waking up in the irish hills looking out on the frozen lake
after a night spent bringing in the new year with special people.
—
“in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter,
for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”
-khalil gibran
wok racing.
one way for non-skiers
to enjoy winter sports.
in germany
each march
a mix of
b-list celebrities
olympians
and
3 million tv viewers
share in this great event.
racers
sit in woks
strap ladles
to their feet
and
speed
downhill
at speeds of
more than
60 mph.
in 2014
members of
the jamaican bobsled team
took first prize.
—
credits: mzungovolunteers.org, reddit.com, mental floss, zazzle.com
spent the afternoon at
the rogers centre
in canada
where the
baseball opened with
the official roof report –
‘the roof is open’
the game began
and we
watched our detroit tigers
get mowed over
by the toronto blue jays
such a game (15-1)
where
our outfielder even
lost track of
how many outs there were
and forgot to throw the ball back
toronto fans threw out hats
when their player hit 3 home runs
all in the same game
and
hockey and baseball
blurred lines
in the old hockey tradition
of the hat trick
then
every opposing starter
got at least on base
giving us the chance
to see their entire roster
all in one game
but the staff and the local fans
were very friendly
except for the guy
who impounded
our piñata head mascot
kind of a chicken
who was meant to be a tiger
(a chi-ger)
upon entering the stadium
lest i possibly wear it
and conceal my identity
but we decided to shake it all off
and
embrace the huge loss of this game
by enjoying the town
with fans from both sides
and
our pinata
came right along with us
as we met
a rickshaw driver
a man with a chicken hat
( a kindred spirit who grew up in my hometown)
a street singer with a bag on his head
a sweaty spiderman
a bachelorette party
and a band
playing american and canadian covers
so we danced a lot
and passed the piñata on to the band
but upon returning to our hotel
i couldn’t exactly remember
my hotel room number
except for the last two digits
which caused a bit of a logistical issue
so i visited a few floors
on the elevator that only moved
in response to an electronic key swipe
(who knew?)
saw a lot of our beautiful hotel
made friends with the front desk
who made a few phone calls
to my fellow travelers
who mostly had their phones shut off
in this
faraway and friendly foreign land
and
finally got back into my room
where i soon after
got locked in the glass shower
for a while
then
relaxed and drifted off to sleep
in my pillowy bed
until there was
a 3am fire alarm (false)
but it was one great day
leading into the next
and
there certainly was a lot of laughter
i’d say there were
at least
3 major bouts of laughter
all in the same day.
and
that’s a hat trick.
—
‘that’s the beauty of sport.
sometimes you laugh,
sometimes you cry.’
– joseph gradual
after glancing over his shoulder
baby j is not sure
if he should
laugh, cry, scream or run.
my friend
kind
funny
energetic
and
mother of
five wonderful
small children
including
a set of twins
posted this picture
today
along with this message:
“Yep, So, this just happened. Another adventure for the M family!! So much for the other chores that have been piling up. I got this beautiful heart from my scout troop as a thank you at the end of this year. I had it on a shelf above the toilet. I think a cat knocked it off and into the toilet. I guess the heart is made of concrete, because it is completely unscathed . The toilet on the other hand….” – n.m.
i have to admit
i laughed until i cried
when i saw this
she was okay with that
i’m so happy
to know her
and
i blame
the girl scouts
—-
“i love people who make me laugh. i honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh.
it cures a multitude of ills. it’s probably the most important thing in a person.”
― audrey hepburn
Slip sliding away, slip sliding away – You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away – paul simon
and yes, it’s another polar vortex day at home, and yes, i have yet another personal tale of slip sliding away.
this one involved a first date. it was back when i was a cocktail waitress, working at a hotel, putting myself through school, a single mother, not sleeping a lot, and without much of a nightlife other than work. he was one of our regular customers, friendly, quiet, always alone, polite, settled in his life. a one-beer kind of man.
on our big night out, we went to dinner and then to my hotel’s employee holiday party. he knew all of the staff and so it was relaxed and easy for both of us. after some socializing, and one or three cocktails, we left for the night,.
i didn’t know that while we were busy being social inside, the temperature had dropped, and it had gotten icy outside. i was all dressed up in heels and pearls and big hair and skirt, and feeling quite happy and pretty. as we got to the parking lot, i slid on a patch of black ice near the passenger side, and somehow ended up partially beneath his car. he quickly jumped in to help me out from under it, and back up on my feet, and i was absolutely beside myself in tears, not from any injury, but from laughing so hard. and i could not stop laughing, as the only thing hurt was my pride.
after looking up at his face, and seeing that he was not laughing along with me, i said, ‘i was just checking your muffler,’ thinking it might help him to relax into the situation a bit. he just looked back at me with a poker face, asked me if i was okay, quietly opened my door, and helped me into his car. he never even cracked a smile, or made a comment, and instead, acted as if nothing unusual had just happened. he was a ‘perfect gentleman’ by some standards.
i instantly realized this had been an unexpected gift from the universe, a sort of litmus test of his approach to life and relationships. i knew that we were not a good match. i knew that we lived life differently. i knew that i would smile and say, ‘hi’ when he came in to the hotel the next time, and we would speak nothing of it. i knew why he felt more comfortable being there alone. i knew it was to be our first and last date.
“Some accidents there are in life that a little folly is necessary to help us out of.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. – Henry David Thoreau
————
while waiting in line to buy some late summer flowers, i heard a sweet voice over my shoulder. i turned to look, and the man behind me, who appeared to be at least 157+ years old, was talking to me. his joy was infectious, and left us both happy, after such a short and random encounter.
methus: ‘wow, a pretty girl has bought me a flower!’
me: ‘yes, it is for you.’
methus: ‘only charge her 1.98 please.’
(checkout woman looked confused. looked at the price tag again. meths laughed out loud.)
methus: ‘have you been good?’
me: ‘yes i have.’
methus: ‘i expect not.’
me: ‘are you having a good day?’
methus: ‘hell, i don’t know. i wouldn’t even know the difference.’
(another hearty laugh as i gave him one of my flowers and we each went our separate ways)
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. – Mark Twain
I didn't have my glasses on.... 