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.

What is your TV escape code?

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This is the BBC

Those words were my first memories of radio

A very stiff upper lip presenter

Telling you the news in a ridiculously posh British accent

The TV shows from the British Broadcasting Service were equally stiff but void of commercials

Great drama and documentaries were the hallmark of BBC television

Then came along commercial television called ITV

They produced soap operas and comedies for the masses

Back then there were only two channels available on British TVs

They became great rivals competing for prime time audiences

We bought a weekly magazine called the TV Times listing all TV shows

Hard to believe that we actually spent time turning pages before watching the TV

News programs were at a fixed time daily

This is the Six O’Clock News

News At Ten

Friendly faces giving you updates on current affairs

We got to trust those presenters far too much

Believing every word they said 

They usually ran for many decades before retiring

Creating a huge stir when a new presenter came along

The Brits are totally obsessed with talking about the weather

But they will also go on for hours and hours about their favorite TV news presenter

When I moved to America the choice of TV was overwhelming

Comcast gave me almost 1000 channels to flick through

Most of which were absolute tripe

Fortunately they had a BBC channel which became my daily go to

Filled with nostalgic comedies and drama from the 70’s and 80’s

The theme songs were often better than the shows themselves

The Sweeny and Miami Vice ear worms are permanently embedded in my head

Comcast eventually got too greedy so we bit the bullet and cut the cable

We joined the new world of streaming with Netflix, Amazon and HBO

No longer constrained to scheduled weekly broadcasts

We could binge away all night watching back to back episodes of Breaking Bad

News programs were no longer entertaining so we stopped watching them 

Today’s dinner table conversations are all about TV binging

Oh you have to watch this new series on Netflix

Its only 25 episodes and you can binge it over three nights

We got weary and sleep deprived from too much TV bingeing

Especially during the enforced Covid lockdowns when we were glued to the TV 24/7

Technology has moved on leaps and bounds for TV watchers

Voice activated remotes save you from pressing buttons

No more repetitive strain injured thumbs from channel hopping

When I am alone late at night I whisper random words into the remote

Its like metal detecting in a muddy field

A mindless exercise that occasionally produces a hidden gem

When lost in the desert of crappy boring TV channels

I pick up the voice activated remote and utter my escape code

BBC

The Trolley Bus

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He watched the trolleybus go by every day

It was a self propelled vehicle with a driver

Operated like a modern day bus

Styled like an old 1930’s electric trolley bus

Which was powered from overhead wires back then

An old man was waiting for the trolley bus today

He remembered seeing him ride before

He moved very slowly and took his time getting on

Curious about the whole trolley bus experience

He decided to take a ride himself the next day

The old man was there again

He waited patiently for him to slowly get on

Then followed him and found a seat behind him

There were just the two of them riding that day

He leaned forward to start a polite conversation

I see you riding this trolleybus every day

The old man turned round to answer

But he was no longer an old man

Mysteriously transformed into handsome young man 

Wearing 1930’s style clothing he responded

Yes I take this trolley bus to work every day

They continued small talk for a while

Before the young man announced his stop

Nice to meet you but I get off here so have a nice day

He watched him walk to the front of the trolley bus

No difficulty or hesitation in his stride

Not all all like the old man who he had seen getting on earlier

He was now the only passenger left on the trolley bus

As it pulled away he looked out of the window

No sign of the young man he had just been chatting with 

Just an old man standing alone staring at the departing trolley bus

There was nothing left

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

She reached out for his pillow

Yearning for his familiar scent

There was nothing left

Only the smell of detergent

She opened her phone

Searching for a photograph of him

There was nothing left

He had erased everything on her phone before he left

She walked into the closet

looking for a remnant of his clothes

There was nothing left

He had taken it all

They had travelled to many exotic places together

Taking photographs to record their adventures

Putting them in albums with funny captions

She looked at the bookcase

The photo albums were all gone

There was nothing left

He had taken them all

She still missed him

Waking daily with a welcome ache

But today was different

She reached deep down into her feelings

The ache was not there at all

There was nothing left

He had taken away her feelings

She closed here eyes

Confident that her memory would reveal him

Patiently waiting for his face or voice to appear

She could not find any trace of him

There was nothing left

He had taken her memories too

Unfinished Business

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Looking back at my schooldays

My first driving ambition was to become a soccer star

Sharing the dream of every boy born in Liverpool

My academic life interfered with my sporting ambitions

I played and trained in football (aka soccer) every day

I worked hard at unfinished business

Until I reached the ripe old age of sixteen

When I became a man and saw the brutal reality of my own abilities

I simply was not good enough to be a professional footballer

It was time to focus all my efforts on my education and get into university

I worked hard at unfinished business

Fortunately I had not left it too late

Recruiters came looking for me at university

After graduating my ambition turned to my career

Striving to take on extra responsibilities

Learning the skills of people and business management 

I worked hard at unfinished business

Motorsports fascinated me

I joined a local motorsports racing club

Building my own racing Mini Cooper

Learning the skills of driving a race car

Using my engineering knowledge to increase the engine power

Working late into the night preparing the car for each race

I worked hard at unfinished business

Outside of my career there were family duties

Experiencing the joy of bringing a new born into the world

Building a home and providing for my family

Learning the skills of parenting 

Appreciating the love and guidance given to me by my own parents

Constantly seeking the right balance between work and family life

I worked hard at unfinished business

In the blink of an eye my kids were grown up and through college themselves

I wanted to do more than be a 24/7 corporate executive

I took on a major volunteering challenge

Volunteering exposed me to things I had never seen before in real life

It taught me to recognize the delicate fragility of my own existence

And to accept that the future is predictably uncertain

I worked hard at unfinished business

Upon retirement I started to write poetry and short stories

I became fascinated with the infinite beauty of nature

I progressed to writing a daily poetry blog

While striving to maintain a healthy and secure retirement lifestyle 

Accepting that being a good husband required constant behavioral adjustments on my part

