Monday, August 29, 2011

Magpie tale #80


His feet splashed in puddles as he rushed past me holding a red umbrella and red bag.
A nearby illuminated Barber pole reflected in a store window that he passed by, creating a sort of fun house scene that aroused long forgotten joy in me. I turned to watch him run down the empty street, a poppy blowing in the wind.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011


Boo stared
The window was open and the smell of outside air
must have mesmerized him, for he just sat there and stared
Was it the smell of cut grass or just summer wafting in,
or was it a long forgotten genetic coding for outside
and the hunt that got him starring.....or freedom just beyond?
I have had this kind of staring at times in my life, too
staring into something I know is out there....something primal...
meant to be part of this life....just beyond my knowing

Saturday, August 20, 2011


We escaped to Galena for the weekend...ahhhh
Yesterday was my husband's annual golf outing to raise money for the
Chicago Police Memorial Foundation
I tried to learn how to golf.....don't laugh you golfers
my instructor laughed...said I didn't have muscle memory
like in Little League Baseball boy memory.....girls didn't play way back then
and I don't think I would have anyway...even if I could
Anyway....I stink at golf
so yesterday I was like a duck swimming in cameras (did ya like that one?..clever use of photo?)
It was a fun day anyway....hanging around at dinnertime with the other
female non golfers....looking cute (as cute as a woman of my age can look :)
It was a long day....finishing with lights off for us at almost midnight
midnight.....yikes.......and up at 5:30 to get up and out the door by 6:30
My husband got dressed,packed his clothes for the weekend and pulled the car out of the garage
I had to make coffee.....clean up the coffee pot...take out the garbage,feed the cats..clean their boxes
make the bed....I always make the bed before leaving
ever since I heard my neighbor talking at a BBQ about how messy some people's houses are
!!!!
anyway...I continued with other various household duties necessary before leaving
while he- who- must- be- ignored.....sat in the car sipping coffee, listening to the radio

phew.....that felt good snitching and whining

 We passed throught the most awful looking cloud formation...ominous and dark...dark dark
but as soon as we hit the lovely valleys of northweat Illinois...it was blue skies all the way
corn fields and soybean fields as lush as any that I can remember
and large amounts of cows and sheep in the pastures
and green, green ,green as far as the eye could see

But there were signs that things will be changing soon
signs like  OCTOBEREST
HALLOWEEN
PUMPKINS

Not yet........not yet



Friday, August 19, 2011

Ah, life was...or seemed to be...so much easier when I was a kid
Get up....eat breakfast made by mom
Get dressed with clothes mom washed and ironed and paid for
Put on shoes polished or shined by dad (no gym shoes then)
Walk to school
Greet my best friend,Evanis, every morning, hang up my coat..put my books away...blab until the teacher told us to rise for the pledge of allegiance, then prayer....
Then it was 3 hours of class.....
When recess time came.....we had 3 of them...15minutes in the morning,15 minute after lunch recess,and later...we had tiptoe recess...where you tiptoed quietly to the bathroom ..
At recess we played tag, jump rope, red rover,hopscotch,hide and seek...girls and boys usually in different "camps"
Lunchtime we sat at our desks and opened our lunch boxes or paper bags
my mom packed me a baloney sandwich and an apple or banana
After lunch there was more pay attention in class until 3:15...when we would close our day
with prayer and an evening hymn before leaving school... that we all return safely the next day
I would walk with Evanis to the corner where she caught a bus home
and I headed home on foot
When I walked in the backdoor of our house ( I can still here that creaky hinge) 
I would grab a glass of milk, and on Fridays my mom had cupcakes waiting on the counter
I would then go to my room to
either listen to records,watch Garfield Goose on TV in the front-room , or the Three Stooges (my brother's favorite)
or go call my girlfriend Patsy
and I mean call.....yoa Pat,yoa Pat,yoa Patsy
at her back door....we dare not ring a bell
 around 5pm I would come home for supper...My dad would be getting up...he worked nights,and we would eat dinner together..yum cooked by mom..always 2 bowls and a platter
a vegetable, potatoes or noodles or rice,and meat
no desert, except on Sunday...and milk...always a big glass of milk
Then it would be off  to share dish-washing duty with my brother.....he liked to dry
return to my room to do my homework, do my memory work (Bibles passages and hymns or prayers)
later watch TV with my parents in the "living room"
recite my memory work to my parents 
take a bath, put on fresh PJs that mom had ironed
sit with mom and dad a bit ...then prayers....and lights out

