Poetic Ramblings

A Reason To Smile
 By C.K. Armistead
November 1, 2013

So many reasons
To be sad
These last two
Seasons
Pets lost
Friends lost
A family member lost
Part of town
Eaten
By a storm
But in the midst
Of even the actual storm
I found reasons
To smile
To be grateful
To be humbled
To celebrate this life
Linked by a web
Of electronic signals
I had friends with me
Cheering me on
When things got tough
And in the midst of them
Was the one who
Brought us together,
Connected us
Also wishing me well,
Making me smile.
 At every turn
My friends have been there
Both those I know face to face
And those I have met only
In the ether.
When the chance came
To meet more of them
In person,
I grabbed it gladly.
And I am so grateful
To have had the chance
To spend time with
And hug
And thank in person
Some of those who
Have walked through
These sad seasons
With me.
Especially the one
Who brought us
Together
In the first place.
Thanks, Mr. P.
As you love,
So you are loved.
And I am still smiling.


Blues
By C.K. Armistead
November 2, 2013

The sky was so
Blue
This  morning
As blue as
My Pop's eyes were
As Richie's eyes are
As the eyes
Of my friend
Only seen in person
Once
But so very blue.
At twilight
The blue sky deepens
Deepest blue
Like the Pacific
Like Indigo
Like Matthew's
Eyes
When he looks
At me
True Blue.


Young Guardsmen
By C.K.Armistead
Nov. 3, 2013

When did they get to be so young?
These new recruits just out of basic
On their way to their specialty training.
They're just KIDS.
I have shoes older than these people!
Am I that old? Really?
Makes no sense to me that we
Are sending our children out
To fight the wars of others.
 Seems it's always been this way.
The young pay the price for those
Who stay safely at home.
My own husband
Gave 20 years of his life
To keep this nation free,
So many of us could stay safely home.
While he and his comrades flew repeatedly
Into some dicey situations
Sometimes for practice,
Sometimes with relief supplies,
Mostly just ordinary resupply
Making sure everybody everywhere
Had what they needed
In order to do the dangerous job
Of keeping America free.
They also carried mail. 
Made them really popular
At the more remote places they stopped.
Seems unreal to me that he and I were ever
So young as these kids I saw last month.
God keep them safe
Bless their families with strength and patience
And help all of us remember them
And keep them in our thoughts
And prayers
With gratitude
For their willingness
To do such a difficult job.

A New Look At An Old Tradition

It was Red Ribbon Day again in Moore today.  Every year, the whole town turns out to either parade down Broadway to Main to Eastern and the high school, or to line the route and get candy.  The purpose of the parade is supposed to be to raise awareness about drug abuse, and to help prevent it.  It's a traditional place for candidates for local office to show up to campaign, for local celebrities to be called upon to be Grand Marshall.  (Gary England was one year, this year it was David Payne.) (Yes, weather forecasters and storm chasers are celebrities in Moore, Oklahoma.)
One tradition for our entry was missing this year.  My dog Bear died two years ago, and Julie's dog Mollie did, too.  Melvin is still around, but doesn't like the parade.  Julie didn't walk this year, and so the announcers couldn't make their annual joke about her Corgi Melvin.  ("See that little brown dog?  He's so short, he doesn't have feet, he has INCHES!!")
This year, the parade still had plenty of drug-free emphasis, but it had a whole lot more "Moore Strong" slogans. This year the parade takes place five months after a very nasty set of tornadoes came through and tried to wipe part of town off the map.  Just like in 1999.  People are still displaced, many no longer live in Moore while they wait for homes to be rebuilt.  Still, we had one of the largest turnouts EVER for that parade, even though it sprinkled rain. 
There was an even greater party atmosphere at the parade lineup than usual.  Everybody was smiling, people were stopping and hugging friends and acquaintances, it was lovely to see.  This is how a community is SUPPOSED to be.  Supportive, connected, ok, maybe a little bit sappy, but close and caring.  We got big waves and smiles from the crowds, not just because we had a horse and carriage with us to promote the Big Read of True Grit for our library system, but because people were glad to see us.  This town loves its library.  They cheer for us when we come out for the parade.  They really miss us when we are closed.  They ask about staff members they haven't seen for awhile.  (I was on vacation for a week recently.  I got many "good to see you"s from customers when I came back.)

