The "X" Factor

"I hate when they use the 'X' in Christmas. They are trying to take 'Christ' out of Christmas." Jill curled her lips in self-righteous indignation.
"Ah, maybe they don't know what they're doing," Todd rolled his eyes at her intolerance.
And then a tattered looking gentleman holding a small mangy dog seated on the park bench next to the one they were sitting on perked up, " The "X" is the first letter in Xtos, which is Greek for Christ."
Jill got up and rushed away. She could not get past noticing his ripped sleeve. What does he know about anything, she thought.
"Hey, man," Todd said to the gentleman with the dog. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee or a beer?"
"A bowl of soup would be much appreciated, and a dog biscuit, if possible." The man's smile exposed black rotten teeth, but in his smile Todd witnessed the "X" factor.

Gonzo

My son needed someone to pet sit
I didn't think reptiles were my thing
But I can't get enough of Gonzo
He's green, he's hip, he's got zing
I love to watch him navigate
His branch and swimming pool
You might just say I'm fascinated
Chinese water dragons are cool

My Fancy Left Foot

My pretty toes
Are now exposed to the light
I usually cover them up
Because I am uptight
But my first pedicure
Made me want to come out
But only the left foot
The right foot has gout


I find it fun to write silly rhymes...:)

They are laughing at me, those mice. I set them free and they must run back in. I feed them Rice Chex slathered in peanut butter as bait inside the plastic mouse boxes that I capture them in and they look healthy, doggone it. I overcame my fear of mice, but in doing so I appear to have a mouse infested house. Soon they will cover the walls and the furniture and the house will smell like mouse pee and feces.
Yesterday a customer at the diner yelled out, "Your ceiling is peeing!" And sure enough there was water dripping, so I dashed for a clean wash tub to catch the drippage. The ceiling was peeing indeed.
Then on to the school where youngest son was about to perform in the big gym with his rock band for the annual Art Festival. Something was wrong with the speakers, but they adjusted them. There were other things going on in the gym. They started to play and everyone seemed into it, especially band mama, me...people clapped, but then a voice boomed from the other side of the gym, "Turn it down!" Ugh.

Ugliness comes in many forms...but then you forget about it when you look out the window and see Hume in Bloom.

Googled mouse litters
and found out that
there can be up to 30
in a litter depending
on the doe. We are at 21
captured and released.
My youngest granddaughter
really got into the whole
Mouse Patrol job
while visiting and even
released one on her own
before grandma got up.
She was so proud.
I was so grateful
I bought her a
blue bottle lollipop.

Dandelions

Dandy lions
Dandy lines
Fill the head
With thoughts
Of diverse kinds
But the yellow headed
Covered lawn
Begs to be mown
Or eaten by a fawn

Winning

I won my first creative writing contest and it was exactly what I needed as a writer to stroke my writer's self esteem after receiving rejections from agents for the past couple years. The assignment was to read THE WOMEN by TC Boyle and write a 500 words or less possible dream one of the women may have dreamed. The kicker was that you had a week to read it and you had to read it to know where this dream might have happened. I took the challenge and even though I had only four days to read 405 pages and still work as a waitress and dish washer and everything else I have to do I did it and won the contest. Well, it was a tie. Two of us won first place. A writer from Germany and myself. We won signed books by TC Boyle and a review of our entry. The winners' entries and the reviews can be read at tcboyle.com. Winning isn't everything...but it sure can give a writing gal a new lease on her literary life.

The rain of life

Into every life a little rain must fall
Into every addicted person's life
A craving so great takes over
And begging might become a way of life
The down and out are just that
Down and out...and many of them
Are out there with their hands out too
Missionaries are clever when they have
Their hands out...they wave the God flag
Why do they think we care?
I wonder if they even see faces
They become so desperate they just ask
And when they get what they want, fine
When they don't, they might become
Even more desperate
A man I met doing twenty-five to life
Said to me, "Some people who feel hopeless
Can be very dangerous." Amen...Pass the plate.