My time with the owl

 Many years ago

I was driving to the river

In North Wales

For an early morning fly fishing session

It was still dark

There was no traffic around

I saw something flash in front of me

Then I heard a thump

I pulled over and walked back

I found an owl in the roadway

He was still breathing but not moving

I picked him up carefully

Placed him inside my Barbour Jacket

Continued my drive to the river

It was almost dawn when I parked the car

I took my fishing gear to the water

Reached inside my jacket

Brought out the owl

He was awake and looking at me 

His big eyes stared at me

He had regained some strength

Enough to perch on my hand

He did not seem afraid or in distress

His head kept turning as he looked around

After a while his wings stretched out

I held him out at arms length

He looked into my eyes one last time

Flapped his wings and took off

He flew straight down the river

Before turning into the woods

The fishing that day was not memorable

But I will always remember 

My time with the owl

Expand your vision beyond infinity

Take the time to teach yourself something new

 Reach deep into your inner soul

  You will find something hidden there

   To inspire you

    Once you have found it

     Be careful not to lose it

      Examine it carefully from different angles

       Challenge yourself to see something new in it

        Rub it gently until is shines brightly

         Enjoy the whole process

          Accomplishments taste sweeter when the work was hard

           Transform it into something unique

            Invest your best time in it

             Venture into uncharted territory

              Expand your vision beyond infinity

The school of life

Education can open employment doors for you

But you still have to find those doors

Proving your potential can secure an initial job

However its only the beginning of your career

To forge a successful career

Continued learning is essential

Combined with hard work and dedication

Plus a healthy dose of ambition

You might need to change course a few times

Be open to new opportunities

Take some measured risks

Accept your failures as learning experiences

Looking back on my own academic education

It was totally focussed on preparing me for the workforce

Giving me the technical skills to solve engineering problems

Plus the communication and organizational skills to do business

I do not remember attending any classes about being a good citizen

There was never a class on how to establish good relationships

No classes on parenting or bereavement

No classes on how to cope with your own aging parents

I never reached for an old schoolbook

When one of my kids was sick

Or if they were having problems at school

There were no standard formulas for solving those problems

No academic classes prepared me

For my own relationship failures

Or for dealing with my divorce

The schoolbook on all that was nowhere to be found

I have learned a lot outside my academic schooling

Informal classes from my own dedicated wonderful parents

Combined with advice and guidance from friends and family

This was and still is my school of life

How to conquer the weeds of jealousy in the garden of your mind

Jealousy is a powerful emotion

Evoking fear anger and rage

It can destroy marriages and break up friendships

All because of a perceived threat

Of losing something close to you

But that perception can be false

You may be seeing things that are not real

Fueled by your imagination

Jealously then ignites the inferno

Counsellors say do not act on your jealous emotions

That is a lot easier said than done

Emotions are meant to be acted on

Whether saving you from danger

Or making you compete to win

Prevention is better than cure

Far better to avoid being jealous at all

By cultivating trust

Trust yourself

Trust your partner

If you ever feel yourself getting a tiny bit jealous

Stomp all over it with a big dose of trust

Your mind will be a beautiful garden

Without any weeds of jealousy

Lost mojo

got covid

short illness

got better

not fully

brain fog

daily fatigue

no diagnosis

no tests

all guesswork

internet search

Dr Google

most likely

long covid

how long

nobody knows

maybe weeks

maybe longer

maybe forever

hopefully not

saying prayers

covid gods

take covid

away please

for good

restore energy

lift fog

normal service

resume soon

difficult writing

in fog

need light

and energy

wide appeal

lost mojo

please find

will exchange

for covid

What does the word spoon conjure up for you

A spoon full of sugar

Born with a sliver spoon

