Wordless Wednesday - 13

Photo by Newt Killen

Poetry Train Monday - 14 - The Flautist

Saturday night I attended my 25th high school reunion. That led to yearbook reminiscing, where I found this poem.

It's printed at the back of the year book along with five other poems by other student poets. For a middle class high school attended by children of working class parents, we had a thriving arts education when I went to P.A. (short form for Prince Andrew High School.) We had Drama classes, Art and Music (split into choir students and instrumental students.) We had one play and one musical per year, plus assorted choir or band concerts.

This poem was inspired by a friend of mine who took music class with the choir students even though he played the flute and was in several bands. 25 years later he sings with the basses in the Canadian Opera Chorus in Toronto.







Photo by Michael Cooper, 2001 Cavalleria rusticana

Here he is, third from left holding the basket - Michael Downie. This poem came to me one cold day when he came into the music portable (a satellite classroom on the school grounds, adjacent to the main building which was overcrowded with Generation X-ers) to stash his flute in its case first thing in the morning - first thing for me, but I knew he'd already been at school for awhile at band practice. And I knew that later on he'd have choir rehearsal with me because we were both in "Oklahoma!"

I trimmed this down a bit - all my early stuff is a bit longwinded.


The Flautist


Sagging sky
Purpled puffs
Punched in and held
By unseen threads

Tensed and grim
The chill, the wary gusts
Stir the hairs
Upon his neck
Soaked shoes
Trailing jets of rain
Sidesteps sopping
Crunchit bags
That skit sporadic
Cross the lot

Circle of uneasy light
Fluorescent beam
Retreats from
Morning's hazey glow
Rounds the corner
Dented metal sides
Versed with coin-carved words
Of youthful fun
Filmed with heavy mist
Mounting hollowed
Metal steps that shudder
With his sleepy weight

He grips the freezing handle
Jerks the blue door open
It takes a moment
He pulls his jacket off
Puts his books down
Flicks the water from his hair
Just sits

Numbed and red, his hands
Unclasp the case's lid
To lift it

The morning's bite releases


Her slender form rests languidly
Her lips as rich and sweet as fruit
She lies on crushed blue velvet sheen
Her flowing fingers long and lean
As with her hand she stretches, Queen
Of Woodwinds reaching up, his flute
To greet her servant graciously

Humbly then her servant bows
And takes her hand to kiss it soft
Reverently he watches her
He sees her rise and hears her purr
Surrenders to her strong allure
She in his arms and held aloft
He weak with all that she endows

So cool and clear the voice that sings
Dame Flute in song professes joy
To all who hear and all who feel
Such lightness, airiness - unreal
The glacier's freshness, ice-cool peal
That chills and melts the trembling boy
Who sets her down by crystal springs

This is the time for which he lives
He lies upon the deep green grass
His arms about Dame Flute, whose voice
Floats up among the leaves, the noise
Of birds stilled by her sound, their choice
To stop and listen to the lass
Is taken up by most, as more she gives

Pulses flit and dart, sweet pain fills
Him as he takes her, trembling soft
The glory of the honor she
Bestows on one such man as he
Drunk in the heat of victory
He holds Dame Flute up high, aloft
And in his mercy. Now the wills

Of both stand fused as one. He plays
Her body with the deftness of
The greatest lover, with the grace
Of the most humble servant, lace
And satin thrown without disgrace
On top of coarse wool cloth. Their love
Bared to the world, greets proud new days


Rehearsal's done
The bell has rung

Startled
He looks around

Disappointed
He places her back in the case
And leaves


Copyright 1982 Julia Smith

Getting Settled in at Facebook

More getting used to this 21st century thing. So much new technology for me, lately. New computer, new digital camera, an account at Facebook.

But oh, the thrill when an old friend drops by leaving messages all over my wall. It's hard to get my Old Fogey mind wrapped around stuff like that, but once I do, it's cool.

Gotta hurry back. There's so many peeps to search for. I'll let you know if there are any tearful reunions. Three so far and I've only been on for one evening. Where's my kleenex?

Thursday Thirteen - 18 - 13 Reasons Why I Kiss the Ground That Animal Rescuers Walk Upon

Most of these pictures were sent to me in an email by one of the directors at my office. I asked her if she knew which tornado this was connected to, but she didn't - she'd received the email from someone and the location was a mystery. So I've added a few other pictures to make a Tornado Animal Rescue TT, since I have an intense fear of tornadoes and because I'm a dog owner whose heart breaks when I think of lost pets wondering what the heck just happened.








