I was lying in bed the other day and trying to think some thoughts, when a thought suddenly occurred to me that there are eight human beings in existence because of me, and happily for them I happened to marry the woman that bore them. If I married someone else the eight would never have existed. They should think about that. Well, that thought was really weird. A following thought was of all the things I did in my life to be proud of like-- surviving WWII, getting a PhD, running a marathon, writing a book, etc., I was most proud of giving life to those eight. Oh, I know--the grandchildren had parents to thank as well, but I and their mother gave life to their parents. I consider myself an athlete, a scholar, and mostly, a poet. Those eight are my greatest poems. The titles of the poems are Robin, Joel, Bobby, Bonny, Adam, Sean, Hannah and Katrina. Lovely names. And each poem is "sui generis"...unique.
My next thought was that I would like to think that since I am responsible for their existence they might, out of respect and thankfulness, call their parents and grandparents more often then they do. The poem, Adam, might call when it snows in Florida. Hannah never, ever calls, but only answers emails. Sean calls now and then when he needs my help and that's O.K. And Katrina, in the Navy, simply responds to our emails. As far as the poems, Joel, Robin, and Bobby are concerned, their calls are...well... Cheerfully, the Bonny poem tries to call every Sunday. When that happens, I sit back in my chair, light up an imaginary cigar, sigh, and think about what I have wrought.
Tonight Rho and I went to Nathan's in Boynton Beach for some comfort food--hot dogs, fries, corn and a soda. As far as I'm concerned, Nathan's dogs are the best. The only other place I know where they can be bought is in the Lake Worth plaza on the Florida Turnpike. While we were dining luxuriously, I saw that the $3 Jackpot Lotto was up to 31 million dollars. So happens that the other night while I was lying in bed trying once more to bring up some thoughts, I thought what it would be like to have 31 mil. So, I bought a $3 ticket and tomorrow night is the drawing. I asked Rho what she would do if we won, and she said she'd put away money for the granddaughters' education. Then she said she'd strip our place and start all over again. As for me, I don't have any idea what to do with that kind of money. Perhaps I'd give a mil to each one of my "poems"--plus a telephone.
5 comments:
"...they might... call their parents and grandparents more often then they do."
Actually, we're fine with the frequency that our children call their parents. Hannah calls a few times a week, and we see Adam in person a couple times each month (plus additional Internet chats). Besides, if we ever want to hear either of their voices, we pick up the phone and call them. My father taught me that if I want something to happen, I have to depend on myself to make it happen. And his mother taught me about once a month that even grandparents in Florida have speed dial. :-)
Red Baron stands by his position in the blog and rejects the response to it because it does not address the issue as it relates to the Baron.
I think that all children should call their parents/grandparents at least once a week. and yes i am very guilty of not doing this from time to time. we tend to get caught up in the minutiae of our own lives and before we realize it 2 or 3 weeks have past. the unfortunate generational differences (parents use the phone, kids text and chat)their should be some sort of happy medium. just because we text and use computers doesn't mean that we kids have forgotten how to write or pick up the phone. we have always been taught that we should show our parents and grandparents "respect". and i think that that includes being the ones who initiate the phone calls. but that is just my oppinion.
I am giving the Red Baron's phone number to an acquaintance who suffered even more at the hands of his child(ren).
Lear was once a king, which slightly outranks a baron, even of the red persuasion.
The two royals can commiserate with each other, God bless them both.
I, too, have a legitimate complaint. We are on a cruise and I cannot walk from here to there or even a few steps without severe back pain.
There are many scooters on board but when I asked for one, I was told, "Only the Red Baron has that privilege, and all these scooters are here in case he wants one in a color other than scarlet."
So everyone honors Le Baron Rouge except a few not sufficiently grateful offspring and offspring of offspring.
If only one of the offspring had taken The Baron on his honeymoon, all might be forgiven. But such an action is totally beyond reason.
Post a Comment