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Turning 42 this September, this poem spoke to me. It is, at the same time, uplifting and a little depressing.
You can find The Writer’s Almanac on the American Public Media website.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/04/27
 Random Mountain View from Google Images. Called Salmon Valley View.
Foreseeing
by Sharon Bryan
Middle age refers more
to landscape than to time:
it’s as if you’d reached
the top of a hill
and could see all the way
to the end of your life,
so you know without a doubt
that it has an end—
not that it will have,
but that it does have,
if only in outline—
so for the first time
you can see your life whole,
beginning and end not far
from where you stand,
the horizon in the distance—
the view makes you weep,
but it also has the beauty
of symmetry, like the earth
seen from space: you can’t help
but admire it from afar,
especially now, while it’s simple
to re-enter whenever you choose,
lying down in your life,
waking up to it
just as you always have—
except that the details resonate
by virtue of being contained,
as your own words
coming back to you
define the landscape,
remind you that it won’t go on
like this forever.
“Foreseeing” by Sharon Bryan, from Flying Blind. © Sarabande Books, 1996.
I’ll probably not make it a habit of posting every one of these, and I will make it a habit to make sure that the link to the official writer’s almanac page is included whenever I make a reference. However, today’s poem stuck with me. I wonder where the actor’s profession would fall in line in this game?
If you like this, I’d recommend going to the Writer’s Almanac site on American Public Media and signing up.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/04/22
 Rock Paper Scissors Paper, Scissors, Stone
by Tom Wayman
An executive’s salary for working with paper
beats the wage in a metal shop operating shears
which beats what a gardener earns arranging stone.
But the pay for a surgeon’s use of scissors
is larger than that of a heavy equipment driver removing stone
which in turn beats a secretary’s cheque for handling paper.
And, a geologist’s hours with stone
nets more than a teacher’s with paper
and definitely beats someone’s time in a garment factory with scissors.
In addition: to manufacture paper
you need stone to extract metal to fabricate scissors
to cut the product to size.
To make scissors you must have paper to write out the specs
and a whetstone to sharpen the new edges.
Creating gravel, you require the scissor-blades of the crusher
and lots of order forms and invoices at the office.
Thus I believe there is a connection
between things
and not at all like the hierarchy of winners
of a child’s game.
When a man starts insisting
he should be paid more than me
because he’s more important to the task at hand,
I keep seeing how the whole process collapses
if almost any one of us is missing.
When a woman claims she deserves more money
because she went to school longer,
I remember the taxes I paid to support her education.
Should she benefit twice?
Then there’s the guy who demands extra
because he has so much seniority
and understands his work so well
he has ceased to care, does as little as possible,
or refuses to master the latest techniques
the new-hires are required to know.
Even if he’s helpful and somehow still curious
after his many years—
Without a machine to precisely measure
how much sweat we each provide
or a contraption hooked up to electrodes in the brain
to record the amount we think,
my getting less than him
and more than her
makes no sense to me.
Surely whatever we do at the job
for our eight hours—as long as it contributes—
has to be worth the same.
And if anyone mentions
this is a nice idea but isn’t possible,
consider what we have now:
everybody dissatisfied, continually grumbling and disputing.
No, I’m afraid it’s the wage system that doesn’t function
except it goes on
and will
until we set to work to stop it
with paper, with scissors, and with stone.
“Paper, Scissors, Stone” by Tom Wayman from The Face of Jack Munro. © Harbour, 1986.
 Me ... and my iPhone! That’s right. On an impulse, I went out and joined AT&T and bought an iPhone. Don’t worry … phone number is still the same and I still have everyone’s #’s.
Early indicators are fantastic.
Here’s an equation.
iPhone + wireless + Pandora app + iPod speaker system = AWESOME!
iPhone + facebook = FANTASTIC!
Please, please, PLEASE!
Tummy,
I’m speaking to you now. I know that my voice has been a regular issue for me for the last month, and that recently the diagnosis is pointed pretty directly at gastrointestinal lack of fortitude on your part. My apologies for neglecting you, and I’d like to think I’m remedying the situation. But now … I have come across what would seem to be a day of celebration of the art of grilled-cheesing. Just the picture and description from, of all papers, The Flint Journal, has made come to you begging on my knees for you to get it in gear and regulate yourself so I can partake in this. My mouth is watering already in anticipation.
