Never Shall I Forget

“Never Shall I Forget” –

Not my kind of sleepwear

Penned and immortalized by Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, these words echo the travesty he endured while living inside the darkened gray walls of a Nazi concentration camp. His life’s work has been to bring awareness to the injustice borne to the Jewish population during the dictatorship of Adolph Hitler.

     I own a few of the books written by Mr. Wiesel- in his novel “The Night” the  imagery, dark language and descriptive accounts of the horrors that occurred within the camp made me sick inside. From that book, I learned the meaning of hatred expressed in the form of brutal torture.

     There are also many books about the Holocaust and a few movies. One story in particular, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, depicts the friendship between two young boys who happen to see each other through a barbed wire fence in an isolated work camp. They become fast friends -in spite of their circumstances, for they know not the meaning of prejudice. The story was based on truth and demonstrates innocence, camaraderie and loyalty in the face of all that seems hard and cruel.  

The meaning of Friendship

   Our freedoms and the people who helped to foster them bear the responsibility of being remembered not just on certain “holidays” – but the“in-between-days” as well. Liberty-taken for granted may lull some people into forgetting those whose lives were deeply scarred while laying this foundation.

     If we choose apathy over action, ourselves over our neighbor, our own agenda over the betterment of our community – then mankind begins a slow decaying process.

                                 No voice, no cry goes unheard.

She ~Who Likes to Play...

She ~ who likes to play…

     

My adorable Lab mix is insanely playful at times! If I am engrossed in writing something she will come up and nudge her nose under my writing arm and insist that I stop and throw a ball to her. It’s her way of saying that I need a break!  Funny thing is, she is usually right…

    Carlie enjoys a car ride as much as any excited 2 year old ~ she hops right into the front passenger seat and stares out the window at all the other cars. Occasionally she sees what she considers a “mean person” or a would be robber- then into a barking frenzy she goes! Usually she calms down after we speed up and pass the perpetrator but only after I promise her a treat.

     Countless times I have taken her with me to the store at night and she waits in the car while I make a quick errand. Mind you ~ she enjoys the scenery and the ride, and I enjoy the fact that I feel safe when I walk to my car and get in. Oftentimes I am asked If I would like help out to my car with my groceries but I usually decline because Carlie does not favor “ bag boys”…she sees them as a threat. I try to tell her that they just want to help me, but she’s just a little protective of me. #iamsothankful!

     All in all, having a canine like Carlie makes for good company ~she knows when I need a break and I know when she would like a “T-R-E-A-T”! Here’s to more car rides and trips to Starbucks!!

My Canine Trainer

      I am a runner ~ so they say, but not in the traditional sense. Not a competitive person by nature, running affords me the luxury of eating chocolate and enjoying the benefits of good health.


Carlie~a bad case of "Black Toe"

     When I run solo, my running companion is a black lab mix named Carlie. Flanked by her on one side and with my iPod secured to my opposite arm, I meet my daily mileage quota beating the streets of my own neighborhood.

     Of late however, Carlie is hesitant about going outside. I am not sure if the loud trucks intimidate her as we cross a busy divided highway to get to our starting point, or that she simply prefers the clay/grass trail to asphalt pavement.

     After our last four miler, she acted like her feet were sore- (don’t laugh – it’s true!) A careful observation of her paws revealed that the pads appeared, dry, cracked and raw and I immediately applied a soothing salve. Since then, Carlie has been less enthusiastic about running on pavement, though I can still manage to coax her with the promise of a ‘treat!’

     We are similar in that way: I am one who looks for a reward in my daily goals…and while Carlie’s is a meal bone ~ mine is dark chocolate!  Aaahh- it is the Sweetness of life♪♫



Owed To the Code

Owed to The Code

Your skirt is just a fraction
A working man's -distraction
A symbol of nonconformity . . .
It may look so cute on
The bottom that it curves upon
But, it also doth not cover up your knees.

You see, holiness on the outside
addresses what is- inside,
A manfestation of His righteousness.
And holiness is God's way
to honor and to say,
He expects more from us,
And certainly -nothing less.


3/19/09

Yet -a "C" does not define me-Revisited

A "C" does not define me
it only serves to try me,
to gain attention of a higher grade.

It wittles and it tries me,
and often does it buy me
much added tension
to my stress filled day.

No, a "C" does not yet thrill me,
but hardly will it kill me,
therein is the element of pride . . .
for a "C' will just afford me,
a level of generality-
and therein -will I choose not to abide.

Ode To MAT 1033

Numbers are members
to an exclusive club,
filled with Algebraic expressions
Trigonometry and stuff.

They talk of equations
polynomial - and - linear,
with trinomial factors
causing exponential fear.

Numbers are members
a sect of their own,
hard to compete with
and bad to the bone.

They build the tall buildings
they medicate the sick,
they teach the young children
to measure with a 'stick.'

Numbers are members
-for this club I seek,
I study and I mingle
for a chance to compete;

and give numbers a chance
to take hold of my brain,
and help me succeed -
in this mathematical game.

Numbers are members . . .
maybe one day - I'll be.

a "C" does not define me.

The Lettering - that teachers bring
their students, after test-
dispells the myth, much to their wit
they did not give 'their best.'

For such a grade - will so display
a triumphant bold decree-
victor or victorious,
or plain mediocrity.

But, to the dismay
of those who lay
beside their books -pre-test,
it may be
the letter - "C"
does not define 'your best.'