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| From Family Group Shots |
It’s been quite a while since I’ve sat with my pen,
And marked down how I’ve felt of the year once again,
All that makes me both happy and sad through the year.
Prefer good times much more, and treat sad with some beer.
Wondered what I would name my next book1 at the mall,
Chose to limit my writing to friends like you all.
And apologize fully for years I have dwelt,
On fixing those things in my life I’d been dealt.2
Collected all parts of my heart, proved its heft,
Must remind good old Dave of light years he has left.
And it’s light I have found, with my camera and eye,
Captured beauty and moments too fine to let fly,
Many more I have missed or misplaced on a drive3,
All told they are proof we were all once alive.
My words work well too, hence my annual note4,
“Remember old Grandpa? Lookie here what he wrote ”
Glad my heart is still pumping, had some odd rhythm once,
Started the year with shaved chest, suppose some day, some shunts.
Must remember that friends matter more than my frets,
My sweet girls5, and my wife6, heaven’s sake, no regrets.
The talent they show really raises the bar.
Each adds so much flavor to my great life thus far.
Our calendar7 proof of what fills me with smiles,
Twelve shrinking months from my eye and its files.
Great scenes which move me from now ‘til I’m old,
From the thousands of scenes I have captured, some sold8.
Many scenes could I write a thousand words more,
And my blog9 a new outlet, hope it’s there not to bore.
Its visual tale of our China explore,
And to showcase some photos which I simply adore.
Like the sites I have made over last decade past,
To both help out some good folks and show work I’ve amassed.
And the good folks at Google like to give me two cents,
Every time you click on my links. Hint: So commence.
Force yourself to reflect on the year that you’ve had,
Take a breath and think back on the things made you glad.
They might come again. Or might not. No one knows,
Guess that’s the whole point of my holiday prose.
All I know is I’m glad of the friends I have now,
There are things we could do if but Time would allow.
There are things about Age I don’t yet understand,
Will it be aches or my knee which change all I have planned?
Or demands which I feel as the lone patriarch,
In my estrogen filled house and there’s me in the dark.
Guess that’s why we love Star Trek in all of its glory,
Now in past, present, future, each a great little story,
It’s a tale of great hope, like I still have for mankind,
Deals with travel in time and with folks much less blind,
Seems their daily decisions take a longer term view,
And the light bulbs go off as they think the thing through.
Wish the life we’ve accepted and watch daily on news,
Were as thoughtful and pensive and much less likely to ooze10.
Should I out source this card so it arrives without fail,
Less dependent on schedules and when it gets in the mail?
I let Raja control the new laptop afar
Brand new out of its box, yet its burner bizarre,
I watched as my cursor moved all by itself.
New meaning to Santa and his need for an elf
Since this Dell was intended for use Christmas Day.
The returns lady said, “Absolutely no way.
Not a one left in town, and it cannot be shipped
In time for a present as this one is equipped.”
So I plugged it back in and tried all of my tricks,
I downloaded drivers in an effort to fix
The computer from China and Raja just south
As he used his mouse rather than using his mouth.
It took him some time as I drank some Merlot,
By the time he was done, it was fit for a bow
Very thankfully typed him that he’d made it like new,
Which of course it had been, its first worldly debut.
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and here in my house,
Was an elf from afar, and a magical mouse.
My daughter will now have a laptop that works,
CD-ROM spinning blithely and now free of quirks.
Back to my dilemma, brought on by remorse
To send you late wishes or simply out source.
Please accept that I’m late as you have oft before,
Remember the season, your passions and yore.
And click on my websites like Rudolf’s tan hoofs,
Click away, click away like his buddies on roofs.
Look around and sigh deeply each time you feel good,
Wave into the camera, show some teeth as you should,
Wide eyes and act pleased to be present again,
Since not one crystal ball can answer us when.
Footnotes
1 Titles briefly under consideration were Going Rogue (noun: a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel; one who is playfully mischievous), Waxing Rapscallion (same def), or Viscerally Yours (obtained through intuition rather than from reasoning or observation)
2 Sister (2005); dad and aunt (2006); mom, good friend, and worthless brother (2007); Ohio limited partnership and faithful dog (2008); several lawsuits as yet unresolved
3 Most recent external hard drive (1.5Tb=1,500Gb=several million times more storage than the hard drive on the second computer I bought after finishing college. The first didn’t have one.)
4 Annual holiday poems date from the last century, circa 1990. How compulsive and weird is that?
5 Amanda returned from Portland in March. Worked teaching at Holland Hall during spring, at Riverwalk restaurants during summer, and now again at Holland Hall teaching preschoolers while working on her Masters in Social Work at OU here in Tulsa. Alex enjoyed spring semester in Beijing (and in various other parts of China) and then July and frequent visits at home while not at DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana completing her senior year. Jamie is now in eighth grade and a teenage actress and talented liaison.
6 Karen completed her first year as Chief of Staff without incident. Well, almost, if you don’t include some bold changes in personnel. The remaining physicians praise her as being the best boss they’ve ever had. They had better. If Jamie’s schedule were less busy, Dave would accompany Karen more often when she graced the scenic locales of Houston, Dallas, Biloxi, Jackson, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Washington DC, Las Vegas, San Jose, Seattle, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, or Chicago. Actually did break away to visit Chicago for several very good reasons (see March photo).
7 Available in most fine stores. See footnote 11.
8 Calendar cover art and September photo document a successful surprise party, a celebration of Karen's 50th birthday, during corporate night of Oktoberfest. Poor kid never saw it coming. Cap it off with a week spent in Barbados and the realization that more than half your life is behind you doesn't hurt quite as much.
8a Family photo at the top of the post is missing Chris and Wade only because, although difficult, everybody else showed common sense and adhered to the old saying, "Don't bring Grandma and Grandpa from the nursing home intoTulsa's first ever Christmas Eve blizzard."
9 http://davegribbin.blogspot.com/
10 Going Rogue
11 Gullibility test complete if you believe 7 or are still looking for 8 or 8a.
12 Mustn’t forget: Have Fun, Be Happy, Make a Difference®
©2009 Dave Gribbin
