READY OR NOT, HeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRE'S 2014

Like it or not, 2014  is here!.  We wonder where has time gone? It is as if the months had torn themselves free from the calendar and taken off with the wind. With or without scholarly interpretation, we try to take an inventory of the past year's events.

As we ponder, nature answers with her own rhythm. We may at times try to thwart her, to dismiss her, or act oblivious but nature in 2013 remained the independent stern mistress she has always been and shall always be.

In 2013 we allowed ourselves moments of pride for small and large fetes even as we ached with regrets for that which we did not do or failed to say.  Children brightened our days as the fate of others was cruelly ended.  Friends, family and notables left us with fond memories.

In 2013 we saw the ugly face of greed as the powerful among us refused to acknowledge humanity's frailty. So what will 2014 look like?  Ready or not, it is here.  Have a good one!

WARMING WINTER'S COLD WITH MUSIC

One of the ways I overcome winter's frigid weather  is by listening to  music like Paul McCartney's symphonic poem, "Standing Stone."

McCartney describes the power of ordinary places,  the quest for answers to age-old questions and his own fascination with Celtic mysticism in music that is extraordinary.  He spent four years composing what he considered his second "largest scale classic work."

The poem itself is worth a read.  McCartney concludes his verse's  opening introduction by saying,
"I hope the music is strong enough to stand alone without help from the poem and that you, the listener will enjoy what you hear."  It does and I do!

So if you are tired of heavy coats and boots, of  chipping ice off the windshield, and wishing you were some place other than where you are, turn on your favorite music and let the melodies transplant you to warmer spots.

NRA: GUN PROFITEERING?

After the last stuffed toy, and flowers, and balloons are placed, candles lit, vigils and grief stricken people and children leave the spot where another shooting has taken place when do we begin to ask who profits from all this?

In spite of evidence of out right corruption by gun and ammunition manufacturers and illegal sale of guns in open markets when do we condemn the protection afforded these purveyors of destruction by the NRA and our elected officials?

In spite of men and women and children acting as self-appointed vigilantes how do we not understand that we cannot have or maintain a free, equitable civil society in which to live without enforceable laws?

How do we succumb to tricky slogans, to scape goats or to our own fears by backing the NRA and electing the men and women who profit from the organization?

Our children, men and women, our streets, each of us need the lawful protection of accountable public servants like the police not profiteers like the NRA or the gun business and industry or feint-hearted representatives.

THANKSGIVING 2013

                                                                                 





THANKSGIVING 2013

 

 

SO SMALL A CREATURE ARE WE 

 

REASON, TRUST IN EACH OTHER SUSTAIN US

 

AS WE COME TOGETHER ON THIS DAY

 

WITH CLOSE AND NEWLY MADE FREINDS AND FAMILY

 

REMEMBERING TOO THOSE NOT HERE.

 

 

BEVERLY D. REHFELD

 

 

 

 

                                                                      

ALLERGIES & ANDY ROONEY

Allergies plague us. Doctors, pharmacists as well as friends
recommend all sorts of remedies.  If the allergy is too bad sometimes
a prescription is written.   Most times it's catch as catch can over the
counter products are purchased and some work.  Sneezing and runny
noses are quieted until they come back again and again.

Packaging for pills, large and small all shout I AM  THE CURE.
Specific instructions for use are carried on most products. They tell us
how to unwrap and use pills.  That's when I miss the late Andy Rooney.

Rooney was television's sweet curmudgeon. He closed "CBS
60 Minutes" with the most irreverent remarks about ordinary
 things that don't work well. He had a whinny gravely kind of voice
 and always told manufacturers why their products don't work.

I thought of Rooney when  I made my umpteenth purchase of allergy
pills.  The package had arrows for easy opening. I pushed the arrows.
The pills did not come out. I tried a scissors and then a knife and
finally the pills came out.  They were crushed.

I wish Andy Rooney was around to tell
pharmaceutical companies they ought to do something
about all those cute arrows that don't work.

THE SCARIEST HALLOWEEN

The night was chilly and misty.  But she had decided to  go out anyway.
She put on a rain cape and pulled the hood over her face.  She went out
and headed straight for the pumpkin patch. I know my way she thought.

Mist covered the ground. It was scary.  As she walked along, she thought
she saw a mob of people making their way toward her.  They were being
led by the tiniest bird. Then she began to see the people were all
very small children in single file like in a parade.

The leader had big floppy ears and was carrying a WWII flyer's helmet
 and wore a white scarf. The last child was waving what looked like a big letter.

All of sudden some one pulled at her coat.  She looked down and saw
a  round bald headed kid.  It was Charlie Brown!* He pulled her down
and whispered, "Want to know what's in the letter ?"

According to Charlie the kid was writing to the great Pumpkin.  The kid
asked the great Pumpkin if he could help the children understand a few
things like why people were losing their good senses.  Charlie continued talking.

Like asking the Great Pumpkin why people were
telling lies.  Like saying kids don't want to learn to read, or other things.
Like guns don't kill people or why moms and dads were called lazy
because they did not have a job or why people were so mean to each
other and other lies about a whole bunch of stuff to each other.

That's when Charlie paused.  He Looked up and then looked directly into her eyes
and asked "Do you know why?" and then he disappeared into the misty night.

                           *  *  *  *  *

*With apology to Charles M. Schulz. 1922 - 2000

 

VINEYARDS OF MISSOURI

On a recent beautiful, cold 40 degree day, I took the opportunity
to visit Missouri's wine country, even though I am no wine connoisseur.
We took highway 40 West to a small, two lane, hilly road to Augusta.

I wasn't disappointed.  The trees were beginning to show and
weeping willows gave us a royal bow as we passed them.

Our road followed the Missouri River and we were soon passing
rich farm land and historical markers. We passed quickly but
we passed one that marked Daniel Boone's home and
museum. Near by the Bush Wildlife Preserve which once housed an
ammunition center is said to have bomb shelters hidden in the ground.
Signs for gun and fishing clubs popped up every so often. 

Defiance, one of the towns we came through had small houses with
white picket fences and signs that the Katy Trail ran through it.
Bicyclists,  families and walkers were using the path.  As we came
close to our destination, Balducci Vineyards, we passed row after
row of the vineyards of other farms.

To my surprise I learned there are more than 120
wineries in Missouri located in nine different sections of the state.
 A brochure with all this information is available at the
Missouri Wine & Grape Board, missouriwine.org

Any one of the nine wine trails of Missouri is worth a day's trip for the
scenery alone.  I did taste a red and white and found them pleasant.