"Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow." (Macbeth)

Whenever April comes around, besides remembering the joy of finally getting outdoors with just a light sweater on and pushing the seeder on the lawn and puttering in the garden, I often think of Browning's verse, "O! To be in England, now that Aprils's there..." And when that brief verse spins around in my brain, I also remember springtime in Dunkeswell in 1943 when on a bright clear day Crew 28 was briefed on a mission and off we went, not knowing if we'd see the sun on the morrow. I don't remember where I got this poem, but it says a lot, and whenever I read it, it sends a tsunami of images through the caverns of my mind.

A POEM

Flying along at two-hundred ten

High in the clear cold air

Don't look like much from the ground,

But were you ever there?

I'll tell you what you would feel

Or what your thoughts would be

With just the sky above

And below the roaring sea.

You're looking out your plexy hatch

Watching the props spin through

You think, "What if they konk out now,

Good Lord, what would I do?

You look down at the roaring sea,

The waves are ten feet high;

I hear you say, "This ain't the place

For a guy my age to die."

Just then the plane begins to dive,

Your heart it skips a beat

Your stomach winds up in your throat

Your ass is off your seat.

The plane pulls up just off the sea

You sink right to the deck;

Your legs are made of rubber

And you think you broke your neck.

You're now again at level flight,

You sit relaxed and sigh;

Who was that guy who one time said

"It was a cinch to fly"?

"There is money; spend it, spend it; spend more." (Merry Wives)

There is something going on in this country that is making me very nervous; for example, gas is now $3.45 a gallon for unleaded. Last time I filled my tank it cost me $50! So, just to go from my place to the VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach to pick up medication or to see a doctor cost me almost $14 for fuel and tolls. So, how can you drive a distance anymore to visit family if you must dip into retirement funds if you're a senior? But the price of fuel is not the only expense that is alarming. Rho and I went shopping for groceries in the supermarket today and a few things on her list were not purchased because the prices were too high; strawberries, for example...and Manischevitz matzoh, and several other groceries needed for Passover were too highly priced; a five box package of Manischevitz was almost $20! We had a coupon for Streit's matzoh for $10, so we settled for that. One good thing for which there was no charge was the scooters available for shoppers with a disability. I took one and scooted behind Rhoda as she maneuvered down the aisles looking for bargains, sales, 2 for 1 deals and other money saving buys. If I had an odometer on the scooter, it probably would read about 10 miles for the area she covered. Good thing the scooter runs on a battery rather than gas. As I wrote at the beginning of this exposition, I am getting nervous with the way the economy seems to be going. It means that we will have to cut back on travel and vacations. Of course, we can always go to the Isle Casino and win a fortune on the slot machines. You never know.

Today I got an email from my publisher, LULU, that they have shipped out an order of books that I bought to send to each of my brood. I hope they approve. However, Vol. II will be even better. I really love my books and I take pride in the fact that they exist and will hopefully be passed on to future generations of Rosses...or whatever the family name will be then. There's only one member of the family now who can pass on the name, and that's Adam Ross. He has a girlfriend named Molly. I wish he'd get going on it already; how long have I got to wait?

"Winter's not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way..." (King Lear)

Well, winter's icy fang hath yet to appear here in Condoland; and I believe it is now too late for that. It's April (nice name for a baby girl) and spring has sprung. I'm going to miss a few things from Long Island when spring once sprang around my house in East Meadow, and then in Glen Cove. I couldn't wait for the weekends when I could plant new grass seed and start a garden of corn, and tomatoes, and eggplant...not that I liked eggplant, but it was easier to grow than watermelon. Then I would go to a garden shop to see if I could find some new breed of roses, or tulips, or petunias. I would like, once more, to see dogwood and lilac trees in full bloom and those bright red bushes, whose name I've forgotten. It'll come back to me hopefully before I finish this blog.

Then came Track & Field season at the high school and another year with the "four horsemen"--Bobby Marsden, Chuck Henderson, Billy Sherwood and Barry Mayer...and sometimes, Sean Convey. I remember winning the Nassau County Mile Relay with those sterling characters and then taking them to Madison Square Garden for the Millrose Games. We didn't win there, but we put up a good time anyway. The guys were really thrilled about that. experience. I enjoyed working with "The Creeper", Don Thompson, who had been coaching track at the high school since the antediluvian days. And Ambrose Clark, another assistant coach who retired and then passed away a few weeks later. And to think I've been retired now for almost 26 years and I'm still hanging on. My goal is 101; I want to see a couple more World Cups and Olympic Games...and maybe the Dolphins and Marlins and Heat will win something for a change. I could also mention the Panthers, but I'm not into hockey. I'd much prefer seeing a professional shuffleboard team here in Florida with their own covered arena. Can anyone think of a name and a logo? The winner can get a copy of my new book, "Pater Noster in Condoland."

Oh, yes...those crimson bushes were called... ...I forget.