Visions of Poetry

Monday August 8 2016  THE SECOND MONDAY

I am back on the keyboard writing my blog.  Following is the saga of this past week.  Dave and I skipped town and I did not take the necessary equipment to publish my blog.  I wanted to be footloose and fancy free.  But could I actually get away from writing?  No I could not.  The hotel had a computer so I wrote my sister an email each day and I have included them here.  It is the story of our week from my perspective.  Tomorrow I will return to the series A PICTURE INTO THE PAST.

I warn you that it is long.  I hope it will be interesting to you.  Please let me know if you make it to the end.

Tuesday August 2 2016  ON A JOURNEY

Here I sit at the computer at the Holiday Inn in Covington Kentucky.  I know I promised that I would not write a blog for a few days.  My “blog vacation” is to be until Monday of next week.  We have been planning this trip for the past several months and it is our first bus tour outing.  WE HAVE ARRIVED!  We are finally old enough that we understand the joys of being with other “like-minded” retirees as well as not having to experience long tedious hours behind the wheel.  The hours are never tedious to me, but for some I can understand how they would be.

Every day is a new adventure for me.  No matter how mundane, how monotonous repetition can become, or how tired I get; to live another day is a gift I receive with gratitude.  And sometimes the days can seem quite long.

Yesterday was Monday, the day before we were to leave.  I had finished packing my suitcase by 11:00 a.m.,  my ironing was finished (yes, I iron my clothes before I pack them), and I had made good inroads on preparing the food I wanted to take with me.  Soon it was time to prepare for lunch, go to the store for grapes, go to the gym for a couple of hours and then come home and finish up the trip preparations, shower and get to bed by 9:00. 

Remember my question, “Does anything ever go as planned?”   Dave had a sprinkler rotating around the yard most of the day to prepare for our absence.  Later he did a couple of loads of laundry, and then, before I got in the shower we decided to run the dishwasher.  Well, after I was soaped up I could tell the water pressure was dropping.  I quickly rinsed off and turned the shower off.  My shower hadn’t even begun until after 10:00 p.m. so you can tell I was already off schedule.  I told Dave about the low water pressure and suggested he wait until morning for his shower.  He went right to bed and was asleep in minutes.  The dishwasher had not finished.  Since we never go anywhere, including to bed, until the cycle is over I volunteered to stay up and take care of it.

When I have a few spare moments I always find something to do.  I worked a bit more doing final prepping for our 3:30 a.m. wake up.  About 11:30 p.m. I was pretty much finished so I turned on the faucet to wash my hands only to find out that we had NO WATER.  Only air came out.  Uh Oh!  I didn’t like the thought of that.  I had a hunch that something was not working with our well pump.  I found a phone number on the pump control cover and gave the number a call at about 11:45 P.M.  And believe it or not, someone answered.  I followed his instructions to restart the well but did not work.  So…you guessed it, they couldn’t do anything for me until morning.  One slight problem, we wouldn’t be here in the morning.  And of course the clock was ticking.  It took awhile for the plumber to return my emergency call (he was in bed sleeping), and then it took time for us to do some sleuth work about restarting the pump, and then it took more time for in conversation.  We were cut off at one point and he called me back.  After I answered I heard Dave coming into the basement concerned about hearing the phone ring.

One look at Dave peering into the laundry room and I knew he was about dead to the world standing there in his skivvies.  He asked what was going on and I told him the pump was out, to go back to bed, and I would take care of it.  He said Okay, no questions asked, no explanations given.  It was almost comical.  I checked on him a few minutes later and he was sound asleep.  After all was said and done I was told nothing more could be done until the next day.  I retired to bed at almost 1:00 a.m. and was then wide awake.  I did get about 90 minutes of sleep before the alarm went off.  When we drove out of the driveway we were only 4 minutes behind.  Dave never did get a shower.

