Wish I had someone
to talk to.
Walked into the Upper Moreland Library and there was Dorothy, a
lovely older
woman. Returned all my books and DVDs, including the Ulrike
Ottinger film. She
will be at BAMPH later this year. Perhaps Sarah will beam me up
there via Uber.
Young Mailman Sean
delivered the
mail wearing shorts. I had gone outside in my furry CVS hat,
which, as usual, I
slept in.
Quite a draft at the
top of my bed.
Per Rem Murphy, I
watched the film
Ragamuffin on YouTube, rudely interrupted by commercials. It was
great. It’s
the story of the late Christian singer Rich Mullins. Very
talented but angry as
a stinging wasp. Richard Koch played Mullins.
Can’t quite remember
what ‘ragamuffin’
means. A preacher told him that the two of them were both
ragamuffins. Possibly
that they don’t believe that God loves them.
Well, I love ice
cream.
But where might I go
for some.
I knew I couldn’t
remember where DQ
is. Every year I have trouble finding it.
So off I go to China
Garden, a huge
well-appointed restaurant.
I was seated by a
gentleman.
“I just want ice
cream,” I said.
“We no have ice
cream,” he said.
I pointed to ice
cream and sherbet
on the menu.
“What kind you
want?”
“Vanilla with
chocolate sauce,” I
said.
They had no sauce,
so I ordered
both chocolate and vanilla ice cream which arrived in a small
bowl.
Delicious.
Walter Straus and I
used to dine
here.
I still have Walt’s
photo on the
side of my fridge tho I dunno if he’s dead or alive. He was born
in 1918.
WALT? Can you hear
me? Send me a
card if you’re still around.
…
For my Warminster
Writing Group I
hastily wrote a short story IVAN and then fixed it up when I got
home.
Submitted it to a
new site Potato
Soup Journal.
New sites almost
never accept my
work.
Hurray, they did.
March 31 they will publish it.
…
Was at Mom’s
yesterday, Sunday,
while Ellen went to the Flower Show.
I’ve been to many in
the past but
have no interest in going again.
In fact I think I
have photos in my
Ikea desk, which I found down the street, and Don drove it home
for me in the
back of his truck. The photos may be in the huge drawer on the
right where I
keep my socks.
I climbed into bed
with Mom and we
both napped.
We looked through
her Cleveland
Heights, Ohio, yearbook called THE CALDRON.
I always ask her
questions and she
did know what it meant, a large container.
There she was,
Bernice Begis. She
added “Lois” as she wanted a middle name.
She remembered a
great many people
in the book, men and women both.
We remarked when we
thought a guy
was handsome or a woman attractive.
Lenore Oscar, her
dear friend was
in there, still alive. Oscar is her married name.
Mom told me that two
students called
her a “dirty Jew” and understood that it came from their home.
There were, in fact,
loads of Jews
at Heights, as they called it.
…
“I think I hear the
garage door
opening,” I told Mom.
She heard nothing.
In five minutes
Ellen came up. She
was eating some lentils as she hadn’t eaten all day and bought
nuffin at the
show.
She told us all the
clever ways
flowers were highlighted at the show. A b’ful glowing blue light
– from underneath
– was gorgeous.
I thought a moment.
Maybe we can
spray paint your chipped side walk, I said.
She said The Burke
Brothers – is that
their name – were responsible for much of the show.
…
Told Mom that when I
drove up I saw
a Chinese man walking an enormous German Shepherd.
She said it’s a new
dog. He always
has shepherds.
I told Ellen I was
gonna write a
poem about it.
THE CHINESE MAN
WALKS HIS GERMAN SHEPHERD
IN THE PHILADELPHIA SUBURBS
Thousands of miles
from his
country,
the Chinaman proudly
walks his dog
who
looks like a
Siberian wolf who
hunts
in packs on the cold
white ground
tearing gazelles and
elks to
pieces,
blood soaking the
ground.
In San Francisco,
they called us
coolies
as we set railroad
ties for the
bosses
but were not allowed
to eat in
their restaurants
or sleep in our
hotels.
This is America, we cried?
Decades passed. The
Chinese man
has the lovely house
on the corner.
In his dark-stained
book shelves
he has Pearl S
Buck's The Good
Earth.
His daffodils are
showing their
pretty
heads in the garden
and the purple
crocus
shine in the sun.
