Staff Day Adventures

Our library system has a staff development day every year.  The last two years I have missed because I've been at my Mom's in Alabama, helping my sister do Mom's heavy yard work for the Fall. 
This year, our trip falls AFTER staff day, so I was in attendance today. 
Staff day is usually at least a little bit fun, because we get to see colleagues that work at other branches who maybe we worked with at our branch or on a committee before.  It's a good time to reconnect with your fellow strugglers against ignorance, your fellow crusaders in the cause of information availability.  It lets us know it isn't just us, we're ALL a little bit insane! :)
This year, I am glad I could go.  I was afraid though, that I would never make it in time to pick up my two coworkers who were car pooling with me.
Let me tell you a story.  Our little city of Moore, OK is bisected by the BNSF rail road tracks.  Only TWO streets, one on the South side of the city, and one on the North side, go under the tracks.  All three of the central main drags are blocked by the train.  Guess what happened before I could cross the stupid tracks this morning, when I was in a hurry?  Oh, yeah.  LOOONG, SLOOOW train.  I tried to beat it to 4th Street, no luck.  So I had to go all the way to SE 19th, and then across to Telephone and back up to SW 2nd to pick up my first friend, and then I had to drive all the way to Norman to pick up my second friend, and THEN drive to the other SIDE of Norman to get to the conference location.  (Which happened to be the USPS National Center for Employee Development, where Matt works.)  (They have a separate conference center which is REALLY nice.)  We managed to arrive in plenty of time, despite the best efforts of Big Nasty Stinking Freighttrain.  (Which is what we here locally call the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.)
Once we got there, things went pretty well.  I was tired, and some of the presenters made it hard to keep my focus, but most of it was pretty good. Lunch was really nice, because we had lunch tickets that gave us free reign in the food court.  Matt came and joined us for lunch, which was nice.  (He had to buy his, though.)  I behaved myself.  I had a salad. 
I hate these things because I have to spend so much of the day sitting.  I HATE to sit still for hours at a time.  I am WAY behind on my step count, so I now have to go and do my elliptical trainer time that I didn't have time for this morning. 
So, another staff day survived, no awards won in our department, but hey, we've all won them before.  (I got one at my second staff day.   I have been with the system for 14 years now.)
The only part of the day I could really have lived without was the whole system staff picture.  It was a totally disorganized zoo.  The individual branch pictures were more efficiently done.  I also hate being squished in the middle of a crowd like that.  Claustrophobia is my nemesis.  I don't like enclosed spaces, or being that close to so many people. Even people I like, and I really like my coworkers.  Our branch in particular is a crazy fun place to work.  The jokes are fast and furious in he circ work area some days. 
Won't be much fun for awhile because we are missing our Melodie.  Her laugh and her smile were precious to all of us.  Long ago, she introduced me to Sandra Boynton's kids music.  The songs are funny and catchy and won't drive adults nuts.  I used to cheer Melodie up some days when she was a little down by starting out the "Dinosaur Blues".  I'd sing "I got those dinosaur blues..." and she'd chime in with "From my hat to my shoes" , and smile at me. 
So, on this day when we all gathered to renew friendships and to learn, we paused a moment to remember Melodie and her kindness, her patience, and her loving nature.  We will always try to be more like her.

Some More Poems - Written This Evening

Cast Upon The Waters
By C.K. Armistead
5/7/13


A word awing on the ether,
A thought carried thousands of miles.
Friendship given, if you're a believer
In the beauty of Cyberspace smiles.

Shared laughter resounds on the net
Appreciation of what others have found
The best friends you've never met
Always there when you need someone around.

A song heard faintly from a distance
An image to gladden the eye
Affinities formed in an instance
A shoulder upon which to cry.

Many hide behind a mask
But others' true hearts do shine
It might be too much to ask
But I consider those true friends of mine.



Songs In The Night
By C.K. Armistead
5/7/13
As sleep eluded
The snare of my eyes
I heard the sad song
Of a train passing by.
How mournful,
How lonely
That diesel horn blew
The only one awake
For all he knew.
The evensong
Of the robin
Has long since hushed
The rushing of traffic
Quiets too.
But the winsome song
Of the diesel train
Plays on
The whole night through.


Inside My Head
By Carolyn Kay Armistead 5/7/13

The far off call of the bagpipe
Haunting and drawing me on
The words of a half forgotten song
Ringing through the fog.
The sound and smell of the ocean
The whisper of the wind.
The crunch of leaves underfoot
The warmth of sun on my skin.
The incessant murmur of the freeway
Sounds of childhood come again.
Some days I still hear the cattle
The ones from the old dairy
Lowing and crying
As the truck carried them away
Before houses were built
On their pasture.
Or I hear the goats complaining
At being left out in the rain
As I walked by their pen
At University.
How long ago that's been.
Or the calls of the bulls
On the German farm
Where we were loved like family
Only there for four years,
But they are still in our hearts.
The song of that old train
Carrying freight south in the night
Both annoying and comforting
Familiar but not taken for granted
Like the love I find around me,
In places I'd least expect.
From near and far,
Ahead of and behind me
My heart caught in its net.
All this and endless words
Running through my head.


These have been written just as I sat here at the keyboard, over perhaps the last hour.  They are not perfect, of course, but they are honest.
The pictures are just for fun.