Saying Goodbye to a Friend

I cherish the image of

Ed hugging LeAnne Jackson after church.

 At least a minute.

I stood in awe.

They released her husband from the bishopric today.

They are building a new house and are moving.

I’m sure Ed said something like, “I’m going to miss you.”

 I’m pretty sure he shed tears.

I couldn’t see LeAnne’s face.

Brad has been our hometeacher for a year or two.

 Quite often, LeAnne sends warm chocolate chip cookies with him.

She and her 4-year-old son make them every Sunday.

 Amy loves them so much that sometimes Ed doesn’t get any.

So it isn’t the cookies he’s going to miss.

11.11.11

PART I

Amy invited her dad to be honored at her school

On Veteran’s Day.

Not just any Veteran’s Day

11.11.11

It was one of the most amazing afternoons of my life.

Nary a word about Halloween

Yet Veterans’ Day is important stuff.

But I get ahead of my story.

The evening before

She tactfully primed us.

She didn’t come right out and say it;

Just inferred we were not to embarrass her.

“You will want to be on time.

At least 5 minutes early.”

Giving us detailed instructions

On how to get there

And where to park.

She and her dad studied the map.

A little later, she casually said,

“The kids will all be in uniform,

You know, white shirts and ties,

Vests, plaid skirts, khaki dress pants.”

“We’ll dress up,” I promise.

“Just no sweats and like that.”

Did she think we’d show up in our pajamas?

Never know.

After that settled in,

She tackled proper propriety.

“You probably won’t talk to anyone,

but IF you should sit at a table with

the Executive Director

or my assistant corners you,

or anyone. . .

remember

no one needs to know

where I went to school

where I live

what religion I am

where I worked before.”

“Can’t we even tell them

you changed your last name?”

Dress code?  Manners?  Behavior?  Anything else?

We better say our prayers tonight.

PART II

A field of flags waved bravely in the breeze

As we circled the front of the school.

Young ambassadors in red, white, and blue vests

Meet us at the car;

And lining both sides of the entry and hallway,

Welcome us as special guests.

They shake hands and visit with us

During the reception and light lunch.

Eye contact, politely asking questions.

Amy told us later they had been coached.

They all reminded me of Jonathan.

He would fit right in this school and

Be a good ambassador with his impeccable manners.

Brigitte too,

But she already has a school and a niche,

Isaak as well.

The Junior High Orchestra softly played patriotic songs

Contributing to the overall swelling of patriotism

And love of country.

Over 750 children were already seated in the gymnasium

(barely finished for this program)

when we were escorted to our reserved seats.

Each class sang with fervor and articulation a patriotic song;

The sixth grade did an interactive choral reading

The Things that Make a Soldier Great

A guest speaker;

Actually on the faculty at one of the campuses,

Retired from the Navy

Petty Officer 1^st Class.

Presented slides of fellow servicemen

Who were injured in the line of duty.

Highlighting their bravery; courage; and determination.

He was in Afghanistan for Thanksgiving last year.

Four student essay winners presented.

Vibrant; energetic; sincere.

Tutored to look at the audience at intervals.

You could hear every word.

The last remarks were by the Founding Board Chair.

 “Why do we celebrate Memorial Day

at the American Preparatory Academy?

It’s not my favorite holiday.

I like to open presents on Christmas;

The Easter bunny bringing me chocolate eggs;

Setting off firecrackers on the 4^th of July.

When I got a little older,

I liked Valentine ’s Day;

And when I went off to college,

I loved Thanksgiving with my mom’s home cooking.

Why Veteran’s Day?

It would be scary to go off to war;

To go to places you don’t want to go

And do things you don’t want to do.

But these veterans did it.

They did it so the next generation of children

Could celebrate Christmas;

And Thanksgiving;

And set off firecrackers on the 4^th of July.

So that we could have the freedom to

Choose our friends, how many children we will have;

What career we will have.

Maybe someday, you’ll be called to sacrifice

For the children who come after you.

There are evil people in the world plotting mean things;

Thinking they are smarter than anyone,

Telling you do everything the way they say;

Ruling by power and force.”

It was a tear-jerker.

There were Kleenex boxes every few seats

Where the honored guests sat.

Amy said her class was affected.

Many of them crying.

The Star-Spangled Banner.

Having the veterans stand

During the Armed Forces Salute;

Calling each one by name and service;

Asking them to individually stand

So the Ambassadors could give each

A pin on a star-shaped hand-written note.

DeRay’s said:

“Dear Honored Veteran,

Thank you for serving and fighting for our Country.

Because of you, I’m free, and so are my friends

and family.  I stand here free because of you.

It means so much.  Couldn’t thank you enough.

Sincerely, Cassidy, 8^th grade,

American Prep Student.”

There was only one other veteran

From the Korean War besides DeRay.

Two or three from World War II.

Most from Vietnam.

Both men and women from the Gulf War;

Afghanistan and Iraq.

Even Peacetime.

A mother of one of Amy’s students

Is in the Coast Guard and served a tour of duty.

DeRay hates Veterans’ Day programs that glamorize killing.

At least that’s what I thought until today.

Today I found out he doesn’t like to stand when

They sing the Army song

Because he was in the Army for only two years,

While spending 23 years working on an air base,

As a civilian, of course,

Doing Air Force stuff.

With this new insight,

He’s proud to have served his country,

Civilian and military.

For all of this,

The entire studentbody sat basically motionless, soundless,

Except when performing.

Poised.  Respectful.

It’s called The American Preparatory Academy

But for all the world

It looks like an International School.

Few Blacks and Whites;

(Even then, Amy says English is a second language for most of the whites.)

Every color and nationality in between.

A beautiful sea of diverse faces

All dressed in identical uniformity;

Honoring the men and women

Who fought for their freedom.

Veterans and their families walked across the front

And shook hands with the dignitaries

As the students clapped.

The Walk of Honor, they called it.

I wasn’t even being honored,

I am not a veteran,

But I believe it is the first time in my 75 years

I have walked the Walk of Honor.

It felt good.

Amy winked at us.

PART III:

We were standing in the foyer to leave

When Amy came marching by

Followed by her class in single file.

She motioned us to follow.

No talking in the halls.

When we got to her classroom

And all the kids were in their seats

She introduced her dad.

He told them a little bit about being drafted

And his tour of duty in Germany during the Korean War.

She introduced Ed and me,

then asked the class if they wanted to show us

how smart they are.

In unison, without any aid from Amy,

they recited Jabberwocky.

"Jabberwocky"
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.  In a scene in which she is in conversation with the chess pieces White King and White Queen, Alice finds a book written in a seemingly unintelligible language. Realizing that she is traveling through an inverted world, she recognizes that the verses on the pages are written in mirror-writing.  She holds a mirror to one of the poems, and reads the reflected verse of "Jabberwocky". She finds the nonsense verse as puzzling as the odd land she has walked into.  "Jabberwocky" is considered one of the greatest nonsense poems written in English.  Its playful, whimsical language has given us nonsense words and neologisms such as "galumphing" and "chortle".  On U-tube, we found the University of Utah Chorale singing it; as well as the Muppets and others.

Later, she told us they have learned four poems already.

Inner-city kids behind their grade level.

(They estimate it will take 2 years for them to rise above grade level)

Tell me about it.

To me, they are brilliant.

How could 5^th graders learn Jabberwocky

And deliver it in precise accentuated unison?

Did I mention,

It’s been an amazing afternoon?

11.11.11

  Won’t happen again for 100 years.

  No one alive today

  Will be alive then.

  Probably.

  

Vets Day assembly 

Salt Lake Tribune

Published: November 19, 2011 01:01AM

As a grateful, honored U.S. Army veteran, I thank the American Preparatory Academy in West Valley City for its wonderful Veterans Day Assembly.

How refreshing to receive the gifts of a handshake, song and instrumental music from these well-mannered charter school students. Representing a kaleidoscope of ethnicity, these young men and women display an uncommon love for excellence in education, America’s freedoms and her military veterans.

The school, its faculty, students and supportive parents are West Valley gems. I salute you.

Michael L. Prows

West Jordan

  Unfortunately, he didn't even hear Amy's class recite Jabberwocky!

MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE

I know it’s a sin.

But I have murder on my mind.

A shot

Right through the heart.

Would that be possible?

Even stabbing.

Or perhaps poison?

Which would be best?

Premeditated Murder, I confess.

