It made me wonder . . .

I saw an old home in Oregon last week, sitting alone, in a green field by side the road. It looked like a giant had pushed it sideways, stretching it in a twisted tilt. Weeds grew like spider webs all over it. The roof bowed from time and weather. Only chips of white paint were visible. The barn behind it was in worse shape. I thought about the people who built the little house after walking for months. They picked this spot to build their dreams. There were no roads, only trails. Only the ghosts of their memory remain. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but we were driving by too fast on the highway. It made me think about times past. Their world was about family, food, shelter, and freedom. Our world is about money, success, fame, loud music, fast cars, big house, bling, I-pods, I-pads, flat screen TV's, reality shows, lottery tickets, computers, Facebook, Twitter, traffic, crime, extremists, taxes, self-interest, Republicans, Democrats, taxes, and constant noise.

Who had it better? Just a thought

It's not funny . . .

Have you read the newspapers lately? The online news services? Left wing or right? There's nothing funny in any of them. Try to find something. Charlie Sheen got laughed off the stage. That would be funny, but he's not. Snooki got paid to speak at Rutgers. That really isn't funny. It's kind of twisted. The phrase "baby bump" has now become common. Donald Trump for President? Gaddafi (correct spelling is a mystery) wants it to stop. Please leave. Jon Gosselin gets a new gig. Who gives a s..t. Congress is bickering over the budget. Isn't that all politicians do?  A hole in a Southwest plane. Now that's not funny. UConn and Butler? The only people who think that is funny bet big Vegas. Arizona may add a $50 tax for smokers and obese. "Please step on the scale so I know how much to tax you for the cigarettes." Huh? Maybe that's a little funny, unless you happen to be the person being weighed.

What do you think?

Faces in the Sand ... excerpt

from ch. 4

My mother stopped collecting things about me when I reached grammar school, about the same time Daddy left. There might be a book of school pictures somewhere, but I can’t recall where. Mama didn’t collect photo albums or even pictures for that matter.

    She always said, “What’s past is past and we shouldn’t dwell on it.” The problem was she didn’t dwell on anything. I always thought she never had time for keeping scrapbooks, always working two or three jobs to support us.

    Once, I came home with a blue ribbon from school earning first prize in a spelling bee in the third grade. I was so proud. The next morning the ribbon was in the trash. Why didn’t she love me? What did I do wrong? Wasn't she proud of me? It hurt me very much. I can still feel the blow today, as if she hit me in the stomach whenever I think of it. She wasn’t a perfectionist. She just didn’t care.

    I tried to be a good daughter and make her proud, but it didn’t matter what I did. I was a burden—a chore that she didn’t need around. I used to think she was mad at me for making Daddy leave. Maybe it was my fault. Now, I use that first place ribbon as a bookmark, reminding myself that I am someone.

Cap'n Crunch and Felix the Cat...

I heard a rumor that Cap'n Crunch was going to discontinued. Government agencies, like the IRS, and the United States Weather Bureau, have determined that Cap'n Crunch is not good for you. I wonder how they feel about Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, and Rice Krispies? Why stop at cereals? The little yellow ducks (PEEPS) can't be that nutritious and neither are the little candies that come out of PEZ dispensers. Doesn't Coca-Cola dissolve the dirt and rust off pennies? Don't get me started on HoHo's, Ding Dongs, and Twinkies. McDonalds only had Big Mac's, Quarter Pounder's, regular hamburger's (with or without cheese), fries, and for desert . . . a warm cherry pie. Now, they serve salads, and iced coffee, with the calories on the menu. What's with that?

That brings me to another point: What happened to the cartoon Felix the Cat? The cat with his magic bag of tricks.  Remember him? They took it off the air in the early 80's. The government thought the show was too violent. Our kids now watch educational programs like Teenage Moms, The Jersey Shore, and my personal favorite Bad Girls. They spend hours playing videos games like Grand Theft Auto and Doom while downing Red Bulls. But it's okay. Don't fret. At least they won't be eating sugar cereals.

Leave our Cap'n Crunch alone, and put Felix back on the air.  

Faces in the Sand ....excerpt

 When I was ten, I discovered we were poor. Mama came home with tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet. She was so delighted, dancing around our small living room. I think she always wanted to be a dancer. She was in one of her good moods where she opened up all the blinds and played the record player loud. She’d been saving all year to take me.

     We got all dressed up and took a cab to the show. There was a long line outside to get in. The lights on Broadway were so bright. A long black car pulled up to the curb in front of us. A man, wearing a funny hat, stepped out and opened the car door for the people inside. My eyes made contact with a pretty blond girl about my age. She was wearing a beautiful green dress, with shiny sequins all over it, and a red shawl. We looked at each other closely. I ducked behind Mama not wanting the little girl to see my old black coat. I wasn’t sure why I did that. It was the look in her eyes. She was looking down at me. Her family didn’t have to wait in the line. They went right to the front and the doorman let them in.

     Our seats were so high I could barely see the performance. I spotted the girl sitting in a balcony very close to the stage. Mama said they were rich. After that day, I was on a constant look out for these strange people with long cars.

From my new book . . .

        There is an old fable about a body of water which has miraculous powers. The legend states that anyone who bathed in it would regain their youth. Men sought its discovery from all corners of the globe. Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, searched for the Fountain the Youth in a place he named La Florida. He never found it. He was looking in the wrong place. It's not a fountain or a body of water, but a town where no maps lead. You could call it Eden, Avalon, Shagri-la or El Dorado. The people who live there call it The Village.

Libya, Kim Kardashian, and Snookies Cookies

This morning, while stuck in traffic with the rest of the sheep, I was thinking about Libya and history. Can you imagine: It's June 6, 1944 and our troops have hit the beaches in Normandy. They have no objective. They don't want to kill Hitler. They only want to make sure the Germans are fighting fair against the French resistance. No fly zones are created so the Luftwaffe can't bomb people. We don't know exactly who we are siding with, but it feels like the right thing to do. It's a simple argument. Maybe too simple.

Then, I came home and opened a few online news pages I read each day only to find photos of Kim Kardashian's boobs, only partially exposed (darn), playing with a tiger (not Tiger Woods). She's made a sex tape and been in Playboy. No one is more exposed than her. Haven't we already seen everything? She made $65 million last year. What is it that she does again? Oops. .  Sorry for the tangent. Got off track for a moment. Forgive me. Her photo was in the headline right between NATO taking control of the Libyan thing and "Snookies Cookies in a Skimpy Suit." And let me tell you, her cookies. . .doughy!

Which article do I look at first?