The Hero of Northern Boulevard

 Idling at a traffic light, on the barren expanse of Northern Boulevard. 

Motion suspended, thoughts suspended, a checkered ball suspended –  

No, rising, sailing, arcing joyfully 

High above the pavement, the stoplight, the chain link fence  

That sequestered an adjacent schoolyard teeming with children 

Who swirled in serpentine games. 

 

The soccer ball sunk silently into the maelstrom. 

My eyes retraced path to the narrow median where its flight began. 

Poised, triumphantly was a small round man 

Grey knit cap adorned his head, 

Atop an explosion of granite-hued beard 

That seemed to crumble in the radiance of his grin. 

 

He waved. In that moment,  

He was Yogi Berra on the pitcher’s mound. 

A war hero atop a festooned float. 

The light changed to green. 

He disappeared into his car and was swept out of sight 

In the freshly flowing traffic. 

Shelia

Birds

 

Today we had a rare, heavy snowstorm—something we don’t often get in my area. 

I feed the local birds with bits of bread, creating what I think of as Bird TV for my cat. This morning felt different. Early on, I set the bread out on the windowsill as usual and wondered if any birds would brave the storm at all. 

Normally, the big, plump pigeons and turtle doves arrive first, devouring nearly everything and knocking enough crumbs down for the smaller birds below. But during the swirling snow, none of them appeared. 

Instead, the little birds came—sparrows and starlings—battling the wind and stinging snowflakes as they pecked determinedly at the bread. Watching them struggle on, I found myself seeing them differently. Those small birds are braver than I ever gave them credit for—certainly braver than the big ones. 

Georgia

The Startling Starling

 

Hello, Starling, you startled me, I must say,

A darling Starling had decided to stay,

While all his friends were flying away,

Your family are deep in their play,

While you rest on my branch considering to stay,

Are you tired from flapping your wings away?

Or are you exhausted from listening to all that they say?

Family can be fatiguing I must say,

But you will miss them if they all fly away,

On this branch you can build your nest,

If you feel that you won’t miss the rest,

There are juicy worms in the garden to satisfy your appetite,

And a feeder with birdseed can be a delight?

The Starling considered my generous offer to stay,

Then winked at me and flew away.

Jim- January 26’

A Blessed Event

 

Two robins were perched on my backyard lawn deep in tweeting conversation. Clearly, from their colors, I could determine they were male and female. Their songs and behavior did not come across as a mating meeting. I judged it to be more about real estate. “Hey honey, where do you think we should build that nest? Will that bush do? Should we build in that tree?” It appeared, to my joy and appreciation that they settled on the pyracantha bush outside my large kitchen window. Good choice! The thorns would keep squirrels and cats away from their nest. The branches are sturdy enough to anchor it. They’ve picked a spot that’s safe cool and comfortable. Shortly, they got busy gathering twigs, grass, leaves and mud. Wisely, they pulled straw from a neighboring hanging planter. They both do the gathering, but only the female does the nest construction. She needed a few days to complete the architecture which includes weaving and sculpting. We females know how to get things done. This nest is not a bed for the parents; they sleep elsewhere. It is an incubator for the eggs. The perfect nest must serve as a baby cradle to keep the eggs and babies warm, dry and safe.

 

I really think these robins chose this pyracantha bush because they knew what joy and pleasure it would give my family to be able to watch the entire drama. Every morning, we would start the day with a visit to the blessed event; one egg a day for four days and the incubation period starts.

The mom spent most of the day sitting on the eggs, taking occasional time off to grab a bite of insects, worms and caterpillars. During this period, she actually moves the eggs around. In about 2 weeks, the eggs started to hatch, one a day. The chick, using its beak, poked a hole in the shell, struggling sometimes the whole day to free itself from the shell. 

 

What a joy to watch both parents appearing with food for those four hungry little open beaks. Such traffic, parents flying in; parents flying out. Mom still sat on the chicks to keep them warm and dry. The parents have full time jobs They protect the nest, find food and feed the hungry open mouths. In two weeks, the chicks were the size of their parents. When they were about 2 weeks old, they are fledglings and ready to leave home. Sadly, my family did not witness their departure. In the morning, they were in their cozy crowded nest, and when we looked, later that day, they were gone, without saying goodbye to us. In subsequent seasons, we have never had the joy of watching nature play this familiar role since sadly, the gardener pruned the pyracantha bush.

 

Tweet! Tweet! Are they mating or discussing the real estate?

 

Ethyl Haber

My Comfy House

 

My Comfy House

My house is a very comfortable home. I have lived in it for forty years. It is really time to redecorate but I don’t have that much cash lying around.

