Author: Ian Hunter

I retired from the energy business in 2014 and started writing poetry. At first I shared my writing with family and friends. Then I set myself a challenge to write a poem every day for a year. After meeting that goal I just kept going and started this blog in 2021. I hope you enjoy reading my poems. Remember happiness is just a state of mind and poetry is great nourishment.

You should never judge a place by its appearance

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We were invited to dinner by dear friends on Friday 

They suggested authentic Mexican food in Miami

A place they had not been before called Don Maguey

It was recommended by others

They knew it was on W Flagler Street

But nothing else about the place

Somebody googled the Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant

Pulling up the menu with glee

Reading out all the delicious meals

Salivating over the options

Discovering they even had a happy hour

With a wide range of cocktails at their well stocked bar

We set off early all excited

Finding the place easily in a strip mall

It looked nothing special from the outside

We walked in to find there was no bar at all

Just a counter like a cafe

The waitress smiled and we sat down with the menu

The dishes were nothing like we had read online

We must be in the wrong place we said

Lets check the address and go there

Maybe just have one drink here

We sipped on cold beers 

While searching for the correct address

Which turned out to be in Wisconsin

Obviously not where we thought

Same name but 1500 miles away

Lets just try this place anyway we agreed

The food turned out to be fantastic

The service was friendly and helpful

We were pleasantly surprised by the reasonable pricing

The owner/chef came to chat with us

Thanking us for supporting his newly opened business

Serving us complimentary fresh oysters

We hugged the staff and owner as we left

Agreeing it was a fabulous experience

Vowing to return soon

To think we almost walked out at first

You should never judge a place by its appearance

Do you come here often?

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its a bright sunny day in the year 2095

the city of New York is quiet at street level

few vehicles travel on roads and most are pedestrianized

everybody has access to a fleet of personal flying taxis

John decides to visit his brother in Boston

he tells his watch to book him a flying taxi

go to bay 7 on level 104 flashes on his watch

he takes the high speed elevator and steps into the four seater vehicle

there are no controls because its totally automated

John fastens his seat belt as the electric motors hum

he does not bother to look out of the window

the novelty of flying from a rooftop was long ago forgotten

John talks to his bother on the video screen

40 minutes later his air taxi is docking

moments later he is with his brother Gerald

there are no windows in his apartment

the walls are all giant screens that can produce any vista

today it shows tropical beaches and a deep blue ocean

let me get you a cold beer says Gerald

he simply barks his order to a dispensing machine

nobody buys ingredients or makes anything themselves these days

food and drink items are assembled instantly by atomic 3D printers

lets watch the game now says Gerald

the screens on the wall transform to show a football game 

the virtual realty is indistinguishable from the real thing

crowd noises are piped in with aromas of stale beer and hot dogs

people used to drive cars through traffic to watch these games

the players still perform at a stadium

with only cameras and drones watching

Gerald and John cheer as their team scores

after the game the room is transformed into a night club

3D images of pretty girl robots dancing fill the screens

she looks gorgeous says John pointing to a tall girl

lets invite her to join us says Gerald

a door opens and in walks a beautiful humanoid robot

she smiles as John passes her a glass of champagne

Gerald asks her do you come here often?

Squeezing and walking

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we like to hold hands when we walk

it keeps us connected

striding at the same pace

we take turns to squeeze

our silent invisible caress

I squeeze the hardest

to remind her I am the boss

she squeezes the longest

to let me know she is really in charge

we squeeze together

to be as one

walking

holding

squeezing

loving

Its not only cars that need regular maintenance

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Sometimes we get into bad habits in our relationships

Not checking in with each other often enough

Allowing bad communication to create conflict

Bickering at each other instead of discussing solutions

Relationships need regular maintenance

Working on things does not mean they are broken

Just like cars need servicing and homes need TLC

The problem is that its ever so easy to neglect your relationship maintenance

It only takes a few minutes to check in with each other once a week

Put it on your calendar as a weekly event

Pick a subject that needs resolving

Try to reach a mutually agreeable compromise

Then agree which aspect of your relationship you will work on next

Giving you both time to think things over

Follow your successful check in meeting with a date night

It will make that date night so much more enjoyable

Long lasting love requires persistence to keep it on the boil

Alice Part 5 Finale

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Alice sent the selfie with three heart emojis 

the detective said the gang will be checking the metadata now to verify your location

a few minutes later the gang called the bank to verify the wire transfer

the call was picked up at police HQ

the skilled operator pretended to be from the bank

he was stalling to keep the call open as long as possible

Alice was surprised that the caller sounded just like her

and equally surprised that she answered all the bank security questions

the patrolling SWAT team locations were on a huge screen

soon the police traced the calling cell phone

they dispatched the nearest SWAT team

who arrived minutes later to arrest the entire gang

They also arrested satellite teams who were roaming in vans 

printing out stolen ATM cards and withdrawing cash

the detective thanked Alice for her help

he said they had been trying to catch this gang for months

Alice wanted to understand how the gang got all her information

the detective explained how they work

Dave is an experienced actor and con artist

he targeted you as a wealthy single woman

while you were dating Dave he was recording all your conversations

to build up a voice profile database

the gang used that with some sophisticated software to call your bank

Dave got to know you well enough to answer the bank security questions

Dave probably used your computer sometime with your permission

he then installed spyware to record all your keystrokes

when the boys came they accessed the spyware to obtain all your passwords 

the wire transfer requests came from your computer to make them appear authentic

the boys probably copied your credit cards while you were asleep

do not feel bad said the detective many people have fallen victim to this gang

luckily we got them before they they stole all your money 

Alice declared she was done with online dating

Alice part 4

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the detective asked Alice to gather her bank statements and credit cards

