A.G.E's Joint

  Half-filled glasses sit on the table Orange contrast on snapdragon  Windchimes Dulcet tones fade into dreams It is their last stand

The white marks slip  one by one by one into the dark mist.  Another trip into the drama.  What would it be this time? Weed? Liquor? Leave her behind for the other one? An opportunity cost from one girl to the other But there is a tie there Something in the wake of her smile Strong  Karmic Familial How far back did their trees cross? The driveway The door The knock. "Why are you here?" She got me again.

The light show was going over the horizon.  A weekend stand Only that.  Two people in a lost city  Caught on the rebound Passing the time. The sea was angry.  Earrings and things bobbed with the waves.  Secret places found Promises denied Lies kept The pier was gone when he woke Washed to sea.  And so was she There was nothing to remember.  Not her name, anyway.  Only the voices in his head  Calling his name. 

  The trip was her idea, a way to get some "we time" between work and kids' stuff.  Jimmy's mom not only offered to take the kids, but she had paid for the reservation. Everything was going to be perfect. Kathy had found the perfect place in the mountains where they didn't have to worry about being quiet.  The drive up had been easy, with no traffic on the way in. The only problem was missing the turn to the Inn. But that was quickly fixed and they turned off the small sidestreet. The driveway was lined with wildflowers and the turning trees indicated summer's end.  They got out of the car and looked at the building. They knew it was going to be special.  Behind the desk was a small, blonde woman.  "You must be the Morris', we've been expecting you."  She handed them the key and pointed toward the stairs. "The Millhouse Suite is at the top of the stairs. Enjoy your stay."   Running up like a couple of kids, they started laughing whe...

 "Recommend this obituary to your friends." The line startled me when I read it. Was this hard-coded into the website or did some bored secretary stick it in the frame header?   The news wasn't unexpected. She'd been doing poorly for years. But it was a life worth celebrating and recommending. A 1970s-era housewife who roared. She set up a community services center for the disadvantaged and ran it through its first decade. She then handed the reins to capable management. She was a person you either adored or despised. Headstrong and used to getting her own way,. She stepped on many toes. But things did get done. The dissolution of a 30-year marriage after several kids was quite the bangarang for her friends. It seemed every week the Coconut Telegraph had something about her. The response was typical, go to seminary and spend the next 25 years in hospital chaplaincy, taking three of her friends with her.  I look around the room. People who had known her way back when ...

 Kathy and Emily are cleaning up the kitchen after supper.  "Mommy?"  "Yes, Sweetie." Kathy was struggling with some burnt-on grease on a fry pan. "Why do you call Daddy 'Cowboy'? Kathy stopped washing the dishes and looked out at her husband and son playing in the backyard. Little Charlie was riding circles around his Dad on a stick horse while he tried to reach the bridle. The memory made her smile. "It was a pet name I came up with when we first started dating." Kathy handed her daughter a dish to dry. "Like, 'Whoa, Cowboy' when he got too mushy? Emily smirked. Kathy laughed and splashed her daughter. She was too smart for her own good. "Yes. That IS where it came from."  "Thought so." Putting the dried dish on the counter. "How did it happen?" "We were sitting at the picnic table in Grandma's backyard." Kathy looked wistful as she thought back. "It was the week after his 14th  b...

  They pile in from church In ill-fitting suits and chartreuse dresses Wanting to get into their Easter baskets Grandma says no,  Supper first And change out of the nice stuff We know you're getting messy Play clothes donned Ham and green beans eaten Out on the porch The trading starts. Emmy likes peeps Charlie likes bunnies Daddy feeds Mommy malt eggs When Grandma comes back  Everyone is asleep It's been a good day.

 Emily came in from school and found her mother at the living room table with a bunch of pieces of paper scattered in front of her "Hi, Mom." picking up one of the pieces. "Whatcha doin'?" "I'm trying to decide what color to paint the living room." She gave her daughter a hug, "Do you want to help?" "Sure" Throwing her book bag on the sofa, Emily pulled up a chair and looked at the piece of paper in her hand. "Char...trise?" "Chartreuse, Honey."  Emily made a face. "Yuck, that looks like baby barf." She tossed it down and pick up the one next to it. "This one is called Seaform." Mom looked at the chip. "Too light, Your Brother would mess that up in one day. I've got this one, Kelly Green." "That's the same color as the guy on the Lucky Charms box." Emily giggled. "And it's making me hungry." "You'll ruin super." She said without looki...