After the plumber came today and looked things over we received the report that we will need to have a new well pump installed.  The plumber was finally able to get the well started but it went off again.  He started it again.  This time it stayed on for awhile. We will wait until we get home to decide when to have it replaced.  If it stops again it will be replaced immediately, but if possible we would like to wait until mid September so the perennials can go dormant and have less damage and stress involved as the heavy machinery rolls over our flowerbed and lawns.  Dave has worked so long and diligent on creating border edgings between lawn and ornamental plants.  We last had the pump replaced in 1995 so it is not surprising that it is time to do so again.  Phone calls, reports, and conversations with the plumber peppered our first day on the road.  I’m just glad I wasn’t driving.

We had a bus with more seats than passengers so I chose to go crawl into the last two seats on the bus; most people were closer to the front.  I borrowed a pillow from another lady, wrapped myself up in the full sized blanket I had toted along, and fell asleep.  I almost missed the rest stop interlude because I didn’t even know the bus had stopped.  I felt great the rest of the day following that 90 minute nap.  My body needed it.  And you know what; I never did get upset, frustrated, or a “woe is me” attitude.  Instead I was so thankful that we were home when the pump failed.  I was thankful that it didn’t cause an electrical fire.  Just another day that didn’t go as planned.  It was still marvelous to be alive because I always remember that it is God who holds my hand.

Cincinnati, Ohio is a beautiful city.  Our Hotel is across the Ohio River, adjacent to the downtown area.  The fellow passengers on the bus are delightful and I thoroughly look forward to becoming acquainted with more of them over the next several days.  We arrived safely on a beautiful day of sunshine.  The outlying country is as beautiful as Wisconsin, lush green fields, corn waving in the breeze, and grains flourishing by the acres.  And lots, and lots, of trees.  We will be transported to Williamstown Kentucky tomorrow to view the new exhibition of the life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark, which is a wooden structure built on land with the same dimensions as described in the Bible.  I shall write more tomorrow, but if these emails to myself are ever published it will be quite a time after the event took place.  I did not bring my computer, or my camera.  I did not want to lug them around so I could lie back and smell the roses.  AND NO BLOG WRITING!  Well, technically I am not writing a blog, I am writing myself an email.  And maybe I’ll send it to my sister as well.

 

ALL IN A DAY

By Kathleen Martens

August 2, 2016

 

A day goes

Like the wind blows,

Willy and nilly

And sometimes silly.

 

Another day may contrive

Twist and turns to make you thrive.

And so many unknowns

Some days are shown.

 

But it matters not

You receive the unsought,

What comes, comes,

So no need to run.

 

Stand up and face

Whatever the race,

And be content

With circumstances sent.

 

Do what you must do

To make it through,

And you will find

Each day a gold mine,

 

Thank You God for a safe trip today.

Thank You for an awesome bus driver.

Thank You for the people you are allowing me to get to know.

And thank You Lord that You have given me strength so I can do all things through you.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU

 

Wednesday August 3 2016  YOU MUST SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!

What an absolutely amazing day!  Sunup to sunset has been full to overflowing with new experiences, sights, sounds, and awesomeness.  Dave and I are so glad that we participated in this Prime Time Excursion to take part in our first Senior Citizen bus tour.  Even though my years and wrinkles speak loud and clear and I am a card carrying, Medicare senior citizen, my heart tells me differently.  Not only is it fun to be part of the graying crowd, it is also a delight to get to know the other “Prime Timers”.  After a couple of days in the confines of traveling together our guards come down, and we all realize, we are who we are, and no pretense needed.  To tell you the truth I have never truly believed that I have been taken seriously as an adult.  I remember turning 50 years old and wondering if I was now grown up.  I have come to the conclusion, no, I am not grown up, never have been, and at this late date, I don’t think I ever shall be.  I’ll just let other people think I am already entering my “second childhood” when the truth is, I never left my first.  It’s a fun place to be.

Our first stop was to visit Noah’s Ark built in the dimensions stated in the Bible.  It is beyond breathtaking, even at first glimpse from a distance.  The closer we got the more impressive it became, And then to walk up next to it and look up, that was simply staggering.  The rendition of Noah’s Ark is amazing from the outside but the outside doesn’t hold a candle stick to what was inside.  The magnitude of the support beams, the massive timbers, the roominess, and the 3.1 million board feet of lumber that was used to build it, staggers the visual senses.  As I walked up floor after floor of layout designs of cages, and storage, living quarters, and internal water ballast system, I was awe struck to think that Noah, along with his three sons could even build such a structure such as the ark in 120 years.

