Month: April 2023

my designs only worked on paper

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I remember as a boy making paper planes

They never flew very far

Usually nose diving or skewing sideways

I kept trying to make them fly straight and long

I remember one day at a family gathering

An Uncle called me over

He took a sheet of newspaper

Expertly folded it into a paper plane

If flew straight and far

Almost hung in the air

It was simple yet graceful

I played with it for days

You may think he was an expert

With aeronautical training

Perhaps a PhD in physics

He was a hard working dock laborer with no science training

Later in life I went to engineering school

Discovered the physics behind flying

Learned equations for fluid flow

Analyzed lift and drag for wing shapes

Once I had learned how to design wings

I tried making paper planes for my kids

Despite my aeronautical science training

My paper planes never flew that well

Because my designs only worked on paper

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. A quote from Dalai Lama

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We live in a big wide world

8 Billion people  spread over 195 countries

Over 4,000 different religions

Politics has become so polarized

Social media creates division

Minorities feel oppressed 

News bombards us with conflicts and wars

Is it worth even trying to change things

Is there any hope of one person making a real difference

Of course there is!

So I am throwing out a Cheeky Monkey challenge for you all today

Spend your entire day focused on being courteous 

Hold open that door for the person following you

Give up your seat on the metro or bus for somebody else

Smile and say hello to a stranger

Stop your car to let another driver cut in

Accept people for who they are

Reach out to somebody who needs help

Encourage other people to succeed

Show compassion for those with struggles

Speak kind words in a friendly tone

Show real happiness for somebody’s success

Apologize when you made a mistake

Forgive others if they make a mistake

Smile more throughout your day

Dedicate time to bond with family and friends

Offer handshakes and hugs

Be sincere in words and deeds

Offer to help somebody with their todo list

Reflect at the end of the day on how well you did

Repeat daily

Make us all cheeky Monkey Proud of each other!

Gourmet word dishes

Ian Hunter2 Comments

Poetry is just like cooking

Instead of a kitchen you might use an office

Instead of a stove you can use pen and paper or a computer

But the steps are just the same:

Inspiration

Gather ingredients

Preparation

Cook

Assemble

Serve

I get my poetry inspiration by observing the world around me or from memories of my experiences

I gather my poetry chef’s thoughts into a few words that describe something I want to write about

I sit down with my computer and prepare myself for writing

I add more words and start the word cooking process. I follow no recipe but I do add and subtract words until my alphabet soup  tastes just right

Then I assemble my poetry dish by putting all the words onto a computer screen plate and I start editing until its fit to be eaten by my hungry readers

I serve my dish of poetry by posting my finished plate of words on the Cheeky Monkey website

Its the best poetry restaurant that I know

Lots of famous people eat their fresh daily poem there

There is even a take away service providing you more than 600 dishes of previously served gourmet word dishes

Bon Apetit! 

if you want to be happy

Ian Hunter1 Comment

if you want to be happy

do not just sit around waiting

happiness does not fall out of the sky 

happiness is never thrust upon you

the happiness fairy will never visit you

first you must find a valid reason to be happy 

then hang onto it intensely

collect more reasons to be happy while you are happy

then change from one to another

like you would change your shoes

you can collect shoes too

happiness reasons and a good shoe collection is really all you need

if you want to be happy

cloud crowds

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Clouds were milling around late in the afternoon

Somebody had sent out a sunset party cloud invitation

It went viral and a cloud crowd soon gathered 

As the sun went low the clouds all rushed west

Jostling to be the first clouds lit up

Look at me said a pink clad cloud

I am bathed in orange said another proud cloud

Rock music blared and cloudy beer flowed freely in the cloud crowd

Happy clouds partied on way after sunset

Some of the clouds dispersed to their cloud beds for the night

The hard core partying clouds stayed up late

Lets go chasing moonbeams said their cloud party host

They all hopped on a cloud train bound for the rising moon

The moon popped up and greeted all her cloud fans

The cloud crowd draped her in wispy thin clouds

Dancing with her across the cloudy night sky

Sometimes using thick clouds to block her out completely

In a game of nocturnal cloud hide and seek

Eventually the moon set on the horizon as the clouds whispered goodbye

The all night party reveling clouds soon fell asleep to dream of clouds

The healthy exercising clouds awoke before dawn

Jogging east with other clouds in readiness for the approaching sunrise

They sat in orderly cloud groups patiently awaiting for first light

Passing round plates of yoghurt and granola cloud breakfasts

Swapping stories about the most spectacular cloud lit sunrises in their cloud lifetimes

