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 |   Second blog -- answers to an ocean of prompts |
 "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." CHARLIE CHAPLIN  Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. David Whyte        This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts. |
For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  Prompt: “We accept the love we think we deserve.” From The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Your thoughts on the subject? === I think the love in question here is the love or rather the respect people feel for themselves. Surely, if human beings neither like nor respect themselves very much, they can settle for any bad treatment or even abuse. Worse yet, relying on any one single person to make them happy can become a downfall because it means handing out to that person the entire control of their emotions and their life. Then, if the other person accepts the controlling role, that doesn’t say much for the one accepting such a job, does it? Who would want to lord over anyone and use anyone like a puppet? Maybe a tyrant, a tormentor, or a persecutor, but not a nice person. As faulty a practice as this is, it is rather common and we may all fall for it, especially in our younger, less experienced years. No one ever should be in charge of the locks and the knots of our well-being, except ourselves. More important yet, those of us who are raising children or in the business of educating children have to be vigilant that the children are not being put down or made feel inferior, but that they are encouraged to love and respect themselves.  For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Sharmelle's Expressions  ’s "Let me go The Christian Way!" === I enjoy and applaud the poet’s sincere feelings toward her belief system. That kind of believing insures the righteousness and moral behavior of its believer and signals the “salt and the light” to be in full effect. As there are many ways of belief to follow, each way and how it is honored in practice depends on its practitioner. A belief system works as long as the choices of that practitioner are not limited to the choices that compromise or settle for that which is more convenient or comfortable, rather than that which is truly best and pleasing for the entire creation. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: by Lyn's a Witchy Woman  Macavity is helping me this evening with the prompt. He wants to know are you a cat person? A dog person? An animal person in general> Do you believe animals add joy to human life?---- I am more of a cat person nowadays because of my 12 year-old Noche, who came into my life less than a year ago. She is a talker, meowing and sticking around me throughout the day. It is impossible not to love her, despite the fact that her real owners (my son and his then-wife) were about to take Noche to a shelter due to some problems she’d given them, mostly caused by the jealousy of their dog and the other cat. Maybe Noche understands that I butted in on her behalf when I said to my son, "Don't take her to a shelter. I'll take Noche." Then, I am also an animal person. I love dogs, wildlife, and even the cute salamanders that come into the porch to tease and entertain Noche. Another factor is I grew up with my grandmother, mother, and my aunt before she got married. My aunt was cat-crazy. She had countless cats and she would take in pregnant feral cats and help them give birth. She also instructed me in the care of newborn kittens, until my mother forbade me to go near her cats. She was worried about me getting sick with some kind of a cat disease, but I think her real reason was jealousy which had to have stemmed from the fact that I was getting too close to my aunt, as such things happen in families. And yes, I believe animals add importance and sense to our lives. Aside from all the joy and comfort they provide, the idea that we are sharing the same planet with them and the idea of nature repeating itself in all species in different ways make us more alert, observant, and appreciative of the creation and its Creator. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Tileira  ’s "In the silence between breaths..." --- “In the silence between breaths I hear my distant phantoms wailing.” If this is not poetic, then, what is! The substance of the poem is significant, and in particular, one can adapt that to her/his situation or heartbreak without being specific about it. To say the least, I applaud this poet for her sestina. In fact, I applaud anyone for writing sestinas. I tried it myself a few times and found it fun but restrictive, and in no way, were they this easy as this poet makes them sound. This sestina flows beautifully, and it is full of meaning, in fact with emphasized and accentuated meaning.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" A family member has married outside of their race, religion, social class or broke some taboo. How did different folks react at first. After a year, or 5. --- My family? I love my extended family for there are all kinds of people from many countries, religions, and social classes in it. No kidding! As long as I have lived, I didn’t see or hear any untoward actions against people who married into the family. In fact, I ended up loving aunts and uncles who married into the family, regardless of where they were from, even more than those who were born into the long-established family members. The only exception, as I remember, was my grandmother who didn’t like it, but it was then--about 70 years ago--when I was a child. I heard her talk against such strong differences, but she always acted nicely and politely to her so-called “newcomers.“ Yet, breaking taboos would be more like it for getting the family dander up. Those taboos would have to be criminal acts like stealing, swindling, killing etc., and I don’t know of any such people in the family. Maybe they were overlooked or I didn’t notice it. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From dogpack:saving 4 premium: DWG  ’s "Bat, Post, and More" --- This is a poem from the heart and I am glad those of us who have tough problems are writing about them. Writing about problems has to count as some kind of a comfort, in the least. I cannot truly imagine how hard it must be for the disabled to live among those of us who have no inkling of what the disabled are going through while they are being entangled in a web of medical and social factors. Especially with the pandemic, nowadays. Some might believe the disabled might handle the pandemic better than the rest of us, but with the places closed and restrictions on travel have to affect everyone more so the disabled. Even placing a mask on a face might take some doing on top of all the social disadvantages that were added on with the onset of Covid 19. Then, I do applaud the distinct strengths, talents, and courage in disabled people, and I hope all of us, the people in this world, learn to make an effort to notice and recognize the potential in our disabled friends, family members, and inhabitants of the earth. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Is there a difference between joy and happiness? ---- There are different ideas on the subject. In normal language, or rather among lay people, the feeling of joy is deemed to be more short-lived and sudden than happiness. Yet, it is quite the opposite with the way religion looks at the subject and the way the psychologists and those who research human behavior do. They believe that joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. Happiness, on the other hand, depends on external facts like other people, places, thoughts, events, or things. The main point is both feelings or states of being are positive ones. From the psychologists’ POV, aiming for joy is more beneficial, more lasting, and it signals an internal maturity in a person as it is not tied to external circumstances, and it avoids negative thinking as much as it can; whereas with happiness, one can go from a feeling of exhilaration to a heartbreak in short time, such as a child seeing a new toy and thinking it is for him but finding out it was meant to be a gift for another child who is his friend. Yet, joy is selfless; in the same scenario, the child who sees the new toy still feels elated by the thought that the toy could bring happiness to his friend. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Elfin Dragon-finally published   ’s "Invalid Item" --- Such a nice, thoughtful poem of honoring one’s parents. I have to say, “Lucky parents!” Honor means paying respect and attaching worth to someone. According to most religions, parents whose children honor them are eternally blessed as are the children for their respectful behaviors. This is held to be the truth even when the parents may be parents who are, let’s say, not up to par. For being humans, some parents may be impatient, irritable, and faulty and may act and react badly in very many ways. For that reason, at some point, most people need to forgive their parents for some ineptitude of their upbringing. That kind of forgiveness is an important key to a happy life for everyone concerned. Where parents are concerned, they should be thoughtful of their children, to provide them with examples of righteous lives, honesty, respect for the laws, purity of actions, speech and thoughts, and then, parents should show love to their children even when they least deserve it, listen to them and value their thoughts and their ways of seeing the world, and be supportive, encouraging, and appreciative of their interests and activities. Then, when parents and children honor one another equally, it advances humanity with peace, prosperity, and progress in all areas. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What can be the five positive things to remember about your life or anything else in the world, for the next time you might be in a bad mood or facing a difficult situation? --- The positive things about my life can be my fantastic, extended family on my mother’s side that inspired moral and spiritual behavior, a good marriage that lasted for 54 years, which would be in its 56th if my husband would still be here on earth, two sons, a good education that inspired and still inspires me to keep learning lifelong, and I thank my lucky stars that I was never in a war or inside a warzone. Now that I’ve counted my blessings about my personal life, I have so many more blessings to count about our planet. It is a beautiful planet, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I couldn’t be anyway. Chances are, I wouldn’t be able to breathe, in the first place. I am truly grateful for all the animals here, wild or tamed, and even the slithering snakes and alligators, although I wouldn’t dare go near them. I am also grateful for the variety of my own species, the humans here. I appreciate the conservatives among us who bring and insist on law and order as well as those who speak up and fight for positive change so things don’t get stale. And I especially favor children who are curious, alert, and ready to take on the world and raise it to a higher moral level that will also become very peaceful, comfortable, and livable. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Seabreeze ’s "Invalid Item" --- Surely there is more to life than we see as this poet says in her beautiful poem, for we spend our entire lives to enjoy and experience as much of it as we can. While this poet has searched for her cave on a mountaintop, some of us hide our caves inside our souls. While we look for meaning outside in the world, we may also hide, when push comes to shove, inside our personal caves where our true meaning lives and comforts us. Our internal caves are not only sanctuaries but also, they are where we process the world, its ills and its beauty. Sometimes, when we raise our voices in song, or in arts, or in writing, we show a glimpse of that meaning to others. Those of us who are fans of all arts, we love the arts because we find something of ourselves in them, something we discovered in our very own caves, hiding deep down inside our selves. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Our country is beginning to open up again. Are you planning on attending Memorial Day festivities like parades or picnics or fireworks? What's your feeling about public events at this time? --- Parades are fine, and I kind of favor the picnics, but not the fireworks because I know what that does to other species with sensitive ears. Plus, as pretty as they look, fireworks mess with the atmosphere and remind me of war and fighting, too. No wonder our dogs whimper and hide! Personally speaking, I am not planning on anything yet, because as much as we wish it gone, the pandemic is still here in the works, and even though I have been fully vaccinated, I don’t want to add to the others’ possible ill health by becoming a careless model of action. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Vaishali ’s "Lonely Times" discusses love and loneliness. Do you think there is someone for everyone? Why or why not?---- I like this poem because although it seems to touch the idea of a worldly love-relationship, it also includes the Higher Being in the works. With that, one can never go wrong. As to the prompt's question, there might be someone for everyone or not. I think the idea of such a coupling is not a must, and it is not fair when such an expectation by the public leads the way to a lot of misunderstanding and unhappy feelings by the individuals who feel alone. On the other hand, yes, I had someone very special in my life for 55 years. Now that he’s gone, I thank God and my good fortune that he had been destined to be with me for such a long beautiful time. Not many have been that fortunate. Yet, what happens with some of us doesn’t mean that everyone has to have the same or similar relationships or that everyone is destined to find such a paradise on earth, so to speak. That might happen or not. I’d rather think everyone should be for everyone where friendships, understanding, and helping hands are concerned. After all, we’re in one world as one of the favored species in a wide-ranging, amazing creation. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: How do you feel about giving children nicknames? Do your children have a nickname? Is there a story behind the nickname? If not what's the strangest nickname you've heard? ---- I never thought about that. All I know is that some natives, for example American Indians call one another with names that fit the people for either the way they usually behave or pointing to an incident. For example, “he that runs faster than the wind.” I never gave my kids any nicknames, either. Except, when my husband and I wanted to talk behind their backs, we referred to them with nicknames only known to the two of us. That trick worked beautifully. Then, kids give nicknames to other kids, too. My older son used to call the younger one Appy and the younger one used to call the older one Googie. Lol! One thing comes to mind on nicknames. When I was young, a friend of the family used to call me NoshNosh, which has nothing to do with my name, and I have no idea what he meant by that. I didn’t mind it but it annoyed my mother to no end.  So if anyone wants to attach a nickname to a person, beware of their mother! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Stormy Lady  ’s "Invalid Item" , apoem about something every parent goes through: empty nest syndrome. What was it like for you? If you have no children, what do you think it would be like? --- Hahaha! Such fun those things that Stormy has detailed about child raising! I can certainly relate to just about every single one of her items as I, too, have done all that. Yet, the empty nest syndrome? We never had an empty nest because we flew the coup altogether. When my kids grew up and one was just about to start college and the other one had just graduated as a chemist and had started interning (working), retirement popped up for hubby and me. We decided to move to FL from NY, and the kids wanted to live on their own. The older one rented a flat and stayed in NY, and the younger one moved down with us to rent a place in Palm Beach because he wanted to attend college there. At the same time, we bought our present house about 45 miles north of the younger one’s place. It was a busy time because these things happened all at the same time, almost in a few months. I think the one who really felt any blow was my younger son, as he was 19 at the time. Yet, looking back, he says he’s happy he began living on his own at an early age because he thinks he learned a lot more about life that way. He certainly has traveled and moved all over the country since then. Having said all this, both guys have always known that, should push come to shove, they are always welcome to take a room in their parents’ place. I guess, at the time, we all got too busy to feel that empty nest thing. Yet, now, I have only a cat to keep me company. Surely, I miss my family, but also, I love solitude. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What film makes you happy? --- I am done with movies and Hollywood. They don’t make me happy. I don’t watch them and I don’t go to the movies anymore. Except for Disney’s The Beauty and the Beast. Only because it has to do with a main character Belle who loves to read and she sees the real person in a beast named Gaston. It is a very difficult achievement for anyone to see the real person in a beast. Then. aside from the main characters, who can forget Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth who advises the Beast! Although this was a cartoon movie, its characterization made it a winner as all the characters were reflected as being unique and important. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Dr Perry Ride in "Invalid Item" asks "To be or not to be?" What do you think?--- Nice poem. I was expecting a far-out Shakespearean philosophical piece. It sort of started that way, and then, it twisted into a relationship/romance plea, which was interesting in its own right. As to “to be or not to be,” who am I to say? This having been created is not my problem, is it! My problem is to be the best being I can be within the limits I’ve been given. Although I doubt I am doing the job well enough, it isn’t for me to decide whether "to be" or "not to be." In any case, trying that would be something like heresy not only against one religion but, I think, all of them. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: "One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time." Carl Sagan Do you agree with this quote? Write about this in your Blog entry today. --- I certainly do agree with the quote as I do hear the voice of the characters in most books, a bit depending on the talent and expertise of their authors. A protagonist or an antagonist with a good strong voice definitely draws in all the attention not only to themselves but the time, place, and the action of any book. In my opinion, this can happen only when the author feels like his or her characters, which sounds quite difficult to do but it is not, if you are a writer and you have perfected the voice of that character inside your head. Then, in a related matter, those who read audio books also add to the appreciation of the characters in a book. Recently, I listened to The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, brought to sound by Julia Whelan. Her narration was so powerful that, to this minute, Julian Whelan’s voice has become the main character Elsa Walcott Martinelli’s voice inside my mind. Not to mention that the powerful storytelling and the exquisite plot also adds to the enjoyment of listening to a book. Some might argue that a well-written book impresses the reader on its own. Granted that it is so. Yet, when that book is turned into an audio book, the narrator's voice and style, and feeling and their telegraphing that feeling to the listeners are also very, very important. Although I prefer reading books from a Kindle or on their print version, recently I’ve been resorting to listening to them also, due to my aging eyesight. In Julia Whelan’s case, this was not a bad decision, at all. She was a true Elsa Martinelli for me. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Angel ’s "Why Are Frogs so Happy" Write about frogs today from this poem. --- What a cute, funny story with word plays yet! It would make even a sourpuss smile. Reading the poem brought an image into my mind. Just imagine a dinosaur-sized frog descending on our earth. Eeek! Frogs are carnivorous, folks, and we all would be their catch. Horror writers, take note! And forget about frog-legs’ recipes, not that I’ve ever eaten any such thing, but who’d ever dare to catch a giant frog for its legs! |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: If you could converse with Mother Nature, what would you say? === I think, Dear Mother Nature, you have a personality disorder. As pretty and versatile as you are, you have a way of acting differently toward various regions. Can’t you be more even-tempered at least on this little planet earth? Look at the way you behave. Is this any way to be a mother? You froze up the arctic regions and made my area way too hot throughout the year only to throw hurricanes at it when a silly fancy or an urge strikes you. Then, look at the way you treat the places that are supposed to have all your four seasons. Your passages between their seasons with your scary temper tantrums can shame any mother into denying their motherhood. No wonder, living with such extremes of yours, us denizens of my planet act so weird all the time! Yet, I understand that we people have not been very nice to you either; still I suggest you learn to become milder and kinder to those who depend on you, and just maybe, go into an existential therapy of some kind. If you do that, next time I write to you, I promise to extol your beauty and your gifts of life to us, but for the time being, I am holding my breath and laying down my pen. For: "Space Blog" Lostwordsmith  ’s "Invalid Item" . What do you do to deal with summer heat?--- Summer heat? What summer heat? We have the summer heat year-round where I live with a few lucky breaks in between. Except in summer. Summers boil, sizzle, and grill us around here. Thank God for the AC, which may or may not work at times, especially when the humidity is high. This is a good poem, though. Exactly after my heart. I can especially relate to the line “the faint scent of the rain,” as yesterday, when I walked down the driveway to the mailbox, a sprinkle left tiny wet dots on me. Before I could sigh “what a relief,” it stopped, and the drops on me and the mail evaporated before I could go back into the house. Even “the faint scent of the rain” was history by then. And no, my driveway is not very long either But we take this oven of a place nevertheless, consoling ourselves we don’t have to shovel snow or freeze in winter when the temperature there hits below zero. Small comfort when we are frying under the hot sun, with the word summer being only a moniker. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Have you ever written a mission statement for your life? If so, have you accomplished what you predicted. If you haven't, do you feel this might make you more accountable? --- No. I don’t think my life needed a mission statement because it is not a mission. It is a life, and it is my life. Missions are for those who are out to help the world or a part of it with the secret underlying wish to help themselves first. I think my upbringing and especially the fine values I learned from my extended family are a mission in total and in themselves, and they don’t need to be written down. Did I have a plan for my life in the beginning, though? Yes, however, that plan had to be revised several times over because it is life, and as they say when you make plans, karma laughs at you. In short, I didn’t write any statement for my life. The only statements I write are my daily to-do lists and they are doable. Well, most of the time. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Sunny  ’s "In The Heart" . What does your heart tell you?--- This is a nice, sincere poem that describes the author’s heart, which is a very beautiful heart, I think, and I so agree with the last line. “In the heart tells who we are.” But only if we have learned to read correctly and trust well that reading in our hearts. As to mine, my heart tries not to make me fall into the habit of trusting false feelings and lies, plus to look truth in the eye even if it is hard to take. Then, of course it tells me to focus on love the most, but the kind of love that some call agape and then, the love of God-- if and when I am lucky or destined enough to feel it. I don’t think what arises from the body and the hormones should be called love; although, most everyone--including me when I was in my teens and early twenties—make the mistake of thinking that as the real love. If that were the real love, would we have so many divorces and failed relationships? But then, to each her or his own! |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: "Books are a uniquly portable magic." Stephen King Write about this quote in your Blog entry today. --- Agreed. 100 % and then some. Where would I be in my life without books? I guess I’d survive, but barely. Books have been my constant companions ever since I was four, when I learned to read practically on my own as my mother had claimed. Books have been there for me throughout my life. When I need to fortify myself with knowledge, I resort to books. When I need to have a quiet time or entertainment, I pick a book I have stored somewhere in the house. When the going gets tough, I find solace in books. Books have the magic power of taking my attention away from the current problems. Also, books rarely --if ever-- die, go away, or get mad at you, and then leave you. They are constant, and they are there at my own beck and call. What could be better than that! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: "Invalid Item" in which laurafu writes to her daughter in vitro. If you were an expectant mother, what would you say to your child?--- Sweet poem, written from the heart. I believe many mothers would relate to the author’s feelings. In my case, there is no "if" for expectancy, but I was an expectant mother three times, earlier. As much as I appreciate the sweet feelings in the poem, unlike the author of the poem, before they were born, I promised my kids and myself that I’d never lie to them about Santa’s actions or any other unreal or fable-based stuff, and when I would tell them such stories, I’d make sure they were to be told that those stories were from imagination. And I did just that. It was well worth it, too. My kids now have their both feet set firmly on the ground. The only negative thing that came out of it was the resentment of another mother of a six-year-old who was my younger son’s classmate. She berated me for not letting the kid believe in fairy tales, since my son had told her daughter that Santa was supposed to be a nice guy, but he was imaginary, and Santa certainly was not Christ himself as that little girl had mixed up Santa and Christ as the same person. I told the mother what she’d tell her kids were her business, as what I’d tell mine were my business. I don’t know what she was aiming at. Should I go ask my kids for their forgiveness for not lying to them? I am not blaming any parent for letting their kids believe what they want them to believe, but it is their business, and my business is mine. Once you’re a mother, you meet all sorts of parents. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: If you had the chance, would you spend the day at the zoo with baby pandas? --- I love zoos. I would definitely spend a day at the zoo, possibly not only with baby pandas either. Talking about pandas, I like it when the zoos let the animals live in a habitat as close to nature as they can emulate. I think Smithsonian Zoo is trying to do that with the pandas. When I was a young child, I was taken to a zoo and watched three angry lions walk growling around a cage. The cage, probably as large as a living room, smelled terribly and even as a child, I began crying for the cruelty that the zoo inflicted on those beautiful animals. I don’t think we humans have a right to do that. I understand that sometimes we need to keep species of animals who are about to become extinct in order to save them, but still, the grounds they are kept in should be ample enough and as close as possible to their natural habitats. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Thaddeus Buxton Winthrop ’s "Beneath Emerald Rainbows" --- Good poem except I didn’t get the phrase "emerald rainbows." If rainbows were emerald, which emerald is a green gem, they wouldn’t be rainbows. Other than that, I agree in not trying to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. It just doesn’t work, does it! Then, instead of a windfall (not that I would reject it  ), there’s something to be said about work and work ethics. On top of making a living from work, we learn the value of contribution to the community while building and strengthening social, personal, and family bonds. This moves our lives in a better direction and lets us gain soft and hard skills to add to the meaning of living. Of course, the work we choose has to fit our personalities; otherwise, we wouldn’t be satisfied with the work; neither could we be as successful as we could be. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: A limo just arrived at your door for your use Where are you going? Who would you take with you? ---- I ask the limo driver to take me to the nearest interstellar station. I am taking nobody with me but my cat Noche, and only because she’s a weirdo of an old cat, and if it weren’t for me adopting him the last minute, she’d end up in a shelter where she’d be subject to all kinds of cruelty and name-calling by the other animals. You see, in the first place, I am not much into Limo-living, but this limo was available and I wanted to leave my car to my kids. But I digress. The Limo stops in front of a quaint-looking building, designed just so that it shouldn’t attract much attention, for quite a few people would want out of here and they would crowd the place. I knew about it only because a friend of mine who used to work in real estate had sold them this office. Anyhow, I thank the driver and hop down with the cat sitting on top of my head, as she likes high places, and in the first place, I don’t have much of a fancy hairdo. I enter the building and approach the person in the first desk and tell her I want out because another war is brewing in the Middle East, and who knows what will happen next, and I’ve had it with all the war hoopla on this planet. “No worries,” she says with a sweet smile. “We certainly understand. In fact, some of our crew here are leaving also and for that very reason. One thing you’ll appreciate though, your flight will be free due to your circumstances with that cat on your head. Now, let me see…How about…” “Alpha Centauri,” I butt in, "I bet most any planet on Alpha Centauri will have me and my cat.” “Oh, that’s easy,” she says. “It's exactly where our crew is headed to. You’re in good company. Please, sign under here!” I take the pen she hands me, and just when I am signing, I feel a wetness on my neck. Not again! Noche has peed on my head! Oh well, cat pee on me or not, I am outa here. If you guys here on earth decide not to fight and not have any wars, Noche and I may consider returning. Remember the trick word here, “consider”! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Rhoswen - Relentless Victory ’s "Invalid Item" , a tribute to veterans. I don't know about you, but my hat is off to anybody who defends their country. What do you think?--- Good poem in appreciation of veterans. I bet most of us feel quite similarly for our veterans. Except, when our appreciation for the veterans is confined only to celebrations, parades, dinners, or balls, I think we shortchange our nation’s heroes. Our true appreciation should show in serious legislation that would take much better care of their needs once they return home. As such, we should be electing government people who would make such legislation possible. Surely, my hat is off to the veterans who risked everything for the welfare of the motherland by especially “defending,” which is more palatable than the other illegitimate ideals such as conquering and taking hostages. After all, peace on earth is the ideal state. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Have fun with these words in your entry today: adjourn, churn, burn, turn, yearn and fern. --- The meeting of the sheep on the farm was adjourned until further notice for the milk needed churning to turn it into butter, although this action burned the palms of the farmer whom the sheep loved dearly. The sheep, then, disbanded over the field, bypassing the soured fern growing on the sides of the property. The early spring shoots of grass they yearned for had toughened and yellowed under the hot summer sun. Still they chumped on whatever they could find. Their next meeting would have to be held inside the barn due to this scorching heat. --- Why a farm? I don't know! I am not even a farm girl! For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From HollyMerry ’s "My little friend" a poem about loss. How do you deal with loss?--- The poem points to the pain the poet feels from the loss of her kitten. Truly, a pet’s death shakes up a person. It is not only the loss but the mourning for what might have been, had the death never happened. Loss leaves behind in its wake pain and emotional suffering, often extremely overwhelming. This bouts of pain and suffering are normal. The more significant the loss, the stronger the pain. This pain takes time. It is a good idea to understand one’s own pain in order to be able to deal with it. It is also important to let time do some healing, too. How do I deal with loss? With keeping to a to-do list every day and adding a lot of prayer to it, as I am still dealing with such pain although it has been more than a year that I lost the most important person in my life, which hurts more, I think, than the loss of a pet. I cannot really tell anyone how to feel or go through the mourning process because we’re all different, since the way I am --the way I can still manage the daily routine, work, and deal with whatever comes up-- shocks and surprises me all the time. I think I am stronger than I have ever given myself credit for. It’s said that the emotional symptoms of grief from loss are shock and disbelief, sadness, guilt, anger, and fear. Usually, they don’t follow a sequence but they get all mixed up. If the dealing of everyday life becomes too much to handle, it is a good idea to seek help, but that help has to fit the person suffering; otherwise, it may be more hurtful than helpful. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Fantasy. Would you like to walk on the rings of Saturn? ---- Wouldn’t that be something the old me on a Saturn's ring! Yes, I’d like that very much, but not with this earthly body. You’d have to design me a new one. One that could step and stay on a Saturnian ring. A Saturnian body could be a start, though. Why not one-for-all type of a body that I can use while I traverse the universe? Since you came up with this prompt,  Megan, I bet you can accomplish that and then some.Talking about that “and-then-some” bit, while you are at it, you could design an interstellar bike to fit my new body. A bike that can also jump over black holes and sail through the galaxies. I don’t think this is too much to ask. Just think of the big business you’d be starting. You’d be the richest lady in the universe and Forbes people would kiss the ground you’d walk on. Now, how about that! 😉 For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Fivesixer  has a picture from an x-ray where he broke his ankle. Have you ever had metal put in you? Write about metal implants.--- Sorry about Norb’s broken ankle. I hope that was a long time ago and it’s healed perfectly by now. As to metal implants, I don’t know much about them, but I know people who have them. I believe they work very well. Me and the implant? Not really a metal implant but I’d like new circuitry with magnets planted inside my brain, as its performance seems to be falling back somewhat. I have been reading up on neuroplasticity, and they are coming up with great finds. Unfortunately, those docs who write those books (like Dr. Ramachandran and Norman Doidge) only sensationalize the far-out cases. Wouldn’t it be great if my neurons fired faster and faster and connected properly? Maybe I could even write better. Heck, I’m all excited now. This writing better wish is worth going through the process of a new circuitry installment and even much more, with exaggeration. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Write the words you need to hear right now. ----- Peace on Earth. No more wars. No more Covid or Pandemics. People respect one another’s beliefs, ideas, and opinions everywhere. Then, after these things are accomplished, we can all accept life as it is. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From THANKFUL SONALI Now What?  ’s "The Poet called Nature" --- Another beautiful poem about the poetry in nature, and I certainly agree with the premise of the poem. Yes, there’s poetry in nature, In fact, I imagine it was nature from the beginning that gave rise to poetry. Let’s just look around us at the sandy beaches, the sensations of summer, the essence of sand, an animal mother defending her baby, woods at night, sunbeams playing peek-a-boo among the leaves of tall trees, the sounds of the owls, birds chirping, humming birds drinking nectar from the flowers of all colors and shapes, butterflies, rain, a snow scene with moon shining on it, other moonlit nights, forests, trees, oceans, storms, flags waving in the breeze, mountains, rivers, lakes… The more I think, the more poetic things I can come up with. Even after all these things and then some, I believe people are the most poetic. When I think about it, what a glorious make-up people have in their outward shapes but mostly what’s inside them! Such an amazing creation is that human mind! It has the most striking, beautiful poetry and some truly intense drama. Nature has truly created a masterpiece that envelops everything sensational, amazing, stunning, scary, and so theatrically spectacular. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt “Where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.” Emily Giffin, Where We Belong How many places have you felt you belonged? Write about them. ---- Places I’ve been in are more than self-evident and static backdrops, sets, or stages on which I happened to exist. See that I didn’t say “I’ve been to” but I said, “I’ve been in.” This means one can visit many places but the sense of belonging happens with other elements rather than the city, country, suburbs, or wilderness backdrop. As such, I’ve been to many places in the USA, Europe, and the Near East. The one place I felt I really belonged to was the three-story, old clapboard house I grew up in. Then during my junior high and high school years, since both high-schools were in the same complex, I had thought I belonged there, as I had truly loved that school. Then the following year, when I attended the alumna meeting, the place felt like someone else’s school. I didn’t belong there anymore but to the university I was attending. Well, somewhat, I thought. I wasn’t going to be fooled again. Later on, when I went abroad to many places, while married after a while, I felt an affinity to many places, but I never felt I belonged with them. It is true that although a few places were inhospitable and the people in them I feared were out to get me, I’d say 99% of the places were nice and the people in them, usually, very friendly. Yet, I felt I belonged with my extended family sometimes, and my husband all the time, until he passed away. So, in my case, I think that sense of belonging has more to do with people than places. I guess, in my case, a place has to have beautiful people attached to it, rather than just the scenery and the topography. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From A Cassandra. ’s "Invalid Item" This is a beautiful poem describing cherry blossoms. My best experience of cherry blossoms happened a few decades ago when we visited Washington DC. I believe it was the first week of April, then. The view was something like light pink tufts of cotton covering the branches, exuding hope and happiness to the viewers, be it short-lived like the cherry-blossom season itself as the flowers disappear quickly giving way to fruit in the making. I heard this year and last, due to Covid, even though they let in a few people walk in, they put up a fence around the tidal basin and closed the roads leading to the tidal basin. I’ve also read about about the cherry blossom festival in Japan, but I doubt they could do any better than the USA in opening them to public during the last two years. Who knows, when Covid is history, maybe one day I’ll live to see the Japan’s beautiful version of cherry blossoms, too.  |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt“Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo F. Buscaglia Who in your life gave you all the nice stuff Leo Buscaglia has talked about? Or if you wish, who can give all those things to anyone? How? Write about it. ---- Many people in my life gave me all that. I have been blessed with the most wonderful extended family. Mostly, it is the parents’ job to take care of those things, but when other people are added to it, the blessing is multiplied many times. I think in addition to family, school people like teachers and friends, too, can add to a growing person’s life. Even neighbors and strangers can pitch in if we were to live in perfect societies. Unfortunately, however, this isn’t always the case, and if a young person doesn’t have good parents, family, or any outside help, that person will have only himself or herself to turn their life around. I think, when all is considered, each person should learn to stand on their own feet and realize that, especially if they’re not a child anymore, they only have themselves to lean on to make the best life and future that they can for themselves. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Redtowrite ’s "One Planet of Hope" --- Here is a beautiful poem on hope, which I agree with 100%. One thing that makes hope so wonderful is that it is accessible to anyone, regardless of nationality, creed, race, politics, and everything else that separates human beings. Yet, it isn’t enough to wait, wish, and hope for something to happen. We need to work toward what we hope would take place. Hope should invite more than a wish into it. If not, it is only a wall decoration inside our psyches. Hope should invite a list of possibilities that demand action on our part. Otherwise, reverting to what Emily Dickinson wrote, hope is only something in the sky with feathers that we cannot catch but can only watch from afar. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: There's dialogue and there are monologues. Dialogue is conversation between people whereas monologues tend to be one person speaking similar to a speech or a rant. Let's take this opportunity to discuss your name. What makes it unique? Is it a family name? Is there a story behind? Have fun, be engaging. --- I think I’ll tweak the question in the prompt a bit and have a conversation about names in general. The Bard: “What’s in a name?”. Me: “A whole human being,” The Bard: “All that glitters is not gold.” Me: “Granted, if only for the reason that a person’s name is not as important as who the person is inside, as argues your Juliet, Sir; however, it is a known fact that in our time, people live up to their names. Well, mostly.” The Bard: “You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” Me: “It is not the first time, Sir. My mother had similar ideas on that subject about me.” The Bard: “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” Me: “You may laugh all you wish, Sir, but unfortunately, neither you nor her are here on earth, anymore. ” The Bard: ““To die, to sleep - To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub…” Me: “The rub is some of us do not like our names as they don’t fit us. Worse yet, out of spite, some people act as the opposites of their names. Yet, most everyone tries to live down or up to the names given to them, subconsciously or rather consciously speaking.” The Bard: “Conscience doth make cowards of us all.” Me: “With your permission, Sir. I tend to disagree. Conscience is the most importance part of a human being, I dare say.” The Bard: ”Et tu, Brute?” Me: “Sorry, Sir. I didn’t mean to lecture you. I may have stumbled there a bit. “ The Bard: “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” Me: “You sure are very witty, but you have to admit that we humans should think twice when we name our children.” The Bard: “Get thee to a nunnery! Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit.” Me: “It is all right, Sir. You can call me names if you wish. After all, you have called many a character many a name”. The Bard: “Beautiful tyrant, feind angelical, dove feather raven, wolvish-ravening lamb! Despised substance of devinest show, just opposite to what thou justly seemest - A dammed saint, an honourable villain!” Me: “If those are the names with which you are calling me, Sir, I’m more than pleased. I’m delighted.” The Bard: “Frailty, thy name is woman… Than by destruction dwell in doubtful Joy.” Me: “You just uttered my name, Sir. I’m so honored!” The Bard: ““Are you sure…That we are awake? It seems to me… Some are born mad, some achieve madness, and some have madness thrust upon 'em …”” Me: “To quote you, sir, ‘I am one who loved not wisely but too well.’” The Bard: “All's well that ends well.” (Sir William S. exits the scene.) For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From victoryseeker’s "Invalid Item" . Share a regret that you have. ---- I regret I had to hurt someone’s feelings by choosing someone else over him, but I had only enough space for one person in the drama of my lifetime. Yet, I am happy with my choice, and I didn’t let that regret hang on over me through the years, making it an imaginary alternate version of my life. Regrets can be the stuff of tragic fiction but they are not functional unless they can propel people onward and teach them not to make the same mistakes again. Intuitively speaking, my choice was not a mistake, but I still feel bad for hurting a very nice person. |
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