A rainy day in Georgia today reminded me of The Carpenters and the hit tune Rainy Days and Mondays. Playing the tune, watching and listening as the rain pounded the tin roof of the porch invited me to record a brief encounter with the rain on a Georgia afternoon.
Relive your rainy days and Mondays as you listen and revive memories of the days and times of
The Carpenters.
Did you have a Sunny or a Rainy Monday? What about this day perhaps gave you inspiration?
A MESSAGE TO ALL MY FRIENDS: PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL
HOPE YOU HAVE A SPECIAL AND BLESSED DAY!
How many of you ‘LIVE the book’you are reading? By that, I mean feel like you become part of the scene, a member of the family, the main character, the villian or the victim? The written word has a way of sucking you in, dragging you down or lifting you up dependent upon the nature and the purpose of the writing. You laugh, you cry, you fuss, you cuss (sometimes, admit it), you love, you hate, you question, you wonder why but you don’t put the book down.
The best of the best hook you from the start, dangle you in suspense and
lead you on a journey never to be forgotten.
What have you read lately that pulled at your heart strings or left you hanging by a thread wanting to know when the sequel will be out?
It has been awhile since catnip participated in Kellie Elmore’s Free Write Friday. When I read the topic for today’s writing, The Street I Grew Up On, I could not let it pass by without a walk down memory lane. As thoughts shifted back and forth in memory, several images passed through my mind. In the poem below I do hope I have captured the essence and sadness of East Fourth Street.
* * * * * * * * * *
East Fourth Street
(Donalsonville, GA)
Similar street in Donaldsonville, LA
(Interesting coincidence in town name)
A narrow street
First began as dirt
Straight as an arrow
Always on alert
Watchful as children
Walked to and fro
Kicking up dust
Without shadow
Bumpy along sides
Longing for rain
Rutted and worn
A rough domain
Through the years
Change remade
What once was dirt
Now was paved
Where once I walked
Now a bike trod
Over gravel and stone
It plod and plod
A quick turn
Slid across stone
Cuts and bruises
No broken bone
Gravel and rock
Did meet its fate
Covering of asphalt
Brought it up-to-date
Lined with oaks
Massive on scene
Intense in beauty
Regal of queen
Forces of nature
Hurling all around
With mighty fury
Ripped the ground
A narrow street
Barren along each side
Bears only ghosts
Where mighty oaks once thrived
©2012
catnipoflife
“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love,
the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”
~From the television show The Wonder Years
A reflection on today, yesterday and tomorrow. . .
Oh, my! How will I ever get caught up? I think the term ‘catch up’ only holds true for that thick, tomatoey goo that cloaks my French fries and oozes between the hot hog and hamburger buns!
Here it is 6:00 AM and I check my email to find an inbox of 25 messages. Not bad, I can tackle that in no time. Ah-ha! BUT each one of those leads to another link which may or may not stop there. By the time I read maybe five messages and their outlyers, I return to my inbox and now there are 30 messages. Hey, I just read five, why isn’t it down to 20? Now, I am on the verge of getting agitated. I take a break just to calm down and return to an inbox of 50 messages! Will it ever stop?
Side Note: Would you believe I found a message today referencing the e-Notch? Ever heard of it? Well, I had not either but then discovered it has been around way before the age of technology, before even the idea of any technology, maybe even before the word itself. Recognize it from the picture? It is the cut out found on the end of an arrowhead. Go figure!
Then, there is Twitter. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet – what a charming little sound while sitting on the back porch as I have my morning coffee. Not this bird! 
It tweets and tweets and tweets and…never stops!!!! 24/7 this little nuance sings. Since e-mail already has me in a tizzy I decide to access Twitter. Um-m-m? Maybe 20 to 30 tweets. Most of these little birdies have not started chirping since it is now almost 6:30 AM. So I briskly scan the messages, retweet a few and favorite one or two. My husband walks in and says ‘hubby’ time, get off the computer. I close everything out and happily leave the online conversations to buzz away in cyber space collecting more and more messages while I am away. Of course, you know what I find upon returning – 128 tweets with new ones popping up as fast as kernals of corn releasing their energy in a popcorn popper!
Exiting the bird cage and re-entering the world of electronic mail, I find someone (more like somebodies plural) has repinned one or more of my 
bulletin board pins on Pinterest. Now, this is probably my favorite, next to blogs because it is a virtual picture world. Being more of a visual person, I enjoy visiting all the ‘sights’ posted by others. I hate being just a number on someone’s board of followers so I try to return the favor as often as possible. Some I click to Follow in hopes of returning to explore more of their boards. Doesn’t happen! Time is definitely out the window by this hour and I am only getting started.
Computer time is interrupted by pre-scheduled doctors’ appointments that I had rather miss than grace their hallowed offices. Doctors have no sense of time except their own, especially during two-hour lunch breaks, and have no regard for anyone having to wait, wait, wait. Reminds me of the story when the doctor made the house call and was told to wait until grandpa returned from the field! Love it! Anyway, three hours later after visiting Dracula and the Vice-gripper, I stop by a Quick ‘n’ Handy for some awesome chicken salad and return home.
Needless to say, after engaging hubby in some interesting (you know exciting) conversation from the doctors’ visits, I get back to the computer. I am already tired but realize that I have not even touched upon 
LinkedIn, Goodreads, Bloggers.com, Amazon Author Central or Klout. At this time, there are 87 messages in my inbox and close to 200 on Twitter (I know that is just pittance to some!). It is now fast approaching 9:30 PM (EST) as I complete this blog post. Oh, dear! I forgot my new venture – “Voyage en éphémère.” That will have to wait until tomorrow. . . more on than later, my friends. There is no end to this virtual world of hours. “In a minute, Babe. . .”
In closing, we have e-M, e-P, e-G, e-B, e-A , e-K and of course e-T. ET? No wonder! We are all in the clutches of aliens with powers to weave in and out the microfibers of cyberspace absorbing our thoughts and passing them from e-This to e-That. . .
Are all the avenues worth exploring or is it just a numbers’ game?
How do you handle them all? Any secrets?
Would love to hear your thoughts. . .
Inspirational Poetry
Inspirational Poetry
Historical Poetry
catnipoflife 