There were new friendships to find and old ones to foster

I worked hard at unfinished business

I watched the sunrise today

I stood outside and felt the wind on my face

There are many new places I want to see sunrise and sunset

Its a joy to see my kids building their own homes and families

I want to spend more time with my grandson

There are many more miles to cover on my bike

I still have to master some difficult yoga poses

A long list of DIY projects is pinned to my todo list

Lots more Cheeky Monkey stories to write and share

Fun times to be had with family and loving friends

There is plenty of unfinished business to work hard on

Buying glasses is complicated when you are not wearing your glasses

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I needed new glasses

Decided to try Costco

Very large selection

Took off my glasses

Tried on the samples

They looked all blurry in the mirror

Of course they were

Without my glasses

I had a brainwave

Take selfies wearing samples

Hard to operate my phone

Without my glasses

Came up with a plan

Got into a rhythm

My glasses on

Set up phone for selfie

My glasses off

Sample glasses on

Take selfie

Sample glasses off

My glasses on

Look at selfie

Decided I did not like the sample

Set up my phone for selfie

My glasses off

Sample glasses on

Take selfie

Sample glasses off

My glasses on

Look at selfie

Decided I did not like the sample

This continued for many more samples

I became tired 

So I gave up and left the store

Next time I will bring the wife

She is easier to operate than my phone

I will try samples

She will say yes or no

Better that she decides

I never see myself wearing glasses anyway

They are only nouns and verbs

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Cheeky Monkey Says

Below is a collection of nouns and verbs to describe human behavior

Which ones apply to the people you know?

Which ones would you use to describe you? 

Ineptitude and complacency breed failure

Professionalism and dedication bring success 

Insensitivity and narcissism is a recipe for loneliness

Kindness and empathy foster friendships

Cruelty and abuse cause misery

Charitable giving and generosity leads to contentment

Honesty and integrity create fulfillment

Dishonesty and corruption are never respected

Passion and trust are a foundation for love

Cheating and lying will break relationships

Problem solving and determination get things fixed

Procrastination and laziness never fix anything

Good dietary habits and exercise promote good health

Poor dietary choices and being sedentary invite illness

Education and learning cultivate wisdom

Untutored and ignorance create stupidity

Curiosity and awareness lead to discovery

Apathy and brainlessness create lost opportunities

Self improvement and fulfilling goals result in happiness

Self denial and laziness can bring on depression

Minor collateral damage

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He found a bullet stuck in his roof

For sure it had been fired from a gun

Maybe from far way judging by the lack of penetration

No clues to where it came from

Or how long it had been there

An unknown person had discharged a weapon

For an unknown reason 

Towards and unknown target

Now the bullet sits on his roof

Leaving more questions than answers

Nobody in his household owned a gun

He did some research on gun ownership

Its estimated that 393 million guns are privately owned in USA

That’s 120 guns for every 100 people

Its believed that privately owned ammunition totals more than 10 Trillion rounds

If they were distributed evenly throughout the US population

Every man woman and child would have more than 30,000 bullets

There are estimated to be around 100 million buildings in USA

Assuming all the ammunition was shot into each roof evenly

You would find 100,000 bullets in your roof

With such staggering numbers its hardly surprising

That he found one stray bullet in his roof

Lets not worry about minor collateral damage

Far less serious than the 45,000 plus annual deaths from gunshots in USA

No data found on the number of homes destroyed by bullets shot into the roof

But its probably a very low number indeed

How sad that its safer to be a roof than a person in America

Honey

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When I eat honey

A tasty time capsule explodes

Bringing back childhood memories

Happy summers

Endless days of fun

Running through tall grasses

Collecting wild flowers

Smelling their sweet scent

Rushing home for a snack

Mother making toast

Hot buttered bread

Drizzled with honey

Sweet delicious honey

Lingering over every bite

Crunchy thick toast

Creamy butter

Sweet flavorful honey

Sticky fingers tasted good

Whenever we fell ill

We drank warm water with honey

Soothing sweet honey

Calming sore throats

Giving energy to tired limbs

At the first sign of any adult cold or flu

We drank hot toddies

Whisky, honey, lemon and hot water

A magical potion to ward off all sickness

Best taken at bedtime

Making your dreams sweeter

We also baked Flapjacks

Oats mixed with delicious honey

A healthy treat after dinner

Or sampled on a summer picnic

Sitting on a blanket

Watching the bees

Visiting wild flowers

To make us more honey

Liquid gold honey

Pure sweet honey

Treat your honey to some honey today