Marry Durham

Sometimes I

want to marry Durham 

and divorce this place.

Durham is where I 

feel most at home.

Where I'm not alone.
Where everyone smiles.
You can walk for miles.
Yes, miles.

The Nasher and Duke,
Whole Foods soup,
These things make me smile.

Durham, please,
won't you marry me?
I promise to love, honor, and cherish you,
and promote your beauty,
your culture and art.
I will do my part.
Just,
Marry me.

Don't Go (c)

Don't go,

Please stay.

Think of what

You could write today.

Or think.

Or do.

Perhaps you could also

help someone too.

Fight, not flight,

that is the thing.

We gain something strong,

an everlasting song,

when we stay grounded.

Grounded in the moment.

Grounded in our beliefs.

Strong.  

Like Boston.

Strong. 

Strong like the

100 year old oak

outside my window. 

Springs That Never Run Dry (c)

Pearl Buck once said:

"Inside myself is a place

where I live all alone.

And that's where I renew my springs

that never run dry."

We discover our inner resources

of strength and courage

when we look within ourselves.

Courage in place of fear.

Action instead of inertia.

Ideas that are challenging.

 Look within for

inspiration.

Pearl Buck,

the great writer

(Nobel Laureate)

and humanitarian,

knew about these things.

She captured the soul of

the Chinese peasant,

merging cultures,

and enriching minds.


Pearl S. Buck -- writer, teacher, humanitarian.

You Don't Know Jack (c)

He looks at you

with his big brown eyes,

Almost as if,

He could read your mind.

Sure, he’s a pain,

When he pulls on a leash,

But you can’t deny

That he aims to please!

And that’s when he poses

On his two back feet

And sits real still

And begs for a treat,

He chases squirrels,

And has caught quite a few,

The birds he lets be,

But the rugs can he chew!

Not a sweeter hound

Will you find in these parts.

Jack is THE dog,

In my heart of hearts.

My pal, Jack

Homage to Johnny Cash (c)

"I hurt myself today,

to see if I still feel."
Cash's last song,
Simply caused me to reel.
 

Johnny Cash,

the great icon,

recorded perhaps his 

greatest hit

at the age of 71.

No longer the slick young writer,

Wracked by pain and scars,

He delivered his heart on a platter:

"Hurt," 
a song that will always matter.

"I expect to die soon,"

he said to his interviewer that day.

 What courage,

What gifts, allowed him to give

in such a strong and poignant way.

Seventy one and almost gone,

he recorded the song

that touched all souls and hearts.
No surprise that it rose
To number one on the charts.

The numbers are mounting,

60 million and counting.

The You Tube hits attest

to the enduring beauty of "Hurt."

He's so alone--
June now gone,

this shortened his life.

But his legacy lives on.

Lives on in time,

He walked the line,

of failure and fame.
 Music was never the same.

"A Boy Named Sue,"

"House of Blues," 
"Ring of Fire,"
"I've Been Everywhere."

Man, what a legacy! 

"Inside Myself"

"Inside myself is a place where I live alone,

and that's where I renew

 the springs that never dry up."

So said Pearl Buck.  The message

here is about inspiration.

New attitudes, new energy.

New life.

Courage.

Action.

Giving.

"I've Had a Good Life"

http://www.branchsmith.com/eBook/CNHI/30114_CNHI/index.html#/12/

Two years ago, I wrote this article about Bea Burnett, World Senior Women's Tennis Champion.