The sun came up bright orange right on cue as the clouds looked on in awe

The hippie clouds danced with flower headdresses and passed around magic cloud mushrooms

Spa music played over a sky of dreamy red and pink flash dance clouds

It only lasted a few cloud minutes but they were all ecstatic

Cloud cameras clicked and soon it was all uploaded to cloud YouTube and cloud instagram

Meanwhile the all night partying clouds slept through it all

Awaking at the height of the midday cloud sizzling sun

Nursing their cloudy hangovers with strong cloud coffee and stale donuts 

Consulting their cloud social media to see what cloud fun they missed

The hippy clouds sought shelter from the midday cloud searing heat

The sky became overloaded with clouds which spelled big cloud trouble

Hells Angels clouds roared in from the north on black cloud Harleys

A rival Hells Angels cloud appeared to confront the newly arrived cloud outlaw gang

This was going to be a fight to the death territorial cloud battle

They clashed violently creating cloud sparks that flashed to the ground below

Huge thunderous cloud explosions boomed down from the menacing dark cloudy skies

All the other clouds hid in fear of collateral cloud damage

The sky cloud governor sent in the national guard clouds to break up the cloud infighting

Hells Angels clouds were arrested and put in cloud jails awaiting a cloud trial

All the other clouds were sent home in cloudy disgrace

Clear blue cloud free skies remained for the rest of the afternoon

Sunset that night was cloudless and unspectacular

Cars and people

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Photo by Arnie Watkins on Pexels.com

in the case of men……..

Photo by jay pizzle on Pexels.com

their cars are not just for transportation

they are symbols reflecting their personality

exhibitionists might drive a pimped out Cadillac 

those seeking eternal youth go for sports cars

the older and fatter they become, the more exotic the sports car

spotty youths with little cash trick out their cheap Hondas

gentlemen of means will drive a high end Mercedes

a Rolls Royce is mandatary for demonstrating super high net worth

hippy guys who don’t care will drive a worn out VW Beetle 

married men who have given up trying will sit behind the wheel of a Minivan

young upwardly mobile professional men always drive a BMW

cowboys and contractors can be seen in beat up pickup trucks

Environmental junkies will be behind the wheel of a hybrid or electric car

its totally different in the case of women….

Photo by Jacob Morch on Pexels.com

they are far less likely to pick a car for status reasons

its more of a means of transport to get from A to B

while serving as a mobile salon for applying makeup on the move

they will have snack bars and water bottles galore

a storage area for clothing to be returned to the mall

door pockets overflowing with hand lotions and tissues

17 pairs of sunglasses are in the glovebox

at least 14 pairs of shoes can be found in the trunk

the most petite married ladies often drive the largest SUV’s

probably because they need a lot of room for the kids and groceries

when asked what they like most about their car they might answer “its blue”

now if you ask a car about which gender they prefer as drivers….

men drive us too fast and put too much strain on our parts

men are more likely to damage us in an accident

women cause us mostly superficial damage in low speed scrapes

women are usually more cautious drivers and gentle on us

women will take us to get fixed if something is wrong

men will ignore problems until they get really bad

then they will try and fix us themselves and make us much worse

men like to tinker and customize us

women say if we not broken then don’t fix us

Things I like about the places I have lived…

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UK: pubs, beer, football, pubs, walking paths, canals, pubs, Sunday roast dinners,  jokes about the weather, pubs, fish n Chips, football, single malt Scotch whiskey,  stiff upper lips, bangers and mash, fishing, village greens, cricket, English gardens, pubs, craft beer,  ploughman’s lunches, hiking in the rain, pubs, sports cars, Scottish mountains, Indian food, Ireland, Guinness, pubs, English breakfasts, football, Welsh valleys, pubs and warm beer

France: Architecture, language, cognac, culture, gourmet food, produce markets, vineyards, cafes, garlic, beautiful villages, snobby wine waiters, tiny cars, baguettes, Paris, lavender fields, cheese and wine

America: Open spaces, opportunities, freedom, cosmopolitan cities, diversity, great food, friendly people, long road trips, entertainment, big cars, big roads, big cities, big parks, big houses, big hearted people, technical innovation, cycling paths, volunteerism, sports, education, beautiful scenery and cold beer

The big decision

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Photo by Nurlan Tortbayev on Pexels.com

He knew he had to make a big decision

Being uncertain was no longer an option

No more time left in the procrastination chair

He had hoped to leave it to the universe

Let fate decide it all for him

Perhaps the answer would reveal itself

Relieving him of the burden of decision

But it was not to be 

The spotlight was on him now

Time to take a stand

To cast the die

To get off the fence

To stop mulling over

He looked around for inspiration

But none was forthcoming

Then he heard those chilling words

Above all the noise and commotion

“whats it going to be then?”

