Friends, Poetry | Posted by Jannie on 3 May 2011 @ 3:05 PM
Linda you’re more than just snippets
of the shine on your bike I learned to
fly down the street to the store on,
more than your sailboats of eyes
that shined up a thousand Sundays
we swirled in worlds of jump rope
and wore our beach glass tiaras,
our driftwood treasures on window sills,
us so sure we’d one day be ballerinas,
2 girls in fluffs of hand-me-downs,
your colors usually late morning glory,
mine in clouds of salmon and rose.
One day I’ll see photos of you and me,
ones tucked into albums somewhere in
the gardens of our mothers’ collections.
Us on beaches at picnics, and smiling near
snow mobiles suddenly quiet in winter’s hush,
the naked birches dreaming of July’s eyes.
In the photo above — for my readers, are me,
your sister Melody and my brother Pat. 1969.
Linda, you up there dancing with Pat now.
You dead a few weeks ago at only 47
from a massive heart attack while driving.
Patrick killed in a crash when he was 16.
You and he maybe chatting daily now
at barbecues and such, endless parties
up there with all our ones long gone
and Einstein, Montessori and Cole Porter,
Heaven one constant garden party brunch,
champagne 24 / 7. No dishes ever to do.
Always thought I’d see you again.
And I will. Just not at this level my
elevator of time is still parked at.
Remember our last day in Grade 1?
Lori wore her long pink flower girl gown,
I the pale yellow one above, and yours
all October ocean blue with those little
diamonds of possibility stitched into the hem.
Remember? We had popsicles that day!
Then sang every song we knew on the
bus all the way home, three Big Girls soon
moving all the way up to Grade 2.
Linda if I never told you I loved you, it
was only because I still hadn’t learned how.
So, I’m saying I love you now. And you’ll
always be more than just snippets of
those candy necklaces, caramel flakies,
greasy fries, and eventually, nips of rum
on the beach where all the time in the world
still stretched itself across the Bay in streaks
of gold I’ll always remember your hair as.
With love from Jannie
xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
That’s my One Shot Wednesday Poem.
Comments:
Friends | Posted by Jannie on 17 January 2011 @ 6:05 AM
Greetings, Adorable Peeps. Lance of The Jungle Of Life is here!!
Kelly (who is 9) asked him the questions this time.
So let’s get to it!
oh, yay i bin wating months and months for lanse to retern. hoooooo-woooooo.
Hey, Lance! How is your Internet toe? Have you been using it lately?
My Internet toe (for those of you wondering, I explained to Kelly – last year – how I had a computer built into my big toe) has gone dormant for the winter. I guess it’s like a big ol’ black bear going into hibernation.
Lance, do you have any kids? I’d like to meet them.
I have three kids – Jakob, Bekah, and Cameron. How would you like to be a girl, sandwiched between two brothers?? (that’s Bekah!) Scary, huh!
Almost all of them are taller than their mom (my wife, Lora).
wow, they groes ’em tall in wiskonsin!
Hey, Kelly we all should meet! How about halfway in between us. Wait, you would probably still be in Texas!!! (that is one BIG state!)
Sure, Lance, that would be swell. Or how ’bout Disney World!
Tell me, do you still drink coffee?
I’m drinking coffee right now. Guess who else drinks coffee? If you guessed Cameron, you are right! That guy, he started early!! I drink it black (and it doesn’t hibernate in the winter, like my Internet toe).
Do you like it when it rains? And if so, why?
I do like the rain. The puddles are extra fun – SPLASH!!! I like the sound too, of the rain coming down.
Can you knit?
Is “knit” the plural of “knot”? If so, I DO!! (and, granny-style!!)
Are your grandparents still alive?
Hmmm…how about that Kelly! I was just talking about granny up above!!
No, my grandparents are no longer alive. They were great people to have in my life, though. Both sets of grandparents lived on farms (here in Wisconsin), so it was always fun to visit and milk the cows, run through the fields, and catch fireflies!
I’m sorry to hear your grandparents are no longer alive, I bet they were awesome!! Did your grandma ever knit you a sweater?
Hmmm…I don’t remember a sweater. Then again, I also don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, either…
You are so funny, Lance!
What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
Wow, this is probably going to sound all “pie in the sky”. Speaking of pie in the sky, wouldn’t that be cool in it rained down pies!! Snack time in the rainstorm!! I think I would like rain even more!
Okay…back to your question. My hopes and dreams are for a world where we live in more harmony. And where all people are as sweet as YOU!! Oh, and where ice cream is best food for you!
I like your dreams, Lance, especially if it rained apple pie.
i lieks lanses dreems too. mine is a dreem of raining karrits. and a beers for my jannie.
Have you ever been in the desert without any water?
No, I have not. Have you?
No, I haven’t but I saw a movie about that. I’d rather be in a snow storm.
I was recently biking in Arizona, though (that’s desert-like!), and we were getting pretty low on water when we finished. That’s the closest I’ve come to no water in a desert. (whew, a close call that was!)
