This week’s article will be very short. The past weekend, my path was to be in our local hospital. Apparently, nothing very serious, but I spent from Saturday at 4 am to Sunday noon with the health care specialists trying to figure out what was going on.
I have always loved autumn better than summer. If I put together a “hate” list, summer would probably be at the top. Winter is my favorite. But, autumn is usually very nice. We get the color. We get cooler weather. And, sometimes, it even snows. Make no mistake; Autumn is on its way.
I can remember a few heavy snows close to Labor Day. “Tree trimmers,” they were. The autumn change hadn’t had time to do its work. Leaves were still gracing the trees. Some late summer flowers were still blooming. So, the natural thing to happen when an early snow comes is that trees get trimmer and flowers die. This week, I’m giving you a poem written some time ago. And, not only does it encourage the autumn, it also talks about one of my favorite collections.
Rocks. I’ve loved rocks since I was a kid. My house is filled with rocks – well, not as many as there used to be – I’ve given some away. And, some (like the huge piece of amazonite that I had) have simply disappeared. It seems to have gone into Never-Never-Land.
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Autumn Color
They come on quietly.
The colors.
Sometimes, the snow
brings them. Red. Yellow.
Orange. Purple.
Where green held
Forth in the summer.
Rock collectors don’t
Need to wait for fall
To see the many colors
Of Autumn. They can
Just take a look at their
Collections.
Amethyst
Fluorite
Rhodochrosite
Gold
Barite
Topaz
Wulfenite
Elbaite
Beryl
Copper
Dark, dark
Smoky quartz.
Green. Yellow.
Red. Orange.
Pick a color.
Any fall color.
It’s probably right
There in your
Collection.
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A very good friend has just had very serious surgery. She lives in Nebraska. And, the wind blows and blows in Nebraska. When she decided to leave her position at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, Larry was kind enough to help me move some of her possessions to our storage unit. Later, I was able to take them to Nebraska when she settled into her new home in Nebraska.
Ogallala, Nebraska, is home to a most enjoyable “rock” museum. The Petrified Wood and Art Gallery houses a terrific collection of petrified wood, as well as works of art.
The wind blows in Nebraska. It blows and blows and blows. Here is one of my older poems about wind and my love of rocks.
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Wind and Rocks
Does the wind always
Blow in Nebraska?
Thursday – the wind blew.
Friday – the wind blew.
Saturday – the wind
Almost blew me
Off of the road!
Colorado’s Sand Dunes
Are sculpted by the wind
Against the mountains.
Nothing can stop the wind.
No mountains to slow it down.
No tall buildings
To change its direction.
No such obstacle
In Nebraska.
The wind just keeps
Blowing sand across
The prairie floor.
Blue agate
Nebraska’s State mineral
Can be found in Northwest
Nebraska.
But, not along
The Platte River.
The Platte
At Ogallala
Gives up
Petrified wood.
Did it wash down
From Colorado?
Twin brothers
The Kenfields
Donated their year’s old
Collection of petrified wood
To the town
“It must stay in Ogallala,”
they said.
Friends of the collection
Found a building
To keep the collection safe.
Petrified Wood & Art Gallery
Inside, not just cross sections
Of petrified tree trunks
In the collection;
Or chunks of petrified woods,
But 3-D structures.
Houses
Churches
Windmills
Wagons
All made from
Slender slabs of
Petrified woods.
Cut with their diamond saw
And fashioned piece by piece
Into the buildings and wagons.
I fell in love
With this tiny collection.
If I lived in Ogallala,
I’d become a docent
For the collection.
But, I can’t live in Ogallala.
The wind blows in Ogallala.
I don’t like wind!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Be Safe and Be Well
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are appreciated.
**Anyone interested in visiting the exceptionally wonderful museum in Ogallala, Nebraska, can see it there. It’s worth going.
My favorite poetry to write is haibun. As a reminder, it is prose followed by haiku followed by prose followed by haiku, etc. My haibun is always three prose sections and three haiku. This poem was written for the Tips and Chips, the Denver Gem and Mineral Guild newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading about the “Dog Days of Summer 2024.”
Let me warn you, this is a rant! This is one of my most favorite “pet peeves.” So, if you are not ready for a rant, today – just stop reading. You may have heard some of this before; but, I ask your indulgence – please bear with me.
