Homage

WORD FROM KELLY (Colorado) ... The hummingbirds are back in full force at the feeder. And the sugar snap peas are already eight inches up their trellis. I’d consulted a few books on Square Foot Gardening and Container Vegetables and planted: baseball-sized cantaloupes, hybrid trellising zucchini, sugar snap peas, bush cucumber and bush tomoato plants - all within a 2x6 foot patch of dirt and two large planters. Mingled in with the veggies are a few herbs (basil, chives and savory) and apricot-colored pansies, white alyssum, blue lobelia, red geranium and pink phlox. During summer, my patio becomes my "living room."

-S&G-

I CAN REALLY understand that ... and what an active living room it must seem ... like there’s a party going on!

-S&G-

WORDS OF WISDOM (courtesy of RUTH, Florida/Ohio) ... "I believe ... that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do love each other."

-S&G-

FRUSTRATION ... is trying to find your glasses without your glasses - courtesy of TIL (Illinois)

-S&G-

THOUGHT FOR TODAY (courtesy of HELEN, Florida) ... "I would be unstoppable ... if I could just get started."

-S&G-

BOOK NOOK - KELLY (Colorado) recently reported that she had started reading The Artist and the Mathematician: The story of Nicolas Bourbaki, the Genius Mathematician Who Never Existed, by Amir D. Aczel. "The first 50 pages or so are slow going," she says, "but once it picks up it’s a very interesting little book!"

Me? I’m working my way through a Dover Thrift Editions copy of William Shakespeare, Complete Sonnets ... should’ve said I’m plodding, for it’s pretty slow going for me ... but I figured I’d put if off long enough ... and took the plunge.

-S&G-

DELAYED (I was going to say "in the mail" ... but I can’t put the blame there ... and that’s all I’m going to say on that ... OK, I lost it ... then found it again) ... report from LOREE (Kansas) ... "You are right ... the days are speeding faster than the cars ... a mile west of me on the highway. I can hear them, but fortunately can’t see them. A year or so ago, the Highway Department overhauled the center lanes that divide the racers ... so that when they pass a law-abiding citizen ... or, by way of inattention, drift over the center line ... there is this terrible noise, along with a feeling of vibration ... as a sort of warning for the drivr to wake up and smell the roses!"

-S&G-

TODAY’S QUOTE ... courtesy of WALT (Ohio): "My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory’s not as sharp as it used to be."

-S&G-

TODAY’S POEM: Usually, selection of a poem to go with a particular installment of S&G is ... well, mostly just luck of the draw. I do lean, generally, toward lighter subjects. That, after all, is what S&G is largely all about.

This week, though, because of a glance at the calendar ... Whew! The year is really whooshing along! ... my thoughts turned to Memorial Day ... in an earlier time (yes, I really remember this from my childhood) it was called, locally, at least, "Decoration Day."

We lived next to the cemetery ... normally a rather tranquil place of hillsides and bluffs ... but on "Decoration Day" aswarm with activity.

People would see Grandma’s peonies (she ... and they ... called them pe-OH-nies) lining the driveway ... and several would stop to inquire about buying some ... for a few pennies, probably ... to place on the graves.

I have a poem about those "pe-OH-nies" ... but today’s poem is about returning to that place ... to stand on that hillside beside the graves ...

HOMAGE

I stand in the silence
beside the graves
on the slope of that hill
where the acorns fall
like spent minutes.

I stand, thinking
of those who helped me,
gave me that gentle push
in the small of my back,
sent me off toward places
they had never been,
would never be, sent me
off toward becoming
what I am, what I may
yet become.

I stand there thanking
them for their love.

(received a First Place Award in a ByLine contest; published in Brave Hearts, Fall 2007)
　
-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

At the Doctor's Office

It was a day much like any other ... I leaped out of bed with a single bound ... well, maybe two before my feet actually made contact with the floor ... and I was off and running ... er, walking.

Walking carefully, I might add. I don’t bump into things ... very much ... but I’ve learned to exercise caution while feeling my way through the early morning (mental) fog.