I look at the object of my hatred,

Hogging horizontal and vertical space.

Blocking an entire mountain range from my view.

Shading our vegetable garden in summer.

Dropping ugly, soggy, gigantic leaves in autumn.

Yes, I’m seriously contemplating murdering

Our neighbor’s hulking trashy tree.

SOOTHING

This is my phonetic translation of the hauntingly beautiful Sanskrit chant:

Lo-caw

Saum-aus-da

Suki-no

Bauv-on-to

Repeated three times;

Followed by an

Oooooooooooooooooooohhhmmm

May all beings everywhere

Be happy and free;
And may the thoughts, words, and actions
of my own life
contribute to that happiness
and freedom for all.

Everything we think, say, and do
has an impact in this world.
Service.
Loving.
Giving.
Caring.

BELOVED FAMILY

As with many families, we have a round-robin letter.  All eight of us write quarterly.  Because we are all older and not much remarkable happens even quarterly, we have started answering three or four proposed questions. 

One October question was

What are some practical jokes you have played? Be specific.

My oldest sister, Shirley, wrote:

Digging holes and covering them lightly with branches so Val Chamberlain (visually impaired) would fall in them. Daddy had hired him to help with the sheep. I think of other intolerant thoughts I had of people not of our faith, or someone on WPA, democrats, Germans. Japs, other cultures and nationalities (like Kanab.)  I’m a more compassionate person now than I was as a child. I had a roommate in college who lived in New York City and hated Jews. One of her fellow New Yorkers (a Jew) was also a student at the college in Cedar. I thought Inez Relyia was terribly intolerant. I didn’t want to be like her. She didn’t like the food we ate out west. Her mother would send her special foods from New York. I assume she eats like a westerner now. She married a Cedar boy and lives in the St. George area now. She came to Charles’ funeral. I think she has mellowed too.

After answering the other questions, Shirley had after-thoughts:

World War II was a pivotal time in my young life. I'll never forget how patriotic we all were. It was a heady time to be an American. We hated the Axis Powers. When the war came to an end it was a humbling experience to see the Marshall plan in action. Love replaced hate as we helped rebuild the war-torn countries who had been our enemies. It was especially heart warming to see the growth of the church in those countries. General Authorities from those countries emerged with strong testimonies. As I listen to Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Germany) speak I feel he's "God's gift to the women of the church."

My thoughts on Kanab have mellowed. I concur with Kanab's Chamber of Commerce when they say that Kanab has Utah's best weather. Sorry, St. George. Our own compassionate DeRay with his wry sense of humor hails from Kanab although I like to think he was greatly affected by the close association he had with Valley High as a boy. He would accompany his dad, the Valley High coach/teacher, Duff Pugh, to sports activities at Valley High. There he had a chance to look the Valley girls over and ended up choosing Jeanette.

My brothers and sisters are near and dear to me even those who have strayed from our conservative traditions. The door is always open for you to come back into the fold.  If you choose to remain as you are, I admire your courage.  Regardless of what some protesters think, our Country remains great because divergent views can be expressed freely. (end)

Strayed from our conservative traditions?

Translated, my friends, means, from Republican to Democrat.

When we grew up in Kane County, everyone was Republican.  If there was to be opposition, someone had to run on the Democratic ticket even though everyone knew he was still a Republican.  Basically, we voted for the man not the party.

Staunch Republicans all.

Then Shirley, believe it or not, married into a strong Democratic family in a neighboring county.  Her husband converted to the church, even becoming a bishop, but I don’t know if he converted to Republicanism.  His brother didn’t and that’s the only – well, you know her roommate from New York who hated Jews?  She loves her brother-in-law but she can’t cope with or tolerate his talking or thinking Democrat.

We make a joke at family reunions when we hold them in SunRiver:  The Republicans stay at one house and the Democrats at another. 

And we are a better family for it—not for staying in separate houses but for honoring and contributing to the two-party system that makes our Country great.

Excerpts from an essay by Eugene England: “Why Utah Mormons Should Become Democrats.”  MAKING PEACE, personal essays by Eugene England, 1995.