There are certain things that bother me. Yes, believe it or not, there are things that BOTHER ME!
I had another BLOG prepared for this week when I had a dream. Last night, I dreamt of my daughters’ dad – the love of my life. How many of us remember the very first time and place when and where we met that love? Thanks to Daughter #1, I have a photograph of the place where I met him.
Eighty-six years ago on July 2, I was born to my mother Hazel and father Chester. Eighty-six years! Since my eightieth birthday, I’ve had a birthday bash at my favorite, local Mexican food restaurant. Except for the COVID year, that is.
This year’s party was another exceptionally fun party for me. I love watching as many as thirty of my friends and neighbors get together for this party. People who see each other once each year at this event.
This will be an update on the recent surgery. If you don’t care to read about another person’s health stuff, just stop reading here. I have, however, learned some stuff going through this process.
There are many, many things in this life that puzzle me.
I can’t understand why my federal government takes away a part of my social security benefit (which I paid for over a twenty-four year work period) because I also have a state pension (which I also paid for while working for the state). Why? I fully paid for both of those benefits.
My mother always said, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.” It’s a statement that I’ve learned is true about so many situations. I’ve adapted that to mean that there must be some good in all situations; albeit, it is often hard to see whatever good can come from a very difficult and even dangerous situation.
BRACE YOURSELF! THIS IS A RANT …
On the second of July, I will have my 86th birthday. On that same day, my driver’s license will expire. Thanks to excellent advice from HM Keith, I started early to get the license renewed. Months ago, an elderly friend of his had forgotten to renew his license at the appointed time and, as I understand, still does not have a valid license. I won’t explain the problems he has had; suffice it to say that it has been a nightmare!
So, “Start early,” Keith advised. I figured that about two months would be a good “start-early” date. The instructions for renewing one’s license at my age are specific. Even at my age, we are allowed to renew licenses on-line. Of course, there are specifics that we must provide, the most notable being providing certification by a vision care expert that I can see well enough to drive.
I made an appointment with my optometrist, Dr. Najjar, and printed the form to take for is signature. There were questions on it to be completed. You know: name, address, current license number. So, before printing the form, I filled in the blanks in places where I thought I knew the answers. During the visual examination, Dr. Najjar said that I had made a mistake with one of the answers. I told him that it would probably be okay if he just crossed out the wrong answer, filled in the correct one, and wrote his initials. That is what we do with checks, you know. Just make the correction, initial the correction, and send it on its way.
So, now, it is about a month and a half before my license is due to expire.
As I said, my state allows people of my age to renew a license on-line by providing a scan of the vision report form and including it with the on-line renewal form. I gave my credit card numbers to pay the fee and forwarded everything to the DMV. Last week, I received an e-mail from the DMV stating: “Thank you for submitting a request for a Colorado credential [read – driver’s license] on-line. We are unable to approve your request because … Your DR2402 indicates that restrictions must be added to your current credential. These changes are required and cannot be completed during the on-line renewal process. Please make an appointment to apply in person at myDMV.colorado.gov. Please submit another request with all required documents at mydmv.colorado.gov or make an appointment to bring all required documents to a Driver License office and apply in person. If you have any questions. blah, blah. blah … Sincerely, Driver License Administration.” (I’m supposed to make an appointment to apply in person … but, I may “submit another request with all required documents at mydmv.colorado.gov …” Do I really have a choice?
I called Daughter #1 who began the process of finding a place for an appointment. In all of our metropolitan area, she found one appointment – ONE! – available from the hundreds that had been available; she quickly made an appointment for us for Wednesday. On the appointed day, she and I arrived early to the location – I find that old people like to get places early. There were also specific instruction delivered by text to my phone. Thus: “When you arrive, reply ‘check in’ You will get a text when ready!”
So, at 9:30 am, I replied: “check in.” My appointment was for 9:50 am. I received another text: “Thanks for being early to your appointment, but you are a little too early! Please try again at the time of your appointment.” TOO EARLY! So, at 9:46 am, I sent another text of “Check in.” And, waited. And, waited. And, waited – no text from them. At some time after 10:00 am, we entered the office and talked with the gate keeper – an apparently nice older man. He said that they had sent two texts that said come in. I showed him my phone – no such texts existed. He passed us through into the waiting area. (By the way, the two text messages showed up in on my phone after I had returned home.)
