Monday, March 30, 2015

NEW ENGLAND WEATHER: After 4-months Of Harsh Winter A Late March Snowstorm Predicted



WHO AM I?

It’s been quite a winter. More than 8-feet of snow in Boston, Lake Champlain looks like a gigantic popcicle, about 75% of all the senior citizen “Snow Birds” who migrated southward months ago and have been filling Florida’s Senior Citizen centers. But, hey!  It’s HOT down there and they wanna go home!



(Sigh.) Like a young, aggressive hockey star, another “Alberta Clipper” – Captain “Vladdy ‘Polar Vortex’ Putin” - is barreling southward from the far northern most polar region like a grinning, toothless, long-haired winger; seeking to score another fierce outbreak of frozen mayhem across New England and pay the U.S. back for the Ukraine.



(Aside: Gimme a break, already. Can’t somebody put a little body on that Vladdy Vortex bag of wind?)



On the defense, the New England Defensive Line is trudging, slowly and wearily back to the snow plows, utility trucks and Zambonis, the equipment of last resort. We ran out of ice so they will be spreading gravel on the roads so that windshield replacement companies will have a nice spring.



WHY AM I HERE?

Why? Gloomy, pessimistic Weather Forecasts and to deliver Public Service reminders. 
     This first reminder is for Frost Heaves. Mostly we’re here because the streets and highways have Frost Heaves. These are teeth rattling humps of frozen earth which suddenly arise anywhere. You can’t go anywhere fast because your suspension will be beaten to smithereens.  Besides the gravel on the roads, this is another way Weather has fun with you!



And, our Weather Channel must remind you that there is a heavy threat of Sink Holes. That’s where ancient New England water main systems, installed in the 1800’s, have been frozen so many times this winter that the joints have burst underground – somewhere. Nobody is sure. A giant lake of water is down there beneath the ground. Our utility systems calculate several hundred thousand gallons of water. And, the roadway, or hour house, may sink at any moment.  So, carry a life jacket under your car seat and remember we have two emergency exits at the front of the car and no illuminated strips on the floor.



WHAT DO I WANT?

Spring. Okay?

Yeah, we love snow. We love the North East. But enough already.

The Red Sox and Yankees are in spring training. The fans are trying to cope.

Cope!?

The “Snow Queen” hockey Moms are on their feet and chanting of “No More Snow Day!” Some mothers stuff their Pee-Wee hockey kids  into their SUVs and drive north hoping to stop Vladdy Vortex at the border. You can hear shouts of “Get him! Get him!” from passing vehicles. Basketball coaches wonder if they ought to re-play local tournaments just to keep families from sliding on the ice. Little leaguers and coaches stand wearing parkas and snow shoes around baseball/softball diamonds watching the ice melt. Whispering to themselves… “Someday1”

We hear rumors of Spring. And the laughter of “Vladdy ‘Polar Vortex’”.

Flatlanders? We feel your pain because of your heat and your drought.

This is the Weather Channel way up north signing off!



© Copyright 2015, Jean W. Yeager
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Sunday, March 29, 2015

I AM THE THEM IN ME



WHO AM I?
I am your mother, your father, your Auntie or Grandmother. The one who raised you. Nurtured you. Loved you. Watched you change and grow. Smiled when you ran and danced.  Cuddled you.

Then I became that ridden person. That friend of the family. The Uncle, Aunt or distant relative. The babysitter, teacher, other. Stern, strict, angry mostly. Wild hair. Frantic gestures. The one that told me what to do. Gave commands. Laid down the Law.

Then I became the church, the school, the teams, the community. They raised me, too. They gave me rules. Leaders. Formalities. Prayer hours. Prayer books. Prayer shawls. Text books. Rules, no Poetry. Sermons. You were a boy. She was a girl. You will learn this. She will learn that. This is your job. This is her job.

I am the them in me. This is the sum total of what I have become. Be afraid of those who say there is more to life. Be afraid of what you have not been taught by your family, church, school.  Be afraid of strangers.



WHY AM I HERE?

     I love my father, my mother, my teacher, the Reverend, my cousin the Soldier, my friend who is so strong and likes me. I was raised by them. The girls I hang out with. I love the them in me. I want the them in me to be the best it can be.

     To get that, what will I sell? I will sell my hands, my heart, my mind, my voice, my reputation, my future, my trust, my youth, my creativity, my creed, love, friendship and family.

I will be of service to the church, the school, the teams, the community that raised me, too.

     My cousin told me that something happened between someone in our family and another family. There was a fight or angry words. What happened to them, happened to me. Their hurt is my hurt. Their pain is my pain.



WHAT DO I WANT?

     My friends have lovers. They have family. They make money. They have computers. They look good. I want to step from “me” to “we”. I want what they want. I want to look like them, to be attractive. I want people to love me. We want to be powerful. We want to feel good. We don’t want to be alone.

     They will help me find a job like their job. Maybe I can do what they do. Work where they work. Live where they live. Stay away from the others they stay away from, or fight them.

We want to be the best. We want to win. We will win. We won’t let anyone stand in our way. I don’t have a good feeling when strangers walk by, or when I go somewhere strange.

I am the them in me. Why would I ever want to go away? I never want something or someone from far away to come between us.



© Copyright 2015, Jean W. Yeager
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ON SALE NOW
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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

(LOVE) POURS INTO OUR EYES

WHO AM I?
I am standing in the ICU unit and actually it was hard to see him because of all the technology. If he had asked, I could not have said, “I.C.U.”. Five to six I.V.s, monitors, bags to gather fluids draining from lungs, bladders, chest cavities, an O2 canister all were part of the scene.

My son’s illness poured itself into my eyes and out of this force I realized I had to create strength to give him back what he needed to survive.

I did not wish to react, somehow, with the fear and dread at the magnitude of death which seems to be looming behind my back and over my head.



WHAT DO I WANT?

I wanted my eyes to be able to see and not be overpowered by the forces of the world and technology. I wanted to have the inner forces to hold the world forces back so that my eyes could SEE it all, discern the forces taking his strength and going toward death; and the forces going toward life. I want to be able to tell the doctors what I saw – what was pouring into my eyes.



WHAT DO I WANT?

I battled my heart for an opportunity to practice equanimity. If I failed and became sympathetic, love would fill my eyes and I would weep for my son. That would do no one any good. If I failed in the other direction, and was too cold or antipathetic, I would weep for myself and my loss and become an all too human but pathetic middle-aged man.

     I was not here to be blown about by the forces outside me, or by my emotions. I would make a time to weep later. At that moment, I realized this crotchety old anglo-guy must be a man and more, a warrior from a non-warlike-tribe that had to find it within himself to defend the space for his son’s healing.

This all poured into my eyes.



© Copyright 2015, Jean W. Yeager
All Rights Reserved

ON SALE NOW
Jan – June 2014 threesimplequestions Blog Posts
Are Available In Book Form 
"Th3 Simple Questions: Slice Open Everyday Life" 
Available at
http:/www.th3simplequestions.com
Available at Internet Retailers 
By WestBow Press
6x9 Perfect Bound Softcover @ $11.95
ISBN: 978-1-4908-7124-0
6x9 Dust Jacket Hardcover @ $28.95
ISBN: 978-1-4908-7125-7
E-Book @ $3.99
ISBN: 978-1-4908-7123-3