The Kiss

“Lord! I wonder what fool it was that first invented kissing. “

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Irish author and clergyman

Consider the kiss. What an odd, intriguing, and absurd concept, this pressing of lobes, this mating of faces.

Ah, the kiss. Obscene and brutal? Or magnificent, erotic? A tribute? An insult? Whatever the form, it does span mouths and hearts and time. There are too many kinds to count, this mirror of emotion, purveyor of desire:

The Judas kiss, low as a snake and deadly as sin. The obligatory kiss to Aunt Jane, whose breath is stale with age and cigarettes smoked. The perfunctionary peck upon the cheek, a greeting here, perhaps sincere but perhaps not. A parent’s worried lips to the child’s fevered brow. And what of the kiss of comfort, the one that absorbs even a little of the grief while a loved one sleeps in a silk-lined box? Kisses sweet, brief, given without thought or considered at length. An apology even, when words are too hard to say.

The lover’s kiss: prelude to passion each mortal strives to perfect with varying degrees of success. Mustn’t be too sloppy or too dry; the timing is crucial, too; when to begin as important as knowing the moment it is meant to be over.

Is it tentative or hungry? Is it reciprocated, or rejected with the turn of the cheek, mauling the ego more deftly than any two-fisted blow? The cheek will not do, not when lips are destined to meet and seek a fit as intimate as hip to hip.

A tracing of the lips with the tip of the tongue, dip, taste of the tender, fleshy lobes, around, under, and finally between. The tongue is taken into the dark, moist chamber. Textures there, be it raw silk or rough as the kitten’s tiny bumps coated with cream. Can you hear the accelerated breathing; maybe it is ragged, harsh, and a little raw? Breaths mingle, exchanging flavors, longing. Teeth close, claiming a tongue, a bite, just a tiny pressure, a groan, a sigh. Reverse the exploration.

And then eyes peek open, affirming that this feeling is mutual and unfeigned. Now the deepening of it, the slanting of lips, the tongue thrusts, the increasing wetness and carnivorous nibbles as they devour each other..

It is delicious. Absolutely divine. His lips skim down to her chin, he sips and the delicate jut. Unwilling to relinquish and yet feeling the natural course playing to the end. Their eyes open and meet and no words are needed. If it is good, it is the best part of heaven; if not, they part knowing the kiss was fatal and this is good-bye.

Consider the kiss. A concept worthy of thought, though one better pondered with nimble lips rather than words.

Michael Jackson

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the death of Michael Jackson. I don't think there has been a day in that year that has gone by without some story by the media regarding him or his family. His music will live on for many years and continue to inspire other artist.

Michael Jackson

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the death of Michael Jackson. I don't think there has been a day in that year that has gone by without some story by the media regarding him or his family.

Wild Things

In the book by Maurice Sendak, Where The Wild Things Are, Max, in his wolf suit, makes mischief until his mother in exasperation calls him a wild thing. "I'll eat you up." Max says and is sent to bed without his supper. There in his dreams, he travels to the "place where the wild things are" and they roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws" until Max command, "Be still" and tames them with his magic trick of staring into their eyes.

All of us have wild things within us, the feeling that we must learn to control. Emotions that can get us into trouble but at the same time are essential to conjuring up the creatures that make life interesting. It is our ability to control with out quashing that makes us optimistic. Optimism is dependent upon our ability to become King of all the wild things.

It requires mothers/friends who will send us to bed without our supper, but will keep it warm as well and welcome us back from where the wild things roam. It is from this family that we learn the magic tricks that we need to make us feel like a King.

Let the rumpus begin!

Where The Wild Things Are

In the book by Maurice Sendak, Where The Wild Things Are, Max, in his wolf suit, makes mischief of one kind or another until his mother, in exasperation, calls him a wild thing. "I'll eat you up!" Max says menacingly, and is sent to bed without his supper. There in his dreams he travels to the "place where wild things are," and they "roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws" until Max commands "Be still!" and tames them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking.

All of us have "wild things" within us, the tumult of inner feelings that each of us must learn to tame. Our emotions can get us into trouble in our relationships. But these same feelings are essential if we are to conjure the creatures that make life interesting. It is our ability to control these feelings without quashing them that makes us optimistic. Optimism is dependent upon our ability to become king of all the wild things.

It requires mothers/friends who will send us to bed without supper but who will keep it warm as well, ready for our return, lonely, from where the wild things are. It is thru our family and friends that we learn the magic tricks we need to make us feel like kings. Let the rumpus begin!