The picture at the beginning of this post is of the float from Cross Timbers United Methodist Church.  They are but one of the groups that have supported the schools that were damaged in the tornadoes.  I think one thing says it all on this float.  HOME.  Moore is home.  For some of us it is an adopted home, but home it is.  Where our hearts are, where we feel cared for, where we can relax and spread out. It's a place with all the amenities of a large metropolitan area, but where I can still run into people I know when I go almost anywhere around town.  (Whole OKC Metro is like that, really.)
Many friends and family members who live elsewhere have said we should leave, but we can't.  Our church family, our library family, and our home are here.  We have a nicer home than we could afford anywhere else.  I have a job that I love, one that makes a difference in this community. We have found a church that is very close to our hearts.  We've been here twenty years now.  It's home. We have been through hell with this community.  There is a bond here, whether the hell was the Murrah bombing in '95, or the tornadoes in '99, 2003, or just this past May,we came through it together, it knits us very close here in the heart of the heartland.
Oh, I will still get frustrated with our politicians and with the willful ignorance of a few, but I will still love this place and its people.  I will still be here hoping to help connect them to the books and other resources they need for lifelong learning. 
Here are a few photos from my experience of the parade this morning.  Betsy, the Clydesdale, was pulling a carriage which held one of my PLS colleagues dressed as Maddie from True Grit. Several of my coworkers were walking alongside the carriage and our Friends volunteer (and half of my "fan club") Vickie Kelly was there as well.  (Vickie comes to all my voice recitals.  I therefore call her and her husband John my fan club.)
In order to help banish the gloomy drizzle, I led our little group in a verse of "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'" (It is astonishing how many people in Oklahoma know the words to songs from the show.)
Here's me and Betsy, the horse. (I am skinnier than I look.  Was wearing thermals under this outfit! I am not a parade rookie! Also note the Aussie Outback hat instead of a cowboy hat!)

And here's one of just Betsy

Here's one of my coworkers handing out candy, and some of the crowd along the way.

Here's another coworker and one of our True Grit signs.

Our town really DOES have True Grit.  We've been kicked in the teeth by Mother Nature numerous times, and we always get back up and keep on going.  We were out in force today to prove that we are drug free and Moore Strong.

Yes, this year the parade felt like it meant just a bit more than it has in the past.  LOTS more entries in the parade, more people out to cheer us on, and everybody in much better spirits than I can recall seeing there in a long, long time. 
Well, got my copy of True Grit downloaded.  Guess I better get busy and read it. :-)

The Love Is Pouring In

"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in" - Leonard Cohen


There must be a crack in Moore.  There's lots of love and light pouring in around here today.  I've been helping Julie run some errands today while Ralph is sorting through and salvaging stuff from their house.  Everywhere we went, people were happy to help.  The health department was offering free tetanus shots, so we went over there.  Turns out, Julie had already had a recent booster.  I had no idea the last time I had one, so they gave me one.  (My records are all at Tinker.)  The health department ladies all know us sort of because they used to be housed in the building right behind the library where we work.  (The police station is there now.)

We reserved a trailer for Ralph to rent at the little U-Haul place that is at the gas station I always go to.  The man there recognized me, and I told him Julie worked with me at the library.  He had a trailer the right type and size for them to use, and told them right now it is 24 hour bookings only, but that's all they need.  If they need it again, they can see if they can reserve it for another 24 hours.

Julie and I walked up to the Crest grocery store on the corner of 12th and Eastern and bought some stuff to make sandwiches for lunch.  Ralph was back over here after picking up the trailer, so we all had lunch.

Turns out, we could have just gone over to the library parking lot and gotten BBQ chicken, or a burger, or hot dog, lots and lots of good food being cooked right there at the library/community center parking lot.  We found this out when Julie and I went over to drop off the oatmeal-peanutbutter-chocolate chip cookies I made at the police station.  I told the ladies there that Ted Belling, Jerry Cambpell, and Daniel Melendez could vouch for the quality of my cookies.  They laughed.  But they gladly took the cookies.

There are organizations from all over the country here cooking hot meals for people who no longer have kitchens, landlords that have offered unoccupied properties to victims needing a place to stay, college campuses opening the recently vacated residence halls, animal welfare groups working with local vets to set up a shelter for displaced pets at the fairgrounds, so very much love.  People are not as awful as some would have us believe.  People see something like this happen, and they want to reach out, they want to help.  It is heartwarming when it is your town that needs the help.

