Tallulah, Darling! And Other Adventures This Week Has Brought

I have finally gotten over the sniffles I've had for the last week.  One side effect that I often have with a cold is that I start to sound exactly like Tallulah Bankhead.  I never realized it until I was in my early 20s and my Mom said, "You sound just like Tallulah Bankhead!"  She was right. I've recently watched Lifeboat again, and oh, my, yes, when I have a cold, I sound like her.  Darling, bear with me, I've had one martini already.

Over the years I've had a bit of fun, but also frustration, with sounding like Tallulah.  I don't like it when she shows up near a time I have to sing.  I can't sing bass, Darling, I'm a SOPRANO!
I have fun when I answer the phone at the library.  People always pause, like they wonder if they've dialed a VERY wrong number! Well, "Tallulah voice" is rather sexy and suggestive... Not on purpose, though.


I had an interesting week this week.  First FULL week of Summer Reading, and we managed to stay caught up with the checkins!  I also survived a committee meeting, and catching up with the  ILLs.  Found out that a coworker is leaving. and nobody told me.  Guess I was out of town when it was decided.  Will miss her! She's been a stalwart worker and a fellow Whovian!

I have also dealt with my fountain pens this week.  I wrote a post about them, and have ordered and already received new cartridges for the Cross pens and the Waterman pens.  (Waterman cartridges will fit the pens Matt made for me as well.)

Last week I sent another story off to the folks who may publish it online.  Haven't heard if or when yet.  Getting a little antsy, but I can wait.


I had good news this week.  The lump I found under a bruise on my left breast was indeed caused by the bruise.  By the time I got in for the mammogram, I could no longer find the lump, and the mammogram confirmed that nothing is there, and indeed nothing new has shown up in either breast.  Good news at my age.  I lost a colleague and friend a few years ago to breast cancer.  Not taking ANY chances with that stuff.  Ladies, always have your checkups, and if you've had  cancer ALWAYS GO FOR YOUR FOLLOW UPS!!    Please take every irregularity seriously and get it checked out!!  Most times, like mine, it's really nothing, but it is far better to be safe than sorry!

CONTINUED ON  SUNDAY NIGHT>>>

Just finished watching the Tony Awards.  Always a great show, like a little Broadway sampler plate to whet your appetite for when the touring companies come to town.

Was very happy to be back at St. Paul's this morning.  We've missed two Sundays in a row, one for the convention in Houston, and last week because we were both afflicted with that sinus cold.   That church is a truly comforting place, so full of love, and so full of loving people.  Going there always makes me feel better.

I made some more buttons today, mostly just for fun.  I now have one that says "Strait Outta Compton Yup. I left in 1974"  and an Opus using the "mental floss" - figured that one would be very necessary during the campaign season.  Now to find a place to put them on the library lanyard...

Dear God, please take the hot flashes away.  I am getting very weary of suddenly feeling as though I am going to turn into a puddle of sweat.  Feels like I am burning up from the inside out.  I haven't been sleeping so well lately because of them.

Some day SOON I have to clean up this office again.  Things are piling up on me.  It's a matter of lack of organization and storage space.  (Also, too much stuff that really should be thrown away...)

So very saddened by the events in Orlando yesterday.  Sad for the Islamic community that their holy month of Ramadan has been disrupted by this one idiot's act of violence, very sad for the LGBT community that now has even more fear and stress to deal with.  As I posted on my Facebook page: To all my LGBT friends, you are loved.  I love you for who you are, and I always will.  You are supported in your struggles.  Don't lose hope.

Saw a very good tweet re ISIS yesterday.  ISIS is to Islam as Torquemada and the Inquisition were to Christianity.  
Basically a bunch of nutcases on a violent witch hunt.Only ISIS isn't really sanctioned by any governing body of Islam.  Alas, Torquemada was sanctioned by Rome.

Time to tie this one up, folks.
Remember that we are all of us related to one another on this planet.  Can't avoid it, we all came from the same raw materials, we share some genetics with every other human on this ball of mud.  As Captain Kirk once said on Star Trek, the only thing in the whole universe that's really ours is the rest of humanity.  Please, let's learn to love each other before it's too late.

