BLOG 27/52

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THE ANTARCTIC SHORE

The Antarctic is genuinely a place of wonder.

There is no rain there, no lightning, and no thunder.

It is so cold there that there is no water for you to drink

There’s no snow, it’s hard letting you walk anywhere and not sink

You need crampons with spikes to prevent slipping, as well as an ice axe.

It is a hazardous place, you need all the equipment to keep safety at the max.

Scientists love it, so much to learn. They don’t last long, it is too cold

It’s the last land frontier. To explore there, you need to be bold.

The seals, penguins, sea birds, and whales love it there.

Lots of food in the sea. They don’t have to share.

The tourists on all the cruise ships

Stand at the rails and stare.

Making photos to take

Home and share.

They care.

___________________________

One Way To Learn

          My father taught me my work ethic and my job in life: to be a good husband, father, and provider for my family. He taught me by example. My mother helped me with my schoolwork. Every morning, we went over what I had studied the night before. No one knew I had aphasia. I was also legally blind in my left eye when I was young. She thought I was just slow because I wasn’t too bright, and so did I.

          It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I found out I wasn’t below normal IQ, but was actually above normal IQ. That was when I was diagnosed with aphasia. When you know what the problem is, you can mitigate it and adapt. It becomes just a challenge instead of a problem. I did that and got my confidence back.

           Because I was reading slowly, I had learned to listen to others and pay attention to what they said. Everyone I knew, or even just met, had experience in something I did not. I made learning from their experience a major part of my experience.

          Pick your friends carefully; They are the teachers in your world as you travel along on your path. My mother told me that when we moved to a new neighborhood, pick your new friends by who their friends are, not by who they say they are. It is good advice.

           We are three people. Who we think we are, who others think we are, and who we really are. It is ok, we all ride in the same car, but it helps if we are acquainted with all three of them.

BLOG 26/52


 

AMAZON FROGS

We found some frogs that were large and jumped far

Others are smaller and live quite well in a jar.

The ones that are big, we hunt and eat

Never their heads, we eat their feet

We caught this on a leaf at night

It’s not out if the sun is bright.

We let it go to swim free

He whispered 

Goodbye 

To me.

My doctor said if I had my vasectomy, I wouldn’t have kids anymore 

I was really surprised when I got home, and they were still there.

When someone irritates me, I just lend them some money

And I don’t have to worry about seeing them again.

If you were a dog, would you bark or cuddle?

The ones that cuddle are tolerated and

Loved by everyone, most of all.

The barkers are shut in a  

Room down the hall.

Don’t be shut out

Love and 

Cuddle

All.

BLOG 25/52


PIRANHAS FOR DINNER ON THE AMAZON

People fish for many different reasons.

Sometimes for food and sometimes just for fun

I asked, “May we fish for Piranha? Were they in season?

Of course, you can. We were asked, “What would be your reason”?

I have always been told they would eat me if they had a chance to

I want to be the first to do it and eat them before they do

We will catch enough to feed us tonight 

And perhaps even more if it’s

Permitted and alright.

Would you like

Some tonight?

_______________________

Everything Has Two Sides

I realized, looking in the mirror

That I was the same age as old people.

Like my idol Arney said, looking in the mirror

At his advancing age 

“What the hell happened?”

I hesitate to give it a name, but I see it’s catching.

A lot of people I have noticed have caught it.

At first, I was depressed, then I jumped 

For joy when I realized that

Those that didn’t

Were mostly

dead.

BLOG 24/52


I have a baby that will look like me.

It doesn’t really matter if it is a he or a she.

Its DNA will be a mixture of papa and me.

It doesn’t matter when we go to sea

We all look like we are identical

Birds happy as can be.

But it is not true

My baby is not

Like me.

________________________

What about Sex?

     Sex is a complicated procedure, why not just clone who/what we are? A lot of plants do that. There are advantages to the process. If you have something that is perfectly adapted to its environment it is a fast way to spread and take control of that area. The disadvantage is when the environmental conditions change, the species cannot, and they all die. 

      With sex every individual is slightly different so when a change occurs there is likely a few of the species than can adapt to that change and their prodigy will adapt to the new conditions and survive. 

         This process is called evolution. It is why there are so many different life forms on our planet, and why we have over five billion that have become extinct. The life forms that are alive on earth today represent only one percent of the total that have lived here before us and could not adjust to the changes the earth goes through in its normal planetary life cycle.  

BLOG 23/52


 CHILDREN OF THE UPPER AMAZON WHERE THE RIVER STARTS

Where the Amazon starts in the jungle of Ecuador

You never know what might await you or what might be in store.

Your life starts in the tummy of your mother, like all others. 

  Your world will be different, along with your sisters and brothers.

    There are no roads, only boats, but that’s okay; you learn how to paddle. 

       Looking around, you find no horses; you won’t need a saddle.

There are toys to play with, but you will soon learn to fish

All your journeys will be on a boat or on foot.

You will search the jungle for things to eat

You will, of course, have bare feet.

     Except for our clothes, we are all the same.

                 We live in our containers/bodies and are controlled by our brains.

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A JUNGLE STORE

If you live in the jungle and need to find a store,

This is the best one, even with its dirt floor.

You need to check that your boat is still afloat.

If that’s the case, you’re good to go.

