Our Only Friend

What a weird start to the day… Usually Joanne is up and getting ready for work before I crawl out of bed (I’m usually awake until 2 am working on something – thus I wake up later), but this morning I was wide awake before 8 am. Koly was in my waking dream and he was upset about something so I went over to him. He became very agitated and was whining and snapping his jaw and I put my hand in his mouth to ease his pain. This event actually happened in real life in 2001 when Koly broke his back leg. In that instance I put my jacket-covered arm into his mouth for him to bite on to ease his pain. I’ve seen this done in movies where someone is in pain and someone else puts a rope or something into the person’s mouth to bite down on. In my dream I felt no pain and Koly began to settle down. Suddenly, Koly gave one last sharp bite and I woke up.

I lay in bed for a minute and I noticed that the sky was reflecting a yellowy-grey colour… usually indicating an approaching storm. And what a storm to behold. Joanne and I stood on our front porch drinking our morning teas and the sky grew very dark. A light rain began to fall and then it stopped. I looked at Jo’ and said, “Not much of a storm.” One second later a bright bolt of lightening struck down and our neighbourhood shook with a monstrous blast of thunder. I felt the thunder, too, and had to take a step back to regain my balance. Jo’ and I looked at each other in surprise and she said, “I guess you spoke too soon!” And then the rains fell. This thunderstorm poured down on us for almost an hour before slowing a bit.

Jo’ had half and hour left before she had to go to work so we relaxed inside with our novels. Joanne is reading a James Michener novel and I’m reading Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy. It is interesting, to me, that many issues confronting our society today remain unchanged from societies that lived over one hundred years ago. Here is a condensed version of page one of this novel:

“Though men in their hundreds and thousands had tried their hardest to disfigure that little corner of the earth where they had crowded themselves together, paving the ground with stones so that nothing could grow, weeding out every blade of vegetation, filling the air with the fumes of coal and gas, cutting down the trees and driving away every beast and every bird – spring, however, was still spring, even in the town. It was not this spring morning which they considered sacred and important, not the beauty of (creation), given to all creatures to enjoy – a beauty which inclines the heart to peace, to harmony and to love. No, what they considered sacred and important were their own devices for wielding power over each other.”

And that’s just a snippet of page one!

If Tolstoy was alive today I’m sure that he would be very saddened to realize that our societies have continued to be fascinated with our ability to dominate the earth. He would be shocked to realize that 80% of all the world’s roads, buildings, factories, etc that exist today have been built in only the last twenty years!!!

After Joanne left for work I decided to surprise her with some yummy treats for when she returned home. I put on my chef’s hat and proceeded to make a mess of our kitchen. Oatmeal and raisin cookies are my specialty. But I didn’t stop there – oh no! I also made a few days worth of deviled eggs, too.

I have a meeting to attend very soon and after that I’ll visit my gym for a good work out and a relaxing swim. I’m hoping to go to another ‘Open Mic Night’ this evening to share one of my new songs.

Our Only Friend

Can you hear my heartbeat
pounding thro’ the strings
of my guitar?
Oh – the joy it brings!

I’m singing simple songs
for the world to hear
about peace and love,
laced with a bit of fear.

You can hug the moon
and kiss a brand new day
cuz you’re young and wild.

Can you feel your spirit
risin' in the air?
While you’re floatin’ above life
you can go anywhere.

You can scale a mountain
or forge the great divide,
dive in with the wales
and now you’re comin’ out the other side.

You can hug the moon
and kiss a brand new day
cuz you’re young and wild.

Can you see the sunshine
thro' the acid rain?
Dark clouds usher in
ten thousand years of pain.

It’s not too late
if we find a peace to lend.
We’ve got to learn
that the Earth is our only friend.

You can hug the moon
and kiss a brand new day
cuz you’re young and wild.

Jim Kogelheide
May 2008

++++++++++
Have a great day!

Jim