Some days you get what you need . . .

 

So.

Did we lift our glasses in a toast to the judge, the jury, the Manhattan DA and the American justice system just after 5:00 p.m. the afternoon of May 30, 2024.

Damn right we did.

Drank a little, smiled a little, even danced a little, while watching MSNBC.

Because that guy is a criminal, a crook, a thug, a racist and a rapist.   And a felon.  A convicted felon.

A disgrace.

(Feel free to enter your own word of choice:  _________________________________ )

And dangerous to our country.

It took only minutes for the headlines to start shouting the news

And then came memes, and political cartoons, and the political columnists having their say.

And I participated.  

Watched the interviews and applauded.  

Shouted "Oh, hell yeah," at the TV.

Posted and shared more than my share of vitriol and contempt in regard to a man who deserves every insult, curse, gesture, and stream of invective thrown his way.

But still, even with a celebratory glass of bubbly in hand, there was sadness.  So much sadness for this country.  

Those 12 brave men and women were in agreement regarding all 34 counts.  

I wish I could tell each of them how much I appreciate them and what they did.

But.

As you well know, we have some very tough days ahead.

The Republican party has lost its collective heart and soul along with its spine.  This is NOT our parents' Grand Old Party.

And we know for sure that the Supreme Court won't be any help in the days ahead, quite the opposite. (Yet another huge concern that needs tackling).

It's up to us.

And I am hopeful.

But.

You all know all of of this.  I am preaching to the choir.

Once again, I forgot one of my goals in writing this post (imagine that).

Where I was going with all this before all my detours was to say that after hitting a wall today and needing to back away from the disgust of seeing that monster's face and reading the garbage he spews and exhausting myself by reacting, a little bit of serendipity found its way into my path.

In the words of The Great Rolling Stones . . .

"You can’t always get what you want

But if try sometimes, you just might find

You get what you need,

You get what you need."

Yes.

Poetry is, for me, an escape.

An entirely different sort of escape than immersing myself in a novel.

And it was just what my tired old self needed today.

And, thanks to NetGalley, I have been able to put my mind at rest, and my heart in a soft place to focus on the joy of the words of Billy Collins.

And was able to remember that, by golly, Life is good.

Description from NetGalley

From the former Poet Laureate of the United States and New York Times bestselling author of Aimless Love comes a wondrous new collection of poems focused on the joys and mysteries of daily life.

"[Billy] Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions." —The New York Times

In this collection of sixty new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experience. A poem is best, he feels, when it begins in clarity but ends with a whiff of mystery. In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With his trademark lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar. It’s no surprise that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both call Collins one of America’s favorite poets.

The Monet Conundrum

Is every one of these poems
different from the others
he asked himself,
as the rain quieted down,

or are they all the same poem,
haystack after haystack
at different times of day,
different shadows and shades of hay?

May serendipity do the same for you.  ❤

In the meantime . . .

A Toast

Good-Bye . . . Hello

 

Saying good-bye to 2010 is not a problem for me.

It was a year fraught with some challenges - more so than most.

But I'll have to say, I'm proud that Donald and I (and Harley, of course!)  were able to meet them head-on and get on about our business of living and enjoying our life together.

And looking forward to 2011.  Ready to face its challenges, and looking forward to its joys.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to make any resolutions.  Some years I do, some years I don't.

How 'bout you - do you make resolutions?  Are you able to keep them?

Here's a few I have made over the years - and I'll bet some of them will look familiar to many of you.

• To lose weight.
• To eat healthier.
• To exercise.
• To have more patience with people who drive me nuts.
• To be a kinder, more considerate person.
• To clean up my potty mouth.
• To live each day to its fullest.

There are a couple of things on this list I'm proud to say I have actually gotten better about as I become a wiser (ie,  older) woman.  But, I have to admit - I still have a ways to go to become the woman I'd like to be.

One very important decision has been reached today.

One I'm happy to share.

It was the very tough choice about which book I want to start my year off with. 

Last year I started my year with an ARC of Linda Fairstein's HELL GATE.  Book 12 in the Alex Cooper series.  It was a great choice, and a book I enjoyed immensely.  And I can't wait to read #13 - SILENT MERCY, coming out in March.

This year, after much thought and consideration, I've decided to start the year in a whole 'nother way.   The book that is calling my name right now is Keith Richards' LIFE. 

He may not be a favorite of everyone, but he is one of mine.  Donald and I have been lucky enough to see The Rolling Stones in concert twice - The Steel Wheels Concert in 1989 at Georgia Tech, and The VooDoo Lounge Concert in 1994 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

I've been a fan of Keith Richards, and of The Rolling Stones, since way way back.  Actually, preferring them to The Beatles when I was a teen.  That's not to say I don't adore The Beatles, I do.  But there's just something about bad boys . . . .

One of my favorite songs ever is one written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.  It's Salt of the Earth - Enjoy!

And Happy New Year to you all -

Salt Of The Earth
written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leading but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
Empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the two thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth