Winter snowstorm - Poem: Grocery Shopping Before the Storm

The snow began around ten this morning. Who knows when it will stop?

My goal was to get out a letter to my friend Helene Ryesky

locked away in Granny Park, a name I made up while writing her. She really lives in Rydal Park. She says she has no intellectual stimulation in the old age home.

It gave me the opportunity to polish the above poem plus a creative nonfiction story about Wendy Davidson, who, in the story, I renamed Paula Kramer. I like to keep names short, since I have to type em over and over.

No "Vera Ilyichna Rostovas" for me.

Now here this! Writing REAL LETTERS is very important. It uses brain skills unlike any other. We're always aware of the form we're writing in. Blogs? Sure, I try to write well, but the goal is to keep the readers informed and then go and do something important, like napping. 

Cancelled our New Directions meeting tonite. 

I got a nice compliment about our group yesterday. Got a phone call from a therapist named Stefani Bohm who works at the office of Dr Scott Fleisher. She said their practice recommends people come to our support group as they've heard so many great things about us.

I added Stefani to our Top Doc/Top Therapist list.

Dr Robert Desmond of Lansdale also told one of our family members we do good work.

Nothing like an unasked-for compliment! I remember my grad student advisor Fabian Ulitsky told me how valuable these compliments are.

And now, Dear Reader, I'm going to compliment YOU, for your fine taste in reading blogs.

For some unknown reason we had 54 views on the last post.

Oh! Just figgered out why. I posted it on FB!

The Compass is mostly finished. Ada is doing a great job proofing.

One problem remains: NO PHOTOS YET FOR FRONT AND BACK COVERS.

Seriously, Dear Reader, if you have any ideas - or any photos - ship em to Ruth Z Deming immediately!

I had a brief panic this morning.

Realized I'd used up the last tea bag of



I certainly won't be driving out to Nature's Harvest to buy more, tho I just might order them on Amazon. Let's take a peek: Too complicated.

Was speaking to my friend Jonathan Katz this morning of Dr Katz comedy fame.

He and his wife are looking for a summer place in New Hope, PA, where my dad owned The Now and Then Shop, a head shop.

I made a Freudian slip when talking to Jonathan this morning and said, The Now and Then Shop, where I met my late husband Jonathan......

While speaking to Jona, as his family used to call him, he realized he needed to get mail out as well. He hung up and said he'd call me back, which he did.

I was eating my lentil soup. "Paul would be proud of you," he said. Never you mind, o reader, who the love of mine life was!

I've got WXPN on now - what are YOU listening to - and they just did a traffic report. Yes, it's a mess all over Philadelphia.

But not here in my living room

 where I'm watching the steadily falling snow.

 Four inches, I'd say, and 18 degrees.

Before I print my poem, I'm gonna ask you a serious question. Do YOU have any addictions.

I do. I'm addicted to SWEETS and to COFFEE.

Maurizio gave me a box of cookies from an Italian Bakery, probly, I'm guessing in appreciation of my coming out to watch a play he directed at Town and Country Players.

He's doing an article on Movies with a Psychological Theme for the Compass.

He gave it to me after our Movie Discussion Group at the Library.

Was gonna distribute these cookies, which I'm sure include



cannolis, but, of course, the meeting is canceled. Eureka! I'll give em out at our Book Discussion Group on Thursday.

I try to keep my DECAF drinking to a minimum. Why? I don't like stimulants of any kind.

My shopping list included Dr Praeger's frozen meat-free burgers which are delicious!

GROCERY SHOPPING BEFORE THE STORM

I arrived late
the rush was during the day
I swung my cart from aisle to aisle
Don’t those sausages look good?

Have you ever felt self-conscious
pushing a cart as if it were a
doll buggy from your childhood?
Men and women both!

We all looked at one another
eye contact in face of the coming storm
we knew, if we had to, we’d pull
each other from the ditch if our
cars rolled over

And gave each other knowing glances.

Carts were not overladen
just a few minor items
we would moan about
during our confinement in our
snow-shrouded homes each one
wore like an ermine stole
staying in, relaxing, drinking
hot chocolate
and saying “What a beautiful
world this is”

Leaving, I looked at the
black cloudless sky
plotting its assault
sometime during the night.
Smugly, I thought
I’m ready
as long as the heat stays on
the pipes don’t crack
the water runs clear
and the crock pot
delivers its bean soup
smelling of turmeric.

Tonight I shall sleep and listen
listen for the silent snow.
It gives itself away by
the radiant glow
through my bedroom drapes
and the way
my body feels
as a well-loved child
of long ago.