Who Are You Fooling?

Writers sometimes make up their own world but whether or not it is believable is a task for the reader. Similarly, lawyers may present their case but jury (or judge, depending on type of case) decides the credible facts. However, how is it that advertisers present early Black Friday on Thursday? It befuddles my mind because when they have a sale on Memorial Day is called a "Memorial Day Sale" so if they have a sale on Thanksgiving Day, then why not call it "Thanksgiving Day Sale?"

Even writers have to face the readers' wrath (or skepticism). For example, if a writer uses a known town then that writer should know that some readers will fact-check and call him/her on errors in describing that town.

With that spirit, here's a poem:

When I first saw him 

I had my camera waiting for nature’s perfect autograph
In the dense, lush vegetation near Lauderhill’s City Hall;
I was looking through my lens for that perfect photograph.

This is where I first saw him, glistened in the rays of the sun
That reflected on his taut skin and highlighted his firm body

As he relaxed under one of the trees towards Inverrary
And the sun shone through the canopy of leaves,
A sweet breeze reminded me that the day is done.

He then turned his head towards me and I stood still…

I stood still, hoping he wouldn’t notice me
Hoping I could blend into the background
But his eyes found me and he expanded his dewlap
So I knew that he saw me and then he scurried up the tree.

 from Seventieth Avenue, copyright 2015 Suzzette Dawes

What Makes You Thankful

Let's be thankful. No, I'm not in a cocoon nor bubble. Yes, I've heard the news!

Yes I had planned and set up a giveaway based on a date that sounded cool to me. What were the odds that other groups found the numbers intriguing too and had their own plans which were quite evil. The date "11/13/15" will be remembered for Paris as "9/11/01" has been remembered for New York.  The news have had round the clock coverage of events and the aftermath. My sympathy is with the families of the victims.

If you follow the news, you'd think there is nothing left to be thankful. Yet the news is thankful for disasters and tragedies for their ratings. Recently my father died and I was very sad and angry. Angry at the  hospital because I really felt they killed him so they could give another body to their contractual funeral home. I still find it a conflict of interest for a hospital to have a contract with a funeral home.  Sad because I didn't call my dad enough. My friend reminded me to be thankful because I always knew some gem of wisdom that I had learned from my dad.

We do have things that bring joy to our lives which we should take some time to be thankful. We should spend some time in our day to be thankful. Fear, stress and paranoia can not only overwhelm us but can affect our health over time. See these articles:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/how-worrying-affects-your-bodyhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299209/
http://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/effects-on-body

We could find several ways to reduce fear etc. One way that I found is writing especially poetry. Another way is to be thankful and spend some time where I focus on people or things that have a positive (or neutral impact when having a bad day) impact on my life. 

I'm thankful I can find my way home through poetry. What makes you thankful?

11/13/15

Numbers often fascinate me and today notwithstanding because the date is 11/13/15. You've got to love your odds consecutively. For some folks, it may be a sign when the numbers are so aligned. Whatever your take on 11/13/15,  Seventieth Avenue, the poetry of road signs and directions in life, is free today 11/13/15.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UY38SCK

Here is a sample of the poetry from Seventieth Avenue:

Season of Swindle

I guess it's that time of year: swindle time! Why do I say that? Because a couple days ago, I received a strange voicemail from "Sarah Wilson" of the Federal Investigation Department stating that there was an arrest warrant for me and I need to call her back.

Huh! What the ... Wait, what is the "Federal Investigation Department" and arrested for what? I was not calling anyone back. I wanted to call her back and tell her with the year I'm having, jail would be a welcome vacation and I might even have time to finish writing my novels (I have three pending that I have started some time ago). But then I recall the scam where you call back and gets charged so no thanks.

I immediately went to the computer, researched the name and phone number and confirmed it was a scam. I won't print the number here in case it's someone real whose number they're spoofing as my caller ID shows the number 2 different ways and a separate other number.

So far she has left three messages. I thought about adding callblock to my cellphone but there is a cost. I am not paying $1 more on my phone bill to block her so I will keep deleting her voicemail. Maybe it's my imagination but is there a proliferation of scams? Is it just at this time of year? Share your experience with me in the comments. In the meantime, here's a poem:

November

Today is the first day of November and I can feel that it is Fall. We fell back an hour this morning and ended daylight savings time. I started the morning working in the backyard: mowing and whacking the weeds. Yard maintenance is so much work but so worth it!

November is just brimming with activities. So much I want to do but how to make time? FLIFF2015 is here and from viewing the catalog, there is so much I want to see.

Until then, here's a poem: