Where I Am From (also from 2007)

Where I Am From

I am from handwashed dishes and diapers, from Campbell's soup and Tide Detergent.
I am from the dirt with red specks, from the wild onions and blackberries and lightning bugs in mason jars.
I am from red carpet and rainbow stars.
I am from the mimosa flowers that float on the lake waters, the weeping willow trees that sway in the wind.
I am from the smell of honeysuckle vines in the spring.
I am from fishing poles and water skis, from vegetable gardens and wrinkled foreheads.
I am from the cabin in the woods and from the rocky waters of Smith Lake.
I am from farms that I never even saw.
I am from Virginia, Luria, and Ruby - the creative, the strong, the faithful.
I am from the independant, the stubborn, the hardworking and proud.
I am from the wheelers and dealers and the worry warts, too.
I am from strong willed women and diligent, patient men.
I am from blood parents and from parents who took me as their own.
I am from chocolate and biscuits, from barbecued pork marinated in the earth.
I am from dill pickles and watermelon seeds, from tickled feet and sunbathing.
I am from go-carts and beauty pageants and lazy summer days.
I am from sand dollars and salty ocean air.
I am from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and Sesame Street.
I am from the sack man and Ol' Wooly, too.
I am from the Leroy Baptist Church pews, the Baptist hymnal, and the gravestones at the old cemetary.
I am from a clear plastic tub of photos in my grandmother's closet, from the albums in mom's old china cabinet that is now mine.
I am from the reel to reel silent films of my family, I am from the souls of the faces who are in them all.

Writing activity found at:http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm

20 Things I Used to Do (from 2007 writing exercise)

A writing excercise I got from some other place. But sounded like fun so I'm doing it. 20 things that I used to always do or enjoyed doing, but I never do anymore for whatever reason. These are things I did in my early adulthood, not neccessarily childhood. But some I did in both.
1. Sleep with the radio on.
2. Talk on the phone a lot and gossip.
3. Go for walks - through the woods or down the street.
4. Watch TV shows regularly, sitcoms, soap operas and such.
5. Put together jigsaw puzzles for fun.
6. Take sightseeing drives when spring comes, through the country, or to places I rarely drive near.
7. Take 2 hours to get ready to go somewhere.
8. Perm my hair.
9. Take naps every single day after school or work.
10.Read novels.
11.Play the saxophone.
12.Go to church.
13.Write poetry.
14.Eat candy and Coke for breakfast.
15.Play video games.
16.Play lots of board games.
17.Think think think, uninterrupted thinking and pondering and having the time to do so.
18.Go outside at night time and look at the moon and stars and sky and feel all dreamy and stuff.
19.Water ski.
20.Shell peas and butterbeans and snap beans.

Words that have lost their meaning

Words that have lost their meaning during my years of teaching school:

Awesome, amazing, cool, fake, messy, musty, swagger, wrong, good/bad, blessed, tapped, smash, real, tight, boo, awkward, random, ironic, creeper, posse, rap, sweet, mane, tripping, player, digits, epic, swerve

Life is....

Life is just one long vicious battle between my belief that the world is about peace, love, harmony, serenity, and beauty vs. the world's constant persistent and relentless efforts to prove that I'm completely wrong about every single thing. That's what life is.