Jean
May 4, 1970…
A reminder from Jean. Sorry I'm late posting this.
In thirteen seconds 4 were dead 9 wounded.
None of the protesters were armed. NONE.
Ed: Keep it mind if you think your government is going to help you out of a jam
I wish I were a tiger…
originally posted by Jean Jan 24, 2012
This big fella looks like I feel.
I want to beat up someone.
Take out my frustrations by inflicting damage.
...and then just calmly saunter away,
never to be heard from again.
bah. I'm in a sucky mood.
the drain that is my brain…
published by Jean May 20, 2010
I have accepted the crapfact that depression
will never leave me alone. It is part of me.
*
damn you old black dog
wearing me out and down like
river rubbed canyon
*
There is nothing to be done about it except
endure. Over and over and over again.
*
tomorrow looks less
than worthy after today's
vain forward struggle
*
Pep-talks from well meaning friends don't help.
*
come along, you say.
you know precisely my need.
arrogant bastard
*
It makes it very difficult to be nice so I often hide.
*
it's worse somewhere else
for many someone elses.
today I don't care.
*
It turns me into someone I don't like at all and I can't help it.
*
do you doubt despair
can twist the heart, wring the soul,
blind all hope? You fool.
*
It sneaks up and every time I ask why.
*
you think you know
the reason, the answer, the
why. until this now.
*
I've read a gazillion books and been to therapy.
*
regurgitation
of all the pretty words ends
in ugly dry heaves
*
Remember the time I went to a shooting range and
enjoyed shooting and did very well? Did anyone
think it strange that I did not buy a gun?
*
it is not so hard
to understand that there are
some who will resign
*
It feels like living in hell and a glorious relief
when it subsides.
*
to wax poetic
do you mind much when I swear?
tough shit if you do.
First class or coach…
A new one from Jean: Mar 28, 2026
How long
does it take
to get to heaven?
do you wait
for a bus with
a layover in Purgatory?
Trial and error…
originally posted by Jean December 04, 2007
If I
had my way,
if it were
up to me,
I'd know
what to say
and how
to say it.
I'd know
what to feel
and when
to feel it.
Night Launch…
posted by Jean Dec 12, 2006
Living in Florida affords me the opportunity to witness some truly beautiful moments.
This past Saturday evening was one.
There was a NASA shuttle launched from the Cape at 8:47 p.m.
Watching a shuttle launch in the daytime is undoubtedly impressive.
Seeing it when your world is wrapped in darkness, under cover of a starlit sky, is breathtaking.
My vantage point this time was a long, wooden dock that extended several yards into the Halifax River.
Looking southeast that night, everything was a shadow or a silhouette.
Expansive oak trees shared the riverbank with tall palm trees. Condominiums were sentries, higher than the trees.
Cars were parked along the edge of the road and in the small picnic area beside the river. People came in droves, from those cars, to gather as close to the river as possible, looking for an unobstructed skyward view.
We were lemming-like in our march to the edge.
Keeping track of the time and listening to portable radios, several in the crowd loudly announced the take-off.
You could feel everyone holding their breath.
The tension... anticipation... waiting for the white glow to be visible from some sixty miles south of us.
It took two or three minutes before the light began to show.
The crowd pointed as one and announced to all,
"There! There it is!" Applauding. Cheering. Whistling.
The brilliant white light crawled across the horizon before it began its upward mushrooming spread. Slowly.
The clouds began to glow.
From the bottom center of the sky-horizon
a white beacon emerged. The giant candle struggled upward, then leaned slightly east, toward our left... higher.
Ever. Slowly. Higher.
Half-way up our window view of the sky... the shuttle seemed to shift to a higher gear... moving steadily faster. Moving higher and faster, leaving a long, bright streak behind it.
It outran the mushroom glow.
It slid into the black velvet cover over earth.
The yellow fire from the boosters marked its progress upward. Until, as star-tiny specs, they were released and fell softly.
Fading sparklers.
Some of us lingered.
Straining to see one more glimpse before turning away.
Wishing a safe journey to the brave souls travelling so far.
Wishing even harder, for a safe return home.
For those interested in the space program, the Silicon Graybeard usually posts everyday about space-related goings-on.
https://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/
Me? I can't really explain why, but I don't seem to care too much about it anymore.
Once upon a time though ... I still have my "Stars" book I got for Christmas in 1958.
Things have changed a bit since then.
Chocolate milk on Friday…
originally posted by Jean April 24, 2009
When I was in grade school, we had one choice for
our beverage during lunch. Milk.
White milk in a glass bottle with a cardboard disk
pressed into the neck of the bottle to seal it.
The seal had a half-moon perforation that had to be
pried up in order to insert the paper straw in the bottle.
When I was in first grade the milk cost 2 cents a day.
A dime for the week.
By the time I got to eighth grade (this was before Junior High
and Middle School were invented) the milk cost 5 cents a day.
Highway robbery, wouldn't you say?
Friday lunch was always special because we had two choices
that day. Plain old white milk or CHOCOLATE milk.
Need I say which one was the choice for most of us?
The food they served in the cafeteria on Friday was different, too.
This was a public school but, they didn't serve meat on Friday.
This made Mom happy because she raised us Catholic and, back
then, Catholics didn't eat meat on Friday. Ever.
So, one Friday we might get a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl
of tomato soup. Another Friday might be tuna casserole or a
tuna salad sandwich. Dessert was usually fruit or pudding.
To this day, if I get a craving for any of those foods listed above,
I automatically think of chocolate milk.
Today, in the grocery store, I decided I wanted the fixins for a
good tuna salad tomorrow. Friday. I also made sure to grab a
bottle of chocolate milk. Plastic bottle, unfortunately. Oh, well.
I think I remember Thursday was spaghetti day.
You remind me of someone else…
originally posted by Jean November 27, 2009
Sometimes, I am asked "Where do your poems come from?
How do you do that?"
It can be difficult to explain and often I simply shrug
my shoulders and reply "I dunno. Just happens."
The process can be different each time but, one constant
is that I keep a notebook and pen with me, always.
I never know when the urge to write will appear. Often,
it may only be a word or phrase that catches my attention.
I never know when they might come together in one piece.
It isn't uncommon for something noted days or even
months ago turns out to be a needed title, last line or the
inspiration seed that grows into a complete idea.
For example, the poem I'm posting here...
the title was written as two lines, out of the blue, several
days ago. Last night I was flipping through my notebook,
saw those lines, and started thinking thoughts with words
in them. They were insistent, demanding to be written.
This is what the muse was dictating :
You remind me of someone else...
too much time feeling
bound to do, be, say
aroused rebellion
resulting in not much good
for another batch
of too much time.
lost then found
now is when
not then.
savor self
and spend self
being true
to you.
love always honest
and much
now.
too soon for the moon…
originally posted by Jean Nov 9, 2009
Wandered the beach very late afternoon,
wanting to see the moon rise.
While waiting for that, studied the rest
and composed and poeticized.
Wind frothed the breakers, square-danced
with the gulls. Candy clouds punctuated
the sky. Not a glimpse of a glimmer of
lunar peculiar jiggled the night swath
descending. A shrug and a slump then
turned course westward, resigned to a
glitterless eve.
Moon face smiled, "You could have seen
the moon but you gave up too soon. I'll be
back in December but will you remember?"