Over one hundred years ago, in September 1891, there occurred in Huntsville, Utah, a strange incident.  In this American town on a bright late summer morning, Mormon church leaders went from door to door, assigning one family to be Democrats, the next to be Republicans. Thus were Mormons attempting to accommodate gentile political ways as a prerequisite for Utah statehood.  David O. McKay, one of the most openly Republican of church presidents, confirmed this story of how his hometown of Huntsville had once been divided by alternate houses, while Joseph Nelson, head of the Saltair Corp. reported that in his Salt Lake City ward his bishop stood and declared all the Saints on one side of the aisle Democrats and all those on the other Republicans.  In Rockville, in southern Utah, leaders divided the community down Main Street.  Whatever the mechanism, in the early 1890s Mormon leaders, from the First Presidency through stake presidents down to bishops and other local leaders, were energetically engaged in a remarkably paradoxical enterprise.  They were about proving that the rank-and-file was independent of political influence from the church hierarchy by directing many Mormons, against their inclinations, to join the Republican Party.

As everyone in Utah knew, a wholesale onslaught on Mormon beliefs had been led by the national Republican Party.  Its initial platform had promised in the 1850s to eradicate what it termed the “twin relics of barbarism”—slavery and polygamy. . . .Because of the strong anti-Republican fever in Utah, the First Presidency took steps to restore balance.  “The more evenly balanced the parties become the safer it will be for us (Mormons) in the security of our liberties; and our influence for good will be far greater than it possibly could be were either party overwhelmingly in the majority.”

Eugene wrote further:  I believe things have come to such a pass that many Utah Mormons should choose to become Democrats—not because the Democrat platform is “truer,” certainly not because its leaders and candidates are “better.”  Utah Mormons should become Democrats because for about twenty-five years (many more now) Democrats have been a steadily dwindling minority in Utah, and thus Republicans are developing the attitudes and practices of one-party rule.  ‘Those attitudes and practices are more dangerous than the actual beliefs or programs of either party.

I believe some Utah Mormons should become Democrats for precisely the same reason the First Presidency encouraged some to be Republicans in 1891.

I sincerely believe that I and other Utah Mormons should become Democrats—at least until the parties are nearly equal in strength again in the sate.  In fact, it might be good for church leaders to encourage some shifting.  This would make clear to Mormons the fundamental Constitutional principle that American freedoms are based on:  separation of power and prescribed checks and balances, strongly aided by the development of the two-party system.  If those checks and the party system are kept strong and balanced, they create a process of government that is the surest guarantee of our liberties and of civil peace, much more sure than the particular content of any person’s or party’s ideas about what our government should do.

Mormons belong to one of the few remaining religious bodies which still believe the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God.  The crucial scriptural passage is D&C 101:77-80, a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1833.  that was only 40 years after ratification of the Constitution and not long before Madison died, the last surviving framer and certainly one of those to whom God refers in saying to the Prophet, “I established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose.”

The revelation says that the American Constitution and laws are acceptable to God only as they are “established and . . .maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles.”  (D&C 101:77). . . .The framers wanted people to be free to pursue wealth and happiness and personal salvation in whatever form they chose and to do so with confidence that laws would apply consistently and equally to all, whatever their private goals.  They could make both moral choices and legal contracts with reasonable ability to predict future consequences, confident there would be no intervention by the whims and arbitrary commands of rulers.

Republicans in particular seem to want to legislate private morality, to use law to make people good, to force them not just to refrain from harming each other but to be good.  Any such effort to do God’s work, to use the power of the state to do what only churches and non-coercive social and cultural forces should do, once led the Republican party into one of the most outrageous intrusions upon human rights in American history, one that ranks with Jim Crow laws and our internment in concentration camps of U.S. citizen s of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

Of course, he’s referring to the anti-polygamy crusade against Mormons.  That crusade was doubly pernicious in that it not only violated a fundamental principle that government should not intrude into personal belief and morality, but it adopted unconstitutional means to serve that unconstitutional end.

Eugene England continues:  My concern is that religion and politics are being entangled again in Mormonism, not among high-ranking leaders so much as among local leaders and in Mormon popular culture.  It is no longer merely a joke that a good Mormon cannot be a Democrat, and Mormon Democrats are constantly on the defensive, seeming to feel a need to apologize for being Democrats, whatever their particular views.

One of the most troubling elements of this polarization is the growing Mormon tendency to find absolute or at least superior, even divine, truth in the Republican Party platform.

