Isaac

This picture is from nasa.gov

Isaac                                                      
continues its slow march

across Louisiana.

Rising flood waters

forcing evacuations;

houses underwater,

residents in shelters.

Officials warn

that the danger

has not passed. 

This storm

is still dangerous.

Isaac delivered no more than heavy rains to Orlando.  It saved its wrath for the Gulf coast areas. The levees held, thank goodness, and there was only one death attributed to the storm.

Isaac did one good thing.  It shortened the Republican Convention in Tampa by a day.  I tried to watch the speeches.  I had to quit because the viciousness and the craziness were scaring me.
 

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Living with Less

I found this picrture at www.karamo.info

The things we buy
Do not make us happy.

But if you believe

Things will make you happy,

And buying this one thing

Does not make you happy,

You buy the bigger thing,

You buy the better thing,

Believing that will be the thing,

The thing makes you happy.

Pleasure is to be had from

From nature, relationships, experiences,

Not just from things that money can buy,

 An excellent philosophy so long as you freely choose it for yourself, and do not have it forced upon you by circumstances.

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

Nominee Romney

Mitt Romney 2012

Nominee Romney.
Romney officially.
The official
GOP nominee
at the RNC.

Nominee Romney,

with the lowest
favorability
ratings of any
presidential nominee.

Nominee Romney,

over the top.
 

Ann Romney, Mitt Romney’s wife, gave a very nice speech about love.  Her message may have been lost among all the other speeches spewing hate.  (Congressman Boehner compared Obama to a drunk in a bar who has to be thrown out.)

Ann Romney praised her husband.  But I noticed the other Republican National Convention speakers mostly praised themselves, or the party, and said very little about Romney.


Update 7/20/16: Four years later and not much has changed, except the hate is even worse. Just the names are different. And Romney is so ashamed of his party that he won't even attend the convention. 

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Splish Splash

Water workouts making waves—

Click Here for Water Aerobics

Zumba, kickboxing, yoga.
Mix it up; make it fun; take
your workout to the water.

The pumping sound track

keeps you moving.
The routine provides
good cross-training.

Your weight, supported,

makes the cardio easier.
You’re moving against
the resistance of the water.

At the Swim Academy—

A Pilates pool party.

I loved working out in the pool, first at my home pool, and later at a sports club pool. It is great exercise.  I sold my house with the pool, and I can’t afford the club membership anymore.

I’m especially pleased that I was able to use an end-rhyme scheme through the entire poem.  Good meter, too.  It is really hard to do this when I can only use the words in the news story without changing their order.  This is the first time I’ve done it.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing”

Please "follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

Scopes

I found this picture at http://bloggers.com

Scopes

If you don’t like something,

change it.

If you can’t change it,

change you.

Have patience

and perseverance

and difficulties will disappear

and obstacles will vanish.


Commit to achieving.

Do what you do best.

Success will follow.

 

It’s the usual Monday Blahs in the paper today.  Even the story about Hurricane Isaac was blah.

 

I was forced to go to the horoscopes to find a poem today.  I’m not too unhappy with that.  I like writing little upbeat inspirational poems.

I think I actually needed a pep-talk today.  It did me good.  I hope it does the same for you.

 

©2012 Catherine Giordano

 



Neil Armstrong: Moon Walker

I found this at http://positivemed.com

Neil Armstrong:

    First person

          to set foot         
            on the moon.

One of the great heroes

of the twentieth century.

Neil Armstrong has died.

He was 82.

That famous step.

That famous phrase.
 

“That’s one small step for a man;

one giant leap for mankind.”

He made a contribution to knowledge,

moving the human race a little farther forward.

The Eagle has landed.

Neil Armstrong has died.

Neil Armstrong was a humble self-effacing man who was uncomfortable being called a hero. He said, “The single thing which makes any man happiest is the realization that he has worked up to the limits of his ability.”

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share this poem by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing"  

Please "follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

Click Here  to Read About Neil Armstrong

Empire State Gunman

Jeffrey put on a suit,
left his Manhattan apartment,
headed to the Empire State Building,
and shot his former boss.

