The day after Christmas - To upload photos, see directions below

 

Great seeing you, Sarah and husband Ethan, who drove over from their Brooklyn pad in his buddy Gordon's Toyota RAV.

Also, Sarah, thanks for the great hat! I love it and so does Janie, today's helper.

Have a great time in Umbria, near Rome, Italy!

Shucks! Sister Ellen aka Ellie Belle, has pretty much been disqualified from moving into the new place on Davisville Road.

We all had a great time at Dan and Nicole's on Christmas Day.

Loads of great food including tenderloin steak like Mom used to make, which Sarah marinated for four days.

TO UPLOAD PIX

Have purple Nikon camera ready

Insert plug under WHITE TAB

Select pictures on computer you want to upload

Tricky part: to upload pix on blog, select BLACK SQUARE that seems to have 2 tiny mountains and press upload, as that is where pictures will be

ORANGE PUBLISH BUTTON is off to the right.

Good job, Ruthie!!!!

Lovely photo, eh?

Philadelphia Opera redux

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0p1rFCv5U&list=OLAK5uy_kkMW26xxCIxuIChIaAecaRJkg-JEkTlBU 

We are now going to hear Rossini - Fountains of Rome,,, Pines of Rome

But now we are in Philadelphia with its very large hall

I just walked around the block 

Stravinski will also be heard, Pergolisi.

It is 1920 ish.

Everybody gets something to do. 

His modern classical was a new discovery for the Russian, whose first name I can't remember. 

Oleg.

He was asked to write it for Diaghilov. 

Nicholas McGheegan guest conductor comes on stage, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0p1rFCv5U&list=OLAK5uy_kkMW26xxCIxuIChIaAecaRJkg-JEkTlBU

POPE FRANCIS will have colon surgery - Good luck to the People's Pontiff

 

Ruth Z Deming hoping Z Pope has successful surgery.

By Elisabetta Povoledo

July 4, 2021Updated 1:11 p.m. ET

ROME — The Vatican announced on Sunday that Pope Francis had been admitted to a hospital in Rome for colon surgery.

Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, said in a statement that Francis, 84, had been taken to the Gemelli hospital in the Italian capital. Mr. Bruni said the “scheduled surgery” would take place later on Sunday, and noted that a medical bulletin would be issued afterward. He said that the pope had “symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon.”

The surgery would be performed by Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who heads the hospital’s complex operational unit for digestive surgery, the Vatican said.

It is the first time that Francis has been admitted to a hospital since becoming pope in 2013. Unlike his predecessors, he has never left the Vatican for the cooler papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, during the summer. He normally slows down his schedule in July.

Two days ago, Mr. Bruni announced that the weekly general audiences held on Wednesdays would be suspended for the month of July, and begin again on Aug. 4. He added that the Sunday Angelus prayer and blessing would continue throughout the summer.

In general, the pope’s health has not raised concerns. More than 60 years ago, he had an upper lobe of his lung removed as a result of complications from tuberculosis. At times, his breathing has seemed labored during speeches.

He also has sciatica, a condition that causes leg and back pain, and has missed engagements in the past. This past year, he missed New Year’s Eve and Day services because of a flare-up. Last year, he missed a Lenten retreat with senior aides because of a bad cold.

Though Francis is undergoing major surgery, the fact that the procedure was scheduled and not urgent is a good sign, according to Dr. Anne Peery, a gastroenterologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “I think there’s a very small chance that it is life-threatening,” Dr. Peery said.

Francis suffers from diverticulitis, a condition in the sigmoid colon in which saclike bulges on the colon walls become repeatedly inflamed or infected and can warrant surgical intervention, according to Dr. Feza Remzi, the director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone Health.

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The pope arrived at the Gemelli hospital in the afternoon. He was accompanied by a driver and a “close collaborator,” the Italian news agency Ansa reported. Francis was admitted to a suite of rooms on the 10th floor in one of the wings of the hospital, the same rooms that had been occupied by Pope John Paul II during his hospital stays. John Paul was there so often as a patient that he often jokingly referred to the hospital as the “third Vatican.”

Earlier Sunday, Francis looked serene while addressing people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus prayer and blessing. Announcing that he would be visiting Slovakia in September, he smiled happily when cheers went up from the crowd.