Dribbles and Blots - Tales From The Fountain Pens

From my Journal - 5/25/16

And what tale could it tell, this pen of my father's?
This pen that went to war
And came home safely,
Could it write the things
Pop would rather not?
He left ugliness behind
As much as possible
But war marks a person
Whether they fought in it or not
And Pop fought 2 long hard years
In the Pacific
Heat and humidity and unrelenting
Sun
Hard on a mountain-raised man.
Killing and death all around him,
Himself called upon to kill.
My husband went to war as well

On a much smaller scale
In a supporting role,
But still,Separation from loved ones,
Danger, because he was a flyer.
Anytime large, slow aircraft fly in or near
A war zone,
There is danger.

I am amazed at this pen
It's been through so much,
Yet responds well to my hand
Not normal for a fountain pen
They tend to get worn to the owner's
Hand, and don't adapt easily to the way
Another writes.

What would Pop think of the trip Matt and I are embarking on tomorrow? A waste of money? Too dicey leaving the house alone during storm season?  Or FUN- a chance to fly together, a chance to see friends and look at things we find interesting
One long date after 32 years (almost) of marriage - An chance to have fun together.

5/27/16

Weary
But not sleepy.
So full of joy
 For seeing friends and renewing
Aquaintences
Also apprehensive
About things coming up
Trying hard not to worry
Letting God take care of it
But I'm only human.
Uncertainty sticks its head up
 and scowls at me
Sometimes.


Rain
Loud
Dripping
Slapping pavement
Splashing down the sidewalk
Soaking the weary stragglers
Homeward bound from
Their day of revels.


6/6/16

Sometimes having a body
Is a pain
Literally.
Your mind is trapped-
Chained to the demands
Of a pile of biology.
Sometimes a body
Is powerful
Stretching
Running
Dancing
Loving
Alive
Giving a glorious feeling of freedom
 But more often as I age
It is a limitation,
A place where my mind is stuck
Captive to its pains and whims.


This pen has not lived much,  It has been in a cup on my desk most of its life.  None of my own pens has had the adventures Pop's pen has had,  But they keep it company in the "Little joys of teaching" mug on my desk.
And perhaps
In the wee small hours,
When the house is sleeping,
It shares those stories
With the young pens gathered around.
This one is sleek, silver, and slim -
A very lady like fountain pen

This pen is more substantial,
A deep cobalt blue barrel and cap with silver fittings
Could be considered rather masculine,, I suppose
But I like it.  It makes it easier to write boldly.
Though tonight, my writing is awful due to itchy burning eyes and a sneezy, sometimes congested nose.

I know there are others out there that share my odd fascination with antiquated writing implements like fountain pens -
I have several, and these few are very balky and temperamental.  There are a few like Pop's old Parker that should be balky, but work like a dream.
Then there are these that Matt made for me - and they are so very temperamental.
The worst, though, are the two most expensive Waterman pens I own.  I didn't even get them out tonight to try to coax them into writing.  Didn't feel up to the fight.
All the pens Matt made for me will write pretty well once properly started, but some are scratchy.  Some flow surprisingly smoothly over the paper.
I have not done much inspired composition with any of the fountain pens.
They require attention and are a mechanical distraction when the muse is adamant about being heard.
Still, sometimes I like to get them out, and gather them around, make sure they are comfortable,
and listen to see if they have any stories for me.

That's about all from my alternately drippy and stuffy, sneezy and bubbly self tonight.

Fountain Pens in the Little Joys of Teaching mug.

Life Among the General Muddle

It seems to me lately that I am trying to function around my own, and everyone else's clutter.  My desk and my office in general are full of "stuff".  A lot of it is stuff I use, stuff I really like, or stuff I don't know what else to do with.
I suppose I shall have to take some time and sort it all out soon, but that's going to be a muddle all its own...

Then, there are the time muddles.  I have a medical issue that they doctor would like more information about.  (A diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound, to be specific.)  The soonest I could schedule one was this coming Monday.  At work yesterday, I got a call saying the tech won't be in that day, can we reschedule.  So, now it's next Friday.  Guess I should be relieved that the doc didn't want to RUSH this.  Must mean they don't think it's serious.  On the other hand, what if it IS?  I've just wasted time doing nothing when they could have been taking care of this whatever it is.  (I agree that it's most likely not serious, though.  I just have a feeling about it.  Still nerve-wracking, though, to think there's something that really needs looked at...)



I realize how spoiled I've become
Since you are always here
I don't miss you anymore.
Only when something happens
That I know would make you laugh
THEN I miss you, and wish you were there
To share it.
I used to miss you every time
I came back to the house and you weren't there
Every time I sat down to a meal alone,
Every night when I went to bed
Because so often, you weren't there.
Now I am spoiled
Because more often than not, you are there,
And I am not alone.
It makes me dread
Ever being without you
Again.




At least the library isn't a muddle.  Summer has but barely begun, but still, we are clearing backlogs and keeping up with the sorting and shelving and checkins better than I remember us doing in many past years.  This is a very busy place in summer.


I very much fear that I am coming down with the sinus crud that's been going around.  My throat is scratchy, and I just feel "off".  Rats.  Tallulah will show up steal my voice, and she'll drink all the bourbon while she's at it!
Maybe a lemon chiffon cake martini wouldn't hurt... vitamin C after all...
 I gave in.  I made on.  Working on making it last.  LOVE the way they taste, all lemony and slightly sweet. Makes the throat feel LOTS better!

Lemon Chiffon Cake Martini - recipe by The Martini Diva

Sitting here among the clutter in my office, afraid to even try clearing any of it.  My sinuses have declared war on the rest of me, and I am become Snot, Slimer of Worlds.  SO, I will retreat to my reading corner with my little drink, and my something to read, and trouble you no more this night.  Maybe.
You never know.  I'm awfully needy sometimes.

Rumblings of Mutiny, Awash In Summer Reading, General Nonsense

Me and Michael in San Antonio 2015

Me and Michael in Houston 2016  I was trying to fit under the hat!

I did not say much in my post about Space City Comic Con about the disorganized, and downright dishonest things that the management did there.  Our own experience was mildly affected by it, but many, many fans were out thousands of dollars for promised perks that they never got, AND some of the celebrity guests were shorted on money, too.  That, and we never did get a coherent schedule from the con itself.  Wolf Photography had their schedule, and it was pretty accurate, except when the ineptitude of con management screwed it up.  Nobody ever picked up Doug Jones from his hotel on Friday, so he was late arriving, and missed his Friday photo ops.  (My ticket was honored for Saturday.)  A guest artist we spoke to was left stranded at the airport, and had to take Uber to their hotel.  (They rode in to the con on the hotel shuttle with us on Friday.) There was much grumbling and bad feeling among some of the fans.  For the most part, the celebs stayed and took care of their fans.  (Ron Perlman especially was gracious about making sure his fans got what they came for.  SUCH a sweet man, and appreciative of his fans.)  Doug Jones was gracious and kind and very loving to his fans in spite of being left waiting on Friday.
Michael Ornstein also stayed through Sunday, in spite of being part of the group that wasn't paid correctly by the con management.  He had a table in the autograph/artist's area and was selling and signing original art.  He's a pretty cool dude.  I really like him.  Love his painting that Matt bought me.  It's hanging in the front hall now, so we see it every day!

Today was the beginning of Summer Reading at our library.  I worked from 11 to 3.  The kickoff event ran from 10 to 12, and believe me, we were busy long after it ended!  Lots of fun, exciting stuff for the kiddos, and lots and lots of new library cards made!

But oh, the weather from Houston followed us home.  It's been RAINY and HUMID and HOT here this week.  Nasty.  Got rained on getting to my car after work both yesterday and today.  The yard needs mowing, but the rain won't stop long enough to let it dry enough so I can mow it!  Our lovely yard is a JUNGLE!!


