Basement blues Typewriter table Steamer trunk William Carlos Williams From driftwood and childhood I made a lamp From German wood and found wood I made a table Basement blues Typewriter table Steamer trunk William Carlos Williams Pack up those basement blues in the steamer trunk and sit with William Carlos Williams and me at the typewriter table and we'll light Our whole world. ~ May 28, 1983
As a mouse chased its tail around in circles. A game of Monopoly unfolds: Mediterranean, Baltic, Ventner, Marvin Gardens. A buffoon in scholarly robes says Life is one big Monopoly game. Simon, in abstinence from intoxicants, says No, it's not. Life is what you perceive it to be. As a mouse chases its tail around in circles. ~ Walling Court, 1974
Music was in the air on Taylor Drive. Songs of California in Iowa, west meeting center on Taylor Drive, a development risen from corn fields. We played music, mixed wild and brown rice with Esther's asparagus. Talk about dawn and beginnings hand-pushed versus power mowers and wedding photographs blending into the night. First guests, with wine from France a rosé for our gustation. ~ Spring 1983
Purple tips of Iris emerge
from among green swords
oscillating
in wind too strong for blooms.
We'll move the root stock
to a sheltering place
past the Lilac hedge
where grackles browse...
Mix soil with bone meal
and decaying manure
a bed for bulbs
beneath mulch and wind.
We should get this done
when the blossoms fade
before distraction comes
with summer's calm.
~ Spring 1996
A Greyhound Bus leaves the Chicago Terminal several times a day and routinely rolls across the Mississippi River, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains to its destination in the Golden State. Just as frequently, a bus leaves Los Angeles and in silent recognition the drivers pass and wave. Partners conveying anonymous individuals. In Iowa we see these buses and occasionally ride them laden with food and gifts, but mostly we dream a little about the places they are going and then return to more immediate business. After business comes a drink and the sleep that is so sweet in Iowa, while buses move on to the blackness of Chicago and the setting sun of the Golden State. ~ Summer 1974
We must be free to follow our search for knowledge wherever it may lead us. Without regard for what people say, without regard for what already exists. Though it be a long, lonely road, we must go alone, yet in communion with the many who have set out like us. Though we will be alone, we will also be in the best company. ~ Summer 1983
As the new year begins, I’m retooling how I write here. The main goal is improved content related to society beyond the geographical confines of Big Grove Township.
While I need a place to journal, this isn’t it. There are too many concerns about what I say in public to make it as useful a venue as I need. I’m using a Moleskine plain notebook for journaling.
There has been clear interest in my experiences in aging. More people are living longer and how septuagenarians will live going forward is an unwritten book. I can write part of it.
My attitude about local food and food preparation is changing. There will be posts about that.
Even though Iowa’s politics has gotten increasingly conservative, there will be new things to say about it. Not all of them will be positive. I expect to evolve from being an advocate for a candidate or particular idea to something else. My destination is presently unknown.
Local politics has been one of the most popular topics for this blog. Specifically, no one is adequately covering the school board or its elections and we have another coming up this year. Because it has been one of the most popular topics, I plan to do more during the coming election.
My posting may be a bit irregular for a while. As I work through the retooling, I hope you’ll stay with me. I believe the writing will get better in 2023.
Thursday’s 60-degree ambient temperature was weird. The seventy-degree, one-week swing from ten below zero was bad enough. It won’t be good for our fruit trees. They are already weirded out by double leafing last year. Hopefully cold weather returns soon.
I don’t make “New Year’s Resolutions” any more yet there are activities upon which to focus in 2023. Here’s a brief list:
This list does not represent significant change from previous years. If anything, activities have been distilled for clarity and reduced in number. That should make life in 2023 more livable.
Each year I put together a budget. When I say “budget,” I mean “expense budget.” Sometimes I follow it, other times not so much. I’ve been unwilling to accept the constraints of living on a pension, so when unexpected things happened — furnace repair, yard tractor repair, or auto replacement — our debt increased each month beginning in April. We’ve been unable to pay it off from cash flow. It’s time for a reckoning.
In the budget spreadsheet I compare income against projected expenses. There is not a lot left at the end of the year.
Paying the car loan and addressing some long-standing home maintenance issues are part of it. There will be unexpected expenses again this year combined with a project list to accomplish. Any income beyond our pensions can readily find a home. Our current income is spent on basic living.
What to do?
We need more income for things beyond basic living.
Some parts of a budget are not complicated. If we take the time to step back and examine what we are doing, the answer seems obvious. Now that the need has been identified, how do we meet it?
This is the part of budgeting at which most people never arrive.
A light snow-cover greeted me on the final day of this personal retreat. It will take about 15 minutes to clear the driveway, which I will do once snowfall slows later this morning. It should be a good day.
I made the planned Christmas dinner with the exception of the chick pea snacks. I decided there was enough food without them, and in any case, they would better serve any New Year’s Eve celebration. There are leftovers for today and tomorrow.
It has been challenging to shed obligations of our Big Grove life long enough to gain some perspective. I did the best I could, and yesterday went well. While I would like to live only for my writing and creativity, that seems a bit romantic (like Coleridge, Shelley and Keats) for someone with deep American roots. It is especially true when confronted with the existential worry about whether the village well will continue to work, the furnace plant will operate as designed, the snow plow crew will arrive as scheduled, and major appliances will continue to work until we are ready to replace them. Everything held over the holiday.
The coronavirus pandemic has not relented. People I know are administering home tests, with some contracting the virus. It is no badge of honor to have had COVID. On the contrary, we tend to look down on someone who got it, the way we look down on someone who got cancer. Having had COVID gives us pause when the science about masking and vaccines is so clear. The basic starting point is answering the question, “What did you do wrong?” It seems very accusative. As far as I know, I have not contracted COVID, although it is ubiquitous and I likely will.
Today will be organizing for a return to work as normal. I have a good idea of what must come next in my autobiography. I’m writing a budget for 2023. I crave outdoors activity and if the weather relents, I’ll get some today. Now that holiday feasting is done, I must design a menu that will support health. It will be a busy day.
Thanks for following my journey this holiday season.
Journey Home
You must be logged in to post a comment.