As the Bible describes the years it took to build such a design I never imagined the detail of the hand work that would be involved.  So much attention was given to detail.  I even wondered how it was even possible to build such a ship with our modern day accessories, tools, and computer sciences.  It is past phenomenal.  You would need to see it to believe!

Just as God brought the animals to the Ark, God also brought those whom were to be involved in the project to Ken Ham, the man who had the vision to build it.  A Christian designer and builder of Hollywood sets asked to be the designer.  Mr. Ham told him the Ark was already designed but he could be the lead architect.    Later the builders showed up without being asked.  The ark was built by teams of rotating Amish craftsmen who worked with hand tools.  The magnitude of the beams alone is just mind staggering.   The ark’s cost was $100 MILLION DOLLARS. 

Dave and I had lunch on an outside terrace while on the grounds of Noah’s Ark.  We then finished our tour and met back at the bus to go back to the hotel to drop off those who chose not to attend the afternoon festivities.  About 15 people stayed behind and the rest of us went on a tour of Cincinnati.  Cincinnati is a city of bridges.  The bridges crossing the Ohio River have a long, varied history unique to each bridge.  I could go on and on about all I saw but will refrain from doing so since I can’t remember the names of the places and have no time to look them up.  You just need to take my word for it and plan a trip for yourself.  Cincinnati is a beautiful and amazing jewel to discover.

We then went back to the hotel, picked up those we left behind and headed back to the Ohio River to board a large boat for a river cruise.  We were treated to live music, dinner on board, and we had quit a rip roaring time after dinner. 

The hotel computer was already in use when I returned and thus I am writing later than usual.  It is way past my bedtime and another day awaits me tomorrow.  And for some reason my text has a weird red line under about half of the lines and I don’t know if it will send copy the red line in my saved text.  Don’t ask me what it’s for because I do not know.  I may have bumped a button by accident and caused it to happen. 

 

OH MY GOODNESS

By Kathleen Martens

August 3, 2016

 

Oh my goodness

What am I thinking?

I almost closed out

Without even winking.

 

No poem yet written

So I cannot end!

Red line or not

I truly must send.

 

My poem to be short

After such a long day,

And to bed

I must make my way,

 

Tomorrow looms quickly

And the clock will sing

“It’s time to arise

As a new day I bring.”

 

So I bid you farewell

As I trot off to bed,

And will sleep the deep sleep

Of the living dead.

 

Good night sister dear

You’ll be the one tonight

That I send these words,

As cyberspace takes flight.

 

Thank You God for Your protection over our day.

Thank You that my heart is young and I enjoy living every single day.

Thank You for all the wonderful people who I am becoming acquainted with.

Thank You for joy.

Thank You again for prunes.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!

 

Thursday August 4 2016  FLAT ON MY FACE

 Anticipating an exciting day ahead I determined that I would not be late for the bus when it left at 8:30 a.m.  But, this old age memory is at fault for a lot of things so I’ll just blame what happened to my brain.

 Dave and I are almost to the foyer of the hotel when I remembered that I didn’t remember to grab my sunglasses.  I gave Dave my bag and took off at a RUN (a literal run) to retrieve my glasses.  My sandal caught on the carpet and I was thrown into a forward propulsion of speed.  My feet were trying to keep up but I guess I was too top heavy and gravity got the best of me.  I went SPLAT, face forward, nose first, right down on the floor.  WHAMO!  CRACK! AND TOTAL QUIET.  Slammed my nose flat out, heard something snap, (thinking it was my glasses), and just lay there as still as a mouse.  A bit stunned but unsure what the damage might be. 