Walter Leppmann, writing in August 1939, just as liberty was under worldwide assault at the beginning of World War II, reminded us that our vaulted ideal of freedom of speech and political expression is not merely an abstract virtue or matter of simple neighborly toleration but an absolute practical necessity:  “We must protect the right of our opponents to speak because we must hear what they have to say. . .because freedom of discussion improves our own opinions.”

Good Democrats or good Republicans are not those who believe their party has all truth and who yearn for complete victory and one-party government control.  They are rather those who seek the engagement, compromise, enlightening debate, checks on natural aggrandizement of power, etc., that the process of inter-party dialogue makes possible.  Good Democrats and Republicans are those who realize that the political process is strongest when the parties are nearly equal in strength—and good Mormons, believers in our inspired Constitution and desirous of political peace and effectiveness, would work, or even change affiliations, to bring that about.

Summery:  You can see how important it for some Utah Mormons to become Democrats.  First, it might produce some national leaders who could help stop the executive branch usurpation of power over war that right now most threatens our Constitution and our honor as a nation, our economy, and our lives.  Second, it would produce a vital two-party system in Utah, one that could prevent a destructive Mormon/non-Mormon split and lead, through constructive dialogue and compromise rather than lazy idealogy, to more innovative solutions to pressing state problems.  Third, it might help us all to learn the basic lesson of our Constitution, that virtue and truth are the province of no single person or party—in fact, are best found in the process of civil debate, which includes listening because we want to, adjustment, compromise, and then honest and honorable acceptance of the results until new ones are created in the process.

This essay was written before Glen Beck and Tea Parties and larger polarization.

If it works for a country, it could work for a family.

Just today I read an obituary in the Salt Lake Tribune:  “Grandma was a devote Democrat and had strong political opinions which fueled animated political debates, but she was very clear that she would be voting for Romney in 2012.”  Off the subject but nevertheless revealing, another quote from her obituary: "We will miss Grandma's iconic quotes, 'oh, hell Bryce', 'let me buy you dinner', and 'please don't leave'."

Back on track.  Personally, I’m intolerant of the Modern Day Tea Party because of their misguided assumption that they have superior, even divine, truth, excluding those of different color, race, or creed.

 ****

City Weekly, editorial, Liberals & Mormons

The Democratic Party is "the natural home" of Mormons By John Rasmuson March 3,2010 –

Where are good places around Salt Lake City to take out-of-town visitors? The Spiral Jetty and Welfare Square, a knowledgeable friend assured me.

So, a while back, I took houseguests to the latter, the engine room of Mormon philanthropy. A polite missionary escorted us around the complex, and at the end of the tour invited us to watch a video. It turned out to be a predictable, slick, institutional promotion until Ted Kennedy took center stage. I was stunned. Ted Kennedy! The avatar of tax-and-spend, bleeding-heart, soft-on-crime, welfare-queen, union-stooge liberalism who has been vilified by Republicans for as long as I can remember. And there he was holding forth on an LDS Church-produced video in Welfare Square.

Not long after, another well-known liberal, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, gave his I-am-a-Democrat-because-I-am-a-Mormon speech at BYU. And then, in Richard L. Bushman’s biography of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, I read that the Democratic Party was “the natural home” of Mormons.

The more I thought about the history and traditions of the church, the more it seemed to me that Mormons ought to be drawn to the left, not the right, and to the politics of Kennedy and Reid, not Orrin Hatch and Tom DeLay. That they haven’t vexes me.

Smith intended to run for president in the 1844 election. The suggestion that he was a closet Democrat raises the hackles of my Mormon friends. Joe Smith was no Ted Kennedy, they sputter. And that’s true, to a certain extent. Nevertheless, the Bushman book paints a portrait of Smith in warm liberal hues. The prophet’s views on the role of the federal government, immigration, wealth redistribution, slavery, prisons and care for the needy were certainly progressive. He also favored establishment of a national bank and “the fostering care of government” it would provide to the economy.

It is fair to say that most of Smith’s followers agreed with him. But nowadays, just one in 10 Mormons describes him- or herself as liberal, according to a study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life. Sixty percent are conservatives.

