Unsubscribe is my new mantra

My emails are out of control

Around 100 new emails  arrive every day

Mostly unsolicited marketing stuff

I only open emails I recognize as important

The unopened ones pile up

Its too much effort to delete them all

I recently decided to purge all my incoming emails

Opening every email daily and hunting for the unsubscribe option

Its always in fine print hidden away

Often it takes you to a second page to confirm 

After a couple of weeks the flow is starting to subside

New ones still pop up uninvited

My name must be on mailing lists that are being passed around

I will have to make the unsubscribe a daily ritual

Perhaps I can extend it to other parts of my life

When those annoying commercials come on TV

It would be great to have an unsubscribe button on the TV remote

The commercial instantly stops broadcasting and will never repeat

When you answer a robo call on your phone

It would be nice if you could just say unsubscribe

The caller hangs up and never calls again

When at a bar and some really boring guy in the next seat keeps chatting to you

You ask the bartender to unsubscribe you from him

He instantly stops bugging you

When somebody is tailgating you on the freeway

You hit the unsubscribe button on your rear view mirror

Their car is made to slowdown and back off

When you get a pile of junk snailmail

Toss it all into your smart unsubscribe trash can

Where it scans the senders and deletes you from their mailing lists

If your bills are getting to be too expensive for your budget

Hit the unsubscribe option to stop getting them

Unwanted callers ringing your smart front doorbell

Unsubscribe to have them teleported away

Tired of your partner in that bad relationship

Hit unsubscribe and they instantly vanish forever

If you are really old and sick with no quality of life

Hit unsubscribe and go straight to heaven

Unicorn in an Aloft Hotel

In the lobby of an Aloft hotel

Images streaming on a TV screen

A unicorn strutting around

Walking by a building

He goes up an escalator

Sees a mirror

Lays down

A spaceship arrives

Hovers over the unicorn

Beams him up in a bubble

The top of the spaceship is a building

The unicorn appears in a room

Still inside a bubble

He floats higher

The side of the building opens up

To reveal a Starbucks coffee shop

The door opens into the restrooms

The unicorn appears with rockets on his sides

He flies away

I saw all this back in 2019

I am still trying to figure out what its all about

candle lit in prayer

Sick friend

Candle lit

Prayers said

Candle flickers

More prayers

Candle flickers

Hope eternal

Candle flickers

Praying harder

Candle flickers

Thoughts wander

Candle flickers

Memories flash

Candle flickers

Years back

Candle flickers

Friend laughing

Candle flickers

Treasured memories

Candle flickers

Back now

Friend smiles

Candle flickers

Friend fighting

Candle flickers

No surrender

Candle flickers

killing no birds with just a few words

We often find birds on the deck near our sliding windows

Occasionally they are alive and winded

Hyperventilating and desperately trying to recover

Before a predator snaps them up

I stand guard over the winded ones until they fly away

Sadly we find most of them already expired

I looked up ways to prevent these unintended bird collisions

The first suggestion was to put blue tape on the windows

Start with tape from corner to corner making a big X

Then tape a vertical cross to make a big star symbol

The sort of thing people do in pending hurricanes

As if the howling wind is somehow repelled by blue markings

I am not sure if it works for either case but I will not be trying it

The next suggestion was to cover the glass with soapy water

The theory being that all those bubbles will make the surface more visible to birds

I this case you will get the added bonus of cleaning your windows

Sort of like killing two birds with one stone

Or should that be killing no birds with two bubbles

I will not be trying that either because soap bubbles soon slide off glass

It would be much better to capture a few birds

Form a class and teach them all to read

Once they are all good readers

Send them to teacher training classes

Release them so they can teach all the other birds read

Then put up a small sign in the yard

Beware Of Flying Into The Sliding Glass Doors

No more dead birds on the deck

Add an accessory to your bird feeder

Miniature clip on books creating a bird reader

Bird literacy rates will soar

Killing no birds with just a few words

Stories matter

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Times are changing

Keep on moving

Don’t stand still

Go with the flow

Times are changing

Adapt and absorb

Swerve and duck

Be totally flexible

Times are changing

Minesweeper running

Stepping carefully

Click bang boom

Times are changing

Limbs are missing

Months of rehab

Learn to walk again

Times are changing

Don’t give up

Keep on moving

Beautiful sunrise 

Times are changing  

Aquire new skills

Guitar lessons

Form a band

Times are changing

Writing hit songs

Performing and touring

Famous and wealthy

Times are changing

Friends lost contact

Surrounded by associates

Who spend your money

Times are changing

Retire from performing

Move to remote place

Stop answering calls

Times are changing

Become a writer

Smell the roses

Stories matter

“Cheeky Monkey on the Move” by our guest author JH Huzzah

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Cheeky Monkey on the move, life in boxes,
No time for prose, no time for foxes.
In this whirlwind of change and transition,
A moment of pause, a brief intermission.

The treasures packed away, memories stored,
In this new chapter, they’ll be explored.
But for now, the chaos and clutter surround,
As Cheeky Monkey’s world is unwound.

But fear not, dear friends, for this is not the end,
Just a temporary pause, around the bend.
Once settled and unboxed, the tales will resume,
Entertaining prose will light up the room.

So bid adieu for now, and wish them well,
As Cheeky Monkey’s story continues to swell.
With each new adventure and each passing day,
We’ll eagerly await their return our way.

Abi takes her morning walk

Photo by Du01b0u01a1ng Nhu00e2n on Pexels.com

Abi took her usual early morning walk

it was a warm summer day with low humidity

wild flowers were in bloom

birds were happily singing 

taking a short trail through the woods

a path she had taken many times before

pausing to look at the flowers and butterflies

something caught her eye in the distance

a black cat moving towards her

the cat came close and sat down 

she reached down an petted the animal

who responded with loud purring

whats your name kitty she asked

the cat circled between her legs

before starting to walk along the trail

looking back frequently to make sure she followed

Abi always took the left fork in the clearing

the cat went to the right and started crying

it seemed like the cat was leading her to something

the cat stopped crying when she followed along the right fork

the trail became narrower and was obviously hardly used

briars caught her exposed legs

this better be worth it Abi said to herself

hoping she would not regret this adventure

the terrain became denser and the trail disappeared

she was climbing over fallen trees covered in moss

after a while reaching a clearing

in the middle stood a small shelter made from logs

the cat ran straight inside the shelter

she hesitated but stepped inside the dark damp place

an elderly lady dressed in black was sitting in the corner

welcome Abi she said I have been waiting for you

Sunday mornings

Oh the joys of Sunday mornings

Sleeping in late

Sunday mornings

Leisurely brunch

Sunday mornings

No agenda

Sunday mornings

Time slows down

Sunday mornings

Recharge your soul battery 

Sunday mornings

Pick up that book

Sunday mornings

Maybe a gentle stroll

Sunday mornings

Nothing too taxing

Sunday mornings

To be savored

Sunday mornings

Like a good malt whisky

Sunday mornings

Sipped not gulped

Sunday mornings