Check this out!
http://www.mlive.com/food/index.ssf/2009/04/variety_spices_up_classic_gril.html  Grilled blue cheese and bacon sandwich uses onion bread.
I subscribe to American Public Media’s Writer’s Almanac. Today’s poem spoke to me, though I do not share the exact circumstances of the poem’s protagonist (the loss of a close loved one.) However, being on the road, and coming back home every so often, the imagery of the “life gone by” when someone returns to an old place was palpable.
Here’s the link to the American Public Media site with today’s poem.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2009/04/21
Return I
by Elisabeth Stevens
When I am traveling,
hurrying hundreds of miles
in trains or by car,
I pass houses
where we once lived.
All those places
once seemed permanent, immutable,
part of our marriage, home.
Now they are abandoned stage sets,
insubstantial cardboard and canvas.
Like clothes sent to the thrift shop,
there were lives that we left behind—
just like taking out the garbage,
dropping it in the can,
slamming the lid.
I return as a tourist to
our old lives. Speeding by,
I see our first roof top through
a soot-marked window. I could walk there
from the station. I do not get off the train.
When I have the car,
I park down the block from
another place and keep the motor running.
I see tulips whose bulbs I held,
brown and flaky in my palm.
Without moving,
I cross the lawn like a specter,
ring the bell like a prankster, run away.
The house has been painted
a different color. The swing set is gone.
At the country place, our last,
I stop behind the privet hedge you planted
to see your tree. Set out in September when
you’d measured your last summer’s sun,
it now shades the terrace, just as you’d planned.
When you died, I thought of
putting your ashes under your tree.
Instead, the summer after,
I sat out alone in the evenings,
waiting, listening to the leaves.
I still have your car, our child,
the dog, and some of the money.
The cat, the rabbits and the goldfish
are gone. I release the brake.
Driving quickly, I take a familiar road.
I do not see anyone we knew.
“Return I” by Elisabeth Stevens, from Household Words. © Three Conditions Press, 2000.
I just posted this on my facebook page. Seemed appropriate for here:
Twenty Five Things about Me
1. I have a minor interest in Astronomy. My favorite constellation to look at is Cassiopeia. (The big ‘W’ in the sky. Of late, the ONLY ‘W’ I can tolerate.)
2. As from #1, clearly my political mindset is NOT a conservative one. I have taken online quizzes and have been labeled as nearly socialist.
3. I believe I am much more centrist then people think (see #2) though I still lean to the left.
4. Though I consider myself a member of the christian faith, I am completely disenchanted with organized religion as it stands right now.
5. I am going to be 42 years old in September, and yes, people, I still stay with my parents once in a while!
6. I have made a goal (as pie-eyed as it may seem) to pay down my debt for a couple of years. I’ve been working on this for about 3 years, and have had some relative success at it.
7. I get paid to entertain people, and (knock on wood) manage to continue to get work, so I find that I have very little room for complaining these days, especially in the current economic climate.
8. I have a pair of good friends who trust me enough to employ my hobby of vocal arranging in their professional endeavors, and I love them for that. We created something quite special this past winter.
9. I play the tenor ukulele, and not too badly.
10. I need to spend time really learning to be more rhythmic musically.
11. I need to figure out what to make of my blog. http://www.chipduford.com
12. I think maybe I need to figure out what is going on in my life when I feel that NOTHING is going on in my life.
13. I’ve been nearly idle for the past month with vocal issues.
14. The vocal issues have been due, in the most part, to acid reflux. I need to remind myself of this FIRST before I begin to panic about viruses, flus, and colds. I think I could have headed it off a LOT earlier if I had.
15. I’ve been spending time in the kitchen and find it pretty freeing.
16. I can’t wait to work with, and see old friends this summer.
17. I have begun to think I might be “getting too old for this.” Make of THAT what you will. 
18. I don’t know where I want to live yet. I do know there needs to be a fair share of green, with a body of water nearby, but I’m not ruling out steel and concrete.