1 - An average of over 1,000 tornadoes are recorded each year in the United States, while Canada gets 80 tornadoes yearly. According to Environment Canada, "Canada's 'tornado alleys' are southern Ontario, Alberta, southeastern Quebec, and a band stretching from southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba through to Thunder Bay. The interior of British Columbia and western New Brunswick are also tornado zones." USA Today tells us, "Tornadoes are commonly associated with the nation's heartland – in a 10-state area stretching from Texas to Nebraska that also includes Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Arkansas, known as Tornado Alley."





2 - According to Wikipedia, "a tornado is not necessarily visible. However, the intense low pressure caused by the high wind speeds and rapid rotation usually causes water vapor in the air to condense into a visible condensation funnel. Strictly, the term tornado refers to the vortex of wind, not the condensation cloud."












3 - Tornado Archive states that "while tornadoes often cause significantly less damage than other natural disasters, such as hurricanes, they remain very dangerous in that they often strike without adequate warning. While meteorologists have shown a significant ability to predict the path of a hurricane, predicting when and where a tornado will strike is very difficult."










4 - "Anyone living in Tornado Alley is well aware of the risks of a cataclysmic storm," said Randy Covey, Humane Society of the United States director of disaster services. "Preparing now could save your pet's life."

This frightened male dog was the first rescue for a team that scooped up six animals following a tornado at an unknown date somewhere in the United States. I can only surmise that once this group was collected, the team went out to find more storm survivors.












5 - Keep Visible and Current Identification on Pets at All Times

"Take several pictures of all the animals in your household," advises The Cat Fanciers' Association. "Keep these pictures with your important insurance papers (include vaccination records, too). Be sure to include in the pictures any distinguishing marks. These pictures can help reunite you with a lost pet. Store the pictures in a resealable plastic bag in case you have to post them during rainy months."










6 - In the second rescue for this team, they found a female who was very distressed.

"The volunteers who waded into the devastation left in Hurricane Katrina's wake came in all sizes and shapes and redefined our notion of hero. Many of these unlikely champions scooped endless shovels of poop, distributed truckloads of food and clean water, and provided comfort and kindness to animals whose world had blown apart." - Pamela Crossland, Booklist, American Library Association










7 - Tip from the Rescued: Saving Animals site - "A great idea is to have a Rescue Alert sticker on the front door of your house. (note from Julia: but what if your door gets blown to Kingdom Come in a tornado...? ) You can get this for free at the ASPCA website. It alerts emergency personnel that there are animals in the house and tells the number and types. The Oregon Humane Society also offers a free pet Rescue Alert sticker on its website. Code 3 Associates has a downloadable Emergency Release Form, which allows anyone who needs to offer emergency medical care to your pet to have permission to do so. Fill it out ahead of time so you don’t have to try to remember all the information when you are in a panic."











8 - The first two rescued dogs bond quickly in the vehicle.

The looks on the faces of these dogs made me chuckle once again over the so-called debate over whether animals have feelings. "Researchers working in neurobiology and behavioral observation seem to be learning what pet lovers have known all along: animals have feelings," writes Patricia Collier at Buzzle.com.
"New evidence gathered from actually studying dogs, chimps and other animals, supports pet owners’ firm convictions that animals experience fear, jealousy, grief and love. 'Five years ago my colleagues would have thought I was off my rocker,' said biologist Marc Bekoff. 'But now scientists are finally starting to talk about animal emotions in public. It’s like they’re coming out of the closet.'

For example, recent studies show dogs excel at reading human emotional cues which enables them to be equally astute at expressing their own feelings. Samuel Gosling, a biologist at the University of Texas at Austin, said dogs have proven to be quite emotionally complex. He said there are four dimensions of canine personality: sociability, affection, emotional stability and competence (a word used to represent obedience and intelligence combined).

According to Gosling, these dimensions are 'remarkably similar to the four basic categories of human personality found in standard psychological tests.' Veterinary consultant, Dr. Jean Swingle Greek, said the 'news' comes as no surprise to her. 'To those of us who share our lives with animals, the surprise was not in the scientific confirmation of the emotions that we take for granted, but more in the fact the scientific community has stayed in denial this long.' "











9 - There's quite a lot of complex emotion going on here between these two dogs. While both of them have their ears low to their heads, indicating fear, the hound's eyes and mouth are showing the joy of being found and in the company of another dog. The white dog has taken on a protective one-up position which seems to comfort the hound all the more. Here are some descriptions of dog facial expressions which need a lot of mix-and-matching to accurately describe the emotions I see here and in my own dog: How to Interpret Your Dog's Body Language, Facial Expressions and Vocalizations (but it's not half-bad.)










10 - Two more hounds are picked up by the team. Look at that happy, happy, joy, joy face on the dog on the right!

There are self-directed online courses from FEMA in the US giving animal disaster preparedness. Similar courses in Canada are given by the Oceanographic Environmental Research Society's Disaster Team Training courses.












