November 16 – will work tomorrow

will work tomorrow
John kanaka kanaka
but not today, YAY

Why is today’s haiku taken from an old sea shanty?

Last night, the wife and I watched the movie, FISHERMANS’S FRIEND and the song stuck in my mind

ALL

NIGHT

LONG!

I heard, I heard the old man say, hey
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
Today is a holiday
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
Tura yay, oh, tura yay,
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
We’ll work tomorrow, but not today
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
We’ll work tomorrow, but not today
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
Tura yay, oh, tura yay,
We’re bout aaway from frisko bay
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
We’re bout away the break of day
John kanaka kanaka tura yay,
Tura yay,…

Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends singing John Kanaka 2017

Years ago I discovered Fisherman’s Friends throat lozenges.

They are reported to be the first ever commercially developed cough drop.

My daughter D’asia will tell you there are poison.

Do they work!

I offered one once to a reporter here in Atlanta just before he went on air.

“That thing near took my HEAD OFF,” he said later.

Sometime after that I came across a singing group famous for their authentic renditions of sea shantiess.

The name of the group?

Fisherman’s Friends of course.

In a world of transcripted phone calls, tweets, posts and Kardashian’s, the movie is a welcome break with a sweet story and a view towards another world.

And when the world comes crashing in on your world, well, you can always suck on a fisherman’s friend.

November 13 – moonlit morning drive

moonlit morning drive
full moon over Atlanta
pretty, still so wrong

Dr. Samuel Johnson famously said about the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, that it was, “Worth seeing, yes; but not worth going to see.” (The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1791) by James Boswell)

A full moon was shining this morning in the clear cold, VERY COLD, dark of this November morning when I left for work.

I headed west towards the moon as it sank lower towards the horizon and the sky slowly changed from black to gray to blue.

With Atlanta and its buildings in view, the moon hung over the city with a complete spectrum of morning hues across the dome of the sky.

It was stunning.

Incredibly simple.

It happens every day as the globe spins and the skies revolve over head.

Still, I felt lucky to see it.

I felt even luckier that I got to see it while remaining comfortably warm in my car.

Never the less, on the whole, all things considered, I would rather have been in bed.

There is something wrong about getting up at 5AM.

November 4 – Monday misery

Monday misery,
Monday’s are miserable
because its Monday?

In the epic film, Office Space, Hero Peter Gibbons asks, “When you come in on Monday, and you’re not feelin’ real well, does anyone ever say to you, ‘Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays’?”

Next door neighbor Lawrence responds, “I believe you’d get your ass kicked sayin’ something like that, man.”

Are Monday’s bad because I enjoyed my weekend off so much?

Does time away from the office throw my work life into a clearer perspective that blurs through the repetition of the work week.

Am I just recovering from a weekend of excess? Excess sleep, drink, eat and lack or work worries?

Am I just plain miserable today and it happens to be Monday.

Toss it all into the blender, mix well, and pour myself of cup of woe.

If I didn’t feel sorry for myself, who would?

Attitude like that will get your ass kicked real soon.

Where is that prilosec?

October 30 – got the blue cat blues

got the blue cat blues
woke up grumpy, where to find
magic sunglasses?

Up too late.

Did not want to get up.

Got up.

Got up too early.

Headachy.

Grumpy.

It is raining.

Got the Blue Cat Blues.

Pete the Cat has magic sunglasses!

With the sunglasses, Pete sings:

“TOO COOL!
The birds are singing.
The sky is bright.
The sun is shining.
We’re feeling alright!”

Where do I get these magic sunglasses?

Do I need them?

Wise Old Owl tells Pete: “‘… you don’t need magic sunglasses to see things in a new way. Just remember to look for the good in every day.”

There IS good in every day, just sometimes it is harder to find.

October 28 – to live all my days

to live all my days
sedentary existence
uneventful goal

An off comment I picked up while watching a football game this weekend brought my time in college back to mind.

When I was in college I hoped to graduate and get a job in a research library or historical institution and live out my days in a sedentary existence.

Buried in research.

Buried in books.

Buried in old facts and thoughts that no one in their right mind would ever want to think about.

Spent the weekend with my grand daughters.

My son Jackie woke me up at 2AM to tell me his car had been broken into and the side window smashed.

Oh, and Jackie told me a friend of his from work would be crashing overnight on our sofa.

Went with my wife to the Braselton Antique and Craft fair.

Went to Church.

Dealt with work problems.

Cooked Sunday dinner.

Busy.

Better then buried.

Buried would have been pretty boring.