Stellar Epiphany

I know it shouldn't be, but it is. It's 9:45 p.m. and the thermometer on my front porch reads 87 degrees. I really didn't need to look, because I was perspiring from being outside only for a few minutes.

Each night before bedtime, my grandson Bobby and I go outside and look for the moon and any stars we can view from our front yard. We sing the same two songs each night. One song to the moon and the other song to the stars. Tonight we didn't see the moon, so it was with great abandon that 'twinkle twinkle little star' would be sung in near harmony, then I could soon again find my place upon the sofa, grateful for the comfort of a cooler environment. Regardless, our neighbors would thank us that tonight it would only be one song instead of two.

As we looked towards the west, Bobby picked out his star and began to sing as I followed in verse. As I focused upon the star and the beauty of the night, I lifted Bobby upon my shoulders as if I were trying to get him a little closer to heaven. That's when the stellar epiphany struck me. I stopped singing and listened as he completed the verse 'How I wonder what you are'. The moment overcame me, leaving me to question the enormity of what my grandson had just sung.

Yes, I do wonder what you are! I wonder what I am, and how it all fits together. Where in the continuum of the universe does our coexistence come into play? What do I bring to the table and how can I be a positive influence in my grandson's life? Tonight my three year old grandson asks the question "what are you?" in the simplest and most innocent of ways possible...through a child's song.

As I lowered Bobby from my shoulders I knew the answer before his feet touched the ground. The answer to my question was simple. It's all about love, family, ritual, and yes...sometimes it's about looking toward the heavens...even if it is 87 degrees outside.

Deux Coquilles de la Mer

My granddaughter was at the beach yesterday and noticed two sea shells at her feet. She told her mother that the shells were kissing. What a statement coming from a young girl not yet two years of age. Her acute observation gave me pause to write something that I hope she can read when she is old enough, and recall her youth.

Deux Coquilles de la Mer

Look around, what do you see?

Two shells kissing at your feet!

Two shells meeting, sharing love,

as you watch them from above.

Deux Coquilles de la Mer

taking time...a kiss to share.

If shells can do it, why can't we?

Oui ma petite-fille, ah oui...ah oui!

Brave Princess

My granddaughter moved to Okinawa, Japan this past January. I always knew she was a brave little girl, and this photo just reinforces my belief. Life on the beach is hard to beat. I see a lot of Pennebaker in her. Fearless, independent, and if I may say so blessed.

...and if you notice the sky above in the top picture...well there's a heart. Exactly where I asked God to leave it.

Don't Fear the Reaper

I think it's quite insecure of oneself to fear aging. I recall turning thirty and thinking what a robust, intelligent person I was. Then forty came along, and those same feelings surged through my fiber, along with financial security, and feelings of grandeur and pomposity. And as I was busy feeling all the invincibilities of being king of the jungle, fifty hit me smack square in the gut.

Now fifty ain't forty by any means. Fifty brings on a whole set of circumstances that you slowly realize are new to you. You can't run as fast as you once did. You need glasses to read the paper. You take prescription medications for things you never thought you would be dealing with only a few years earlier. Getting out of bed, dressing, making coffee, and certain sundry tasks take an hour or more of your day. Oh well, I think I'll sit and take a nice nap, after all I've been up an hour by now.
The one thing that I do realize which gets better with age is a sense of humor. Finally I can laugh at my own misfortune. If the battery is dead in the family car, well at 30 I would have fumed over it. Now I just laugh and tell myself I'll have to get over to Sears today and have them check it out once the car is jumped by some kind neighbor.
Speaking of neighbors, I've got a great one. He's sixty nine years old, and full of spunk. That gives me hope that there are better things to come than just waking up, making coffee, and taking naps. I may after all be getting better with age, just like music. I don't like Usher, Beyonce, and Justin Timberlake. Give me a little Blue Oyster Cult. I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell.