Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Excellent A New Years Poem Ties that Bind by dejohnsrld Artwork by SweetLinda on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:    FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?

The Author

Welcome to the New Year Leave the past behind This moment is clear Use this year to find The future holds no fear Take time to unwind Ways to be near Ways to be kind Open your ears to hear What is on another's mind Speak your mind and be sincere Don't let relationships unwind Share your new found cheer The love of two combined Will last through the year

Author Notes Happy New Year!!!

Excellent The fourth in a series High Speed, High Impact Part 4 by dejohnsrld Artwork by dolphin on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:   FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?

Category:  Biographical Non-Fiction   Posted:  December 31, 2010      Views: 52

The Author High Speed, High Impact Part 4 In Part 1: I told about events that preceded my accident in which I was hit head-on by a semi. In Part 2: I described the first six weeks after my accident when I had five surgeries to my femur (upper leg bone) and had also developed a bone infection. I was released and taught how to use IV antibiotics at home. . In Part 3: Describes the next year and a half of repeated surgeries and trying to get rid of the infection. Part 4: How did I get from where I was to where I am today? After two years of having surgery after unsuccessful surgery, I was so weak that it was a major undertaking to open a can of soup and heat it up. It took about two years for my strength to return to normal. I still fall ill more often than I used to and I take longer to heal. After all of the stress my body underwent, I developed Fibromyalgia and have pain from that as well as post amputation pain. The best therapy I have found is not get too tired but to keep as busy as I can as that takes my mind off of the pain. I tried using a prosthetic (artificial) leg, but it had been so long since I had walked that my balance was impaired and I was having so many falls, that it was not safe to continue. I did give it a determined try for a year and a half. Getting used to not having enough money was hard. I got my first disability check seventeen months after my accident and one day before foreclosure papers were to be filed on my mortgage. I still only get about one fourth of what I had been earning. I have learned to do without many things I used to think were essential. Not being able to work was difficult. I had worked since I was sixteen and had worked very hard to put myself through college. Once I was no longer able to work, I started volunteering at an Adult Daycare Center two days a week, and thus feel like I do make a difference. After my surgeries ended I had a lot of anger and resentment over being disabled. I went through all the stages of grief. As I slowly worked through all of the problems I encountered, the anger and resentment lessened. I also found a support group for people with disabilities which has been a tremendous help. Probably the hardest change was to develop a routine in my life after being so sick. I had completely lost any type of stability. It didn't matter when I slept, when I ate, when or if I got dressed. The only thing I actually needed to do was to take care of my beagle. It took a long time to get a routine back, but at this point I go somewhere each day of the week. Being around others is the best medicine of all. When I was sick I would go for days without seeing another person and spend week after week never getting out of the house. Some comments on my life now: I'm usually pretty happy and if not I am happy, I am content. This is never what I planned my life to be like but there are some good things about it. I have time for crafts, hobbies, reading, and writing. I am so much more empathetic. I understand a lot more about others after having gone through what I have. I try to focus on gratitude, what I do have, rather than what I don't have. Every day is a new day and a new adventure. I've developed a spiritual life that I didn't have before. Pays 10 points and 52 member cents.

© Copyright 2010 dejohnsrld All rights reserved.

Exceptional Christmas visit to a horse ranch Christmas at the Horse Ranch by dejohnsrld Artwork by catmal on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:   FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?  Category:  Biographical Non-Fiction   Posted:  December 26, 2010      Views: 49 The Author Christmas at the Horse Ranch I remember the Christmas when I was 15 years old. My mother, sister and I went to Arkansas with a friend to stay at her father's horse ranch. It was a long snowy ride from Iowa to Arkansas, but as we got closer, the snow let up and we were then driving on dirt roads muddied by the rain. This was actually harder to navigate on than the snow. The tires were picking up clumps of mud and throwing them on to the windshield. We didn't arrive at the ranch until 1:00 AM. we arrived at our accommodations, a rather rustic cabin. It was heated by a wood burning stove downstairs and that floor had electricity and running water to the kitchen sink only. The upstairs where we slept required an extra layer of blankets and a lantern for light. The restroom facilities were outside in the outhouse. It was as though we had turned the clock back several decades. As we had arrived there very early Christmas eve morning, we took a lantern upstairs and tried to get a few hours of rest. When we woke up, it was time to help with the Christmas Dinner preparations. Because I had done a little cooking, I was placed in charge of pies. Unlike how most of us use shortening to make pie crusts, we used lard. I'm sure it wasn't good for our arteries, but those were by far the best pies I have ever eaten. After cooking, we walked over to a coniferous forest and picked out our fresh Christmas tree which we cut down and brought to the house. Then we took care of the horses and went for a short ride. We had soup and sandwiches by the wood-burning stove for supper and then played board games in between trips to the outhouse. About mid-evening we realized it was snowing, not a blizzard like in Iowa, but a few light and fluffy flakes like in the scene on a Christmas card. Along about 10 PM, we took the lantern and went to bed. We were very tired, but much too excited to sleep, so we spent most of the night chatting and waiting for daylight so we could use the outhouse. We got up Christmas morning to find about two inches of snow on the ground making it look like a winter wonderland. Just like at home, we had stockings and gifts. After the unwrapping was completed, it was time for Christmas dinner including my pies which were the hit of the day. I have tried to make pies with lard at home but have never been able to replicate the pies we had on that special Christmas. That afternoon we spent sledding and getting to know the horses. The sun sets so early in the evening, that we barely had time to play. We had a supper of sandwiches and leftovers and then played cards until we were too tired to hold our eyes open any longer. All of the fresh air that day had really worn us out. We took the lantern and went upstairs. This time we feel asleep right away. The day after Christmas the sun shone brightly and warmly, and the snow melted rapidly. The trails were back to mud by the time we got the horses ready to ride. We explored trails all afternoon. By supper time, we were so tired we ate and went to bed. After a good night's sleep, it was time to head home having been much enriched by our trip to the horse ranch. I have treasured these memories for years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Notes The year would have been 1977. Pays one point and 2 member cents. © Copyright 2010 dejohnsrld All rights reserved. dejohnsrld has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