One good thing, you don’t have to

Worry about whether it will snow.

Don’t worry, no chance of that.

You are in the tropics now,

Buy things that won’t

Make you too fat.

________________

IT’S TOO BAD THEY DON’T SELL BIRTHDAYS. 

The more you have

The longer

You live.

_________________

IF YOU GET HUNGRY, DON’T PUT

Both feet in your mouth at the same time,

Because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

BLOG 21/52

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HANGING OUT THE LAUNDRY

In the upper Amazon at its beginning, everyone has a chore.

I was told by a woman working to sweep a floor,

We don’t have welfare; we work more.

We have a rule for all to follow   

No work, no food to swallow.     

It works well for us all.  

We love to eat

We think it’s

Neat.

__________________________

What is Fair?

The news is currently filled with debates and new laws about transgender individuals in sports. Should a man who wants to live like a woman be in the same race with other women? I think it’s too bad that they’re going to settle this argument in court with a new law – a red line you shall not cross– that can sometimes feel unfair to someone.

  I have a way to let transgender women compete with women but not against them. Transgender people should still be able to compete. This is part of their freedom, which we are so proud of in the United States. How do we make it fair to all involved? In most areas there are not enough transgender individuals to compete against themselves in any one area. We need to make an adjustment.

  Using colleges as an example, we could see how one plan would work. In most competitions, the first, second, and third trophies are awarded to the individuals who crossed the finish line in that order. This works well and is fair within the group. The colleges would form a women’s group and a men’s group, but not have enough for the transgender category. Perhaps only one or two transgenders would run in that particular race. Some transgenders would run in the race with the women, others with the men, depending on what they prefer. The women would be competing alongside them, not against them. They would be competing with other transgenders across the division/country. Prizes would be awarded to the women in the race, as normal. The transgender time would be logged into a central location, where the stats for transgender individuals are kept as a separate group from the women. For example, there would be a first, second, and third in the transgender 100m race within the Division, not the individual school.

   It is fair and does not discriminate in any way. A group would need different rules, but the team may allow one transgender for each 8- or 10-members on the team, or a percentage like 5, 10 or 15% of the team. They would be regular team members, and no other accommodation would be needed. We would have to get over the idea that if someone is different from us, it doesn’t mean we are better than them. 

_________________________

I had some bird seeds in my garage 

And didn’t know what to do with it.

I decided to plant it in my garden.

A bird grew up where I planted

The seeds, but now I had nothing

To feed it.

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HOME ON THE UPPER AMAZON

When the river rises every year, your feet will stay dry

Your house is on stilts and is up relatively high

The dog is lying at the top of the stairs

It is easy to see with his white hair.

This is the home where

 The dog lives

Along with his family

On the edge of a river that gives

Food for them to eat, so they can all live.

This is the kitchen in the house on the river. It has it all.

You cook with a wood fire and red-hot embers

Your eggs are fresh from the box below

The stove is just right, not too tall.

Cooking is simple but

Rather slow.

This is the washing machine every family has one.

They work best in the morning, about dawn, but

Not very well in the hot midday sun.

They wash all that is soiled.

If it is very bad, it has 

To be boiled.

They only last a short time

And are replaced with the next in line.

BLOG 19/52

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THE AMAZON, THE BIGGEST RIVER IN THE WORLD

I have been fortunate to have visited this magnificent river three times.

Each time you go to a different area, it doesn’t matter where you start.

It will amaze you as it works its way on a path that winds

Through the jungle to a very different, unique part.

The animals are watching you all the way

Glad to see you if you don’t stay.

It’s their private home after all.

You are allowed to visit.

And have a ball.

But move on

Don’t stall.

_________________________

          As we age, we should share our insight and knowledge with humanity. As we get older, we should not accumulate. Rather, we should shed our responsibilities to find our real self and live as who we are rather than who we were to others. I will choose to see my life not as another book to be written, but as a rock in the stream of life, to be reshaped by the waters as they rush past me into something new. 

          Success is no longer a goal. Wondering how a bird makes its nest is. I must leave the intoxication of success for the peace of metaphysical endeavors. We are happiest when we are striving for the things in life that are embedded and personal in our world. No Fear, only love and kindness that bring joy to me and others around me. I can only do this if I discard the various layers of denial of my physical and mental evaporation as I age, and leave the competition in life to a younger generation.

My car has a button for pretty much everything 

There’s even one that says rear wiper.

I have been too shy John Deere The bugs are to push that one 

And wondered how they knew

I could use that.

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THE PANAMA CANAL  

The Panama Canal is an amazing and wonderful endeavor

 Ships can now pass between two oceans forever.

A bridge was needed so cars could pass

So, one was built and built to last

It has a beautiful design

And it lights up at

Night just

 Fine.

________________________

           One of the greatest realizations I have had as I look around me, and one that brings me great joy, is that I can say, with a smile on my face, that I know nothing, and it is true. In reality, none of us knows anything because all we think we know will change with time. It is a great relief not to have the troubles of the world on your back. It gives you permission to enjoy the years we have and to share them with those we love on some of the world’s great rivers.

When you let your mind drift back to the past

 You will experience both joy and tears

Both of which are enhanced

With a couple of beers.

I asked my wife what women really want. She said

A tent of lovers, or maybe it was an attentive lover,

I really wasn’t listening.