Case of the Mondays

Well, here I am at my lunch hour eating a fake chicken patty with baby spinach, mustard and a mega multi grain roll and some dried figs. This is the first time I have tried the meatless chicken and I MUST say it is pretty darn good. In keeping with my new vegan status, I just finished the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" in which the author explores the human species as an omnivore and the implications of that regarding what we eat and how what we eat gets to our tables. It was helpful to me in confirming that my decision to become a vegan is the right one for me. Yesterday my daughter and I went to a Farm Sanctuary near Watkins Glen - petted cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and turkeys. They all had names and it was a wonderful experience. All these are animals rescued from slaughter and will live the rest of their natural lives being taken care of on the Farm. Individuals can sponsor a farm animal to help defray costs and support the efforts for the ethical treatment of animals. The more people I tell I am a vegan (even doctors), the more I realize that I am joining what many people consider an extreme radical lifestyle. I only see that I have been educated about what goes into my mouth and how it got to the restaurant or the grocery store, how certain food impacts my health and how raising farm animals for slaughter adds to global warming. I guess I can't understand how so many others can remain ignorant. If being a vegan makes me a radical, I am happy to take that label on.

Saturday at home

Today is a partly cloudy day and chilly - I feel sort of partly cloudy myself. The weather definitely affects my mood. Today makes me think of what's coming - the cold and blowing snow, the bitter chill that goes right to the bone. The older I get the more I find it unpleasant. Sometimes it almost feels painful to get dressed and undressed - such a shock to my system. This past summer we went to Virginia Beach and the heat from the air just soaked into my body and warmed it up with such an intensity from my little toe to the top of my head, through my muscles and bones. It was magnificent. I hope to move to a warmer climate when I retire (and before that visit somewhere warm at least for a week in the winter. 2 years ago went to Miami - fantastic, amazing, almost like being in an interesting foreign country. I even got to practice my Spanish - I haven't lost it completely. Well, that's enough rambling for today - gotta get moving and stop feeling sorry for myself, eh?

My Poetry - a Sample

My poetry is not necessarily autobiographical - just vignettes of life that I see around me and how it touches me. Some are sad, some poignant, some irreverant, some merry - This one is a sort of sad poignant one.

*BEEP* Hey, Joe, honey, non-actions speak louder than words you haven't called me in a week Did you lose my number?
I always told you to look on the men's room wall -- for a good time -- yeah, that's me. that always got a laugh before, remember? (nervous laughter then a pause)
Was it that look of disappointment on my face when you forgot my birthday?
Hey, man, I know we ain't serious you got no worries there
It's just that ...... Oh, never mind..... Anyway, I'm here all night .... if you get the urge, you know .... you know where to find me. *CLICK*