Aug19

go cart.

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( a reblog, in honor of ikea’s 80th anniversary)

—

after a long while

and a lot of swedish kaffe

i made it

 through 

the ikea rat maze

but not before gathering

as usual

all kinds of ‘domgjingos’

and other unexplained things along the way

along with the one item I set out to buy.

I was feeling victorious

when things took a turn.

 I left my cart at the end of an aisle

to get a closer look

at an exciting ‘grushlbonker’ of some sort

and my cart went missing.

I first thought that maybe I had misplaced it.

no luck.

I then looked for someone ahead of me

who may have mistakenly grabbed the wrong cart. 

still no luck. 

I watched for someone to suddenly do an about face

and hurriedly return with the wrong cart in hand

a bit embarrassed and mumbling an apology.

still no luck. 

maybe it was my giant blue used $1.49 bag

I had in there that was so appealing?

what could anyone else possibly

find any use for, or value

in the odd collection of things I’d snagged along the way?

I couldn’t even remember most of what I had in there

but now I felt I needed each of them for some reason

and was somehow missing them.

I decided to consider it a small gift to the universe

someone must have needed it all more than me.

I hadn’t paid for anything yet

so no loss

other than time and energy

and of course

that fancy blue bag

but most of all

I had no desire to rerun the maze

 so I grabbed a few new things

I didn’t know that I needed 

along the route to the register.

and threw in

a shiny new blue bag 

along with

a 6-pack of cinnamon rolls

just for good measure.

—

“why would anyone steal a shopping cart? it’s like stealing a two year old.”

-erma bombeck

Aug18

balcony.

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what a joy it would be to hang out on this tiny balcony.

—

“she wasn’t doing a thing that i could see,

except standing there,

leaning on the balcony railing,

holding the universe together.”

-j.d. salinger

Aug17

pais.

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my costa rican t-shirt

celebrates the country’s 1948 disbanding of their military

 when they chose to give the money to education, culture, and social programs instead

there is a country-wide celebration each year

 when i heard this as a visiting american

i was left gobsmacked.

(see the story below)

Peace consists, very largely in the fact of desiring it with all one’s soul.

The inhabitants of my small country, Costa Rica, have realized those words by Erasmus.

Mine is an unarmed people, whose children have never seen a fighter or a tank or a warship. – Oscar Arias

Film: Costa Rica Abolished Its Military, Never Regretted It

Aug16

i’m not joking.

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every august 16th it’s national tell a joke day

 not my best holiday

 i’m a horrible joke-teller

i’m more of a story-teller

 a whole other skill set

all i’ve ever been able to remember

is my one go-to joke

(and even this is iffy, as i often add part of the answer into the question part of the joke)

“what animal loves summer the best?”

“a hot dog!”

(i learned this years ago when my daughter was in a kindergarten talent show and did stand-up comedy)

she got an amazing response perhaps because she was a brave kinder doing stand up and the audience ate it up

i decided it would be my standing joke from that moment on

sure to get a laugh

though when i tell it, in whatever convoluted manner it manages to be delivered

i generally either hear groans or silence from any audience of any age or any number

so i guess the joke’s on me. 

“i’m gonna fix that last joke by taking out all the words and adding new ones.”

-mitch hedberg

 

 

—
credits: “hot dog” by doug salati (caldecott award winner), penguin random house, google images

Aug15

mistaken orders.

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the restaurant of mistaken orders employs waitstaff with dementia

and you can never be exactly sure what you will be getting.

below is a statement from the restaurant to potential patrons and to the world.

—

you may think it’s crazy,

a restaurant that can’t even get your order right,

all of our servers are people living with dementia,

they may, or may not, get your order right.

however, rest assured,

that even if your order is mistaken

everything on our menu is delicious and one of a kind.

this we guarantee.

“it’s okay if my order was wrong, it tastes so good anyway.”

we hope this feeling of openness and understanding

will spread across japan, and through the world.

—

We ask for your continued support of The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders in Tokyo, Japan.

Our mission is to spread dementia awareness and to make society a little bit more open-minded and relaxed.

 

—

“gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”

-lionel hampton

 

—

source credits: https://www.japan.go.jp/tomodachi/2019/winter2019/restaurant_of_mistaken_orders.html

   the government of japan

 

Aug14

park it.

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here are the only ones allowed to park on the closed-off street

look at them making the most of it and taking all the good spots

they must know someone or have special licenses.

—

 

“when i get real bored i like to drive downtown and get a great parking spot,

then sit in my car and count how many people ask when i am leaving.”

-steven wright

Aug13

brie.

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my very creative and talented niece

just on the cusp of teenager-hood

presented me

with this lovely fairy

 made on her way to come for a visit

with plaited hair

a hand-painted face

and fashion-forward attire

 she was such a joyful surprise

due to her acorn cap beret and sense of style

i’ve decided to give my new fairy the french name of ‘brie.’

—

“the world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”

-neil gaiman

Aug12

so what.

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“sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years

when they could just say, so what.

that’s one of my favorite things to say. so what.”

-andy warhol

Aug11

canvas.

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a front door, a message, and a yard, in support of ukraine and the pollinators

—

one of the reasons i love walking so much

is for the surprises waiting to be discovered along the way

when walking through the neighborhood

i travel with eyes wide open

people are so creatively expressive

flower pot art

a snake in the grass

smiling and made of latex, upon closer inspection

a front yard mini vineyard

a tiny village

—

“this world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

-henry david thoreau

Aug10

meeting ann.

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last night i had the great pleasure of going to my favorite theater

where one of my favorite authors, ann patchett

was appearing

while on a book tour for her latest book, “tom lake’

which happens to take place in northern michigan

a place dear to my heart.

ann is a prolific novel writer

a wordsmith of the highest order

who has a way with the human story

always using her literary magic to somehow weave her characters together

in unexpected and wonderful ways.

she was funny, smart, down to earth, and very relatable

talking about her books, writing, book banning, life,

offering support for other authors and books she knows and loves,

because she knows it can make all the difference for them,

 the joys and pains of book tours

and being an independent bookstore owner

(her other avocation).

 when i finally had the chance to meet her

i handed her my very used copy of ‘bel canto’

my favorite book of hers

she opened the cover, signed her name, and wrote:

‘thank you for bringing a well-loved book.’

—

“i have been accused of being a pollyanna,

but I think there are plenty of people dealing with the darker side of human nature,

and if I am going to write about people who are kind and generous and loving and thoughtful, so what?”

-ann patchett