 If the real thing don't do the trick, Fake roses will Don't bring me those It's all a ruse To get someone To give something up After all, Love is blind And lust is Helen Keller As you can tell, Valentine's Day has never been my strong point. It isn't my wife's either. I guess that's why we are going on 38 years.

What a morning.  Jimmy had won a trip to the beach at the dealership. But it wasn't a Kingdom by the sea and a big yacht. Instead, it was a small four-room cabin and a flat-bottomed barge designed to troll the marshes. Jimmy smiled when he saw it.  "Ooh, fresh seafood." As he put the car in park. "And who do you think is going to clean it, Cowboy?" The kids giggled in the backseat.  "I'll help you. Uncle Chuck taught me." Kathy wasn't sure about that. Chuck might have been who their son was named after, but he was about as useless as a fish on a bicycle. That was going to be her job. She didn't mind, though. It didn't take long to offload everything and set up the cabin for the night.  The next morning the four of them stood in silence when the Captain, a tall thin black man, introduced himself and walked them around the rusty craft. Emily spoke up.   "So, how do you make it go?"  The man laughed. " Hop aboard and I'l...

She paints her fingers with a close precision And takes a moment to assess the sins she’s paid for  A message, an ad-hoc declaration Maybe it shouldn't have been made Dispute between people I've never met in the real world One is stuck The other tried to help and failed. She is still bewildered Will reaching out make it better or worse? Responsibility? Honestly, none. Must move on. The song lyrics are from "The Ballad of Mona Lisa.  This one was a bewildering challenge, to say the least. 

 Susan couldn't sleep. She stared at the naked image in the full length mirror. The dark hair was increasingly flecked with gray, but still long and soft.  The body was thicker, belly like a bag of potatoes, a butt like one of those rivet strips to let blind people know they've come to a curb. But the shape that set men on fire was still there. The breasts were the most surprising. Soft and a little wrinkled, they still held their shape. For 55, she couldn't complain. She smiled. The weekend at Hilton Head had been his idea. She'd gone along with it simply because she was tired of staring at the same old walls. Walking along the beach, a young woman jogged by in a bikini and his eyes followed. Would it all end like Julie Andrew's character in the movie "10", with her being dumped for the Delilah? There was only so much she could do to keep her looks.  The answer came as they stood on the dock, watching the harvest moon rise over the bay. He slipped a chubb...

The squeal made Kathy wince.  She had just put Charlie to bed and she hoped the girls didn't wake him up. Kathy checked her watch. 9:30. Yeah, it was time to bring the show to a close. Charlie was sound asleep, oblivious to the noise in the next room. Good.  Sticking her head into Emily's room, she saw Maddie trying to braid her hair while looking at the small screen in Emily's hand. The friendship bracelet they made earlier kept getting tangled in the lace of her nightgown and she was getting frustrated.  Kathy peeked over her shoulder. The image was of a girl about their age giving beauty tips. Some things don't change. She could remember being with Becky and Sarah flipping through magazines and trying to figure out how to tame her curls into something.  "OK, Girls." She said. "Light's out. Let me have the phone." "Oh, Mom!" Emily whined. "We aren't going to look. We promise." "Right.", Kathy smiled. "I wa...

  Another year with us Something blessed Let's celebrate The serendipity of meeting Some forty years ago We make the wish for another Even though it may not be.

Sitting on Daddy's lap  Holding the stick.  Eyes blinking against the smoke Red-orange fingers licking white sugar Slowly turning black Light brown squares on the table Waiting for molten goodness A tap on her arm Stick pulls back Squeeze squares together One Two  Three Blow Delicious

The call came this morning Not unexpected Frail on a walker I knew it was near She was the one that told me Before the Crowbar Crows drank at home 50 years of love Of laughter Of tears Of loss Has come to an end Rest in Peace

  Hair- Not combed. Tshirt and Jeans Diner food. Homemade blueberry ice cream Celebrating 37 years As the moon rises over my left shoulder It is me being myself. 

 I've been lazy this week and not entirely sure how to handle this. I don't really cool off in the summertime. When you never leave the air conditioning, you don't have to.  My Daddy wasn't rich and my Momma wasn't good lookin'. They were kind of old when they had me.  It's what happens when you are the last one in the bunch and an oops at that.  Anyway, this was better than taking you an a long winded journey into the Low Country, showing some of the sites DuBose Heyward and George Gershwin were evoking in this, the most American of operas. 

 I see the lines The stats Some lonely guy Trolling along the site. Welcome. I'm glad you're here.  Tweet me along  Others want the share.