where have you been billy boy?

In and out, now and then,IN BETWEEN, on the edge of the heath,at the wrong place at the right time, Blacked out on a drive from the Rose Tattoo after five Martinis, until I drove into the farm driveway 55 miles later. Lucky. Under a cloud of bees naked on a blanket by the creek. I wrote a poem about it. She said :"You left something out.' "What"? "The sound they made."  In private conversation with Saul Alinsky about a year before he died when COCO plotted a workshop with him and his crew that resulted in getting two of his trained staff to spend two years in Philadelphia. In conversation with Neal Postman telling him I had to drop out of His Media Ecology program because my boss frowned upon my going to NYU instead of a Philadelphia College. I offered to be an Administrative presence on Saturday to make up for the five hours I missed on Thursday afternoon. Within weeks he had hired .a man steeped for twenty years as a low level administrator in the public school system He would stay in the lobby of 34th south 11th st. until fifteen minutes after classes started; then he would peak into scheduled classrooms to see if they were in session.I was not suited for that kind of job. I have been other places as well,but it's almost time for lunch and a black and white viewing of Gunsmoke.
 

Stranger in a strange land

We are only lost until we be, we are lost because we want to be .How did I get to this weird place. I decided I should have a physical examination. "Why", asked the new to me secretary behind the glass window. "Because it's been over a year since I had one". Ohh OK. The new to me nurse apologized  in advance for the strange questions she had to ask because of New medicare rules. What day is this  where are we, when were you born,are you depressed, do you sleep through the night? Count backward by sevens from one hundred. When I got to 65 she clapped her hands." Nobody has ever got that far before"! Ever the cut up I recited the alphabet backward for her. "What do you do with yourself"? I hesitated. I think I blushed. "I read and write and watch the one eyed monster".  The doctor  had his questions to ask, all aimed at making sure I had medicare eligibility for the engagements that would or would not unfold. I confessed I did not like to walk in the cold weather or mud and was looking forward to walking through our land to the road for a mile or so saunter. He asked if I got winded walking upstairs. I admitted to having experienced some shortness of breath a while ago until I discovered I was holding my breath each landing. When I realized this , I began to breathe during my time on the stairs. "Don't forget to breathe", he added sagely. He congratulated me for  the condition of my heart and joints and general physical soundness. I needed to get some blood work done before he would renew my prescriptions. He also suggested an ultra sound test and a bone density test. This latter was with held because I was not deemed eligible. My bones must be dense enough because I still weigh about 215 which I celebrate because I had weighed almost 260 a few years ago. I told him I need an eye exam because I wanted to be safer when I drove. I lost my driving glasses almost twenty years ago, hundreds of thousands miles ago. I also confessed I didn't hear that well. which sometimes is a blessing.
Since Thanksgiving we have been cohabiting with two male kittens who are fast becoming young cats although they are now neutered. They still amuse us and attack each other and our feet. One ,named Monk by Phebe for veterinarian purposes, now called Corky because he amuses himself and us by pawing a champagne cork  down stairs and through the house. I am supposed to take water pills daily which bind me to the house for four hours each morning I downsized my dose to every other day. When questioned about this by my cardiologist who asked me if he had lowered the dose. "No I did because I wanted more freedom in the way I spent the morning hours.". He shrugged and said  if it isn't broke, don't fix it.. Back to Corky who has taken to playing a chord on the piano when I make my speedy way to the bathroom. He is eye level with me as I open the door and when I beckon for him to get off the piano he adds another lick,sometimes a crescendo. We are easily amused even though they have learned how to gain access to the greenhouse and have murdered some seedlings Phebe was mothering... In the lovely warm days we have been experiencing, they go out with us, me to sit in the morning sun, she to rake up dead grass between moments of sitting. They approach the old outside cats in whose company they will be when Summer comes; they are appropriately respectful and keep their distance.
Even in trying times such as these, we must keep our sense of humor. Perhaps Trump is doing us a favor. We must continue to support those of you who are able to keep the possibility of change for a better country and world in your daily actions. We are part of the problem, but the 47% of us who did not vote are a bigger problem. I am encouraged to witness the efforts of many of you who are part of the solution.