Then my remarkable mental faculties (remarkable that I still have any) kicked in and I remembered: I had a doctor’s appointment.

That meant, among other things, no breakfast ... report in "fasting," to use the precise medical term.

There was a time when skipping breakfast would have meant nothing ... I did it regularly ... for years ... but now?

Now, if I don’t have breakfast, the hunger pains come so close together that I feel someone should be rushing me to the hospital ... or at least to one of those fast food places where breakfast greets you with a hearty sizzle.

Thank goodness I had an early appointment ... which meant, providing the doctor didn’t keep me for further tests (for which I’d obviously had no chance to study) ... I could hop in The Little Red Car immediately afterward, pop a wheelie or two ... go somewhere to wolf down a killer brownie ... and life would go on as usual.

Aside from the early morning traffic ... always guaranteed to raise my blood pressure to the level of a high ping ... the first big hurdle, after arriving, consists of the weigh-in.

Oh, I dread that. I’ve tried getting by with putting just one foot on the scale ... or clutching a helium-filled balloon ... or bargaining with the nurse ... suggesting that I be allowed just to pick a number ... begging, pleading ... stopping a heartbeat short of getting booted out for frightening the other patients.

This time I just mentioned to her that I have a Golden Buckeye discount card ... and maybe she could give me 10 per cent off the actual number.

Surprise! No deal. But who needs a deal? Much to my surprise, and the nurse’s ... I had actually lost some weight. That news seemed to have a calming effect ... and my blood pressure reading came in well under the explosive level.

The rest was so easy that I’ll spare you the details ... except the doctor asked me about my poetry (It appears that one of my early lab reports had come back: THIS GUY WRITES POETRY) ... and I had to admit that I’m still trying to write it.

I don’t know what he wrote on my chart at that point (you know how hard their handwriting is to decipher) ... but I seemed to have caught his attention.

One thing led to another, and I finally admitted that I had once written a poem called "At the Doctor’s Office." He said he’d like to see that one. What could I do? I went right home and mailed him a copy.

While I’m waiting for his diagnosis of that, I thought I’d share the poem with you, too ... and it should appear somewhere down the line.

-S&G-

MORE on The Importance of Walking: "The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again" - courtesy of RUTH (Florida/Ohio)

-S&G-

"MY WIFE and I had words, but I didn’t get to use mine." - courtesy of TIL (Illinois)

-S&G-

"YOU CAN’T stay young forever, but you can be immature for the rest of your life." - courtesy of HELEN (Florida)

-S&G-

"YOU SOUND like me," writes LOREE (Kansas), regarding my encounters with the c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r ... and remembering the "good old days."

" ... all I did back then was write all appointments, rainfall, first frost, first snow, who came to visit, etc., on the proper square on the calendar on the wall. That was the best ‘journal’ ever ... the easiest and simplest.

"While on the farm, I wrote calving dates for cows, first tomato picked on what day, calves sold and amount ... I still have those going back for years.

"These new-fangled electronic contraptions are more than a little bit over my head! I was born 70 years too soon. These days, kids cut their teeth by chewing on the keyboard, and are straining their eyes staring at the computer screen before they are toilet trained!

"I’ve always been a worrier, and computers worry me to death most of the time. I have mixed emotions about them ... awe, gratitude (up to a point), and a healthy fear of them, for which there is no injection for immunity!

"They should come in a cage, with a warning label, and include a six-foot whip like an animal trainer uses, to keep them under control."

-S&G-

AND NOW, providing I was able to find it ... and then jump through all the right hoops in order to get it here ... today’s poem:

AT THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE

Random needles of rain
start darting diagonally
like the silent scratchings
of cat claws on the window
where the traffic is zooming
and sizzling past, hauling
away the remains of Thursday,
blurring beyond the sycamore,
its mottled gray-green trunk
whispering of a deep-forest
stream while seeming utterly
misplaced here where concrete
suffers the presence of so few
trees, where my strongest
efforts at contiguous thought
produce only fragments too tiny
to mend, unleavened images,
lacking all savor of meaning,
where I perch, dry-mouthed
and nervous, my legs dangling
from the end of this table,
and wait, as I always do,
for a door to open softly,
carefully, into this silence,
this sterile, stifling silence.