At that point, I remembered that I had not brought the required two mailed documents showing my address to prove that I actually live where I’ve said I live. But, I had my mail-in ballot in the car, so Daughter #1 went to get it. I also realized that I had another document in my folder with the address. Okay, I thought, this should be okay. Probably the reason I had to come in was because I no longer drive at night and that must be the reason I had to report to the office. Before Daughter #1 returned with my mail-in ballot, I was called to the person at window #6 – AR155. That was me.
When I learned that the real reason I had to come in was because, on the form completed by my vision care expert, the cross out that was needed because I had tried to help, was not allowed. “No, even though he had initialed the correction, it was not allowed.” Now, I’m angry. Really angry. And, I could feel my temperature rising, as well as my voice. It also did not help that the clerk was behind a glass wall, and I could not hear what she was saying clearly. Daughter #1 kept saying to me, “This is not helping.” “You’re too loud.”
To be honest, the clerk seemed to be making a sincere effort effort to help the situation. She asked if we could get the document to Dr. Najjar, today. The answer from his office was, “No, he’s not in the office, today. But he will be here tomorrow (Thursday) by 12:30 PM.” So, an appointment to get a new document signed was made.
Meanwhile, we continued to discuss the situation with the clerk. We talked about the next open appointment – she said she could get me in on July 17! I reiterated that my license expires on July 2. So, I asked, “Is there a grace period?”
Clerk: “No. You could not drive without a license.”
Me: “That is unacceptable. I must be able to drive. I have a very busy life.” Can you hear my voice rising, again? Here, again, Daughter #1 intervened. (“She has to follow her rules.”) She also told our server that not having a license is not acceptable, as well as the fact that come Monday, I will be in the hospital for surgery. (At that point, I knew that the letter I will be writing to our state’s governor about the stupidity of this situation will be even more forceful.)
At some point, I remember saying that a check can be written for a zillion dollars, and if an error is made, the writer of the check makes a correction and initials the correction. AND, the check will clear the bank!
We told the clerk that we would have the correct document in our hands by 3 pm on Thursday. Apparently, the clerk knew she was dealing with a crazy situation (read: angry and, possibly crazy old lady) that is not acceptable. She set an appointment for us on Friday morning at 8:30 am. We told her that we will be there. And, she told us to just come into the office – no texting required.
Today, Thursday, Dr. Najjar rewrote the document and signed it. “If you have any trouble,” he said. “Tell them to give me a call.” I put the document in my folder for safe keeping. Tomorrow, at 8:30 am, we will be back at that DMV office. Time will tell what happens in the morning.
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Friday, June 7, at 10 am.
Rejoice With Me!!!
I have my license. Well, it is only a piece of paper with a picture of me as it will appear on the new license, as well as a new expiration date of July 7, 2024. Does this mean there is a guarantee that the license will arrive by mail to my home before the expiration date?
So, the day is Friday, June 7. Daughter #1 and I entered the DMV office without texting. That’s what we were told to do. The gatekeeper had my name on his list and sent us to the appropriate station where we met with yet another server. And, I must say, not as friendly as the first young person on Wednesday, the 5th of June. But, she was efficient, dealt with all of the paperwork, and sent me to have my image taken in front of the white screen. I have white hair that fades into the white screen used for photographs. I look rather like a ghost. But, we always expect driver license photographs to be terrible; this one certainly follows form! My old, expiring license now has a hole in it. That apparently tells the world that it is no longer valid. On the piece of paper, I am cautioned that if I want to get on an airplane, I still need to show my old license – the one with the hole. I’m not getting on an airplane.
I was never asked for those mailed documents showing that I live where I say I live.
On returning home, I went to my e-mail and found one of those requests that the visit be evaluated – good, bad, or indifferent. I gave the situation the lowest rating possible and explained that it was definitely not the staff doing the work who deserved that rating. Rather, it is the process. “Stupid, assinine …” But you don’t need to know the rest.
I’ve learned a lesson here. Next time that I must renew my license, I will start months and months before the expiration date. And, thank you Keith for your smart advice! And, thanks to Daughter #1 for all of your help. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Be Safe and Be Well
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are appreciated.