 One old woman prostrate on the floor, face down, not moving, and I hear someone trying to help me up.  I told them I thought I was okay but to give me a moment to access myself.  I was still and quiet until I heard someone holler, “Call 911.”  Still not moving I sternly said “ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CALL 911.  I’m leaving on a bus.  I just need to do an assessment”.  I gingerly turned over.  My neck seemed fine, my nose throbbed, my eye orbits burned from the skid, my left side felt like I had been hit by a bowling ball, and my nose was bleeding.  The left side of my abdomen and stomach had taken the brunt of the fall, landing on my fanny pack with three full bottles of water in it.  Again, someone wanted to pull me up.  “Nope, still doing my assessment,” I said.  When I decided (less than 2 minutes in total) I felt it was okay to get up.  By this time Dave had been summoned from the bus and he and the bus driver helped me stand. Then I ran lickety split back to the room to fetch my sunglasses.  And all that time, my sunglasses were safely stored in my fanny pack, which I had just landed on.

 My nose is bruised, my side a bit sore, and I’ve since discovered that I probably cracked my two ribs loose again on the same side I did three years ago.  However that was accessed later when I tried to lie back in a Star Gazer light show at the Creation Museum so I could watch a production on the ceiling.  Oh well, all said and done, I had a great day at the Creation museum.

 More about the Creation Museum later.

 

ONE OLD MARE

By Kathleen Martens

August 4, 2016

 

Lickety split

My world changed.

All because

My memory refrained

 

From reminding me

What I needed to know,

And that created

A spectacular show.

 

One old mare

Galloping down the hall

And her open shoes

Caused her to fall.

 

All is well

That ends okay.

Maybe tomorrow

Will be an even better day.

 Again Lord, thank You for Your care and concern for me.

Thank You for the experience of the Creation museum

Thank You for life.

Thank You for green apples.

 

VFM (My sister)

 These are your private blogs at present so I can write a note.  I only had 30 minutes to write this.  Bus is leaving again and I must go.  We are going out to dinner and I am never hungry at the right time.

 Love,

Wkm

 

 

Friday August 5 2016  THE JOURNEY HOME

 I was not late for the bus this morning!  There was no way in the world I would risk it.  After three days of busy activity I was ON THE WAY HOME.  I discovered that I enjoy bus travel.  This bus and bus driver may have spoiled me a bit however.  The bus had quite a few vacant seats and we could spread out so we were not so cramped.  Dave and I split up because I wanted to sit in the back of the bus so I could be close to the restroom.  That way I wouldn’t have to walk down the long aisle so many times.  Dave chose to sit toward the middle of the bus.  Thus, we both had two seats.

 My legs are short and often do not reach the floor when I sit down in chairs and seats.  If you have never had this probably then you have no idea how painful it can become behind the knees and in the spine after an extended period of time.  I brought on board an insulated bag with “real” food in it.  My bag was just the right height to prop my feet on.  And the plus side was that I had my food at my “toe tips” instead of at my fingertips!  I could then snack whenever I chose to do so.  It also gave me a world’s eye view because my window was unobstructed and the back seats were higher than all the other seats.  I also enjoyed standing up and walking up and down a few rows of seats that were not occupied and thus not disturb anyone.

 The bus driver was an amazing man.  He turned that long, wide, Badger Bus through perilous mazes, corners, back-ups, curves and rush hour traffic better than I ever thought humanly possible.  He was kind, friendly, helpful, and just an all round nice guy.  His amazing skill put me at ease. 

 

THE BUS DRIVER

By Kathleen Martens

August 5, 2016

 

A comfortable coach

In which to ride,

And a great driver

In whom to confide.

 

Walking into the unknown

Not knowing what to expect,

It was soon apparent to me

Our river was a man to respect.

 

Mr. Sammy Williams

Dressed to the nines,

With everything ready,

And always on time!

 

Extremely efficient

Confident and careful,

He was exemplary,

As well as quite prayerful.

 

He commanded the roads

With carefulness of space.

I knew He was covered

With God’s grace.

 

We thank you kind sir

For the help we received.

You have converted me

To bus tourism I believe.

 

But there is one thing

I’d like you to know,

YOU MUST BE THE DRIVER

WHEREVER I GO!

 

Always a smile

On your wonderful face,

And a confident grasp

As down the steps we raced.

 

All your kind gestures,

Unnoticed they are not.

A man of your talent

Significantly sought.

 

We thank you so much

For all you have done.

You had a great part

Making our week fun.

 We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the church parking lot to transfer to our cars by 5:30 p.m.  We arrived home by 6:30 p.m.  YEAH!  We had water…FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES!  And then the well shut off again.  More phone calls and the earliest appointment is for Saturday morning.  So, here we are once again without water.  I went next door to scrub the day’s travel off my hands so I could fix dinner.  No showers available tonight, but I will heat some water so we can soak our eyes and wash our faces before bedtime.

    We decided to wait until Monday to have our new pump installed because it will be so much more expensive if it is scheduled on a weekend.  We were not given a confirmation for a Monday appointment because there could possibly be another emergency call at that time.  I was baffled.  I asked him if ours was not already an emergency.  We went ahead and made an appointment to have the plumber come tomorrow to see if he could get the well started again as a stop-gap until Monday.  Oh well, life is life.  Even when he comes out it won’t guarantee that our pump will last longer than 15 minutes or that we’ll even have it installed by Monday.

 So, I went to bed.

Lord, thank You for our safe return. 

Thank You God for running water.

Thank You for the energy to last through this day.

Thank You for toilets that will flush again.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!

 

 Saturday August 6 2016  BLOSSOMING PAIN

 So I am told that the third day is the worst.  That is, the third day after my fall I will feel the full brunt of my injuries.  And they grow. The day I fell I actually felt okay once I conquered the internal swelling of my nose.  Cold water bottles held on it for a while following the fall help a lot to keep the swelling and bruising down.  I must admit, I do have a beautiful blue nose bridge that brightens up my face but the swelling has gone down considerably.

 The bruises on the rest of my body have blossomed in the interim of the past three day.  My knees are decorated, my abdomen is quite festive, my rib area is bruised with dots, my arms are spotted with circles of discoloration, and almost every part my body hurts.  I am extremely sore, throbbing pain in some areas, dull aches in others, and sharp shooting stabs of discomfort when I move a bit in the wrong direction. 

 After unpacking I collapsed into bed last night by 11:00 p.m.  I slept deeply until 3:00 p.m.  I was unable to go back to sleep due to severe pain in my knee.  Worse than the pain in my knee was the pain in my ribs when I tried to turn over. 

 Before I went to sleep I called the nurse on call for a consultation.  She instructed me to go to the Emergency Room.  I refused.  She then instructed me to go into urgent care on Saturday morning.  Again I said no.  Urgent care has made too many incorrect diagnoses on our family members.  So the nurse on call checked to see if there were any doctors who had an appointment still available for Saturday.  She found one last appointment and set it up for me.  I promised to go the next morning.  And so I did.

 I have separated two or three floating ribs from the cartilage (a repeat injury).  I have soreness and contusions from the fall, my nose is probably not broken as it looks good from the inside, I am bruised and contused, and stiff, and sore, and the doctor recommend pain relievers.  The strongest I will take is Tylenol.  So when I arrived home I did just that.  I actually even rested for a half hour.  The verdict is; I survived the fall and must now limit my exercise to doing only that which doesn’t exacerbate my pain.  Maybe I’ll just have to go to the gym and sit.  That is, as long as my feet will touch the floor.

 Now, let’s go back to the saga of the well.  We spoke with our son early this morning and he suggested rather than hiring the same company who put our last pump in 21 years ago we should get some additional bids.  So bright and early I called several other places.  Found a reputable, family run business in a little town about 40 minutes away.  Dave and I both liked what he had to say.  He (the owner) would come out today, as he was the one on call, and replace the well pump.  His company was much larger than the one we originally planned to go with.  AND WE WERE THE EMERGENCY!  I called the other business, told the man not to come and explained that we had another bid and it could be done today without costing time and a half.  We don’t have the bill yet but the total will probably amount to about half, or perhaps even less, than the first business I called.  Smaller town businesses almost always have better prices.  In our panic and need to leave town we didn’t have much time to do much calling at midnight last Monday night.

 While I went to the doctor’s office Dave waited for the plumber to come.  It took about four hours to install the pump.  His demeanor was great, he exuded confidence in what he was doing and explained everything he did.  He instructed us on how to operate the new pump, and told us how to determine by certain sounds and clicks if our pump was performing efficiently.  He also said our electricity bill should drop by about $30 dollars or more a month.  That is a great side benefit.  He will send someone out next week to make certain everything is working efficiently.  He will also collect a water sample for testing.  The water sample is required by law.  We do not drink or cook with well water because of living in the middle of farm country.  We are surrounded by crops.  And unfortunately pesticides are used.