-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

The Healing Rain

MORE on The Importance of Walking: "I like long walks ... especially when they are taken by people who annoy me." - courtesy of RUTH (Florida/Ohio)

-S&G-

UH-OH! ... "I dialed a number and got the following recording: I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes." - courtesy of TIL (Illinois)

-S&G-

TEST FOR OLD KIDS: "When the Beatles first came to the United States in early 1964, we all watched them on the __________________ Show." - courtesy of HELEN (Florida)

(Answer to last week’s test: a silver bullet. OK, show of hands ... how many got that one right? How about this week’s?)

-S&G-

TODAY’S QUOTE: "I wouldn’t mind racing against the clock ... if it would just give me a head start once in a while." - Professor Squigglee

-S&G-

LAST I HEARD from LOREE (Kansas) ... she was having computer problems ... was scanning the horizon for signs of a repair person galloping to the rescue ... was keeping her fingers crossed ... was very frustrated, I’m sure.

Me? I’ve gotten so I almost expect them ... computer problems, that is. I drag myself to the keyboard some mornings ... crank up the machine ... look through the fog in the general direction of the screen ... and if what I see appears to be what I should be seeing ... I can’t help wondering ... WHAT’S WRONG?

-S&G-

SPEAKING of LOREE ... she has been good about responding to S&G ... good medicine for me ... and sometimes, because of my own computer problems ... or my own shortcomings ... I neglect to respond to her e-mails.

I found a printout of one of her e-mails the other day ... her response to a poem I had posted here ... something about wearing two or three hats at a time (something I hardly ever do any more, by the way).

Loree ... thank you very much ... had this response: "Talk about women and their unique collections ... men seem to be drawn to hats.

"The entire top shelf of the coat closet is still loaded with Leonard’s collection. Most of them carry a message on one topic or another ... many fit for only certain occasions and certain people, though.

"Many were gifts, but he liked buying another one, if one caught his eye. He did only wear ONE at a time (not two or three, as your poem suggests!), so he didn’t freak me out THAT way."

-S&G-

TODAY’S POEM: This is one ... I think ... which hasn’t been shared online before. Oh, but it has been shared ... with those who have read my first collection, Chance of Rain, a small assortment of poems all about rain ... or its absence ... published by Finishing Line Press.

I hope you enjoy the poem ... though you may already be familiar with summer rain that’s "so soft, gentle, healing" ... or I hope that if you aren’t, you may soon become so.

The poem:

THE HEALING RAIN

Sometimes I hear the rain
falling like it did on summer
afternoons when I was a child
slowly turning the pages
of old magazines, knowing
every turn, but discovering
something new at each loop
of the story, while the rain
lulled me and the words took me
to places I could only dream
of going. And here I am, still
savoring that music as words
patter across my mind like
heady summer rain, its sound
so soft, gentle, healing.

-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

In the Choir

WORD FROM LOREE (Kansas):

“Your segment (last week ... about the flying trip to the airport) had me in stitches. I honestly thought I was unique ... do you know how comforting it is to find out that I am not alone?!

“The very thought of driving on an interstate makes me cold enough to freeze up completely. I do not even do MAIN street! Normally, there are two lanes in either direction, but it's the blasted lights that always seem to change with me stuck behind some car making a left hand turn, thereby forcing me to go through the second half of the intersection on RED ... and that bothers me.

“Then there are the inconsiderate idiots ... if I'm in the righthand lane ... who decide they are ready to leave their parking space and try to back out just as I'm going past. They think they can trust me to do the right (and the polite) thing, which is to stop, motion to them to finish backing out, then give them a friendly wave, as they enter the stream of traffic.”

-S&G-

SHE CONTINUES:

“I stay off of US 77, which is a TWO-LANE, but over-loaded, main highway in my area. I can't help noticing how semis these days look twice as big as they did a few years ago, and they made me nervous back then!

