The Weather Is The Weather—Whether You Like It Or Not!!

Bea

There are two things in the world that are absolute. And they are not necessarily taxes and death. I am referring to heat and cold.

Let’s take it one step at a time…cold weather is just plain COLD! I am talking about bone chilling, blood thickening, can’t get warm no matter what you do, cold.

You have prepared for the upcoming storm by tying your bushes and shrubs with canvas and ropes so that they won’t collapse from the weight of the heavy snow.

There’s four feet of snow outside your window and you can barely get outside to get to the storage shed to find the shovel and the snowblower. And when you do step outside you are so bundled up that you can barely move. Let alone getting your pet dogs out for the daily walks and potty breaks. So you finally get the driveway cleared of the snow and you pour salt all over the place to hopefully reduce pedestrian slippage. Done for the day!

So you go back inside your warm (warmish) home and get rid of all the now wet and heavy clothing, Step up to a roaring fire in the fireplace. The bones begin to thaw and you are sort of comfortable. But the nagging thought prevails in your head: tomorrow I have to do it again…

But if it is 106 degrees outside here in Chandler, Ariz., you sort of cool off by staying in the house in the always running and rising costs of the air conditioning. You can drink iced water or something else that is cooling. You can go to the air conditioned store in the air conditioned car (without having to skirt the snow dunes that the snowplows have made in order to clear the streets). You can look at old news reports about snowstorms around the world and cool down a few degrees by osmosis!

And you never have to shovel sunshine!

Dream Castle

Kris Szlauko

Come play a game with me, please take my hand.

Come see the castle I’ve built in the sand.

Pouring and patting the shape of my dreams

Up grew a great dream home; how perfect it seems!

Here we’ll be happy and live without tears.

We can be peaceful for all of our years.

There’ll be no hatred; we won’t allow war,

And no one will harm us; we’ll fear never more.

We’ll never be hungry…we’ll never be cold. We’ll never be lonely…we’ll never feel old.

We’ll make such music, and laugh with delight. We’ll sing in the sunshine; we’ll dance in the night.

Each precious person will know their great worth.

Oh, come see the dream world I’ve built on the surf.

It’s just a bit further…and then we’ll soon reach the happiness castle I’ve built on the beach.

Is this the right place? Oh, no! It can’t be!

It’s gone! My whole dream…washed away by the sea!

How foolish! All gone…all the joys that I had planned.

Salt tears on my cheeks; swirls of sea on the sand.

Oh let’s make a new dream! Believe that we can! Let’s work together…we’ll create a plan.

We’ll find firmer ground…from mistakes we can learn. Let’s bind hope with love, and shape dreams with concern.

Let’s lay a foundation…that won’t wash away. Our happiness castle…this time, must stay!

Come play a game with me, please take my hand.

Let’s build a castle, but not in the sand.

Summer Rain

Sandy Ilsen

As a clap of thunder pierced through the air,

We opened the blind to look out at the rain.

Into the lake it splashed and cavorted,

And pulsed against the window pane.

It was during a rainstorm that we met,

Our footsteps resounding like notes in a song.

But summer rain is a fleeting affair;

It moves in fast, and then is gone.

Together we watched the storm subside,

As it passed away to another phase,

A double rainbow arched over the lake,

While sunbeams filtered through the haze.

We parted, and each took a separate path,

Our interlude had ended, just like the rain.

But the last few drops, like lingering tears,

Trickled slowly down the window pane.