no hands clapping

the sound
of no hands clapping
performer's nightmare

Pax et bonum

Your turn ...

Once when I went out to run

I met a frog that weighed a ton.

Now if you think that sounds like fun,

here he comes, your turn to run.

Pax et bonum

It's a trade war!

Shocking news!

MINAS TIRITH, GONDOR—Kicking off a major trade war between the two kingdoms, the Middle-Earth Trade Federation has announced heavy tariffs on the import of Narnian steel, sending the stock market into a freefall Thursday.

Any steel imported from Narnia to Gondor, Rohan, Erebor, or Mirkwood will be subject to a 30% tax. The move is expected to raise the end consumer price of various imported goods significantly, according to expert economists working at Rivendell. ... 

 

For the full report, go to here  

Who knows what this will do to the price of "Sting" knock-offs.



Pax et bonum

Thirteenth green (haiku)

Photograph by Don DeBold, posted on flickr

on the thirteenth green
some deer quietly grazing -
that's par for the course

Pax et bonum

Lenten Friday (senryu)

Lenten Friday -
vegetarian ponders
not eating tofu

A variation ...

Ash Wednesday -
should a vegetarian
abstain from tofu?

Pax et bonum

Retirement watch

I've been thinking about retiring - not immediately, but I'm in that window when I'm gathering information and making sure all the finances are in order.

I was reminded recently of a retirement party I went to once.

It was a pleasant evening, and, as they often do at such celebrations, they presented the retiree with the gift of a watch.

I smiled and applauded with the rest of the gathered friends and former coworkers.

Then I began to wonder: Why is it traditional to give a retiree a watch?

After all, the person being honored is leaving the world of work, and so will be less subject to the demands of time. The person doesn’t necessarily have to be any set place at a specific time each day. He can set his own schedule. He doesn’t have to worry about being late.

Moreover, since the retiree was being honored for years of work, we can assume that he did not get repeatedly fired for being late. He must already have some device for telling time. He probably already had a watch. Maybe a couple.

Being prone to sometimes twisted humor, I wondered if the purpose in giving a watch is to suggest that it’s now time for the retiree to realize that his minutes on Earth are running out. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Or maybe they just hope to give the retiree something to do since he has no more work, like check his watch every five minutes. Yep. Five minutes has gone by. Let’s see what time it is five minutes from now.

I began to consider what would be more appropriate retirement gifts.

If his co-workers wanted to be funny, they could have given him a month’s supply of prune juice. A nice, warm bathrobe and fuzzy slippers. Or perhaps a down payment on a casket.

Or they could have thought about what the person hoped to do with his retirement time. A fishing pole might be just the thing. Or a collection of the retiree’s favorite author’s works. Maybe a nice selection of crossword puzzles.

They could have been sentimental. How about a framed picture of all the retiree’s former workers? That way he can still see them every day.

Or they could have been creative. For example, give him a kite. Imagine the retiree heading out to the park in the middle of warm, sunny day, and working that kite higher and higher into the blue sky with birds singing and circling, while the rest of the world is stuck at desks or behind computer screens or loading semis.

Yeah.

When I retire, I hope they give me a kite.

Or that prune juice.

Pax et bonum

Snow storm

Friday night snow storm -
teachers and students lament
the bad timing

Pax et bonum

Mysteries of What?

Sister
of Mercy is
puzzled by Mysteries
of Light until a Franciscan
explains.

Pax et bonum

Miracle Attributed to G. K. Chesterton

A Carthage, N.Y., woman has reported the first miracle attributed to G. K. Chesterton.

Rosa Reebeeds says that she was cured of vision loss by praying to the writer and apologist for aid.

"I fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up I could barely see," Reebeeds said. "When I fell asleep I could see fine."

Reebeeds said she called to her husband for help, but he didn't respond. It was at that point that she turned to Chesterton.

"I asked him to heal my eyes so I could see like before," she said.

A few moments later her vision was restored.

"It was like the lights suddenly popped back on," Reebeeds said. "I was blind, and now I see.

"It was a miracle."

Reebeeds' husband, Sam, said the problem was a tripped circuit breaker caused by a short in a lamp. He said he just unplugged the lamp, and reset the circuit.

Rosa Reebeeds said her husband was not a man of deep faith. She also said that he was not a handiman, so it is hard to believe he would know what to do for an electrical problem.

"If he did fix a circuit, that would have been another miracle," Rosa Reebeeds said. "Thank you G. K. Chesterton."

Pax et bonum