Barbara's Meanderings

This is a picture of "The Rising" the memorial to all the victims of 9/11 who lived in Westchester. It is located in
Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla close to where I live. See Correction to know why this is here.



Our internet was down for almost the whole day and now it's only working on my daughter's computer. We're having trouble with the router and Verizon is overnighting us a new one which will not be done overnight and reach us tomorrow, Monday. No, it will reach us on Tuesday. So why do they call it overnighting?:)

Today's poem is about my own experience when you have two adult children living at home and they have relatively no money and accompany you to the movies. Is there such a thing as too much family time? When I was their age I was married and living far from home.:) But these are different times and sometimes we have to accept that our children are not going to be living our lives. I do wish that both would start living their own though.:) This is all in reference to the poem for today. Here is the prompt:

"I want you to take the phrase "So we decided to (blank)" and fill in the blank. Make that your title and write a poem. Some possibilities include "So we decided to plant a tree" or "So we decided to burn a hole in the sky." (from Poetic Asides with Robert Brewer)

Here is my poem:

So we decided to go to the movies

With two cars instead of one
Because a fight always happened
when we were all in one car
Because you with your attitude
created a storm powerful
as a tornado with your
Picking at the scab of our pride
healed during the week when
you barely noticed us
But opened and sore on weekends
when your attention fell on the
weakest of us that day

Wise decision to leave you alone
in your car listening to your own
radio programs, alone with your
thoughts about the outside world
Where people much more interesting,
more accomplished than we
spoke to you across air waves

Better to arrive at the movies
refreshed from our stop for coffee
with pride intact
No tears, no arguments, no
reconciliations, no hurt feelings
No one threatening to stay in the car
Just peace, the slight high from the caffeine,
and anticipation of the movie to be seen
Much better to meet in the parking lot as
strangers might instead of pretending.
copyright 2009 by Barbara Ehrentreu
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Here is something that all bloggers might want to do. Join Bloggers Unite from Blog Catalog and put this badge on your website before April 29th. Go here: http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/unite-for-hunger-and-hope



I just joined and will be writing a message about world hunger on that day. That's all you have to do. You join and pledge to write an article about world hunger on April 29th.

Thank you to all of you who commented on Katie Hines' interview last week. Remember her book, Guardian is coming out in June.

This week I do not have a guest author, so I am going to highlight another blog. Each day I find more and more great blogs both on the Networked Blogs and on Blog Catalog. I am actually finding it almost impossible to read every blog I want to read. So I am going to have to make a schedule so I get to everyone's blog!:)

Correction:
On the day I wrote my poem about The Kensico Dam I put in that the stone monument was for the workers on the dam. I was wrong.:) What should be there, and I have changed that whole stanza, is the monument is for the victims of 9/11 from Westchester. There are names of every person who perished on 9/11 from Westchester County etched into individual marble pieces in a circle around this huge steel scultpture that comes from all sides and meets in the middle. It's very moving.

Here is the original stanza:

They renovated the park last year
Built a stone memorial displaying photos of
turn of the century men who worked here
in North White Plains. When most of it was
forest and farms. If not for the workers who
toiled to make it happen, this park would never be.
And where would New York City get its water?
copyright 2009 by Barbara Ehrentreu

Here is the changed stanza:

They renovated the plaza last year
Built a stone memorial displaying names of
the victims who perished in 9/11 from Westchester
Honored the turn of the century men who worked here
in North White Plains. When most of it was
forest and farms. If not for the workers who
toiled to make it happen, this park would never be.
And where would New York City get its water?

Until the next time hope you had a very Happy Easter Sunday and that you will continue to comment.

Sean Penn

                                                            Slumdog Millionaire

  

I've been wanting to see a movie for weeks, but because of various reasons we didn't go. We usually go to the movies almost every weekend, so this was very unusual. Meanwhile the movies being released were of very high caliber and a couple were so good they've already received awards. When you are only one of four people in a family it's difficult to do everything you want all the time. We usually take turns on what movies we'll see, so I at least get to see the movie I want every fourth time. But the movies I wanted to see have piled up and now I have to classify them so I'll be able to see most of them.