Repeatedly, in the head.

The victim lay dead on the sidewalk.
Jeffrey kept shooting.
The third mass shooting in five weeks.

Bystanders began screaming.

Everybody was running.
Two police officers, fired on him.
Jeffrey was killed.

The neighbors described him.

“A quiet man.”
“The nicest guy.”

I’m so sorry to have to write about another shooting rampage, this time in New York City at the empire state building.  The newspaper said that it was a sunny morning with tourists lined up to take a tour and workers streaming into the building headed for their offices.

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

I found this picture at http://www.globalpost.com

Commentary

I found this picture at http://www.cappex.com

Ha!

Just kidding!

      Or . . .

          maybe not.

Go up to a couple:

Say to one of them,

You know,

        you could

               do better.

 

Today’s poem is funny. Or maybe it is mean. Perhaps it is both.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

 

 

 

 

Legitimate Lunkheads

I found this picture at

http://media.dcentertainment.com

Offensive, downright stupid, remarks.

“Victims of legitimate rape rarely get pregnant.” 

????????????????

“The female reproductive system shuts down.” 

????????????????

You have to wonder,

what in the world is “legitimate rape”?

Insulting, inexcusable, dumb comments.

Voters deserve better.

Republican Todd Akin, running for senator of Missouri told the nation that a woman can’t get pregnant due to rape.  What? He says he “misspoke.”  What?




CLICK HERE
to look inside

Akin knew exactly what he was saying. If he actually believed it, and was not just saying to score political points with the rabid “no-abortions-ever-for-any-woman-for-any-reason” crowd, the man is a moron.

In keeping with my mission to write about important events, I’ve been trying to do a poem on this subject for days. I finally got an article in the Orlando Sentinel with words that I could use.

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

Update 7/10/14: Todd Aiken is back.  He has a book now. And he takes back his apology. He doubles down on his comments about legitimate rape.

The Pileated Woodpecker

The other day
I heard a loud tap tap tap

Click Here for more adorable woodpecker toys

above me in an oak tree,
like a jackhammer.

I looked up.

There was a pileated woodpecker,
like the cartoon character
I grew up with as a kid.

A crow sized bird,

a memorable sight
zebra-striped head and neck,
Long bill, red crest.

It hopped around the tree

It continued to peck.

Being the “city girl” that I am I don’t think I have ever seen a woodpecker up-close and personal.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing". 

Please ""follow" so you don't miss any of my reviews.

 

An actual woodpecker from http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov

Phyllis Diller, Outlandish Comedian

I found this at http://upload.wikimedia.org

Phyllis Diller,

zany housewife,
stand-up comic,
with the electric hairdo,
with the outlandish wardrobe,
with her trademark laugh,
Phyllis Diller has died.
She was 95.

Phyllis Diller

with her eccentric stage persona,
Phillis Diller,
“The Elizabeth Taylor  of the Twilight Zone.”

Phyllis Diller was a “late bloomer” starting her career as a comedian at the age of 37.  Her act lampooned her domestic life and her fictional husband, Fang.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Success

America’s Promise: Opportunity

Your priorities;

Your strategies:

Create a game plan.

Communicate with confidence.
Become a leader.

Live life on your terms.

The key to success is knowing your priorities and developing your strategies.  This poem came an advertisement for a seminar.


©2012 Catherine Giordano

I found this picture at http://7toolstosuccess.com

A Community Garden

The beds are buzzing.

Townspeople digging,

weeding, watering,
planting seeds, raising
vegetables.

Plots bursting with lettuce,

onions, squash, okra,
tomatoes, beets, carrots,
green beans, and peppers.

The gardens belong to everyone.

Workers share the harvest.
The most important part—
raising a good crop of community.

I have a very small backyard garden. I love to tend my garden.  I love to eat the vegetables I grow.  The Japanese eggplants are especially prolific.  I’m amassing a large collection of eggplant recipes.