19. I have fantastic credit (at the moment.)
20. Every once in a while I have to remind myself of the four agreements. 1) Be impeccable with your word. 2) Don’t take anything personally. 3) Don’t make assumptions. 4) Do your best. So simple.
21. I need to eat a more balanced diet (duh)
22. I need to get out more … even here in Flint, MI.
23. I should write a cookbook about cooking for 1. I should get some recipes, first, though! I’ll bet I could make a killing!
24. I’m changing my diet, but will fight fight fight to keep chocolate and alcohol as a part of it, even if I have to minimize them dramatically. Love me a good beer and dark chocolate.
25. I’m beginning the romance of probiotic health. Imagine! Pro-Biotic. FOR LIFE! Makes sense to me! Come get me, bacteria!
Hey gang,
Voice report. Much Progress, but still a little quavery (is that a word?) .. so I’ve been holed up trying to rest it. While trying not to succumb to cabin fever, I have completed the puppetry section of my website. I’m quite proud of the fact that I’ve been able to monetize a childhood dream into something. There are five more specific links to various projects I’ve done over the years. Complete with photos and a few video clips. Click the links on the sidebar or above to view.
 My first professional puppetry project (left) was the Wizard in The Wizard Of Oz for Genesee High School in Genesee, MI. (Center) I took on the role of Queen Mouserinks in The Nutcracker/A Play by David Hammond (pictured with Amy Gaipa) and (right) operating the puppet character of Poo Kitty on the set of Come On Over. (Photo Credits (L to R): Myself, Louis Schakel, Michael Kaffka.) Enjoy!
So … here I am, a mere four weeks away from a nearly 3 octave range while performing in Dogpark: The Musical, and I have come a long way since then. I say that mainly because at the moment I am on permanent vocal rest after a virus came in right after I got done. Within two weeks I had no voice at all. So now, per doctor’s (and my own) orders, I am on vocal rest for a week.
So … I have taken the down time to revamp my website and bring it up to speed. Which means no more flashy flash graphics, at least for the moment. I’m making the web-hosting I have been paying for actually WORTH something. Hopefully.
In the meantime, while I am updating the website, I have also been research laryngitis.
Here are a few treatment tips from the Mayo Clinic Website:
You can manage most acute cases of laryngitis with self-care steps, such as resting your voice, drinking plenty of fluids and sucking on lozenges, and breathing humidified air.
Make an appointment with a doctor if hoarseness lasts for more than two weeks.
(I am currently beginning my second week … though it seems like two MONTHS!!!)
Home treatment can help with symptoms:
* Breathe moist air: Inhale steam from a bowl of hot water or a hot shower.
* Rest your voice as much as possible.
* Drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration (avoid alcohol and caffeine).
* Treat the underlying cause of laryngitis, such as heartburn, smoking or alcoholism.
* Suck lozenges, gargle salt water or chew a piece of gum — this won’t help your vocal cords, but can ease throat irritation.
And … more importantly … how to prevent it:
* Don’t smoke, and avoid secondhand smoke. Smoke dries your throat and irritates your vocal cords.
* Drink plenty of water. Fluids help keep the mucus in your throat thin and easy to clear.
* Avoid clearing your throat. This does more harm than good, because it causes an abnormal vibration of your vocal cords and can increase swelling. Clearing your throat also causes your throat to secrete more mucus and feel more irritated, making you want to clear your throat again.
* Avoid upper respiratory infections. Make sure to get your annual flu shot if your doctor recommends it. Wash your hands often and avoid contact with people who have upper respiratory infections such as colds.
Hey … perfect … Don’t get sick! Brilliant! Thanks Mayo Clinic!
Sheesh!
At least I have my fingers. God help me if my hands become broken. (Knocking on wood!)
Well tonight is the last night of Dogpark: The Musical at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. It’s been great being on the ground floor of another Hillgartner/Beecham/Hume extravaganza.
Thus begins the inevitable pavement-pounding, searching for work. Stay tuned though … there are a few positive little nibbles here and there, I won’t be down for too long.
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