscript in search of a publisher)


-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-


And if you’d like to see what’s up with my other, DAILY blog,  here’s a link to it:


http://rbrimm.blogspot.com/




Thanks for paying a visit.




-S&G-


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


-S&G-


©  2010