Category Archives: Life

Dec15

sequence.

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it all began well and dandy

our school ny eve party was in the early minutes

changing out of my holiday llama pajamas

to head out for my annual doc checkup

zooming out and headed that way

until i wasn’t

when a road construction issue came into play

so i turned  up the music

waited it out

zoomed off again

finally got there

just a few minutes late

jumped out of the car

opened the back door to get something out

while also somehow slamming the front door shut

quickly felt something unexpected

ah, it was my finger closed in the front door

the wrong place to be

after i stared at it for a minute

i reopened the door, moved my hand, locked in back up

and headed in

noticing that it hurt and was beginning to change color

nurse took me right away

 he used to be a paramedic

while checking my vitals

i mentioned my finger

ah, they’ll probably be splinting it

my doc comes in

does my wellness interview and exam

all  good

i mention the finger

she sends me for an x-ray across the hall

when i come back

she suggests i get a flu shot while waiting

mentions that the receptionist

said i wanted to set up a covid booster shot

why not get it while i’m here?

paramedic nurse guy comes back

gives me both shots

says again that they’ll probably be splinting my finger

doc comes back in

says the x-ray shows

i fractured my finger

and it’s going to need a splint

paramedic nurse gives me a nod and smile

set up appointment for another x-ray in a week

 return to office in two weeks to see how it’s healing

doc calls me at home later

she reminds me

elevate, ice, motrin, splint

here i thought i was done for the year

how did this take such a turn?

sequences of events are always so fascinating when looking back.

–

“and now the sequence of events in no particular order.”

-dan rather, american newscaster

 

—

image credit: anne cevardi, osborn books

Dec10

lucky break.

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“let a joy keep you. reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.”

-carl sandburg

Dec7

cccccccccold.

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very cold scene from ‘the shining.’ (warner brothers)

does anyone else watch movies set in the snow and became freezing just watching them?

it all starts out well enough

 suddenly dawning on me

the characters

have spent much of the movie in the freezing snow.

 once i realize this, there is no  going back,

it begins to feel so very cold.

consider this a warning or cautionary tale.

below are some i’ve sen over the years,

any to add to the list?

white fang

frozen

fargo

dr. zhivago

on her majesty’s secret service

white out

groundhog day

the revanent

jeremiah johnson

home alone

the snow walker

shackleton

snow day

the thing

vertical limit

society of the snow

—

“life is cold. people stay warm through the intimacy of a story.”

-james altucher

 

Dec4

white elephant.

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white elephant action shot

(not meant to be artsy, more of a testament to my photographic skill level)

 

enjoyed a holiday party with friends

food, drink, chatter, and fun

 white elephant game is always a hilarious part of this event

each and every game is different

and this year certainly did not disappoint!

—

many people participate in secret santa gift exchanges. but others like to take things a step further and plan a white elephant swap. if you aren’t familiar, white elephant is a game in which everyone brings a wrapped present, places it in a pile and draws a number to determine the order in which the participants will select gifts to unwrap. as the game progresses, people have the option to unwrap a new gift or “steal” a previously opened present.

the game can get pretty heated, so naturally it offers a lot of opportunities for twitter humor. see today’s quotes below – a sampling of tweets about this very exciting game –

A white elephant gift exchange is a great way to secretly resent someone for swiping the dollar store bath bomb you didn’t think you wanted until you were stuck with the dollar store candle.
Teen came home wearing a fluorescent alligator around her neck she won from a white elephant exchange. She’s shocked no one else wanted it.
Every time I play White Elephant, I always say I’m not gonna get too intense. But 10 minutes in, I’m already yelling at people I’ve never met. Then by the end, I’m chasing Nikita down the block, in the pouring rain, for a pair of sunglasses. I need help.
You don’t know hysteria until you’ve played White Elephant with 10 girls under 13 and a One Direction toothbrush gets in the game.
Dec3

control.

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when having snow tires put on my car

had an early appointment

brought my laptop and a giant coffee

to settle in for an hour and a half or so.

while waiting

i planned to write and read and catch up on things

knowing there is always something going on

with any group of fellow ‘waiters.’

i sat at a high table to make for easy typing

 most everyone else sat in the lower, more comfortable chairs

quite soon after my arrival, the ambiance changed.

on the left side in front of me

a woman sat down

in the seat next to the remote control for the tv

meant to help the time pass, amuse, and distract everyone.

she immediately took control of the controller

switching whatever channel had been on

to fox news.

the woman in the family to my right

politely asked if she would mind changing

the channel from fox to something else.

she said yes and all good

in no time

we were all watching baywatch reruns

in high def, on the big screen, 90s music pumping

those red bathing suited beauties

running on the beach, boating, emoting, doing pull-ups, rescues, looking hot, and whatnot

and david hasselhoff, the hoff.

the workers at the tire store desk were mesmerized

some young enough to never have seen it before

some old enough to have had the poster and remembering.

i refilled my coffee

 the channel was not changed again

throughout my entire (now 2 hour), wait.

new customers coming in had mixed reactions

what an early holiday surprise!

“of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing.”

-herodotus

Dec1

pathway.

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the kinder discovered a pathway on a hill

covered in beautiful, kind, and encouraging stones

created by the older children

left behind for them to find

“what sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

these are but trifles, to be sure;

but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”

-joseph addision

Nov26

downtown.

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downtown detroit

on a very chilly and beautiful november evening

sparkling christmas tree

ice

music

family from near and far

laughter

winter market

lots and lots of food

warm drinks

lights

comfort.

—

“downtown. lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder.

and in that moment, i swear we were infinite.”

stephen chbosky

Nov22

kennedy on kennedy.

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Image

jfk and family – the ones who i thought were my cousins

(a reblog from 10 years ago)

being born a kennedy, for as long as i can remember, i assumed that the other kennedys were just cousins who lived out east. when the killing of jfk happened, 50 years ago, (now 60 years), i had just turned 6, only 4 days before. i was in first grade and i remember being called in from recess and all of the adults were crying. that was the day i found out that i was not actually a cousin, and that people could die from things other than being very, very old.  it was one of those days when my world changed forever.

Image

my kennedy family

Image

“the essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it lives forever. “

-john updike

Nov21

temperature.

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the temperature has dropped quite a bit and i am ready. 

bring it. 

 

—

“it doesn’t matter what temperature the room is, it’s always room temperature.”

-steven wright

 

 

 

 

—

image credit: google images

Nov18

rhythm of life.

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“loves to have record player going or any music at 15 months.

attempts to dance to it and complains when music stops.”

(from my baby book on my ‘rhythm and music’ page, first expression of rhythm)

today, on my birthday, many eons later, not much has changed.

 

—

“life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance.

some will get angry when the rhythm changes. but life is changing all the time.”

-don miguel ruiz