What's on my mind. Not Georgia!

Well, maybe Georgia would be a good thing to think about today. It's certainly warmer there than here. -40C. Am driving the kids to university today and I don't do that just for something to do.

I read recently that our city has been inundated by a great influx of owls from the north - Great Northern Owl? I forget the species - since their food supply - mice and voles - is scarce in their natural habitat. They are apparently very weak from the long flight on little food. I have to wonder how they are faring here. I haven't seen a mouse in a long time (except in our garage) and I can't imagine that the food supply is much better here than where the owls came from, especially today. Nothing is moving out there that doesn't have to. I was wondering how the junkos and the cardinals and black-cap chickadees are making out. They live in our hedge and eat from our feeder. I hope the owls don't make a meal of them. If I thought it would help, I'd go buy some meat at the store and scatter it about for the owls. Wonder if they would eat it. Perhaps they prefer their dinner warm and running.

Out of the mouths...

I was reading some of my poems to a friend the other day, over the phone. After about line 6 or so, she interrupted me and said, "That's not a poem. That's a painting."

I'm still not sure if she meant what she said as a criticism or a compliment because I know she doesn't read a lot of contemporary poetry. However, she couldn't have said anything nicer to me. I told her so. I haven't stopped smiling since.

I try to remember this whenever I get nervous about having submitted eleven of my poems to a battery of editors in preparation for a chapbook that is supposed to come out in September. They have not yet make any comments (not even sure if they've read them). However, I can't help feeling like I've stripped and am standing in the middle of a busy street, waiting for people to notice and start pointing and jeering. Because I haven't had any feedback yet, I can't help wonder if the poor editors are at their keyboards, fingers poised over the keys, wondering how they can begin to tell me how awful my stuff is. But I have to keep remembering what my friend said.

Funny thing though. My friend keeps asking me to write a poem about her or our friendship. Now I can truly say, in response, that she has to let me paint a picture.

The day after

I had a birthday recently. And despite my reluctance to 'be' the age I am, it really is okay. It was not the most feted birthday I've ever had. It was certainly not the most lucrative. But it was very satisfying. I had a lovely birthday card from my step-son. The kind that brings tears to the eyes, the sentiments were so sweet, and I believe, heart-felt. He picked it out himself and so I know that's what he wanted to say. I also had a nice card from my step-daughter, a very cute card from my son's girlfriend, an orchid and a card from my husband with a message that also brought tears to my eyes. Telephone calls from everyone else. In fact, I heard from everyone who matters to me.

Last night, I was thinking exactly this and then realized, wait a minute. I didn't hear from mom. This thought lasted about a 1/2 a second when I realized, of course, that my mom's been dead for 23 years. Funny how stuff like that happens.

My mother-in-law phoned to wish me a happy birthday and was unsure what the exact age was. When she finally figured it out (with a few Uh-uh's and Uh-huh's on my part, she said, "What? You're not that old, are you?" Thanks, MIL.

Inaugural Entry about Inaugural Balls

My first entry of 2005 concenrns balls. Inaugural Balls, to be exact. George Bush's inaugural ball to be specific. It appears that he is about to spent 40 million US dollars (and we all know that a US dollar is bigger than any other dollar -is it minted in Texas?) on his inaugural ball on January 20th.

This is obscene when over 150 thousand people just perished in a tsunami and the survivors will need help for years to come to continue surviving. We're not even talking about bringing their standard of living up to that of George Bush. Simply just putting a roof over their heads again, giving them one square meal a day, with a job to go to and schools to educate their children will take billions of dollars. It baffles me how the leader of the free [cough] world can dance the night away with ladies in designer gowns while so many suffer not even half a world away.

A colleague of mine (I flatter myself by calling her this) has drawn up a petition to the president and was hoping to get it on ThePetitionSite.com but alas, they have failed to approve the petition as yet. So... I direct you to the text of her petition at:

http://editor-mom.blogspot.com/2005/01/urgent-petition-to-urge-bush-to-pare.html

Go and pick up the text, print it out and send it to anyone you know who might make a difference. I figure nobody in Washington even knows were Canada is much less cares what a Canadian thinks, so I'm not going to waste my time in sending it. But if you're US-based and reading this, then what are you waiting for. Get out of here and go stand up for the have-nots of the world against the haves. If enough people bring this up, maybe, just maybe, the man will be shamed into at least scaling back his festivities.