Because you asked for it...

This is a concrete poem. I wrote it while my dad was in the hospital back in 1999. I was at my Aunt Truth's house sitting cross legged on the leather couch with a view of her kitchen with it's many chickens tucked into  nooks and crannies. I was, once again, struck by the beauty of my past. Not everything was "bad" then. That's the irony of the past, it's both good and bad in the most awkward of times. I remember seeing this mountain on trips to Anchorage with Mom and Joe. Depending on the time of year we would either be counting moose or rabbits on our way there. At school, I heard a legend about this mountain and it never left me. What a beautiful thing to see on your way to town.

Poetry and Lies People Tell

Some things, I have to admit, are just too complicated, too immensely horrible to even wrap my mind around. All these years, I had to simplify this--make it cut and dry--so that I could move on with my life but right at this moment I want something--I want answers. I wish I knew the truth. I just needed to say that.


Here are some poems I wrote back when I was an undergrad. These are about my life.

TITTLE-TATTLE

Long lake limbs,
slim middle paraded,
wind strummed,
composed—grow effects.
Not all attached—
they stay
anyway. Drawn,
not for lack
of wingspan—
A comfort pillow
of crests,
jumping pads,
houses on
wheels anchored.
Toes crinkled
and wobbly, sustain
the deck for
white bread
floating kindly.

This house is not a home

Me, Mom, and Joe in front of the green bean trailer 

I've wanted a house, a real house, one that's mine and fully attached to the ground since I could actually formulate a thought about it. When I was little, in Anchorage, we lived in a real house for a few years. It was yellow and had a basement, which I don't remember, and a nice family room/living room area that I still remember to this day, although we moved when I was about three years old.

After that we lived in a green bean trailer that my parents bought from some friends and it was plopped onto the five acres they bought in Wasilla, Alaska. Later, it was hauled miles away to Houston, Alaska, and backed into a shallow spot on the end of the road at the Far North Recovery Homestead on Heath Road. It had green shag carpet, dusty brown couches, and faux wood paneled walls, but it was a well-loved home. I actually burst into tears when I think about it. Partially because of all the memories of the people who walked that narrow hallway and sat around the heavily waxed kitchen table--some who I'll never be able to see again in this life--but also because leaving there was not done in the right way~~thanks, Dad :-(

Safer Chemicals Healthy Families

I was excited to see the article I submitted to Safer Chemicals Healthy Families published this week.

Here is the link to the site.

Remember, one person armed with determination and persistence can make a difference. Just don’t give up.--Shelby Rodriguez

"

Evacuated: Elise, Me, and Chip Chip



photo by LEZLIE STERLING / lsterling@sacbee.com

Elise and I were evacuated from the Roseville Galleria last night. We were waiting in the line to see Santa when an announcement came over the intercom, "This is the Roseville Fire Department. The mall is now closed. Please calmly make your way towards the nearest exit."

Thanks, Mouse!

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." -Ernest Hemingway

There was a company take over a few months ago. In the shuffle, 950 jobs, including my husband's, were outsourced to India. During the transition period, while the new people in India were being trained, they kept the call center open here in North Highlands. They required employees to be at work at 5:30 am. So, my husband started getting up for work at 4:00 am.

One morning I'm woken up by John screaming, "Oh my god, Oh my god!!!!!"

I ran out to the kitchen and my big, manly husband looked like the elephants on Dumbo who were running from Dumbo's mousy friend.

"There was a mouse on top of our stove!" he screamed.

OH! I forgot I have a blog :-)

My blog has been like an abandoned amusement park for a whole year.
Sorry :-(
So, I'm going to give a rundown of the year for my own peace of mind so I can pretend that I've kept my readers informed (what readers, right!)
Right after my last post, my family and I were whisked away to the Montage in Beverly Hills for the Healthy Child Healthy World Gala.

Me and Chrisopher Gavigan Oct. 2009