How much I remember that I wanted to grow up
live my own life
eat what I wanted to eat
dress with clothes I picked at the store
be the boss of my own life
and never memorize another thing

Now I wish I could go back in time and really enjoy and know what I had, say 
thanks dad...for such a loving safe and secure childhood.
I have thanked my mom.
And, oh, the Bible verses and hymns....they come to me in times of trouble
this I am thankful for, too
....a comfort that is hardwired inside of me
as is a good childhood



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

It's a cleaning day today.
Real cleaning..as in cleaning out
This is avoided at all cost
because it never fails that I find things
that make this job that much longer
Like old photos
letters
trinkets
bibles
stuff of the heart
How it has managed to shift around to lie in these places
I will never figure out
but it does
Sometimes it is a sweet visit....like today's
and sometimes I need a whole box of tissues to get through it all
Above is my youngest daughter and her husband
below it my other daughter and her husband and the Finn
next to them are my Son and his wife and little miss and little master
sigh......I miss them all
maybe I'll finish these closets by Friday

Monday, August 8, 2011

Magpie tale #77



I knew before he ever opened his mouth. Word gets around in this small town. He's been seeing Mabel Sanchez behind my back, taking her to lookout point after he drops me off before 9pm. I can't help it if my parents are strict. But I guess what he really wanted was a lover's lane lust-mate. I cut him short, before he could actually break it off with me. Instead I leaned myself back on the porch railing and stretched my long, smooth- skinned, just shaved, legs before him. "Look Charlie," I said,leaning my arms backwards resting them on the porch rail,pushing my breasts forward into the porch light, "You got to understand, I don't want to do this, but I have to. I don't want to see you anymore. I have plans, big plans, and they don't include the likes of you. I want ...out of this town and away from small town people like you and Mabel Sanchez. So you go ahead and keep seeing your little girl friend, ain't no matter to me. I'm going places. "
And that's when my dad rapped on the window for me to come in. "Bye Charlie,"I said,shilly shallying my be-hind into the house and closing the door.
My father looked out of the window and watched Charlie drive off, then turned to me and asked,newspaper in hand,
"Too bad what happened to that poor Sanchez girl...but I guess she died instantly, did you know her?"


MAGPIE TALE #77
We went to the JoDavies county fair this weekend
...very small town America
We showed up in our fancy car and I think the guy charged us more
hee hee
But it was worth it

It did our hearts good to see the families
enjoying the hot summer day
the kids running around....free, like they used to
happy and eating hot dogs and chasing each other 
Good to see the demolition derby...haven't seen one of those since I was a kid
and that's a long time ago
The people were so friendly
and happy
nothing fancy, just good summer fun
good summer corn on the cob
good cold beer
good baked goods
and of course the animals



My battery went caputskied before we hit the cows
but they were divine
every cow had a fan blowing on them
When we got to a building that said Hares...uh
I almost didn't go in...I have a childhood trauma
regarding rabbits in cages..but my husband got me to go inside
and I am sort of glad I did
they were all well taken care of, plenty of room, water and their fur
was gorgeous...unlike the memory I hold tightly bound in me
Cages with wire bottoms yes, but they seemed content
I asked the man in charge if this wire bothers their feet
he said most no, but one type yes, and they place wood boards in the cage for them
I wanted to take them all home...cows, ducks, roosters,sheep,horses
I guess I never grew up concerning animals
I want them all cared for and loved....
ha....but the farmers were all good to me and my attitude
I think inside they felt the same way
but life isn't that way and can't be
but it was good to see these animals well cared for


It was a wonderful weekend


Monday, August 1, 2011

windmill


Magpie tale #76


An Illinois summer
evening
Quietly a windmill spins
pumping water
for livestock and home
 The sun slips away
disappearing,too
from the landscape



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