Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, New Mexico
31 July 2009
Many enjoy purple flowers for many reasons.
See you along the Trail.
Purple flowers, Ghost Ranch 3
Filed under Ghost Ranch Views, Photo
New siding, still unsold
The Shire,
still unsold,
has a new look.
I had always wondered
about having shingles on the front
of a house or a condo,
still unsold.
See you along the Trail.
Wistfulness
Wistfulness mixes with joy
as I read Eric’s three-letter text:
ABQ.
He has landed in Albuquerque
for another summer at Ghost Ranch.
Joy.
It appears most likely
I will not spend
any time in
New Mexico
this year.
Wistfulness.
So I post this photo of the Sandias
taken from the Rio Grande Nature Center
and smile.
See you along the Trail …
just not the Trail in New Mexico …
at least this year.
Urgent action needed: Ask Governor Kasich to issue reprieve
From Ohioans to Stop Executions
Ohio plans to execute Abdul Awkal on June 6 for the 1992 murders of his estranged wife and her brother in Cleveland. There is no reasonable doubt about that. The larger question is always about the death penalty itself. The specific question in this case focuses on the mental competency of Mr. Awkal.
Here are recent developments: Governor Kasich denied clemency to Mr. Awkal on May 30 without explanation.
The governor’s decision came after the Ohio Parole Board issued a split recommendation against clemency.
I join Ohioans to Stop Executions in calling concerned individuals to contact Governor Kasich’s office by phone at 614-466-3555 or by e-mail and urge him to issue a reprieve so courts can determine if Mr. Awkal is competent for execution. Attorneys for Mr. Awkal will present new evidence that Mr. Awkal is incompetent to be executed.
I vote in Ohio – long story – but I do – and only in Ohio.
I have contacted Governor Kasich telling him that I do not want the State of Ohio to kill in my name!
See you along the Trail.
Related articles
- Ohio readies execution for mentally ill prisoner (rt.com)
- 6 June execution date in Ohio (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- BREAKING: Ohio Governor Denies Clemency To Severely Mentally Ill Death Row Inmate (thinkprogress.org)
Filed under Capital Punishment, Current Events, Death Penalty
Once a place of great delight
Anxiety tugs at his heart
and memories rise
as he nears the place –
memories once sweet
have now turned ashen,
burned bitter;
pain sears him,
slows him,
stops him.
He shakes his head
squeezes his eyes,
clutches his chest.
The pain remains,
eases,
increases.
Unwilling to turn away,
he deeply sighs
and moves forward,
to cross the threshold,
recognizing the pain will be
his constant companion
from that moment forward,
forevermore.
2 June 2012
While welcomed at Moe’s
Louisville, KY
The condo that never sells?
“The Song That Never Ends” played, but did not end, on episodes of Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, a children’s TV show that aired on PBS from 1992-1997. It became quickly annoying. Each week. Every week.
The lyrics and tune repeated. And repeated. And repeated. No progress. No resolution.
The Shire in Louisville appears to have some commonalities with the song. Despite efforts of real estate agents; despite thoughts, well wishes and prayers of friends; despite offers and possibilities; it remains mine. Another sale has fallen through. My ownership just goes on and on.
On Friday, I journey to Louisville. A couple of days later, Tricia will join me. And, we will stay at the Shire. The dismantled Shire. The Shire bereft of almost all comforts. The Shire that never sells.
But we will make do. And we will save our respective employers money. And we will pose anew the question that has haunted humanity and wannabe hobbits through the ages:
Care to buy a condo in Louisville?
See you along the Trail.
Related articles
- Not quite the same (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Shelter in the storm (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Fellowship of the Shire (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
Purple flowers, Ghost Ranch 2
Ghost Ranch
Abiquiu, New Mexico
8 August 2008
Working in chronological order and recognizing that photos of purple flowers have not been taken intentionally, this one comes again from Ghost Ranch – a reminder of the purple diversity that exists even within the same area.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Ghost Ranch Views, Photo
The game plays on
Much has changed –
the players of my youth long gone;
the Gunner and the Possum silent and buried.
But when I launch MLB.com,
the game remains the same
and the magic of the airwaves
transports me through space and time
and again I am on Neville Island,
a child, snuggled ‘neath the sheets,
transistor in hand
as the game plays on.
28 May 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Related articles
- The return of the prodigal fan? (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
HBP
HBP. Hit by pitch. It gets the batter to first base.
In the The Bad News Bears (Walter Matthau version) on at least one occasion, Buttermaker asks Rudi Stein to allow himself to be hit by a pitch. It makes me cringe to remember it.
HBP. Hit by pitch. It gets the batter to first base.
Having runners on base leads to runs. A walk or being hit by a pitch can be as good as a hit. Crowding the plate may affect the pitcher in some situations. But the thought of intentionally letting a ball hit oneself … This could help explain why I played softball rather than baseball. Of course my speed that could only be tracked by a sundial may have played a role as well.
HBP. Hit by pitch. It gets the batter to first base.
When the bases are loaded, it also brings in a run.
My return to baseball continued tonight when I purchased the MLB.com Game Day Audio package and listened to tonight’s Pirates game. I started late and actually only heard the Pirates’ half of the final inning. A hit and two walks loaded the bases for Matt Hague with two outs. The fifth pitch from Rafael Dolis hit Hague and allowed Jose Tabata to score: a walk-off HBP.
HBP. Hit by pitch. It gets the batter to first base.
And when the bases are loaded and the score is tied and it is the bottom of the ninth, that run wins the game.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Baseball
She appears
Dreamed or imagined
she appears
as again he lies alone
in that borderland
between sleep and waking.
Night’s cold embrace
gently enfolds him
as still he lies alone and
she appears
dreamed or imagined.
26 May 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Poem