11 - The fifth animal brought aboard is a grateful cat only too pleased to join four strange dogs in the back seat of the vehicle.

"Household evacuation failure" - figures from the Animal Management in Disasters website:

"Owning pets appeared to be the most significant reason why households without children failed to evacuate. For every additional dog or cat owned, such households were nearly twice as likely to fail to evacuate compared with pet-owning households with children. In these childless households, pet owners were apparently willing to jeopardize their lives to stay with their pet(s).

Based on the high prevalence of dog and cat ownership in the US, if all pets could be evacuated from disasters, the evacuation rate of pet owning households could be increased by up to 20%. Therefore, programs intended to improve public and animal safety in disasters should encourage and facilitate pet evacuation at the time of evacuation."











12 - The cat snuggles up between the first two dogs and everyone gets chummy as the rescue vehicle continues to search through the debris left by the tornado.

Tornado pet tips from AKC Standard.com :

"It is important that dog owners not let their pet out into debris fields caused by a tornado which can contain broken glass, splintered wood and exposed nails as well as chemicals that dogs can easily get into. Having sturdy dog booties will help protect their feet and pads.

If you are outside with your dog in high winds prior to an event, it is important to protect them and their eyes from flying debris.

If your home or yard has sustained any damage make sure to check the dog's bedding, toys and exterior housing for glass shards or debris which can seriously injure your pet after an event."










13 - In the top left of the picture you can see two white front paws of a calico cat as the next rescue animal to join the group.

"Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. "
- Albert Einstein

Wordless Wednesday - 12

Poetry Train Monday - 13 - Playground Politics Grade 4

This is the second part of a two-poem piece. The first one recounted a grade 1 experience of mine. This one happened three years later.

The friend to whom I refer in this poem is the same friend who is the subject of Precious Friend from a previous Poetry Train post.


Playground Politics Grade 4


The insurgents
No longer requiring their
Inamorata
Already regrouped
Taking new positions from
This morning's skirmish
I'd even rushed home
Inhaled my Kraft dinner
And stepped onto the playground
Half an hour early
To find my troops
Already kicking away

The huddled group of boys
Shoved each other toward
The hob-nailed harridans
Seeking to prove their own endurance
A primal quest toward manhood
While all we wanted
Was an excuse
To maim and bloody
Before the bell rang










Inexperienced colonel
I didn't hear the whispers
Ricochet off the walls
A coup erupted from the giggles
I hung from all fours
The girls were gone
And they dragged me
To be their
Signature victim

I couldn't face
My own invention
Far more chilling
The absence of outraged mobs
Defending the founder of their movement

I hoped their lack of action
Was due to perceived shame
I felt the snowy wool
Congeal on my skin
As I bumped along the ground

The procession halted
Mere paces from the slaughter
Dumped
Unceremonious and sprawling

I saw the boys scatter
Two fists
Two feet
A wild mane of hair

My champion dispersed them











As if on cue
Every girl on the playground
Pursued the enemy
I scrambled to my feet
The urge to reclaim The Corner
Swelling in my chest like fear
My previous horror
At what I'd created
Dashed to a pulpy splat
On the asphalt

In the comfort of my desk
As we copied from the board
I stared at this class of deserters
Connie wrote behind me
We never talked
And so were not separated
As all best friends must be
I turned
And wordlessly
I picked up her eraser
Her gaze turned to me

How could her shining armour
Lay so unobtrusively
Beneath a polyester turtleneck
And Levi forest green cords?













Copyright 1987 Julia Smith

Off to the Wedding

My mom is off to my sister's future step-daughter's wedding.

I'm staying here with Gram while Mom heads out for a bit of fun, and to help my sister navigate the wedding. Her boyfriend's ex is the mother-of-the-bride, so it will be comforting for my sister to have someone from her family there.

So far my sister managed to get through the bridal shower with the ex in attendance, and all of her boyfriend's family were in full support of the new gal on the scene, my sister.

I think it was harder for the mother-of-the-bride-to-be to attend the shower, to be honest.

So far so good. The only meltdown occurred last night as my sister sewed the finishing touches on a homemade quilt she made for the bride. She realized she didn't have enough fabric for the 5-inch border. Fabric crisis!




They raced off to the fabric store but there was no more of this particular fabric left anywhere. So her boyfriend suggested that she make a 2-inch border and use other material that she had lots of to finish it. Voila! Problem solved.

So Gram and I are going to hang out upstairs while Brad plays with our new computer (whoops, I meant figure out all the technical stuff.) Xena will likely follow me upstairs - what could be more interesting than smells she only gets once a week? Mom took the new digital camera, so when she gets back I'll be able to see shots from the wedding right away! Can you tell I'm still getting used to the 21st century?