Monday, September 22, 2014

Open-Link-Mondays -- The Sun



The day the sun didn't rise

An ordinary day it seemed to be
The star lights were put out, all wicks were snuffed
Morning dew on grass, deer's last time for wet
.
Ducks in  the pond, diving for the big fish
Commuters' long drives were nearly ended
Darker than norm this day, street lights still lit
.
Calling from beyond, Sun was sleeping in
Commerce came to a halt, greed froze in place
Couldn't see in dark, folk went back to bed
.
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Photos and Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved
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Today I'm linked with  at the Real Toads, Open Link Monday (link)

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Sunday, September 21, 2014

..

Does it hurt when  
.
Does it hurt when your buds burst
That it might, it all depends
Depends on the meaning of
The meaning of the word burst
.
I walked down to the valley
Wanting to see my lover
Yet that would be all so wrong
My buds were bursting with, guess
.
Did I see my lover there
Dying for love, I could not
Did my buds go down bursting
Hyperboles they, could not
.
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Photo and poem copyright, © Jimmiehov 2014, all rights reserved

Today I'm linked with at the Real Toads, Sunday Mini-challenge (link)

Bjorn's challenge was to find one of her poems, available online at a karinboye.se, and write something that the poem inspired us to write.  I chose her poem, "Yes, of course it hurts," from which the first line goes like this: "Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking."  You can read the entire poem in English here:(http://www.karinboye.se/verk/dikter/dikter/ja-visst-gor-det-ont.shtml).

Notes:
-- The flowers, complete with 'buds', were given by our daughter, Karen, to Mrs. Jim as she recuperated from a partial hip transplant.
-- Last Saturday she fell and broke her hip. Her surgery was Monday at St. Luke's Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas. Thursday "we" moved to a rehab center where the average stay for hip transplants is 10 days.
-- The baby tiger is a baby tiger named Mike, after Mike the Tiger of LSU mascot fame.

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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Alphabe-Thursday (4th), the letter "R"



 
"R" is for racing.  This is a 1965 Ford Shelby Cobra.  It has been a while since I took the picture, I cannot remember whether it is the real thing or a modern made replica. ( Idea link )
 
 
This is a 1934 Ford Three Window Coupe.  In the mid 50's we raced one of these on an oval dirt track in Lincoln Nebraska.  Mostly I worked on the car but occasionally I was able to drive it.
 
Our car was a modified stock class car.  That meant we could "hop" it up using any means that would not show.  The car had a bored and stroked Ford V8 engine.  This increased the displacement of the engine giving it more power.  All the work was done inside so that nothing would show.
 
The engine burned alcohol with nitroglycerin mixed in with it.  It was such  cool running fuel that the carbonator would often be covered with frost.
 
We were allowed to cut off the fenders and to  put on more heavy duty bumpers. We cut the fenders to be much thinner, sticking out only about four inches.  The inside was gutted and only one racing seat was installed.
 
We had it painted a light blue, almost baby blue.  Our number "88" was painted in black on the doors and on the trunk lid. We had two sponsors, one for the engine and car  and the other furnished our tires.
 
The car would often win its heat races but seldom would it win the "A" feature race.  Most often we would hold it back or I would drive it so that it would win 3rd or 4th in the heat race so that it could run in the "B" feature race.  We could win on that level quite often.
 
I do not know what happened to that car.  The engine blew but we put a sleeve in the damaged cylinder and put the engine into a nice 1940 Ford Coupe.  That car was a nice street racer
 
Our next "88" car was a 1936 Chevy Coupe with a 302 GMC engine made to look like a bored GMC 270 engine.  Any engine 300 cubic inches or larger had to run in the model car that it could have come from.  This was to keep out the 1950's Oldsmobile and Cadillac large overhead valve engines.  The 1950's cars were way too heavy for racing on our 3/8 mile oval dirt track.
 
A practical benefit of working with the racing cars was that I learned to work on my own cars.  I built a 'hot rodded' engine for my 1952 Ford that would outrun any 1955 or 1956 Chevy with the new overhead valve V8 engines.
 
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Today I am linked again (this is the first one of the fourth series for me) with Teacher Jenny at her Alphabet Thursday Letter "R" blog (Link)  (My Older series post links, 1st, 2nd, 3rd)

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Artistic Challenge Poem, Ruby

Ruby was, Ruby is

Ruby is my stone, Ruby was my love
I didn't pick her, Ruby picked moi
Ruby was keen on me when I was young
Not old in years, but older than her years
 
We'd known each other, it seemed a long while
Then that night, one that boys do remember 
Ruby's gone away, no way I'll find her
Though Ruby picked me, I didn't pick her
 
She left a rock, rock no one else can have
Placed near my heart I keep it there for her

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Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved

Picture courtesy Wikipedia, picture link,  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Ruby_cristal.jpg/640px-Ruby_cristal.jpg (Wikipedia Ruby Article link)

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Today I'm linked with
 
 

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Out of the Standard Challenge


 Sister, Do You Love Your Brother?
 