From Ruth

Thank you, Debbie, for reminding us about this.  I'm going to put a newer version on one I put one a while back and see if people (if anyone reads this) think it's less confusing.  I used present tense for action on clothesline, past tense for marriage stuff.  Tried to clean it up a little but it's still kind of odd.
................................................................................................................

The Physicist on the Hill, a Non-Love Poem

I drape a sweet scented sheet
on the line, and a beetle,
the same gravid shape
as the car of my ex, flops at the top
of the percale, then descends
with a buzz down the edge,

     like Bill's air-cooled Bug, as it rolled
     from the lab's steep-streeted hill

     to our home. Smug with his knack
     for making particles interact,
     Bill treated himself to a splash
     of good country red from France
     to suit the earthy chicken chasseur 
     he taught me to prepare.

     I salted, stirred, and served,
     then dinner devoured,

     he dropped to my limbs,
     slid down my skin,
     his heart not firing sparks enough to kindle
     my body nor warm the cold linen.

As bedclothes flap in the breeze,

the scarab reaches the place where fabric ceases,

scarcely hesitates,
then hastens out of my domain,

     like Bill in his Beetle

     who left me with a recipe
     for fowl and a squeamishness
     about my sheets. 

Dear

Dear

Your eyes so blue that when they meet with mine
I feel a hunger for your lips divine
Your lips so red I can not wait to kiss
You bring my heart a deep and loving bliss

I long to feel your loving heart so near
Come closer I long to hold you dear
I yearn to feel your body next to mine
When we're together feel our stars align

My love for you has grown throughout the years
A love for you is all so strong and clear
Your eyes so blue and when they meet with mine
I feel a hunger for your lips divine   By Debbie Iambic pentameter

The Christmas Room

I live in a Victorian house built in 1885. As do most people, I have bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room and a living room. In addition, there is an extra room, a huge room, one with no apparent use. This is the room entered from the front porch. It has several unique features. There is a fireplace appearing as old as the house. There are three windows, the center one is a curved glass window. The front door has an etched glass window. As you enter through the front door, there is a smell that is unique to old houses. The doorway to the dining room features an intricately carved wooden accent gracing the top of the doorway. Like the room, it has no apparent use but adds greatly to the beauty and uniqueness of the room. In days past, this was known as gingerbread. The floors are hardwood, as is the large majestic staircase leading to the upstairs. For ten months of the year, the room serves to connect the living room to the dining room, a place to set parcels when entering or leaving through the front door, and to be home to a few pieces of antique furniture adorned with a few decorations from the most recent holiday.

The day after Thanksgiving, the room is transformed to the Christmas Room. Garland graces the stairway, fireplace and doorway. Stockings are hung on the handrail. The curved glass window is outlined with white Christmas lights and becomes a frame for a lit and decorated six foot tree. The tree is carefully decorated with treasures from years past, ornaments that bring back memories of previous holidays. Colored lights illuminate the angel-topped tree. The antiques are covered with decorations of the season including a Christmas village complete with working streetlights. Christmas dolls grace the mantel of the fireplace while Santa and his sleigh adorn the hutch. A manger scene comes to life on an antique sewing machine cabinet. The usual blankets and pillows are replaced with those colored red and green. A small lighted tree overlooks the village with the lighted houses and church. Christmas tins lie under the majestic tree. And bears, bears of every Christmas color perch in every available space. The fireplace glows with the look and feel of warmth. Old fashioned Christmas music is playing more often than it isn't.

To me, the room is magical, perfect for Christmas. It has the look, the sound and the feel of and old fashioned Christmas. The room provides me with a feeling of joy lasting well past the time others have put their decorations away. Taking down the Christmas decorations lends itself to a feeling of sadness until I start looking forward to decorating for next year when I will again have the Christmas Room.