Category Archives: About

All about me, this site, life, the universe and everything…all through my rose tinted psychedelic glasses

Scent of winter

 

The scent of winter settles
Calmly, gently, slowly, over
Un-tensed shoulders, a word
Remembered from childhood
Humour, Fridays spent at Synagogue
Dinner with the community,
Friends together sharing family time,
Good food, good company, good
Humour, good times, the echo of the
Core principle that warmed my heart
Still rings true today, through a life-
Time of ups and downs, a quarter
Century as a stranger in a strange land
Not quite one of the crowd, yet fitting in
At least somewhat, before a moment’s blurt
The feeling burst through the dam of self-
Preserve, reserve lost in a moment of passion,
Weary of too much control too much of the time
Let loose reality, so that is how I feel, good!
Now dealing with the emotional remit re-
Percussions pounding deep, soul crevasse,
So be it, abeegazunt, that is just the way, just so,
Just so. Still the summer’s tease of tomorrow heat
Sunshine frozen in a memory of glowing warmth,
Until all that is left is the dull ache of an old-young spine,
Joints de-lubed by Lyme Disease, impact and time, the real
Me coming through in many flavours, today, tomorrow, more
Hereafter, until all that is left to note, is the
Scent of winter’s bite in the wind, promise
Of summer dead and gone, ghost of a
Memory, now teasing winter out of
The woodwork, summer may be
Over, yet, abeegazunt, I am
Still standing, still here
Another year parted,
One more promised
Better still to come,
Still I stand here,
No longer alone,
Happy, two as
One.

flushed

Flushed, system running
Tinnitus-high, smiling inside out
Breathe tight, short in throat,
Constricted with happy hormones
Life-rush of fine feelings thrown all
Too high, overdrive with no rough
Life to grip, just the ease of happy
No-stress enjoyment, true to life,
True to me, wide awake, bright-
Eyed, bushy-tailed, chomping at
The bit, look out world, are you
Ready for an Emerson, loaded with
Endorphins and aimed straight out
At you? I think not! Too bad, too
Late, don’t say I didn’t warn you
This ugly little duckling just got his
Turbo on – at this speed looks don’t
Matter, only steering straight on
Towards the stars and beyond,
Like LL said, don’t call it a come
Back, cause I’ve never been here
Before. Not sure even I know where
I’m heading, all I know is that it’s
Right –
She’s the one.

inside-out happy

Shit-eating grin,
What shit-eating grin?
With food and water running out
Is happiness sin?

We tough it through turmoil,
Fight strong through the night,
Chasing ‘way demons under
Pale moonlight, until dawn’s
Bright awakening bursts through
The night, with millions starving,
Many more in misery, being this
Happy, can it be right?

I may not have all the answers,
In fact hold very few, like
Why as sentient beings we
Hold such a narrow world view,
Not seeing the suffering every
Dripping tap cries, cheap food on
Our plates while the supermarket hides,
The dirty truth of its source, broken
Backs of our cousins, dying of
Starvation, malnutrition or hot lead,
Each inexpensive morsel we eat now,
Their lifeblood has fed.

Not being a saint, I eat the same,
Looking for a better choice, to
Step outside this game, thoughts
Circling back, seriously happy,
My heart sings a private song,
A duet at last, here comes the
Smile, a new life can begin.

With the world in this state,
Is true happiness sin?
If it is, I’m unrepentant, a sinner
Is me. I’ve waited long enough to
Be happy, you see. I’ll do my best
Change my food-eating habits,
Change my ways, for happiness
Can be more driven Good
Than Hollywood daze.

Love unrepentant,
Love hard, love long,
For when we are all dust
Only love carries on.

Living with Lyme Disease – 30 years and counting…

(The recording above is the radio program “Lyme Disease Controversy Comes to the Capitol“, broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio by Elaine Grant on Monday, February 01, 2010.)

I have Lyme Disease. I caught it when I was around five years old.

Ixodes scapularis (aka 'Deer Tick')
Ixodes scapularis (aka

You get it from the ‘deer tick’ (aka the ‘baby tick). Fundamentally, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection.

Where did this all begin? Well, let me tell you…
I was about five years old (my memory of precisely when is obviously not perfect). I held no fear of ticks or insects, having grown up barefoot and wild in the forests and swamps around Chappequa, New York. As most young children are, I was impervious to any fear of nature, insects or animals.

Ticks do not crawl across the skin like many other parasites, nor do they hop around as 6 legged jumping beans like fleas (yech!). They find a nice, sometimes shaded, piece of skin (mine was behind my ear) and begin to make a home for themselves.

Continue reading Living with Lyme Disease – 30 years and counting…