“Over the past three or four years though, I have become an EXPERT 'back seat driver,' while riding co-pilot in the passenger seat! It's funny how much more observant and attentive I am, from the passenger side of the car! That's where I find my expertise, and do what I can to contribute to reaching our destination safely. But I get the feeling my efforts are not appreciated as much as I feel they should be ... for the great job I do!”

-S&G-

OH, LOREE ... if there’s anything that freezes me more than driving on the Interstate, it’s being a passenger ... even on a quiet country road.

It’s not that I don’t trust other drivers. I do. I’ve been lucky all the times that I’ve been a passenger ... usually in the front seat, because I find it difficult to fold myself into the back seat ... I’ve been with good drivers, thank you very much.

It’s just ... well, it’s just that I seem to relax a bit more when I have the steering wheel in my own hands ... with the possible exception of when I’m playing BUMPER CARS ON THE INTERSTATE on the way to the airport.

-S&G-

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to find one.” - courtesy of TIL (Illinois)

-S&G-

TEST FOR OLD KIDS: After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, grateful citizens would ask, “Who was that masked man?” Invariably, someone would answer, “I don’t kow, but he left this behind.” What did he leave behind? - courtesy of HELEN (Florida)

-S&G-

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WALKING: “My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he’s 97 years old, and we don’t know where he is.” - courtesy of RUTH (Florida/Ohio)

-S&G-

BOOK NOOK (with my apologies for having lost this ... and other items, it appears ... in the midst of recent computer ... and other, problems): KELLY (Colorado) shares ... I plan to read A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams, by Michael Pollan. I did buy this book for its cover! It shows a small cabin in the woods, the size and style almost identical to the one I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. He calls it his ‘writing house’ - you can catch a glimpse here:

http://www.michaelpollan.com/writing_house.php

-S&G-

TODAY’S POEM: How many times I've wished I were a singer, if only for singing in the shower ... but that gift seems to have been taken from me forever when my voice changed.

I have become an avid listener, instead. It is from this listening that the metaphor for this poem arose. I do wish my voice might rise, realistically, not as a singer, but as a writer.

Even there, I am reconciled to the possibility that mine might not be a voice intended to be heard above the chorus of other writers' voices.

If that's the case, then, let my voice ... my writing ... remain steadfast, I say in this little poem:

IN THE CHOIR

Oh, that my voice
might soar like
a tenor's rising
as clearly as a bell
from the choir,
but if that wish
is not to be, then
let me remain
a faithful voice
among the many,
my song steadfast.

-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

Afterthoughts ... in response to your comments:

Thank you so much, This and That! Believe me, it's good to be back ... passing out a few chuckles along the way.

Anybody There? ... again

ANYBODY THERE?

If I were to begin
sharing my poetry,
all these feverish
things I've written,
would anybody hear me?
Would anybody listen
during "open mike"?
Would bus passengers
get up and move out
of earshot? Would
strangers dart down
dark alleys? Would
cats cross the street,
dogs whine, beg off?
Would - I say, would
you please wake up?


(originally published in PKA's Advocate)



-S&G-

REGULAR VISITORS to S&G ... and I believe there are a few of those left ... stubborn, unflinching, regular visitors ... will notice that this week's installment is coming out rather topsy-turvy.

That is, I usually post a bunch of my own meanderings ... sandwich in some sensible comments by faithful readers ... and THEN conclude with a poem.

This time, though, there is a great possiblity that the poem may be all there is .. or almost all there is ... so I'm starting with that.

-S&G-

What happened last week? Well, by way of explaining that, I fall back on something I learned very early in my short and unspectacular military career: "No excuse, SIR ... or MA'AM" ... as the case may be.

-S&G-

It's all a blur ... or mostly a blur. I do remember missing my "deadline" ... wavering ... thinking I should post SOMETHING ... maybe I shouldn't ... maybe I should ... I don't know ... I guess I just vacillated too long this time ... and time ran out. Suddenly it was THIS WEEK ... and I had lost an opportunity.

-S&G-

One of the highlights, if you want to call it that, was a MAD DASH to the airport.

Normally ... in keeping with my stated philosophy of having NO NEED TO SPEED ... I start early ... arrive at least on time ... sometimes early.