We have been busy framing and hanging the art and photos we bought this weekend.  I am seriously running out of wall space in this house.  I have culled out what I have on display, but still, my walls are FULL!

Sitting here writing, checking social media, and sipping on a "Hammered Nail" cocktail.  Made with Rye Whiskey, Drambuie, Creme de Cacao, and Coffee Liqueur.   Very good stuff.  Very slow sipping recommended.  Let it settle in bit by bit.  Great for winding down after a busy, busy day.

Tomorrow is my turn to do Zumba with the library program bunch.  Here's hoping I survive!!


Life has so many textures
Tastes
Sounds
Scents
Colors
Lights
And Darknesses.
It sometimes is more
Than I can take in.
So many things I want to do
Want to see
So little time
In the short span we are given
Which also is full
Of things we NEED to do
MUST do
Are paid to do.
Lucky for me
Many of those are
Very fulfilling things
And give me satisfaction
Even though there are other things
I'd rather have the time for.

To spend time with people I care for
To read stories that let me dream
To write the things I dream up
To stare at the light and shadows in the garden
To sit with you
And remember why
We fell in love
And find again
That you are the one
I am happy to be with.

Stranger In A Soggy Land

We have been visiting the fabled city of Houston, Texas.  Famous for being the home of NASA's Mission Control team, the Astrodome, outstanding medical center, and tropical rainstorms.
We didn't fully appreciate that last item until yesterday evening, when we got caught in a downpour on our way to meet the hotel shuttle.
My shoes and Matt's shoes were completely soaked by the time we got back to the hotel.
We are here for Space City Comic Con.  While the con organization leaves A LOT to be desired, it has been amazing fun catching up with friends and meeting up with celebs we sometimes connect with on Twitter.
OF COURSE we came to see Ron Perlman, and our favorite artist, Michael Ornstein.  I was so glad to get to see them again, and to collect hugs.  Gave a hug or two for absent friends, too.
One of the great joys of this trip is that we got to meet Doug Jones.  What a truly awesome guy!  So full of love for the fans, and so very kind to us all.  SO glad I got to "hug on Doug!"

Official Photo Op With Doug Jones!  One really awesome guy!

Me huggin' on and being hugged on by Doug!

We also had the chance to catch up with a couple of the stars of Star Trek Continues.  Michelle Specht and Chris Doohan.  Both outstanding actors, and very gracious and kind to fans.  Michelle is SO much fun!  Chris is so very nice, and a good lower-key person to come to a con with Michelle!  She has SO much energy!  We thoroughly enjoyed meeting them both!

Me with Chris Doohan

I am trying to add a photo of Matt with Michelle Specht, but Blogger is resisting this process.  I shall try again.

At last!  Matt with the very vivacious and totally sweet and fun Michelle Specht!




I also got to visit with, and Matt bought me a painting by, the totally cool Michael Ornstein!

Here's the official photo op with Michael:

Michael has been a good Twitter pal, he interacts often, and has been very supportive of my writing.  He isn't just an artist and an actor, he also writes, and his work is very visceral and moving.  Lots of flowing images there.

I also got to see Ron Perlman today.  Sometimes he seems like an extra brother.  He is closer in age to my brother Walt than to me, and he sometimes teases me about typos and stuff like Walt does.  I really love it when I get to see him.  He's so very kind to us fans, especially those he knows have been in his corner for the long haul.

Above is a picture with Ron and Doug because they were in Hellboy and Hellboy II together.  Ron was asking the photographer if the love showed enough.  I'd say so!  Love both these guys!

Here is the Hellboy picture they both signed for me, the joke is that I always tweet them when Can't Smile Without You shows up on my workout mix.  Doug always "favorites" those posts.

In case you can't read Ron's inscription, it says "Me Neither. Luv U" I think this is just about my favorite thing from the con. 

It was SO good to see him again.  Just love that guy, like a brother.  He's a keeper!

One more photo op with just Ron tomorrow.  Will have to say my quick goodbyes then, as we have to get to the airport early in case of security delays.  

