This Reminds Me

So I’ve been reading Ireland lately, a novel that weaves Irish legends into a modern day setting.  Really interesting.  And last night’s chapter offered a striking visual, one that I’ve mulled through the day The author recounted how poetry was first created in Ireland.  A witch instructed a tongue-tied, love-struck man to look skyward and pull words from the air, because every single word that everyone has ever said is floating there – swirling, colliding, drifting – awaiting a master’s hand to craft an emotion.

Lois, 12, wrote and illustrated this poem tonight as a homework assignment.  The drawing is wispy – muted – ghostly.  The scan may be hard to read; I’ll enter the text below.

The Ghost Dance

At midnight,
Inside the haunted house,
Toward the kitchen,
Around the corner,
Beyond the dining room,
Up the old steps,
Behind the doors,
Near the bed,
To the right,
In the closet,
Past the clothes,
Through the hidden door,
Into the ballroom,
The ghosts are dancing.

I really had to search for these shadowy characters – an exhausting search - but her words led me to them, like a poetic trail blazed in a writer’s light.  I finally found them behind that hidden door.  And they’re dancing, swirling around the cloistered ballroom floor like the words that describe them had been celestially swirling moments before.

The tongue-tied Irishman won the love of his life with his poetry.

Maybe the rest of us simply live with the love of poetry, offering an occassional heavenward glance in search of the elusive words that might describe it.

Season passes?  Check.  Drink mugs?  Check.  Backpack purses?  Check.  Let’s go, girls!  The dancing bald guy with the glasses is waiting on us!

It’s Spring Break for NEISD.  I’d like to have taken off all week with the girls  – but – we need days to travel back to St. Pete.  So I’m playing AT&T hooky only today and tomorrow.  Hannah was supposed to be at Girl Scout Camp Sunday – Wednesday, but, alas, a nasty cold germ shortened her Mira Sol adventure to Tuesday night.  So instead of riding the bus downtown with me yesterday and being allowed to roam a bit, Rachel and Lois (none too) graciously stayed home with her.  Our week’s just been a bit disjointed.  We needed some fun!  And we got it.

The girls and I had a blast at Fiesta Texas today – along with at least half of the rest of San Antonio, we suspect.  Fortunately, we avoided enough of the really long lines to ride our favorites.  One of the in-character employees – “Skip Tomylou,” complete with greased hair and thick glasses  - repeatedly pressed his face to and peered at us through the pizza shop window while we were eating.  I’m thinking he recognized a soul mate in Rachel. 

We’re counting on having Guanna-to-be-Julia with us by summer, and that means we’ll have expended all available time off and won’t be traveling much.  But you guys are invited to come visit.  We are 10 miles due east of Fiesta Texas.  You’re welcome to our guestroom and drink mugs ($.99 refills!).  Our rates are very reasonable – no coupon required.  And no lines for the bathrooms.  And if you think you see greasy-haired “Skip” leering at you – look again, it’s probably just Keith going outside to work on the pond before he showers.

“What’s Up, Doc?”  Not the rates at the “Woodworth Bed & Breakfast,” only 10 miles from Fiesta Texas.

“Auctioning” the first masterpiece of Guanna-to-be-Julia brought $475 for Buckner Orphan Care International- whoo-whoo!

Thanks to Lisa and Paul for being first to bid, and to Lynne, Rebecca, Johnnie and Sharon for also donating.

And —-drum roll, please —– a big wet smacker thanks to the Midgie-tossing teddy bear of AT&T U-verse – our generous friend Bart Hawkins – for his $200 donation that makes him da winnah!  Bart will receive her masterpiece – framed a la Target – at the office tomorrow.  Hang onto it, Bart,  She has talent!  May be some investment value there.

By the way…..Keith and I did finish our latest batch of paperwork this week.  All signed in blue ink by various parties, notarized and apostilled (thanks again, Dan & Paula), and received by Buckner Friday morning.  So now we await a release letter for Guanna from Moscow, and a court date in St. Pete….tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…….

Everyone finds things from time to time – sometimes tasteful, sometimes not.

Years ago while they were still valuable, Keith found a DVD player on the side of the road and sold it on eBay.  I find change in the washer all the time (and it’s now all mine, thank you so very much.)   Lois still wears a necklace she found on the school playground.  Hannah once found $15 at Gatorland in Florida.

But what of Rachel – dear, sweet Rachel Wyoming with her mind and spirit always honed to spiritual and intellectual pursuits?

Rachel found a picture.  At Wal-Mart.  On the floor near a display of $.97 panties.

So we had to ask ourselves – what was this future business leader thinking?  What was the purpose of this picture?  Our conclusions:

-  Auditioning for the adult video, “Sales Associates Gone Wild”

-  Asking, “Paper or Plastic?”

-  Reminiscing about the old McDonalds slogan, “We Love to See You Smile.”

-  Selecting appropriately-colored undergarments to mask bouts of incontinence

-  Tidying the display area after Richard Simmons’ live demo of “Disco Sweat”

But finally we decided:

-  Posing for her personal ad photo on eharmony.com

So whip out those coupons, shoppers and watch for those falling prices.  You never know what you might find.