MY POEM FOR THE PONTIFF

by Ruth Z Deming

Admiration, yes, for you are kind to all your people

Kind and simple

No need for splendid outfits

To show you rule

Billions adore you

And I do, too

In the Holy Name of Jesus

Come out whole without

a Bag for your Poop

O Pontiff

and I too will hail your Jesu. 

Nice to meetcha, Carl Hiassen, courtesy of my subscription to the NY Times

 

This is Carl Hiaasen, who just wrote his last column for the Miami Herald. He met his Thursday deadline for the last time. A great writer, he always told the truth, even when it got him in trouble. Bribes from politicians, under the table deals, and pay offs to become the next governor.

He is also a gonzo journalist, he says.

Let's see what he has written.

Here's one of them. I chose it for my 12 readers bc of the colorful cover.

When I was a kid and attended Camp Cardinal in Rome, Ohio, I was always thinking about COLORS for my lanyards.\\

When I opened the door just now, in case Scott stopped by, there was Lee walking her two Grand Pyrenees dogs.

I waved and quickly shut the door as they like me and I didn't wanna interfere with her walk. 

It might be fun to lie down with the dogs and get warm all over on this FREEZING COLD DAY.

My late Aunt Ruthie worked the the Herald. What she did I have no idea. Will write her daughter and see if Susan knows.

My sister Ellen said she was a PROOF READER.  Just like my son was at Forbes, 

Back upstairs I go to continue reading ENDURANCE by astronaut Scott Kelly. He had no idea what to do with his life until he read THE RIGHT STUFF by Tom Woolf.

His parents were both alcoholics. 

When I went on a cruise ship awhile ago, they offer ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS.

Go back to sleep! But Mommy I have to Go to the Baffroom - Flushy the Magic Toilet

Thank you Lynn for the various tea bags you gave me.

I've chosen Vanilla Chamomile Tea.

SCRUMPTIOUS plus it will make me fall asleep!

Awoke at 5 45 am and said This is ridiculous!

Nonetheless - is this a word, Dr Schwartz? - off I went, taking the very long way.

Now I'm eating my oatmeal mush with peanut butter, blueberries, whole pecans and those sunflower seeds that stick in your teeth.

Spoke to Sister Lynn this morning who was just starting her walk and told her I still miss Mommy and Daddy.

Should I write them a letter?

Dear Mommy and Daddy,

I love Camp Cardinal in Rome, Ohio. Would you buy me a horse when I come home?

One of the funnest things we've done - scratch that and make it - one of the most fun things we did was go skinny dipping.'
Say hello to everyone for me.

Love, Ruthie

We learned to write in script with the Zaner Blowser method.

I made a concerted effort - Concerto in C by Bartok - to remember Lynn's number. The key remembrance was the age that Daddy got sick with cancer, 58.

Shari just walked by with her dogs Moishe and Sasha.

Surprised Lynn when I said I still keep a diary. It's pink and I write as fast as I can. Also have a black one in which I write down ideas for short stories.

Am I enjoying my oatmeal?

Eh...
.

Weather, high 88 today. Thunderstorms on Sunday.

Ah, Bob Dylan's new record.

Goodbye Jimmy Reed, he sings.

I break out the grapes and suck out the juice.

OATMEAL POEM NUMBER TWO

A microcosm of health in every spoonful
Alight from red couch
and bring to Myers' front porch
sit on swan chair and muzzle the
damn dog inside. A sweet face
I'll tell you but when she jumps on ya
she bruises my lily white legs.

...

THE COLOR OUTSIDE is very strange.

Dark as if it's twilight.

Time is 7:26 am.

Catch up with ya later.

All my best,

July 17, 2020

FLUSHY THE MAGIC TOILET

Make yourself comfortable
Read a book if you've
got a long stay, meditate
for a quick visit

How far we've come
in the time we've been here
on the planet earth
outhouses, forget 'em
with the crescent moon
above the door
and the unforgettable smell

Porcelain the choice of
of emperors in China
to hold their hot tea with
their long mandarin nails

I'm made of the finest
porcelain, kiln-melted
in burning hot temperatures.
that rendered me
strong, white as the
falling snow, and durable
as a young girl's heart

We like visitors. Come prepared
with what you've got to offer me.
Take your time. We've got books
on the lid and a shower curtain
with trips you can take all over
the whole country.