I didn't get to spend much time with my friends.  We really enjoy those girls, but neither Matt nor I are really fond of going out to noisy places.  Besides, Matt can't drink, and never did drink much in any case, and I fall asleep if I have more than one drink.  I'm afraid I'm one of those bookish types who thinks a party is staying home curled up with a good book!  Or maybe hanging out with a few friends or just one friend and talking.  (Introverts don't party well.) (Don't know what my extroverted spouse's problem is with going out, except that he doesn't drink anymore.)

Wish we could hang out, just us girls sometime, but unless they all come to visit in my area, and even then, I can't very well just exclude Matt. (Well, I could, but he'd be hurt. Not a good thing.)

We did have a great time at dinner tonight, good food and good conversation, even if we had to shout across the table sometimes!

I've stayed up too late working on this.  I'll add more tomorrow.  Let us hope the trip home is uneventful, and the house is in good shape.

OK, I've been back in Moore, America (as some of the locals call it) for about 4 hours or so now.  All the unpacking is done, laundry to be started tomorrow. I have made myself a Lemon Chiffon Cake Martini. (Oh, so GOOD!) Recipe at TheMartiniDiva.com.

Yesterday we also got to see the latest episode of Star Trek Continues. Episode 6 "Come Not Between The Dragons."  Beautifully done, beautiful story, very true to the Original Series. This is one of the very best episodes of any Star Trek I've ever seen.  Wow.  Just wow.  We got a poster and had Michelle and Chris and Gigi sign it.  We shall treasure it.
This is one reason we couldn't spend too much time with the other Perlgirls this weekend, we were geeking out on our long-held Star Trek fandom.  Star Trek Continues is a loving tribute to the original series.  It looks and feels and sounds a lot like the original.  The production is all non-profit.  Nobody gets a paycheck for making it.  Talent and time is donated, the costs of production such as sets, storage of sets, studio time, materials, etc are what the crowdfunding   money raised covers, and the actors and others pay their own room and board and transportation during production.  The results are breathtaking.  You must see it!  If you haven't found it yet, go to startrekcontinues.com  You owe it to yourself to check it out, especially if you loved the original Star Trek.
Here's the poster:

We got to spend quite a bit of time talking with Michelle Specht and Chris Doohan, and a bit of time this morning with Gigi Edgley about the episode and the series in general.

 We went with the other Perlgirls to get our photo ops with Ron.  Here's mine.

After that, we went about checking in with and saying goodbye to the folks we had met and visited with this weekend.  Stopped by Michelle's table, and Chris's and stopped to meet Gigi and get her signature on the poster.

We also went back to see Doug Jones one more time, and I bought a "Mother Ghost" figure from Crimson Peak, and he signed it.

Also collected more hugs and smiles.


  Went back to see Ron again, just to say thanks and goodbye.  Girl at the line entrance is all "Are you SURE he'll remember you?"  We said yes, he will.  About that time his booth helpers saw us and said, "Hey! Hi! Are you guys just coming by to say hi?"   THEY remembered us! Of course Ron came out for hugs and a little chat, and to wish us safe travels home.  I missed the opportunity for a group shot with the girls because they caught him later.  I also missed the panel discussions he was in on because they conflicted with the Star Trek Continues panel and with when we had to leave for the airport.  It's hard to be Torn Between Two Fandoms, you know?  I love Ron like a brother; but Star Trek, well, you'd have to be a fan to understand, I guess. REALLY wish I could've seen Doug's panel, too.

We stopped by Michael Ornstein's table again to say good bye, and show him that I'm wearing the "lucky shirt" on the flight home. (It cracks him up, every time!) We bought a painting of his, an original that he did just for this show.  We bought the painting on Friday.  I managed to get it back to the hotel without the rain ruining it largely because Michael painted these on a plasticized paper. (Also, I had bought a protective sleeve for it.)

This is my favorite of the ones Michael did for the con.  The expression in the eyes, the colors, it's all compelling. There's a story or three in there. It's going to hang in the hall, where we'll see it often, and so will visitors, if they look that way as they pass the hall.