Spoon fed

A wooden spoon

Cough medicine

Spooning with somebody

Breakfast cereal 

Feeding a baby

Tea spoon

Coffee spoon

Peanut butter

A baby shovel

Ice cream spoon

A fork without tangs

Lick the spoon

Lost in the dishwasher

Chicken noodle soup

Egg and spoon race

Honey

Knives and forks

A ladle for dieters 

Plastic spoon

Its like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife

Nutella

Uri Geller

Stirring a drink

The loving spoonful band

A greasy spoon cafe

Unwanted food baby

Chubby man sighs

Numerous failed diets

Unused exercise gadgets

Cancelled gym subscriptions

Unwatched exercise videos

Expensive magic pills

Avoiding bathroom scales

No mirror glancing 

He gave in

Buying bigger clothes

Elasticated waistband pants

Loose baggy shirts

Belly camouflage tactics

Feeling confident enough

To venture out

Hardly ever walking

Preferring to drive

Bar stool jockey

Drinking endless beers

Munching snack food

Growing food baby

Always appeared jolly

But sad inside

Frustrated thin man

Imprisoned in fat

Desperate to escape

Cries for help

Nobody is listening

lifestyle truly unsustainable

Severe chest pains

Dreaded heart attack

Lights and sirens

Wires and tubes

Cute thin nurses

Ridiculously young doctors

Long slow recovery

Lucky to survive

Stopped eating junk

Empty bar stool

Walking again slowly

Vegetables taste good

Buys a bike

Pedals away pounds

Steps on scales

Reunited with mirror

Clothes too loose

Food baby gone

Thin man smiles

The scintillatingly sassy Sandpiper seaside salsa

Sandpipers scurry along the beach

Retreating from the advancing surf

Scurrying back as the dying wave retreats

Pecking furiously at the wet sand

All moving in unison like well trained dancers

Take thirty steps to the left

Then thirty steps to the right

Quick pause to peck the bubbling wet sand

Repeat peck repeat

Repeat peck repeat

A well choreographed group tap dance

Those tiny little feet moving in a blur

Leaving no footprints in the sand 

Their leader drills the large group so well

Making the calls to change direction

Deciding which wave to explore

As the group flits along the shore

Old Neptune provides the music

To the rhythm of the crashing waves

His invisible orchestra blasts out fanfares

Background singers hiss in the wet sand

Come take your partners please

Succumb to the scintillatingly sassy Sandpiper seaside salsa

Zip Odes

Invented by O, Miami and WLRN

Use your zip code

For place based lyrical celebration

Write your zip code vertically

Giving you the number of words per line

For example

I live in 33133

3 I love Miami

3 The sun shines

1 Brighltly

3 The Latin Cluture

3 Outshines the sun

the homeless Spring Breaker

Early evening was alive with Spring Breakers

Strolling along the busy crowded streets

Sunset heralds their waking hour

Partying will continue until the break of dawn

Fueled by cheap booze and the plentiful supply of illegal street drugs

Groups of young women emerged from hotels

Wearing the standard uniform of brightly colored skimpy tops

Large expanses of bare flesh and glitter from head to toe

Wobbling along in ridiculously high heels

Clutching tiny purses with hands glued to oversize phones

Doing their best to impersonate a hooker convention

Fancy cars rolled by blasting loud music

An open top Ferrari roared up to a red light

Blipping his throbbing engine to signal his intentions

The adjacent muscle car accepted the challenge

Revving his engine in answer to the call for arms

Amid alternating bursts of screaming combustion engines

Pedestrians started running in the cross walk in fear of being run over 

The green light initiated the start of a drag race

Tires screeched as white smoke filled the wheel wells

The short race was rudely interrupted by the next red light

A repeat performance ensued

Unfazed Spring Breakers ignored the automobile madness

Too busy instagraming their selfies into virtual reality

A homeless man crossed the street between the million dollar cars

His long gray hair mingled with a wild unkempt beard

Both hands tightly gripping the handle of his overloaded shopping cart

Piled high with all his worldly possessions

His cardboard bedding material precariously balanced on top

Heading to his rent free open air dormitory

For another night under the stars in the waterfront park

His cart plowed a furrow through the Spring Breakers

They briefly parted to give him a path though

His eyes never wandered over the open sea of young flesh alongside him him

He came here as a Spring Breaker twenty years ago but never escaped