Invisible

Do not move me, for I am weak and will most certainly crumble.
Do not tempt me, for I am too thin a spirit to survive.
Do not hold me, for I will slip from your grasp.
Do not listen to me, for I could not bear the weight of our conversation.
Look through me, for I will not stop your gazing eyes.

Another Birthday

"The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.:
Lucille Ball 1911-1989, American Actress, Producer

It's a week before my birthday. Not that it's such a huge deal, at my age anyway. I don't want to be young again. Too much insecurity and too many unanswered questions when you're young.

However, I do want to feel young. What I would give for the endless energy and my original hair color. When you're young you can decide to loose 10 pounds and two weeks later after cutting back on beer consumption and the late night drive-thru's you've kissed that 10 pounds goodbye. When you age, you body wises up to that trick and it goes into self-preservation mode. BODY -"I believe you'll be starving me over the next couple of weeks, so I'd better hang on to what I've got. Anyway, what would happen if we're stranded in a blizzard for a month or two?" Thank heavens it's thinking for me. Otherwise I would surely freeze to death in that blizzard.

When you're young, trips to the beauty salon are quick, inexpensive and infrequent. When you age, you plan your life around your next hair appointment. "Go to the Bahamas next weekend? I'd love too, but sorry I can't go, I have a hair appointment." Who wants to go to the Bahamas with a gray stripe down the middle of their head? Someone might mistake you for an older woman who should be at home knitting something.

Even though my aging body likes to remind me that I'm getting older I don't mind. With age comes wisdom, wit, appreciation and a different kind of beauty that can only be seen by the most sincere.

The Knight

I once knew a knight in shining silver armour. His armour protected him from the flames of the many dragons he slew as he rode fearlessly into battle on his screaming red horse.

The knight knew no enemies among his people and was greatly loved and admired for his courage and bravery.

Each day the noble knight carefully placed himself inside of his steely protection. He proudly wore the armour and grew accustomed to it although it was often uncomfortable and chaffed at his skin.

One day as he awoke, a small, seeminlgy harmless fly bit the knight squarely on his shoulder. Upon feeling the sting of the bite, the knight brushed the fly away and thought nothing more of it. But the fly's bite had pierced the knights skin and it began to burn, itch and fester underneath the shining metal exterior. The knight, who's skin rarely saw the sun or felt the rain, was soon consumed with pain as his skin retreated from the ever growing infection caused by the bite. Even so, he refused to put aside his protective armour and continued to wear it each day so as not to alarm his countrymen who counted on his strength for protection. Each day he grew weaker, although he did not seek assistance for his quickly ailing health.

One morning the knight was so weak he could not rise from his bed. He called out for assistance, but he was not heard for his voice was not strong enough for anyone to hear. The noble knight lay helpless in his bed until the infection, which had ravaged his body, stopped his heart from beating.

It was not long after, that his presence was missed in the township and a courier was dispatched to the knights dwelling with an invitation requesting his presence for a meeting with the king. It was only then that anyone realized the illness that had brought about the demise of the knight, but it was too late. The beautiful shining armour that had protected the knight from the danger of the outside world, could not protect him from himself.

The Journey

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - Lao Tzŭ

How brave you must be to take that initial step...it's the single most important step of your life. Can you commit to it? Can you stay on your journey when the path is narrow and the road less fortunate. Will you be able to keep your eyes on the path and not stray, so as to prolong your journey. But what joy awaits at the end of your journey? How do you know it will be worth the undertaking? We must have the courage to take this single step and the bravery to attempt the journey and remember that we are not alone in our quest.

Who

I recently came across this document I wrote shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

Blame Game

Who is to blame?
Is it you, Mr. Mayor, who did not load us up on buses, trains, boats or anything that would lead us away from the inevitable?
Is it you, Mrs. Governor, who did not understand the immediate need for evacuation of a city below sea level?
Is it you, Army Corp of Engineers, for not building up these levees to withstand the deluge of rain brought on by powerful hurricanes?
Is it you, Senators and Congressmen, for not ensuring the dollars provided to build up this city were spent wisely?
Is it you, Mr. Brown, for not hearing our pleas and ending the hell that came after?
Is it you, Mr. President, for assuming everyone else was taking care of us?
Is it me, myself, for blindly believing in a system?
A system of levees that have done their job so well for so long,,
A system of political appointees who I believe care about me and my family?
I think it is you, Mother Nature.
You draw us to the shores with your beautiful sunrises and views of never ending nothingness. You mesmerize us into believing we are immune to your danger and we come to believe your showy storms are nothing more than an inconvenience.
Are we to blame you, Mother Nature?
Yes, but only for the destruction you brought to to many families.
The destruction of each other we can blame only on ourselves.

A Call from Home

He wasn't here long enough,
I said, when he answered the call to come home,
But you've only just begun,
I said, when he turned and walked out the door.

Well what am I to do?
I said, while I watched him walk away,
Remember me and the life we shared
and we'll see each other again.

Choc-o-lots

Lately, for some reason, every afternoon around the same time I get an almost unnatural urge to consume chocolate. The craving is causing me to wonder what's going on. So, I found myself doing a little research into my need to speed to the candy machine.

PROS:

1.Chocolate stimulates the release of endorphins, natural body hormones that generate feelings of pleasure and well-being.

With this time of "natural high" I should eat chocolate every day. I'd probably be a lot less bitchy.

2.Many women report particular chocolate cravings when pre-menstrual. This is possibly because chocolate contains magnesium, a shortage of which can exacerbate pre-menstrual tension.

See my remarks for #1.

3. Central nervous stimulants such as caffeine are also present in small amounts, and this has a mild effect on alertness as we know from drinking coffee. Another mild stimulant present in chocolate is theobromine, which also serves to relax the smooth muscles in the linings of the lung.


Helps you stay alert and breath better? This is getting good.

4. Chocolate contains a natural 'love drug'. Tryptophan is a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin. High levels of serotonin can produce feelings of elation, even ecstasy - hence the name of the designer drug that also works by increasing serotonin levels.

Scary...probably means I'd be an addict to ecstasy too.

5. Californian scientist Professor Carl Keen and his team have suggested that chocolate might help fight heart disease. They say that it contains chemicals called flavinoids, which thin the blood, helping to prevent clotting. Scientists have already suggested that red wine acts in this way. However, sceptics have pointed out that Keen's research is funded by confectionery maker Mars.

Net net, drink red wine and eat chocolate to live longer if you believe the study.

CONS: (Although hard to find of course there has to be some)

1. People who eat too much chocolate have a lower life expectancy. Chocolate's high fat content means that excess indulgence can contribute to obesity, leading to an increased risk of heart disease.

Doesn't that contractdict PRO #5? I guess it's eat, drink and be dead.

2. Dogs and other domestic animals like horses metabolise the chocolate ingredient theobromine more slowly than humans. Safe doses for us could be toxic or even lethal doses for our pets, affecting their hearts, kidneys and central nervous systems.

Keep your chocolate away from Rover and Mr. Ed. More for me anyway.

Chocolate has so many good qualities and, as with most things we love that are not always good for us, moderation is the key. But every now and then, I say it's okay to give in and eat an entire king size Hershey bar...right?