I did mention the rain, didn't I?  Just briefly, I see.  This will be forever remembered as The Con That We Got Rained On. It POURED on us when we were walking from the NRG Center across the street to our pickup point.  We then got further soaked between the hotel lobby and our room.  On top of all that, the ceiling in our room leaked.  Right in front of the fireplace, there was water dripping.  Both from the ceiling, and down the front of the fireplace insert, between it and the actual wall.  Joy.
The hotel was very sweet about it, offered to move us, etc, but we didn't want to move our stuff in the middle of a howling thunderstorm, so we just asked for a bunch of towels to keep it contained, and learned to ignore the drip,drip,drip.  Luckily, the rain stopped after a couple of hours, and by the next morning, you almost couldn't tell the carpet had been soaked over there.  They cleaned it all up while we were at the Con on Saturday.
We did get one group shot of all us girls and the two husbands who gamely came along.  This was taken right after our photos with Ron.

From left, Matt, Mary, me, Kelly, Jana, Mal, and Lance.

So glad we got to meet Lance.  Glad I got to spend at least SOME time with my friends.  I made some new friends,too, and got to show appreciation to people who have done GREAT work and made many of us Trek fans SO happy.

On the way out the door, we stopped to say farewell to the artist Nicole Brune.  She and her husband and their young daughter were the folks we met on the way in on the shuttle from the hotel on Friday.  Her art is really beautiful.  Traditional pin-ups, but with more attitude.  We bought a couple of her prints, but also her book -

Her husband is a character, and their daughter is just delightful.  SO glad we met up, and VERY glad we bought those prints!  Her web address is:www.nicolebrune.com

The two prints we bought are on the upper left, The Last Teaparty and Pamela's Midnight Rendezvous. Just below it is the decorated, clasped, leather-bound journal of handmade paper that I bought.  Of course, you can also see the StarTrek Continues Episode 6 poster, and my portfolio of con photo ops and autographs.

By the way, the Star Trek Continues poster was free; I paid for the actors' autographs, of course, because hey, we want them to keep being able to come to cons and to make more Star Trek Continues!

Whoa!  I think I just about covered it all, except for getting lots of hugs from the other #Perlgirls who were there. Wish we could get more of us together.  I KNOW we'd hang out then, I'd just tell Matt he was tagging along like it or not! (Or maybe he and Lance or some of the other spouses could go for a night of their own...) Would greatly depend on where we were.
Just so much love this weekend, and I really needed it!  A great, relaxing, fun time.  Thanks again to Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Michael Ornstein, Michelle Specht, Chris Doohan, Gigi Edgley, and Nicole Brune and family for being so awesome and so kind to fans!
Extra hugs to Doug, always.  You have the most soothing presence of anyone I've ever met!  (And you're fun, too!  Bonus!)

I do hope this makes sense.  I have read over it several times, but it was written piecemeal, and on at least one extremely sleep-deprived night.  If it sounds too juvenile, or too "fangirly" , I'm sorry.  I AM something of an antiquated geek girl , after all.  Bear with me.

Mutterings and Whispers

Fear is that stealthy thing
That sneaks up
When you are going along, enjoying life
And suddenly pours ice cold water
Over your head.
Anxiety is it's best friend
Making you antsy,
And susceptible to flinching
At every little creak and tick
In an old house when you are alone.

Happiness is a bouncing puppy
That jumps up and licks your face
Until you laugh
And then hangs around and  wants to play.
Gratitude is the thing
That makes happiness a longtime
Companion,
A good dog,
Who keeps you company
In good times and bad.

Anticipation
Can be better than the actual event
You are looking forward to
That hopeful longing
That lets you imagine
How wonderful something will be.
Joy is the gift of the grateful heart,
When the long desired event
Comes to pass,
And you find it to be even
BETTER
Than you imagined.

