Glennis & Raymond

They met late in life.  She ran a small antique shop that took up four rooms of the downstairs.  He had pretty much spent his working life in the city, in the back room of a tailor shop making alterations.  They were like little school kids when they met; giggling, staring at each other, but it was so much more than puppy love.  Almost instantly they became inseparable, and four years ago they were married.

She ran the shop while he stayed upstairs doing the books, paying the bills and taxes and setting up their weekly shopping excursions.  Every Thursday they would close the store and head out to barn sales, garage and estate sales and surrounding small towns searching for more antiques to put into her shop.

She was always great with the customers.  She had a gift when it came to interacting with the public and it was her gift that usually got things sold.  People just gravitated to her. She was like everybody’s grandmother, and it didn’t hurt that she always had fresh, home-made cookies up by the register.  Instead of her store smelling of old, musty antiques, there was a hint of bakery about the place.

From upstairs he could hear the little bell on the front door whenever someone came into the shop, and he could hear the muffled sounds of talking and laughing, and after a while he would again hear the little bell on the door jingle when they left.  At lunch time she would bring up a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

The little sign on the front door read, back in one hour, but she never did lock it.  If anyone came during their lunch she would go down stairs and wait on them and even if they didn’t buy anything she’d make sure they got a cookie before they left.

His view was of the side yard.  It wasn’t much and yet it was everything.  Having spent 30 years in the back room of the tailor shop, without a window or skylight, to him this view was amazing.  He watched the winter lock up the landscape in a frozen silence, and he got to see the leaves and robins return in spring.  He particularly enjoyed the thunder storms of summer; rain pounding against the windows and the deep rumble of excitement when lightening would crack its whip across the sky.

Unknown to her, once a month he would slip extra money from his retirement into the shop account, just to watch her face light up at seeing they’d made a profit and could buy more things for the shop.

Unbeknownst to him, she'd always known.

Hieroglyphics Discovered from 12 BC

A symbol believed to be from the ancient Dereallybored tribe was discovered on the wall of a cave in southern Bascorda.  Scholars from the Ponds Institute believe it could be a marking indicating a passage of time or possibly a location. 

HEY! Down Here

From the edge of the pond I’ve watched you.  You with your shoes, and your hat -

not once have you ever seen me.

I’ve seen you with friends right there

on the bench – sometimes alone.

So sad looking down, not seeing at all 
your own reflection -

or my hat.

                                                                rivet... 

                                                             (Just kidding about the hat.)

Spirit Guide

In the creepy darkness

where spiderwebs reside -

where every step could be your last

with no one by your side -

When strange and eerie noises

send a shiver up your spine -

and nasty little poems like this

start running through your mind -

When trusty flashlights fail you

and your bulb’s completely dim -

when your heart is pounding faster

than a banjo flavored hymn -

Take note my sweaty comrade

in the mysteries of fate –

I have tampered with the little clock

the spider – he’ll be late.

 

 

 

 

Sam & Janet

It’s not your vision.  No one was ever able to take a clear, crisp photograph of Ann.  There was something about her chemistry, or her aura that prevented it. 

If you ever spoke with her you no doubt discovered her thought process and personality were the same way.  Something was just a little off but you were not quite sure what.

She was pleasant enough but always lacked the spark of Life.  I don’t think I ever saw her smile or laugh.  Her serious side completely engulfed her spirit.  In fact, when you looked at her and said, “Knock – knock” her expression never changed.  It was like she couldn't care less who was there.

(Ann Nonomus - 1973 - 2014)

A Suburb of Heaven

Sticks and strings and dollar bills

are floating in the bay -

Bridges stretch across to here

then back the other way,

Windows see the Sunset dance

between the sailing ships –

While rolling fog and morning dew

bring coffee to our lips,

Saturday we walk to town

A concert in the park –

Familiar tunes for lonely hearts

Dancing in the Dark,

Antique shops and post card racks

restaurants with pie –

Our little slice of Heaven

tucked here beneath the sky.

Hard to Read

I wonder who they were and what they were like.  Did they have fun while they were here or were they always serious and grumpy?  Were they well liked and have lots of friends or did they live alone, fixing breakfast for one, sipping coffee by themselves, staring out the window at a vacant landscape?

I’d like to think they were happy.  I’d like to believe they were surrounded by friends and smiles, with laughter coming from the kitchen and children playing in the yard.

I’d like to think they left nothing but smiles in their wake, with pleasant memories dancing in the minds of the friends left behind. 

If I can’t read their stone – I’ll simply read into it

leaving yet another smile.

New Kids in Town

It’s a new town to us so everything and everyone we meet is fresh and clean and a completely new experience.  It’s like having a spotless chalkboard, or an Etch-A-Sketch that is freshly shaken.  Everything from this point forward is a first impression.

The town’s people will get to know us and slowly we’ll begin to understand them.  They obviously have the advantage as we are just two new names to learn, whereas we have an entire town to commit to memory.   I’m sure how we do at memorization will affect our general score.  It is the long run, however, that will determine our final grade, and whether or not we are accepted into the community.

From where you sit things will appear the same.  You cannot tell from my blog that I have changed towns.  I’m using the same fonts; I still wreak havoc with punctuation and occasionally spell something the way it sounds in my head, forgetting of course, about the echo factor.  All-in-all you should feel comfortable with the change for nothing here will be different.  I, on the other hand, will hopefully have all new stories to tell; fresh, different ideas with new photos and maybe influenced a little by the different smells.

Oh yes, didn’t I mention… we now live by the ocean, so various aromas I’m sure will influence my thoughts, and if you’ve ever been by the ocean you’ll know it won’t always be for the better.

OK, I bet I’ve just insulted a few locals.

How My Brain Sees Sheet Music

and if I tried to play it

it would sound the same as it looks.

Little Wires

There are hundreds of tiny wires connecting each of our thoughts with various points on our face.

Each individual thought either pulls or pushes on a specific point.

This - of course...

 

let's people know what we're thinking.

 

Dead Slow

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between slow and dead slow, have a look at my career.  

In a world where a supervisor is tasked with motivating their employees, I was always the one that got away.  I just never could get excited about making someone else rich.  I was either too analytical for my own good or simply too realistic.   

Consequently my career never took off.  It was always stuck in dead slow.  And to call it a career at all is a stretch.  It was more a seemingly random series of unrelated and completely insignificant jobs.   

Not everyone stands out in front waving a baton; some are relegated to the rafters, pointing the spotlight at the maestro.

I wasn’t even that guy.  I was the guy back at the spotlight factory, standing in the shipping department, stamping fragile on the box.

I’d hate to think what might have happened had something gone horribly wrong.

But hey, no matter how many blemishes there are in my past - my future remains spotless.  Full Speed Ahead

Searching for a Good Melon

Paraphernalia

He Was a Little Coarse

She had always been

the most popular -

He was rugged. tall

and quite handsome -

She was pure and simple -

He was a little complex

& didn't make friends easily -

You rarely saw one without the other -

She was nothing to sneeze at.

Bob & Deloris Snack

Had evolution gone just a little differently.