Recovery Continues

Each day I find that my accident is cause for my mailman to deliver stacks of letters from lawyers and chiropratic clinics seeking to assist me with my recovery. Each one cautions me about dealing with the insurance company and with other lawyers, etc who claim to be able to help me.

Now I have no plans at this time to even use their services, I am slowing recovering from the injury ( some things just take longer as you get older) and most lawyers want you to continue seeing a doctor until claim is settled. I don't like going to a doctor unless I have no other option and as for now I find that Tylenol PM, Advil, and cold compresses are working for me.

If the pain continues or gets worse then I will follow their advice.

Time Goes By

It has been quite some time since I last posted on here and much has happened. I am now semi-retired so you would think that I would have lots of time to post but alas I find that I am trying to catch up on so many other aspects of life that I had let slide and then I simply get exhausted thinking about things.

I have managed to get some writing done on my children's story and that does continue to go well. I have worked on organizing all of my photos, a major undertaking. Things have been hampered by an accident a couple of weeks ago. I was crossing the street when hit by a truck, the driver was on his cell phone and did not see me. I had bruises from chest to knee, a mild concussion, one broken rib, back contusions..the back and right knee continue to bother me but this I think will ease with time.

Good Luck

Monday morning as I tried to get a quick breakfast, I reached into the oven to grab something out and burned my elbow on the oven door...still a bit sleepy and not thinking about what I was doing. Then at work, I slammed a file drawer shut on my little finger and broke it. Later that afternoon I was sitting at my desk while on a lengthy conference call, I leaned back in my chair and the back snapped off and I tumbled to the floor. Aside from a few new bruises and a slightly sore back everything is okay.

As I moaned about this on my Facebook page, my sister reminded me that with my luck it could have been worse and so my spirits lifted.

Summer's End

There are only a couple of weeks left of the official summer but all the signs are here of its demise. The trees have started to dress in their fall colors and this morning as I had my coffee on the deck I watched a flock of geese rise from the lake and begin their days trek further south. This evening I expect to see another flock descend for their nights rest and as the days progress the size of the flocks will grown larger. I love to watch them as they take flight and marvel at the coordinated air show but at the same time their flight is a reminder that soon I will be shivering in the cold...I wish that I could simply take flight and follow them.

The Kennedy Legacy

Tonight I watched CNN's coverage of the Ted Kennedy Memorial. I laughed and I wept. My start in politic began in 1967 out in California as a volunteer for his brother. I was home on a visit June 5, 1968 and was awakened by my father with the news of the death of Robert. I thought that would be the end of the Kennedy political greats, I was wrong. History will, if truthful, grant Ted equal status with his brothers.

Sample from most recent work..first draft

The highlanders worked hard over the next months, completing the construction and began the planting of crops. This was accompanied by great ceremony. Before the first plow moved across the field, a sheath of grain that had made the journey across the sea was given to the team pulling the plow. Earth from the first furrow was rubbed over the neck and shoulders of the horses. Bread, cheese and a glass of whisky were given to the plowman, who drank then filled the cup again and poured it over the bridle, saying, “ G’wee speed the labour”. After the blessing no further work was done on that day, a supper and dance followed as was the custom.

During the supper a ring was hidden in the brose and whoever found it would be the next to wed. There was much laughter when the ring was found by Ian Baillie. The towering Scotsman blushed as he was teased by the women. There were few unmarried women among the settlers. Most of them women who had been widowed on the crossing or girls to young to be thinking of marriage yet. Ian had loved one woman and she had married his brother. When she died shortly after her husband’s death, it was more for her than his brother that Ian took on the task of raising the two boys. Though he was often stern with them , he loved them as if they were his own sons.

When the meal was finished, the musician brought out their instruments and the familiar sounds of Scotland filled the air. Dancers whirled about in abandonment. Robert watched as young Anne McIntosh parroted the steps of her parents, whirling about with more enthusiasm that expertise. With a smile, Robert walked over to her and executing a smart bow asked,” May I have this dance, my Lady?” and taking the young girl by the had led her into the dance while her brothers doubled over with laughter at the sight of their little sister with the tall highlander. When the dance was over, Robert again bowed and thanked her for the dance. With a shy smile Anne raced over to where her parents stood and pulled at her father’s hand to get his attention and then announced, “I’m going to marry Robert.”

Her father looked at his daughter and then across the gathering to where Robert Baillie stood with his Uncle. “ Aye Annie you couldn’t find a finer young man but you are only ten and the young man might not want to wait for you to grow up.”

“ I’ll make him wait!” was the reply and Anne skipped off to join her brothers.

Ebay Vultures

Today I was in a toy store and observed what some would call greed, some call enterprise, and some would simply consider it crazy. Two men came in and proceeded to load their shopping carts with zhu zhu hamsters. Now if you are not familiar with these creatures, they are plush toys with AI and come with all sorts of little extras just like a live hamster might require. The promotion of the toy has resulted in fantastic sales, much like the early Cabbage Patch Doll hysteria. Stores that get them in stock, sell out within hours and I am sure that eBay will have many reselling of this item as the profiteers seek to get something from the parent who just has to get the latest fad for their child.

Now I have had the opportunity to play with these and with some of the other AI toys and they are great. Missing is the actual interaction and learning experience that a child would get from the real thing but for many the draw is the fun without the fuss. But would I pay beyond the regular cost just to ensure that I get one at this time? No, I would not because I know that as with most fads they will soon come down in price, the lines of people jocking to get the most recent versions will disappear and if the toy is still one that I simply must have then I am sure that I can find it and at a reasonable price. So for me...no profiteers will get any of my money for these cute little guys...

Dating or Not

Yesterday I had a set-up date for lunch. It was not exactly a blind date since we had talked to each other regarding work for months. However, my boss asked me to have lunch with him and a client and then just before our seating, excused himself for an important business call and then back to the office.

"So how did you like him?" he asked me upon my return to the office. "I figured you two would hit it off."

Well, yes..good looking, talented, funny, single guy..what was there not to like but while we enjoyed our lunch conversation and I assume it was mutual, there was not the chemistry one would hope to find with a potential "date". I keep comparing guys to an ex ( let me clarify, not my ex-husband but a former love)..and really must get over that.

Summer In The City

One of the things that I like the most about where I am living is the wide variety of summer events. There are outdoor concerts, ranging from the back porch concerts, opera in the park, to symphony concerts on the square. There are art fairs and food festivals almost every weekend and within a short drive from here is the wonderful American Players Theater.

The city is situated on an isthmus between four lakes that offer swimming, boating, fishing, or just plain restful reflection. The city is a college town and as such the population fluctuates between the school year heavy with student "citizens" and the less frantic summer population of locals. Even with the absence of the major student population, the campus area bustles with activity in the summer.

All too soon summer will end and most activities will move indoors except for those for the winter hardy souls, of which I am not. It is during those long, cold, dark days that I find myself questioning my reasons for living here. I pull out some of my photos from the summer and remember...and hold on to that memory until springs rolls around...which Mother Nature might delay but eventually gives to us once more as the prelude of what is to come.

Weather or not...

The last week has been one of weather extremes, from temperatures in the 90's during the day to falling to the upper 40's at night, bright sunny days to frenetic thunderstorms. So far we have not had any tornadoes in the immediate area but the beauty and power of Mother Nature has been shown in the brilliant display of lightening and thunder with strong winds. Call me crazy (and some do) I love a good storm. I like watching it approach and enjoy the electric feel in the air. If I have the free time I like to grab the camera and see what I can capture of its wonder.

I have a collection of wind chimes on my front porch and they add their melodies to that of Mother Nature..it is wonderful. (So far none of my neighbors have complained, fingers crossed)

1+1+1+ good late night eating

I was up late last night doing some re-write and got the munchies..there was nothing in the house that met my craving so I decided to make some easy peanut butter cookies. They are quick to make and only require 3 ingredients: 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1 egg. Mix, form into walnut size balls, place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes. Cool and enjoy. Only one problem with the 1+1+1 and that is you can't eat just 1!

Simply Chillin'

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

Google Warning

Today I received a gravely worded warning from Google. There are ads places along the side of this blog and recently they all seemed to center around the topic of sexual abuse. I was curious as to whether or not these were legitimate sites or something less than desirable to be related to my writings so I clicked on the links. Imagine my surprise to find that according to Google that is a big no-no. I guess I will just have to trust that they will monitor those sites as well as they monitor my keyboard activities and those of other household members! A little scary....

MJ

Today was the memorial service for Michael Jackson and despite everything that has been said and written about him, the service brought home the genius of his music and the feelings that he generated in those who were close to him.

I, for one, think of him as the Peter Pan that was his favorite character, a boy who never grew up. And I give him the benefit of doubt when it comes to the negative stories...innocent until proven guilty...and hope that we can all remember the best of him.

Independence Day

When I was a child, this day was greatly anticipated. We would have a picnic, sometimes just in our own yard and other times we would pack up the car and go to a nearby lake. Afterwards we would go in to town and watch the fireworks display and listen to the local school band performance. I still enjoy the day but with moderation...no big picnic and fireworks are limited to those on the telly or those that I can see and hear in the distant parks that surround me.