just what I needed

I woke up at 5am with a terrible dry mouth

fortunately I had a glass of water on the nightstand 

instant relief once my mouth was rehydrated

just what I needed

my mind was wide awake now

I crept downstairs to the kitchen

made myself a cup of hot green tea

just what I needed

it was pitch black outside

everything was quiet

the perfect time for some creative writing

just what I needed

I sat down at my computer

emptied my mind and let my imagination run free

the words flowed freely onto the screen

just what I needed

a few hours later dawn began to break

I stepped outside to watch the sunrise

the birds sang as the sun crept over the horizon

just what I needed

I checked the tire pressures on my bike

clipped in a couple of water bottles

set off for a 30 mile ride

just what I needed

I came home refreshed and invigorated

but somewhat grimy

I stepped into a hot steamy shower

just what I needed

it was still only 10.30am

I planned to achieve a whole lot more during the day

my first task was a short meditation session

just what I needed

At the end of a busy and very productive day

I paused to reflect on the miracle of life

I poured a glass of wine

just what I needed

I wondered if the wine was the cause of my early morning dry mouth

not willing to give up drinking wine in the evenings

I took a glass of water to bed

just what I needed

The Loan Ranger and Spam defeat junk emails

Gioachino Rossini composed the William Tell Overture in 1829

I listened to that music Saturday morning as a child

I had no idea back then who composed the music

It was simply a stirring prelude the Lone Ranger

All the kids in my street watched it at the local flea pit cinema

In my adolescent years I binged on Many Python

Hilariously funny sketches about ridiculous subjects

There was one about a restaurant with Spam in every dish

A customer enquired if they had anything without Spam

There followed a singing chorus which repeated the word over and over

I would sing that song at home mostly to annoy my parents

Who would ever have guessed that Spam would become so famous

Its the word used to describe all your unsolicited emails

The ones that show up daily in your inbox

Somebody once used the name to describe them as annoyingly repetitive

Just like the Spam word in that Monty python sketch

I have tried so many ways to reduce my spam emails

Label them as junk or hit the unsubscribe link

They just keep on coming every single day

If you leave them for a few days they seem to grow like mold spores

I wanted to find a way of making the daily spam email delete activity more fun

I briefly thought about trying to recycle them

Collecting them all in a folder and forwarding to somebody else

Perhaps my least favorite politician or an annoying TV personality

But that in itself is too much work

Then I hit on the solution to make email deletion pure nostalgic fun

I now look forward to taking out the email trash daily

First I open a tin of Spam and slice it into bite size squares

Then I play a youtube video of the Loan Ranger

I snack on Spam while listening to the William Tell Overture

Its a race to the finish as I delete my emails at a super fast tempo

I can only win if the Spam and my junk emails are all gone before the end of the music

embrace yourself and stop wasting energy trying to be somebody else

ask somebody if they consider themselves rich

chances are they will say no

pointing towards folks much wealthier

rich people are always somebody else

somebody they aspire to be but can never get there

ask somebody if they are truly happy and content in life

chances are they will say no

pointing towards folks who appear to be happier

happy people are always somebody else

somebody they aspire to be but can never get there

ask somebody if they are unkind

chances are they will say no

pointing towards folks who appear to be very unkind

unkind people are always somebody else

they are often unkind towards those they are jealous of

if you really want to be different and change yourself

embrace yourself and stop wasting energy trying to be somebody else

slaying the loneliness dragon

dream conversations end

he woke up alone

only himself to talk to

he does so out loud

asking why is he living alone

no point in shaving or dressing

nobody will see him today

the TV talks at him but not to him

groans from the near empty fridge

nobody cares what he eats

pop tarts go in the toaster again

he looks out the window

no people around

birds gather in groups on the lawn

social interaction has escaped him

his phone only rings for sales calls

the mail is all junk and bills

most friends have died off

the rest moved away or moved on

his ex wife left him many years ago

she never speaks to him now

except in his memories

he tries to block them out

emptiness feels better than pain

suddenly the phone rings

an old friend is in town

wants to meet him for dinner

he sings loud in the shower

he dances to music while dressing

no pop tarts on the menu tonight

the loneliness dragon has been slain  

What is time?

What is time

A number on your wrist

Something that flies by

Wishing you had more of it

You can have it good

You can have it bad

But you can’t get it back

What is time

It just keeps going forward

But we talk of old times

Wanting to reverse it

What is time

Something you have for me

and I have for you

But others have none for me

What is time

The ultimate reason for a machine

Transcend to another era

Explore beyond the now

What is time

A table with starts and stops

The duration of an event

A measure of your life span

What is time

The moment when things happen

The order of events occurring

The recording of a death

What is time

It changes with speed

Astronauts live longer

Do slow people die young

Dreaming on the Autotrain

The gentle rocking of the train

Accompanied by the clicking of the rails

Lulled me into a welcome sleep

Warm and cozy in the sleeper car

I woke in the middle of the night needing to pee

Not wanting to get out of bed

Laying awake and listening

As the train rumbled through the darkness

Eventually I had to crawl out of my bunk

Careful maneuvering in the cramped quarters

Entering the world’s smallest toilet

Which would be a great challenge for any larger folks

Stumbling and falling back into bed

My body now refused to succumb

To the train’s hypnotic rhythm

Each rock and roll keeping me wider awake

I started to think of distant memories

Trying to recall the details of events past

Visualizing the faces of friends from long ago

Some of whom’s names escaped me

I thought of the faces from my old class photos

Wondering where all those folks were today

What kind of lives they have led

How far and wide did they scatter

I drifted off to sleep again

Waking as the train jolted

I had been dreaming about my schooldays

Chatting enthusiastically with my classmates

Their faces and voices were crystal clear

Conjured up from my sleeping memory banks

Back in those days I could never have imagined

That fifty years later I would be on the Autotrain dreaming of those times

moonbeams last forever

not long after after sunset

the full moon peeked over the horizon

she was bright orange

mimicking a sunrise

but the sky remained dark

the moon floated over the ocean briefly

scattering orange moonbeams towards the shore

before steadily climbing up into the dark sky

her orange coat slowly faded

soon she was bathed in white light

wispy clouds danced around her

moonbeams flickered over the water

I reached out to capture one

holding it gently in my hand

it offered no resistance

I put in in my pocket for safe keeping

when things look bleak and really dark near me

I reach into my pocket for that moonbeam

it brings a soft calming glow to all around

turning chaos into order

changing anger to peace

indifference becomes caring

numbness grows into love

frustration gives way to satisfaction

moonbeams last forever

thank you lady moon

No fresh bananas on a space rocket

I ate a banana this morning

it was perfectly ripe

what a supply chain miracle

to pick green bananas

thousands of miles from me

pack them into refrigerated containers

move them by ship to a port

transport them to a ripening center

then to the local supermarket

where I can buy them fresh

the whole journey can take many weeks

with carefully managed processes

different people involved in packing and transporting

all working towards bringing me a banana for breakfast

it would be nice to thank them

tell them I appreciate what they do

but its unlikely I will ever see any of them

except perhaps the lady at the checkout

maybe one day I will visit a banana plantation

pick out my own bunch of bananas

ride with them on trucks and ships

a sort of banana road trip and cruise

saying thank you to all along the journey

finishing at the supermarket

smiling at the checkout lady

before devouring my banana for breakfast

it will taste even more delicious

having seen it on a tree

and having followed it all the way to my home

banana tours will be more fun than space travel

no fresh bananas on a space rocket