After yesterday's harrowing poem about Trayvon Martin, I needed lighter fare today.

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

This picture is from http://www.pgta.org

Trayvon Martin Gunshot to the Heart

George Zimmerman shot

I found this picture at http://fc03.deviantart.net

Trayvon Martin
in the heart.

Trayvon Martin

did not die instantly.

The bullet that killed

Trayvon Martin
punched a hole in his heart.

Trayvon Martin’s

heart kept pumping,
blood gushing into his chest.

Trayvon Martin

remained alive
for a few minutes

The official time of death:

7:30 pm.

Reading this, writing this, pains me so much.  This is so horrific, I feel like I should apologize for posting it.  I’m posting it because my mission here is to write about page 1 news stories.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share  by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing," 

Please "follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

Order a Trayvon Martin Not Forgotten T-Shirt

Medicare

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan promise
to preserve and protect Medicare.
Their plan is a big gamble.

Give seniors vouchers?

Privatize Medicare?
A risky proposition!

Obama’s strategy improves quality and efficacy.

Obama’s strategy will preserve Medicare.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

The insurance agencies support Romney/Ryan because by abolishing Medicare and Obamacare, the insurance agencies can reap even more ginormous profits.  The people support Obama because we want affordable health care.

This picture is from http://www.bocahomecareservices.com

Pirate Action Group

CLICK HERE for Pirate dvds and books

Welcome to the Pirate Action Group.
Pirate Jamal wishes to congratulate you on being hijacked.
Kindly speak to our negotiator about your ransom.

The pirates of the African Coast doing business.

The pirates
    . . . have paperwork
          . . . on letterhead
                 . . . in memo format.

“Having seen when my Pirate Action Group

had controlled over your valuable vessel.

“We are saying to you welcome

 to Jamal’s Pirate Action Group.

“You have to follow by our law

to return back your vessel and crew safely.”

The reality of today’s pirates.

 

I found this picture at www.videogamesblogger.com

Today’s pirates are business men, but just as deadly as the swashbucklers of a few centuries ago.  They were responsible for 35 deaths in 2011.  The part of the poem in quotes, ridiculous syntax and all, is quoted from an actual ransom letter.

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing" .

Please "follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

A Toast To Florida Rum

I found this picture at http://identitydesigned.com

August is National Rum Month.
Antigua, Barbados, Cuba,
Jamaica, Martinique, Venezuela,
Puerto Rico
… and Central Florida.

Bill McCoy,

a Prohibition-era rum-runner,
who hailed from Florida,
sailed a schooner
from the Bahamas

Enjoy a Taste of Florida: Rum and Key Lime

to Savannah, Georgia.

Pay real-time homage

at the annual Real McCoy
Bill McCoy Rum Festival
in Daytona Beach.

Today,

several Florida distillers
make artisan rums:
“Wicked Dolphin” in Cape Coral,
“Siesta Key” in Sarasota.



Ah, the demon rum.  When I was beach-bumming in the Caribbean (in my early 20’s), I used to love Mount Gay rum from Barbados.  Rum and Coke—30 cents a glass.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing." 

                Please ""follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

Sex is OK

Helen Gurley Brown

Click here for more Helen Gurley Brown

inspired women,
to go out and get
what they wanted,
including good sex.

She wrote a book,

about the single life,
Sex and the Single Girl,
an exuberant
mix of advice
and naughty girl talk.

The single woman,

the unmarried “girl”,
not an object of pity,
but sophisticated,
hip and sexy.
In other words,

“The Cosmo Girl.”

 I read “Sex and the Single Girl”, when I was an impressionable teenager and it was a big influence on me as it was on perhaps millions of other “girls.”

She said she wrote for the “mouseburger”, the average woman, but the models on the cover of the magazine she edited, “Cosmopolitan” were beautiful, glamorous, tarty-sexy.  In advertising, that is called ‘aspirational.”

 

Ms. Brown died at the age of 90 on August 13, 2012.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share this poem by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing" 

Please "follow" so you don't miss any of my poems.

I found the picture at http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com