Awake, he didn’t know since when
Half dressed, bathroom duties called him
But when he flushed all Hell began
Water was gushing everywhere
 
He tried to shut the water down
Pulled the thing off the wall instead
Water stopped, why he didn’t know
‘Twas his sister’s house, should he tell?
 
Next he knew it was time for school
Raining now, polished theme was due
Half mile, sister wouldn’t drive him
Walk in rain? No way, he’s retired
 
Leaving now, water everywhere
Too deep in spots, detours abound
Call his sister? He may come back
And hope she’d forgiven his mess
 
(Soft alarm) "Ring" (Louder) "Ring, ring"
(Very loud) "Ring, ring." . ..  I was 'he'.

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Photos and Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved

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Today I'm linked with at the Real Toads, Out of Standard (link)
 
Izzy's Real Toad post today was entitled, You could have done better....Out of Standard (link--same as above).  Her challenge instructions were short and direct, "Write a poem or piece of fiction which encapsulates a lie you could have told better."  The above is all a lie, it is a dream I had early this morning, just before I woke up.  I left out a lot, and embellished some a bit. 
 
There was water still coming when the scene changed to leaving for school, from the bottom pipes and from the wall cabinet above.  We weren't headed for school when Sis said no ride, but rather were trying to leave for our home.  Seemed the whole world was flooded.  My dream didn't get us back to her house but we were thinking about that. 
 
Seems a lot of my dreams about my missing either a class or a day at the University of Nebraska (I at one time had a recurring dream like this) .  I did miss a lot of classes because I was someplace playing chess instead.  Maybe that's why I dream these kind of dreams.

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Sunday, September 07, 2014

Flash Fiction 55 -- Played the Lottery

 
Played the lottery Saturday nights 
Two bucks kept hidden in her bra
If she won, a new house she'd buy
Move from that old red rusty shed
 

Win she did one day, went shopping
Found new house her ten K would buy
Small but could wait another day
Win again, get house of her dreams


Photos and Poem Copyright, © 2014 Jimmiehov, All Rights Reserved
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Today I'm linked with at the Real Toads, Flash Fiction 55

Rules are to "write a poem, prose poem, or piece of flash fiction which uses exactly 55 words to tell its story."  Mine is 55 words, no title.  It's fiction but could be true for some.

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Friday, September 05, 2014

I Chose You -- Personal Challenge

I Chose You

I parked my motorcycle on that day
Day when I chose you, all the time hoping
Hoping you'd smile, say to me, "I choose you."

Left the highway's lure the day I chose you
Crawfish fest, other fun, still calling me
Wishing still you'd say "I'll go there with you"

Leave my riding group?  They'll miss me a lot
Never did have a biker chick to stay
One you wouldn't be. I could stay with you

Thank you Sweet, I love you so much. You see,
my motorcycle's parked by your front door
From the day you said to me, "I chose you"

So goodbye High Rollers, been a nice ride
I've began a new life, minding my clan

.

......[click once, then twice on picture to enlarge, 'Back' to return]
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Photo and poem copyright, © Jimmiehov 2014, all rights reserved

Today I'm linked with Marian at The Toads, The Valley (link)

Marian posted a YouTube video of David Hidalgo giving his rendition of the older song, "The Valley (Los Lobos)," (Link) .  Below I reproduced the lyrics to this wonderful song of a people, probably men, who settled down in the California Valley area, working, to raise and feed their families.  The song tells me of a sacrifice made for the sake of family.

Her Challenge, " ... I hope you will be inspired by David Hidalgo, Los Lobos, "just another band from East LA," the Barrio, wolves, National Geographic magazine, putting food on the table, hard work, making a home, making a life, finding light from darkness or whatever moves you to write a new poem and share it with us today. "
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My poem after listening to David and reading the lyrics several times is partly true, some of it is from Mrs. Jim's and my life.  Before I met Mrs. Jim I did ride a motorcycle, and continued to ride it until our daughter was born.  The 'High Rollers' is a motorcycle club I rode with on occasion, the "Pasadena High Rollers."  Our proposal and marriage didn't' quite go the way of the poem, but it took, lasting so far 41 years.

The picture is of me with my 'clan' of the women resulting from our marriage, four grandchildren, our daughter, and Mrs. Jim.  From left to right, three grand-daughters front row, Megan, KP, BP, second row, grand-daughter Jenna, Mrs. Jim, and daughter Karen. 
_ _ _ _ _ _

LOS LOBOS
"The Valley"

In ancient times
To a place so far away
Across the land
Where the earth was
As tough as clay

Looked at their hands
Looked all around
And they seemed pleased
At what they had found

Here in the valley
Bread on the table
Work through the day
For as long as we are able
Green is the valley
Blue is the night
Out of the shadows
Into the light

They could have gone
But instead they chose to stay
To watch the clouds way up high
As they turned to gray
And through the dark
Broke a crimson sun
And at that moment
Knew their lives had just begun

Here in the valley
Bread on the table
Work through the day
For as long as we are able
Green is the valley
Blue is the night
Out of the darkness
Into the light

Here in the valley
Bread on the table
Work through the day
For as long as we are able

Green is the valley
Blue is the night
Out of the darkness
Into the light

from:
http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/los_lobos/the_valley.html

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