And when you flush, listen
to the quick sound. The sound
of gushing rivers. Makes you want to
raft down the mighty Mississippi
withe Huck and Tom.

Do it, by God, before it's too late.

Marcus Aurelius - these warrior kings die young - 58

Rem and I were sharing some notes, kidding around and I said, YOU and Marcus Aurelius.

Read about him here on Wiki. He died at age 58.

Marcus Annius Verus 26 April 121 Rome
Died	17 March 180 (aged 58) Vindobona or Sirmium
Burial	Hadrian's Mausoleum
Spouse	Faustina the Younger (m. 145)
Issue Detail	14, incl. Commodus, Annius, Antoninus and Lucilla

I had no idea who the man was but I did know he was a scholar and a philosopher.

I wrote this poem about him, which I sent off with an email alert about our meeting on Tuesday night.

SELF IMPROVEMENT

Since humankind sailed down
from the trees, the pink-bottomed baboons,
the huge gorilla, the tail-less Barbary Macaque,
and tiny Rhesus monkeys
we have an innate need to improve ourselves.

This is why we read the Meditations of
Marcus Aurelias. He lived in a time of
constant warfare and a hatred of Christians.

The historian Herodian wrote, "He gave proof of his learning
not by mere words or knowledge but by his blameless life."

On the battle field his men were burning with thirst.

One Justin Martyr wrote, "Aurelius believed Christian prayer
had saved his army from thirst
when "water poured from heaven," after which,
"immediately we recognized the presence of God."

Aurelius goes on to request the senate desist
from earlier courses of Christian persecution by Rome.

Find your dog-eared college copy of Marcus Aurelius
Meditations and Quotes.

Carry it through the many battles and struggles
of your lives.

Better than that, you cannot do.

....

So why am I drinking hot coffee on a 98-degree day? - Mom's 95th Fourth of July - By the dawn's early light - Vitamin B Complex - Cajun Chicken Leftovers for Breakfast - An Orgy of Fireflies

Got the coffee yesterday when I had an egg n cheese biscuit at McDonald's in Hatboro.

Nothing is better!

Could barely finish the coffee, very hot,  and Yes, as I transferred it into my car, I spilled some and burned my fingers.

Dang!

   Was talking to my friend Nancy on the phone and told her I'd written two novels, neither of them published. The first one was based on the life of my former BF Simon.

The second, I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was.

It did finally come to me.

It was/is called My Brother's Keeper.

I do know a couple of people who published their own books. I'll do it when I'm ready.

Yum! This hot coffee is delicious. What I did was pour it into a saucepan, add water, and let it heat up.

Am drinking it in my RUTH cup, given to me by sister Lynn.

Mom is 95. We came up with a great idea. Lynn's friend Ina - pronounced EEna - will take c/o Mom on Saturday's from 11 to 4 pm, giving Ellen a break.

At Camp Wise in Rome, Ohio, I had a counselor named Ina. Took photos with my Brownie camera. Nothing as fun as overnight camp.

Let's imagine we go back.....

Oh, there's Ina, whose hair is all white. She's pushing a walker. Eight of us file into our cabin, which still smells from S'mores (marshmallows, Graham Crackers, and Hershey Bars) and stale tears from crying ourselves to sleep on those very first nights.

To tell the truth, I am still homesick. I hate being away from home, and miss my red couch littered with crumbs from pretzel rods and peanuts.

At the CVS where I'm forced to get medication - they haven't invented anything yet for failing memories - I bought a box of YUMMY looking nuts. Soon as I got home and ripped open the plastic, I could smell it.

RANCIDITY.

I'll return it when they call me to pick up my medications.

So the eight of us all discuss what's happened to us in the FIFTY-TWO years since we've seen one another.

The usual horrible diseases, which I won't go into.

Am reading Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, whose name I can't remember. Riveting!

They taken to calling him BIGFOOT.

WTF?

He's with an awful man, Scorpio, and don't worry, I'm not a plot destroyer, they're in a laundromat. He threatens to put Scorpio in the dryer.