What they mean by “liberal” or “conservative” is anyone’s guess. Most of us are like Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass. “When I use a word,” he lectured Alice, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” So, I choose to think of conservatives as favoring tradition: a small federal government, a balanced budget and a muscular defense establishment. Liberals tend to see government as the solution for social and environmental problems and the safety net for the disadvantaged.

My own brand of liberalism is a prism for Mormon culture. I credit Mormons for Utah’s best-in-the-nation standing in volunteerism. I take heart that in this solipsistic age, young Mormons become citizens of the world for two years, sometimes mastering a foreign language in the process. I applaud the efforts of the LDS in helping others, be they Salt Lake City indigents or disaster victims in Indonesia.

However, irony lurks in the Pew data.

For example, 61 percent of Mormons have attended college, but only 22 percent accept the theory of evolution. When it comes to shrinking the federal government, 56 percent are in favor, but about the same percentage believes the government should do more to protect “morality.”

Fifty-five percent say strict environmental laws are worth the associated costs.

Most Mormons (51 percent) think military strength and engagement in world affairs are important, yet Utah has one of the lowest Army enlistment rates in the nation.

Another irony is evident in Utah’s crowded, underfunded classrooms. In October 2009’s General Conference, Dieter Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the first presidency, said that “education is not merely a good idea, it is a commandment.” That said, it is apparent that many haven’t got the word. Utah’s class sizes and per-student expenditure bode ill for this generation of Mormon kids.

The most intriguing data in the Pew study correlated church attendance and politics. Of those Mormons who attended church every Sunday, 73 percent were Republicans. That percentage dropped by a whopping 34 points for those who attended church less frequently. The same disparity was registered on the issue of a less-intrusive federal government: 61 percent of weekly attendees agreed versus 37 percent of the brethren who played golf occasionally on Sunday. A cynic might conclude there has been more to priesthood meetings than just the lessons in the manual.

I think not. However, my own family history includes an anecdote from 1956, when a bishop in Parley’s Stake took to the pulpit to encourage the congregation to vote for Republican Wallace F. Bennett. My uncle rose to his feet in protest and is remembered in family lore for his principled, public stand.

A more likely explanation for Mormons’ Republican tilt is rooted in too much complacency, too many unread books, too many hours watching Fox News. It is worth noting that 48 percent of Mormons believe that churches should stay out of politics.

I am certainly not the first to question latter-day Mormons’ departure from their liberal tradition, but I may be the first to note the Kennedy imprimatur on the fundamental Mormon practice of helping the needy.

I do take it as a positive sign, an indication of a temperamental alignment between Mormondom and me. Can it be that beneath the moss-backed Republican hide beats the bleeding heart of a liberal? I hope so. I, for one, would welcome all Mormons back to the fold and to the ideals that shaped the iconic public lives of Kennedy and Smith.

******

Out beyond 

ideas of

right doing and

 wrong doing

   There is

   A field

I’ll meet you

  there.

Rumi

A RIDDLE

Who am I?

I am so small I can fit in the palm of your hand

Or clip on your shirt

(or your bra, so I’ve heard).

Yet I swell to fill your whole universe.

I tell time;

count steps.

I go fast or slow;

Forward or back

Start & stop;

At exact spot.

I inform, instruct, entertain

Science, history, literature, music, comedy, drama.

While you are:

Making beds,

Hanging clothes

Fixing dinner

Doing dishes

Dusting

Washing windows

Cleaning drawers

Folding clothes

Sewing

Mending

Driving or riding in a car, train, bus, plane.

Mowing lawn, vacuuming.

Harvesting garden: tomatoes, beans, squash,

Swiss chard, peppers, basil, broccoli & on and on.

Playing games; doing puzzles; reading the newspaper.

Exercising:

Triking

Vibrator

Gravity Inversion Table

Urban Rebounder

Treadmill

Walking, hiking

Ball, roller, straps, stretching.

Yoga.

Oh yes,

Yoga on the deck while the sun colors

the morning clouds a wondrous billowy pink

Brilliant.

Yet, I couldn’t do it without Amy.

 WHO AM I?

Hint:  I’m Hot Pink.

FOOT PRINTS

"Make foot prints on the sky,"

the yoga voice instructs.

I like that.

It makes me feel lofty,

Like I’m touching heaven.