But this time circimstances intervened ... maybe I nodded off after lunch ... maybe I looked at my watch wrong. What ever it was, I found myself with no minutes to spare on the way to the airport.

The Little Red Car ... always eager to pop a wheelie and set off on a new adventure ... was waiting in the driveway.

Oh, did I have a surprise for Little Red!

I never take the Interstate. Never! I always take the scenic route ... and even that has some moments of excitement.

But I had no choice.

I could tell that Little Red was a little nervous when we started out ... sensing, I suppose, that I had made some horrible mistake ... for here we were, ON THE INTERSTATE ... rubbing elbows with THE BIG GUYS.

But on we went ... zooming and swooping ... almost squealing the tires on a couple of occasions. Somehow I managed to avoid letting out a scream ... a couple of times ... maybe more (actually, I lost count).

Little Red, I must say, held up quite well ... being very patient with me as I tried to decipher which lane I should dive into ... which ramp would take us TO, rather than AWAY FROM our intended destination ... just how close that semi was to my rear bumper ... whether I should go under ... or around ... the one in front.

All this ... and more ... while I tried to maintain a safe ... and somewhat legal ... flying speed.

End result? We arrived ... and safely deposited our passenger ... with seconds to spare.

-S&G-

And other than that? Needless to say, I took the scenic route home ... noting that Little Red seemed much calmer now ... and that I was even beginning to loosen my grip on the steering wheel.

The next day, though, I noticed that both my hands were sore ... as though I had been chopping weeds all day with a dull hoe ... or had been driving on the Interstate for 29 minutes and 15 seconds, give or take a few.

-S&G-

So here we are ... or here I am, at least (I have a feeling that I may have lost the entire S&G audience) ... on a Friday night ... as is (often, though not always) the case ... I've meandered (that's how you know it's really me ... and not some silly robot) ... I've included a poem (repeating myself in the process) ... I've failed to fully explain last week's absence (that's surely another measure of authentication) ...

And I'm hoping I get one more chance ... please, please ... PLEASE.

Meanwhile ...

-S&G-

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

-S&G-

© 2009

Ice Storm

(Loree's photo of some ... just some ... of the ice storm damage at her place)

Now where was I?

I seem to be asking myself that more and more these days. I’d swear that Professor Squigglee and I are becoming more alike in that respect ... so much so that some people have trouble telling us apart.

That’s probably because we’re never seen in the same place at the same time ... yes, I’m sure that’s what has other people a bit confused.

But enough of that. Let’s just say that ... what with phone line problems ... computer problems ... and problems I can’t even recall the details of without prompting ... I’ve been in a bit of a fog recently.

Sorry about that.

-S&G-

I do sorta recall putting together a poor excuse of an installment of S&G ... a week or so ago ... if memory serves ... and it’s either around here some place ... or maybe I posted it.

-S&G-

One thing I’m sure of ... I got an e-mail from LOREE (Kansas), in which she mentioned the cleanup at her place after a devastating ice storm that swept across. But let’s let her tell about that:

"Speaking of being tired, the crew showed up at 1:30 yesterday (five of them), to saw, drag, rake and load (three two-ton truck loads) of leftovers from the Ice Storm Party.

"I even did some of the raking to try and help them out a bit ... and, worst of all, I missed my siesta! By the time they left at almost five o’clock, I could barely drag myself to the barn for the evening feeding and egg gathering.

"At least when I look out my windows now, there are no mountains of tree limbs as the only thing to see out there.

"Anyway, I know all about that ‘tired’ feeling ... just that sometimes when I wonder and think about what I’ve done to make me feel that way, I can’t even think of what has caused it. I hate admitting that old age might have some bearing on it, so I console myself with saying, ‘I’m just tired of being tired, and that is what is wearing me out!"

-S&G-

TODAY’S QUOTE: "Over the years, I’ve become rather fond of dawdling. In fact, I’ve become so good at it that I’m thinking about taking it up professionally." - Professor Squigglee

-S&G-

AN EARLIER e-mail from LOREE (Kansas) began in the usual manner ... Hi, Bob ... but quickly took a very serious turn: "My county was declared a disaster area from the big ice storm we got. Would rather have had the 15-plus inches of snow they were predicting, but that didn’t happen."