 WE CAN NOW TAKE A SHOWER!  And the best part is we do not have to wait until Monday to find out if the other business has another emergency call before they can come out to service us.  

 

NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

By Kathleen Martens

August 6, 2016

 

Thank You God for running water

Let us never take it for granted.

How quickly messes accumulate

And my environment becomes so slanted.

 

And Thank You Lord that You have taught

Me how to not worry.

Such a gift to live in the moment

Without always needing to hurry.

 

And thank You Lord for the lesson taught,

That worry helps not one little bit!

And You always provide the solutions

That always seems to fit.

 

Thank You for the lessons learned

Of how difficult it must be,

To live in a country that is so poor

Running water they never see.

 

Teach me not to complain or fret

For the inconvenience of just a few days,

While so many in the world toil

Without running water EVER coming their way.

 

Thank You God for your provision.

Thank You for the opportunities of living in The United States.

Thank You also that we were able to find the right person to do our job.

Thank You for dishwashers.

Thank You for Cascade.

Thank You for toilets that flush.

Thank You that I survived my fall.

Thank You for a wise son.

 

 Sunday August 8 2016  A DAY OF REST (actually written Monday August 9, 2016)

 I was able to go to church yesterday.  Hopefully the soreness and pain is reaching its climatic proportions because yesterday was quite a rough day.  After lunch I slept for over three hours.  I then spent most of the afternoon lying prone on my back and it was lovely.  I received phone calls from some very close friends and thoroughly enjoyed my time down to talk on the phone.  Television and phone calls are very low on my average day’s agenda due to my schedule so it was such a pleasure to indulge.

 I snacked for dinner, put my eye paste in my eyes and climbed back into bed.  AND THEN I REMEMBERED!  I had not written a poem for the day.  Now that is something that is near and dear to my heart.  So I put my glasses back on (little could I see), retrieved my journal and sat down and scribbled out a quick poem.  Here it is:

 

MY PROMISE TO THE LORD

By Kathleen Martens

August 7, 2016

 

Time to retire.

My sleep has come.

My eyes are blurry

But I can still see some.

 

So I write to my Lord

With thanks in my heart

For this restful day,

And tomorrow’s new start.

 

Thanks you Lord for the reminder

That I not forget to give

My poem of love and sacrifice

To my Savior who lives.

 

Though my body is weary

From all my pain,

I know the lessons I learn

Will be for my gain.

 

I’ll gain knowledge and wisdom

As You reveal Your plan,

And with humbleness I come

To obey your commands.

 

As long as it is possible

I pray to remember my word

To write my promise to You

So Your voice will be heard.

 

 

After I finished the poem I made my way back to bed and slept over nine hours.  I am feeling better today.

 

 MY GIFT TO THE LORD TODAY

By Kathleen Martens

August 8, 2016

 

I close this long saga

With a poem of thanks

To the King of kings

Of the highest rank!

 

My Savior and Redeemer,

My provider and Friend.

He is always with me,

And His love He sends.

 

There aren’t enough words

That can speak my heart

In describing the glory of God,

And His magnificent art.

 

The amazing universe

In its infinite design

Speaks so perfectly

Of God’s timeline.

 

There is only one God

And He is the creator of all

And He planned a perfect world

Until sin caused the fall.

 

And though we now suffer

The consequences of sin,

Because of His Son’s death on the cross

Heaven’s gates open in.

 

He bids us to come

And to sit by His side

And when we leave this world

With Him we’ll abide.

 

Thank You Lord for your omnipotence.

Thank You Lord that Your creation is not a “THEORY”.

Thank You Father that your brought someone here to my house so I could give to someone today.

Thank You this time together with You.

Thank You again for watermelon!

 GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU.

 I HOPE SOMEONE MAKES IT THROUGH THIS “BOOK” BLOG TODAY.   At least if all goes well in publishing it I will have it for my record.