Lola: A Thanksgiving Story

Coffee in hand, I watch Lola, 
a blind gymnast do her thing 
on Good Morning America 
She runs forward in a 
Leap of faith, seeing very little,
no depth perception,whatsoever, 
teammates cheering her on

People watching would never know 
that she is blind  
She is so courageous, 
her trainer says that she falls  
more than the others 
but always gets right back up 
and performs again

Her name is Lola 
She seems unstoppable  
and, indeed, with her attitude 
she is

Lola is my new metaphor 
for courage 
When I started to write today 
I planned it to be about Gratitude
 and I am grateful that 
I am not blind

But most of all, I am 
grateful and thankful 
for souls like Lola 
who help us truly see!

raintreepoet, 2112

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Budgets &Hot Buttered Rum

The problem with Capitalism is the greed factor:

I can make an excellent hot buttered rum with a

jigger of cheap rum (you don’t need a brand name                              

because once you add the real creamery butter and

brown sugar, you could not possibly taste the

difference, anyway!)

So, back to the recipe:

·       one cup of boiling water,

·       Add a pat of butter, stir until melted,

·       and add one Teaspoon brown sugar, stir,

·       then a jigger of the cheapest rum available (I repeat,

you do not need a name brand, you do not need

to line some ad agency’s pockets) generic will

be perfectly fine. Now, taste it: just like a pricey bar hot buttered rum,

Eh?

I happened upon this by accident, one holiday season, when

my name brand, best selling hot buttered rum batter

ran out in the middle of the night

It was our Christmas season tradition to enjoy

Hot buttered rums to warm us up after caroling               

in the frigid winter streets

On this particular December night there were

more revelers than usual and the hot buttered

rum mix ran out!

In a moment of illumination, after reading the

ingredients on the five dollar $$$ batter tub,

I noticed that the essential contents were:

.butter

. brown sugar

With rum and hot water, we’re home free!

Hooray! Foodie and creative cook that I am,

I improvised and from that day forward never

bought hot buttered rum mix again!

The essential ingredients are inexpensive

and I discovered my own hot buttered rum

independence! And in another part of this great nation, somebody’s

over-inflated doughy cash cow fell hard.

Now, go forth and apply the principle to

other capitalistic scams. It will warm the cockles of your heart.

Be smart, stay warm, because, Baby, it's cold outside. Brrr!

 Raintreepoet :-)

Mason, the Magnificent!

  

  Hall Ball

 I created the game for him; He is my 3 year old

 Grandson, autistic, artistic, athletic and brilliant

The hallway is filled with an array of balls; a big red one

Two feet across, it’s an exercise ball, a couple of one foot balls

In cobalt and lavender, a red, white & blue soccer ball, a red &

White basketball, a couple of smaller balls, one is orange with

A jack-o-lantern face and the other yellow like the sun

 I sit with my feet braced against the wall

He climbs up on my shins and jumps into the balls

He rolls around reveling in a sea of movement

And then burrows under, disappearing

I holler “Hall Ball” and he laughs

Then I ask, “Where’s Mason?”

I weed though the balls and find him

He smiles that winning smile and I say,

“There he is.”

Then I holler “Hall Ball”

And we begin again…

Mason is six now and has expanded to the great outdoors, where he climbs trees like a monkey and is super agile, strong and athletic. When a coach can communicate with him, he truly could become an Olympic champion. I kid you not!

Last month Mason's team went to a presentation in Portland, by Raun K. Kaufman that rocked our world. More than 30 years ago, Mr. Kaufman was diagnosed autistic and his parents were told that he would never communicate and would end up in an institution. They refused to accept it. They entered his world in order to bring him out to ours. His writing and speaking are every bit as impressive as any Ivy Leaguer. (He is a Brown University graduate.) Cured of autism, if you didn't know his story, you would never believe that he was autistic.The Son rise program has been around for more than a quarter of a century and people bring their autistic children from all over the world. The results are astounding. You can Google it to see for yourself.

Mason's mom, my daughter, Misty has gone above and beyond for her son. She is exhausted and struggles financially. She had almost given up hope until she heard Mr. Kaufman speak. Now she is stoked to get the initial training and bring her son into our world. Funding is needed, so I am asking that you check out her request on http://www.gofundme.com/g4hrdw.

Any help will be appreciated. Mason shines like the sun. I hope you meet him someday!

From a proud Grandma,

Raintreepoet

Happy Post Halloween!

Spooky Bone Dance

Halloween made me think of spooks and goblins, skeletons and boneyards more than jack-o-lanterns this year because a diagnosis of osteoporosis weighed heavily on my mind.

My health is important to me, so I’ve eaten wisely and exercised well and never dreamed I’d have osteoporosis! I was to have a tele-conference with my doctor the day before Halloween. I had a few days to research and felt confident in what I had gleaned from multiple reliable sources and my decision that a natural path would be best for me.

I read that there are several drugs on the market to treat the symptoms of osteoporosis. According to a Consumer Reports summary, the buyer should beware because the side effects can be as bad as or worse than the disease.

Several television ads for these potions always mention in a soft, hypnotic voice that women had suffered bone fractures, just a possible side effect. The voices so smooth it’s like they’re cooing to a baby or calming a person on their deathbed.

Then I came across a New York Times article that read, essentially: Pharmaceutical companies spent more on advertising than researching these drugs and were anxious to recoup their investment. Their response was to change the parameters of testing and voila! More women were diagnosed with osteoporosis and needed their drugs.

Needless to say, when my doctor suggested I try a pharmaceutical remedy, I asked that she offer me other options. I have taken supplemental calcium and vitamin D for years. I am going to allow blood & urine tests to see how I am doing. If I need to eat more green leafy vegetables and cottage cheese, walk more and take up weight lifting, I shall.

Until and unless I break a bone (which was the old way of diagnosing osteoporosis,) I am going to be a dare devil and take my chances. Side effects like fibula and hip fractures just feel like a spooky bone dance to me!

RMK