Hilarious! And yucky at the same time.

Told my friend Nancy I got a check for $375 today from the govt.

Ran after Mailman Dante to mail it to the bank. No more keeping things under my mattress and getting eaten by bed bugs.

It's your Rent Rebate Check, she said.

Oh no! I finished my coffee. Let me run downstairs with my Ruth cup and see if there's any left on the stove.


Whew!

My insurance company gave me a scare. Again.

They always screw up!

I always threaten to switch, but never do.

State Farm.

Any thoughts of good insurance.... homeowners and drivers.

Send me an email to RuthDeming at Comcast. net. You will be handsomely reward by my thousand and one thanks.

The coffee ain't so good in its 30th dilution.

Listen I am so relieved the Intell published my story. The editor lost it twice. And his big boss, sent me a very nasty email.

Does he realize who you are, said Nancy.

He doesn't give a flying f*ck who I am, Nancy.

*
Had to drive back to my nephrologist's office b/c he didn't fill out my Kronic Renal Form correctly. He did, except he didn't sign it.

While driving, I realized I wasn't lubed up with Sunscreen No. 50, so I threw a tube into the car. As a person with a lowered immune system, due to taking immunosuppressants for my kidney transplant, I'm at risk for getting skin cancer.

*

All I've wanted to do all day is to read my Jack Reacher novel. Janet Maslin of the Times said it's his best.

Take it with a grain of rice.

*

CAVALCADE OF POETRY (One hopes I can find them all!)

Oh, hell, I'll just get em off Facebook.

Excuse my cursing. This is how I talk to myself, a nice refined Jewish girl like myself.

MOM'S NINETY-FIFTH FOURTH OF JULY

From separate abodes we're watching
the Capital Fourth, Mom, Ellen,
Donna and I.

And she'll have fun fun fun until her
Daddy takes her T-bird away, roared the
award-winning Beach Boys far from the
sands of Iwo Jimo, where my neighbor
George served.

Three little flags waved on my tree lawn
symbols of our still-great nation. As I
pulled them out, they seemed to weep,
where is the great leadership we've
come to expect, the democracy we
fought and died for.

Dad served in Guantanemo Bay, the
leader of our family. Uncle Marvin
in Belgium, Cousin Dan in Vietnam.

We salute them now as fireworks
ignite in the distance, the sound
of the death rattle of men who
perished in the Afghan, France,
Winston's Great Britain, and
Germany.

True equality rules in the
war zones. Let us rethink
what's going on around us
and come to a new resolve.

Believe in the goodness of
humankind. It's there in
the archeological dig.

***

BY THE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT

Woke up, slipped on my britches
and marched around the block
before the soldiers and their
families were awake.

All's I saw were tankers, loudly
coming my way. I saluted and
tipped my David Smith Sculpture
Garden Cap.

From on high I heard a thin
high noise, a ribbon of an
airplane, heard but not seen
like God.

My legs worked well on this
early morn and I was ready
to defend my country alongside
Paul Revere, Gary Cooper and
Babe Ruth.

Long let freedom ring!

***

VITAMIN B COMPLEX

The temp had cooled to 94
I sight-seed my way to Giant
searched the shelves and found
me a tawny brown bottle
of B Complex with the word
"Stress" printed on top

The only stress I feel
is when driving, merging,
reading rejection letters
and how much they really like
my work but it doesn't suit
our needs right now, the bastards!

It was one of those huge pills
it came with intructions on how to take
Quickly ignoring them I downed it with
tepid water - what stays cool on a
day like today?

Spoke to Judy Diaz earlier today
we discussed former clients at
Bristol-Bensalem, most of em
I loved, said I, but couldna
remember the place I went after
our center closed down

Remembered it while watching the news
with Scott but won't pollute this page
with its name.

Since I care for my crops as much as
my clients, I watered them tonight
when I came home, the new B-complex
making its home in my gut.

That a pill could make a difference
That a pill could change your mood
That a pill could cure a disease
"There's nothing wrong with me,"
said Judy Diaz.

The fireflies are rioting again
tonight. If Joseph in the Bible
made a coat of many colors,
I shall weave a coat of fireflies
blinking on and off, on and off,
and you can follow me where-ere I go.

