Ike

I like Ike.
It was a campaign button my parents wore
as they left me in the back seat
and went off to cast their ballot
for President of the United States.
It was the first election I remember.
I haven't heard the name Ike since then
except for some crazy televangelist.

I wonder if I will like this Ike who's coming for a visit tomorrow.
He's howling in the gulf - like Halloween
trying to scare the peewaddle out of us.
It's eerie waiting for him.
Reminds me a little of Wednesdays
before "the boys" descend upon my church.

Houston feels anxious today -
traffic at unusual times
long lines at Walgreen's where people
are buying junk food, water and batteries.
A little chocolate surely will help face down a hurricane.

I'm waiting this one out alone
a first for me.
Forrest is stranded in Reno
can't get a plane out because of Ike

I wonder if I will like Ike when I meet him.
Will he charm me or seek to destroy me and my house?
Will he leave a nasty trail behind him?
Mostly I worry whether the roof will hold up.
and whether we shall lose electrical power.

I don't worry about myself.
I worry about the old people who are fragile
and on oxygen,
the ones who are sick,
and the ones who are so afraid.

I remember a story from long ago,
how Jesus spoke to a storm and it stilled.
I speak peace to Ike.
Be still
compassionate
gentle with us.

Maybe we too will wear a button with your name on it
when this is all over.

The Windfall

There I was
young, innocent, curious
out for a new experience
in a new group of people - Roman Catholic!
I saw her standing there
chubby
in a flowered muu-muu
shiny grey hair
and sparkling eyes
holding a guitar.
Love oozed out of her
from every pore.

Later I asked her if she spoke in tongues.
I'd been reading the Bible
and was fascinated with that phenomenom
because I was a linguist.

She looked at me
serious now.
Yes she said.
I speak in tongues
but you won't.
You're in your head.
You must go to your heart
in order to speak in tongues.

I was still fascinated as our small circle
joined hands and prayed,
Lord, fill us with your Spirit
and bring us safely back next week.

I opened my eyes.
The world was a different place.
I was different too.
Divine love had flooded me
like water rushing into an empty lock in a canal.
except that it bubbled up
from somewhere deep within me.
I knew, KNEW the words then,
You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.
Truth wasn't about knowledge.
It wasn't about finding the right words.
It is experiencing the presence of God
and following that presence into freedom.

The windfall turned my world upside down.
More to come.

Forrest

The door swung open
and I saw him standing there.
Kind
Pleasant
Dimples in his cheeks
and I thought,
"Oh no, I could never marry him!
with his ears
and my big nose
we would have ugly children!"
What a strange reaction for a first date
a blind date at that.
We rode in the back seat of his friend's car.
His friend and my friend were in the front.
He told me jokes,
made me laugh.
I felt so comfortable with him,
not nervous at all
unusual for a first date.
It was as though we had always known each other
cut from the same cloth
attached somewhere deep within.
I was safe around him.
no fear
no angst
no worries about what to say next

I loved the way I felt with him.
O.K. to be who I was
whoever that was back then.
I somehow knew we would end up together.

Today is his birthday.
He's 67 years old.
A lifetime has happened between us since then.
We've birthed children
traveled the world
had multiple careers
and a farm
health issues
money issues
identity issues.
I'd do it again
in a New York minute.

God bless him!
Big!

I Remember Ron

(This is response to a Max prompt)

Sitting in his chair
in the nursing home,
crutches parked by his side
silver hair
twinkly blue eyes
kind and a little sarcastic
I was charmed.
He drew me into him
because he listened
like me.
I listen mostly.
Few people care what I have to say
or what I think.
They tell me what they think.
But Ron asked me questions.
He listened
and asked me follow up questions
and was genuinely interested
as I sat there on his couch
spilling the facts of my life.
He was anti religion
didn't believe a word in the Bible
turned off to it big time
said sternly in no uncertain terms
that I was not to pray out loud.
Neither was I to bring that black box around
that held communion elements.

But he wanted his funeral in my church.

That signaled a huge disconnect to me
between the sarcastic, twinkly charm
and the lovely soul within.
I didn't mention it.
I watched him get up on crutches
and make his way to the bed.
I left him there
no closing with prayer that day.
But something had stirred within me.
It was the birth of a call
to companion him.

Nice Quotes

A couple of quotes from the Spirituality and Health discussion board today struck a chord within me:

The young people who come to me in the hope of hearing me utter a few memorable maxims are quite disappointed. Aphorisms are not my forte, I say nothing but banalities.... I listen to them and they go away delighted. ~Andre Gide

And another:

~ Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other? ~ George Eliot

Day Three of trying to get the wheat and sugar out of my body. Day three of splitting headaches. Day three of feeling lackluster and having brain fog. Soon, tomorrow or the next day, it will be gone and my spirits will lift. May I make the world less difficult for someone today - perhaps myself.

Clark Family Politics

For generations the Clarks have been Democrats.
The family album was full of Franklin Roosevelt, the hero
Not so in my family.
They thought Roosevelt was a traitor.
But I loved this guy Forrest
And he was a Democrat
A Democrat who wouldn't marry me unless I converted
so I did.
I've been happily Democrat for years now, ever since I could vote.
But something happened with the Clintons
to turn him off
and then Forrest started listening to talk radio
joking about it at first,
then announcing that he would support W for president.
No one could believe it.
A Clark! Voting for a Republican!
He still, even now, loves W and the war in Iraq
The family whispers quietly amongst themselves that he has gone to the dark side.
Our children love Obama.
Forrest leaves them messages that Darth Vader has called.
Emi announces herself as Princess Leah.
At least they're laughing now.
It's an improvement.

Me?
I go back and forth
like a ping pong ball getting whacked.
but I like Sarah Palin.
Who knows?
Maybe I'll descend to the dark place as well.

Poo-poo mouth

I'm on Day 15 with the Dalai Lama
Weary of him now
May go on to Hosea instead.
His teachings solidify my thinking.
I really am a Christian, not a Buddhist.

But today's meditation was interesting.
"If you find yourself slandering anybody, first imagine that your mouth is filled with excrement. It will break you of the habit quickly enough."

I had lunch with Mona and Ann,
friends for 37 years whom I had not seen in a while.
Over chicken enchiladas and a burrito without the tortilla
we shared the news of our lives.
Several times I was tempted to tell the "full" story.
The image of poo-poo mouth restrained me.
I guess it works.