Things I really, REALLY don't like

Take heed...

-People coming up behind me and squeezing/rubbing my shoulders. I don't care who you are. If I can't see your face, please don't touch me.
-Beeping things--alarm clocks, cell phones with new voicemail, etc.
-Being one of the first people at a party.
-Things shifting around or falling over in my car while I'm driving.
-Meetings I am required to attend that have nothing to do with me or my job.
-Rush hour in the rain when I'm hungry.
-Sore throats.
-Local commercials.
-Sticky substances in inappropriate locations (i.e. honey between my fingers or some such nonsense).
-Purple clothing...on me.
-Sometimes, talking on telephones.
-Muzak.
-Most Southern Gospel music.
-Miscommunication
-Arrogance (in myself more than others)
-Change...

Now I run the risk of getting a little too serious with this blog. It's a lot more fun to dwell on what you like rather than what you don't, isn't it? Just a thought...

More poetry

One of my favorite poets is William Carlos Williams. He uses a very few words to create an incredibly vivid picture. Take "The Red Wheelbarrow":

~~~~~~~~~~~
so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.
~~~~~~~~~~~

And that's it! Isn't that something? He must have been trying something with the three-words-then-one technique.
You're probably thinking, "Uhhhh...right. I could write that. That's stupid. How is that poetry?"
Well, I have a question for you. How red is that wheelbarrow? Can't you just see it? A bright, shiny, fire-engine red wheelbarrow, just washed with rain, beside a bunch of stark-white clucking chickens. The moment is so vivid...and then, because I'm hungry, I think, "mmmmm...chicken....."

That's what poetry does. It creates a moment--just a moment. Sure, sometimes it takes several tries to understand it. But the poetry that is capable of making you feel like you've experienced something is worth taking the time and effort to understand.

Look at "This is Just to Say":

~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A poem written on a post-it note. Brilliant.

Something you may not have known...

I like poetry. Did you know that? I was driving back from Chapel Hill, NC, two days ago and I thought, "What can I put on my blog? It's been a while...Laura must be irked." So I thought, "Hmm, what about sharing some of my favorite poems? Surely people will find that interesting..." You see, I was an English minor in college (probably should have been a major--maybe it would have counted for more) and I actually LOVED reading and writing papers. That's part of me. So come, let me educate you in some fine literature.

This poem is called "Shine, Perishing Republic" by Robinson Jeffers. Published in 1963. It's a little morbid, but beautifully written. It's also one of the few I can quote.


~ While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening
to empire
And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out, and the
mass hardens,
I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots
to make earth.
Out of the mother; and through the spring exultances, ripeness and decadence;
and home to the mother.

You making haste haste on decay: not blameworthy; life is good, be it stubbornly
long or suddenly
A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains:
shine, perishing republic.
But for my children, I would have them keep their distance from the thickening
center; corruption
Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster's feet there
are left the mountains.
And boys, be in nothing so moderate as in love of man, a clever servant,
insufferable master.
There is the trap that catches noblest spirits, that caught – they say –
God, when he walked on earth. ~

Wow. What do you think?

Fine, I'll blog.

Not a whole lot to say here except that I have just returned from Nashville, TN, where I worked a medical trade show with my dad. While I was there, I went on a date. A real, live date. With a guy named Jason. A stellar guy named Jason. (That's right, I said "stellar"--and I meant it too. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it sounds appropriate.) As far as dates go, I think he has perhaps spoiled me for life...or at least for a good long while.

If you would like the details, I would be certainly glad to share them with you. But they will not be posted on this blog.

The end.

Oh, and I learned to line dance.

The end.