***

CAJUN CHICKEN LEFTOVERS FOR BREAKFAST

Heat them up, I thought at first.
Why waste gas?
Standing up in the kitchen
I finished the entire batch
Saucy, spicy, dreamily delicious.

A bare-chested jogger was on
the street where the late
Luke Sanders lived.

Off I went, in my painted
sneakers with one painted
red toenail peeking through.

Still strong, tireless, I
wasn't dead yet. Though I
know a few friends who are.

The majestic sun was not up yet
though a sawed off moon lingered
in the sky.

Gave the crops a good soaking
Barry's raspberries are flowering
on the hill, so are the tomatoes
inside the deer-proof fence.

Time to watch Laura Dern on Netflix
in a film they picked out especially
for me! A feeling of dread hangs
over the film, just as it does
in our nation.

***

AN ORGY OF FIREFLIES

Up and down
over and under
in and out

What's their message?

If only we knew.

These age-old beings
who flew in the time
of the Pharaohs

contain secrets and
wisdom known only
to Hashem.

***

So, anyway, I'm talking to Nancy. She said she'd been to my house here on Cowbell.

You have not, I said.

Yes, I did, when you were going with Simon.

OMG, I said, I certainly can't remember that far back.

Simon's in my first novel. He's been dead since 2008, I think.

Nice person, super smart.

215 604 0711.

Sy, I need some help with my computer.

His home in Bensalem exists no more. It's a plumbing supply company.

Every person we know well enriches our lives. Since we can't change anything, let's celebrate what we learned from them.

Photos of my 72nd birthday party - Part Two

 Scott's Train Set down his basement.

Max would run all around it making sure he saw everything, which is impossible. There are so many little details.

When he first began assembling it, Scott didn't have too much money. He was working at a couple of dealerships as a mechanic. After he got a job at SEPTA he began making good money so could invest in more trains, scenery, cars, and of course the whistle!

 Kamellia trying on Martha's cast-off gift, a huge straw hat. I persuaded her to take it home. I bought gifts for most of the guests, including towels from the Giant and Bath Bombs from Kremp Florist.

 Kamellia is a chess champ. She started playing at 3 or 4 in Ukraine.

 I loved this cake and will have a piece with the chocolate ice cream shortly.



This was my gift for Max. From Aldi's. As was my gift for Grace, a huge kit of Princess items.

Mom-mom was sick so couldn't come to my party. 

   My gift for Dan, a hardback, 30 percent off. As soon as I spotted it, scanned it and read reviews, I knew he'd like it.

This morning's egg breakfast with sliced honey ham and Ellen's Swedish Cookies and oatmeal chocolate chips.

This morning, Sarah, Ethan and I Ubered over to Mom and Ellen's. Mom joked that we were lucky he didn't murder us. Ellison was his name-o. 

 They said they'd be back in the spring, when we'd hang out. Tonight Ethan and The Bad Plus are playing at the Village Vanguard. After the Vanguard, Ethan will no longer be in the Bad Plus but already has many gigs for 2018, including a commission for a piano concerto.

We were all talking at once so I forgot to ask him who commissioned it.

 Ellen made Smoothies for breakfast.

Uber picked up the kids to drive them to Trenton, where they'd take the train to Brooklyn.

When I got back inside Ellen asked me what the driver looked like. He drove a Suburu.

A Drug Lord, I said.

 Thunder Paws by Bill Hess of Wasilla, Alaska. A lovely picture book of cats and Bill's large family and friends, I'm trying to give it away to someone who would appreciate it.

El Papa perhaps?

ROME — Pope Francis used his annual Christmas Day address on Monday to make clear his concern that serenity is sorely lacking at a time when the “winds of war” and an “outdated model of development” are taking a toll on humanity, society and the environment.

Addressing a crowd from a balcony at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, the pope delivered his Urbi et Orbi — Latin for “to the city and the world” — benediction, which read like a litany of global conflicts and problems.

Have you read my short story about him and his trusted advisor, Mouse?  Ethan liked it!

I asked Ethan if he missed playing the piano when he'd go on vacations.

Yes, he said.

 Can you see the nail in the middle of my tire?

 Is it better to publish a sideways portrait of Scott or none at all?