One early morning, I put the coffee pot on as I usually do. While I was waiting for the coffee to finish perking, I started watching the vapors rise from the top of the pot.  All of a sudden, a beautiful genie, dressed in pink, formed out of the vapors.  “Who are you and what are you doing here?” I asked in a fearful voice.  The genie answered, “I am the household genie who came to redecorate your house.”  She continued, "If you’ll let me, I will add a room on your second floor that will be just glorious.”  She whispered in my ear her plans for the remodeling.  When the genie was done filling me in, she got to work and designed a magical room,

The door to the room was quite plain and nothing fancy.  When inside the room, the first thing you see is several round buttons on the wall. Each button you push turns the room into another gem of indulgence.  There was a button for a Jacuzzi spa, one for a manicure/pedicure shop, another for a cosmetic/ make up store, a facial and massage button, and even another button for counters and counters of perfume.

In other words, all these different luxurious self-care places could be found in one room of my house by selecting a button.  You needn’t ever have to leave your house to pamper yourself again.

Before the genie left, I asked her why she picked this magical update to my house.  She told me that a couple of weeks ago, I found a butterfly in distress and saved it.  The butterfly and genie world believed I should be rewarded for that.  And, boy was I ever!  Now I love my forty-year-old house even more than ever before.

 

Ellen G.

My World

 

My world or should I say my house would be on top of a mountain to avoid flooding problems, in rural Vermont, near Calvin Coolidge State Forest. It would have a slate roof with unseen solar panels at the back of the house. The front entrance would have a garden with a staircase and a ramp leading up to the main entrance. It would be four floors along with a basement. The footprint of the house would be sixty feet by one hundred feet. The Tudor styled house would include a basement with a wine and root cellar area to store vegetables and seeds along with a pantry for canned goods along with a deep freezer, and a workshop with the necessary tools for repairs and projects. The ground floor would include a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and two guest bedrooms each with a private bathroom. The second floor would have a master bedroom with a full bathroom and three additional bedrooms for family members including private bathrooms. A third floor would have a feminine touch and include a library with cushy recliners, flowery drapes and overhanging reading lamps, along with a few comfortable chairs for conversation around the small conference table as well as a private femininely styled bathroom along with a pantry including a tea set with all the required accessories.The top floor would be my world. The footprint of the house would be 60’ by 100’. There would be four diagonal counter tops of various depths as needed, bracing the four corners of the 50’ by 100’ room. Each floor of the house could be reached by either the wide staircase or the hydraulic elevator for those with mobility issues. The staircase, walk-in closets and elevator would be contained in the 10’ by 100’ front area of the house. Upon reaching the top floor there would be a bathroom to the left of the staircase and to the right there would be a walk-in closet followed by the elevator. The door to my room would be directly across from the landing of the stairs. Upon entering the door to my world, you would see immediately to your left an area for sculpting , complete with the necessary tools, clay, armatures and Plaster of Paris. To the far left that corner would include an easel and drafting table along with all the necessary tools and art supplies for painting in different mediums. The the far right side across the glass partition in the corner would be the writing table, complete with an ergonomically correct chair, a countertop and floor to ceiling bookcases with a reading lamp for reference books and literature.In the fourth corner to the immediate right would be a pantry complete with an espresso, a cold brew, and a drip coffee pots along with the necessary outlets, mugs and condiments. Below the counter would be a small refrigerator. The right third of the room would be carpeted while the left two-thirds would have a Vermont marble floor from the local quarry for sculpting in the round, casting, and other messy pursuits. Since Vermont marble was mined for the Supreme Court building in Washington and the New Jersey

State House, it should certainly be good enough for my world. A glass partition with a four-sided revolving door with flush gaskets would complete the partitioned room. The fine art side would have a HEPA filter activated by the movement of the revolving door to keep particulate dust from crossing over the partition, and the carpeted side would have a sticky pad installed to cut down on tracking dust. Closing costs, budget overruns and real estate taxes are fortunately not an issue in an imaginary house, and you can renovate for free anytime you like, so build your new house today!

Jim -January 26’

Creating A New Studio

 

It’s been a long-held dream of mine to transform my one-bedroom apartment into a workable, truly livable studio—one that keeps the kitchenette intact, adds a small table, and turns the bedroom into a creative hub with a sewing machine, an area to film, and a dedicated place to paint. I imagine storage rising from floor to ceiling, a comfortable chair to sink into, lots of window light paired with warm lamps, and clean white walls that let ideas breathe. A pegboard with baskets would hold supplies, surrounded by pens, pencils, paint, and fabric—everything within reach, including a pair of sharp scissors—so the space feels ready for making at any moment. 

At the moment I am really trying to do make this change. It has been difficult and blood, sweat and tears and money are critical. I know it will be slow and take a few months but so worth the effort. Wish me luck. 

Georgia