Category: Uncategorized

I WATCHED
© By: Richard L. King
From my book Memories & Time

I was there when you were conceived
and as you took your very first breath
I watched.

When you started to crawl,
I was watching.

I watched your first steps
and when you spoke your first words,
I was listening.

As you discarded the training wheels
from your first bike,
I watched

As you boarded your first school bus,
picked out your first baseball glove,
learned to catch,,, and throw
and when you played your first peewee game.
I watched.

Your first football practice,
first game,  last game
and all the games in between,
I watched.

When you crossed the stage
to receive your diploma,
with great pride,
I watched.

When you married,
became a military man
and had children,
though I was in the wings,
still I watched.

I watched as we buried your mom,
….then your brother.

Never,,, have I been more proud of being your father.

But recently, as your daughters
performed together, publicly,
for the very first time,,,
and we all watched,,,,,

as tears of pride filled your eyes,
….I smiled,,,,

and once again,
with great pride of my own,

…I watched.

*********

Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #206

About: Attitude

  “A great attitude
makes big problems much smaller
…and small blessings much bigger.”

 

By:  Donna Hale Chandler

Are mother’s truly sane or do you think we’re all a bit brain damaged? I’m not quite sure when I lost my grasp on common sense but I’m positive it had something to do with the bearing of children. In the past I was under the mistaken opinion that once children grow into adulthood, go out and make their own homes, I might actually begin to regain a semblance of normality again. WRONG!

I am now pushing 70 years old, retired; living in a beautiful community filled with other retirees. Both of my children are healthy, settled, have their own homes and go to work every day. Have my brain cells recovered? Nope, don’t think so. It appears that I will never ever stop ‘mothering’ my off-spring, just as my own mother kept ‘mothering’ me, much to my discomfort, right up until her passing at age 80.

Knowing how much it irritated me to hear my mother say to my 60-year-old-being, “You’re are NOT going to wear THAT, are you?” Or, “Did you lose your comb? What is the matter with your hair today?” I find I do exactly the same thing to my own adult children.

 And I ignore the eye-roll just as my mother did. 

*********

Gram use’ta say

All jobs are important,
none more so than that of being a parent.

*********

MELANCHOLY MOON
© By Richard L. King
From my book: Nice & Naughty

Sitting on the balcony, enjoying the suns last rays,
fending off the melancholy revealed in recent days.

The evening settles in over a glass of favored brew,
love songs on the stereo bring a romantic thought or two.

The sun has lost its glory, yet the sky is still ablaze,
peering out across the water, through the purple haze.

Waves gently crashing, the moon begins to rise,
Mother Nature’s beauty unfolds before his eyes.

The waves are iridescent as darkness now prevails
and a sailor in the bay at long last drops his sails.

Mesmerizing beauty, music created by sea and sand,
lonely thoughts triumph, not precisely as he planned.

Florescence catches the eye as waves gently roll ashore,
time is not their enemy they’ll continue evermore.

Much like any campfire draws attention to the flame,
these psychedelic waves act pretty much the same.

The moon, in all its glory, now lights up the cloudless sky,
she’s not here with him and still he questions, why?

Alone on this balcony, long after the suns last rays,
a melancholy moon experienced so often in recent days.

*********

Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #411

About: Common Sense

 “Unfortunately, common sense
jist ain’t all that common anymore.”

*********

By:  Donna Hale Chandler

I color my hair myself – which is the subject of today’s Beauty Advice.

For some reason (it seemed like a good idea at the time) I decided to color my hair in the morning before I started my day. When it was time for bed the night before, I set the alarm on my cell phone for 6:00 am. This would give me plenty of time to make myself presentable before the dead-line I’d set for myself of 8:00 am. (Everyone should be up and ready to ‘meet the day’ by 8:00.  A point that I’m sure would be debated by many who like to stay snuggled under the covers a bit longer.)

It felt as though I had just dozed off when my cell phone is playing that catchy little happy tune to wake me…………. Up I hop ……. Into the bathroom …. Mix the color …. Cover my head with goop, paying special attention to the grey around the edges … Set the timer for 20 minutes. Warm a cup of left-over coffee and prepare to read my morning newspaper while I wait for Lady Clairol to produce her miracle.

But the newspaper hadn’t arrived. My newspaper delivery person is never, ever late. Why do they have to be late today? I can’t think of any other way to get through 20 minutes with goopy hair, except to sit quietly and read. But there is NO newspaper!

As I walk past the kitchen, I glace at the clock on the wall. 12:45 am. Oh dear, my clock has stopped ……. Search for new batteries. No. Wait. The clock is running. WHAT TIME IS IT? Check the time on the cable box (that time is ALWAYS correct, right?) 12:45 AM! WHAT THE HECK? No wonder I felt like I had just dozed off. I DID. What am I doing up at 12:45 with color all over my head? I haven’t slept enough!

Wait! Did I set my phone alarm wrong? Nah, I wouldn’t make a mistake like that, would I? Go to the bedroom to check the phone …. Nope, I didn’t make a mistake. The alarm is set to go off at 6:00 am.

Oh my ………….. I have a voice mail. Someone called me at 12:45. There was a voicemail. It must be an emergency. Something has happened to one of my children. Oh goodness, why didn’t I realize it was the phone, not the alarm? Dreading to listen to bad news and already wondering how fast I could get myself together to go to the rescue (what happens to my hair if I rinse this stuff off before the 20 minutes is up? Or maybe I’ll just leave it on and only take time to grab my purse and go. What would happen to my hair then?)

Holding my breath, I punch in the numbers. My son is evidently in a bar with a group of his friends. He’s listening to karaoke and felt the irresistible urge to share with me the sound of his favorite singer of the evening. Maybe he was even the singer. Who knows? AT 12:45 AM,,,,, WHO EVEN CARES????

I do know one thing absolutely and positively …….. As soon as I rinse this stuff off my hair, I’M GOING BACK TO BED. (after I turn off my phone alarm, of course) and I don’t think I’ll be ‘meeting the day’ at 8:00 AM GEEZZZ!

(The complete story can be found in Life Happens (My Story). See our Book page.)

*********

Gram use’ta say

“Figure it out.
If you just can’t figure it out, read the directions.”

*********

FIRST LOVE
© By: Richard L. King
From the book: Memories & Time

Memories of distant times… painted with a mottled brush,
colors seemed so much brighter,,, first love causing him to blush.

Memories of those olden days recall only the highlights,
…country meeting city,,,, or one of several fights.

That one and only first kiss, the lovely little girl,
holding hands, carrying her books, the long walk home from school.

Believing this is love, fearful to let it show,
lunch break on the teeter totter, too timid to tell her so.

That first taste of passion, whether love or lust,
shared with your best friend, the first you’d learned to trust.

Memories of distant times… painted with a mottled brush,
colors seeming brighter, first love recalled as much more plush.

*********

Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #425

About: Aging Gracefully

“I’m in my stone ages…
gall stones, kidney stones
…and lots ’a headstones.”