Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
Jun16

on father’s day.

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“my daughter said, ‘why are you yelling at us?’ and i said, ‘i’m trying to discipline you!’

and then she looked up at me with her tear-stained eyes and said,

‘this is how you teach children, by making them cry.’

and it was such a clenching reminder —

she won not only the argument, but she won life with that statement.

i just burst out laughing, and i think they were so surprised that i burst out laughing, that they did too.”

-stephen colbert

 

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image credit: eric carle, illustration from ‘mister seahorse’, penguin random house books – 2004

Jun15

when opportunity does not knock.

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not my house or cats, but i get them.

—

when you are having

a private informal window of opportunity urgent under the radar ad hoc committee meeting

there is a quorum 

someone opens the closed door and peers in

odds are incredibly high

this is the same person

who is the subject of the meeting. 

—

“you can’t knock on opportunity’s door and not be ready. “

-bruno mars

 

 

 

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image credit: google images

Jun14

abstract mess.

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 getting ready in the morning

i made a quick decision

to throw one light piece of laundry

down the stairs

rather than carry the extra three ounces

down seven stairs to my washing machine

tucked away in a little closet

such a brilliantly lazy choice

i instantly realized my mistake

when it caught on a piece of art

hanging along the stairway

ripping it off the wall

sending it reeling

into another wall

creating a divot

the art tile on the wood

cracking in two

the nail lost deep in the carpeting

went down the seven stairs

now easy

with three ounces less

than i would have had to carry

stepping over it all

walked into my kitchen

flipping on the light

 which answered me with a sudden ‘pop!’

a lightbulb had chosen that moment to blow out

i took in the spectacle of it all

sat down with a cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate, and a bit of music

another day had begun.

—

‘i think you have to let go of this idea that you can be precious about everything,

and let it be the abstract mess that it is.’

-ryan reynolds

Jun13

sunny spirit.

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i love their sense of humor about this

despite the entire town

being under construction

enduring random outages

having traffic-related ‘disturbances’

their coffee place is open

 still standing

 it’s up to you

to creatively find your way there

the coffee is damn good and worth the odyssey.

—

“humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. the minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield,

all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

-mark twain

 

 

 

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image credit: roos roast coffee

 

 

Jun12

the time of my life.

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what a wonderful retirement celebration

with sweet surprises galore

very kind words from friends/colleagues

comedy, a musical serenade, lunch together

 songs i wrote with our music teacher made into a beautiful book

a fab dance act from my favorite movie

an explosion of glitter

book of words, poems, haiku, photos, glittered pages, memories, hopes

and of course

so many wonderful pinatas

you can never have too many

filled with special things for my journeys ahead.

they know me so very well

thank you one and all

i had the time of my life.

 

==

“always surround yourself with people who inspire you to be a better person.”

-d. denise dianty

 

Jun11

expression and nourishing.

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“man needs spiritual expression and nourishing….

even in the prehistoric era, people would scrawl pictures of bison on the walls of caves.”

*-fernando botero

*Fernando Botero Angulo was a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor. His signature style, also known as “Boterismo”, depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political criticism or humor, depending on the piece.

 

Jun10

brilliant disguise.

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In 1936, a clothing store in Copenhagen, Denmark found itself with an excess inventory of men’s spring and winter coats. To tackle this challenge, the innovative clothier devised a distinctive sales strategy. They constructed a scaffolding around their store building and adorned it with over a thousand overcoats, completely covering the structure from the roof to the sidewalk. This unconventional and eye-catching display captivated the attention of potential customers, resulting in a massive influx of people to the store. The situation escalated to the point where the police had to be called in to manage the crowds. Despite the police’s intervention and subsequent order to remove the display, the resourceful proprietor managed to successfully sell all the overcoats, effectively resolving their overstock issue.

—

“we are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

-charles r. swindoll

 

 

 

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source credit: vintage life

Jun9

play ball.

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enjoyed the gift of a baseball game
with family/teaching partners/friends
detroit tigers at comerica park
we lost and it rained and we spilled a few things
but it was a beautiful night.
the holy-ish trinity of daughters
—
“baseball is ninety percent mental. the other half is physical.”
-yogi berra

Jun8

when bobby calls.

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so mad i missed his call

i really wanted to answer and ask him,

“you talkin’ to me??!”

 

 

—

“no, i don’t regret anything at this point.

that may change on the next phone call,

but at the moment i don’t regret anything.”

-william shatner

Jun7

‘with a doughnut in each hand, anything is possible.’ – jameela jamil

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it’s a big decision, take your time.

—

national donut day is celebrated on the first friday of june. established by the salvation army in 1938 to honor the “donut lassies” — women who served donuts (originally a European delicacy) to hungry american soldiers duringWW I. once they returned home, american soldiers longed for the donuts they had overseas. they grew increasingly popular in the u.s., and americans have been loving donuts ever since.

—

“do-not touch my donut.”

-me 

 

 

 

 

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image credit: washtenaw dairy