Included was a front yard photo she had taken in the aftermath ... just a sample of what she was faced with (and, if I’ve hit the right buttons at the right time, we’re sharing that photo with you today).

She also shared a poem she had written about the experience:

ICE STORM

With just little warning,
Storm clouds were forming,
Gathering for a trek they would take ...
All those in their path
Would feel the storm's wrath,
So real, and not at all fake.

As it organized,
Grew enormous in size,
The warnings went out in advance ...
So all could prepare,
Lay in a stock of fare,
Leave nothing undone, left to chance.

With winds that were driven,
Could not be forgiven,
Remembered for years yet to come ...
What the storm left behind
Would boggle the mind
Before this ice storm was done.

I'm left to survey
Complete disarray,
Deal with the storm's calling card ...
My beautiful trees
Brought near to their knees,
The damage that covers my yard.

Still at long last
The storm has roared past,
Left blue skies and brightest sunshine. ..
In days it will seem
Like one more bad dream,
A memory born in its time.
© 2009 Loree (Mason) O’Neil

-S&G-

BOOK NOOK - Word from KELLY (Colorado): "I’m starting Mark Twain's, Roughing It. I always liked Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain and Voltaire. Can you imagine a dinner party with those three at the table? What drew me to read Roughing It was a line on the back cover: ‘... Roughing It must also be read as Twain's ... rejection of the mythic, romanticized image of the West, and his autopsy of the American dream.’ Can you imagine what Twain would be writing today!?"

She also adds: I hope you and your family are having a nice weekend. Please give Little Red Car a friendly nod for me! (Oh, we are, thank you very much! ... and I did pass along that nod to Little Red ... and I could’ve sworn that Little Red nodded back, too)

-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 WEEK (I hope) ... (I’m keeping my fingers crossed now) ... take care ... see ya!

-S&G-
© 2009

The Week That Was

This has not been a good week.

Oh, there were moments. There are always moments in the worst of times, it seems, which offer a glimmer of light and encouragement.

For example, we were treated to a visit by our grandson ... our one and only ... and his parents ... and others in the family. Their visiting with us made last weekend not just tolerable, but enjoyable.

But there were other "moments" ... days ... long days, in fact ... when things weren’t going so well.
I’ll give you the short version.

We had phone and computer problems. Day after day our phone line had so much noise on it we weren’t sure we even had a dial tone ... and the computer? ... well, it permitted us a few minutes ... here and there ... to have contact with the outside world.

And that was it.

Having grown up without the benefits of a telephone in the home ... and certainly without even dreaming of such a thing as a computer ... I had no idea they could get such a compelling grip on me. How very dependent on both I have become.

Thank goodness I had Phyllis here to calm me down ... to run interference with those who controlled the destinies of both the phone line and the computer ... to reassure me that things would turn out OK ... and, with her help, I survived.

I exaggerate when I speak of "surviving," of course, but there were times when that was what it felt like ... especially when the problem was finally fixed and phone and computer service were both restored (knock on wood).

So here we are ... Friday night, when I usually get in gear to pull S&G together ... and when that works, it’s largely thanks to those who have shared ideas and accounts of their own adventures ... but this time ... well, this time I’m feeling like I’ve been through the wringer.

I hope you will forgive me if I play a modified version of hooky ... (and please don’t let Professor Squigglee know) ... but I’m giving in to my primary feeling right now ... and that is simply to forget about the S&G "deadline" this time ...

In fact ... please don’t worry about me ... I’m OK ... mainly just tired ... a little frustrated, yes ... but mostly just tired.

I think I’ll just forget about everything for the whole weekend ... and then ... Monday or Tuesday, maybe ... I hope I’ll feel more like picking up the pieces and going on ... with an entry for "Chosen Words" and the beginnings of prep for an installment of S&G for next weekend.

Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by ... and many, many thanks for your patience and understanding.

Take care. See ya (I hope).