he then called his superior at police HQ

I am bringing in a victim of ongoing identity theft

we need the incident room with comms IT forensics and the bank fraud squad

make sure you bring your cell phone said the detective

Alice jumped into the police car and they went lights and sirens

the detective received a radio message from HQ

operation stingray is launched and three SWAT teams mobilized 

upon arrival at Police HQ they rushed to the incident room

it was packed with about thirty people and banks of computers

the detective handed the credit cards and bank statements to different groups

he asked Alice to hand over her mobile phone to the comms team

the detective sat a command post with multiple monitors

within minutes he was briefing Alice on his team findings

the gang have made multiple charges on your credit cards

your phone has been hacked and cloned

they have successfully completed a modest wire transfer

that was just a test and a $5000,000 wire transfer request is pending

we now have your bank on the line

they will give us control of the wire transfer authorization call

an operator in a sound proof booth made the call pretending to be the bank

the detective told Alice it will be to your cell phone but this one will not ring

because they are forwarding your calls to another cellphone in their possession

the call went to VM and the operator left a call back message

the detective told Alice to standby

the gang will want to be sure she had not gone to the police yet

a few minutes later Alice got a text from Dave

Hey how is it going….the boys told me you went out

text him back saying you are at the mall said the detective

Dave responded with I miss your smiling face Alice please send me a selfie now

the detective led Alice to a green backdrop to take a selfie

the IT guys added a background and changed the metadata to match the mall location

Alice Part 3

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Alice was trying to understand it all

why would Dave tell her he was visiting an injured relative 

then move out of his home 

leaving his boys with her

sorry it looks like your boyfriend has done a runner 

said the man at Daves house

he seemed like a nice guy and a great tenant

he paid me his rent in cash every month

how long had he been living here asked Alice

only two months but he paid me an extra month before leaving

that means he rented the place after we first met thought Alice

she drove home fast to check on the boys

there was no sign of the them and their belongs were gone

she noticed the place smelled of cleaning products

stepping outside to look for the boys

she saw a neighbor working in his yard

have you seen two boys leaving the house she asked

yes they left with suitcases a while ago

than a couple of workmen in hazmat suits went inside with chemicals

I assumed you were having some kind of pest treatment

Alice became very concerned

she called the police to report the missing boys

they came very fast and listened to her story

the officer told her not to touch anything in the house

soon after a detective arrived

he asked her to describe the boys appearance

he nodded when she provided the details

the detective told Alice to listen carefully

we have been searching for this criminal gang for a long time

the boys are sophisticated computer hackers

they have given your bank account login details to the gang boss

we need your cooperation to catch them all emptying your bank accounts

Alice Part 2

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Alice brought the boys inside

just then a text came in from Dave

my brother was in a bad car wreck

I am driving to the hospital to see him

so sorry replied Alice what can I do to help

feed the boys dinner please replied Dave

can they stay with you

I may not be back until tomorrow

she gave the boys dinner

 they settled down in front of the TV

there was only one more text from Dave

not looking good so I will stay here tonight

the next morning she made breakfast for the boys

they each had laptops to do schoolwork

the elder boy Jimmy said his laptop was broken

Alice set him up to use her computer

the boys spent all morning doing homework

such great kids thought Alice

not wasting their time on video games

she sent Dave a text but there was no reply

she asked the boys if Dave had said anything to them

dad said he had a family emergency and we were to stay with you

by late afternoon there was still no text from Dave

her calls to him went straight to voicemail

Alice felt something was not right

she decided to drive across town to Daves house

telling the boys she was going to the store and would be back in an hour

she pulled up at his house and saw the front door wide open

she walked inside and the place was totally empty

can I help you said a man at the open door

I am looking for my boyfriend Dave she said

the man told her Dave had loaded a van and vacated the house that morning

Alice- Part 1

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Alice starting online dating two years after her divorce

she was almost fifty and very attractive

she was not looking to remarry

companionship was what she wanted more than anything

the vast majority of the men contacting her were much older

many were old enough to be her father

she focussed on those under fifty five

picking out a short list of five

just meet these guys for coffee her friends told her

be pleasant but do not tell them where you live

she followed their advice and met the first guy

he turned out to look nothing like his picture

subsequent dates were equally disappointing

mostly fat lonely old men looking for a younger woman

she had almost given up after four disappointments

then she met the fifth guy Dave

he was fifty two two handsome and charming

his wife had passed away after a long illness

he told her about his two teenage boys

wanting to be sure it was not a dealbreaker for her

Alice had never had children

she had many more dates with Dave

she felt herself falling in love with him

she found his sons to be well behaved and very polite

she asked Dave to bring the boys around for dinner

upon answering the door at the expected time

the two boys were standing there with suitcases 

there was no sign of Dave

Where is your dad she asked

the boys just shrugged and handed her a letter

I am sorry Alice but I cannot cope any more

please look after my boys love Dave

the red rose

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I watched the rose grow

it started with a swelling bud

tips of deep red petals emerged

a tantalizing hint of its future beauty

it grew slowly

with stealth and precision

I checked its progress daily

eventually it was proudly in full bloom

a perfect specimen

passing bees paused in amazement

birds perched in awe

clouds parted allowing the sun to take a peek

I cut the rose

placed it in a vase

presented it to my lover

deliciously sweet scent

delicate soft silky petals

so cute to look at

beautiful in every way

just like her

the red rose