Only three days to go

I leave for Canada on Sunday. Should be a hell of a bus ride.

Schools will be out for the summer tomorrow (for all intents and purposes), so the loml will get some well deserved time off, two weeks of which will be spent going to Texas in July. While we're down there we'll be taking the two Texas grandchildren to Sea World in San Antonio (and then spending the next day on the river walk).

I still haven't submitted my manuscript (as it has been revised for now) to anyplace else yet. I need to get on the ball.

A gloomy day

It's very overcast and little light is coming in through the windows. I'm trying to not let that affect me though. I'm going to shower today as soon as the loml gets home, and I'm writing (briefly) in my blog. I'll try to keep a positive attitude.

Tuesday I'm going to try to find a publisher to send my manuscript to, maybe a couple. I need to get back in the saddle.

I've started reading the last Tom Robbins novel I have on hand. I've put a hold on one at the Plano library (through PrairieCat, their on-line service). I've also put a hold on a sound recording of one of his books. I'm doing fairly well at reading at least. I haven't given up on that.

Tomorrow we go out to the landlord's place for a hayride, games and a cook out (It may windt up being a cook in though; it's supposed to rain). I'll have to sit out of the games, ofcourse, because of my back (or my front, or my side or whatever the hell is causing me to have so much weakness and pain).

Now it's raining a little bit. The loml should be home soon.

Contest Winners 2007

For National Poetry Month in April, I again sponsored a poetry contest for kids in the 3rd through 12th grades. And again the libraries in Plano and Sandwich put the word out and helped with the judging. Here are this years winners.

FIRST PLACE

Brendan Bond

10th Grade

An underdog against a top seed, Davis versus Goliath, the Cinderella team trying to beat a top dog in the Elite Eight with a Final Four berth on the line

Two seconds to go, ball out of bounds; they're down by two

The buzzer blares and they break from the huddle, a play drawn up

He walks to his spot on the court, the crowd is screaming itself hoarse around him. but he can't hear them - his jersey is drenched as the sweat drips off his forehead

The ref's whistle blows as he snaps into action
Fake a cut left, sprint to the right, curl around the screen
He catches the ball outside of the arc
Now it's hust like he's practiced millions of times in his driveway...
Square the shpulders, bend the knees, elbow in...
A hand is in his face but he ignores it, now it's just him and the baket
He snaps the wrist, follows through
The ball backspins as it arcs toward the basket
The buzzer sounds in mid-flight
Then, for a fleeting moment, silence, followed by the sweet, crisp swoosh as the ball ripples through the net

Pandemonium ensues,
And the celebration begins as his teammates pile on him knowing they are moving on

Later, he gets the thrill of cutting off a piece of the net that flickered ever so slightly as the ball went through

Who says Cinderella has to be home by midight?

SECOND PLACE

Vivi Perez

6th Grade

If I were a winter breeze,

I'd laugh all day

and scream and freeze.

I'd howl and blow

all for show.

I'd sprinkle and feather

the earth with soft white snow.

I'd mix the wind and snow together.

If I were a winter breeze.

THIRD PLACE

Kylen Pattermann

9th Grade

Words are everywhere,

We hear them everyday,

But we don't always see the importance,

In everything we say.

Words can be kind,

They can compliment and please,

But words can be cruel,

They can hurt and they can tease.

Words can be swift,

They can come and they can go,

But words can last,

Just like the fallen snow.

And words can hurt more,

Than any stick or stone,

So be careful what you say,

And be sure to watch your tone.

I know. I know.

I've been away a long time.

I've been very depressed and just blah. I've had no motivation and practically no interests, so I just lie around the house all day watching tv.

I'm still depressed (My va psychiatrist made one minor adjustment to my meds yesterday. She told me to take both of the bupropion pills in the morning rather than one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I know I can do that. I kept forgetting to take the afternoon pill. We'll see if there's any change. Hey! Maybe this is a change.), but I want to have a little more structure in my everyday life.

I haven't been submitting, or writing, which is worse. I did have two poems published in the Kane County Chronicle. Whee.

I am at least a little functional. When the loml gives me a grocery list, I can shop (I like riding in the electric carts. I need them because my back is such now that I can't stay on my feet long enough to do a shopping). I can wash dishes (occasionally). I can take out the garbage (if it really needs it). I've practically given up on personal hygiene though. I go a week or more between showers. I don't brush my teeth every day. I wear shirts for two days in a row. And I'll stay in the same jeans/shorts for weeks at a time. At least I don't stink.

There's not much to bring you up to date on: I leave (by bus) to visit my sister in Ottawa on June 3rd, and we're driving to Texas in early july to visit family and friends there.

More tomorrow, I guess.