For a brief moment everything went quiet

All eyes were on him

Their gaze drilling into his mind

Everybody anticipating his answer

He summoned up every ounce of courage

Looked the bartender in the eye

Unceremoniously blurting out

‘Vodka and tonic on the rocks please’

Conversations continued in the bar

People averted their gaze

He was accepted as one of them now

He was so relieved he downed the drink in one go

The bartender gave him that look

The bar went silent

Then he heard the big question

‘same again?’

He was frozen to the spot

Wishing he had not drunk so fast

Wanting the ground to swallow him up

The silence was deafening

No words could pass his lips

He had to do something fast

He summoned all his strength

Turned to the bartender

And gave him a confident nod

The bar resumed its noisy banter

He vowed to make this one last the rest of the evening

J’ai appris la langue en volant dans un avion

Ian Hunter1 Comment

I lived in England in 1997 and took a job based in Paris

For the first 6 months I commuted weekly

In addition to working I attended classes in Paris to learn French

Flying home on a Friday night and returning to Paris on a Sunday evening

The Sunday evening flight was never full and I was usually alone in business class

I got to know the Air France flight attendants really well

They would sit next to me and help me with my French language homework

While I sipped the complimentary Air France champagne

I always looked forward to that flight

Back in those days flying was an enjoyable experience

Contrast that to flying today which I absolutely dread

Booking a flight requires you to be an online superpower

Unless you want to wait 5 hours for the airline to actually speak to you by phone

Navigating your way through all the electronic gates asking for more money

Are you checking bags? If so cough up an extra $50

Oh you want a seat next to your spouse too? That will cost you more

The stress does not stop after the flight is booked

You get frequent text updates changing the times of your flight

Sometimes they change your routing completely

Your 2 hour layover magically becomes 10 hours

With trepidation the date of your travel approaches

Having to show up at the airport super early

Checking your bag on a touch screen that is uncooperative

Hardly a human from the airline in sight to help you

Then joining a truly massive line at the TSA approved security check

Once through security you join the hoards of other frustrated weary travelers 

There is nowhere near enough seats and the food choices are overpriced and inedible

We have tried escaping the airport crowds by paying extra for a lounge

Sometimes it works out but often the lounges are overcrowded too

Last time we attempted to enter a lounge they had staff at the door stopping us

Sorry but the lounge is full right now, try coming back in two hours

Boarding a plane has now become a total zoo

People carry on massive amounts to avoid paying checked bag fees

They fight to get on early knowing there will not be enough space in the overhead lockers

Connecting flights are the most stressful of all

The departing flight leaves the gate late and joins a long line for takeoff

Your one hour connecting time gets eaten way

Then you land and it takes an eternity to get to the gate

It takes forever to deplane with folks in front of you hauling a house load of stuff

You make an olympic sprint through the airport to your connecting gate

Arriving in a sweaty heap to find its been delayed

The flights are always full with standby passengers hovering at the gate

Nothing is free on board anymore, pay up for wifi, drinks and snacks

They no longer offer free personalized French language tuition either

Mon Dieu!

When I was small

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When I was small

I was afraid of big people

When I was small

I was afraid of the dark

When I was small

I was afraid of monsters

I am big now

I love big people 

I am big now

Darkness is my friend

I am big now

I chase monsters

My grandson is small

He hugs big people

My grandson is small

He likes the dark

My grandson is small

He shouts at the monsters

My wife is small

She can’t reach things

My wife is small

She can’t see the stage at concerts

My wife is small

She gets lost in crowds

My wife is small

But she has a huge heart

Don’t think small

Think large and dream high

Don’t think small

Reach for the stars and beyond

Don’t think small

Push yourself every day

Don’t think small

Think big