What hurts is when the novelty wears off, but the aftereffects are still here to be dealt with.  Then, we need the folks who are willing to help rebuild, to help sort out insurance and other legal details, to advise homeowners who are most likely still overwhelmed and overtaxed.  There are local builders here in Moore who handled this before in '99 and 2003, and they are ready to do it all again. Our chamber of commerce has been through this before, too, and they have a new building because of the '99 tornado.  They are gearing up to help with FEMA and SBA paperwork, help the local businesses get the help they need.  Our library is already back open, offering a quiet place to sit and read, use the computer, find information they may need.  Heck, today my boss was offering suggestions on driving routes that would help folks get where they want to go around the damaged areas.  Our tech team has worked overtime, and just as Julie and I were leaving, internet connectivity was restored, which means we will likely be back to business as usual when I go in tomorrow at 12:30.
Our library will be there to offer whatever services, information, and comfort we can, just like we did last time.  These are our neighbors.  These are our friends.  Some of those little children who died were ones I had come up and ask me to look up their card number when they came to the library.  I will miss them. They, like most of our kids here, were polite and happy kids, fun to have around.

It is a shame, but often it takes something like this to remind us just how much we love each other.  Friends who have been there when you needed them are precious.  How much more precious it is to be able to offer the comforts we have to them when they need us.  It makes me very happy that I can do this.  I will smile a little more at the little ones who come in.  How precious it is to have those children using their library, and coming to us rather than going someplace else to "hang out" after school.  I will hug my coworkers and spoil them more because I really, really enjoy working with these people.  They are dedicated and creative, and they all love books as much as I do.

Then there is our Warren Theatre.  Bill Warren has already said the theatre will reopen on the 29th.  He'd open earlier, but there are some supplies needed to do the necessary repairs that won't be available that soon.  The Warren works with all community agencies on a regular basis, often partnering with the library to sponsor a "Big Read" movie night, when they show a movie that was made from the Big Read book, or is related to the subject of the book.
Our local Chic-Fil-A is going to reopen soon, but today they were handing out chicken sandwiches at the community center and other places around town.  They are big supporters of the library, and are always asking what they can do to help.
One of the liquor stores in town, in my opinion the best one, and the only one I shop at, Moore Liquor, has a marquee out front which is rather infamous around Oklahoma for the jokes Brian posts on it every week.  This week, because of what has happened, it is more sincere and less smart-ass.

I think he's right.  We've done this before.  It's been 14 years, and we've grown a lot since then, but we can do it again.  We can rebuild it even better than it was.  It'll take awhile, and sometimes it'll hurt, but "we'll be okay."

From Moore, America.
Katie

How To Be Happier

My thanks to a Twitter friend, Anna Cathy Wells for sharing this quote a couple of days ago.
The above is good advice.   It advocates a life of service, of being someone others can count on, not just admire.
Another way to look at it is to be the one who supports others.  Be appreciative of those who do the thankless jobs in life.  Do what you can to make their jobs easier.  Be grateful for the ones who always show up on time and ready to go.  When there is someone in your life that always makes you glad they are there, let them know.
If all you are able to be in this life is a member of the "audience", be the best one ever.  Support those that entertain and challenge you.  Do not just be a demanding fan or consumer of entertainment, encourage those who do good work.  Even if they are just local kids in a school play, encourage those who put it all out there and really try.  To get up in front of other people and perform is very, very scary.  Even if you know you're good.  Everybody has bad days, everybody has things go wrong, and to put yourself out there takes courage.  Support the ones who face up to the challenge and give it their best.
There is a lady that I admire very much.  She will tell you that she isn't anything special, just an ordinary person.  She's wrong.  She is extraordinary.  She is supportive of the endeavors of others, and faithful in that support.  She is a tireless volunteer for our library, and yet she is humble, unwilling to accept praise for all she does.  She is also my fan club.  She comes to all my voice recitals.  She cheers on ALL the singers, not just me.  She always tells the nervous ones how much better they are doing,(and they are!) , she always appreciates those of us with more experience and who have been working longer.  Seeing her smiling face in the audience makes it a lot easier for me to get up there and sing my heart out.  I value Vickie more than I can say.  Her absence is always noticed, her presence very much enjoyed by all who know her.
This world needs more people willing to be supportive and fewer striving for notice.  I tell you, Vickie's absence causes a lot more concern than the absence of a loud attention hound would.  (We don't really have anyone in our circle that falls into that category.  Everybody I know is pretty supportive, but then they are all church musicians or library folk , or some variation thereof.)
Still, think about the people around you, the ones that do or say little things that make your day brighter.  The ones who are always prepared for the task at hand, and therefore make your job easier.  Appreciate them.  Tell them you do.  You may find out that others appreciate you, as well.