Writing little bits that are floating around in my brain today.  Preparing for a trip, going to see friends and hoping for good weather while we're gone, so I have a house to come home to.
Of course they are predicting BAD storms for the night after we leave.  So I will be anxious about our house.
There are medical tests in the future for both Matt and I , and those make me anxious,too.
Trying not to worry, because God has never yet let us down.  We've come through safe and sound, and we still have our house after all these years here.  I know the house can be replaced, but the memories around those keepsakes cannot.   32 years of our history, more than that of our individual histories, all here in this house, kept alive by the sight of the things that remind us of people and times together.
So, I will take a deep breath, and trust.  I will have a good time on this trip, and not feel like I am tempting fate.  For this time with Matt and our friends is a gift, and it is just as much to be treasured as the things we already have memories around.

Safe travels to all of us, and may the storms stay far away from Moore, and other populated areas, where far too many live with extreme anxiety every time the weather threatens.

The humidity is awful around here today.  Found it hard going on my walk, and had to slow down.  It isn't that hot, and the wind is gusting pretty swiftly, but the air is heavy, and makes the heat feel a lot worse than it is, in spite of the wind.  Really nasty, almost like Alabama, only windier.

Looking at old home movies my brother had digitized for all of us.  Oh,. My. God.  My siblings were kids once!  I seem to always remember them as teenagers or adults.  (Well, the oldest WAS 16 when I was born. )  My oldest brother never seems to smile in the movies.  Weird.  He laughs and smiles a lot, I've seen him, but in those movies, he's mostly Mr. Serious.
My Mom was a knockout! Wow!  This was before I came along, but she was looking really good.  No wonder Pop was so happy.  And Pop, gee, he looks the same to me.  I know he got older and had wrinkles and stuff, but he was still strong and muscular, even into his late 60s.  I miss him SO much, and seeing these old movies reminds me of that.  At least I know he and Mom are together again.  I miss Mom, too.  She left in increments, though.  Pop just vanished one day, after an accident at work.  Never really got a chance to tell him how much I loved him, but I suspect he knew.

Wish he could see what I do now at work, how much people appreciate what I do.  It astounds me sometimes, but over and over I've been told that my attitude and my tenderheartedness have made our library a better place, and my coworkers and customers seem to really like me.  I believe in the importance of what I do, even though sometimes Circulation is drudge work, it IS important.  What we do enables people to find the materials they need when they need them.  What we do keeps their accounts functioning properly, and allows them a way to fix errors easily, because all they have to do is call.  We are helpful and reasonable.  We have policies in place to guide us, but we are well trained, and our judgement is trusted. If we waive a fine for a customer, it is because it was the best thing to do for us AND for the customer.  We are all about people being able to use their library!

I do hope we survive this election year.  I hope this country has enough sensible people to elect someone who isn't going to drive the whole republic into the ground.  Whole lot of muttering going on about this campaign season.  I've had more than enough of He Who Must Not Be Named already!  The chairperson of the DNC is getting on my  nerves, too.  She needs to go away.  Bad news.

On top of all the other things I have going on, I wrote another story that might, someday, be published online.  I hope so, I think it's a good little story.  Needs more editing,  but I have a friend who helps with that.

I am tired.  Time to stop.

When the hour is late
And my brain finally slows down
And lets go of the spate
Of thoughts that go round and round
Then, in the quiet
I can at last rest my head
Or at least try it
In my nice comfy bed.

Found Objects

This poem showed up while I was waiting all alone in the Storytime Room for our staff meeting to start today:
It's a library,
But it's a very noisy one today.
Full of quite contrary
Little children at play.

Then of course the train,
Has to add its mournful song
No need to explain
This place is never quiet for long.


This, from. The preface of the book The Science Of Kissing  by Sheryl Kirshenbaum:

"A kiss is one of the most significant exchanges two people can have, serving as an unspoken language to convey our deepest feelings when words simply will not do. From a symbol of love and desire to a perfunctory Greeting between family and friends, this act can have innumerable meanings and resonances."


This, after contemplating several annoying and unexplained things that have happened lately:

Haunted?
Perhaps we are.
Many odd little occurrences
Make life interesting
To say the least.