I am wondering if you collect Silly Bandz? I have over 250, would love to trade with you if you have any.
No, I don’t have any Silly Bandz. I know, I’m just not into all the cool activities, am I.
Maybe when we meet, I could give you a chunk of cheese, and you could give me a Silly Band. Then we could both start new collections (I’m sure you have always dreamed of a cheese collection…).
I collect shoes. What brand of shoes do you wear? I hope you don’t wear the crappy kind.
My most favorite shoes are a pair of flip flops.
And the brand is way cool, too! Sanuk! Do you know what that means, Kelly? Sanuk is the Thai word for “fun”! Now…how FUN is that, anyway!!
I wore them outside last week, surrounded by snow! Okay…that was NOT such a FUN idea…
hay, i know wot is FUN — painting lanse’s toe nales…
there, mutch beter! yoo agrees?
BB, you are such a nut!
Lance, what’s your favorite website, other than my mom’s, (which is obviously the best site in the world.)
[I told y’all she’s a trip, right?]
I was out near our shed last spring, and there was this huge spider web – wow, it was perfect!! So, I guess my favorite “web” site is near our shed. Oh, and I didn’t know about your Mom and her spider webs. Where does she keep them, anyway? Do the spiders scare you, or do you think they are pretty cool?
I think spiders are freaky. Hey, and did you know that Daddy Long Legs are poisonous but they can’t bite people because their mouth is too small?
Lance, were you popular back in school?
Hmmm…popular? There was that one year I tried to perm my hair (whoa, what was I thinking, anyway???) in an effort to raise my popularity points. I’m slightly smarter nowadays (…slightly…)
Did you drop out of high school, and if so, was dropping out fun?
I completed all four years of my high school (in four years!!). There was, however, that one time I had the brilliant idea of drop out, become a hobo, and travel the country by train.
As life would have it, that never happened. Hmmm…I wonder what would have happened had I chosen that route? Maybe I never would have had this very cool opportunity to be interviewed by you. So, I’m pretty glad I didn’t drop out!
Did you love school?
Love school? How about this? I LOVED the spelling bee at school. Well, at least the one we had at our little school (and little it was – especially my elementary school).
oh, i loved speling too. i winned menny speling trofees and ribbins!!
I lived way out in the country, and took the bus to school. Do you take the bus to school?
No, I drive in my mom’s fancy limo. 🙂
How is your cat, Rufus? Are you allergic to him?
Rufus just bit me!!! He seemed genuinely happy, though, so it’s okay that I lost a finger. Luckily it wasn’t a toe…especially my Internet toe!
I’m not allergic to him. He sneezed, though, as he walked by last week. I think HE might be allergic to ME…
What’s your favorite tv show?
I really don’t watch much tv. However, every once in a while I’ll watch a little Sponge Bob (hey, he gets to wear square pants, and do some pretty cool things with Patrick!)
hay, speeking of spungebob, ennybuddy notice my jannies big eye looks a bit like plankton today? i thinks so.
Blue Bunny! I do NOT!!!
Do I?
yep, sorry my jannie, butt troo. yoo do.
Shoot, I kinda do.
(slinks off embarassed for rest of interview, if not rest of blogging career…)
But back to Lance!
Lance, what was your favorite tv show as a kid? Was it educational?
I loved Scooby Doo. In fact, I still do! Scooby and Shaggy were the best!! And that is definitely educational t.v.!! In fact, I still use what I learned back then from Scooby (like how to eat properly!!)
What’s your favorite restaurant? Italian? Chinese? American? British? German? Scottish?
I’m a burger kind of guy. Five Guys, that’s a fun place!! Although…I don’t get there very often. When I do, though…YUM!! So, Kelly, what’s YOUR favorite restaurant?
I like Sonic. Their burgers are awesome.
Kelly, wow you have asked some challenging questions!! Whew! (how did I do???)
You did good, yay. I give you an A-.
And guess what? Now…I’m going to ask you a question. Are you ready for it??
Yep!
What makes you crazy happy?
When I get to hug trees.
When I actually find some pants in my pants drawer.
When I lie in my leather chair in the tv room. (P.S. I’m in the chair right now. )
When I wake up at like, 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning — it gives me a good feeling.
When I get to go to Krispy Kreme and get a free sample of a fresh warm donut.
When it snows, especially the type good for building a snow man. I’ve seen snow 3 times.
And I like doing interviews with you!
You are one fun kiddo!! And it is super cool to be here today!!
Happy happy boom boom!!
You too Lance. Mom and I thank you SO MUCH!!
And I hope you have a good birthday, whenever your birthday is. Love, Kelly Funster.
And Mom says……
Please don’t forget to follow Lance on Twitter here and on Facebook Here.
Also, pop on over to his Jungle Of Life blog, and sign up for his awesome new Jungle 2.0 newsletter here.
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